Hearing this, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue had basically understood everything, but they still listened to Old Wang patiently.

Old Wang again asked Chen Shi for another cigarette. He somberly exhaled, looked at the ceiling and said, "For a person’s life: one- fate, two- luck, three- feng shui, four- accumulation of virtue and five- education[1]. I have none of these. Some people's lives are multiple choice questions, but my life is just right and wrong questions. Furthermore, I can’t take a single wrong step! I listened to Tamura’s lies and started to learn Japanese and I applied for a passport. Tamura said that he had bought a house for his sister in Japan and that we can only get married if we have a house. But he could only pay the down payment. I had to pay the rest of the mortgage over 20 years. I thought that since he’s already done so much, then I’d pay it off! Moreover, after Yukari died, wouldn’t this house be mine?”

"I sold my old house and gave Tamura 4,000 yuan in cash every month. He would show me the bank statements to prove that the money was indeed used for mortgage payments. Over the past few years, I have been tightening my belt[2] and providing monthly payments for the house in Japan. I often asked Tamura when I could go to Japan. He told me to take the Japanese language proficiency test. I took the test. He asked me to accumulate work experience. My work experience was enough. He asked me to get a chef’s license and I’m doing that… He always found reasons to put me off. I felt that something was wrong, but I still believed him deep down. Since I have seen things with my own eyes, he couldn’t have deceived me!”

Chen Shi interrupted him, "Didn’t anyone in the cast know that you have such a good personal relationship with Tamura?"

"We filmed anti-Japanese dramas. What we filmed will affect the relationships outside the shows more or less. Look at those stars. Couples in the films turn into couples in real life. In the film, we were enemies, and out of it, we weren’t friends. Furthermore, the cast’s atmosphere was like this. Everyone hates the Japanese. I’m a tough guy. If the news spreads that I was planning to immigrate to Japan, marry a Japanese girl, and change to a Japanese name, how could I face people in the future?"

Chen Shi thought to himself that the truth was really ironic. The man in the cast who least liked Japanese people actually wholeheartedly planned to immigrate to Japan.

"Okay, please continue!"

"At dinner that day, everyone teased them. Fujiwara was anxious, saying that Tamura's family situation was very difficult and that his wife was paraplegic. Which was why he had come to China to act so that his wife could be treated! When I heard this, I was in a daze. I immediately looked at Tamura's expression and it seemed a bit off. It was impossible, right? His sister is paraplegic and his wife is paraplegic? Besides, Tamura had been saying that he wasn’t married. I suddenly understood that I have been cheated by this Little Japan over these few years. The immigration etc. was fake. This guy was just waiting until he had scammed me enough before he took off!”

"So I didn't drink any of the alcohol afterwards and seized the opportunity to pour it all away. I was almost crazed with anger and I brought a dagger with me. I was just going to scare him. I went below Tamura’s apartment and threw stones at his window. When Tamura saw me, he came down. I asked him what was going on and asked him to return the money to me. However, Tamura said that the money had already been given to the hospital. He also arrogantly said that I didn’t have my eyes open[3] and said I deserved to get scammed. What made me even more angry was him saying that he was going to leave China the next day!”

"I had placed all my hopes on going to Japan. I have nothing now. The house is gone, my future is gone, and I can’t even get married! How could he deceive me like this? This Little Japan. This damned Japanese devil. There are 1.2 billion people in China[4]. Why did he have to deceive me?! I got so angry that I was ready to do anything. I stabbed him in the neck, and then I dragged the dagger, slicing open his throat. When the gas sprayed on me, I finally realized what I had done. I had killed someone. I killed someone!” Old Wang hugged his head in pain.

"The activity seemed to have alerted Fujiwara. I hurriedly hid at the entrance to the alley. At that time, Tamura was still twitching on the ground. Fujiwara came over to check and he had his back to me. I thought that I couldn’t let this Little Japan go. He would definitely expose me. Who knows what they've been talking about in private. Fujiwara definitely knew about this matter! So, I walked over. Fujiwara kept shouting at Tamura and didn’t hear anything at all. After that, I raised my dagger and stabbed it through Fujiwara’s back, and then did it two more times before he fell to the ground!”

"I took the key to the warehouse from Fujiwara’s pocket and was going to get a cycle trishaw or a box to take the bodies away. They would definitely be found if they were left lying there. Like you said, I walked into the warehouse and saw a few Japanese officer costumes. I got the idea to dress them up, tie them up with rope, and let them kneel there. It happened to be September 18th, so the police would never have thought of it!" Old Wang shook his head. "Sure enough, I was too naive. I should have thrown them into the sewers so that their bodies could never be found!"

"Why did you go to dispose of Lu Baoqiang's vomit?" Lin Dongxue asked.

"After the bodies were discovered, Lu Baoqiang told me about it. I pondered over it. If you knew that Lu Baoqiang wasn’t in the dormitory, then I wouldn’t have an alibi. So I told him that vomiting there would bring trouble to himself. If the police ask him to go back to the bureau with them, how would he be able to act in the future? This kid was so scared that he ran there with me to shovel away the vomit. It was early in the morning and no one found out."

After verifying some details, the whole case was closed. They might take Old Wang back to the scene for some identification.

Chen Shi said, "We’ve solved many cases. Your criminal tactics really weren’t clever, but the motive was indeed unexpected at the beginning."

Old Wang sighed and shook his head. "I've felt as though I’ve been sitting on needles over the past two days. Now that I’ve said everything out loud, I feel better. Honestly, who can you blame for their deaths? Blame Tamura himself. Why did he have to lie to me? The hope he gave me was like letting me climb up to the top of a 20-story building step by step. Then Fujiwara’s words made me fall down with a bang. The Japanese aren’t good people. They can’t be trusted!”

Chen Shi originally wanted to say something, but since the parties concerned had already paid the price, whatever he said now would just be an insensitive remark.

When the words came to his lips, the same sentence remained. "There’s nothing more to say. In short, I wish you luck!"

Old Wang smiled bitterly. "I have no luck in my life. I killed two foreigners. Even if it’s not the death penalty, I’d need to go to prison for life. Surely, there wouldn’t be any special amnesties one day?”

"Old Wang, as long as you’re alive, there will always be times when you’re lucky!"

1. In feng shui, they are the five forces that determine the outcome of your life and the five areas of influence are listed in order of importance. This site has a nice English explanation of it: http://www.fengshuiadvantage.com/articles/outcomeofyourlife.htm

2. Lived very frugally.

3. Someone who hasn’t experienced much. Country bumpkin.

4. Not sure when the author wrote this. The Chinese population is around 1.44 billion in the year 2020.