"You bought him another kidney? He just had the surgery?" Liu Wangli was even more astounded. Zhong Yongliang had poisoned people one moment and gone under the knife the next? What kind of speed was that!

"I know buying and selling kidneys through a black-market broker is illegal, but you must understand how I feel. Pity the heart of every parent in this world!" Zhong Fabai sighed. "If anyone must be punished, punish me, but you must not make Yongliang give that kidney back. He cannot bear it, he simply cannot bear it. He has only just regained his confidence as a man and is ready to pull his life together. Do not ruin his future!"

The more Liu Wangli listened, the stranger it seemed. Had the poison really been planted by Zhong Yongliang or not?

"Let us pretend I never heard about this black-market broker, but there are some other matters I want to ask Zhong Yongliang about. May I speak with him alone?" Liu Wangli asked. As for Zhong Fabai buying a kidney from an illegal broker and already having it transplanted into Zhong Yongliang, there was no point in pursuing it further, especially since Zhong Yongliang was himself a victim.

"Of course, of course! And while you are at it, please help me talk him around, so he can recover his confidence and go back to school!" Zhong Fabai said.

Liu Wangli nodded and walked into the inner ward, where he saw Zhong Yongliang lying on the hospital bed.

Zhong Yongliang naturally saw Liu Wangli in his police uniform as well. After a brief hesitation, he said in a low, dejected voice, "Hello, officer. If you have come to get me to collect criminal evidence against the kidney-harvesting ring, I do not want to go. I do not want to be humiliated again. I have had enough, and I do not want revenge from the kidney-harvesting ring! But if you are asking about the mass fainting at the school, I can confess to you. I did it, but it was not what I meant... really not. I never thought the consequences would be so serious..."

Such a blunt confession left Liu Wangli momentarily stunned. He had never expected Zhong Yongliang to own up so freely the instant he walked in! It looked as if the boy must have been carrying a heavy burden of guilt to lay everything bare so frankly once he arrived!

All the psychological tactics Liu Wangli had prepared went unused, yet the readier the confession, the more Liu Wangli felt there was something hidden in the affair. And out of sympathy for Zhong Yongliang as a victim, Liu Wangli himself did not want a high school student to end up behind bars!

Perhaps there was more to this than met the eye? He said it was not his intention, so what could it have been?

"Zhong Yongliang, I do not know what your intention was, but now that you admit you put the poison in the cafeteria food, do you know what consequences you will face? Attempted murder is no small charge!" Liu Wangli said with a grave expression.

"I did not know it was poison... I really did not know. I did not want this... I am sorry, I am sorry..." Zhong Yongliang clutched at his hair in pain and torment.

"You did not know it was poison? Then tell me exactly what happened?" Liu Wangli asked with a frown.

"But if I tell you, you will arrest my relative. I did not know what he gave me was poison..." Zhong Yongliang looked troubled, though in fact he had already let slip the crucial 'clue.'

Liu Wangli's eyes lit up. Sure enough, there was more to the story. If that was so, Zhong Yongliang was not the mastermind, and as things stood, he was also a victim? So Liu Wangli said, "Zhong Yongliang, you must tell the truth now, or do you realize you will be taking the blame for someone else? If this really has little to do with you, seeing that this is your first offense and you are now a patient, if you atone for your fault with meritorious service, your punishment can be reduced or even waived!"

"Ah..." Zhong Yongliang sighed, hesitated for a long while, and only then spoke. "If you do not punish me, will you punish my relative? Will he be sentenced to death?"

"If this really has little to do with you, your liability can be reduced or exempted, but your relative, if he is the mastermind, will face grave charges. As for whether he will be sentenced to death, that will depend on his attitude in admitting his fault and his motive for the crime, and of course in the end it will be for the court to decide!" Liu Wangli said.

"Fine. Even if I do not tell you, you can find it out through investigation." Zhong Yongliang nodded and began his account. "It all started when my kidney was cut out! After my kidney was taken, my schoolmates all mocked me, and the way they looked at me turned strange. Some classmates even said behind my back that I was no longer a whole man, that I was a eunuch! Others sneered that I had sold my own kidney to buy an iPhone! It made me lose all face! I hate them. These people are so cruel. They have no idea of the pain in my heart or how inferior I feel. I hate them to death..."

"And then?" Liu Wangli nodded, feeling a measure of sympathy for Zhong Yongliang. He had already lost a kidney, and to be mocked on top of that was more than anyone could stand.

"Not long ago I even paid for everyone to go on a trip to the seaside, but how did they treat me? They laughed at me. I hate them, and I wanted revenge!" Zhong Yongliang said, unable to hide the anger in his eyes.

"Go on. How did you want to take revenge on them?" Liu Wangli thought, could this be Zhong Yongliang's motive for the poisoning?

"I did not know myself how to get back at them, and just then a relative of mine came to visit me. I told him what I was thinking, and he said he would help me think of something and leave everything to him! So he worked out a plan for me to play a trick on them. He told me to put laxatives in the cafeteria food, so they would all rush to the bathroom during class and pack the school toilets to overflowing, soiling their pants, so they would lose all face too! Then they would know how painful it is to be laughed at! And I could laugh at them to my heart's content..."

"Laxatives?" Liu Wangli frowned. If Zhong Yongliang had only put in laxatives, it could hardly be treated as a criminal offense. So long as it caused no serious consequences, it was merely a prank!

"Yes, but I did not know where laxatives were sold, and I did not dare buy them casually, for fear the dose would be too strong for my classmates to handle!" Zhong Yongliang nodded and said...

For the fastest updates, please read without pop-up windows.