6
Zhuang Xiaodie went to work every day as usual. Shentu Hai hadn't spoken to her since that night. Nian Jinsi slept for three more days and three nights. She slept directly on the sofa. After waking up, she still had no intention of going out. She didn't check her phone. The TV was on from morning to night, only showing the news. Shentu Hai sat next to her for a while, but couldn't tell what she was watching. Nian Jinsi seemed to be completely unable to see her, and there was almost no communication between the two. If Nian Jinsi and Zhuang Xiaodie were secretly planning something behind her back, Shentu Hai had specially observed that the two of them rarely talked to each other.
It's been almost a week, and Nian Jinsi hasn't gone out. When she comes, she just watches the news and sleeps. She eats three meals a day, but that's the only normal thing left for her. The weather is getting hotter, and the investigation into Wei Dahe hasn't started yet. Shen Tuhai's patience has reached its limit, and he wants Nian Jinsi to leave. But what if Nian Jinsi leaves and Zhuang Xiaodie runs away?
In the evening, Zhuang Xiaodie brought back dumplings as usual. Shentu Hai had already eaten, so there was an extra portion. After dinner, Nian Jinsi went to take a shower while Zhuang Xiaodie washed dishes in the kitchen. Shentu Hai stood by the door for a while. Zhuang Xiaodie seemed to sense something and turned to look at her.
"Eat dumplings?"
"When will she leave?" Shentu Hai asked.
Zhuang Xiaodie turned back to wash the dishes, while Shentu Hai waited patiently. After she finished washing one, Zhuang Xiaodie said, "She didn't say anything."
"What are your plans?" Shentu Hai continued to ask.
"—pay your rent?"
Shentu Hai smiled and said, "Have you forgotten why I let you live here?" She walked in and closed the kitchen door. "If she doesn't leave, it's fine, but I have to start investigating."
Zhuang Xiaodie frowned slightly but said nothing.
"If you don't want to, then you'll have to tell her the truth," Shentu Hai said. "Every day, besides eating and sleeping, she just sits there watching the news. Don't you think there's something wrong?"
Zhuang Xiaodie said, "She wasn't like this before..." She was silent for a moment, "Maybe something happened to her family."
Shentu Hai said, "She had a family tragedy, and she came to stay with you and never left? Didn't you say she had a studio?"
Zhuang Xiaodie kept wiping the same bowl until Shentu Hai got angry and snatched the bowl away. Only then did he hear him say, "She might be divorcing her husband."
"Why are you here getting a divorce?"
Zhuang Xiaodie said: "It can be done. I have time."
Shentu Hai said, "I won't let her live like this forever."
Zhuang Xiaodie leaned against the kitchen counter, looked at Shen Tu Hai for a moment, and said, "What happens after we kill him?"
"--What?"
"You said you wanted to kill him, but have you ever thought about what you would do after you kill him?"
Shentu Hai remained silent. She hadn't considered the question. Or rather, she'd been completely absorbed in killing Wei Dahe for a while now. Besides missing her grandmother and Wei Yuling, nothing else had crossed her mind. What happens after a murder? She'd seen plenty of movies and TV series, whether about revenge or planned murders. Some succeeded, some didn't, but what happened? No one told her. The hatred between the characters in these dramas might have resolved after revenge, or maybe not, but no one had told her about the aftermath.
"Do you think you can come back here after killing someone?" Zhuang Xiaodie continued, "Do you think you can wash the blood off your hands?"
"Why not?" Shentu Hai said, "Wei Dahe killed his own daughter and still got away with it. Why not?"
"Since you're so sure, tell me what you think happened," Zhuang Xiaodie replied. "How did he kill him?"
"He threw her into the river."
"Throw it in while awake?"
"The police said there was water in the lungs."
Zhuang Xiaodie was silent for a moment and said, "She can't swim?"
The faucet was not tightened and was dripping. Shentu Hai stared at the dripping water. Zhuang Xiaodie did not urge her. The answer stuck in her throat, almost scraping off a layer of blood, before it fell to the ground: "Yes."
Shentu Hai stared at the water droplets. She could feel Zhuang Xiaodie's gaze still fixed on her, but she didn't look back. Why? She suddenly remembered Wei Yuling and her looking through rental ads near the university, imagining how they would live together in the future, how they would divide the room, where to put things, even though they were only sophomores at the time.
"Then what do you think is the evidence that she was killed by her father?"
Shentu Hai finally looked up this time. She remembered those words clearly. The scene when Wei Yuling said them remained etched in her mind. She could still remember the movement of his lips, his lowered eyes, the way he looked up at her after he finished speaking, and then a helpless smile. Wei Yuling said, "He said today—that in ancient times, it didn't matter if parents beat their children to death." Her deep brown eyes shone brightly, and she tried hard to hold back the tears.
Zhuang Xiaodie's silence this time was longer than ever. Shentu Hai placed the bowl he was holding on the table. They all stared at it, as if they would rather see it suddenly shatter.
It was Shentu Hai who broke the silence. "Later, Wei Dahe found a rich woman. He stopped beating her for a while, and the scars on her body gradually faded." She took a deep breath, and the rest of her words scraped her throat, the taste of blood clinging to her tongue. "And then she died."
Zhuang Xiaodie said: "There is no direct evidence——"
"No." Shentu Hai replied.
Zhuang Xiaodie seemed to be thinking about something, and then said something that Shentu Hai didn't expect: "Does Wei Dahe know that you live here?"
Shentu Hai was stunned for a moment and replied, "His home is not far from mine. After my friend... left, he basically didn't live there anymore." "Do you know where he lives now?"
Shentu Hai shook his head.
Zhuang Xiaodie frowned slightly and said, "Is it possible that he wants to get rid of you?"
"——Me?" Shentu Hai asked.
Zhuang Xiaodie nodded. "Yes, you. From what you've told me now, you must have had contact with the police and told them about your suspicions that Wei Dahe was the murderer, right?"
Shentu Hai nodded.
"Is it possible that he holds a grudge?"
"He's living a carefree life now, how could he remember me?"
Zhuang Xiaodie shook her head, rinsed the bowl with water again, wiped it clean with a dishcloth, and placed it on the drain rack. She said, "Then there's another possibility. You have crucial evidence in your hands, but you don't realize it yet."
Shentu Hai widened his eyes slightly: "Critical evidence?"
"Why else would you be able to see him and draw his paintings?" Zhuang Xiaodie said, "Maybe your friends gave you some hints or something. Anyway—I think this is very likely."
"If we find evidence, maybe we can prove he's the murderer?"
"Perhaps."
“What if you can’t find it?”
Zhuang Xiaodie sighed deeply and said, "I know what you are thinking. I just hope you can find it."
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