Chapter 19 The Last Portrait "Xie Shijin, have you seen my last portrait?"...
At 10 p.m. that night, Yichuan International Airport.
From afar, Cheng Shiyun saw Cheng Jinghua check in and board the plane to Beijing with Ran Hongyin.
Cheng Jinghua told them not to come to see her off at the airport, but Xie Shijin still brought her anyway.
Life is unpredictable; perhaps one day, the most ordinary moment will be the last time you see someone.
Cheng Shiyun can only cherish every moment she can still see her parents.
Inside the airport terminal, a large display screen showed that the plane bound for Beijing had already taken off.
Xie Shijin carried a cat-shaped bag and walked towards the subway station.
Inside the cat carrier, the little tabby cat lay listlessly, like a puddle of liquid, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Are you sleepy, Cheng Shiyun?" Xie Shijin glanced at the time on her phone. The next subway train was about to arrive. "If you're sleepy, take a nap. It'll be another two hours before we get home."
It is considered animal abuse if a kitten sleeps less than twelve hours a day.
They drove three hours to Puji Temple in the morning, then tutored for another three hours in the afternoon, and even came to see them off at the airport in the evening. Even humans get tired, let alone a cat.
"I'm not sleepy at all. You're the one walking all the way." The little tabby patted the cat carrier. "My feet haven't even touched the ground. I've been nestled in the carrier the whole time. I'm fed whenever I'm hungry or thirsty. Being a cat is quite comfortable."
Even so, her tail wouldn't wag at all, clearly exhausted and listless.
The airplane flew into the night sky, becoming a tiny, glowing dot.
Looking at the dark night, Cheng Shiyun said in a muffled voice, "I just feel... the flight time my dad chose is a bit unlucky."
22:21.
She died at 22:21.
Cheng Jinghua must have thought of that too, but there was nothing he could do. The tickets were cheapest at this time of year, saving the two of them over a thousand yuan.
Her dad was still wearing the same glasses he wore two years ago, and the lenses were all scratched up.
"Pah, pah, pah, you jinx! My parents will definitely be safe and sound..."
Xie Shijin repeated softly, "I will definitely be safe and sound."
Cheng Shiyun roused herself and asked, "Xie Shijin, did I find my dad the day I had the accident?"
She recalled some things, but they were still very vague.
I vaguely remember that it was her birthday that day. Cheng Jinghua was on duty at the school. It was raining heavily, and I couldn't get through to him on the phone.
Two days before her birthday, the father and daughter had a big fight. Her new phone was something Cheng Jinghua bought for her to appease her.
She suddenly felt very scared.
She was afraid that she had argued with Cheng Jinghua again, and that she had run away alone and gotten into a car accident. If that happened, Cheng Jinghua would feel guilty for the rest of his life.
Xie Shijin's eyes darkened instantly, like a lake obscured by dark clouds: "No, Teacher Cheng didn't see you."
That day, a torrential rainstorm caused almost the entire Xuezi Road near the back gate of No. 7 Middle School to be flooded. Cheng Jinghua took Xuefu Road near the front gate of the school to go home.
When Cheng Jinghua got home, he realized that Cheng Shiyun hadn't returned.
He plugged his phone in to charge, and in addition to missed calls from Cheng Shiyun, he also received an emergency call from the hospital.
“Teacher Cheng and I gave separate statements, but when the police checked the two statements, they found many discrepancies in the timelines.”
I saw you at 9:05 PM.
The express delivery station is 300 meters from the back gate of Yichuan No. 7 Middle School, and the delivery time is about three and a half minutes.
Entering the school, going upstairs, and finding Cheng Jinghua's office takes about ten minutes.
Logically, Cheng Shiyun should have arrived at Cheng Jinghua's office between 9:18 PM and 9:20 PM.
Xie Shijin continued, "Professor Cheng left the office at 9:25 p.m. and arrived home around 9:45 p.m.
"Officer Yang and his team have conducted many experiments. If you don't encounter any people or events along the way, based on the timeline... you will definitely encounter them."
Cheng Shiyun immediately got goosebumps all over her body.
In the cold white light cast by the subway station, the boy had dark hair and chestnut eyes, his brows furrowed deeply.
"What do you mean?" Cheng Shiyun sensed that there was something more to his words.
Xie Shijin said in a deep voice, "Ni Jiaqi's suspicions may be true... This is not a simple accident."
murder?
Who would want to murder a high school girl like her?
You've been watching too many suspense movies.
Cheng Shiyun said she didn't believe it, but she was actually quite apprehensive.
The robbery, rape and murder, and indiscriminate killing cases she had seen on television flooded her mind like a tidal wave.
"I shouldn't be... that unlucky, right..."
After saying that, Cheng Shiyun laughed at herself.
Everyone is dead.
Whether it's an accident or murder, it's just bad luck begetting bad luck, it's just bad luck coming to an end.
"What about the school's surveillance cameras?" she pressed. "If I enter the school, the cameras will definitely capture it, right?"
Xie Shijin: "After the final exams of the second semester of the first year of high school, air conditioners were installed in the classrooms, the school's electrical wiring was changed, and there were no surveillance cameras in July."
Cheng Shiyun was stunned for a moment: "...What a coincidence."
After a moment of digestion, she asked, "During holidays, the school usually leaves one or two teachers on duty. Are there any other teachers at the school besides my dad on those days?"
Cheng Shiyun looked up at him, trying to find some evidence that was close to the truth in his eyes.
A blinding white light shone from the distant tunnel as the subway train pulled into the station, the whistling sound of the wind instantly filling our ears.
The wind ruffled the stray hairs on the boy's forehead, and Xie Shijin slowly shook his head: "No."
The girl froze, her heart sinking.
Indeed, the police must have already investigated all the possibilities she could think of.
Apart from the victim himself, no one knows what happened during those thirty-two minutes.
"Beep beep—"
As the subway arrived at the station, the doors slid open to the sides, and the air conditioning inside the carriage turned on, bringing a refreshing coolness.
Xie Shijin, carrying a cat carrier, stepped aside to let passengers who were getting off the train pass, and sat down in an empty spot in the connecting area between the carriages.
As Cheng Shiyun nestled in the cat carrier, she suddenly felt a chilling sensation, similar to that of a ghost, emanating from her body.
murder……
murder?
No way...
She was just a pretty, high-achieving high school girl, why would anyone murder her...?
Damn it!
Cheng Shiyun grew angrier and more aggrieved the more she thought about it: "Is it wrong to be good-looking? Is it wrong to have good grades? Is it wrong for me to go to my dad?"
She's just an ordinary student; she hasn't made any enemies. What good would it do to kill her?
My nose tingled, and two golden tears suddenly rolled out of my eyes.
The tabby cat's fur is waterproof, so her tears couldn't stay on. Two golden tears slid down her cheeks and landed in her cat carrier with a soft patter.
She quickly buried her face in her paws, but tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
Xie Shijin placed the cat carrier on his lap, his eyes deep and serious: "...No mistake."
At first, the police also believed it was just a normal accident, but at the insistence of the family, Yang Shengnan still led a team to investigate Cheng Shiyun's social relationships.
Cheng Shiyun is an excellent student, lively and kind, and everyone, including her classmates and teachers, likes her.
Several boys in the class cried when they learned about her accident.
It was only then that Xie Shijin realized that he wasn't the only one in the class who liked her.
Perhaps other classes have them too.
Cheng Shiyun is really, really good.
After Cheng Shiyun finished crying, she moved her wet paws to her face and meowed, "Xie Shijin, I want to go home and see if I can remember anything."
It was almost midnight when I got off the subway, and I just managed to catch the last bus.
The cicadas chirped noisily, and the cool night breeze rustled the leaves of the magnolia trees by the roadside.
Standing downstairs in the teachers' apartment building and looking up, you can see only a few lights on.
The closer you get to the entrance of the building, the brighter it becomes.
The light came from the light bulb that Xie Shijin had replaced; it was so bright, brighter than the moon.
They climbed the stairs to the fourth floor under the lights and stood in front of their house. Xie Shijin subconsciously raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Knock knock—"
The motion-activated lights dimmed and then brightened, filling the hallway with warm light, while the sound of knocking echoed back and forth in the quiet space.
"!"
Cheng Shiyun lunged forward and grabbed his hand.
Xie Shijin: "?"
"No one's home, why are you knocking?" The little tabby bear hugged him, the whole cat hanging on his arm.
"..."
Xie Shijin was taken aback by her sudden action. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a "creak" from the side.
The door to room 402 next door opened.
An elderly woman with gray hair leaned out of the doorway, put on her reading glasses, and looked him up and down.
The boy stood under the lamplight, his black, tousled hair falling across his forehead. His handsome profile was bathed in a play of light and shadow, making him appear exceptionally serene.
"Hello." Xie Shijin nodded slightly in greeting.
"It's you, classmate."
The old woman recognized him and said gently, "Are you looking for Teacher Cheng? Teacher Cheng has gone out and won't be back for more than a month."
"I understand, thank you." Xie Shijin nodded, watching the old woman slowly close the door.
As soon as the door closed, you could faintly hear intermittent voices coming from inside: "Grandma, who is it?"
"That student is here again?"
"yes."
"Sigh, speaking of which, the driver who hit Yunyun still hasn't been caught? What a heartless bastard, such a nice girl..."
"Yunyun has had a tough life. If she were still alive, she would be 18 years old this year..."
She died at the young age of 16, her youth cut short, and everyone mourned her loss.
Cheng Shiyun also felt it was a pity.
Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done now; he's already dead.
Cheng Shiyun has let it go, but she still feels a little sad when she thinks about it occasionally.
The biggest problem she faces now is how they are going to get into the house.
"Xie Shijin, have you ever watched detective dramas?" Their house had a traditional old-fashioned anti-theft lock, and Cheng Shiyun suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Those policemen and detectives in the dramas just stick a hairpin into the keyhole, or stuff a card into the crack of the door, and then slide it open."
Xie Shijin understood immediately and pursed her lips: "...Shall I give it a try?"
The little tabby patted his shoulder: "Just do it!"
There happened to be a student ID card in my bag.
Xie Shijin slipped his student card through the crack in the door, and it slid down.
Very good, it doesn't budge.
A faint awkwardness hung in the air.
"It's probably a matter of technique," Xie Shijin said. "I'll try again."
Cheng Shiyun stopped him, saying, "Don't try it, it's an IQ problem."
After transforming into an animal, her size shrank, and her intelligence also decreased. She actually believed what was shown in the TV series.
No wonder her dad often said that TV dramas are made by madmen for idiots.
She's an idiot.
Furthermore, Xie Shijin did whatever she said.
Xie Shijin was also foolish.
The two fools stared at each other, speechless for a long time.
Xie Shijin silently put away her student card: "Come again tomorrow?"
Cheng Shiyun: "It's no use coming tomorrow, the door still won't open."
"I'll go back and learn it."
"What should we learn?"
"unlock."
"..."
Cheng Shiyun had witnessed Xie Shijin's terrifying learning ability. In the past, no matter how difficult the final question or how complicated the experimental procedures were, he could understand it immediately and even apply it to other situations.
Cheng Shiyun clicked her tongue twice: "It's good that you didn't go astray."
Xie Shijin subtly curled her lips, accepting what could barely be considered a compliment: "...Going home?"
"Go back, go back."
Cheng Shiyun took one last look at her home.
As Xie Shijin turned around, Cheng Shiyun suddenly called out to him again.
"Wait a minute." She noticed the house number above the door and asked him, "Was this the house number when you came to my house last time?"
Xie Shijin moved closer and looked up, saying, "No, the position isn't that low."
She also remembered that her house number was hung very high, and she had to stand on tiptoe to reach it every time.
Cheng Shiyun's doubts deepened, then a sudden inspiration struck her: "Xie Shijin, feel the back of the house number."
Xie Shijin raised his hand and groped around for a while, then said, "There's something there."
He took it down and saw that it was a key.
Cheng Shiyun used to be very forgetful and lost her keys countless times. Later, she secretly put the keys behind the house number. Cheng Jinghua scolded her many times after she found out.
"And you're one to talk! He leaves his keys here too." Cheng Shiyun pouted and muttered under her breath, "Could it be that he's getting old and his memory is failing?"
Xie Shijin lowered his gaze indifferently: "Teacher Cheng was selected as a provincial-level backbone teacher last year."
"Wow." Cheng Shiyun stroked her mustache. No wonder he's her dad. Awesome.
"Teacher Cheng has a very good memory."
Xie Shijin's lowered gaze flickered slightly as he stared intently at her: "So this key is for you."
"Left for...me?"
My heart skipped a beat and then jumped hard.
Bang bang bang.
Cheng Shiyun, though slow to react, understood what he meant.
She could almost picture how Cheng Jinghua had put the key on there.
Before leaving, Cheng Jinghua carried large and small bags, took off the house number, wrapped the key with tape several times, stuck it to the back of the house number, and sighed, "We're all out of town, not at home."
"What if Little Cloud comes back one day and doesn't have the key?"
Cheng Shiyun looked at the familiar key, her eyes and nose stinging, and she choked up slightly: "...What if a thief finds out? I'm not a child anymore, I spend all my time educating students to raise their awareness of safety, but I have no sense of theft prevention myself."
Cheng Jinghua watched her body being cremated; how can she possibly come back?
How foolish.
How could you be so stupid?
The same goes for the lamps for the deceased. Puji Temple is such a long way away. If praying to gods and Buddhas were effective, so many people wouldn't have died.
The little tabby's tail lashed out wildly, slapping against the boy's chin.
Xie Shijin raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then gently stroked the little tabby cat's fur twice.
"Cry if you want to, there's no one else here."
The little tabby cat nimbly turned its head, shifting its position in the boy's arms: "Who's crying?"
She held it in, okay?
Who cries every day? She's not a faucet.
The little tabby's eyes are big, bright, and moist.
Cheng Shiyun sniffed and glared at him fiercely: "Meow—!"
If I cry again, I'll yell at you.
Even if you raise me, I'll still be mean to you.
"Hmm, she didn't cry." Xie Shijin held the cat in one arm and the keys in the other. "Shall I open the door?"
Cheng Shiyun urged, "Open, open, open! Sesame, sesame, open the door quickly!"
"I received the sesame seeds," Xie Shijin said.
Cheng Shiyun was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
The key was inserted into the lock, turned, and the door opened.
The living room, the kitchen, and her room—all the furnishings—remained exactly the same.
Cheng Shiyun heard from her classmates and friends that when their relatives passed away, the room where they lived would gradually become a storage room.
But her room was exactly as it was before she left.
With the chair pulled out, she can sit at her desk to do her homework and comb her hair.
It's like... her parents are always waiting for her to come home.
...
Under the desk were the gifts she hadn't had time to unwrap on her birthday.
Cheng Shiyun doesn't dare to dismantle it now, for fear that Cheng Jinghua will really think a thief broke into the house.
She jumped down from Xie Shijin's arms, rummaged through the storage boxes on the desk, and then pushed open the drawers.
"No, how could there not be?"
Xie Shijin asked, "What are you looking for?"
Cheng Shiyun asked in confusion, "It's a cat keychain with a string of numbers engraved on the base. Could you help me look for it in another drawer?"
She really liked that keychain. The cat on the pendant looked a lot like a jelly. It cost sixty yuan. She went to the boutique several times but couldn't bring herself to buy it. On her birthday, she didn't know who put it on the milk delivery box at her house. If it weren't for her nickname engraved on the base, she would have thought someone had lost it.
She had all her belongings, except for her keychain.
"Meow? Xie Shijin?"
Xie Shijin's expression was clearly off.
Cheng Shiyun tilted her head and stared at him.
Xie Shijin blinked twice, then slowly said, "The keychain was attached to my phone, and it got lost along with your phone."
"ah?"
Cheng Shiyun thought hard for a while.
The first thing she usually does when she gets a new phone is to put on a screen protector and a phone case, but she doesn't remember if she hung a keychain on it that day.
"Did you see it that day? There was a keychain on my phone?" Your eyesight is that good?
Xie Shijin shook her head and put the storage boxes and drawers that she had messed up back in their original positions: "You posted photos on your social media."
"Oh..." Cheng Shiyun squatted on the desk, raised her chin and looked at him, "See, what I said?"
Why don't you give me any likes?
Collecting likes was especially popular when I was in high school.
Cheng Shiyun is also a pro at posting on social media, averaging two posts a day, but Xie Shijin has never liked any of them!
Xie Shijin pursed his lips.
I ordered it.
But she will never receive that message.
Xie Shijin lowered her eyelashes and said in a muffled voice, "I... don't check my social media often."
Cheng Shiyun hummed twice, and believed him.
Xie Shijin also rarely speaks in the class group.
Cheng Shiyun felt that he was like the wick in a kerosene lamp, lighting up only when flicked. If she applied too much force, the flame would suddenly shoot up very high.
But Cheng Shiyun had never seen him get angry with anyone.
There was also a transparent glass jar on the desk containing several paper stars of different colors, with her summer homework underneath. She wouldn't have to do homework even if she died, which was pretty good.
Cheng Shiyun used her claws to pry open a few books and slowly flipped through them.
But for some reason, she really wants to do her homework now. She also wants to go to class, misses the little supermarket near the school gate, and misses Lao Zhao and Feng Yue.
While casually flipping to a page in her Chinese textbook, Cheng Shiyun exclaimed with delight, "Xie Shijin, look! There are three yuan!"
Xie Shijin was looking around her room when he heard this and nodded: "A huge sum of money."
"..."
They can't even afford a bag of dried fish, let alone a huge sum of money.
She's quite good at teasing cats.
Cheng Shiyun's room is filled with plush toys—all sorts of them, on her bedside table, on the cabinets, all of which have appeared in her previous selfies. There's also a large teddy bear, which is quite old, with twisted stitches on its ears.
She lived a warm and happy life, like something out of a TV drama, growing up surrounded by love.
"Xie Shijin," Cheng Shiyun called to him, "Try flipping through some other books." Maybe you really will find a huge sum of money.
Unfortunately, they searched through all the books on the table but couldn't find a single penny.
Cheng Shiyun regretted not having the habit of saving money before.
Aside from finding the three dollars, they didn't find any other valuable clues.
After putting everything back in its place, Xie Shijin hugged the cat and closed the bedroom door.
It was late at night, and the chirping of insects outside the window had subsided considerably.
The living room was spotless, as were the windows, which were so bright they reflected light.
The entire house was reflected in the mirror-like windowpane.
Cheng Shiyun carefully looked around the room, knowing she might never have the chance to come back again.
"Xie Shijin, don't you feel like something's missing in the living room...?"
Xie Shijin surrounds the customer lounge.
The tables and chairs were neatly arranged, the certificates of merit were no longer brightly colored, and the vases were filled with artificial flowers.
In the darkness, Cheng Shiyun's eyes shone brightly as she stared at several walls: "Memorial portraits."
Her portrait after her death.
The little tabby cat looked at him and said gently, "Xie Shijin, have you seen my portrait?"
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Author's Note: Double update again today! One more chapter to go. Thank you for your support! [Sprinkling flowers]
The main text is only about 350,000 words, it won't be too long, so please don't overload it! [pleading]
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