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墨書 Inktalez
They asked Li Taida why he was smiling.
Li Taida told the two that this world was like that, and one had to get used to it.
This was Zhou Guo's first time being reprimanded, and it would be his last.
From that moment on, Zhou Guo fell in love with Zhang Xue, who stood up for him. After that, no one dared to bully Zhang Xue or Zhou Guo again. From then on, the five of them became good friends.
One night, after drinking too much, the five of them lay on the school stage.
That night, they didn’t go home; they talked to each other.
Li Taida hated men who hit women more than anything else because his father had abused his mother. Eventually, his mother ran away with someone else and disappeared without a trace. Li Taida missed her dearly.
Zhao Erming sighed; he wasn’t much better off himself. He was the son of a prostitute, and every time his mother let him stay out until midnight before returning home. He wanted to hate his mother, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Lin Rou gulped down the beer from her can. Her own home wasn’t great either; she had a younger brother. Her father and grandmother treated her like she was invisible. Her grandmother had never liked her since she was very young. When she was three years old, her grandmother once threw her into a trash bin.
If she hadn’t been aware enough at that time to crawl out of the bin and return home, she might have died long ago. She loved her brother; he was very understanding.
Lin Rou also shared her story—her father had sexually abused her for years. She didn’t want to hate anyone; she just wanted to sleep peacefully.
Zhou Guo revealed his troubles as well. He didn’t dare to fight back and never told a teacher when he was bullied. It was because his mother was bedridden and paralyzed, only able to move half of her body.
His mother relied on welfare and sewing cross-stitch patterns to earn money for him to go to school. He didn’t want to add any trouble for his mother.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to fight back; he was just afraid that if he did, it would cost money—money that his family didn’t have.
The five of them fell silent, raising their beers instead. Everything was contained within the drink; perhaps the tragic events were different, but the emotions were shared. The five young people leaned against each other, reminiscing about the past, discussing the present, and contemplating the future. What would the future look like? Did they even have a future?
Li Taida wanted to buy a house for his mother so they could live together.
Zhao Erming dreamed of traveling the world, wanting to see everything.
Lin Rou had always wanted to open a café and be her own boss.
Zhang Xue wished to leave this city for a place where no one knew her.
Zhou Guo's dream was simply for his mother to get better.
While others' dreams held the possibility of realization, Zhou Guo's dream seemed almost impossible. Zhang Xue had seen Zhou Guo's mother; her illness was severe. She sat paralyzed on the bed, only forty years old but looking like she was fifty. There was no way to treat her; all they could do was watch how much longer she had.
That night, all five of them drank too much. They gazed into the dark sky, where every star twinkled back at them.
Five young souls, each burdened with their own thoughts.
They promised to meet again in two years to drink together in Taiwan.
They had become the best of friends, moving from first year to third year in middle school.
Then Zhang Xue said, "Sometimes, I really want to say goodbye to this world. Just jump off from here and die? No worries, no sadness."
Zhou Guo looked at Zhang Xue and said, "Why must it end this way? You could go to a place where no one knows you, just like you always dreamed."
"Dreams cost money," Zhang Xue replied drunkenly, gazing at the stubborn boy who liked her.
"Exactly!" the others chimed in.
Whose dreams didn't require money?
They fell asleep on the stage, perhaps realizing their dreams in their slumber.
The High School Entrance Exam was approaching.
Zhang Xue felt sad because it meant they would soon be separated.
Life is filled with too many uncontrollable events. Some people live in darkness but never consider compromising with it, while others, despite having hope, easily bury their own lives. It’s unclear what those who chose suicide were thinking compared to these five boys.
I sent a few messages to some people, indicating that they didn’t need to follow me if there was nothing urgent.
I turned to Zhang Xue and said, "I can help you. I will arrest your father."
Zhang Xue nodded and suddenly asked me, "Is life always this painful? Or is it just sometimes?"
I fell silent, unsure how to respond. This was a classic line from the movie The Professional; since Zhang Xue asked, she must have seen it. Uncle Leon's answer was: It's always like this.
But facing a fifteen-year-old girl, I couldn't bring myself to say such words.
"This question's answer is too long; it requires a lifetime to truly feel," I replied.
Zhang Xue shrugged and then turned to remove the apron from her body.
"Wait!" I exclaimed.
"What is it?" Zhang Xue was startled and paused her actions.
I stood up, looked at Zhang Xue, and slowly asked, "Who taught you this knot-tying technique?"
Zhang Xue seemed puzzled and said, "Zhou Guo taught me. He's from South Africa, and they often use this kind of knot to pull fruits from trees. The more you pull, the tighter it gets, making it hard to drop. But when you want to release it, just slip your fingers into the loop and give it a gentle tug, and it comes undone easily. It's quite convenient."
My mind buzzed; this knot-tying method was identical to the one Wang Yiman used for hanging herself. I had paid special attention to it at the time, and I never expected to see it here with Zhang Xue.
Could that timid boy actually do something like this?
"You were beaten that time, and Zhou Guo stood right in front of you without retreating even a step?" A sudden thought struck me, and I hurriedly asked.
"Yes," Zhang Xue affirmed firmly. "That fool, clearly scared to death, still tried his best to protect me."
So Zhou Guo was actually the bravest one.
"Where does Zhou Guo live? Have you been there?" I quickly asked Zhang Xue.
Zhang Xue provided me with the address.
I hurriedly opened the map on my phone and entered the address of Zhou Guo. The moment I saw the map, everything became clear.
When I analyzed the criminal psychology of the suspect, I had marked the locations of the three victims' deaths and asserted that the fourth victim would definitely be within the area I had planned.
However, the fourth victim was not there.
Trusting too much in books is worse than having no books at all; one should learn from examples.
In fact, when the death locations of all four individuals were plotted together, I should have realized it. The death points of these four individuals corresponded exactly to four stops along Metro Line 1, starting from Yucai Middle School and ending at Zhou Guo's home, perfectly encompassing the other victims' death points.
Realizing this made my heart race. I quickly checked my phone; Gu Chen and Liu had already replied, but Guan Zengbin had not responded at all. Perhaps something had happened. Could it be that while following Zhou Guo, Guan Zengbin was discovered by him, prompting Zhou Guo to kill to silence him?
I hurriedly called Guan Zengbin, but there was no answer.
“Call Zhou Guo, quickly!” I said to Zhang Xue.
Seeing my serious expression, Zhang Xue didn’t hesitate and immediately made the call, but no one picked up.
“Stay home; I'm going. I'll take care of your father's situation,” I said without thinking much and dashed out.
As I ran outside, I sent a group message to Liu and Gu Chen: “Liu, contact the City Bureau; I've identified the suspect. Gu Chen, hurry over now; Guan Zengbin might be in danger. The address is 47 Pingfang at the west end of Anning Street; the suspect is Zhou Guo.”
Among the previous five individuals, it wasn't just Li Taida and Zhao Erming who had a chance to obtain the stolen items. The first person to steal them was Zhou Guo. If Zhou Guo panicked from the start, then when they divided the stolen items later, they wouldn't even know if anything was missing; they would simply believe whatever amount Zhou Guo claimed he had taken.
Moreover, Zhou Guo had once tutored Gao Rui in biology and had a good relationship with him. If Gao Rui wanted to confide in someone before his death, he would definitely seek out someone like Zhou Guo—an introverted boy who would never disclose anything.
Li Taida and Zhao Erming were two underachievers who probably hadn’t paid attention in a single chemistry class. How could they possibly know that ****** was a deadly substance? Perhaps they didn’t even know what ****** was. It was likely that Zhou Guo had casually mentioned this to Zhao Erming, who then relayed the information to Li Taida.
But something felt off. Would Zhou Guo really watch as Li Taida poisoned his own father? Li Taida was his best friend; would Zhou Guo do something like that, allowing Li Taida to bear the burden of murder?
With this thought in mind, I hurriedly called Li Xian. “Li Xian, do you remember me?”
Li Xian paused for a moment before responding, “I remember. You’re my son’s teacher or something, right? Isn’t he the one who got arrested? That brat tried to poison me, but luckily someone called me away to go gamble. Clearly, gambling is a hell of a thing; it can save your life at critical moments.”
“Who was it that called you?” I quickly asked.
Li Xian sounded a bit impatient. “The person who called me was obviously a gambling buddy. This kid was broke as hell before, but then out of nowhere he won the second prize in the lottery—sixteen million! I don’t know what kind of luck he stumbled upon. If it weren’t for him inviting me, I wouldn’t have gone.”
“And he…”
Before I could finish my sentence, Li Xian interrupted, “Enough with the chatter! I’m busy here; I’ve got a game going on. My son can do whatever he wants; it’s none of my concern.”
With that, Li Xian abruptly hung up on me.
“Damn it!” I couldn’t help but curse.
I boarded the subway, feeling the rush of movement as it sped along. Zhang Xue’s home wasn’t far from the subway line, but even so, it would take at least an hour to get there.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Looking down, I saw it was Gu Chen calling. I answered to hear Gu Chen panting heavily. “I’ve arrived at your place. When I walked in, I saw Guan Zengbin and that guy Zhou Guo lying quietly on the bed… completely still…”
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