After bidding farewell to the old man, Zou Shuyang slowly walked up to Shen Jun’s house.
Compared to the surrounding homes, Shen Jun’s place seemed somewhat better, but not by much. Bundles of tangled wires hung from the eaves, the cemented walls were uneven, and the house itself was low enough that Zou Shuyang could see the roof tiles if he stood on his toes.
After taking in his surroundings, Zou Shuyang made a move to knock on the door.
But just as he reached out, the door opened from the inside. A frail middle-aged woman with dark skin, a face full of wrinkles, and empty eyes stood before him.
“Is it Junjun? Has Junjun come home?” Shen Xiangxiu called out as she reached out and grabbed Zou Shuyang’s wrist, feeling it carefully. Instantly, her nose turned red. “They all said my Junjun was dead, but you wouldn’t die. See, you’ve come back, haven’t you?”
With that, she pulled Zou Shuyang inside.
Everything happened so quickly that before Zou Shuyang could react, Shen Xiangxiu had already settled him on a wobbly chair inside the house.
She fumbled around and handed him a can of Coke with a smile on her dark face. “Junjun, this is your favorite drink. Go ahead, drink up.”
Zou Shuyang looked down at the can. Though it was intact, the production date on the bottom indicated that it had expired three years ago.
Shen Xiangxiu’s smile never faltered. Perhaps the resurrection of her son had reignited the hope in this blind woman’s heart.
“They all said you were dead, but I didn’t believe them. You’re so outstanding, how could you possibly die?”
Zou Shuyang remained silent.
He wasn’t used to familial affection, and he had no idea how to respond to such deep motherly love.
Fortunately, Shen Xiangxiu didn’t seem to need any response from who she thought was “Shen Jun.” She continued to chatter to herself for a while before suddenly remembering something. She turned to Zou Shuyang and said, “Wait here for a moment. I’ll go get something for you.”
Something? What could it be?
Zou Shuyang watched as Shen Xiangxiu skillfully avoided one piece of broken furniture after another, turned a corner, and moved a few handmade brooms, revealing a battered door.
“You told me to take good care of this before everything happened. I’ve kept it safe for you all these years.”
Shen Xiangxiu came back with a worn-out shoebox, smiling as she handed it to Zou Shuyang. “Not long after your accident, someone came by asking about this, but I managed to brush them off.”
The shoebox was placed on Zou Shuyang’s lap. It wasn’t heavy, but it felt like a weight on his heart.
As he looked at Shen Xiangxiu, Zou Shuyang wondered, if his mother were still alive, would she be like this too?
Would she save his favorite foods for him? Would she protect what he had asked her to keep safe, no matter what?
When Zou Shuyang opened the shoebox, the musty smell wafted out.
Shen Xiangxiu blushed, embarrassment evident on her face. “Did I not preserve it well enough? Our home is too damp. I should’ve taken it out to air it.”
Zou Shuyang pulled out the diary inside and smiled. “It’s okay. It’s still usable. Don’t blame yourself.”
For some reason, his words seemed to strike a nerve with Shen Xiangxiu. She suddenly covered her mouth and began to cry.
“Ah? What…”
Zou Shuyang was at a loss. He had no idea how to comfort her.
But Shen Xiangxiu, like a child who had done something wrong, waved her hand. “It’s fine. I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll…”
She turned her back to him and said softly, “I’ll be okay after I cry for a little while.”
Uh, what?
After making sure that Shen Xiangxiu was indeed okay, Zou Shuyang turned his attention back to the items in the box.
Inside was a diary and an envelope.
Zou Shuyang picked up the diary first.
The earlier entries were scattered thoughts about Shen Jun’s daily life and his confidence in providing a better life for Shen Xiangxiu in the future.
Then came the final page.
June 4, 2012.
The college entrance exams are just two days away, and I’m about to escape this mess. Maybe I really can use my own hands to give Mom a better life. But something unexpected happened today.
Something that could change my future.
How do I even begin to describe it?
Now that I think about it, it’s hard to put into words.
The class monitor came to me in the rain today, saying that Teacher Shen wasn’t treating him well. He wanted to cause trouble for him but didn’t have the guts to do it himself, so he asked me for help.
But I’m not stupid. The exams are coming up—why would I get myself into that kind of trouble? So, I refused him.
Who would’ve thought that in the afternoon, the class monitor came back, this time with a guy named Hao Yiming from Class 4. Hao Yiming looks shady, and sure enough, he is.
They came to me, asking me to kill Teacher Shen.
I thought they were crazy.
I refused their insane request again and even threatened to report them to the police if they kept it up.
Then Hao Yiming pulled out a travel bag full of money.
He told me that if I killed Teacher Shen—no, I didn’t even have to kill him—just get him to the point where he needed an ambulance, then all that money would be mine.
Lin Shaohuai also tried to persuade me, saying that my grades weren’t great and that I wouldn’t do well on the exams anyway. He said I might as well take this once-in-a-lifetime sum of money and do what Hao Yiming wanted.
I wavered.
All that money—it made my eyes red with greed.
Then Hao Yiming told me that he had connections at the hospital. If I helped him with this, he would arrange for my mom to get her eyes treated—maybe she could even be cured.
I agreed.
Afterward, I thought about what had happened to Uncle Liu’s family during the demolition. They had agreed on the compensation, Uncle Liu signed the papers, but then the developers backed out and only gave him the basic amount. I figured I should keep some evidence, just in case Lin Shaohuai and Hao Yiming tried to deny everything later.
But what evidence could I get?
The only place in the village with surveillance cameras was the supermarket at the entrance. I don’t know if it caught anything, or if it could even be used as evidence.
The diary ended there, and Zou Shuyang picked up the now-moldy memory card.
He couldn’t even imagine how much effort Shen Jun had put into obtaining this card.
“Junjun, I’ll go make some food. What do you want to eat? I’ll go out and buy it for you.”
Zou Shuyang wanted to stop Shen Xiangxiu. He wanted to tell her that he wasn’t Shen Jun, that Shen Jun was really dead.
He was just a passerby, investigating the person who killed Shen Jun.
But the words got stuck in his throat as he saw the expression on Shen Xiangxiu’s face change from hopeful to uneasy. He didn’t know how to deliver such cruel and cold news.
He was always like this.
Always too soft-hearted when he shouldn’t be.
In the end, it was the old man who had brought Zou Shuyang into the village who stepped in to save him.
With a heavy tone, the old man told Shen Xiangxiu that Zou Shuyang wasn’t Shen Jun, that Shen Jun had truly passed away.
In an instant, Shen Xiangxiu transformed from a shy, embarrassed woman into a grieving mother, screaming and crying as if her heart had been ripped out.
After Shen Xiangxiu cried herself out and collapsed on the floor, the old man and Zou Shuyang carried her back into the house.
Once everything was settled, the old man escorted Zou Shuyang out of the village.
“No need to refuse. Even if you know the way, can you guarantee you’ll get out on your own?”
Zou Shuyang looked up at the endless sea of identical reeds in silence.
The old man chuckled and led the way. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
Zou Shuyang nodded, then realized the old man couldn’t see him from the front, so he spoke up. “I found it. But I don’t know if it can be repaired. If it can’t, it won’t be usable as evidence.”
The old man let out a regretful sigh. After a moment, he said, “What are you investigating? Why don’t you tell me? Maybe it’ll jog my memory.”
Zou Shuyang thought for a moment before asking, “Ten years ago today, did anyone come to see Shen Jun?”
The old man’s steps slowly came to a stop. He turned his head and looked at Zou Shuyang with his cloudy eyes. “Are you saying that Little Jun’s death is connected to those two people from back then?”
“You know?”
The old man sighed. “I know. When those two came to see Little Jun, my wife had just made some food and wanted to invite them over for dinner. But we ran into those two instead, and I overheard their conversation.”
“Then why didn’t you…”
“Why didn’t I expose those two when Little Jun got into trouble?” The old man tapped his cane. “What good would that have done? Little Jun would’ve still gone to prison, and he wouldn’t have been able to use that money. I’ve never seen that much money in my life. With it, Little Jun and his mother’s lives could’ve changed completely.”
Hearing this, Zou Shuyang didn’t know what to feel.
Anger?
Yes, there was some. After all, Shen Tinglan’s life had been sacrificed for a variety of reasons.
Pity?
Maybe a bit. Shen Jun’s situation was truly unfortunate.
“But that doesn’t justify Shen Jun killing someone.” Zou Shuyang said through clenched teeth.
The old man sized up Zou Shuyang, then turned and continued walking. His voice mixed with the sound of the heavy rain as it reached Zou Shuyang’s ears. “I know, but people are biased. Even fingers aren’t all the same length.”
After escorting Zou Shuyang out of the village, the old man asked, “So, was it those two young men who killed Little Jun?”
Zou Shuyang shook his head, unsure why he chose to say, “It was the family of the person Shen Jun killed. They came for revenge.”
The old man froze, his grip on the umbrella tightening. After a long pause, he muttered, “I see. So that’s how it is.”
With that, he turned away, his hunched figure disappearing into the rain.
After a while, even the swaying reeds stilled.
Zou Shuyang stood there for a moment longer before turning and getting into his car. He placed the evidence on the passenger seat, ran a hand through his damp hair, and wiped his soaked legs with a few tissues.
The truth was getting closer and closer.
But the unease in Zou Shuyang’s heart continued to grow.
It felt as though he was about to lose something very important to him.
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