Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
I nodded. At this moment, we couldn't reach Liang Mei, but we had the phone numbers of Zhou Moli and Zhang Xue. I asked Zhao Mingkun to call Zhang Xue first, and she promised to come over shortly.
However, before Zhang Xue arrived, we needed to confirm whether Liang Mei had been pregnant seven years ago.
With that thought in mind, I asked Zhao Pingjuan, "Zhao Pingjuan, was Liang Mei pregnant seven years ago?"
Upon hearing this, Liang Mei turned to give Yang Licheng a glare and began, "If you hadn't brought it up, I would have almost forgotten. It's all because of that shameless Yang Licheng. He deceived Liang Mei's feelings and got her pregnant."
"On the night Lu Zhiqiu died seven years ago, did you see Liang Mei?" I inquired.
At this point, Zhao Pingjuan exclaimed, "Oh!" and then replied, "Well, actually no. At that time, Liang Mei hadn't gotten her period and suspected she might be pregnant. She mentioned it to me briefly. I asked her some questions, but there wasn't enough time to go to the hospital for a check-up. I told Liang Mei to wait another week and see how things went. Then she seemed a bit scared and decided to stay alone in her room while I left."
I frowned and immediately followed up with another question: "So you're saying that Liang Mei was alone in the dormitory and didn't go out drinking with you all?"
"That's right," Zhao Pingjuan confirmed.
"What time did you all break up that night?" I looked at the three people sitting on the sofa.
Wang Yikai, still rubbing his stomach, said first, "I don't know; I just remember it was already bright when I got back. Then I had just fallen asleep when I heard someone had an accident. After that, we went to see what happened and found Lu Zhiqiu's body. Honestly, I sobered up completely at that moment."
"It was almost right before dawn," Yang Licheng added.
"So during the entire time you were gathered together, Liang Mei never showed up?" I asked.
Zhao Pingjuan nodded and said, "From start to finish, I never saw Liang Mei there. Are you suggesting that Liang Mei could have done something?"
I didn't respond directly but said instead, "We can't jump to conclusions just yet. Zhang Xue will be here soon; you should go into the room and avoid being seen for now. If you're here, Zhang Xue might not disclose everything at the police station."
Zhao Pingjuan nodded and walked into the house.
At that moment, Wang Yikai rushed into the bathroom; it was unclear what was going on with him.
Half an hour later, Zhang Xue walked into the room. Upon seeing us, she merely nodded slightly.
Zhang Xue sat down, and I got straight to the point. "Zhang Xue, you know what we're here for. We want to ask you about what happened seven years ago. Back then, Lu Zhiqiu's death was shrouded in mystery, and now someone has returned seeking revenge for Lu Zhiqiu. If we don't get to the bottom of what happened seven years ago, all thirteen of you could be in danger."
Zhang Xue glanced at us, her expression somewhat melancholic, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
I quickly interjected, "Zhang Xue, if there's something you need to share, please don't hold back. Your hesitation might make others suspicious, do you understand?"
It seemed that Zhang Xue had made up her mind. She nodded lightly and said, "I know who the Murderer is."
"You know who the Murderer is?" Zhao Mingkun and I exchanged glances.
Zhao Pingjuan had previously told us something similar, and now Zhang Xue's words were almost identical to hers. Did Zhang Xue also have the same information as Zhao Pingjuan?
Zhang Xue gently nodded and addressed everyone. "There’s something I need to tell you. During our internship at the construction site, our dormitory did discuss how to kill Lu Zhiqiu."
"But, but!" Zhang Xue seemed afraid we would suspect her and hurriedly added, "But at that time, I thought it was just everyone venting their frustrations about Lu Zhiqiu after drinking. I never imagined that someone would actually go on to kill Lu Zhiqiu. I remember it was Zhao Pingjuan who suggested using a brick to directly smash Lu Zhiqiu."
Although Zhao Pingjuan had mentioned this detail, she hadn’t claimed that it was her own idea to kill. However, this was understandable; people are emotional beings and often hide things that could be detrimental to themselves when recounting events. This is human nature and doesn’t necessarily indicate malicious intent.
I didn’t interrupt Zhang Xue but continued to listen.
Zhang Xue continued, "Lu Zhiqiu was so good at playing the innocent; none of us liked her. Sure, I made some comments about wanting to kill Lu Zhiqiu, but those were just words spoken in anger. Who wouldn’t feel that way when my boyfriend constantly compared me to Lu Zhiqiu?"
Zhang Xue sighed. "Later on, when we returned to the construction site, no one brought it up again. But then, in the end, this kind of thing happened. I was terrified; I didn’t dare go see the body at the scene. But later I heard that Lu Zhiqiu was killed with a brick."
I nodded and glanced at the room where Zhao Pingjuan had gone in before speaking again. "So what you're saying is?"
Zhang Xue remained silent for a moment before replying, "I think the Murderer is one of the other three people from our dormitory. Although it was Zhao Pingjuan who used the brick to kill her, it doesn’t necessarily mean she was the one who did it alone; the other two also have their suspicions. However, I believe Zhao Pingjuan has the strongest motive."
I frowned, unsure if Zhao Pingjuan had heard these words from inside the room.
I asked, "Do you have any evidence that proves you weren't involved?"
Zhang Xue fell silent, taking a long moment before speaking. "I can't prove it. If I could, I would have gone to the police about this seven years ago. But I don't know who did it, and I'm afraid that if I go out, the Murderer will cruelly kill me. I thought I would never have to bring this up again in my life, but here we are."
"It's been seven years, and this matter hasn't settled down. I feel it's necessary to bring this to light. If we can narrow down the thirteen people to just three, it would certainly save you a lot of trouble. Also, I hope you won't disclose this information; if there really is a Murderer, I fear there could be danger."
I shrugged helplessly and said, "I'm afraid I can't promise you that. However, from what you've said, are you implying that the Murderer could possibly be among Zhao Pingjuan, Liang Mei, or Zhou Moli?"
Zhang Xue nodded.
I continued, "If that's the case, I can ask someone else and find out if you're telling the truth. So, if I go ask Zhou Moli about what happened back then, wouldn't that clarify things?"
"Yes," Zhang Xue replied. "As long as it's not me."
I pointed to a nearby room and said, "Alright then, why don't you go wait inside? Your good friend is in there."
Zhang Xue frowned and walked into the room. At that moment, Zhao Mingkun had already called Zhou Moli.
Zhou Moli hadn't returned yet when Wang Yikai finally emerged from the restroom. His forehead was slick with sweat, his face pale, and he trembled slightly. He walked unsteadily, clutching his stomach tightly with his hands, veins bulging on the surface.
"What happened?" I asked. "You should go check it out."
Wang Yikai slumped onto the couch and replied, "It's nothing. I don't know what's wrong; maybe my hemorrhoids are acting up again—it's just bleeding."
Zhao Mingkun shot him an incredulous look. "When you're on the plane this afternoon, don't start bleeding everywhere."
Wang Yikai chuckled weakly. "If I'm going to bleed, I'd rather do it here."
Zhao Mingkun managed to get in touch with Zhou Moli. As a full-time housewife, she agreed to come over after receiving Zhao Mingkun's call.
These three were easy to contact; however, it remained uncertain whether Liang Mei could still be reached.
With that thought in mind, I turned to Zhao Mingkun and said, "Call Liang Mei and see if you can get in touch with her."
Zhao Mingkun nodded and continued to dial Liang Mei's number, but still no one answered. Why wasn't Liang Mei picking up? Could it really be because she was the murderer from seven years ago?
About twenty minutes later, Zhou Moli arrived at Yang Licheng's house.
I spoke up, "Sister Zhou Moli, you know why I called you here. I have some questions about what happened seven years ago."
Zhou Moli nodded and took a seat in the spot where Zhao Pingjuan and Zhang Xue once sat. She said, "The reason I came is also related to this matter. I know who the murderer is from seven years ago."
"You know too?" Upon hearing Zhou Moli's words, I couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Zhou Moli looked at me in confusion, not understanding why I was so shocked. She replied, "What's wrong? I do know who the murderer is. Seven years ago, we mentioned in the dormitory that we wanted to kill Lu Zhiqiu. I remember someone brought it up, wanting to kill Lu Zhiqiu. At that time, we all agreed."
I shook my head and continued along with Zhou Moli's words, "So you're saying that you didn't kill him, but it might have been the other three people in your dormitory who did, right? After returning to the construction site for your internship, you forgot about this matter. But then Lu Zhiqiu ended up dead, and that's when you suddenly remembered. However, you don't know who the murderer actually is, so you’re afraid to go out?"
"Yes," Zhou Moli said, somewhat startled by my words. "But how do you know all this?"
I felt helpless; if I didn't know the inside story, I would think these three had conspired to deceive me. None of them had done it themselves, yet now I couldn't reach Liang Mei. Was it possible that Liang Mei wasn't the murderer and that her absence was due to someone not wanting her to appear?
Could it be that the three of them had colluded to frame Liang Mei for Lu Zhiqiu's murder?
"What’s going on?" Zhou Moli asked with a puzzled expression.
I spoke again, "You two can come out now; I'm sure you've heard what Zhou Moli said clearly. So who exactly is the murderer?"
Comment 0 Comment Count