Chapter 103 Chapter 103 A completely ruined life...

"...What happened next?" Ji Yinhe's serious eyes were filled with mist, and his fingertips under the table became cold.

Having experienced so many cases and heard so many suspects' confessions, this was the first time she felt uncontrollably desperate and depressed.

At this moment, the door creaked softly. Lu Zheng and Yu Jing returned to the interrogation room and sat down. The surveillance equipment was turned back on. Yao Xiulan, caught up in her emotions, simply glanced at them without raising any objections. She continued calmly:

"Then, my mom raised the beer bottle, and I lowered my head, not daring to look... In just a few seconds, the beast didn't even make a sound, and blood was all over my feet." She laughed bitterly. "We all thought he was dead. My sister dug a deep pit in the yard to carry the body in, but he suddenly woke up... My mom was cleaning up the blood and glass shards on the ground when he grabbed her and she fell to the concrete floor."

"Actually, my mom had broken ribs, but she kept it to herself and didn't tell us. After a few more stab wounds, my dad was completely motionless. My sister and I buried him in the yard. Officer, it turns out growing up happens in an instant..."

The interrogation room was eerily quiet. After a long pause, Ji Yinhe spoke, "You left Jiangtan after daybreak."

"Yes." Yao Xiulan licked her cracked lips. "My mother had a serious infection, and she wouldn't let us see a doctor along the way. She died of a high fever before we even got back to Chaojiang Village."

She moved her arms and the chains clanked.

"What are you going to do?" Ji Yinhe asked sharply.

"I have an amulet hanging around my neck," Yao Xiulan said calmly. "Please help me take it out. There's a suicide note from my mother inside."

Ji Yinhe stood up immediately. Yu Jing wanted to stop him, but was gently held down by Lu Zheng.

"Don't worry, she's sure."

"...Okay." Yu Jing watched Captain Xiao Ji put on gloves and walk to the other side of the interrogation table. He swiftly took the suicide note from Yao Xiulan's amulet and even considerately put the necklace back.

It was a yellowed, wrinkled piece of paper. Ji Yinhe unfolded the suicide note, and the three of them read it together.

Lin Fang briefly described the process of killing Yao Youlu, which was almost identical to Yao Xiulan's confession.

The three of them exchanged glances but said nothing. Comrade Xiao Ji was wondering in his heart: Lin Fang was a coward by nature and had never been able to stop it for so many years. How could he suddenly change his nature and kill his husband for his daughter?

There are still doubts in this case, but now is not the time to dwell on the details. Even if the person who killed Yao Youlu was not Lin Fang, it must be the sisters Yao Yulan and Yao Xiulan.

If her speculation is correct, both of them should be involved in the murder of Feng Qisheng and He Ling.

Captain Xiao Ji knocked on the table and said, "Continue."

Yao Xiulan took a deep breath and said:

*

"——Sister, what should we do next?"

On a solitary mountain outside Chaojiang Village, a bleak autumn wind rustled through the treetops. Outside the secluded mountain keeper's hut stood a new grave. Yao Yulan and Yao Xiulan knelt side by side before the tombstone, burning paper, while a young man stood behind them, holding an offering.

Muhui, the son of the mountain guard, is Yulan's childhood playmate. They are childhood sweethearts and have a lot in common. Yulan even did not hide from Muhui what her father did to her.

After Lin Fang passed away, naturally, they found the only person they could trust and asked him for help.

Mu Hui never let down this trust and persuaded his parents to bury the body on Lonely Mountain.

The paper ash brushed against Yao Yulan's temples. Yao Yulan wiped her tears and said to her sister, "You are still young. School will start soon. I asked Brother Muhui to enroll you in the village school. You must continue your studies."

"What about you?" Xiulan blinked, "You haven't graduated yet, have you?"

"We can't always rely on Mu Hui and his parents." Yulan firmly held her sister's hand. "We'll move back to the old house tomorrow. I'll go to town to sell cakes. I remember everything my mother taught me."

"No!" "Don't!"

——Muhui and Xiulan shouted together.

But Yao Yulan has had her own ideas since she was young, and once she makes a decision, she will never change it easily.

The next morning, he said goodbye to Mu Hui's family and took his sister back to Chaojiang Village.

The neighbors were naturally confused by their appearance, but the two little girls said nothing. Everyone also knew that Yao Youlu had made a fortune in Jiangtan, so they thought that he abandoned his wife and daughter after becoming rich and had no idea where he was going to have fun. After sighing, no one followed up and asked any more questions.

Lin Fang had a family craft, but Yao Yulan only learned the basics, barely enough to support herself and her sister's food, clothing, and education.

Business was not good, especially since it was still a planned economy at that time. The town government had patrol officers coming from time to time, and there were also groups of thugs who came to bully girls.

Yao Yulan's leg was broken in a gang fight, and when her temperature dropped, she would be in so much pain that she couldn't get out of bed.

They endured until 1987, when Xiulan graduated from high school and was admitted to Jiangtan Normal University. She planned to return to Chaojiang Village to become a teacher after graduation so that her sister would not have to work so hard.

Looking at her excited sister, Yulan thought of the past events in Wisteria Lane.

Although Yao Youlu's body was well hidden, that face was like a time bomb, appearing in her midnight nightmares from time to time.

Yulan felt a sense of empathy, but since her sister was so yearning, she didn't say anything. She just helped pack her bags and sent her to the future she longed for.

Xiulan had good grades and thought her college life would be very happy, but when she came back from winter vacation, she was not happy, but rather a little depressed.

Two years later, late one night, Yao Yulan received a phone call. Xiulan was crying breathlessly on the other end.

After calmly asking about the situation, she found out that He Ling took her to a club, where those men forced her to drink and molested her.

Yulan sat there angrily all night, and the next day she went straight to Jiangtan, found He Ling, and gave her a severe beating.

But she didn't expect that this time of venting her anger would only bring her a brief period of peace.

My sister's life was completely ruined.

*

"...Let me guess, you didn't find out until this year that He Ling had taken your job and married Feng Qisheng and had a daughter, right?"

The face reflected in Yao Xiulan's pupils changed from her sister Yulan to the sharp-looking Ji Yinhe. Her curled fingers moved suddenly, and she came back to her senses from the past. She nodded and said:

"My name wasn't on the list of assigned jobs, and even my counselor, Ms. Ding, asked the college for me, but it was no use... I thought I was just unlucky. Luckily, the primary school in Chaojiang Village was willing to take me in. I consoled myself that this wasn't a bad idea, as I could always help my sister."

She sighed deeply, a strange smile spreading across her face. "Five or six years have passed like this... Last month, the temperature suddenly dropped sharply, and my sister's legs were aching, so I went to Jiangtan to buy some supplies for her. Unexpectedly, I ran into He Ling and Feng Qisheng at the entrance of Xinbai Building. They were followed by a nanny, who was holding a little girl in her arms..."

It was already bright outside, and the pale sunlight from outside the interrogation room shone through the blinds, casting shadows on Yao Yulan's face. Against the backdrop of the red birthmark, she looked very ghostly.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I hadn't seen him in so many years, but I followed him anyway... He Ling is richer now than she was in college, and she loves to show off even more. I heard her chatting with the teller and saying she's a middle school teacher. The teller was very envious. But after we bought something, Feng Qisheng secretly pulled her aside and told her not to say anything nonsense—"

*

"What if people find out you stole this job..."

"What do you mean by stealing?" A month ago at the mall, He Ling rolled her eyes at her husband unhappily. "How can you talk like that!?"

"Okay, okay." Feng Qisheng coaxed her, "At least it's not so aboveboard, right?"

"..." He Ling put one hand on her waist and poked her husband's forehead with the other. "Are you feeling sorry for Yao Xiulan, the one who had a crush on you back then? Are you standing up for her?"

"I don't……"

"It's better not to!" He Ling said arrogantly, "I stole Yao Xiulan's job openly. It's just a middle school teacher, I don't even care about it. If I hadn't wanted to send you to the Taiwanese Business Association, I wouldn't have agreed to let my parents teach. This job makes me so depressed!"

The mall was bustling with people, and no one noticed a pale girl in the corner, her fingers tightly clasped on the counter next to her, as if she would fall down at any second.

But the conversation wasn't over yet. After Feng Qisheng tried to coax her feebly for a few times, He Ling sarcastically asked, "You want to be a good person now?"

Feng Qisheng's expression changed. "What do you mean? I didn't do anything that was against the law!"

"Really?" He Ling sneered. "Weren't you the one who suggested that I take advantage of Yao Xiulan's liking for you and force her to go to the Taiwanese Business Association to be a drinking companion?"

Feng Qisheng felt like he was suddenly shot and couldn't say a word.

Yao Xiulan, who was a few steps away, felt like she had fallen into an ice river. Although it was winter, huge beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

*

"Then I followed them all the way until they got back to Wisteria Lane—"

Xiulan, whose face was as pale as gold paper, closed her eyes and sneered, "Officer Ji, isn't it a coincidence that their home is where I used to live, and where my father, whom I hated so much, is buried..."

Yu Jing couldn't help but ask, "So you killed them that night?"

Yao Xiulan shook her head. "I stood outside for half the night and then left... I was delayed too long, and my sister got worried. She came to Jiangtan to find me, and I told her everything. She was also very angry. She told me not to worry about it and let her handle it."

"Yulan applied for a temporary babysitter job, right?" Ji Yinhe pulled out a newspaper with the job posting He Ling had put up more than half a month ago. "They've only met once, and now several years have passed. With a little dressing up, she won't be recognized."

"You guessed right." Yao Xiulan said with her eyes downcast, "My sister has endured hardships since she was young, and she's very good at work. Even He Ling, who's so picky, is very satisfied with her."

"So it was Yao Yulan who committed the murder to defend you?" Yu Jing stroked his chin. "That's too cruel! Three lives..."

Xiulan couldn't help but sneer. "Officer, you say that so lightly! I've lost so much, so I don't deserve to be angry or retaliate?"

"Of course you deserve it." Ji Yinhe stood up and looked down at her condescendingly, "But you didn't kill them. Or rather—you didn't kill them all, right?"

"Actually, my sister didn't intend to kill anyone. She just wanted to talk to He Ling... It's been several years since the incident, and I have a stable job now, but she can't just let go of the bullying she suffered. She hopes to get some compensation for me."

Yao Xiulan let out a long breath, closed her eyes painfully and forcefully, and said:

"But, that very night, my sister Yulan discovered that Feng Qisheng had walked into Feng Xiaojing's room and done to her daughter what that beast Yao Youlu had done to her..."