chapter 5

The following transcripts are from He Tianxing’s Neighbor and Ex-girlfriend.

During the days of the incident, the Neighbor next door was traveling and did not notice anything unusual in time. When she returned, she was greatly shocked and began cooperating with the Police investigation.

The Police asked, “Did you know He Tianxing had a younger brother?”

The Neighbor replied, “I only found out recently. I didn’t know before and always thought he was an only child.”

Combining Chen Kang’s testimony, neither He Tianxing’s students nor his Neighbor knew he had a younger brother before. It’s clear that after He Tianying was released from prison, he had almost no open contact or communication with his brother, only receiving some living expenses via bank transfers.

The Police asked the Neighbor, “Why did you only find out about the younger brother recently?”

The Neighbor said, “Because the younger brother only moved in with his brother recently. I hadn’t seen him before. He moved in during the New Year and stayed for about half a year, only moving out last month. During these six months, the younger brother didn’t go out to work and was supported by his brother.”

The Police asked again, “How do you think the relationship between the brothers was?”

The Neighbor said, “The brothers got along quite harmoniously, but the younger brother’s relationship with his brother’s girlfriend was rather tense.”

Seeing the term “girlfriend,” I sat up straight.

This was a point of doubt in Chen Kang’s transcript. According to Chen Kang’s testimony, the “girlfriend,” who was about to register for marriage, suddenly became the “Ex-girlfriend” a month ago.

The Police asked, “Did the three of them live together?”

The Neighbor said yes, but only for the past six months. Before that, it was just He Tianxing and his girlfriend living together.

The Police asked again, “What kind of person is He Tianxing’s girlfriend?”

The Neighbor said, “She’s educated, reasonable, has a good temper, and values feelings. I really like this girl.”

At this point, the Neighbor opened up and voluntarily talked about why He Tianying had a tense relationship with his brother’s girlfriend-

It was pretty much one of those melodramatic stories.

After He Tianying moved in, he fell for his brother’s girlfriend. As things developed, he frequently harassed and stalked her, to the point that she called the Police, causing quite a stir among the upstairs and Downstairs Neighbors. But the officers considered it a family matter, mediated briefly, and left.

This painful tug-of-war lasted for several months. He Tianxing, caught in the middle, didn’t resolve the issue. He got along well with his brother but often quarreled with his girlfriend, thinking she was being dramatic and making a fuss over nothing.

Eventually, the girlfriend couldn’t take it anymore and broke up. After they split, He Tianying also moved out.

The Neighbor said, “That younger brother is just like a loafer. With someone like that clinging to them, trouble was bound to happen.”

Reading this description, I was taken aback.

Although I had only met He Tianying once, to be honest, my impression of him was that he was steady and polite. He probably wasn’t a good person, but he didn’t seem like the kind of person to act like a thug, not like the “loafer” the Neighbor described.

Maybe this older lady had a stereotype against unemployed people and looked at He Tianying with prejudice?

To verify the Neighbor’s testimony, I flipped ahead and found the transcript from He Tianxing’s Ex-girlfriend.

Thus, I learned more details.

He Tianxing’s Ex-girlfriend is named Zhong Fei, a consulting advisor.

According to Zhong Fei, she and He Tianxing had been together for three years, and it hadn’t been easy.

He Tianxing was under a lot of pressure from research, his business outside the university was in its early stages, and his father fell ill, so he was always tense and emotionally unstable. Zhong Fei always gave him the greatest understanding and tolerance.

They supported each other and made it this far, originally planning to register for marriage this year, but He Tianying’s arrival disrupted their plans.

He Tianxing had never mentioned having a younger brother before. Early this year, he finally told her about his brother and explained that because his brother had a Criminal Record, he was worried Zhong Fei would mind, so he hadn’t dared to say anything. Now that they were about to get married, he felt she should know. He Tianxing assured Zhong Fei that it wasn’t a big deal.

But telling her only at this point was hardly honest.

Zhong Fei felt uneasy and asked what kind of Criminal Record it was. He Tianxing said it was for fighting. Seeing He Tianxing looking dejected, she didn’t press further, planning to discuss it later.

But within two days, He Tianying suddenly moved in with a bag of luggage.

Zhong Fei remembered clearly that the first time they met, He Tianying stared at her with a strange look, making her very uncomfortable.

She privately told He Tianxing that this was too sudden; it was their marital home, and letting an outsider move in before marriage was inappropriate.

But He Tianxing said they were brothers, not outsiders, and asked her to be more tolerant.

This was no different from inviting trouble into their home.

He Tianxing was often either at the university or at his company, while Zhong Fei’s work schedule was relatively flexible.

So after He Tianying moved in, Zhong Fei ended up spending more time alone with the unemployed He Tianying.

At first, the three of them just felt awkward together. As time went on, He Tianying’s true nature emerged.

He Tianying often took advantage of his brother’s absence to sexually harass Zhong Fei, such as making sexually suggestive remarks, deliberately brushing past her, trying to open the bathroom door when she was inside, and stalking her on her way to and from work, among other things.

Zhong Fei was furious and complained to He Tianxing several times, leading to big arguments. But He Tianxing always avoided the issue, thinking it wasn’t a big deal, that his brother was just joking or careless, and that it wasn’t as serious as she imagined.

Zhong Fei loved He Tianxing very much, but He Tianxing’s bias toward his brother and disregard for her suffering made it seem as if he didn’t love her that much after all.

Zhong Fei was deeply disappointed in He Tianxing and finally called the Police.

When the Police arrived, He Tianying was very cooperative, saying he was just joking and even claimed that “stalking” was “protecting his sister-in-law.”

So the Police treated it as a family matter, which didn’t solve the problem and instead made it public knowledge among the neighbors. He Tianxing, sensitive about his reputation, had another big fight with Zhong Fei.

Zhong Fei finally broke down and confronted He Tianying in front of He Tianxing. He Tianying then said something she would never forget.

He said, “I spent fifteen years in prison and never had a good life. Now I’ve finally gotten out. My brother is successful, so of course I have to stick with him. Whatever my brother has, I want to try it too.”
Even as a bystander, I found such remarks chilling to the bone, let alone those who experienced them firsthand.

Zhong Fei was terrified, while He Tianxing showed no reaction. She finally realized that neither of these brothers were good people-one a hypocrite, the other a true scoundrel-so she decisively broke up with him.

Just a month after Zhong Fei moved out, He Tianxing died a tragic death at home. Out of old affection, Zhong Fei still mourned the deceased, but she was also deeply frightened.

Zhong Fei’s testimony provided more detailed information, which was corroborated by the Neighbor’s statements, thus reconstructing a true image of He Tianying.

So, it could only be that I misjudged people.

He Tianying is my client, so I subconsciously tried to see him in a better light, because I didn’t want to be defending someone I utterly detested.

But now, the fact is, he is indeed extremely detestable, regardless of my wishes. I am the one who needs to take off my tinted glasses.

The Police were sharp and asked Zhong Fei if He Tianying had harassed her after the breakup. Zhong Fei said no.

This point is crucial. It seems He Tianying didn’t truly like Zhong Fei, but merely wanted to possess the woman his brother liked. If he couldn’t have her, ruining things would suffice.

From this, the Police inferred another possible motive: jealousy.

The two brothers were only three years apart, but their life paths were drastically different.

He Tianxing’s life could be considered exemplary: top scorer in the county’s college entrance exam, progressing through undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies, a respected university lecturer, with a career outside academia, having accumulated considerable capital at a young age, and an outstanding girlfriend.

In contrast, He Tianying didn’t finish middle school, spent fifteen years in prison, and after release, just drifted through life-no house, no job, achieving nothing.

Thus, it can be inferred-

He Tianying envied everything his brother had, but most of that capital was out of his reach. So he objectified his brother’s girlfriend, Zhong Fei, and saw her as the easiest target.

However, harassing Zhong Fei didn’t bring him any psychological balance; Zhong Fei’s disgust only intensified his jealousy day by day, until he killed his brother, eliminating the source of his envy, and only then could he stop.

This, too, is an extremely dark and hateful motive.

At this point, I personally had already begun to loathe my client. But as a Lawyer, I still had to maintain professional conduct.

I continued reading the case files.

The information provided by the Neighbor and Zhong Fei was corroborated by the Downstairs Neighbor. However, the Downstairs Neighbor didn’t know much, being hard of hearing and not having heard any unusual noises from upstairs at the time of the incident.

Additionally, other nearby residents provided some valuable testimony.

Three Elderly Men living in the same complex as He Tianxing claimed that on the afternoon of the incident, around three or four o’clock, they were playing chess at a table in the shade below the building and saw He Tianying enter the Unit Door.

They noticed He Tianying because he seemed to be hesitating about something, standing not far away and staring at the chess table for a long time, as if watching, or perhaps lost in thought. His expression was gloomy, his posture stiff, and his right hand was always in his pants pocket, as if gripping something.

The Elderly Men thought he might be about to rob them and cautiously asked what was wrong. He snapped out of it, waved his left hand, and entered the Unit Door. His right hand never left his pocket.

The item in his right pocket was likely the Murder Weapon-the Soft Cloth Strap used to strangle the Victim.

Later, the Murder Weapon was not found at the scene, and the Police explained that since the suspect remained silent, the whereabouts of the Murder Weapon could not be determined. Such a weapon is also easy to destroy, for example, by burning.

The Tobacco Shop Owner in the complex witnessed He Tianying leaving the crime scene.

During the six months He Tianying lived at his brother’s place, he often bought cigarettes at the shop, so the owner recognized him.

On the evening of the incident, before it was fully dark, the Tobacco Shop Owner saw He Tianying hurriedly leave the Unit Door, his clothes disheveled and his expression dazed. The owner greeted him, but He Tianying didn’t respond and walked away without looking back.

The Police retrieved Surveillance Camera footage from the complex, which matched the accounts of the Elderly Men and the Tobacco Shop Owner. One camera directly covered the Unit Door.

The time frame established by Witnesses and Surveillance Camera footage for the suspect’s presence at the scene coincided with the time of death estimated by the Forensic Doctor. In other words, He Tianying had no alibi.

Moreover, among the traces collected at the scene, besides matching Fingerprints and Footprints, there was even more compelling evidence.

Skin flakes and blood collected from between He Tianxing’s fingers, as well as some hair found on the bed, were confirmed by DNA Identification to be from his younger brother, He Tianying. He Tianying also had corresponding scratch marks on his body.

The Police also used technical means to recover deleted search records from He Tianying’s computer, which shockingly included queries like “How long does it take to strangle an adult male to death” and “How to dispose of an adult male’s corpse,” and other terrifying searches.

He had been frequently searching such topics for a month, indicating clear premeditation.

There were several more Witness statements, but they provided no new information and did not contradict previous testimony, so I won’t elaborate further.

At this point, the facts of He Tianying’s crime were already clear.

His motives were also clear and logical.

From the testimony of Father He and the Nurse Aide, the Police obtained the first motive: to fight for the Inheritance.

But if it was only to kill another heir for the father’s Inheritance, why not make it quick? Why beat and molest the Victim?

The Police consulted a Criminal Psychology Expert, who, combining the Witnesses’ testimonies, analyzed He Tianying’s behavioral patterns. The final conclusion was that He Tianying’s actions stemmed from a complex mix of jealousy, resentment, and a desire to humiliate, leading him to commit an act against his Elder Brother that defied all moral boundaries.

This was the second motive.

Such a complex psychology had deep roots, traceable back to the crimes He Tianying committed in his youth.

He Tianying’s Criminal Record was also on file, providing strong support for the inference of motive in this case.

After reading this part, I felt that taking on this case was the most regrettable decision I had made in my more than twenty years of life.