HH Chapter 79

Cheng Ye let out a cold snort and turned his head to glance at the people coming out of the room. He sighed and said, “He’s only ten years old. Where on earth did he learn all this?”

Just as he finished speaking, someone not far away muttered, “No wonder people online talk about ‘the brat protection law.’ Seems like they’re right.” By the time they looked for the source of the voice, the person had already disappeared.

Cheng Ye didn’t call out to Pei Qinghuai, who was standing there. He just stood silently beside him. In the interrogation room, Guo Xiaofei’s cries and curses intermittently pierced the air. At his age, it was hard to tell if he grasped the gravity of what he had just admitted. But the bait had been laid; no matter how cautious one is, sooner or later, it will catch something.

After a long while, Pei Qinghuai finally lifted his head and uttered a few words, “Using good as bait is worse than using evil.”

When someone knows they won’t face legal consequences for their actions, can they still be considered human? Law is the baseline of morality, but with an age restriction added, it becomes a shield for some to commit crimes. Hoping these individuals will change in the future is futile. Law becomes a lifelong shackle for them. Accepting their fate or breaking free from the shackle, when they no longer see human life as valuable, every word said to them becomes a key to breaking that shackle.

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After learning the truth, Guo Zhenguo just sat there in a daze, his eyes bloodshot and trembling. The carefully built walls in his heart crumbled bit by bit.

When it was time to leave, Guo Zhenguo’s face remained expressionless. As he stood up, he fainted, eyes rolling back. The news hadn’t yet been broken to Guo Jiayi’s mother, who had a heart condition. They decided to wait until Guo Zhenguo regained consciousness to discuss further.

Someone leaked the news online, and soon the internet was flooded with opinions about the case. Within hours, it was a top trending topic. Most people were condemning the ten-year-old Guo Xiaofei, while some apologized for previously criticizing Guo Jiayi. However, there were also trolls muddying the waters, some even defending Guo Xiaofei, claiming a ten-year-old couldn’t possibly commit such an act and blaming parental neglect. These comments were quickly overshadowed by others, and despite police efforts to control the narrative, the wave of public opinion was unstoppable.

Guo Jiayi’s mother arrived, her hair turning white overnight. She trembled as she held onto a young officer’s hand, asking about Guo Jiayi. It was Chen Xiaonuan who finally helped her up.

Guo Zhenguo remained unconscious in the hospital, and the urgency to know about her son grew. They explained the situation, omitting certain details. Despite this, she almost fainted, though they refrained from telling her about Guo Xiaofei’s actions, knowing she might already suspect.

Even so, Guo Jiayi’s mother collapsed, murmuring, “As long as my son did nothing wrong… As long as he did nothing wrong… He’s innocent…”

She was taken to the hospital, where she sat by Guo Zhenguo’s side, asking a nearby officer, “Does he know?”

The officer nodded, and she sighed in relief, “As long as he knows, as long as he knows, the knot in his heart is untied…”

Guo Zhenguo’s hospitalization was timely, but fate was cruel. Despite resuscitation efforts, he passed away three days later. Before being taken away, the elderly woman clung to his hand, trying to warm him up, her quiet sobs drawing tears from young officers hiding in corners.

With no one left to care for Guo Xiaofei, he was eventually placed in government care.

Guo Jiayi had never been a strong person—abandoned by parents, wronged by friends, betrayed by a wife who took his money and remarried, and finally, his son tried to kill him. Perhaps, from the beginning, Guo Jiayi had no will to live, but with Guo Xiaofei around, he had to. Until the moment his son tried to kill him, he finally gave up. The thread keeping him alive snapped, turning life into a torment.

Guo Jiayi, seeing his unfamiliar reflection, prepared his own funeral photo. Some speculated he covered it to avoid scaring Guo Xiaofei. The room still looked like a newlywed’s home, perhaps hoping to hold onto something or awaiting a miracle.

Now, there’s no telling. Guo Jiayi was just an internet celebrity, earning a living through his cross-dressing persona.

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“What are you thinking about?” Cheng Ye asked, sitting beside Pei Qinghuai.

The cool breeze ruffled his hair, stirring his thoughts. Pei Qinghuai shook his head and squinted into the distance, “I want to take a week off. Will you approve?”

Cheng Ye put his hands in his pockets, “What do you plan to do?”

Pei Qinghuai inhaled deeply, then exhaled, “I want to spend a few days at school.”

“Alright, just make sure you’re back in a week,” Cheng Ye replied.

Pei Qinghuai turned to him, “Aren’t you going to ask why?”

Cheng Ye shrugged, “You psychologists, asking is pointless.”

Pei Qinghuai chuckled, “Psychology isn’t that mysterious. Sometimes it’s easy to get emotionally involved. Psychology gives me a blind confidence, thinking things will go as I expect, even leading to wrong conclusions…”

Cheng Ye interrupted, “That’s why we need people like you.” He patted Pei Qinghuai’s shoulder, “Ever since you joined, we’ve been solving cases faster than the first team. Stop sulking alone.”