Absolutely wrong
Inside the abandoned building, grayish-white scraps of paper floated up and down, scattering everywhere.
The fiery red flames seemed to burn the air to the point of distortion. Lin Nanyue took a step forward and picked up the half-broken painting from the ground.
"This is……"
Jiang Qing stared blankly at the familiar scene.
The snow-white sketch paper was already half burned, and the mottled pieces could not block the large orange-red flowers that were blowing towards him. Under the sky as beautiful as a sunset cloud, among the layers of clouds and water, there were the figures of several people who had not yet been burned.
"Six people..." Jiang Qing's eyes fell on the lower right corner, "Not right."
Only a few strands of black hair were left there, revealing half of a pink and blue hairpin.
"It was Jiang Qing," she murmured, caressing the fragments. "She added herself in."
Lin Nanyan picked up a brick and threw it into the brazier in the middle. After a clang, the flames rose for a moment, then waned and went out.
He walked around the walls, carefully examining all the paintings one by one.
All the paintings are created with Jiang Qing as the main subject. He can feel the emotions of the painter from them. Although the people in the paintings are happy at times, the emotions conveyed by the whole painting are complicated.
The painter has put herself into the character's shoes, but not completely. Her emotions are light and pale, yet follow her like a shadow.
Although the painter has tried his best to convey the emotions of the person in the painting, unfortunately, she can never get rid of the light veil around herself, like an inescapable shadow.
When he reached the southeast corner of the wall, Lin Nanyan stopped unconsciously.
"Jiang Jiang, look at this."
Jiang Qing came back to her senses and collected all her thoughts. "What's wrong?"
She walked towards Lin Nanyan, and was suddenly speechless when she saw what she saw.
The dark night, the dim street lights, the strange moths, and the alienated composition.
It’s the painting that was once exhibited!
The past echoed in Jiang Qing's mind for a long time: art exhibitions, portraits, Jiang Qing, Li Qingyun, Li Liang...
At this moment, the scattered beads finally connected into a line.
Those details that she had overlooked and those questions that were buried deep in her heart seemed to have answers at this moment.
"I used to think that some things could be postponed to avoid disturbing people's current mood," she looked up at the boy, her eyes deep and shallow, "but I was wrong."
"I was so wrong."
“It must be resolved,” Jiang Qing said, “right now, right now.”
Lin Nanyan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and asked seriously: "What do you want to do?"
——
In the empty corridor, the telephone rang.
After a long time, the people in the darkness moved.
He reached out and picked up the phone and put it to his ear. The faint blue light shone on his face, making it look pale.
"The flyers..." The other end was silent for a moment before speaking, "I distributed them."
Li Liang's face was expressionless, but his voice was hoarse as he spoke, "I know."
Zhang Chao was silent for a few seconds before continuing, "Jiang Qing and Lin Nanyan were following Jiang Qing. The three of them entered an abandoned building. It was too far away to see clearly, but now they've all come out and are heading southeast."
Li Liang: "Yeah."
"I'll help you track it to the end," Zhang Chao closed his eyes. "I'll send the result to your phone no matter what it is."
"But, Li Liang, this is the last time."
Li Liang lowered his eyes: "Thank you."
Zhang Chao looked up at the thick night in front of him. The darkness seemed to have no end in sight, so he asked one last question.
"Have you ever considered me a friend?"
He held the phone tightly, and all he got in return was silence.
Zhang Chao lowered his head and found that the call had been hung up long ago.
It was like a slap in the face, and he laughed at himself.
Whatever the answer to the question is, it doesn't matter.
From the moment the flyers were distributed, the fate of the two was determined.
Zhang Chao looked up and saw three figures vaguely visible in the darkness ahead. Everything would end tonight.
——
Jiang Qing and Lin Nanyan followed quietly behind, holding hands.
There was no lighting, so they moved cautiously.
The person in front was walking in the night with ease, revealing a casual proficiency and lightness.
Jiang Qing stared at the front closely and suddenly noticed that Lin Nanyue paused for a moment.
She turned around and gave the boy a questioning look.
Lin Nanyan lowered his voice, "There's someone behind me."
Jiang Qing subconsciously wanted to look behind her, but the boy held her head with both hands.
"Don't look at it," Lin Nanyan lowered his head, "Do you want to deal with it?"
Jiang Qing pulled the boy's hand down, thought for a moment, and shook her head, "Don't worry about it."
It doesn’t matter whether it’s Li Liang or anyone else.
She looked at the girl in front of her. That was the person they had to treat with caution tonight.
The long street stretched out, and Jiang Qing was in a good mood, jumping to avoid the obstacles under her feet. She counted the grids under her feet, from sparse and broken to neatly distributed.
He stepped onto the stairs, and his white sneakers were stained with wet mud, making a dull sound when they collided with the hard ground.
Click, click.
She pushed open the door and crossed the last threshold.
There was damp and wet fog in front of me, and a cement road towering above the ground under my feet.
It is still such a familiar time and familiar scene.
She supported herself against the wall with one hand, turned around and sat on the outer edge, slightly bent one leg, looked up at the dim stars in the air, and tapped the wall beneath her with her fingertips.
Twenty-eight, twenty-seven, twenty-six...
She hummed happily in her heart.
When Jiang Qing reached the top floor, she saw this strange scene.
The girl's back looked carefree and happy, as if she had let go of all her shackles. It was a look she had never seen before.
At this moment, she heard some noise and glanced over.
"You guys finally caught up with me." Jiang Qing sighed, but there was no hint of surprise in his words.
Turning around, she rolled over and landed lightly, "Why?"
"Why do you have to care about me?" The girl's eyes were filled with genuine confusion. "Why waste your time and energy?"
"We've only just known each other for less than a month, why?"
"Before I answer you," Jiang Qing raised her eyes and stared straight into Jiang Qing's without dodging, "I want to ask you a question first."
"Jiang Qing——"
Her eyes were deep and her emotions were complex and difficult to understand.
"How many times have you killed someone?"
——
In the living room filled with light, as bright as day, Ye Meiyan's expression was frozen.
"What did you say?"
Mina sighed, stood up and took out the remaining photos from the file bag, placing them one by one in front of Ye Meiyan.
"This is a photo of Li Qingyun."
"This one is Li Liang, this one is Jiang Qing, of course," Mina held up one of the pictures and casually threw it on the coffee table, "this one is Jiang Qing."
Ye Meiyan picked it up.
In the dark night, a dim street lamp casts a warm yellow light on the ground. The girl puts one hand in her pocket and looks forward indifferently.
At the end of her sight, there were three people sitting in a row, looking at Li Qingyun boredly.
Mina: “Guess when this was taken?”
Ye Meiyan's eyelashes fluttered slightly, "The night we went to look for Li Qingyun together."
"Bing go!" Mina snapped her fingers. "After your plot against Li Qingyun ended that day, Jiang Qing, who had left early, took a detour and returned to the scene."
"What is she thinking about at this moment?"
Ye Meiyan was speechless when she looked at the girl in the photo. That was another side of the girl that she and Jiang Jiang had never seen before.
Calm, indifferent, and apathetic.
Like a robot operating automatically, without any unnecessary emotions.
Jiang Qing looked at the person, but he seemed to be wandering, like a ghost that accidentally lingered in the dark night.
"My people said she's quite alert," Mina said, sitting back on the sofa, her fingertips tangling a circle of misty blue hair. "She'll notice anything unusual at the slightest movement, which is why they were so far away and used a super high-powered scope to take this picture."
Ye Meiyan unconsciously exerted force with her fingers, wrinkling the photo in her hand.
"What else?" She looked up. "This isn't enough for you to call it interesting."
"Of course." A smile appeared on Mina's face.
"I've seen many people who have two faces in front of others and behind their backs. She's not an exception."
She nodded and said, "Look at the third picture from the bottom."
Ye Meiyan pulled out the photo Mina had requested. Under the vast expanse of night, the girl walked alone through the alley. The wind blew through the trees, and a small white flower fluttered and fell above her head. Curious, the girl looked up, feeling a warmth and tranquility.
This is a very normal photo and a very normal scene, so that's why Mina singled it out.
As if sensing Ye Meiyan's doubts, Mina kindly explained, "The problem isn't the setting or the people, but the time and location of the filming."
Hearing this, Ye Meiyan flipped through the back of the photo. The black handwriting was clearly reflected in her eyes, and her pupils shrank.
She hurriedly looked at the writing on the back of the first photo.
The moment the two looked at each other, her hands shook uncontrollably.
Her brain was buzzing, but Ye Meiyan didn't care about anything else. She took out her cell phone, but clicked the wrong option several times.
Mina calmly watched the girl lose the calm demeanor she had maintained since they met. She did not stop her, but just watched.
It's been a long time since I last saw this state. What a pity——
Not because of her.
Ye Meiyan forced herself to suppress her disordered heartbeat and finally dialed a familiar number.
"Jiang Jiang——"
——
"How many times have you killed someone?"
The clear voice spread across the empty rooftop. Because there was no echo, it seemed a little scattered, as if it was soaked in thick fog and carried a heavy weight.
"So you already know everything." Jiang Qing looked at the girl who spoke in surprise. She was stunned for a moment.
Then she smiled and said, "Does it matter?"
"Important," Jiang Qing nodded, "very important."
Facing the girl's serious expression, Jiang Qing slowly stopped smiling.
"Twice," she said. "Twice so far."
Jiang Qing's pupils trembled for a moment, and then returned to calm. As expected.
That's twice.
She raised her eyes to look at Jiang Qing, "You ask me why I care about your business?"
"No reason."
"I just saw it and knew it."
"I want to do it and I can do it, that's all."
When Jiang Qing heard this answer, he was stunned for a long time. The answer was unexpected, but when he thought about it carefully, there was nothing surprising about it.
Because we see it, we cannot ignore it.
Do it because you want to do it.
Jiang Jiang, you are just such a person.
"What about you?" Jiang Qing approached Jiang Qing, "Why did you kill someone?"
Jiang Qing withdrew all his wandering thoughts and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
She turned her head to look at the bricks and tiles of the building partitioning on the left. The strange-shaped obstructions were waving in the air, revealing a gray color, just like her life.
Twelve, eleven, ten...
"I'm just following my heart." Jiang said softly.
Jiang Qing noticed that the girl's eyes always glanced to the left inadvertently, as if she was waiting silently.
She asked, "What are you waiting for?"
Jiang Qing withdrew her gaze, she smiled brightly, with a strange innocence on her face.
"Wait for the result of my third murder, wait for the light to shine again in my life."
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