Back in the garden, Tong Yang gazed at the well-ordered chessboard and fell into silence.
It was nine o’clock in the evening. A gentle night breeze wafted through, carrying a hint of chill.
Time passed unknowingly until steady footsteps approached from behind.
Turning around, Tong Yang saw Ye Huai, now dressed in a black trench coat, walking towards her slowly.
“Is that what you wanted me to see?” Tong Yang asked, her tone as calm as still water.
Ye Huai approached her, his face as pale as paper but his posture erect, managing a strained smile, “Sorry, if I had told you directly, you probably wouldn’t have believed me.”
“What are your thoughts?” Tong Yang asked.
Ye Huai sat down next to the stone table, lips pursed, and after a few seconds of contemplation, he said, “My dad is sick.”
“He’s overbearing and tyrannical most of the time, forbidding anyone from opposing him, including my mom. But sometimes, he becomes a completely different person—gentle and generous. These changes seem to occur only at night or after I have a heart attack or get hurt. And only I have seen him sick.”
“So, what about it?” Tong Yang inquired.
“Do you have any thoughts on this?” Ye Huai asked.
“Do you want the truth?” Tong Yang prodded.
“Mm.”
Tong Yang picked up a white chess piece, polished from an unknown material, shiny and smooth, “All I saw was him taking your brother away.”
Ye Huai’s long lashes drooped as he muttered, “Is that so.”
Tong Yang scrutinized his expression, a trace of surprise in her voice, “Don’t you find it strange?”
“Mm.”
“You guessed it?”
“Guessed what?”
“They aren’t the same person.”
Ye Huai’s expression remained calm, “Pretty much. Even if sick, Ye Tianlin wouldn’t feel guilty towards me.”
“Yet you still…”
“It’s nothing. They look the same anyway.”
Tong Yang didn’t quite grasp his logic, but it wasn’t really her concern.
“I’ve told you my secret, now can you tell me if you know who he really is?”
Though Tong Yang wasn’t interested in his secret, it seemed harmless to tell him.
“Strictly speaking, they are Ye Tianlin, but he’s probably from a parallel world.”
Ye Huai’s eyes flickered slightly, “Parallel world?”
It seemed he had guessed that the drastically different ‘Ye Tianlin’ wasn’t the same man, but he hadn’t considered the possibility of a parallel world.
“Due to some factors, the ‘Ye Tianlin’ from the parallel world has come to our reality, so you see two with completely different temperaments. As for which one is the real him, I don’t know.”
“Does this have anything to do with Ye Wen’s disappearance?”
Tong Yang shrugged, “Not sure, but Ye Wen does indeed seem to get involved with the parallel world.”
Ye Huai pursed his lips, his expression solemn, seeming not to doubt Tong Yang’s words.
“Do you believe me?” Tong Yang couldn’t help being curious, surprised that he trusted her so easily.
“You have no reason to lie to me, and besides, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
“If it’s the ‘Ye Tianlin’ from the parallel world who kidnapped your brother, what will you do?” Tong Yang asked.
Ye Huai frowned slightly, looking somewhat lost, “I don’t know.”
Tong Yang said, “Just a heads up, because of personal experiences, I plan to kill all from the parallel world. So if he kidnapped your brother, out of professional ethics, I’d kill him outright.”
“What if killing one Ye Tianlin…” Ye Huai said unexpectedly.
“What?” Tong Yang was stunned.
Under the cold moonlight, Ye Huai’s eyes were deep like the ink-colored sky, faintly glimmering with light.
“What if killing one Ye Tianlin allows another to take his place?” Ye Huai’s tone was eerily calm, so much so that it didn’t seem like he was joking.
Tong Yang’s expression gradually cooled, “Are you serious?”
“Mm.” Ye Huai nodded.
Tong Yang had not seen this rebellious streak in Ye Huai, seemingly compliant yet radical enough to consider killing his biological father and letting someone from a parallel world replace him?
“Why would you think of doing that? Because he favors your brother?”
“Because he doesn’t deserve to be our family.”
Tong Yang stared at him for a few seconds, “Although I’m not exactly a good kid, my target has always been people from the parallel world. No matter how much money you offer, I won’t help you murder.”
Ye Huai seemed unsurprised by her response, nodding reluctantly, “Sorry if I scared you.”
After a moment’s consideration, Tong Yang decided to give him a friendly reminder, “Ye Huai, the purpose of the parallel world is to replace us in the real world, then dismantle our social structure and compete for resources. Maybe you’ve just been deceived by him.”
While there was no direct evidence suggesting that people from both worlds had similar characters, one couldn’t rule out the possibility they were pretending, gaining the trust of humans in the real world.
Ye Huai’s expression remained light, “Thanks for the reminder.”
Seeing he had no interest in extending the topic, Tong Yang didn’t waste more time. After all, it was Ye Huai’s own issue. As long as he didn’t stand in her way, she didn’t need to bother.
Back in her room, Tong Yang washed up and went to bed.
The next morning at eight o’clock, after breakfast and accompanied by the nanny, Tong Yang headed for the front hall.
“Madam, sir.”
At that moment, the Ye family of four was sitting in the living room.
Tong Yang greeted them as usual, even though Ye Huai had warned her that Ye Tianlin was a man of extreme patriarchal views, she didn’t plan to change the way she addressed them.
Ye Tianlin’s face visibly darkened as he unfolded the newspaper, completely ignoring her.
Tong Yang pretended he didn’t exist, exchanged a few pleasantries, and planned to take Ye Wen back to the room to study.
“Teacher Tong, what tea would you like? I’ll make some for you…”
“Shu Qin, just focus on your lessons, no need to bother making tea for them. Besides, the recent batch of tea is quite bitter, Teacher Tong might not be accustomed to it,” Ye Tianlin spoke indifferently.
Probably at the Ye house, it was always Ye Tianlin who made the decisions. Mrs. Ye forced a smile towards Tong Yang upon hearing this and said, “Then you guys go back to your room first, I’ll have someone bring some juice over later.”
Tong Yang acted as if she hadn’t heard Ye Tianlin’s words, bending her eyes into a smile towards Mrs. Ye, “Thank you, madam.”
“You’re welcome.”
Tong Yang led Ye Wen out of the living room and back to their room.
“Tong Yang, you really have guts, my dad’s face almost turned blue,” Ye Wen half-reclined on the sofa, a look of contentment on his face, “It’s so cool not having to go to school.”
Tong Yang gave him a look, “Don’t like school?”
“Of course! Who likes school!”
“I quite like it.”
“You’re sick…ow!” Ye Wen covered his head, “Why did you hit me?”
“How do you speak to a teacher? No respect.”
“Hmph!”
Tong Yang seemingly asked nonchalantly, “You don’t like school, have you told your dad?”
Ye Wen almost shook his head like a rattle-drum, “Impossible, if I tell my dad, he would definitely get angry.”
“So what if he gets angry? Will he hit you?”
At this, Ye Wen’s expression darkened, “He won’t hit me, but he will hit my mom and brother, and he will trouble the school’s teachers.”
He gloomily laid his head on the table, muttering, “Dad seems to be only really nice to me.”
Tong Yang picked up a notebook and flamboyantly wrote down some math problems.
“Because you are his only healthy son, you have to take care of him in his old age.”
“It would be nice if he could change a bit, be gentle to mom and brother too.”
Tong Yang wasn’t interested in his complaints and placed a full page of math problems in front of him, “Write, ask me if you really can’t do it.”
Ye Wen pouted, looked down at the notebook, and was immediately stunned, “Tong Yang! I’m only in the first grade! 2x+2=10, how would I know what x equals!”
“Isn’t your school providing elite education?”
“We haven’t even started learning multiplication!”
“Troublesome.”
Tong Yang impatiently rewrote a page of math addition and subtraction.
Time passed, and Ye Wen worked on his assignments while Tong Yang chatted with people in the Melon Eating chat group.
As noon approached, and news about Ye Wen remained unchanged, the conversation in the group took a curious turn.
[Since Ye Wen didn’t go to school on July 8th, why hasn’t the news changed at all?]
[So weird]
Learning for Money: [Maybe because it hasn’t reached the time he disappears, just wait a bit longer]
[Guess we can only do that]
[Didn’t expect Ye Huai to have met people from the parallel world already, maybe it’s the parallel world’s Ye Tianlin who kidnapped Ye Wen]
[I think it’s very likely]
Ye Tians are completely different? Ye Huai saw the parallel world’s Ye Tianlin as a gentle person, maybe he didn’t harm Ye Wen when taking him to the parallel world]
[Damn, I didn’t expect Ye Tianlin to be abusive! He even hit his own son who has a heart condition, what a beast!]
[Also because Sister Tong didn’t call him first, he slandered her in the shadows, what a narrow-minded person]
[Disgusting! I’m speechless]
Learning for Money: [What kind of person would think of killing their own biological father?]
[…]
[A person like you]
Learning for Money: [?]
[Didn’t you kill someone who looked like your mom?]
[Makes sense]
Learning for Money: [It’s different, I knew she wasn’t]
[Even if she was, Sister Tong, would you let her hit and curse you to death without fighting back?]
[What’s up? Ye Huai wants to kill Ye Tianlin?]
Tong Yang furrowed her brows; Ye Huai didn’t strike her as fragile as he appeared, so when he mentioned killing Ye Tianlin and having someone from the parallel world replace him, although it was surprising, it didn’t seem strange.
If Ye Huai felt no affection towards his dad and didn’t look like someone who would just suffer in silence, was it because of the occasional gentle ‘Ye Tianlin’?
Learning for Money: [He wants the parallel world’s Ye Tianlin to replace his real dad]
[Oh my…]
[Ah? Accepted it just like that?]
[Sheesh! Is he that mad?]
[But, if I were him, maybe I’d also think about having Ye Tianlin replaced]
[Unexpected but makes sense]
[What does Sister Tong plan to do?]
Learning for Money: [If I encounter him, I’ll kill him; if not, then it’s none of my business]
[Yeah, makes sense. Isn’t the parallel world like this because there are too many replaced people?]
[Ye Huai is so naive]
[Understandable, but still, gotta kill when it’s necessary]
At noon, the nanny reminded them to take a break and get ready for lunch.
Tong Yang ended the chat and checked the time, 11:30 AM, still an hour left until Ye Wen’s disappearance time.
Wondering what could be the trigger for his entrance into the parallel world.
Right at noon, they headed to the dining hall.
Mrs. Ye sat alone in the dining hall, quietly looking out the window, seemingly lost in thought.
“Mommy!” Ye Wen sprinted in.
Mrs. Ye snapped back to reality, managing a weak smile towards them, “You’ve worked hard, come, get ready to eat.”
Mrs. Ye said, “Tianlin hasn’t come back yet, Xiao Huai isn’t feeling well, he’s resting in his room, let’s eat.”
“Thank you, madam.”
“Call me Aunt.”
“Aunt, what’s your surname?”
“I’m surnamed Bai.”
“Aunt Bai, the weather is nice today, aren’t you hot wearing so much?” Tong Yang smiled.
Aunt Bai was dressed in a white shawl and black wide-leg pants, covering her skin tightly, only her neck exposed.
Hearing Tong Yang’s words, she unnaturally pulled her shawl to her chest and said, “I’m feeling a bit unwell, let’s eat first.”
Seeing this, Tong Yang didn’t pry further and nodded.
After lunch, Ye Wen went back to his room to take a nap, while Tong Yang made an excuse to stay in his room.
Watching the time on her phone, it had passed the time Ye Wen was reported missing in the original news, but nothing had happened during this period, and she hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
Ye Wen was sound asleep in bed, and Tong Yang sat on the balcony, her gaze never leaving him.
As time continued to change, still no incidents occurred, as peaceful as an ordinary afternoon.
Yet, after asking others in the Melon Eating group, the news still hadn’t changed; Ye Wen’s disappearance time remained July 8th, 12:25 PM.
Tong Yang was at a loss but could only wait and see what happens.
As evening approached, they finished tutoring and headed to the living room.
Aunt Bai and the previously absent Ye Huai sat in the living room.
Ye Huai looked up, his eyes meeting Tong Yang’s in the air, an unspoken understanding between them.
“Teacher Tong, stay for dinner before you go, I’ll have the driver take you home.”
This morning, Aunt Bai had asked why, and Tong Yang said it was because she only had time today, so she had Ye Wen stay home. Based on the morning’s pretext, after tutoring, Tong Yang should leave.
Tong Yang couldn’t contradict her own words, nor could she shamelessly continue to stay here, and since nothing had happened today, perhaps Ye Huai already thought of her as a liar.
“Okay, thank you, Aunt.”
Ye Tianlin was out for the evening and hadn’t come home yet.
After dinner, Ye Huai used the excuse of sending Tong Yang off, and they both left the dining hall.
“How did it go?” Ye Huai asked.
“Nothing happened,” Tong Yang replied.
Ye Huai nodded, “Maybe it really has to do with the school.”
“Don’t you think I might be deceiving you?”
Ye Huai glanced at her, neither confirming nor denying, skillfully avoiding the question, “I’ll try to keep Ye Wen home during this time, or change his school, though it’s unlikely, Ye Tianlin won’t agree to let him leave Hailin International School.”
Tong Yang nodded, “Alright, I was supposed to refund you 90,000 in cash earlier.”
Ye Huai declined, “No hurry, I’ll still contact you later.”
“Okay, contact me anytime if there’s an issue.”
“Mm.”
As they reached the villa’s gate, Ye Huai suddenly turned his head to look at her, “Do you know what the difference is between people from the parallel world and our world?”
The young man’s eyelids drooped, the light casting his skin pale as glaze, his eyes shadowed, indecipherable, and foggy like a great mystery.
Tong Yang said, “I don’t know.”
The young man nodded, “I believe you, take care on your way.”
Tong Yang thanked him, got into the van she arrived in, and watched in the rearview mirror as the young man’s silhouette remained standing there.
Rich people are really hard to understand.
After this, she no longer wanted to meddle in the affairs of the wealthy. It would be easier to deal with seven or eight murderers; at least there wouldn’t be so many complications.
Of course, exceptions could be made if the money was good.
This is ridiculous; everyone in that family is sick from top to bottom.
Especially Ye Huai, who seemed even more dangerous and unpredictable than Ye Tianlin.
Returning to school, Tong Yang’s life returned to normal over the next few days, occasionally being asked about the Ye family in the group chat. Future news remained unchanged.
Tong Yang continued her routine visits to the gym and called Tong Le every evening, sometimes Chu Shiyu would also inquire.
During this period, Ye Huai contacted her once, mentioning that Ye Wen wouldn’t need to go to school until next Monday.
It seemed that in this incident, time wasn’t important. The critical factor was the location, Hailin International School. Perhaps Ye Wen’s transfer away could completely prevent it.
Despite this, Tong Yang still felt an unusual vibe surrounding this case.
On July 15th, the third Monday of the month, Tong Yang returned to her dorm after her morning run and found a missed call and a text message on her phone.
Both the call and the message were from Ye Huai.
Probably after dialing her number and getting no answer, he had sent a text.
Ye Huai: [Ye Wen went back to school]
Seeing the message, Tong Yang frowned.
[Got it]
Besides that, there wasn’t much Tong Yang could do.
After all, she couldn’t persuade Ye Tianlin, nor could she enter Hailin International School to personally protect Ye Wen. There was no need to go to such lengths.
Ye Huai: [I’ve arranged a bodyguard, no matter where he goes, someone will follow]
Tong Yang: [Okay, I got it]
Tong Yang exited the messaging app and entered the social media platform to ask the Melon Eating group if there had been any changes in the news about Ye Wen’s disappearance. The result was still the same.
Around noon, Tong Yang’s phone started chiming.
[It changed! The news finally changed!]
[On July 15th, 2024, at 12:46 PM, the son of Bai Ma Group’s chairman Ye Tianlin mysteriously disappeared!]
[I flipped through the news before, everything is the same except for the disappearance time]
[Sister Tong, do you want to see the surveillance footage?]
Learning for Money: [Send it over]
Not long after, a surveillance video was posted in the group, which Tong Yang opened.
At 12:46 PM, during the time students usually go to eat, Ye Wen was walking alone in the corridor. Suddenly, he turned his head to look diagonally behind him and then jogged towards the glass corridor connecting the canteen and the teaching building.
At that moment, the surveillance footage shook and immediately switched to the other end of the glass corridor, the entrance to the teaching building.
One second, two seconds, three seconds… a minute, two minutes, until the surveillance footage ended, Ye Wen, who had entered the glass corridor, never reappeared.
Tong Yang furrowed her brows and rewound the video to the beginning, frame by frame checking the footage.
At 12:44 PM and 11 seconds, Ye Wen, wearing a yellow school uniform, looked back towards the teaching building; at 12:44 PM and 14 seconds, just three seconds later, Ye Wen turned and walked towards the teaching building; at 12:45 PM and 33 seconds, Ye Wen walked onto the glass corridor connecting the canteen and the teaching building.
From the side view of the corridor suspended in the air, it seemed to be on the third or fourth floor, and the railing was much higher than Ye Wen.
At 12:45 PM and 58 seconds, Ye Wen’s figure completely disappeared from the surveillance footage.
Then the view switched to the glass corridor connecting to the teaching building on this end, and in this corridor, Ye Wen never appeared again.
The glass corridor was suspended in mid-air, with only two entrances and exits, one from the canteen and the other from the teaching building, both of which had surveillance installed because there were only these two entrances and exits.
Learning for Money: [How long is the corridor?]
[Twenty-one meters]
[There are no other entrances on the glass corridor, Ye Wen disappeared midway]
[A thirty thousand tuition international school doesn’t even have surveillance in the corridor, that’s outrageous]
[I guess it’s understandable, only two entrances, railings nearly two meters high, indeed no place to go]
Tong Yang repeatedly dragged the timeline to check the footage of Ye Wen looking back during lunchtime; what did he see that made him deliberately return to the teaching building?
Moreover, didn’t Ye Huai arrange for a bodyguard to closely protect him? Why was there no sign of a bodyguard in the video?
As Tong Yang pondered, a call came in.
Looking at the name flashing on the screen, Tong Yang pursed her lips and answered the call.
“Your brother is missing?”
“Ye Wen is missing.”
Both said almost in unison.
“Where are you?” Ye Huai asked.
“I’m at school, who noticed he was missing?”
“The bodyguard,” Ye Huai replied.
After saying this, Ye Huai paused for two or three seconds, seemingly giving Tong Yang time to speak.
In that moment, Tong Yang understood the purpose of his pause.
Ye Huai had become suspicious of her source of information and was trying to bait her into revealing any discrepancies.
Because Ye Huai had previously mentioned that he would keep a bodyguard close to protect him, but Ye Wen had still disappeared.
Now, Ye Huai hadn’t mentioned any details related to the disappearance, and any slight misstep from Tong Yang could give her away.
As for the divination-like prediction Tong Yang once made in jest, neither Ye Huai nor she took it seriously.
Although Tong Yang didn’t mind telling him, since the Melon Eating group’s messages were only visible to her, Ye Huai’s intelligence and scheming made her feel very dangerous. Until she was sure he had no ill intentions towards her, Tong Yang wouldn’t reveal any more information to him.
This wasn’t the old district of Yaocheng, but the capital filled with unknown dangers; she had to remain vigilant at all times.
“What exactly happened?” Tong Yang skirted his trap and threw the question back.
Ye Huai, knowing when to stop, didn’t probe further and followed her lead, “Ye Wen left his exercise books at home, and since Ye Tianlin happened to be free, he personally went to deliver them. Because no one can enter or exit the school during class time, the bodyguard went to the gate to pick them up for him.”
Without waiting for Tong Yang to ask, Ye Huai continued, “Ye Wen disappeared on a corridor, monitored on both ends, he went in and then was gone.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Mm, reported it right after it happened.”
“What did the police say?”
“I’m not sure, I haven’t reached the school yet.”
Tong Yang pondered, “Is there anything I need to do?”
The other end of the phone was silent for a long time before asking, “Can you really save him?”
Tong Yang said, “The premise is he must be alive.”
“I understand.”
Tong Yang asked again, “Do you need my help now?”
Ye Huai said, “No need, the police need to conduct their investigation, involving you now might lead Ye Tianlin to suspect you, making it hard to extricate yourself.”
Tong Yang was surprised, “Aren’t you afraid your brother might die?”
Ye Huai’s tone was flat, “Then that’s his bad luck, you’ve already tried to save him, no need to get yourself into trouble.”
“…Okay.”
“A suitable time, I’ll contact you again.”
After hanging up, Tong Yang sat at her desk, reopening the surveillance footage, her mind unconsciously replaying her conversation with Ye Huai. No wonder the group later suspected him of having a hand in Ye Wen’s disappearance, Ye Tianlin even hospitalized him for being too calm.
Ye Huai was calm throughout their conversation, showing no emotional fluctuations, the second sentence was still probing her, speaking clearly and logically, and he never once asked how to save his brother, even considering her situation to avoid getting her into trouble.
However, if she were to bring Ye Wen back now, considering the tutoring job Ye Huai recommended to her a week ago, Ye Tianlin might suspect him.
If it weren’t for knowing the brothers were close, Tong Yang might even think Ye Huai didn’t really want to save his brother.
His calmness was almost inhuman.
Less than an hour later, the news of Bai Ma Group Chairman’s younger son Ye Wen’s disappearance was on the hot search.
In a public place, a school with hundreds of students, and with the police involved, it wasn’t easy to keep things under wraps.
Tong Yang could do little to help at the moment, so she could only wait in her dorm to see how far the situation would develop, all the while thinking about how to enter the parallel world, though she felt she needed to be at Hailin International School to know more.
“Open Weibo, check the hot search… ah??”
“The little son of Bai Ma Group’s chairman disappeared??”
“I get it, it looks like kidnapping for ransom or vicious business competition”
“Am I the only one focusing on the tuition of thirty thousand a year?”
“Lol, thirty thousand a year and even human traffickers can’t be stopped? Isn’t Ye Dong going to sue them into bankruptcy?”
“Emmm give me thirty thousand, I could protect the young master twenty-four hours a day.”
“Instant karma! Like father, like son! Ye Tianlin is definitely not a good thing.”
“I don’t know whether Ye Tianlin is a good thing or not, but you shouldn’t take pleasure in a child’s misfortune.”
“This situation shouldn’t lead to a direct ransom, I wonder how much the kidnappers want.”
…
People on Weibo were very interested in the spectacle, likely not yet aware of the severity of the issue, and many netizens were calling for the police to issue a statement soon to clarify the situation.
As the situation fermented into the evening, sporadic accounts claiming to be family members of students from Hailin International School began to leak information.
“Eat melons cautiously, suspected supernatural phenomenon, got a notification this morning to pick my sister up from Hailin, she was not far from the incident, even the police came to ask her questions.”
“Not reliable, I heard from the canteen aunt that the Ye family’s younger son disappeared out of thin air, leaving no traces.”
“Police are still investigating, searched the school inside and out, checked the previous day’s surveillance for any intruders, still clueless.”
“You guys know the Ye family has an older son, right? Heard he has a heart condition, Ye family’s younger son mysteriously took a leave last week because of him, this week they even arranged a bodyguard for him, as if they knew in advance his brother would disappear.”
“(Cover face)Lucky to have seen them, Ye Tianlin is extremely double standard towards his two sons, very patriarchal.”
“As an eyewitness, the morning Ye family’s older son got the news he immediately rushed to the school, barely stood still before his old man slapped him, probably used to it by now, any other heart patient would have been tormented to death by Ye Tianlin.”
“Did you guys just find out Ye Tianlin is abusive?”
…
Tong Yang paused when she read this.
Ye Huai being suspected was within her expectations, but the point about Ye Tianlin’s domestic violence, had something similar happened before?
Tong Yang exited Weibo and entered the browser, searching for keywords “Ye Tianlin domestic violence”, news popped up intermittently, headlines showing Aunt Bai attending an event with him, visible bruises on her arm.
She wanted to click to read more, but the news had been deleted, only the headline and a blurry photo remained.
Entering Weibo again and searching, there was almost nothing about Ye Tianlin’s domestic violence, it seems it was managed by Bai Ma Group, after all, it wasn’t a positive piece of news.
But through Ye Wen’s words and Aunt Bai’s out-of-season clothing, probably those words held some truth.
And not just Ye Huai was affected, Aunt Bai too.
Aunt Bai and Ye Tianlin were childhood sweethearts, probably of similar backgrounds, why did she always endure this?
Even if Ye Huai did it because of his occasionally gentle father, then what about Aunt Bai?
The news of Ye Wen’s disappearance caused a big stir, being the little lord of Bai Ma Group, and disappearing in such a mysterious way, nearly the whole country was reporting it.
With widespread media attention, the police were under great pressure, and more details of the disappearance case were exposed, causing even more sensational public discussions.
Some thought it was man-made, just that the method was extremely clever, unprecedented; others thought it was a supernatural event, which was termed “ghostly incidents”.
Whether it was a supernatural incident or a criminal method that was incredibly sophisticated, it was bound to provoke a large-scale debate.
On July 18th, three days after Ye Wen’s disappearance, the police issued a statement.
The surveillance at Hailin International School had been tampered with, the police suspected it was the work of the perpetrator, the motive was still unclear, and the investigation continued.
As soon as the statement was released, it caused an uproar, targeting Hailin International School with a barrage of criticism,
During this time, Tong Yang didn’t receive any calls from Ye Huai.
After returning to her dorm from tutoring, Tong Yang habitually checked Weibo’s messages, seeing the police’s statement, she wasn’t surprised.
This incident had become too big, whether it was natural or supernatural, once it caused a huge reaction, it would inevitably lead to chaos and force, even causing some people to panic, so whether true or not, the official had to first calm everyone’s emotions.
But from the surveillance video sent out in the Melon Eating group, this point would probably be overturned soon.
Three days passed, and Ye Huai hadn’t contacted her, not knowing what he meant by “suitable time”, if it dragged on, maybe Ye Wen really might die.
Tong Yang as usual called Tong Le, on the ninth of July he and Yang Lin would be on holiday, but his ID hadn’t been processed, probably mid-August before he could come to the capital.
He had heard about this incident from somewhere, worried that Tong Yang might also disappear without a trace.
After calming Tong Le down, Chu Shiyu called to inquire, and Tong Yang told her some inside information.
As for the people of 1209, Tong Yang didn’t want to cause extra trouble, so she didn’t tell them.
On the evening of the 18th, she finally received a call from Ye Huai.
“Hello.”
The voice on the other end was weary, probably tormented enough over these three days.
Tong Yang asked, “What’s up with the police statement?”
Ye Huai’s voice was grave, “Some people are stirring up trouble by promoting cults, the situation will only get worse if not controlled.”
“How are things?”
Ye Huai said, “The police have been playing the surveillance frame by frame and haven’t found any clues, although I don’t want to admit it, it indeed seems impossible to be man-made, now even the 749 Bureau has been alerted.”
“749 Bureau?” Tong Yang questioned.
“A supernatural research institute.”
A supernatural research institute?
Tong Yang was taken aback, sensing a tremendous opportunity!
As long as she could get in touch with the 749 Bureau, she wouldn’t have to worry about the police treating her like a lunatic! Maybe she could even hand over the matter of the parallel world to the national authorities!
Ye Huai continued, “The police might contact you tomorrow, don’t worry, just briefly tell them about your experiences in the old district, as for how much to reveal, you should know the limit, then they will let you participate. As for how we met, I told the police you approached me and gave me your contact information, don’t slip up.”
Tong Yang wasn’t bothered by the details, simply responding, “Okay.”
After a pause, she asked, “Aren’t you afraid Ye Wen might really die?”
Ye Huai hesitated for a moment, then said, “That Ye Tianlin said, they won’t kill him for now.”
“They?” Tong Yang exclaimed.
“Not clear who it refers to.”
Ye Huai was unclear, but Tong Yang was all too aware.
“They” naturally referred to those from the parallel world, eyeing them greedily.
At the same time, Tong Yang felt a bit puzzled.
Unclear whether Ye Huai had discovered the parallel world’s Ye Tianlin because of her, or if he already knew, also unclear if Ye Huai living in a sanatorium two years later knew.
Maybe two years later, Ye Huai always knew Ye Wen was alive in the parallel world?
After a few words, Ye Huai hung up the phone.
Regarding the interrogation expected tomorrow, Tong Yang didn’t feel the slightest nervousness, staying at the gym until nine before returning to the dorm.
During her time at school, she had filled out her college application, picking a major randomly, because her situation was quite special, she could change it after school started.
During this period, she took the time to visit Yang Lin and Chu Shiyu’s grandmother and had dinner with her twice.
The next day, Tong Yang got up at six for a morning run, ate breakfast outside at seven-thirty, then returned to the dorm to shower.
After this period of training, her body was much sturdier than before, her muscles not obvious, but her strength was clearly greater.
She searched for a math web class from a Peking University teacher and watched until ten o’clock, at which time, she received a call from a local number in the capital.
“Hello, is this Tong Yang? I’m from the Capital Shuang Bai District Police Station, do you have time now? We’d like to talk to you about something.”
Tong Yang countered, “Why should I believe you?”
“You can call the Shuang Bai District Police Station to confirm.”
“Okay, I’ll call.”
After saying this, Tong Yang swiftly hung up the phone, found the official number of Shuang Bai District Police Station, and after being transferred, the familiar voice came through.
“Tong Yang, do you believe us now?”
Tong Yang: “…”
Although she had believed them from the start, she had to play her part.
“Sorry, what do you need me to do?”
“You really hung up the phone fast, we’re just outside the west gate of Peking University, just come out.”
“Okay, please wait.”
Tong Yang quickly changed her clothes and went out, meeting a male and a female police officer at the gate of Peking University.
“Hello, Officer, hello, Miss Officer,” Tong Yang greeted them as she approached.
The female officer chuckled, “Little sister, you’re quite the sweet-talker.”
The male officer, struggling not to roll his eyes, said, “My surname is Wan, hers is Lin.”
Tong Yang obediently nodded, “Officer Wan, Officer Lin.”
These two officers looked quite young, probably in their late twenties.
She had no direct connection with Ye Wen’s disappearance, probably just a formality because she had been in contact with Ye Wen before the incident.
“Let’s go, find a quiet place to talk.”
“Okay.”
Tong Yang followed them into a nearby cafe, ordered a few coffees, and entered a private room.
“How did you meet Ye Huai?” Officer Lin asked with a smile.
Although her face was smiling, the question carried an undeniable tone, not asking if she “knew Ye Huai” but “how she met Ye Huai”, as if certain she was involved in the Ye family’s affairs.
“On the street, bumped into him, asked for his contact information but he wouldn’t give it, so I gave him mine.”
Officer Lin nodded, “I’ve seen your news, Northwang Province’s science top scorer, why did you come to the capital right after graduation?”
Tong Yang’s expression hesitated, mixed with a trace of unnaturalness.
Officer Wan’s voice became stern, “You’d better tell the truth!”
Tong Yang was startled and explained, “I used to live in a house allocated by the old water plant, it’s about to be demolished, I have nowhere to live, so I left my brother with a friend and moved out, so…”
Officer Lin glared at him, then softly asked Tong Yang, “Then what were you doing in Shuang Bai District last week? You shouldn’t have any relatives or friends here, right?”
Officer Wan, seeing Tong Yang still hesitant, said sternly, “Tong Yang, this is serious, you can’t hide anything.”
“I heard that there are a lot of students looking for tutors there, the hourly wage is particularly high, had nothing else to do, so I thought I’d try my luck. Just so happened Ye Huai and his brother were buying cakes on the roadside, so I gave him my contact information.”
“Why did you ask for Ye Wen not to go to school the next day?”
Tong Yang’s expression was complex, “Actually, it wasn’t me who asked, Ye Wen doesn’t like school, he said if I didn’t tell his dad that, he would immediately send me away.”
Tong Yang effortlessly shifted the blame onto the missing Ye Wen, after all, already “dead without proof.”
Officer Lin seemed thoughtful and nodded, “That’s indeed possible.”
“Ye Huai said the same, Ye Wen himself didn’t want to go to school.”
Tong Yang pursed her lips, not expecting them to be birds of a feather.
Seeing they hadn’t brought up Ye Wen’s disappearance yet, Tong Yang took the initiative to ask, “Officer Lin, did Ye Wen really vanish into thin air?”
The two officers exchanged glances, subtly asking, “What? Do you have any thoughts?”
“Actually, my brother also disappeared for two days…”
