The Real Culprit

“Do you recognize the person in this video?”

“…No, I don’t!” The middle-aged man fell silent for a long moment before shaking his head with great certainty.

Xu Mo didn’t press him further. Instead, he spoke in a calm, almost indifferent tone.

“Harboring a criminal is also a crime. Your daughter is still lying in the hospital, with no one to take care of her and no source of income. If both you and your wife end up in prison, have you thought about what will happen to her?”

“You need to think about her.”

After saying this, Xu Mo returned to his seat and fell silent, simply locking eyes with the man.

Harboring a criminal is also a crime. If both of us end up in prison, what will happen to our daughter? Hearing Xu Mo’s words, a flicker of panic flashed in the man’s eyes. This officer knew that his wife was the one who started the fire!

At this realization, the man’s composure crumbled.

“You… you all know already?”

In truth, Xu Mo had already begun to form some suspicions after questioning the victim. However, it wasn’t until he encountered this man at the hospital that his suspicions solidified. The man had acted extremely suspiciously, turning and running the moment he saw the officers, which only confirmed Xu Mo’s hunch.

After asking a few more questions, Xu Mo became increasingly certain that his theory was correct.

The arsonist was the victim’s mother—this man’s wife.

Otherwise, their behavior wouldn’t have been so strange.

First, the victim had clearly recognized the arsonist but refused to reveal her identity to Xu Mo.

Then there was the man’s guilty reaction of running away upon seeing the officers, coupled with the fact that he, like the victim, recognized the arsonist but refused to disclose her identity. Add to that the surveillance footage showing the arsonist was a woman… All these clues combined made it easy to piece together the truth.

Though the situation was somewhat unconventional, Xu Mo guessed there must be some underlying reason for it.

Xu Mo looked at the man expressionlessly and nodded in response.

“Yes. Tell me what you know.”

“Sigh…” The man let out a long sigh, his face twisted in pain.

If possible, he wouldn’t have chosen to expose his wife. But now, he had no choice. Xu Mo was right—harboring a criminal was also a crime. His wife had committed a crime, and the police already knew the truth. Even if he refused to speak, his wife would inevitably face imprisonment sooner or later.

Given the current situation, he couldn’t afford to make a foolish decision to protect her. After all, their daughter was still lying in the hospital. If both he and his wife ended up in prison, what would happen to their daughter?

“Both her mother and I are teachers. You could say we come from a family of scholars. We’ve always placed great importance on our daughter’s education. From a young age, we sent her to learn piano, ballet, and calligraphy—anything to help her grow into an outstanding individual.”

“Our daughter was very bright and picked up everything quickly. We worked so hard to cultivate her talents because we wanted her to marry into a good family and live a comfortable life. But who would have thought she’d fall in love with an orphan who had no parents, no prospects, and no skills? Naturally, we objected to the relationship. In response, she ran away from home and cut off all contact with us.”

“It wasn’t until recently that we accidentally learned of her whereabouts. We found out she and that man had opened a piano studio together. He didn’t know how to play the piano and had no teaching skills, so he only handled the finances and promotion. All the teaching responsibilities fell on our daughter. She worked herself to the bone, teaching students from morning till night without a moment’s rest.”

“As her father, it broke my heart to see her like this. We spent so much money to have her learn the piano, not so she could make a living from it, but so she could have an extra skill and cultivate her elegance. When I found out, I was furious and wanted to convince her to come home. But her mother has a fiery temper. In a fit of rage, while I was asleep, she took some gasoline and set the piano studio on fire, thinking… if the studio burned down, they’d lose their livelihood, and our daughter would have no choice but to come home.”

“But who could have known that our daughter, to save on rent, had been living in the studio? The fire did destroy the studio, but it also…”

At this point, the man’s eyes welled up with tears.

“After we got the call from the hospital and learned that our daughter had been in the studio at the time of the fire, that she’d been burned… her mother was devastated. She stopped eating, stopped speaking, and locked herself in her room, just sitting there in a daze… What a tragedy!”

So that’s how it was… After hearing the man’s story, Xu Mo finally understood the motive behind the arson.

The reality was slightly different from what Xu Mo had imagined. The fire wasn’t set with the intent to kill, but rather to destroy the piano studio and cut off the victim’s livelihood, forcing her to return home.

But no one could have anticipated that the victim, to save on rent, had been living in the studio. The fire not only destroyed the studio but also nearly took the victim’s life.

Though she was rescued in time and survived, her life was essentially ruined.

At this moment, the man suddenly looked at Xu Mo and Han Fei, his tone pleading.

“Officers, could you please show some leniency and let her mother go… She’s in a terrible state right now. I’m afraid she won’t survive prison. Let me take the blame for her. I’ll confess to the crime. You can sentence me however you see fit.”

“I’m sorry,” Xu Mo sighed softly. “This isn’t up to us.”

The interrogation concluded, and the two officers left the room.

Now that they knew the identity of the culprit, all that was left was to issue the arrest order.

Han Fei dispatched a few officers to apprehend the suspect.

…

Not long after, the arsonist was brought to the police station: a woman with a lifeless expression.

As the man had described, her condition was indeed dire. Her mental state was on the verge of collapse.

After just a few questions from the officers, she confessed everything.

The fire had indeed been set by her while her husband was asleep. He had been unaware of the incident until he received the call from the hospital. He was innocent.

As soon as the woman was taken into custody, a system notification suddenly rang out in Xu Mo’s mind.

“You have successfully apprehended a criminal. Reward obtained—Golden Healing Pill × 100!”