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墨書 Inktalez
I ran for a while, awkwardly holding onto Zhang Xue, until I finally stopped to catch my breath, certain that those big men wouldn’t come after us. I set Zhang Xue down, and we looked at each other, silently admiring each other's courage and determination.
Zhang Xue spoke first, "How do you know this area so well? You should be here for the first time."
I shook my finger and replied, "I figured it out as soon as I entered this street. It’s clearly planned out, and there are quite a few people riding bikes coming out of the alleys. This means most of these alleys are connected rather than dead ends. As long as you have the right direction, you can find your way around."
"Impressive," Zhang Xue said with a slight bow.
I then asked, "When did you realize I was following you?"
Zhang Xue mimicked my hand gesture and said, "Don’t you know that subway glass reflects? You were staring at me the whole time; it was too obvious. Besides, I've seen you before—why would I think you'd follow me?"
"Smart," I replied, imitating her bow. "But when women perform this gesture, they should do it the opposite way from men; your right hand should be on top."
Zhang Xue shot me a glance and continued walking while saying, "Boring. You sound just like my teacher."
After walking quite a distance, Zhang Xue stopped again and shyly asked, "Do you want to walk me home?"
Since my following her was already exposed, I decided to be straightforward about it; otherwise, rumors might spread that I was stalking a minor, which would leave a lasting psychological scar. I shrugged and walked beside Zhang Xue. Her pace was slow, seemingly dragging it out—something I had noticed on her way home from school.
Why was Zhang Xue stalling?
"Zhang Xue, there's something I want to ask you," I said. "Why are you walking so slowly? If you had walked faster earlier, I probably wouldn’t have been able to see you."
Zhang Xue didn’t answer; she just kept walking silently. Then she changed the subject: "Actually, I know why you’re following me. You’re a police officer, so it makes sense that you wouldn’t follow me for no reason. I heard Teacher Gao Rui died; he was poisoned by someone. So you suspect that it was us who stole the poison, right?"
I never expected that this fifteen-year-old girl not only had counter-surveillance skills but also guessed my intentions right away.
I had no words.
Zhang Xue spoke as she walked, "Teacher Gao Rui is a really good person. Last year, I took biology classes with him, and he didn't charge us a single penny. He even encouraged us that if we could get into Yucai High School Division, he might teach us high school biology."
"He taught you classes?" I asked.
Zhang Xue nodded. "In the Eighth Grade, I ran into him on the playground. He first asked me why I was here during class time. I thought he was just a nosy teacher who would send me to the office at most. But he didn’t do that; instead, he asked what class I was taking."
"I casually mentioned it was biology, and he seemed really happy about it, saying he could teach me since he was a biology teacher." Zhang Xue's voice dropped, slightly choked. "At that moment, I thought this teacher was really strange, so I decided to listen to him. He taught very well, vividly and gently."
Indeed, Gao Rui had always been a gentle person.
Zhang Xue continued, "Many people wanted to attend his classes; he felt like an older brother and didn’t have the demeanor of a teacher at all. We learned while playing, and even Zhou Guo, who always ranked first in studies, came to listen. Why would anyone want to harm someone like him?"
No one wanted to harm him; he chose to end his own life, though someone helped him do it.
I sighed. "Where did you hear all this?"
Zhang Xue looked down. "It's been spreading around the school, but it definitely wasn't us. The five of us had a good relationship with Teacher Gao Rui; how could we do something like that? I hope you can find the murderer soon."
Looking at Zhang Xue's expression, I didn’t know what to say. It seemed she genuinely didn’t know that Gao Rui had committed suicide rather than being poisoned by someone. But was she truly unaware of the truth or deliberately trying to cloud my judgment about the matter?
After all, deception is an innate human ability.
I nodded and said, "Yes, he is such a good person; he deserves to know the truth. Regardless of whether this truth is what I want, it must be given to him."
Zhang Xue stood there, looking up at me. "Thank you. I knew you would be a good person."
"My home is in that building," Zhang Xue pointed to an old building by the roadside. "That dark one over there is my house."
"Isn't your family here? What about your father?" I knew she came from a single-parent family and lived with her father.
Hearing my question, Zhang Xue smiled lightly and shook her head.
"You should go inside. I'll leave once your light is on," I said, gently patting Zhang Xue's head.
Zhang Xue nodded and walked into the hallway but suddenly stopped. She stood in the dark corridor, where the moonlight was blocked by the eaves, making it hard for me to see her expression; I could only make out a vague silhouette. I suddenly felt as if she might be crying, or perhaps it was just my imagination.
"Why don't you come up with me? You've run around for so long; you should drink some water," Zhang Xue suggested.
A strange emotion welled up in my heart. For some reason, perhaps because I felt soft-hearted, I agreed to Zhang Xue's invitation. After all, it was just going up for a glass of water, and I was indeed a bit tired after running for so long.
I followed Zhang Xue up the stairs, and neither of us spoke. The hallway was dimly lit; moonlight streamed through the windows, casting our shadows long against the walls as we moved, resembling two dancers in motion.
"The ones who build should accept that everyone will eventually fall; in truth, there is no kind of stability or happiness that lasts forever..."
The deep voice of Eason Chan began to play; it was my ringtone.
Looking at the caller ID, it showed Sister Mary: "Hello, Mary, what's up?"
Mary seemed to be eating while she spoke, "Did you add someone to the Suicide list? I went through the information on those individuals, and guess what? Something interesting came up. These four people should know each other, or at least have crossed paths."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Mary cleared her throat and continued, "Let's take it one by one. First, remember Zhang Mingliang sold his family's house? Do you know who he sold it through? It was that guy who jumped off a building, what's his name... Maliang. Damn, our names are so similar."
I was at a loss for words.
Mary went on, "After Maliang sold the house, he transferred the money to Zhang Mingliang's designated account. But by then, Zhang Mingliang had already decided to end his life and was afraid that if the money went into Gao Rui's account, the police would immediately trace it back to him. So he found another person."
"Do we know this person too?" I asked.
Mary casually replied, "Yeah, it's that person—Wang Yiman, also known as Widow Wang. So Wang Yiman agreed, but instead of saving the money, she handed it over to Li Zhinan. Li Zhinan is an employee at Jinrun Financial Company, and he handles investments and financial management. Then, in just three months, Li Zhinan turned that one million five hundred thousand into twenty million."
"How did he do that? Turning one million five hundred thousand into twenty million in three months?" I asked.
Mary explained, "He set up a scheme and successfully borrowed twenty million from the bank."
Suddenly, I recalled the document in Li Zhinan's Briefcase, which had a bank's name written on it. It seemed to be related to the scheme he had set up; but how exactly did he pull it off?
"I don't understand," I said.
"Well, if you don't get it, that's fine; this involves a complex financial system," Mary said impatiently. "In short, Li Zhinan created a false impression that temporarily convinced the bank. But in reality, he wouldn't be able to hide it for long. However, Li Zhinan must have already resolved himself to commit Suicide, so he didn't care anymore."
Hearing Mary's words made me feel like I was piecing together something important but still missing a crucial part. These four individuals seemed unrelated at first glance, yet there were intricate connections among them that were shocking to hear about. Maliang was responsible for selling the house, Wang Yiman handled the account opening, and Li Zhinan orchestrated the scheme.
But in Gao Rui's Suicide Note, we only mentioned a legacy of one and a half million. Where did the other twenty million go?
"Where did that twenty million go?" I asked.
"Brother, it's accounted for," Zhang Xue replied.
I nodded.
Mary on the phone continued, "We haven't tracked it down yet. The twenty million first circulated through various banks in the country, then it was transferred to foreign banks. After that, it's very difficult to trace where it went. Whether it returned to the country or remains abroad is unclear. Do you know why it's so hard to crack telecom fraud cases now? It's because the internet is too advanced and the speed is too fast..."
I shook my head and said to Mary, "Alright, finding this out is already impressive. As for that twenty million, take your time investigating. If you can find it, great; if not, don't rush. Goodbye!"
"Got it! I'll notify you when there's news. Also, from now on, don't just hang up; it's bad luck for the police. Either you hang up or I do." With that, Mary ended the call.
That's quite superstitious. Life is like that; what's the difference in making a call? It's either you hang up first or I do.
Zhang Xue stood at the door, already holding out the slippers I needed to change into. "Come in, Brother Wu. Do you have any leads?"
I changed into the slippers while surveying Zhang Xue's home and replied, "Yes, I have some clues."
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