48 Hours a Day

Unlike the frightened neighbors, Zhang Heng immediately rushed into the house to protect Bai Qing. The middle-aged man in the middle of the living room, however, did not seem to have any intention to harm his daughter. After killing his wife, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength, merely standing there without saying a word. He didn’t resist, and neither did he plan to flee.

Someone had hastily called the police, and soon, a team of police officers swarmed the house came. The chubby officer, however, was not among them. After learning about the situation, the police put Bai Qing’s father in the patrol car and hurriedly sealed off the scene while conducting a simple preliminary investigation. For more evidence, they would have to wait for the forensic team to arrive.

Meanwhile, Zhang Heng accompanied Bai Qing to the police station to get her statement recorded.

She was the daughter of the victim and suspect and the key witness in this murder case. Undoubtedly, Bai Qing was clearly still shell-shocked. It was an undisputed fact that anybody who had witnessed their father killing their mother would be traumatized for a long time.

Zhang Heng could feel Bai Qing’s body trembling all the time. She was on the verge of collapsing, unable to even hold the paper cup the policeman had handed her. The cup fell to the ground, and the tea inside it spilled all over the place. Considering her situation, it would be difficult for the police to get a statement out of her, so they decided to let the terrified girl take a break and placed a female officer to comfort her.

Bai Qing showed no improvement. It wasn’t until Zhang Heng lowered his head and said something in her ear that she finally got better. Although still shaking, she could finally speak. At that moment, Bai Qing’s grandparents had also rushed to the police station after receiving a notice from them.

Since Bai Qing hadn’t reached 18 yet, a guardian was required to be with her while making her statement. As for Zhang Heng, he was not allowed to be with her. So, he did not stay, quietly leaving while everyone was busy and distracted.

An hour later, Bai Qing rejected her grandpa’s proposal to take her home first. The elderly gentleman had no choice but to get her a room at the express hotel near the police station.

They, too, were in a rut at the moment—their daughter-in-law had been killed, and all evidence pointed to their son being the murderer. The authorities had rejected their request to visit him, not to mention they now had to deal with their angry relatives at the same time. After sending Bai Qing to the express hotel and confirmed that she wasn’t suicidal, they could only respect her decision and let her be alone for a while.

Bai Qing sat alone in the dark room.

Everything that happened to her so far was so sudden, so horrific, that she didn’t realize what happened that night until now. She had lost both parents at the same time, the only people in the world that loved her unconditionally.

Although Bai Qing was tired of them arguing day and night, it was undeniable that their blood flowed within her veins. From now on, she would never get to see the woman who always shopped for facemasks on WeChat—the woman who would make her sweet and sour pork ribs and watch her eat it with a smile was now all but gone forever. The man who always looked serious and had no other care in the world, but his business was now gone too. Whether she liked it or not, she would always get to see her father every morning sitting next to the table.

One of them had left this world, and the best outcome for her father was to perhaps spend the rest of his life in prison. Bai Qing covered her face with her hands; her tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

From that moment on, her life had just taken a 180-degree turn, and her future was filled with despair.

Just when Bai Qing was crying bitterly in the dark, someone knocked on her door.

Zhang Heng’s voice came from outside, “It’s me.”

His voice was like a faint light shining into her bleak and cold world, giving her the slightest bit of hope in a hopeless world. The future, however, still did not look too bright for her.

But as for those who fell into the water, they would hold on tightly to any straw extended to them, no matter how thin. Bai Qing did not bother to wipe off the tears on her face before she opened the door for Zhang Heng.

“I haven’t sent you a WeChat message to tell you where I live. How do you know that I am in this room?”

“If I failed to find out which room you are in, I’m definitely not qualified to stick my nose into your problem,” Zhang Heng said calmly. He then took a tissue and handed it to Bai Qing, “wipe away your tears. We have something important to do later.

“When you were at the police station, you told me that you didn’t think my father was the murderer?” Bai Qing asked with tears still welling up her swollen eyes.

“Yes.” Zhang Heng nodded.

“When I turned on the light, I saw him standing there with a knife. And I also asked the police officers who were in charge of this case. They told me that my father was high on the suspect list, and although they didn’t directly pin him as the murderer, I don’t think there’s anything left for them to investigate.”

“At the crime scene, there was no other suspect there. Your father was the only one holding the knife, and his body was covered in blood. And I bet the follow-up investigation will prove that the blood on his clothes came from your mother. An experienced criminal investigator would quickly conclude that your father has to be the murderer.”

“So, why then would you say that my father isn’t the one?”

“That’s a little hard to explain,” Zhang Heng said. “And we need to do a little test before I begin.”

While talking, he took out a pair of Oath Rings, a piece of parchment paper, and a knife from his pocket.

[Name: Oath Ring]

[Grade: F]

[Function: Bearer will know if the other party breaks an oath]

“Initially, I wanted to use this on Qin Zhen and ask him to investigate this matter for me. That is because he is the person I am most familiar with and my most convenient confidante within this quest. But then I discovered that the method has loopholes,” Zhang Heng went on saying. “It doesn’t matter anymore. It will be fine if I use it temporarily.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Stretch out your hand,” Zhang Heng said, “It might hurt a little bit.”

“What?” Bai Qing asked, doubtful, but she stretched out her hand anyway.

Zhang Heng then put one of the Oath Rings on Bai Qing’s finger. After that, he cut her index finger with a knife, caught the blood with a disposable cup, and then cut his own finger. Once their blood was mixed, he wrote, ‘I swear that I will not lie from now on’ on the parchment.

“Is that all?”

“Mmhmm,” Zhang Heng nodded. “I will ask you two questions first. First, did you know if this tragedy would happen tonight?”

“Of course not.”

“Are you here to mess with me?”

“What does that mean?” Bai Qing frowned.

“Okay, congratulations on passing the test,” Zhang Heng said while taking off the ring from Bai Qing’s finger. “This proves that the person in front of me now is indeed who she is; until you leave my sight at least.”

“Look. What’s going on? What does this have anything to do with the thing that happens tonight?”

“Are you willing to believe me?” Zhang Heng looked into Bai Qing’s eyes. “Because what I’m about to tell you next is a bit crazy.”

“Do I have any other choice besides believing you now?”

“Okay, I will try to summarize everything for you.”