Zou Shuyang parked his car right on time in front of Jiangzhou No.4 High School.
Jian Mengyan, looking pale and worn out, got into the car, clutching her bag.
Seeing her face drained of color, Zou Shuyang felt a pang of heartache. He spoke awkwardly, “I told you to rest at home this afternoon, but you insisted on going to class.”
Leaning back against the seat, Jian Mengyan’s voice was weak, “I didn’t have a choice. The college entrance exams are just around the corner, and classes are about to end. I couldn’t let the students fall behind.”
Zou Shuyang sighed as he started the car, occasionally glancing at her. Jian Mengyan leaned against the seat with her eyes closed, trying to rest.
After a long silence, she suddenly spoke, “Alright, just ask whatever you want. Even with my eyes closed, I can feel you staring at me. It’s making me uncomfortable.”
Zou Shuyang cleared his throat. “Uh, how are you feeling? I mean, after what happened at noon.”
Without opening her eyes, Jian Mengyan replied lazily, “I’m fine now. At noon, though, it was a bit… shocking. It all happened too suddenly, and I wasn’t prepared.”
Having dated for quite some time, Zou Shuyang could tell from her subtle movements that she was indeed alright. The current weakness in her body was just the aftermath of the stress she experienced earlier.
Relieved, Zou Shuyang let out a long breath, his heart finally settling back into place.
Neither of them spoke for a while. The only sounds in the car were the cool air from the air conditioner and the radio playing stories about Jiangzhou’s 2022 top ten outstanding youths.
After a while, Zou Shuyang suddenly blurted out, “I…”
But after just one word, he froze. If it had been anyone else, Zou Shuyang wouldn’t have been this hesitant.
Deep down, Zou Shuyang was just an ordinary person, albeit one who happened to be a bit good-looking and smart. He could usually keep work and personal matters separate, but not completely.
He liked Jian Mengyan and wanted to marry her, so naturally, he cared about her feelings. He could have casually joked, “Hey, why wasn’t your statement in the case file for your homeroom teacher’s murder?” But he felt that asking that would imply he didn’t trust her.
Jian Mengyan, unable to stand Zou Shuyang’s hesitation, sat up straight and frowned. “Just spit it out already. You’re usually so decisive. Why are you dragging your feet today?”
After another moment of hesitation, and under her increasingly impatient gaze, Zou Shuyang finally asked, “About… the person who died today at noon… Do you remember saying you knew him?”
Jian Mengyan nodded. “He’s the one who killed my high school homeroom teacher. Why?”
Zou Shuyang continued, “I looked into your teacher’s murder case and reviewed the statements. Yours wasn’t there.”
“My statement?” Jian Mengyan’s expression shifted as she furrowed her brows in thought. “I vaguely remember… I had some kind of accident back then and was hospitalized for a while. I didn’t even take the college entrance exams.”
“Hospitalized?” Zou Shuyang asked. “What happened to you? Why were you in the hospital?”
Jian Mengyan tilted her head, thinking for a while, then shook her head. “I don’t remember. I think I hurt my head. My memories from high school are pretty hazy, like they’re covered in fog.”
“Is that so?” Zou Shuyang said quietly. “You never mentioned this before.”
“It’s not exactly something good to talk about. My mom thought the place wasn’t very lucky, so she sent me abroad before the summer break was even over. I didn’t want to go, but she insisted, saying my zodiac sign didn’t align with that place.” Jian Mengyan shrugged. “But look, I’ve been back for years now, and nothing’s wrong.”
She paused for a moment. “Anyway, you asked me about Teacher Shen. Is there something wrong with the case?”
Zou Shuyang shook his head, like a clam shutting itself tight, refusing to say anything more.
“Is it confidential?”
Zou Shuyang smiled apologetically, “Sorry.”
Jian Mengyan waved it off, not really caring. Seeing that they had arrived at her apartment building, she said, “Don’t bother picking me up tomorrow. I have a class reunion. I’ll head home by myself.”
Zou Shuyang stopped her as she was about to get out of the car. “Come on, it’s only right that I pick you up.”
Jian Mengyan playfully wagged a finger at him. “You’ve got a case to deal with right now. I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Hmm?”
Zou Shuyang gave her a long, disapproving look until she gave in, lightly pecking his cheek. “Alright, alright. Pick me up at ten at the Huayuan Hotel in South City.”
Only then was Zou Shuyang satisfied, letting her go. He watched her go upstairs and wave at him from the balcony before starting the car and heading home.
Jian Mengyan sighed as she watched him drive away. Turning back inside, she pulled out her high school graduation photo, which had been buried under clothes in her closet. She ran her fingers over the tiny faces in the picture, whispering, “Teacher…”
——
The next morning, Zou Shuyang had intended to head straight to the office, but for some reason, he found himself taking several detours until he ended up back at Cheng Hao’s death scene.
The bloodstains on the ground hadn’t been cleaned yet, and people walking by were carefully avoiding the area.
Zou Shuyang stood in front of the bloodstains, looking through the dark doorway of the building. Just as he was about to enter, an elderly man who had been there the day before stopped him.
The old man stared at Zou Shuyang for a moment before suddenly slapping his thigh and exclaiming loudly, “You’re that police officer from yesterday, aren’t you?”
Zou Shuyang nodded. “Yes, is there something you need?”
The old man clicked his tongue, his cloudy eyes twinkling. “I suppose it’s my duty to provide the police with some clues, isn’t it?”
“Do you know something?”
The old man glanced around suspiciously. When he noticed the camera at the entrance of the nearby supermarket, he pulled Zou Shuyang into the stairwell. “Come to my place. I’ll tell you everything.”
The old man lived on the second floor. When he opened the door, a strong odor of age, mixed with cigarette smoke and rot, filled the air.
The old man chuckled sheepishly. “Ah, I live alone and got used to it. The place is a bit messy, Officer. Don’t mind it.”
Zou Shuyang didn’t mind, though he carefully avoided stepping on the beer bottles and bread wrappers littering the floor. Following the old man’s lead, he sat down on a chair with a greasy cushion and pulled out his phone. “Sir, what you’re about to say may be used as testimony. Do you mind if I record it?”
The old man waved his hand, trying to appear friendly. “I don’t mind, don’t mind. Shall I start?”
Zou Shuyang nodded, activating the recording function. “What would you like to tell me?”
“The young man who jumped from the building yesterday,” the old man pointed upstairs, speaking in a hushed tone, “he wasn’t exactly a decent person.”
“Not a decent person?”
The old man nodded seriously, then added mysteriously, “What kind of decent person drives such an expensive car and lives in a place like this? And he never went out during the day. Only at night, just after it got dark, he’d drive off and wouldn’t come back until morning. What kind of decent person goes out to work at night?”
Zou Shuyang paused. “He went out every night?”
The old man thought for a moment, then shook his head, though he said, “Probably. I saw him a few times when I came back from my walks.”
Zou Shuyang nodded. “Anything else?”
The old man’s eyes darted around in his sockets before he clutched his chest and exclaimed, “Oh no, my heart! It’s acting up again. I need to take my medication.”
Instinctively, Zou Shuyang moved to help, but the old man waved him off with a cheerful smile. “No need, no need. I can manage on my own.”
The old man disappeared into another room, and there were rustling sounds for a while before he reappeared, holding a blister pack of pills and walking unsteadily. “There’s one more thing. A few days ago, I saw someone come to see that young man. Tall and skinny, very refined-looking. From the way he carried himself, he seemed rich, and his clothes looked expensive. He was carrying a big bag.”
The old man fished out a dirty glass from under the table, filled it with some water, and swallowed his pills. “Guess what was in that bag?”
“What?” Zou Shuyang’s interest was piqued, but he kept his voice neutral. “Money?”
The old man slapped his thigh, his face flushing with excitement. “Exactly! It was full of money! That bag was huge, and it was packed with cash.”
He gestured to show the size of the bag, a look of longing on his face. “I’ve never seen so much money in my life.”
Zou Shuyang frowned, sensing something off about the old man’s story. “Can I ask you something?”
The old man leaned back against the yellowing wall, still clutching his chest. “Ask away.”
“You live on the second floor, and he lived on the seventh. How did you see what was inside the bag?”
Zou Shuyang stared at the old man, noticing the involuntary twitch of his eye and the way his hand froze on his chest. The old man’s face seemed to scream, “I’m hiding something. Ask me more.”
Zou Shuyang, ever the tactful one, asked sympathetically, “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
The old man straightened up and turned to face Zou Shuyang, his voice taking on a desperate tone. “Well, since things have come to this, I might as well come clean. I just didn’t like that kid on the seventh floor. That guy had visited him once before, so the next time he came, I secretly followed him upstairs. I saw the kid open the door for him, and the guy opened the bag right there before he was let inside.”
“You weren’t spotted?”
The old man’s face turned red. “Hey, don’t underestimate me! I’ve still got some tricks up my sleeve.”
Zou Shuyang looked at the old man skeptically before giving a noncommittal “hmm” and dropping the matter. “Anything else to add?”
The old man thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Not really. That kid was a loner. He barely talked to anyone.”
Zou Shuyang nodded and stood up. “Thank you for the information. We’ll follow up on it.”
With that, he carefully navigated his way out of the apartment, avoiding the bottles and cans scattered on the floor. As he reached the door, he suddenly turned around, just in time to see the old man’s hand drop from his chest. Zou Shuyang frowned slightly. “If you remember anything else, feel free to contact me at the Major Crimes Unit. My last name is Zou, or you can call me.”
He pulled out a pen and wrote his phone number on a cigarette pack he picked up from the floor. “Here’s my number.”
“Ah, sure, sure.” the old man said, shuffling to see him off. As soon as the door closed, the old man slumped against it, clutching his chest and gasping for breath. “That was too close, too close. Good thing I’m clever.”
No sooner had he spoken than a tall, thin man stepped out from another room. He wore a baseball cap and a mask, making it impossible to see his face.
The moment the man appeared, the old man swallowed nervously, wiping his hands on his pants. “I-I did what you asked. Now, the money…”
The man let out a mocking laugh. “You’ve made him suspicious.”
“I—”
Before the old man could say more, the man continued, “But it doesn’t matter. I didn’t expect you to accomplish much anyway. The money is under your bed. Go get it.”
The old man hurried to the bedroom, pulling out a familiar-looking travel bag from under the bed. He unzipped it and stared at the pile of bright red bills inside, unable to suppress the grin spreading across his face.
Suddenly, the old man clutched his chest, his face contorting in pain.
“Medicine… medicine…”
The man calmly walked back into the room, casually tossing the blister pack of pills the old man had been taking earlier. “Looking for this? Sorry, but I can’t let you have it. After all, you were involved in what happened back then too.”
As the old man’s eyes filled with despair, the man bent down, zipped up the travel bag, and slung it over his shoulder. Looking down coldly at the dying old man, he said, “So now, it’s only right that you die.”
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