Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
As I was searching, I found nothing on Teacher Gao's computer.
When we stepped out of the house, the villagers had already moved the body to a side room. Gu Chen's Father was waiting for us in the yard. Upon seeing us, he said, "Teacher Gao has been placed in the side room. What should we do next?"
I glanced at Gu Chen's Father and then at Teacher Gao's body still lying in the side room. At that moment, a white cloth had been draped over him, covering his bloody head.
"What about Teacher Gao's family?" I asked Gu Chen's Father.
He shook his head and replied, "What family does Teacher Gao have left? After that incident a year ago, how could his parents stay in the village? They left a year ago and we don't know where they went. We have no way to contact them."
"Does he have any contact information on his phone?" I inquired.
Gu Chen's Father said, "We didn't see a phone when we carried the body. I checked his pockets too, but there was nothing."
I slowly said, "So it seems no one is coming to collect the body anytime soon. According to your village customs, let's wait until the road is better and let the police take the body to the funeral home. Then lock up Teacher Gao's house to prevent any children from wandering in and getting hurt. After that, take us to Hu Ningning's house."
Gu Chen's Father nodded and relayed my instructions to a few villagers before leading us towards Hu Ningning's grandmother's house.
The sky was growing darker, and dust filled the air. The distant streetlights looked like lighthouses, illuminating only nearby areas while everything else appeared hazy. The air felt heavy, making it hard to breathe. Although it was around eight o'clock at night, the heat made us sweat profusely.
As Gu Chen's Father guided us forward, he said slowly, "Hu Ningning's grandmother is home, but Hu Ningning isn't here. The village doesn't have money to repair the roads; this ground is just too difficult to walk on. Hu Ningning should be staying at school now."
I scratched my head and asked, "What about Hu Ningning's parents?"
Gu Chen's Father waved his hand dismissively and replied, "They're still working outside. A few months after that incident, Hu Ningning’s mother couldn’t stay home anymore. Besides, Hu Ningning seems not to understand such matters; she probably thinks it's just a game. To her, this incident is just a minor episode in her childhood; her family can't keep bringing it up."
I nodded. Indeed, for an eight-year-old girl, it would be best if she could forget this incident; otherwise, the psychological shadow would follow her for a lifetime. Most people who exhibit symptoms of mental illness often have roots in traumatic experiences from their childhood, buried deep within their subconscious. Thus, the old saying that you can see a child's future at three and their character at seven holds true.
After walking for a while, Gu Chen's Father pointed to a gate and said, "That's Hu Ningning's grandparents' house. Let's go."
With that, Gu Chen's Father stepped forward and knocked forcefully on the gate, shouting, "Old Hu! Old Hu! Open up!"
After a few knocks, we heard some commotion from inside the yard, and moments later, the gate swung open. An old man in his fifties or sixties emerged, a towel draped over his head. He looked at the three of us and slowly said, "Oh, Gu Lao Er, have you figured out your family’s situation? I think it was that Gao Dafu who caused it."
Gu Chen's Father shook his head helplessly and sighed, "The matter hasn't been clarified yet; Teacher Gao is already dead."
"Dead!" Old Hu slapped his thigh and exclaimed joyfully, "That's great! That's great! I've wanted to kill him for a year now. Come in and tell me how that bastard died!"
"Gu Chen is back too? And this young officer as well—come in, come in!" Old Hu called as he walked back inside. "Old partner! Old partner! That son of a dog is dead! The one with the surname Gao is dead!"
We followed Old Hu into the house.
Once seated, Old Hu's partner—Hu Ningning's Grandmother—served us tea. Old Hu sat cross-legged on the bed and pulled out some cigarettes to share with us. We accepted without hesitation, smoking while listening to Old Hu passionately declare, "Gu Chen, by seniority you should call me Old Man, but since you're a police officer and this young officer here too—it's good for society when such scoundrels die."
I remained noncommittal and replied, "Yes, Teacher Gao must have had issues. But things are a bit strange right now."
Taking a puff of my cigarette, I continued, "Old Man Hu, you should know about Gu Hui's situation?"
"I know," Old Hu replied as he took a drag from his cigarette and sighed. "I know Gu Chen came back because of this matter. Gu Lao Er, you don’t seem too sad about it; however, I believe that beast did it. A year ago, Gu Hui helped expose that beast of a teacher. How could a girl lie about such things? She must have seen it with her own eyes."
Upon hearing this, I did not refute, but a strange feeling arose in my heart. Although the roads in this village were difficult to navigate, they were not completely isolated. I noticed that Old Hu also used a smartphone; today's children are much more mature than they were back then, yet many adults simply do not understand that children know just as much, if not more.
I spoke up, "Old Hu, please don't take this the wrong way, but since we are investigating a case and Hu Ningning is not here, we won't be going out. I want to ask you about the specific details from a year ago—preferably as detailed as possible. Why did Teacher Gao do such a thing? I’ve heard that quite a few girls liked him."
Old Hu tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground and said, "He's a beast; how can he be compared to a human? In our village, only Gu Chen and he have any prospects, both coming from good universities. Just look at Gu Chen—what a fine young man he is. And then there's Teacher Gao; he seemed decent enough at first and even helped take Ningning to and from school. Turns out it was all premeditated."
Anger filled Old Hu's eyes as he continued, "My wife and I are of an age where she has poor eyesight and I have trouble walking long distances—let alone riding a bike. When Ningning started first grade, we couldn't take her ourselves, so we thought we had found a good person to help us."
Old Hu's partner chimed in, "But who knew he was a pervert?"
Old Hu nodded and said, "He helped for a few months until one day Ningning came home complaining of pain down there."
"We quickly asked what happened," Old Hu continued. "Ningning said Teacher Gao had taken off her clothes and touched her inappropriately..."
He sighed heavily and added, "Then he did something even worse to her. My wife and I were furious. I went straight to confront that beast; he was just sitting there watching TV. I ended up giving him a beating."
"Afterward, that beast claimed he had never done anything wrong. The villagers were skeptical because Gao Dafu usually acted like a decent person—sometimes even helping others with small tasks. People like us often overlook the darkness within."
I asked, "And then what happened?"
"Then?" Old Hu replied. "Then we called Ningning's parents. You young people understand these things better; they took her to the hospital in town for an examination. The results showed she had some tearing down there, but it didn’t look like the marks of someone who had been assaulted. They couldn’t confirm if she had been sexually violated."
I nodded and asked, "So Teacher Gao touched her down there?"
"Mm." Old Hu nodded.
This was somewhat strange; the information obtained from the hospital contradicted what Old Hu had said. So, which side was correct?
"How did Gu Hui find out about this?" I asked.
Gu Chen's Father glanced at Old Hu and replied, "I know about this matter. Gu Hui was playing at home, and her grandparents were chatting about it. Then Gu Hui inadvertently overheard them."
After a pause, Gu Chen's Father continued, "I don't know exactly how she saw it; she must have caught a glimpse while playing around. Anyway, Gu Hui looked in from outside the window and saw Teacher Gao with Hu Ningning, but she didn't know what it was about."
"And when Gu Hui brought this up, it had already been over ten days," Gu Chen's Father added as he tossed his cigarette to the ground. "Then her grandparents quickly informed Old Hu, and that's how the news spread. A girl mentioning something she stumbled upon can't be a lie, right? This is just a matter of Iron Plate being nailed down; it spread throughout the village."
Old Hu spoke up, "That's not the case. It even stirred up the police department, but they never found any evidence to arrest Teacher Gao. So that's how things stood; you all know that. Teacher Gao has mostly stayed indoors since then, only coming out occasionally to have friends buy things for him."
Old Hu's Partner chimed in, "Then a few days ago, I heard that Gu Hui was found dead in a pit. I think Teacher Gao did it. If Gu Hui hadn't come forward, no one would have known anything; Teacher Gao wouldn't be able to continue teaching either. His life is ruined now."
With that, Old Hu's Partner snorted coldly. "My Ningning has also been ruined; why not? In this case, it's better that she's dead—it's a way to rid society of harm."
I looked out the window and observed the distance between the windowsill and the ground for a moment before asking, "What about Hu Ningning? Is she at school?"
"Yes..."
Comment 0 Comment Count