Chapter 163
Fang Rui heard another version of Ding Zhuangzhuang's background from the Dongcheng Police Department.
"He's not an orphan. His father was a factory owner, very wealthy. When he was 12, he ran away from home and joined a fraud gang, traveling around to scam people. When we caught him, he wasn't even sixteen yet, and since he was only an accomplice, we didn't pursue criminal charges."
"Later, he used romance scams to deceive many girls, but those girls insisted they gave him money willingly. Since the amounts weren't large, no cases were filed."
"What kind of personality does he have?" Fang Rui asked.
"He's extremely smooth and worldly. The kid is quite clever, just didn't use his smarts for good. When I met him, he was only fifteen, but he talked and acted like an adult. He even smoked and drank."
"Why did he run away from home?"
"Rebellion, of course. When we tried to send him back home, he'd rather jump from the car than return. Besides, his parents had another child and didn't really want him anymore."
"Do you have his fingerprints or DNA information?"
"We have his fingerprints."
After learning Ding Zhuangzhuang's true identity, everyone was stunned. None of them had imagined that his tragic background was fabricated to deceive people.
Mu Mian was the most upset, unable to believe she could still be scammed even with Fang Rui around.
"I shouldn't have been so sympathetic."
Fang Rui consoled her: "At least there's one less tragically suffering child in this world."
"But there's one more despicable fraudster and two foolish victims."
Chen Xue asked puzzled: "Where did you get two fools from? Weren't you the only one who got scammed?"
Mu Mian pointed at Fang Rui.
Fang Rui added: "The hospital refunded our medical expenses."
"So there's another victim. Who else was foolish enough to fall for his scam?"
"Ms. Li."
Zhang sighed from the side: "Don't tell me Ms. Li fell victim to a romance scam, losing both her heart and money?"
Mu Mian started feeling sorry for Ms. Li again.
"The auto repair shop staff said Ding Zhuangzhuang was introverted, which is completely different from what the Dongcheng police described!" Chen Xue said puzzled.
Mu Mian had a bold theory: "Could Chen Yuankun and Ding Zhuangzhuang have switched identities? Maybe the current Chen Yuankun isn't Chen Yuankun, and Ding Zhuangzhuang isn't Ding Zhuangzhuang."
"But Ding Zhuangzhuang has many calluses on his hands, clearly from long-term manual labor. Besides, it would be easy to spot if a college student and an auto mechanic switched identities," Chen Xue argued.
Chen Xue had also suspected this possibility, but the gap between their identities was too large, making it too difficult to pretend to be each other.
"What if they switched identities six months ago?" Fang Rui said. "Six months is enough time for two people to become familiar with each other's identities. Plus, Ding Zhuangzhuang has a fraud record, so he should be good at impersonation."
Chen Xue analyzed: "Then Chen Yuankun, or rather Ding Zhuangzhuang pretending to be Chen Yuankun - could his motive for framing the fake Ding Zhuangzhuang be that he wanted the real Chen Yuankun to disappear, so he could take his place forever?"
"This sounds like something from a detective novel," Zhang commented. "Good thing I don't have a twin brother, or I wouldn't even know if someone replaced me. Chen Xue, would you be able to recognize me if someone switched places with me?"
Chen Xue looked at him helplessly, "Of course. No one else in this world could be as silly as you."
"Ah, so I'm unique in your heart."
"..."
Wang scoffed: "It's work hours, mind the atmosphere and stop flirting! There are lots of people here."
Hearing Zhang's words, Mu Mian suddenly felt a sense of crisis. She grabbed Fang Rui's hand and examined it carefully.
"Mu Mian, what are you doing?"
"I want to memorize your physical characteristics, so if anyone tries to replace you, I'll definitely notice. I'm not good at detecting lies, but I'm very good at remembering physical features. I've already memorized your face and hands, are there any other characteristics?" Mu Mian reached out to pull at Fang Rui's clothes, but he stopped her.
Zhang looked at Wang, "Say that last line again, louder."
"It's not the same thing. Look at Forensic Mu's innocent eyes - she's just conducting academic research."
"..."
Fang Rui brought Chen Yuankun to the interrogation room.
"Officer, you've called me in again. Is there something else you want to ask?" Chen Yuankun asked.
His expression was calm, showing none of the panic typical of suspects. Instead, he acted as if he was there for a business meeting.
"You're vegetarian, right?" Fang Rui asked.
"What does that have to do with the case?"
"Please answer my question."
"No."
"So you eat meat, correct?"
"Yes."
Fang Rui gave Zhang a look, and Zhang placed a box of braised pork rice in front of Chen Yuankun. Zhang said, "It's almost noon, we got you lunch."
Chen Yuankun crossed his arms and refused, "Thank you, but I'm not hungry. I don't want to eat right now!"
"Is it that you don't want to eat, or you dare not eat?"
"Are you trying to torture a confession out of me? I'll file a complaint against you."
Zhang pointed to his police badge, "Go ahead and complain about me. But what will you complain about? That we kindly provided lunch for a suspect? Or do you think eating meat is torture for you?"
Chen Yuankun picked up the lunch box. He picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, chewing forcefully, but his expression grew increasingly strained as he felt his stomach churning violently.
Seeing this, Zhang quickly put a trash can in front of him, "If you can't eat it, spit it out quickly!"
Chen Yuankun fought back his nausea and insisted, "Now can you prove that I'm not vegetarian?" Before he could finish speaking, he grabbed the trash can and started vomiting violently.
"Look at you, why not just admit you're vegetarian? Why make yourself suffer?" Zhang quickly handed him a cup of water. Chen Yuankun immediately used it to rinse his mouth, the meat's smell making him feel like dying.
Aliali: 6754d302bd5e46c308a67379After Chen Yuankun drank the water, Zhang took the paper cup and passed it to Wang who was waiting outside.
Once Chen Yuankun had recovered somewhat, Fang Rui asked, "Li Meijia said the person she was dating was vegetarian. That person was you, wasn't it?"
Chen Yuankun wanted to deny it, but he knew that Li Meijia had spent enough time with him to identify who her boyfriend was through such details.
He admitted, "Yes. I loved her, even though she was my superior's wife. I didn't dare to date her openly, so I pretended to be a mechanic."
"Why a mechanic, and not some other profession?"
"I made it up on the spot."
"Because you're not Chen Yuankun, you're Ding Zhuangzhuang, or should we call you Ding Wei."
Upon hearing the name Ding Wei, Chen Yuankun's face showed anger, and he shouted forcefully, "I'm not Ding Wei! I'm not! I am myself!"
"We've already obtained Ding Wei's fingerprints from the Dongcheng police."
Chen Yuankun froze, then became even more angry, "I told you, I'm not Ding Wei! Don't call me by that name."