“This is our new Officer Wu; we’d like to go over a few things regarding the period leading up to you being found injured near the East Ring Expressway on May 26th. We hope you can recount the events truthfully,” Officer He stated, going through the motions while taking notes.

I glanced at the "Officer Wu" before me, and he met my gaze, offering a slight smile and a wink. Who else could this be but Hou Dayong? They truly possessed incredible influence, managing to infiltrate even the Public Security Bureau.

What I couldn't fathom was, if they were this capable, why not just find a way to take the stamp album directly? Unless they feared the police tracing evidence, opting instead for a legally clean method to divert attention from the investigation. That would imply there were other, more concealed secrets involved. I felt I shouldn't pry into those matters; as long as my sister was safe, once this current issue was resolved, we would return to our normal lives—I would go to school, and she would go back to work. Li Xiaoshu and Hou Dayong would become distant memories, the only way to protect the ones I love and those who love me. I wondered how my sister was doing; I would go see her at the hospital as soon as this interview concluded.

“On the evening of May 26th, you were found seriously wounded on the ground near the highway entrance. What happened before that?”

“I don’t recall, only that I took a stamp album out from Li Xiaoshu’s house beforehand.”

“What did that stamp album look like?”

“Brown cover, edged with gold borders all around.”

“Why did you take the stamp album out?”

“I don’t remember. The doctor said I suffered an acute schizophrenic episode at the time, and I can’t recall anything else.” The last time, I insisted to the police that I had gone with Hou Dayong and Bai Huajian to a villa in the west of the city that afternoon to look at stamps, and they had sent me to a psychiatric hospital for three months. Learning from that lesson, it was better to adopt the principle that a wise man submits to circumstances when dealing with things incomprehensible to ordinary people; I certainly didn't want any more unexpected incidents to occur.

“Good. Take a look and see if this is the stamp album pictured here?”

Officer He retrieved a photograph from his file; it indeed showed that antique stamp album with the brown cover. I nodded, and he put the picture away. He quickly scribbled a few words on the deposition sheet, then handed the completed statement and the pen to me, saying, “Please review the record above for accuracy. If everything is correct, sign your name and the date on every page. Today is August 26th.”

August 26th! Three months had already slipped by. Nothing in my life had ever dragged on for this long or consumed this much energy. My sister was still lying in the hospital; how could I possibly have the heart to get entangled in these trivialities? Without even looking, I swiftly signed my name, putting an abrupt end to this messy affair.

He put the statement back into the folder, stood up, and said politely, “Thank you for your cooperation! I sincerely apologize for taking up this valuable afternoon. If you remember anything later or require assistance, please call me directly.”

The “Officer Wu” beside him stood up too, shaking my hand. His grip was as strong as ever.

After saying my goodbyes to them one by one, I left the office. I wanted nothing more to do with them. A nightmare in a mental institution was enough for anyone. Peace and quiet—that’s what mattered; my sister and I just needed to go home and live a calm life.