Chapter 25 Bird of Paradise 10

Luo Siwei was unable to see her mother's body. She only heard that she fell tragically and died instantly.

The mother reportedly had a long suicide note in her pocket. The police who came to investigate took it as evidence. The mother's cell phone was also broken, so she couldn't see its contents.

The police came to deal with the body, conducted an investigation into the case, and left quickly.

The campus cleaner cursed as he cleaned the bloodstains on the ground with a large brush.

The blood was quickly cleaned up and everything was as if nothing had happened.

She and her grandfather went to the police station to inquire about the results of the investigation and to ask for her mother's belongings.

The police officers told her, "The relevant remains will be temporarily sealed as evidence. I can't return them to you. The forensic autopsy results and the police investigation all prove that your mother died by suicide. As for other matters, such as cheating on the arts exam, that's another case and we are not responsible."

She asked dazedly, "So... is my mom dead just like that? If we want to catch those involved in the fraud, what should we do? Call the police or find someone else?"

Unable to cope with her words, the other party said, "Okay, we'll ask around for you, but there's no guarantee this will pan out."

On the way back, Grandpa comforted her and said, "Let it be up to fate. We can only rely on the conscience of those people."

Even after her mother was cremated and a farewell ceremony was held, the belongings were not returned and she did not receive a response to the matter.

She has no mother anymore, and her grandfather has no daughter anymore.

Her mother died just like that.

From that moment on, she realized how insignificant she was and how helpless she was.

After her mother died, she was bullied even more at school.

When she went downstairs to do morning exercises, someone would suddenly push her; when she passed by the playground, someone would deliberately kick the ball at her head; once when she was on duty and cleaning the blackboard, a thick dictionary suddenly hit her back from behind. A boy went over with a smile to pick up the book that fell on the ground, and the other students even whistled, as if he was a hero who had rid the people of a scourge.

Unable to bear it any longer, she dropped her blackboard eraser and went to the teacher's office to tell her about the bullying. Teacher Lu listened quietly and then said to her, "Luo Siwei, you have to look for the reasons within yourself. Why do they only bully you and not others?"

After hearing this, she ran out of the teacher's office, holding her breath, and climbed to the top floor of the laboratory. Since her mother died, there was a railing here. She stood in front of the white fence, and the wind blew her hair.

Luo Siwei didn't want to leave this world. She just looked down through the gap. She wanted to know what her mother was thinking before she jumped from here. She wanted to know what happened that day.

She will not repeat her mother's mistakes because she is stronger than her mother. She never gives up and never gets discouraged. She is like a grass called immortal grass. As long as there is a little soil, it will thrive.

Later, she was cornered in the restroom by several girls she didn't know. Real-life bullying wasn't as polite as it was on TV. She finally lost her temper and bit the leading girl's arm tightly, like a wolf cub, refusing to let go no matter how hard they hit her.

As a result, she nearly bit off a piece of the girl's flesh, and because the other girls recorded a video, it proved that she was the one being bullied. The parents of both parties were called to the school to deal with the problem, and a big matter was reduced to a small one.

But from then on, no one dared to bully her anymore.

But Luo Siwei was still very depressed, not only because of loneliness, but also because she didn't know the truth.

Lying on the bed, Luo Siwei realized that she was dreaming, but she could still feel the loneliness and fear in her heart.

It was as if her sixteen-year-old self was gradually waking up in this body, and the scars that she thought had healed suddenly opened one by one, bleeding profusely.

Having lost her mother, she felt like a child who had strayed into the adult world, her childhood prematurely ended. She had witnessed bloodshed and cruelty. Her mother's death was like a curse, trapping her in the same place. Curled up, she looked up at the adults, at the world, with a sense of trepidation.

Half asleep and half awake, Luo Siwei didn't know how to comfort her weak self.

A tear flowed down her cheek and fell on the pillow. She wanted to wake up and not think about it anymore.

With subconscious efforts, the scene finally changed.

By then, she had already begun investigating her mother's affairs on her own.

Luo Siwei made this decision while browsing a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories in the school library.

At first, she thought, it would be great if there really was a Sherlock Holmes who could accept her commission and help her.

Even if there is no Sherlock Holmes, there can still be the great detective Poirot, or Conan, or Kindaichi Kosuke. In stories, there are always some wise, brave and kind people who can help those in need and bring hope to the hopeless.

Later, Luo Siwei suddenly understood.

She has excellent academic performance and is often praised for her intelligence. From childhood to adulthood, she has been very good at solving puzzles. The more complex the problem, the more it can arouse her fighting spirit.

Instead of relying on others, start working hard yourself.

If there is no one in reality who can help her, then she can be that person.

After making up his mind, Luo Siwei organized his thoughts.

The police found out that it was true that the mother fell from the building, but why did she jump?

Although my mother was unhappy about that incident, she was far from being suicidal.

Just that morning, she'd bought some pork ribs at the market, saying she'd stew them for her that evening. Someone contemplating suicide wouldn't consider what to eat. What caused her to suddenly change her mind? Was she threatened, or was she simply pushed into it?

She heard from the investigating police officer that her mother's flip phone was open and stained with blood. Is it possible that she was talking to someone at the time?

Subsequently, Luo Siwei began to investigate.

She followed the steps in those detective books and first had to get to know her mother again.

She looked through her mother's belongings, every piece of clothing, cosmetics, and all the written records, leaving no clues.

Many things happened when she was a child, and her memory has long been blurred. Now when she looks back at them again, she suddenly has a new understanding and knowledge of many things.

Even mother and daughter who are close relatives have their own secrets. Through those items, she realized that her mother is an independent person. She has her own circle of friends, men who pursue her, and students who like her.

She also became more and more certain that her mother was definitely wronged.

In the second step, Luo Siwei checked the transcript of the art exam. After comparing it with her previous scores and rankings, Luo Siwei discovered that there were more than just the person who was exposed who participated in cheating in the art exam. She identified several suspects and secretly observed them.

Many of the parents of those students are either rich or noble, and some are incumbent officials.

In the third step, she listed the teachers who might be involved and began to check them one by one.

Who has connection with the school where the exam is held and may know the exam questions, who has access to the parents of those students, and who met and spoke with the mother before her death.

This is a job that requires patience. After all, she is only a high school student and can only conduct secret investigations after school.

Two months later, her investigation encountered a bottleneck. Luo Siwei sorted out her notebook every day but gained little.

On her seventeenth birthday, she sat in front of her old computer at home, feeling a little depressed.

She was so lonely, and the invisible pressure made her breathless. Suddenly, Luo Siwei had an idea to tell someone about these things. She mustered up the courage and wrote down a phone number.

It is a free assistance and consultation hotline where volunteers answer the calls, record the callers' questions, and provide psychological or legal assistance.

Luo Siwei didn't want the other party to know her true identity, so she deliberately took a long car ride, found a public telephone booth on the road, and made the call.

A man answered the phone and said hello.

Luo Siwei said, "I want to tell someone about what's happening around me. I'm very lonely and there's no one around me to share these things with. Can you keep it a secret for me?"

The person on the other end nodded. As a public welfare phone line, the calls they received were often varied, and the girl's request was not uncommon.

Luo Siwei began to tell her own story. She censored her story, not giving detailed details, and even deliberately misrepresented some information, such as saying she went to a different school, that her mother was a physics teacher, and she also changed the cause of death.

After telling everything, Luo Siwei gradually relaxed.

She just wanted to express her emotions. The person on the other end of the phone was a stranger who didn't know who she was. He might be far away and there would be no intersection between them.

"No one believed in my mother's innocence, and no one believed in me. I felt like I was abandoned by the world..."

"I've made up my mind. If no one investigates this matter, I'll do it myself..."

"I'm investigating those people. Although the progress is slow, I will find evidence..."

Luo Siwei said these words to the other party, and also strengthened his own inner beliefs.

The whole call lasted seven or eight minutes. After Luo Siwei finished speaking, the other party seemed to want to say something.

Luo Siwei concluded with, "Thank you for listening to me. I feel much better after speaking out. Goodbye."

After saying this, Luo Siwei hung up the phone and took a car back home.

She felt much more comfortable and her thoughts became clearer.

That night, a strange account suddenly added her.

She clicked to reject, but then the account submitted another application with a line of words written in the application box: I have received your call before.

Luo Siwei looked at the account named Thinker.

She was very confused as to how the other party had found her. She was using a public phone far away and had not revealed any of her real information on the phone.

Luo Siwei hesitated for a moment, clicked the pass button, and then she asked the other party: "How did you find me..."

"Public phone numbers can be located. I've confirmed your city."

"You said some deliberately misleading things on the phone. Because they were lies, you wanted me to believe them, so you described them in great detail. When you talked about some real events, you kept them vague, but your emotions were very real. After sorting them out, I removed the false information, recorded the true information you said, and re-arranged the entire story."

"Then I looked up relevant news and police records. I found information about your mother's fall from a building. She left behind an only daughter. I then looked up your real name, home address, phone number, and IP address, and linked it to your account. Finally, I decided to give it a try."

The other party paused for a moment and typed another line of words: "Now that you ask me this question, I can confirm that it was you who made that call."

Luo Siwei was stunned. She just treated the phone as a tree hole to confide in, but she didn't expect that the other party would come to her.

As if fearing that she would be frightened, the other party added: "I'm not a bad person."

Luo Siwei still couldn't believe him: "Then why did you add me..."

The Thinker said, "I don't approve of you investigating these things alone. These things are too dangerous and not something a little girl like you should do."

She held her breath in her heart: "Do you look down on girls?"

The other party said: "The key point is not that you are a girl, but that you are small. You are not yet an adult."

"I've reported it to the police, and many people know about it. They said they'd investigate it thoroughly, but in the end, nothing happened." She typed, "No adults are taking care of this anymore."

Luo Siwei looked at the screen, feeling a kind of sadness as if he was ready to die.

"You can do whatever you want now. You can tell my parents, tell my teachers, even tell the police, but no one will care, and you can't stop me." Then she added, "Anyway, I will do it. I have been doing it for a while, and I can ensure my safety."

She is stubborn and persistent. In her heart, that matter is a mission that she must complete.

The other party seemed to compromise, and his tone softened: "I can help you."

Luo Siwei hesitated for a moment and refused: "I made that call only because I was too lonely. I was just talking. I didn't want to ask for help from anyone, and I didn't want to involve others. I can handle this matter independently."

The Thinker said, "But from what you've said, I feel like you've hit a bottleneck, and I think I can help you break through it. Having someone to talk to will make things easier for you."

Luo Siwei was silent. What Thinker said was exactly the problem she had encountered recently.

"Assuming your mother wasn't involved in the fraud, then there must be another real culprit behind it..."

Next, based on what she said on the phone, Thinker analyzed the mistakes and omissions in her investigation.

Luo Siwei suddenly felt a sudden enlightenment. She thought, this person had found her among nearly ten million people, he might really be able to help her. And this person was a volunteer who answered the phone, so he must be a good person.

Luo Siwei's grudge was somewhat relieved. She no longer refused the other party's help, but typed two words: "Thank you."

The Thinker said, "I hope you'll discuss this with me before you do anything. Tell me where you're going every day so I can help if something happens. Most importantly, you must ensure your own safety. Don't approach the suspects alone."

Under the guidance of the Thinker, she began to investigate the matter more systematically.

When she was ready to start again, she was full of courage because she was no longer alone. There was someone who supported her behind that account.

That person was like a teacher who patiently guided her, telling her how to deal with those problems and how to find the truth.

As the final suspects were ruled out one by one, her progress slowed down again. As time passed, the original evidence became less and less.

At this time, the thinker pointed out a new path for her.

Although Luo Siwei has a talent for detective work, her knowledge is limited and she has obvious shortcomings. Thinker has a certain understanding of psychology and criminal investigation, which can just make up for her shortcomings.

"The physical evidence may disappear over time, but now you can look for traces of the other party's psychological crime."

"Psychological crime traces?" This was the first time she heard the term. "What is that?"

"When a person commits a crime, it will definitely leave a mark on his soul. This mark cannot be seen or touched, but it does exist. This mark will cause his behavior and language to change."

Then the thinker patiently explained.

"For example, a psychopathic killer might find pleasure in killing people. He might become obsessed with it, collecting the victims' clothing as collectibles. He might also be interested in related topics and might even brag about a particular case when chatting with others."

"An ordinary person would be terrified by the guilt of their crime, feel guilty, and fear others would discover their secret. They would avoid related topics, wake up in nightmares in the middle of the night, and be wary of anyone who knew the truth. That is a scar they cannot touch, it is their nightmare."

"As long as this psychological mark remains in a person's life, their words, actions, and even their life will be changed because of this mark. Physical evidence will disappear with the passage of time, but this psychological mark will not change even when they grow old, and may even deepen with time. You can find a way to examine these marks."

After listening to the thinker's words, she suddenly understood: "I understand what you mean. I can use this to my advantage."

During that time, Luo Siwei had just watched an old movie "Léon: The Professional".

In Luo Siwei's cognition, she felt that Thinker was like the killer LEON, a calm and introverted uncle, and she was like Matilda, who was training under the guidance of her teacher, wanting to let her loved ones rest in peace.

They had never met each other and were only connected by an Internet cable, but it was as if they were walking side by side on the road. In her arms was a pot of sprouting flowers called hope.