Chapter 2

I rushed anxiously to the hospital.

After identifying myself, before I could even see my wife, a man in his early thirties approached me.

“I’m Zhang Lei, the police officer who called you earlier.”

I tried hard to suppress my anxiety and keep my emotions steady. “How is my wife now?”

“Please rest assured, your wife is not in any life-threatening danger at the moment. One of my female colleagues is with her in the lounge.”

“Was she…” I gestured awkwardly, struggling to get the words out.

Officer Zhang nodded and motioned for me to walk down the corridor. “Yes, I’m very sorry. Your wife was sexually assaulted.”

“Where? When? Are there any leads?”

My voice trembled uncontrollably, and a thousand questions raced through my mind.

“We’re just beginning the investigation, so the details aren’t clear yet. Your wife has finished her examination. She just asked to see you. Please come with me.”

He gently pushed open the door.

My wife was curled up in the farthest corner of the sofa, wrapped in a beige blanket, burying even her hair inside, with only a pair of empty, vacant eyes showing, as if staring at some invisible stain on the ceiling. Occasionally, a faint, uncontrollable shudder would ripple through the blanket.

She was trembling with fear.

I wanted to go over and hold her, but the female officer taking the statement signaled for me to stand aside.

The female officer’s voice was gentle: “Can you describe again… about the person who assaulted you?”

Ding Ning sniffled, as if she were crying.

The female officer asked, “How many people were there? Just now you said you felt there were three, is that right?”

Ding Ning poked her head out from the blanket.

There was a bruise at the corner of her eye, her lips were injured, purplish and cracked. After several attempts, she finally managed to squeeze out a faint, thread-like voice: “It was… not…”

My heart tightened.

“Not… it was two… yes, two people…”

Leaning against the cold wall, my fingernails dug deep into my palm. A sharp pain shot through my chest, and I could barely stand.

So, it was two people.

I dared not imagine what my beloved wife had suffered.

Ding Ning saw me and reached out with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably: “Honey… I’m sorry…”

I rushed over to hold her, comforting her softly: “Shh… there’s nothing to be sorry for, it’s not your fault.”

Just then, a nurse came in. “Emergency contraceptive. Please have the patient take it.”

Ding Ning became agitated again. Seeing the medicine box, her eyes filled with terror, and she recoiled like a frightened mother cat: “Poison! I won’t take it, I won’t, I won’t… I won’t!”

I confirmed with the nurse: “This medicine, as long as it’s taken within 24 hours, it’s effective, right?”

“Yes.”

I pondered, “Then let’s not take it for now. I’ll try to get her to take it tomorrow.”

Hearing she didn’t have to take the medicine, Ding Ning calmed down. As I gently patted her back in a steady rhythm, she gradually fell asleep.

After she was settled into a private hospital room by the medical staff, I was exhausted.

But Officer Zhang’s questioning was relentless, determined to get to the bottom of everything.

“What time did you get off work?”

“Six o’clock.”

“What time did you get home?”

“Around ten thirty.”

“Oh? Why so late?”

“I had arranged to play mahjong with some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. I was supposed to come home even later, but I was worried about my wife, so I left earlier.”

“Just out of curiosity, what were the stakes?”

I was a bit surprised by the question, but answered truthfully: “A thousand yuan per round.”

Officer Zhang raised his eyebrows.

I wasn’t showing off. After all, everyone there was a local businessperson. If the stakes were too low, people would laugh at you.

At the time, I was worried I didn’t have enough money in my e-wallet, so I even put my Audi car key on the table as collateral.

The Audi was just one of my cars. In fact, there were several more expensive ones in my garage, but I liked the Audi best because it was low-key and understated, which suited my personality.

“Did you call your wife at any time between getting off work and coming home?”

I checked my call history. At 5:30, my wife had called me, telling me she was eating out and I didn’t need to worry about her.

At 8:30, I called my wife. She said she was in a bad mood and wanted to chat with her friends a bit longer before coming home.

Officer Zhang pondered, “So after you got home in the evening, your wife hadn’t returned, and you didn’t contact her again-just that call at 8:30. Weren’t you worried?”

I felt a surge of anger. Was he treating me as a suspect?

Ding Ning had been in a bad mood lately and often didn’t come home until eleven or twelve. If I asked too much, she’d go crazy on the phone.

Yes, I’m a traditional man. I’d rather endure a woman’s tears than her hysteria.

Besides, there are cameras everywhere now. The city is actually quite safe, so I really wasn’t too worried. Later, I was so tired that I just dozed off.

I explained all this to him.

Then I added, “My wife isn’t the type to bring negative emotions home.”

“Between 10:30 p.m. and 1 a.m., is there anyone who can confirm you were at home?”

I thought for a moment. “The security guard downstairs. I gave him a cigarette when I got home, and I didn’t go out after that. He should remember.”

“How is your relationship with your wife?”

“Pretty good. All our friends and family know I cherish my wife. Every New Year, festival, birthday, or anniversary, I either buy her designer handbags or luxury jewelry-never missed a single occasion.”

Officer Zhang, however, didn’t comment and continued, “Recently, how frequent has your marital life been?”

I pondered, “Usually two to three times a week, quite regular.”

Officer Zhang didn’t seem convinced. His gaze hooked onto me like a fishhook: “When was the last time you had marital relations?”

I thought for a moment: “This Wednesday.”

“Let me confirm again: on the day of the incident, you and your wife did not have marital relations?”

“No, we didn’t.”

“I’m sorry, but in cases involving sexual assault, we have to ask detailed questions. Please understand.”

I nodded.

He turned to his colleague and instructed in a low voice, “Focus on investigating social connections, anyone with a history of sexual offenses, and acquaintances who have had conflicts with either party…”

The questioning ended there for the time being.

The next afternoon, the two officers from yesterday returned.

Suddenly, my wife said that yesterday her whole body ached badly, especially her head. She might have remembered wrong-the assailants were probably three people.

Actually, whether it was three or two, to me, the pain was the same.

I didn’t care much about the number; I just wanted her to get better soon.

Officer Zhang narrowed his eyes: “Ms. Ding, think carefully again-how many people were there exactly?”

He then said that the surveillance footage had been retrieved. There were two assailants, not a third.

I interjected, “Are you sure it was two people?”

“The footage is quite clear. From start to finish, it was definitely two people.”

“However, we can’t rule out the possibility of other accomplices.”

“Ms. Ding, before or after this incident, do you have any other memories of being assaulted?”

The forensic report showed that three different people’s DNA was found inside my wife.

Unfortunately, these three DNA samples probably didn’t belong to anyone with a criminal record, so there was no match in the database.

A female officer gently asked my wife, “Try to recall carefully-whether it was two or three people, can you remember any distinguishing features?”

Ding Ning bit her lip, glanced at me quickly, and was so anxious she was on the verge of tears.

She asked softly, “Are you sure there were three people’s… DNA?”

The female officer nodded, “Yes. Did you remember something?”

Ding Ning shook her head, “I still have a headache. My memory is fuzzy.”

The female officer comforted her, “It’s okay, take your time.”

Standing beside her, I mustered all my courage: “Honey, don’t worry about me. Just say whatever you remember.”

Ding Ning looked at me, her eyes seemingly brimming with tears.

She gave a barely noticeable shake of her head, as if making up her mind: “I remembered wrong before. It should have been just two people.”

But then, what about the third person’s DNA?

Everyone’s eyes were now on Ding Ning.

Officer Zhang’s sharp gaze fixed on Ding Ning.

“Is there anything you need to tell us?”

Ding Ning spoke: “The third person’s DNA… should be my lover’s.”

I shuddered all over, looking at her in disbelief. Her profile was stiff, her eyes vacant, filled with a kind of martyr-like despair.

“I… I cheated. It’s been going on for a while.”

My wife continued, her tone as flat as if she were reading someone else’s script: “That afternoon, I made an excuse to go out, met him, and we had sex. Then he left.”

“Afterwards, I felt extremely tired and fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up, it was already eleven at night. I hurriedly got dressed and went home, but on the way, I encountered… that incident.”

My heart skipped, filled with mixed emotions.

Officer Zhang’s gaze was intense: “Why didn’t you mention this yesterday?”

Ding Ning frowned, a trace of embarrassment on her face: “After all, I’m a woman. How could I say such a thing?”

“What is your lover’s name?”

Ding Ning shook her head: “I don’t want to say.”

Officer Zhang’s expression turned stern: “This case involves personal assault. It’s a criminal matter. Whether you want to say his name or not is not up to you.”

Ding Ning bit her lip hard, still insisting that her lover had nothing to do with the case and there was no need to mention him.

Finally, pushed to her limit, she broke down and cried: “Even my husband hasn’t said anything-why are you digging so deep!”

“Isn’t it bad enough that this happened to me? Do you have to force me to be socially destroyed too?”

“Your top priority should be to catch those two rapists as soon as possible!”

Officer Zhang’s sharp gaze swept over Ding Ning: “We want to catch the suspects as soon as possible too. But Ms. Ding, you are lying.”