Chen Shi asked, “I still have a question. What was the murder weapon?”

“You just said it was a hammer. Actually, it wasn't. It was ice cubes wrapped in cloth to keep the sashimi fresh. After killing that obsessive man, I put the ice cubes in the toilet tank. It probably melted long ago. I burned the cloth as well.”

“Smart! But you replaced Miss Jiang's key with your own. Weren't you afraid of being discovered?”

“I thought at the time that if you suspected me, it didn't matter if the key was mine or not anyway... But the day you came to the Japanese restaurant, I was still scared so I replaced the lock.”

“Did you wipe the dust on the windows?”

“Yes, I wanted you to think that the murderer entered and left the room from there.”

Chen Shi glanced at the report and said, “Why didn't you kill your boyfriend back then? Or, did you already do it?”

Gu Xiaoting shook her head. “That man was sentenced for intentional injury and is still in jail. I really wanted to wait until the day he was released from prison to finish him with my own hands! In recent years, I have worked hard to exercise and strengthen my body. The violence is based on the oppression of strength based on men versus women. Men have the strength to hurt women, so I think that if I become stronger than all men, no one can hurt me.”

“But violence cannot solve the problem, Little Gu!” Chen Shi sighed. “You are right. The foundation of this patriarchal society is that men are stronger and don’t have to bear the hardships of childbearing. Gender equality is the ultimate goal of civilization. Although it has not been realized, it’s at least much better than it used to be. The world of equality between men and women is neither from men being as weak as women nor women being as strong as men. It is from men learning to respect women and all opportunities being equal to both men and women. That isn’t achieved through violence, but by progress in our systems and society and through everyone's change.”

Gu Xiaoting smiled. “On that day, what I did is still meaningful to our current society! I hope that my situation will be published in the newspaper. At least to let those stubborn men know that bullying girls can potentially lead to death!”

Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue exchanged glances. Lin Dongxue said, “I will find a way to contact a reliable newspaper outlet.”

“Thank you!”

Later, after finding out about this, Miss Jiang asked to see Gu Xiaoting and was willing to bear the cost of hiring a lawyer for her. The case began three months later. On the day of the trial, there were many people outside the court. Most of them were women who supported Gu Xiaoting.

Gu Xiaoting had a special identity. She was both a former victim and the perpetrator this time, which attracted attention from people of all walks of life. Netizens had been arguing about her sentencing in heated debates.

In the end, she was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

At the end of the trial, Gu Xiaoting was temporarily detained before she began her sentence. There was still some follow-up work to be done, but today's work was finally over.

When outside, Lin Dongxue sighed. “Poor girl.”

“No, if we’re being impartial, she's not pitiful at all!” Chen Shi disputed “The killing method was meticulous and the she had a calm mentality when committing murder. She is no worse than those dangerous criminals. I’m glad I caught her in time.”

“You just talked about gender equality. Were you just trying to raise the atmosphere in the interrogation room?”

“Of course not. I respect women. Gu Xiaoting is a dangerous criminal but she had no evil heart. It can be seen from her rescuing me.”

“Yeah, poor girl. If she hadn’t met you...”

“Ahem, can a police officer say that kind of stuff?”

“I really think that those extreme men don’t deserve to find girlfriends. Hey, you aren’t like that, are you? Are you going to check my phone, restrict me from making friends with others, and ask me about who my ex-boyfriends are?”

Lin Dongxue looked up at Chen Shi with a smile.

Chen Shi said, “You are you. I am myself. We don’t belong to anyone but ourselves. Our relationship is just that I like you.”

“What if I gave you a green hat?”

“Then, I might have to plan a perfect murder.”

“Haha, you’re exposed!”

“I have a lot of things you don't know about!”

“For example?”

“If you treat me to supper, I’ll tell you.”

“Why do I have to treat you?!”

“I'm a taxi driver. You aren’t embarrassed making me treat you?”

“I’m not embarrassed. Who told you to be my BOY! FRIEND?!”

“Sorry, sorry…”

Lin Dongxue’s heart felt an impact and the smile on her face gradually faded away. Was the kiss before just to comfort her?

Chen Shi smiled and continued, “I owe you a formal confession.”

Lin Dongxue was full of excitement but desperately restrained the urge to laugh. She deliberately said seriously, “Then, plan well and find a chance to make up for it!”

Chen Shi squeezed her ear lightly and said, “I’ll invite you to supper. Who asked you to be so cute!”

“Hmph, at least you know what to do!”

Lin Dongxue took his arm and leaned her body on Chen Shi. The sturdy body and the temperature emanating from his body made her heart feel sweet for a while. She thought, this fool is finally willing to take this step. You have no idea how hard it was for me to wait for you.

The case was finally over. Today, we can finally spend a relaxing night together. Of course, it will be a romantic night.

The two found a seafood stall. After ordering a bunch of food, Chen Shi's cell phone rang. After looking at it, he immediately said, “We need to head back. Old Peng has some important findings.”

“Tomorrow! I'm hungry right now.” Lin Dongxue acted spoiled. The scent of the anaspidea in the wok made her so hungry that she couldn’t contain herself.

The message on the phone read, “I can identify Zhou Xiao.”

Looking at Lin Dongxue and her look of expectation, Chen Shi sat back down and replied, “I will come early tomorrow morning.”