Chapter 39
Chapter 39
“But according to you, this case was solved a week ago. So why hasn’t my brother received any notification from the police?”
Cao Lei glanced at the monitor, then after a moment said, “I wasn’t directly involved in the investigation of this case. Another team handled it jointly with the cyber police. But I know a bit about it. Because the number of victims was so huge, the cyber police prioritized contacting those whose money was recovered. What I can tell you is that the last two transfers your brother made-one hundred thousand and thirty-six thousand-were recovered. The rest were transferred abroad long ago, so the chances of recovery are very slim.”
At this point, Cao Lei slowly leaned closer to Pei Yuming. “Is your relationship with your brother really that good?”
Pei Yuming recoiled slightly, looking at Cao Lei in confusion. “…Why do you ask?”
“What he did behind your back doesn’t seem to consider your feelings at all,” Cao Lei said bluntly.
“He’s just headstrong. Since he was little, everyone in the family indulged him. He does whatever he wants without thinking about the consequences.” Pei Yuming explained earnestly, “But our relationship really is good. Before all this, my brother always listened to me.”
Cao Lei let out a sigh, thinking to himself that obedience had nothing to do with whether a relationship was good. He was obedient because he didn’t work and relied entirely on you for a living-like an employee to a boss. How many employees dare talk back to their boss’s face? Unless they don’t want the job. But behind your back, who knows what they say about you?
Normally, a man of Pei Yuming’s age, and a department director at a hospital, wouldn’t be so naive as to not understand such basic social dynamics.
But Cao Lei, having met countless people over the years, had certainly encountered types like Pei Yuming before. In general, these people seemed normal at first glance. They had no problems interacting with outsiders; they even came across as dependable and reliable. But their biggest-and most fatal-flaw was their inability to handle relationships with those closest to them.
They habitually ignored the emotional needs of those around them, always thinking from their own perspective. Their understanding of loved ones was reduced to simplistic labels. They would often, with the best of intentions, do many things they thought were good for others, only to end up being resented or betrayed by those very people. And the huge emotional blow from that kind of reversal was the most likely to trigger extreme behavior, ultimately leading to crime.
“What about your father? How does he usually treat your brother?” Cao Lei asked again.
Pei Yuming licked his lips. “My dad doesn’t really discipline him much. Actually, he doesn’t discipline me much either. He rarely communicates with either of us. But in the last six months, probably because they’ve been living together, I’ve noticed my dad talking more with my brother. Sometimes when they come over for dinner, they even chat a bit at the table.”
“Apart from chatting? What about other aspects? Work, family, things like that? Doesn’t he interfere? Your brother is divorced, right?”
“Yeah, two years now.” Pei Yuming said, “My dad does keep pushing him to find a job. He hopes that once he has a stable income, he can bring his son back.”
“And your brother? What’s his attitude?”
“He doesn’t want to work for someone else. He wants to start his own business. But he tried partnering with friends a few times before, and none of them worked out. So now he’s given up.”
“Because he has no money?” Cao Lei asked directly.
Pei Yuming lowered his head and murmured, “Yeah.”
“Has he ever asked you for money?”
“Yeah, a couple of times. But Bai Xue thought he’d never pay it back, so we didn’t lend him any.”
Then why did your father believe he would help him pay off the loan?
Pei Yuming shook his head. “I don’t know what he told my father either. But the rest of the mortgage on my dad’s place should have been paid by my younger brother. When we bought it, we agreed: I’d cover the down payment and a third of the monthly payments, my brother would handle the other two-thirds. It was like we brothers were going in together to buy a house for our parents.”
“And your brother didn’t pay?”
“He paid for two years, but then he quit his job and had no income, so he stopped.”
“After that? Did you pay?”
“No,” Pei Yuming said. “My mom passed away around then and left some savings. It was supposed to be split three ways between my dad, me, and my brother. But my brother and I talked it over and gave it all to our dad, so he paid off the mortgage himself.”
“How much were those savings?”
“Huh?”
Pei Yuming was a little slow to react. He didn’t get why Cao Lei was asking about even that. A dark thought flickered through his mind and disappeared before he could grasp it. Just then, the familiar scent of perfume mixed with various cosmetic fragrances drifted into his nose. He raised a hand to block the girl who was practically falling into his chest, frowning as he warned, “Can you stop crowding me?”
The girl gave him a timid look and whispered, “Sorry.”
Pei Yuming felt a surge of irritation. He stared blankly at the reflection in the subway glass, debating whether to go straight home or to go see his brother again and ask more about the things that were still unclear.
But he was really afraid that if he kept digging, he’d find out even more things he didn’t know.
Just the business with Bai Xue and Lu Dong had him nearly at his wit’s end. Throw in his brother and his father-was there really no one in this family he could fully trust anymore?
The Man in Black was still persistently squeezing his way over. The girl who had given him a little space just now was leaning in again.
Pei Yuming glanced around, shifted over a step, and gave the girl an impatient look, signaling her to go behind him and stand on the other side.
The girl gave him a grateful nod. Just as she was squeezing past, the Woman in the Red Dress ahead of him on the left exploded. “Hey, I said stop shoving me! What’s wrong with you? Fidgeting this way and that without a moment’s peace! Lucky for me I’m this old; otherwise people might think you’re even trying to get fresh with someone my age!”
The Woman in the Red Dress had a powerful, booming voice-she must have trained in bel canto when she was younger. Her outburst immediately drew looks from people in several of the neighboring cars.
Pei Yuming might have had a clear conscience, but under so many eyes, some of which were clearly watching for entertainment, he instantly felt like a monkey in a zoo.
To keep from actually being treated like one, he apologized to the Woman in the Red Dress with his face burning red and got off the subway one stop early when it arrived at the next station.
He ended up walking a full twenty minutes to his residential complex. When he reached his building, he hesitated, and in the end he didn’t go in. Instead he headed toward the building where his dad and brother lived.
It was Pei Yucheng who opened the door again, but this time he was already changed and cleaned up.
“It’s almost mealtime, big brother. What brings you here?”
Pei Yuming didn’t speak. He silently changed his shoes and headed straight for their father’s bedroom. He glanced inside. “Where’s Dad?”
“He went downstairs just a moment ago. Didn’t you run into him?”