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Gu Chen's Father seemed somewhat evasive, caught in a complex mix of wanting to speak yet holding back. He sighed before finally addressing me, "This matter, well, Gu Chen knows about it, but not in great detail. It's considered a disgrace in our village, and generally, people here prefer not to discuss it with outsiders."
As we walked toward Gu Zhi's home, Gu Chen's Father continued slowly, "The person suspected by Gu Zhi is named Gao Dafu. He teaches at the local school. There aren't many villages around here, and there are only two classes for each grade, with about twenty students in each class."
"Now, Teacher Gao," Gu Chen's Father scratched his head. "Before this incident occurred, he was always a respected teacher. Gao Dafu is tall and thin, and he used to be quite popular with the village girls. The Principal's Daughter also liked him; she graduated from a prestigious university and is considered quite educated."
After a pause, Gu Chen's Father continued, "Gao Dafu is from our village. There’s a girl named Hu Ningning who studies at the town school. Her parents went to work when she was born, so she has been living with her grandparents."
I nodded as we arrived at the entrance of Gu Zhi's house.
Gu Chen's Father reached through the gate to open it, clearly familiar with the process. As he opened the door, he called out slowly, "Brother, are you there? Brother, Gu Chen is back."
We followed Gu Chen's Father into the yard. To the north of us were three rooms. He pushed open the door to the main room and entered. We followed him inside; the main room was a hall with two side rooms on either side. After calling out several times without response, he lifted the curtain of the west side room and stepped inside.
Against the wall was a double bed where a woman lay wrapped in blankets. Hearing the noise, she struggled to sit up. She appeared to be in her twenties but looked haggard and weak, as if she had no strength left.
"Uncle, you’re here," the woman said as she leaned against the headboard. "Gu Chen is back too. Who is this?"
Gu Chen's Father replied, "Don’t move around too much; just lie down. This is Gu Chen’s colleague who has come back to help investigate Gu Zhi’s case. Why is it just you at home? Where’s Gu Zhi? Where’s his father?"
The woman spoke slowly, "He went over to cause trouble at Gao’s place again. I’m sure Gu Zhi is being manipulated by him; I don’t know and don’t want to know. Gu Chen, you must find out the truth! If it really was Gao who did this, I will make sure he pays dearly for it."
Gu Chen nodded and said gently, "Sister-in-law, you rest now; we’ll go find my brother. Don’t worry; we will get to the bottom of this."
"Alright." The woman nodded gently and said slowly, "Then your brother and I will wait for your news. We only have this one daughter, and we work so hard to earn money just to provide Hui'er with a good environment. She died so inexplicably; I can't swallow this anger!"
"Okay." Gu Chen nodded heavily.
After leaving Gu Zhi's home, none of us spoke. Gu Chen's sister-in-law was probably around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, which means she had her children when she was about twenty. In the countryside, that's not considered too early.
"What's next?" After walking for a while, I asked, "What happened with Teacher Gao?"
Gu Chen's father nodded and said, "Earlier, Teacher Gao was responsible for picking up and dropping off Hu Ningning from school. At that time, Hu Ningning was seven years old, in first grade, and had been picked up for about a year. Something happened that is really hard to accept."
With that, Gu Chen's father looked at me with a strange expression, paused for a moment, and continued, "This matter is indeed difficult to speak of. One time, Hu Ningning came home and told her grandparents that Teacher Gao had... touched her down there."
"What?" I could hardly believe my ears.
Gu Chen's father sighed heavily, his tone somewhat helpless. "At my age, I still feel embarrassed discussing these things. One time after Hu Ningning came home, she said Teacher Gao had touched her down there. I think you can guess what happened. A seven or eight-year-old girl, and Teacher Gao is already in his twenties!"
"What happened then? Her grandparents must have been furious, but Teacher Gao claimed he never did such a thing. The two sides ended up calling the police." Gu Chen's father continued, "Afterward, Hu Ningning went to the police station for an examination. I'm not too clear on the terminology, but apparently there was some tearing down there."
I nodded to indicate for Gu Chen's father to continue.
Gu Chen's father said, "But when the police conducted DNA tests, they didn't find any DNA from Teacher Gao. They investigated further but couldn't find any evidence of him committing the act. When they questioned Hu Ningning about what happened, Gu Hui came forward to testify."
"Gu Hui?" I asked. "How old was she at that time?"
"Four years old," Gu Chen's Father said. "But I'm not quite sure how Gu Hui found out. Anyway, Gu Hui saw Teacher Gao putting something related to urination inside; it was at Teacher Gao's house. At that time, this incident stirred up quite a commotion in the village, but there was no evidence, so they couldn't arrest Teacher Gao."
I tugged at my hair and slowly said, "No evidence?"
"Yes," Gu Chen's Father replied. "You know how things are in the village; nothing stays hidden for long. Almost everyone in the village knew about this incident, but the police couldn't make an arrest due to insufficient evidence. The villagers all thought Teacher Gao was educated and knew how to commit a crime without getting caught by the police."
The road was indeed muddy, especially as it got darker. I had no idea what the ground was like beneath my feet, and after walking for a while, I felt like I could fall face-first into the mud at any moment.
Gu Chen's Father continued, "You're just an eight-year-old kid, and she's only four; what do they understand? Anyway, the villagers still think Teacher Gao is... well..."
"Lecherous," I interjected.
"Exactly!" Gu Chen's Father exclaimed. "That's pretty much what they mean. The villagers all believe that Teacher Gao did something wrong. After the news spread, Teacher Gao naturally couldn't stay at school anymore. Teacher Gao wanted to leave the village, but the villagers wouldn't allow it."
I shook my head and asked, "What do you mean by 'the villagers wouldn't allow it'?"
Gu Chen's Father explained, "Of course, Hu Ningning's parents wouldn't allow it. With something like this happening, how could they let Teacher Gao leave? What if evidence turned up later?"
I looked at Gu Chen and slowly said, "So this is house arrest?"
Gu Chen shook his head and replied, "I only heard bits and pieces from others. I know that Teacher Gao was expelled from school for molesting a girl, but I don't know much else."
Gu Chen's Father continued, "Basically, they wouldn't let Teacher Gao leave. Teacher Gao also swore an oath that she wouldn't leave the village until her innocence was proven. After this incident, Teacher Gao stayed holed up at home and never stepped outside."
I nodded, signaling Gu Chen's Father to continue.
"It's been about a year now," he said. "At first, some villagers kept an eye on Teacher Gao, but eventually, they lost interest. Hu Ningning's family probably stopped pursuing the matter too. After a while, it felt like it just faded away. After all, Hu Ningning wasn't seriously harmed; kids have short memories and likely forgot about it."
"Then why is Gu Hui's death raising suspicions?" I asked.
Gu Chen's Father replied slowly, "In the beginning, people were skeptical about this whole thing. Teacher Gao is quite charming, and many girls liked her; it seemed unlikely she would target a seven-year-old girl. But Gu Hui witnessed it, which makes things a bit strange."
"Think about it—Gu Hui was only four at the time and had no understanding of such matters. Hu Ningning, being seven, might have grasped a little of it, but Gu Hui knew nothing. She had no reason to lie. Gu Zhi believes that Teacher Gao harbored resentment; after all, he was a promising young man whose life was ruined by an innocent girl."
"So Gu Zhi suspects that Teacher Gao sought revenge on Gu Hui and led her into this trap?" I inquired.
"Exactly," Gu Chen's Father confirmed. "In our village, the only person capable of such actions would be Teacher Gao. Look at how the police have found no leads this time, just like a year ago. During that heavy rain, everyone stayed indoors, so no one noticed if Teacher Gao went out."
I scratched my head. If that were the case, Gu Zhi's suspicion of Teacher Gao as the murderer seemed somewhat unfounded. However, with his daughter’s mysterious death weighing heavily on him, Gu Zhi likely couldn't remain calm and had already concluded that Teacher Gao was the murderer.
But whether Teacher Gao truly was the murderer or if she had done anything a year ago remained uncertain.
Everything still depended on our investigation before we could draw any conclusions.
Yet now, I felt an almost impatient desire to meet this Teacher Gao and see what kind of person she really was.
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