Chapter 61

When mentioning the woman's death, Deng Yu continued to talk about the past, adding a deeper pain to it.

"I used to think she deserved it, because the village chief at the time concluded that she had accidentally ingested pesticides. But both children were with her that day, and although Sui Jiangbao's bowl didn't have any pesticides, Xiaosheng and her bowls both had them." Deng Yu's face was sagging, and her frown seemed to add dozens of years to her age. "What do you want me to think? Didn't she just want to commit suicide and then have Xiaosheng die with her? But now, I really..."

She choked and regretted her past.

The news Wen Liangxi brought her in the morning made her feel that she had been deceived again, and even more seriously. She was like a clown being fooled around and had no judgment at all.

Sui Yusheng carefully planned the death of his mother-in-law. Even her desire to return to the village to live was suggested by Sui Yusheng. He persuaded his mother-in-law by saying that she should temporarily avoid Deng Yu and it would not be too late to come back later after their relationship eased.

In fact, it now seems that Sui Yusheng was just looking for an opportunity to block this woman who disliked him. He even called Sui Jiangbao before visiting his mother-in-law to create an illusion in order to mislead Deng Yu's judgment and make her think that it was her mother-in-law who deliberately framed Sui Yusheng, whom she disliked, and she took the bait.

The truth is, Sui Yusheng went to a store, pretending to be weeding an elderly person, and bought pesticide. He then placed it in his own bowl and the bowl of the person he was poisoning. After the victim consumed the pesticide, he also consumed a moderate amount himself, creating the illusion of poisoning to convince others that he was not the one who had administered the pesticide, given that he had consumed it himself.

At first, Deng Yu didn't quite believe Wen Liangxi. Even though Sui Yusheng was indeed not a good person, she didn't want others to put the blame on him again. She thought he had committed enough crimes.

No criminal would casually tell others about his murder for no reason unless there is a suitable reason.

Wen Liangxi was able to give Deng Yu a suitable reason. He told Deng Yu that Sui Yusheng liked him, and in this liking, he said that he was playing a forced role.

Sui Yusheng told Wen Liangxi about his murder so that if he was chased by the police, he would target Wen Liangxi and drag him down with his death.

This madness really frightened Wen Liangxi. He was afraid of being killed, so he pretended to have feelings for Sui Yusheng and covered up his crimes in order to pry more secrets from Sui Yusheng in the future.

The development of events now proves that his original decision was correct. He saw Sui Yusheng abusing the cat, and he had evidence to expose his crime, so on the night Sui Yusheng escaped, he packed up all the evidence, sent it to the police station under his real name, and reported Sui Yusheng.

He said that last night, Sui Yusheng called him before leaving, hoping to take him away with her. After he clearly refused, the other party became furious and threatened to die with him.

But in the end he was safe, and Sui Yusheng also ran away.

Deng Yu, who was telling this story, had already believed what Wen Liangxi said to her. Teng Zheng, who was beside her, also despised Sui Yusheng even more after hearing this story, and had a more pitiful attitude towards Wen Liangxi.

Only I, who knew what happened in the cemetery that night, felt that Wen Liangxi was disgusting.

He had cleared himself of all blame, placing all the blame on the now-defunct Sui Yusheng. A dead person couldn't speak, so perhaps that's why he was so brazen. He was clearly the true murderer, yet he pretended to be innocent and pure, even daring to walk into the police station with such brazenness.

"I can't imagine that the son I raised for so many years would be like this. I was proud of him..." Deng Yu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. She looked at her emaciated body with grief. It was only a few hours from last night to now. It seemed that if there was a gust of wind, she would be blown away. I can even imagine how she spent the days after her baby was killed.

I can't stay here anymore. This kind of atmosphere is already a blow to me, not to mention the implicit praise of Wen Liangxi.

Teng Zheng, immersed in this complex emotion, frowned as he thought about this matter. I secretly poked him to pull him out of it, glanced at him a few times, and signaled him to take me away.

After receiving the signal, Teng Zheng twisted his body in his seat. Finally, he patted his thigh, said a few words to comfort Deng Yu, and took me away on the pretext that it was late and he would not disturb me anymore.

Just as he closed the door, Teng Zheng gathered all the sighs in his life. From the moment he sat up the stairs to the moment he walked out of the community, he was sighing the whole time.

This strange noise made me kick him for no reason.

He didn't even try to dodge, but my kick completely shut him up. "This is truly shocking to humanity for a hundred years. Sui Yusheng actually likes Wen Liangxi, and they're both men. Oh my god, there's actually a homosexual around me... And what's even worse is that this isn't a free love relationship, and Wen Liangxi was coerced by him!"

He went from mumbling at the beginning to shouting at the top of his lungs without any scruples. Fortunately, he was in the car, otherwise, if he walked on the street, people passing by would definitely have judged him as mentally ill.

"I really didn't expect Sui Yusheng to be so bad."

I looked through the rearview mirror at Teng Zheng who was concentrating on the road, and couldn't help but complain in my heart that when he saw Wen Liangxi clearly, it would be even worse than this, and it would only subvert his world view even more.

If they really love each other, then they are really like-minded.

But Wen Liangxi is an out-and-out selfish person.

"Hey, you say..." While waiting for the green light, Teng Zheng's eyes fixed on my face through the rearview mirror, "Sui Yusheng is so nice to Aunt Deng, isn't he really after the house she owns?"

Teng Zheng said that Deng Yu's parents had left her several houses.

I don’t quite understand: Are those houses very expensive?

"Not only that," Teng Zheng glared, "Those houses are not only well-located and beautifully landscaped, but if they were rented out or sold directly, the interest alone would be enough to make a living. Sui Yusheng isn't just trying to use the money to please Wen Liangxi, is he? But Wen Liangxi's family isn't short of money, so why is he showing off..."

I squinted my lips to show that I had nothing to say.

When I arrived at the residential complex where Li Ying'an rented a house, I was about to get out of Teng Zheng's car when the owner of the car pulled me hard.

Through the car window, Teng Zheng quickly took a few glances at the exterior of the residential complex and looked at me with surprise in his eyes: "You said this is your friend's home, your friend lives here?"

Soon, I could see from Teng Zheng’s eyes that he was dissatisfied with this living environment: What? I didn’t let you live here.

"This is too shabby," Teng Zheng said, meaning nothing else. "Is your friend struggling financially?"

To say that we are financially tight means being poor, and this is undeniable.

I deliberately sounded pitiful: I was so poor that I couldn't even afford to eat.

To be honest, I didn't even pretend. I blurted out these words with a blank expression. Anyone with a discerning eye would have known I was lying, but Teng Zheng believed me. Shocked, he even offered to let us move into the residential complex where his family rented out, the building near Deng Yu's house. "I'll give you a place to live for free, and I won't charge you any money. My mom will definitely sympathize with you."

This time it was my turn to be stunned. I completely believed that Teng Zheng must have such good intentions, and I couldn't help but be moved.

Thinking back to the environment of the community where Deng Yu lived, I looked back at the community where Li Ying'an rented. There was really no comparison. It would be great if Li Ying'an could live in such a place for free.

But then I became discouraged. As far as I know Li Ying'an's temperament, his principle is not to accept rewards without merit. So the first thing he would say to such a good thing would definitely be a serious rejection.

I shrugged: Forget it, it's too far from work.

"There's a bus stop nearby," Teng Zheng emphasized, thinking about our daily life problems. "One dollar!"

I was indeed hesitant about such a good thing, but Li Ying'an and I are a community, so I must discuss it with him: I will go back and talk to him about this matter, and then I will reply to you.

Teng Zheng could certainly wait. He made an OK gesture to me, yawned randomly, and prepared to go home.

Before going home, I passed by the lawn where I hid the key that night. I took out the key that I had forgotten to take out, put it in my pocket and went home.

The first thing Li Ying'an did when he saw me come home was to take out the prepared ingredients from the table and start heating oil in a pan to cook.

"Aunt Deng must be feeling very uncomfortable." Li Ying'an started by talking about Deng Yu and showed some concern.

I nodded: Sui Yusheng's incident made her, as a mother, cry very sadly, so Teng Zheng and I came back early.

The oil and water were crackling in the pot. Li Ying'an put the spatula on the edge of the pot. He looked up at the range hood, and all the words in his mouth ran into his eyes. His eyes showed melancholy, and all the emotions burst out from his light dusk gray eyes, sizzling like oil.

He said: "This is inevitable. When a child you've raised for over ten years suddenly has problems, it's like someone who believes in the true Buddha suddenly discovers that Buddha is fake. Collapse is inevitable."

I didn't care about what he said, my eyes were always fixed on his eyes.

I could tell Li Ying'an was sad, but what did he need to be sad about? Was it because he saw in Deng Yu the love a mother has for her child? I raised the corners of my mouth bitterly, thinking that this was probably the reason.

Isn't life like this everywhere? Those who have something can squander it at will, while those who desire it will never get what they want. Fate can sometimes be so extreme, ruthless and cruel.

I don’t want to see Li Ying’an’s sad face again. I always believe that people like him should live under the brightest sunshine and bloom to their heart’s content, and should bloom in the most beautiful spring.

So I changed the subject and told Li Ying'an everything Deng Yu said when I met her today, and emphasized my severe disgust and disdain for Wen Liangxi's behavior.

How much I trusted him before, how much I hate his face now. I hate myself for not being able to judge people well and for being blind.

After hearing these words, Li Ying'an and I focused on the same question: "So how do we expose his crimes?"

I was silent...

Yes, how to expose him?

Thinking back to that night's bloody, horrific scene, Sui Yusheng's staggering body, and Wen Liangxi's piercing eyes, I can't help but shudder. I want to show the world Wen Liangxi's true side, letting them judge. It's not to seek justice for Sui Yusheng's death—he never received any justice, but that's no reason for Wen Liangxi to kill him.

This is what the police should do, not an excuse for Wen Liangxi to interfere arbitrarily and allow the long-term interests to tighten Sui Yusheng's grip.

It has been a day since Sui Yusheng's death. I am not sure how Wen Liangxi will deal with his body, but I think Sui Yusheng's body will never leave that grave. It is likely that Wen Liangxi buried it in the ground.

Now we are faced with a problem. If Sui Yusheng's body has been buried in the ground, it will rot over time. I don't know how quickly the human body will rot under the decomposition of soil microorganisms, but I know that a rotten body will definitely be detrimental to the investigation of this case.

I have to explain what happened that night to the police as soon as possible.

I told Li Ying'an about this idea. Li Ying'an was afraid that I would reveal the secret of the body, but knowing it and not reporting it would also make me an accomplice. In the end, he decided to put the decision in my hands.

There was no doubt that I had to tell the police what I heard and what happened that night. As for how to explain how I witnessed this scene, I decided to say that I met a friend while taking a walk, then followed him quietly, and then I came across the unexpected cruel scene in the cemetery.

Apart from this, for example, why I dragged my feet for several hours before reporting, I can explain it like Wen Liangxi did. In short, my mistakes are far less serious than Wen Liangxi's.

So the next morning, I shamelessly asked for leave from the supermarket manager and went to the police station accompanied by Li Ying'an.