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Xu Man took a drag from her cigarette, reminiscing about a story from seven years ago. A spark lit up in her eyes, a stark contrast to her earlier demeanor. The dullness in her gaze was replaced with color, as if she had returned to the past, back to her youth. In this world, there are two types of people: when faced with a bunch of grapes, one type starts with the bitter ones, while the other begins with the sweet.
Both types are understandable; one type always holds onto hope, while the other is left with nothing but memories. Xu Man clearly belonged to the latter. After turning twenty, her life had been devoid of anything else—only memories remained. It was only when she recalled those moments that a smile would grace her face.
I continued to ask, "So what is the relationship between Jiang Xiaochun and Lu Zhiqiu?"
Xu Man looked at me and after a long pause replied, "Their relationship is quite good. They are both in the same major, although not in the same class, but they are best friends. Jiang Xiaochun comes from a well-off family and sometimes helps Lu Zhiqiu, but Lu Zhiqiu never accepts it."
"When Jiang Xiaochun found out that Lu Zhiqiu had a boyfriend, she was heartbroken for a long time," Xu Man added. "Back then, I didn't know that Jiang Xiaochun was into girls. But I could sense that she seemed to have feelings for Lu Zhiqiu because I saw her crying alone outside after learning about Lu Zhiqiu's boyfriend."
I gently tapped on the tea table and said slowly, "So you mean Jiang Xiaochun likes Lu Zhiqiu, but since Lu Zhiqiu already has a boyfriend, she can only stay by her side in this way?"
Xu Man nodded and said, "Once, I accidentally saw Jiang Xiaochun's diary. In it, she expressed her love for Lu Zhiqiu. But she was too afraid to tell Lu Zhiqiu. Just think about it; even in this day and age, being gay is still something people look down upon, let alone seven years ago."
Five years ago, when the post-80s generation had not yet become the backbone of society and did not hold any power, homosexuality was a term that could hardly be mentioned in our country. However, as the post-80s and post-90s generations gradually became the new leaders of this world, homosexuality began to lose its taboo status; people started to confront it more openly.
Yet this was still far from enough. There remained many who opposed homosexuality; society still offered little tolerance for these individuals. Perhaps they were not entirely wrong; they simply lived too early in an incorrect era or place.
In the eyes of those against homosexuality, marriage was merely a union of sexual organs for procreation; they viewed childbirth as just a tool. In reality, love has always been about the merging of two hearts—nothing should stand in the way of two people who love each other.
Even now, this remains a sorrowful reality for many homosexuals.
Xu Man continued, "Moreover, Lu Zhiqiu never showed any signs of liking girls, so Jiang Xiaochun could only quietly wait by her side. In her diary, Jiang Xiaochun wrote that companionship is the most enduring confession; from now on, she would silently accompany Lu Zhiqiu."
"Does anyone else know about this?" I asked.
Xu Man shook her head and said, "No one knows unless Jiang Xiaochun tells someone. This should be something I alone know. At that time, I was just an earnest student; I couldn't fathom that there were such people and situations in this world—it scared me. So I kept quiet and continued being their good friend."
"But who could have imagined," Xu Man said. "I wanted to take Hu Pei away from campus beauty Lu Zhiqiu; Deng Xuemei wanted to get close to sweet and naive Lu Zhiqiu to cover her daily expenses; while Jiang Xiaochun silently loved this best friend of hers. Life is indeed so perplexing and bizarre. Who doesn't have their own secrets or hidden agendas?"
Jiang Xiaochun had always quietly loved Lu Zhiqiu throughout their four years in college. She likely suppressed her desire to confess more than once because she understood that society still held zero tolerance towards such matters; everyone would look at her with disdain.
All the frustration remained bottled up within Jiang Xiaochun as graduation approached. Graduating meant she would no longer have any reason to stay by Lu Zhiqiu's side or share a bed with her openly anymore. After all, Lu Zhiqiu was going to get married and have children.
Jiang Xiaochun's only wish was to work at the same company as Lu Zhiqiu, hoping to see her during the day.
That night, Jiang Xiaochun must have drunk a lot, completely oblivious to the fact that the woman she loved most, Lu Zhiqiu, had already left the party, being invited out by others. Meanwhile, Jiang Xiaochun was intoxicated. That night, Lu Zhiqiu died.
Jiang Xiaochun was the second person to learn of this tragedy, and perhaps by then, she had already planned her next steps.
"I'll ask you again: do you mean to say that no one knows Jiang Xiaochun is a lesbian? And that Jiang Xiaochun herself doesn't know anyone knows her secret?" I looked at Xu Man.
My question was somewhat convoluted. After a moment of thought, Xu Man replied, "No, Jiang Xiaochun shouldn't know that I already know she's a lesbian. I haven't told anyone."
I continued, "Does Jiang Xiaochun know that Hu Pei's child is yours? After you had the child seven years ago, you never contacted anyone else? I mean your former classmates."
Xu Man pointed to herself and said, "Do you think I could still reach out to anyone looking like this? Do you think I have the face to contact them? Ever since I got pregnant seven years ago, I haven't been in touch with those people. They called me at first, but I always hung up. Eventually, no one tried to contact me anymore."
After a pause, Xu Man continued, "Later on, I gave the child to Hu Pei. At that point, we completely cut ties. I changed my name, my identity, my address. Dongxing City is so big; after seven years without contact, I've never run into anyone. Hu Pei probably doesn't know whose child it is either. Jiang Xiaochun wouldn't inquire about it. I don't understand why Jiang Xiaochun married Hu Pei; if it were Lu Zhiqiu, given her personality, she wouldn't have done anything to my child."
It was clear that Xu Man had no idea that Lu Zhiqiu had actually died that night. Xu Man severed all ties seven years ago; perhaps this very fact saved her from becoming a suspect in the murder case. Otherwise, she would surely have been on the Murderer's list.
And now I knew exactly who the Murderer was.
All the puzzles were solved.
This woman was truly remarkable; she had used the simplest yet most cunning methods to confuse us. She employed various psychological tricks to lead us astray. If I hadn't meticulously examined every detail, I might have fallen for her deception. This was a major case; so many lives lost would surely have alerted the City Bureau. Yet when we faced this Murderer before, they had already begun their meticulous performance.
But despite all this effort, they ultimately could not escape. No matter how well hidden or how many layers of lies wrapped around the truth, reality always remained somewhere waiting to be uncovered.
However, while I had identified the current Murderer, it was still difficult to determine who killed Lu Zhiqiu all those years ago. So many people had conflicts with Lu Zhiqiu; so many had met with her. Time had passed too long; we now possessed too few clues. Perhaps the identity of Lu Zhiqiu's killer would forever remain sealed in a box called the past.
Looking at Xu Man, I finally understood what it meant to be safer by knowing less. If Xu Man knew even a little more about this situation, she might already be dead. We would never truly know the reality of this matter; we would forever remain unable to unravel this mystery.
I spoke up, "Thank you."
Xu Man saw me stand and also got up. "Thank me? What’s there to thank? It was just some casual talk. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
We followed Xu Man out of the house, where the streets were still bustling with people. The kV corridor echoed with loud roars and shouts. The chaotic lights flickered on and off, casting shadows on everyone’s faces. Beautiful girls passed by, linking arms with portly bald men, laughing as they left the kV, heading towards their new "battlefields."
As I walked among them, I felt a bit disoriented in this environment. No wonder Xu Man couldn’t bear to leave; was it that she couldn’t leave, or did she simply not want to? That was a question.
Stepping out of the kV, a gentle breeze swept through the street. In the nearby square, people were dancing—a fascinating sight. The dancers wore all black outfits adorned with glowing skeletal patterns that illuminated in the night. The black clothing blended into the darkness, making it seem as if a skeleton was dancing if one didn’t look closely. This peculiar performance attracted quite a crowd.
Watching them, I couldn’t help but smile.
I turned to Zhao Mingkun and said, “Let’s take a break tonight; tomorrow we’ll go somewhere. I think she is confident that her plan is foolproof, so she won’t leave at all. And tomorrow is when the real show begins.”
Zhao Mingkun looked at me, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
I replied, “What I mean is that I already know who the Murderer is behind all these deaths.”
“Isn’t it Deng Xuemei?” Zhao Mingkun asked, confused.
I shook my head. “Deng Xuemei is just a scapegoat thrown into the mix. Besides, she’s currently missing—no one has seen her alive or dead; there’s no evidence to prove otherwise. The Murderer provided us with all the evidence pointing to Deng Xuemei and gave the police solid proof to close the case. But the Murderer ultimately overlooked one detail.”
“What detail?” Zhao Mingkun inquired.
“People are inherently selfish…”
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