Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
This week has passed quite uneventfully, and I finally have the chance to sleep in. However, once I relaxed, my nights became less restful. Every time it was midnight, I could hear the rustling sounds. I understood that Zhao Mingkun was sneaking out to do her own things again.
Zhao Mingkun seemed to be involved in something clandestine and didn’t want me to notice. Although I knew she left every night, and she knew that I knew, it felt as if nothing had happened between us; we both kept this unspoken understanding.
I was aware that despite being a Fugitive, Zhao Mingkun would never harm me. In fact, upon reflection, she had saved me many times. However, I also knew she was investigating Wu Zui's case. Since Wu Zui took Guan Zengbin away, he had completely vanished, as if he had disappeared from Dongxing City.
Given Wu Zui's high intelligence, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to conceal his whereabouts.
As time passed, I grew increasingly anxious; it had been over a month since Guan Zengbin went missing, and there were still no useful leads. Gu Chen's investigation had only traced as far as a hotel outside Xingdong Village before hitting a dead end, and we couldn’t pick up that lead again.
In criminal investigations, impatience is the worst enemy; once you lose your cool, your mind cannot maintain focused thought.
Just when we thought these days would drag on indefinitely, Gu Chen finally called us. His call felt like an oasis in the desert, giving us a glimmer of hope.
On the phone, Gu Chen informed us that Rob's address was fake; it was the address of a store where Rob did not work. However, the store's boss told Gu Chen that Rob had indeed asked him to hold onto a letter after receiving it and would come back for it later. Yet so far, Rob hadn’t returned to collect it.
Gu Chen rented a room next to the store and gave the boss five hundred yuan, instructing him to stall Rob if he showed up. Thus, Gu Chen waited for Rob’s appearance in that southern city. A week had passed; Rob should be showing up soon, and we would soon uncover the truth.
Gu Chen also informed us that Mary had discovered that two months ago, during a ten-day period, aside from logging into QQ WeChat and Baidu accounts, Lu Xiangyang hadn’t logged into any games with those accounts at all. This clearly indicated there was no confrontation with gamers.
However, within Lu Xiangyang's Baidu account search history, he had extensively searched for information regarding Lu Zhiqiu’s case.
Seven years ago, the internet wasn’t as developed as it is now; there were far fewer netizens back then. Almost no one posted about that incident online, so it didn’t become a hot topic at the time. Therefore, Lu Xiangyang likely found no useful leads and had done futile work.
Although Lu Xiangyang didn’t uncover anything significant, his searches related to Lu Zhiqiu’s death suggested he was planning revenge. We could deduce that everything began because of Lu Xiangyang. Coupled with hiring someone to feign being kidnapped in a Pyramid Scheme scenario, this provided solid evidence of Lu Xiangyang’s deceit.
While Lu Xiangyang might not face severe punishment in the end, wrongdoing must be met with consequences.
I shared Mary’s findings with Zhao Mingkun. Sitting on the ground and looking down at the passing vehicles without turning her head, she said, “So when are we going to find Lu Xiangyang? Have you decided? Even if Lu Xiangyang did this, he was still a minor at the time; he wouldn’t get much time in prison. Plus, with the Lu family’s connections, he might not even go to jail.”
"But," Zhao Mingkun looked at me, "the file on Lu Xiangyang will forever record that he once planned and incited others to commit a horrific murder, resulting in the deaths of twenty-two people. Jiang Xiaochun has already taken the blame upon herself. If the families of the victims find out that Lu Xiangyang was involved, do you think they would let him off?"
I shook my head firmly. "No."
Zhao Mingkun nodded and said, "Exactly. So Lu Xiangyang will never have a good life. Of course, in my view, crime is crime, and it deserves no sympathy. So I want to hear your opinion. You’ve mingled with those criminals since childhood; you often turn a blind eye to them. What do you plan to do?"
"And you?" I didn’t know what answer I held in my heart and looked at Zhao Mingkun.
Zhao Mingkun shrugged. "Are you asking a criminal whether to spare another criminal? I've killed many people, but I'm selfish; I don't want to die, so I would run away. However, Lu Xiangyang doesn’t know that we already know everything. If you want to call the police to catch him, he won’t have a chance to escape."
I took a deep breath and after a moment said, "Let’s go find Lu Xiangyang first and take it step by step."
"Alright," Zhao Mingkun nodded.
But before we could seek out Lu Xiangyang, he came looking for us instead. It turned out that today was Lu Xiangyang's eighteenth birthday. As one of the most important days of his life, his parents had organized a grand birthday party for him. Lu Xiangyang's father wanted to send us an invitation but didn’t know which substation we belonged to, so he had to ask Lu Xiangyang.
Lu Xiangyang learned my phone number through his girlfriend and called me.
We agreed to go since we were going to meet Lu Xiangyang anyway.
After hanging up the phone, I looked at my device and said, "I’ll need to change my phone number after this case is over. Too many people know it."
But then I would have to trouble Sister Mao again to help me get a new SIM card.
On the afternoon of the second day, we arrived at Lu Xiangyang's eighteenth birthday party as promised. After carefully observing and confirming that there were no other police officers around, Zhao Mingkun and I walked in. We took our seats, and not long after, Lu Xiangyang's birthday celebration began.
On stage, Lu Xiangyang was humorous and charming; several witty jokes had everyone laughing heartily. Yet from his smile, I sensed something different. Suddenly, I remembered that not long from now would be the eighth anniversary of Lu Zhiqiu's death. I didn’t understand why such a somber thought crossed my mind during this festive occasion; it felt entirely inappropriate.
The party was lively and bustling. After the celebration ended, everyone began to disperse, but the birthday boy did not leave with the crowd or even with his parents. He remained alone—just him by himself. As we exited the restaurant, we followed Lu Xiangyang; he seemed oblivious to anything amiss, and it was evident from his silhouette that he felt somewhat desolate.
The direction Lu Xiangyang was heading towards was a high school, but it wasn't his own. I recognized it; many years ago, Lu Zhiqiu had been admitted to Dongxing University from here.
"Damn it!" Eight or nine teenagers rushed out from an alley, with a crying boy leading the way, looking around fourteen or fifteen years old.
Behind him, someone kicked him to the ground, and then a group surrounded him.
"I have no money, I really have no money!" The boy cried out while kneeling on the ground.
"Shut up!" A boy of similar age shouted from the crowd. "I saw you hiding a hundred yuan in your sock at noon. Don’t think I didn’t see it. Hand it over, or I’ll beat you up!"
The boy's cries grew louder as he pleaded, "This is my lunch money for the week that my mom gave me. Please don’t take my money; I won’t tell my family."
But the fourteen-year-old boy with yellow hair remained unmoved and kicked the boy again. "Get lost! You dare to tell your parents? Hold him down and take his money; we’re going online!"
As he spoke, the group began to act.
I couldn't stand seeing bullying in schools. Just as I was about to shout from a distance, Zhao Mingkun pulled at my arm. Following where Zhao Mingkun pointed, I saw Lu Xiangyang running towards them.
"What's going on? Let him go!" Lu Xiangyang shouted as he ran.
The group of teenagers ignored him.
In an instant, Lu Xiangyang had reached them and pulled the crying boy up. At that moment, the hundred yuan from the boy's sock had already made its way into the hands of the yellow-haired boy. The crowd didn’t know who Lu Xiangyang was, but relying on their numbers, they still surrounded him.
Lu Xiangyang stood protectively in front of the boy and said, "What are you doing? Bullying a classmate?"
The yellow-haired boy laughed. "Not only am I bullying this classmate, but I'm going to bully you too. Don’t think just because you're a few years older that you're something special; I'll still beat you up. Which school are you from? Hand over the money, or my fists won’t be gentle."
I frowned, feeling a surge of anger rising within me, but Zhao Mingkun still held me back and said, "Let’s just watch."
I looked at Zhao Mingkun, who wore a bright smile, seemingly unaffected by the situation. Her mood appeared to be quite good.
"What’s wrong?" Lu Xiangyang asked. "Are you planning to hit me? What do you see behind you?"
The middle school students immediately turned around, but from our perspective, there was nothing behind them. In a split second, Lu Xiangyang grabbed the boy's hand and ran outside. It was only then that the other middle school students reacted and started to chase after them.
The boy, who had been kicked to the ground earlier and injured his knee, limped as he ran, quickly falling behind the fast-running Lu Xiangyang. Before long, the blonde-haired student caught up with him and grabbed him. As Lu Xiangyang continued to run outside, she glanced back and saw that the boy was once again surrounded.
Lu Xiangyang stopped in her tracks, and the middle school students didn’t pursue her any further; it seemed their only target was that boy. She stood there dazedly at a distance, watching the scene unfold. We all knew that Lu Xiangyang faced two choices at that moment.
One was to quietly leave as if nothing had happened; the other was to go back and save the boy, which could result in her being beaten up by those reckless middle school students.
The middle school students ignored Lu Xiangyang and loudly shouted for the boy to kneel down. Because he dared to run away, he had to be punished.
I could no longer hold back. I gave Lu Xiangyang ten seconds. If she chose not to save the boy, I would rush over myself.
Time seemed to stop at that moment; everything around us faded into darkness, leaving only Lu Xiangyang illuminated in the beam of light.
Lu Xiangyang remained standing still, watching those people.
What choice would she make in this moment of true adulthood?
Comment 0 Comment Count