Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

"Go in." A team member shoved Chen Kaifeng, who stumbled into the elevator lobby. The place remained exactly as it had been after the crime, except the body had long since been removed. Although the pool of blood on the floor had been cleaned up, faint dark red marks remained in the corner, precisely matching the description from the crime scene investigation: "A pool of blood approximately 1.5 meters by 1 meter in size in the west corner of the elevator lobby." Zhang Hui pointed to the corner: "This is where you killed Tang Hu. Explain everything from beginning to end."

Chen Kaifeng leaned against the cold wall, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a moment, seemingly recalling the scene. When he opened his eyes again, there was a hint of fear and despair in them. "After arguing and fighting with Tang Hu, I couldn't swallow my anger. He was just helping the company organize some customs declaration documents. What's the big deal if he wrote down a wrong specification? In the end, it didn't affect the customs declaration. Chen Kaifeng's statement here was a slip of the tongue, because Chen Kaifeng himself insisted on deducting 2000 yuan from his payment. He even dared to hit me and said he would retaliate against me. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and I started thinking about how to get revenge on him."

“I knew he was a freelancer with no fixed workplace and a simple social circle, so even if something happened, no one would notice in the short term. Later, I got the elevator card from my girlfriend that she hadn’t returned when she worked at Hengtong Technology Company. I knew that the card could be used to access the roof of Chuangtian Building, a place rarely visited, making it a good place to strike. I planned to lure him out with a large order; he wouldn’t suspect anything if he was after money.” Chen Kaifeng licked his dry lips and continued, “On the afternoon of the day of the incident, I called Tang Hu, lying that I had a large order for high-end cosmetic raw materials imported from France. I offered him 10,000 yuan if he could help with the paperwork and customs clearance. He was indeed very interested and agreed without hesitation. I arranged to meet him at 7 p.m. in the elevator lobby on the roof of Chuangtian Building, saying it was quiet there and convenient to discuss the details.”

"After hanging up the phone, I started preparing. I found a folding knife with a black plastic handle at home. The blade was about 15 centimeters long, single-edged, and I usually use it to peel fruit; it's very sharp. I hid the knife in my pocket and left the company at 6 p.m. After leaving the company, I went to a nearby convenience store to buy a bottle of mineral water and a pack of cigarettes, trying to calm myself down, but the more I thought about it, the more nervous I became, and I couldn't smoke at all. Then I took a taxi to the bus stop near Chuangtian Building." Chen Kaifeng's account was completely consistent with the trajectory tracked by surveillance cameras. "After getting off the taxi, I walked into that alley without surveillance cameras to avoid them. When I got to the back door, I saw that no one was on duty, so I went straight in. At the convenience store at the back door, I bought another pack of 'Chunghwa' cigarettes, thinking that I could smoke one while waiting for Tang Hu to give me some courage."

Zhang Hui pressed further, "When you bought cigarettes at the convenience store, did you pay attention to the people around you? The 'Chunghwa' cigarette butts found at the scene are the ones you left over from smoking, right?" Chen Kaifeng nodded, "There was only the owner of the convenience store at the time. After buying the cigarettes, I quickly went to the stairwell. At the entrance to the stairs leading to the roof, I smoked one, and after finishing it, I threw the cigarette butt near the elevator entrance. I didn't expect you to find it too." During the on-site investigation, a "Chunghwa" cigarette butt was found about 0.5 meters north of the body's head. DNA comparison later confirmed that it belonged to Chen Kaifeng, a detail that matched perfectly.

“I arrived at the elevator lobby on the rooftop around 7:10 PM. The door was closed at the time, but I pushed it and found it wasn't locked, so I left it slightly ajar and waited for him inside. I was afraid he would become suspicious, so I deliberately held the elevator card in my hand, pretending that I had just swiped it to get on the elevator.” Chen Kaifeng pointed to the steel fireproof door of the elevator lobby. “The handle of this door is silver-gray. Was I wearing gloves at the time? No, I wasn't wearing gloves because I was afraid that wearing gloves would arouse his suspicion. I just held the handle directly and pushed the door open, so my fingerprints are left on it.” During the on-site investigation, multiple fingerprints were extracted from the elevator lobby door handle, among which fingerprint number 1 completely matched Chen Kaifeng's fingerprints, thus confirming this crucial piece of evidence.

“Around 7:20, I heard footsteps in the stairwell and knew it was Tang Hu. I quickly grabbed the folding knife and hid it behind my back. He pushed open the door and came in, wearing a black shirt and dark pants, holding a phone, looking very happy. As soon as he came in, he asked me, ‘Manager Chen, how’s the order going? What are the specific raw materials, and how much?’ I smiled and said to him, ‘Don’t rush, sit down and tell me slowly.’ I pointed to the corner on the west side of the elevator lobby and told him to sit there. He didn’t think much of it and went over and sat down with his back to me.” Chen Kaifeng’s gaze fell on the corner on the west side of the elevator lobby, which was the location where the body was found.

“I saw that he had his back to me, and my chance came, so I quietly walked up behind him. He seemed to sense something and was about to turn around when I pulled out a folding knife from my pocket and stabbed him in the chest.” Chen Kaifeng gestured the stabbing motion, his arm slightly bent. “I used a lot of force, and the blade went in right away. He cried out, his body suddenly leaned forward, and he grabbed my arms, trying to push me away. Afraid that he would resist, I pulled the knife back forcefully and then stabbed him in the chest again.”

“He struggled fiercely, and we wrestled, from the corner all the way to the middle of the elevator. He scratched my face and kicked me, leaving a cut on my face, the one I told you about last time, the injury from the fight.” Chen Kaifeng touched his cheek. “His clothes were also torn; there were tears in the collar and cuffs, which you should have seen during the on-site investigation. During the struggle, his phone fell to the ground, and the screen shattered—the same phone you retrieved that wouldn’t turn on.” During the on-site investigation, a “shattered, unusable phone” was found to the right of the body, and the clothing had “torn collars and cuffs”—details that perfectly matched Chen Kaifeng’s account.

Zhang Hui pressed further, "Did you bump into any walls or the ground when you were fighting? There are multiple scratches and impact marks on the walls, and two different footprints on the ground." Chen Kaifeng recalled, "We definitely bumped into each other. He bumped into me with his body, I lost my balance, and my back hit the wall, chipping off a piece of paint. I also pushed him down once, and he braced himself on his hands, his hands bruised. I was wearing size 43 Anta sneakers with diamond-patterned soles, and he was wearing size 42 shoes with mesh soles. The footprints on the ground should be from both of us." (End of Chapter)