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When we arrived at the school, it was already close to noon. Today happened to be a weekday, and the students were attending their last class. I revealed my identity, and the Grade Director seemed accustomed to our presence, asking, "What brings you here this time?"
I replied, "Lu Xiangyang should be a student at your school, right?"
The Grade Director offered us seats and said, "Is this about Lu Xiangyang? Didn't you send someone to inquire already?"
I sat down and slowly said, "The previous person had other tasks; we're here to take over this matter. Please bring Wang Ang to us; we have many questions for him."
The Grade Director glanced at us and remarked, "It seems our two systems are quite similar; there are always unexpected situations."
As he spoke, the Grade Director called a teacher. Before long, a teacher entered with a tall, thin student. This student appeared to be around seventeen years old and seemed somewhat nervous upon seeing us.
The teacher introduced him, saying, "This is Wang Ang. In just this short week, quite a few people have come by; this child is almost depressed from it all."
Wang Ang sat down and looked at us, waiting for our questions.
I cleared my throat and began, "Wang Ang, just answer my questions; there's no need to be nervous or afraid. This isn't directly related to you, understand?"
Wang Ang crossed his arms in front of him and slowly replied, "You’re here to ask about Lu Xiangyang again, right? He did come to my house before, but he only stayed one night. We had a good relationship; he used to come over often to play games. So he came over to play games that time as well."
I nodded and asked, "When did he come to see you? When did he go missing?"
Wang Ang's gaze shifted sideways—a common reaction when someone is deep in thought—indicating he was genuinely considering his response rather than fabricating a lie. After a moment, he said, "Two weeks ago, specifically before twelve o'clock on Friday. He’s a boarding student and didn’t go home that Friday but came to my place instead."
Noticing our serious expressions, Wang Ang quickly added, "He used to come over often; his parents knew about it. I could tell they spoiled him, so they generally didn’t mind. After staying at my place for one night, he told me he wanted to go out for revenge."
"Revenge?" I looked at Wang Ang with excitement and asked, "Did he share any details about it? Who was he seeking revenge against?"
Wang Ang looked at me but shook his head. "I really don’t know; he didn’t go into detail. I just casually asked him about it once, and he mentioned it was for a woman. He didn’t elaborate much; it seemed pretty mysterious. After that, he left. I never expected he'd go missing now; his mother has asked me many times already, but I can’t get in touch with him."
I furrowed my brow and asked, "Does Lu Xiangyang have a girlfriend? Is it possible that this is related to her?"
Wang Ang shook his head and glanced at the Grade Director, appearing hesitant and somewhat troubled, as if he was weighing his words carefully.
I said, "Don't be nervous. Just say what you need to say without stuttering."
It seemed that Wang Ang had made up his mind, and finally spoke up, "He has a girlfriend, who is also from our school. But when he left, he didn’t mention her at all."
Upon hearing this, the Grade Director's expression darkened, visibly annoyed. "Wang Ang, why didn't you mention this sooner? We don't even know where Lu Xiangyang has gone, and now we find out this kid is already in a relationship?"
Wang Ang looked at the Grade Director with a submissive demeanor.
I waved my hand and asked, "What’s your girlfriend's name? Do you know anything about this situation?"
Wang Ang gently shook his head and replied, "I'm not sure about that. Maybe you should ask her. She's in the same class as us; her name is Li Xiaojuan. You could try asking her."
I glanced at the Grade Director and said, "You heard that."
The Grade Director shrugged and made another call to a teacher.
Before long, a girl walked into the office.
This girl had a trendy appearance; she had drawn an unusual design on her school uniform that looked quite bizarre. Seeing her like this, the Grade Director couldn't hold back any longer. "Li Xiaojuan, what’s going on with your uniform? Did the school give you permission to draw on it?"
Li Xiaojuan had a much more fiery personality compared to Wang Ang. She retorted, "Why can't I draw on my own uniform?"
The Grade Director seemed ready to say more, but I quickly raised my hand to stop him and instead asked, "Li Xiaojuan, don’t you know your boyfriend is missing?"
"I do," Li Xiaojuan said as she sat down next to Wang Ang. She continued slowly, "As his girlfriend, how could I not know? But when it comes to this situation, I’m also unclear. Lu Xiangyang told me he was going south for some business when he left, but he didn’t specify what it was for."
Zhao Mingkun looked at Li Xiaojuan and deliberately asked, "Aren't you worried he might be out looking for another girl?"
Li Xiaojuan snorted and said, "Does he dare? Besides, why should we women meddle in men's affairs? If he dares to go out and mess around, I won't let him off the hook."
Her words were powerful enough to turn the Grade Director's face pale with anger. He pointed at Li Xiaojuan but couldn't find his voice. A girl like her, who was so passionate and straightforward, was far more engaging than someone like Wang Ang, who couldn't even muster a decent response.
I continued, "So he didn't reveal anything to you at all?"
Li Xiaojuan thought for a moment and replied, "Not really. It's just about seeking revenge. As for the details, I didn't ask. But he mentioned that it might be a long time before he comes back. I thought he was spending time with his family, but now it seems he hasn't."
"However," Li Xiaojuan said slowly, "I think he seems to have something quite important going on."
Revenge—this word seemed to fit Lu Xiangyang perfectly. If it weren't for avenging his sister, I honestly wouldn't know what else Lu Xiangyang would be up to. Moreover, he seemed to keep his plans tightly under wraps; whether with his best friends or his girlfriend, he never disclosed what he intended to do.
"What kind of person is Lu Xiangyang usually?" I asked Li Xiaojuan. "Does he talk much?"
Li Xiaojuan shook her head. "He's the type who doesn't talk much. A real man should be like that—silent about trivial matters and decisive about important ones. Unlike some people who chatter away like sparrows outside, always sticking their noses into things."
Her words were clearly directed at the Grade Director, and Li Xiaojuan's personality was indeed unforgiving.
The Grade Director was so furious that his hair seemed to stand on end as he said, "Li Xiaojuan, I'll call your parents!"
Li Xiaojuan shrugged nonchalantly. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and said, "Oh right, about a month ago, he seemed to book a ticket on his phone. He used my phone to do it. If he's heading south, that must have been when he bought the ticket."
With that, Li Xiaojuan took out her phone.
The Grade Director pointed at her and exclaimed, "You brought your phone to school? Don't you know our school doesn't allow phones?"
Li Xiaojuan ignored him and opened the ticketing app. After entering Lu Xiangyang's ID number, the purchase record quickly appeared—it was indeed a train ticket to a southern station. However, it remained unclear whether Lu Xiangyang actually took that train. If we were police officers, we could investigate the records at the Railway Department, but now that was certainly out of reach.
Given how elusive the Murderer was and Lu Xiangyang's meticulous nature, it wasn't impossible for him to use a fake ticket as a cover. But did Lu Xiangyang really do this?
A seventeen-year-old boy, could he really do something we have never heard of? And who exactly killed Lu Zhiqiu seven years ago? It was impossible for all thirteen people to have participated in Lu Zhiqiu's death. If we could find the murderer from seven years ago before the murderer kills all thirteen, then perhaps this vengeful murderer would also be willing to let things go.
However, Zhao Mingkun and I had no way to leave Dongxing City to investigate this matter. If we could prove that Lu Xiangyang indeed went to Southern City, it would at least clarify that Lu Xiangyang was not the murderer. Sometimes, seeking the truth and trial and error are equally important.
But who should go?
Gu Chen! He was the first person that came to my mind. Gu Chen was now a jobless drifter; it would be perfect to assign this investigation to him.
"Then it's settled," I said, glancing at Li Xiaojuan. "If your boyfriend contacts you, make sure to let us know."
After thinking for a moment, I added, "I'll give you a QQ number."
I told her Gu Chen's QQ number.
"Got it. If there's nothing else, I'll head back," Li Xiaojuan nodded.
But as Li Xiaojuan turned around, I finally saw the pattern on the back of her school uniform. The front and back patterns finally formed a complete image; from the front, it looked like a beautiful woman's face, but from the back, it revealed the upper body of a woman. A long neck connected the head and upper body, wrapping around one side of her waist.
This suddenly reminded me of the giant face I had seen in Luo Ding; it seemed quite similar to this pattern.
"What is that design on your shirt?" I asked.
Li Xiaojuan frowned slightly and replied, "Oh, this? Lu Xiangyang drew this for me; he usually loves to study these strange things."
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