33. Unaware
Zeng Xiasheng had always been a quiet man, and his language skills had become even more rusty after his release from prison. He often pointed and talked, so even when he was with Tang Sizhuo, he rarely spoke. At home, he mostly repeated the same phrases, telling her to eat or take her medicine. Even so, his shuffling footsteps, the rustling of his clothes, and even his deliberately subdued breathing were a constant reminder of his presence, like white noise unique to her, peaceful and tranquil.
Even though she knew he'd be back by noon, the anxiety of losing her barrier was palpable. Outside, the chill wind whistled through the buildings, a sharp whistle. Inside, the air conditioner whirred, its blades creaking, a nauseating sound. Tang Sizhuo, wrapped in a blanket, reclined in the corner of the sofa, hoping to watch something to pass the hours. It took her a while to realize she was just staring blankly at the dust in the air, and her chosen movie hadn't even started yet.
She had initially suggested going with him, but Zeng Xiasheng disagreed. He couldn't just take the letter and leave; he had to pack up and clear the room. Tang Sizhuo figured that even if she went, Zeng Xiasheng wouldn't let her get her hands dirty, and he'd have to worry about where she'd sit to avoid the draft. So, reluctantly, she agreed to stay home, not wanting to make things worse.
The movie progress bar crawled slowly, and the plot was completely lost on him. Tang Sizhuo sighed, turned off the TV, dug out his laptop from his commuter bag, and decided to find something to do.
There was another computer in the office, a lightweight one meant for travel, so it didn't hold many files. The homepage was cluttered with a few documents she needed to temporarily confirm responses to clients. In the inconspicuous lower right corner sat an encrypted folder containing all the information she could recall about "Brother Hai."
Too much time had passed, and she hadn't previously realized it might be related to Sun Changming's death. She hadn't paid much attention, so Tang Sizhuo's impression was very vague, and the fragments she managed to recall were difficult to guarantee accuracy. She didn't want her testimony to be questioned for its credibility if it ever came in handy, so she cross-checked everything herself and only contacted Lin Feng after confirming it was correct.
The first time I heard of "Brother Hai" was around the time of the high school entrance exam. Sun Changming was older and doing well, so he mostly addressed people as "General Wang," "General Liu," "Director Zhang," or "Director Ma," rarely calling them "Brother." So when Tang Sizhuo overheard this, he found it strange and it stayed with him. Sun Changming had been borrowing money from Brother Hai for years, his tone gradually becoming more humble during calls, so the amount must have been significant.
After the incident, Sun Changming and the assets of several of his companies were liquidated to pay off debts. A slew of financial institutions, large and small, emerged to file claims, shocking everyone to discover that his seemingly comfortable life was mired in debt. However, thanks to Zeng Xiasheng's decisive confession, the entire process was handled swiftly, and no one considered investigating whether Sun Changming's murder was related to his debts. Now, with the passage of time, there's no way to investigate.
Regardless of whether his true motive was to gain a social connection, Sun Changming treated her well overall. He was pressured to repay a loan when he secretly took her nude photos. If the financial company he lent money to actually has a common controlling shareholder, then the practice of requesting nude photos of the debtor's relatives is highly consistent with the operating model of underground porn forums, making him most likely the "Brother Hai" involved in the Liu Dong case. If so, "Brother Hai" has been involved in loan sharking and pornography for at least the past decade. With deep roots now, his money laundering network and covert communications are naturally well-established, making it understandable that the city bureau is unable to address this issue.
The public security investigation was much more rigorous than hers. Although they were actively investigating clues, they clearly stated that there was no reliable evidence showing that the two cases were related, and they would not be handled together for the time being.
Tang Sizhuo opened the form recording the progress of the case and summarized the information from Lin Feng's phone call in the morning.
She actually had another guess, but after thinking it over, she didn't tell Lin Feng.
Despite Sun Changming's repeated emphasis on exercise as a stepping stone to future integration into the wealthy second-generation social scene, Xiao Tong still struggled to give up her pursuit of a fair complexion and slim figure. She maintained strict dietary controls during Tang Sizhuo's adolescence. After her first period at twelve, Tang Sizhuo's daily food intake was low, and she couldn't handle the supplements Xiao Tong bought her. As a result, her height and secondary sexual characteristics developed slightly slower than those of girls her age. It was only after leaving home that she caught up rapidly during her first two years of college.
If the purpose of requesting photos is similar to nude loan, one or two would suffice. However, Sun Changming secretly photographed her for a long time during her freshman and sophomore year of high school, suggesting that "Brother Hai" was not only forcing her to repay the debt, but may also have pedophilic tendencies.
However, there was no basis for this. Even if the policewoman was responsible for taking the statement, Tang Sizhuo was not ready to talk about his body in such detail. Perhaps he was just imagining things, and the two "Brother Hai" had no relationship at all.
Zeng Xiasheng shouldn't have known about the nude photos, at least she never mentioned it. Not only was she ashamed and afraid he'd mind, but she was also worried he wouldn't mind and would go after Sun Changming instead.
By the time he was in vocational high school, Zeng Xiasheng had turned sixteen and was able to work part-time. His financial situation had improved significantly, and he occasionally played basketball with the boys. His personality had become much more cheerful, and he had learned to consciously control his temper. Unless he could no longer tolerate it or was deliberately provoked, serious physical conflicts would not usually escalate.
The court transcript shows that Zeng Xiasheng's confession was consistent. He said from beginning to end that Sun Changming looked down on him, and he held a grudge and killed people in revenge.
The judge did not suspect anything, and news reports at the time even dug up his past of fighting. A psychologist was invited to write a column saying that taciturn people are not good at self-regulation, and anger that is not relieved in time will accumulate in their hearts. In the end, they will easily be triggered by small, seemingly irrelevant things and behave out of control.
This is the truth. If it were someone else, Tang Sizhu would analyze it the same way.
But Zeng Xiasheng had clearly promised to study hard and find a way to leave Jiang Ming together. She couldn't understand why he suddenly became obsessed with the past without any warning.
When he was arrested ten years ago, smartphones were just becoming commonplace among young people. Zeng Xiasheng had no money to buy one and was still making do with an older-generation keypad phone. After his imprisonment, he was trained in mobile phone repair, but this was to ensure he could make a living after his release and avoid becoming a source of social instability. They only taught him how to repair it, not how to use it. Even after his release, when he received a new phone from Tang Sizhuo, Zeng Xiasheng still stuck with the older generation, treating it as a communication tool rather than an entertainment device. He rarely used it unless he had a specific need, and he had even less faith in mobile payments, always carrying cash in his pocket.
So when he was about to reach the alley entrance and took out his cell phone to call Chen Tianhao, hundreds of text messages suddenly flooded in the moment he turned on the phone. He was extremely shocked and stunned for a moment.
They were all internet numbers, and the content was similar. They were demanding repayment in harsh words, asking him to pay back the money quickly.
Zeng Xiasheng initially found it odd. He was a man who would spend every penny he had, and even when he was at his lowest, he refused to give in. Furthermore, he would receive compensation for his work during his sentence. Even if it was better than nothing, only a few hundred yuan a month, it would be enough to save by the time he was released, and food and rent wouldn't be a problem.
But he clicked on several text messages one by one, and they all clearly stated his name, ID number, and household registration information. Before he could react, the other party noticed and turned on the phone, and began calling him relentlessly. One call after another hung up, and the phone kept buzzing and vibrating.
What is owed? To whom is it owed? When was it owed?
Zeng Xiasheng frowned and recalled subconsciously.
Aside from the two hundred thousand yuan from Tang Sizhuo, he had no financial dealings with anyone, let alone a financial company. If anything, it was likely that he had accidentally clicked on an online loan app on his phone. Those apps had somehow accurately detected his financial difficulties and were constantly pushing all sorts of loan offers, all boasting about them. There was no guarantee he hadn't borrowed money from someone due to some erroneous operation.
Zeng Xiasheng's panic grew worse, and he desperately searched through the text messages, hoping to find out the exact amount, but he couldn't find any useful information. Just as he was about to answer the phone to inquire, the owner of the breakfast stall at the corner of the alley saw him and yelled at him to go check the repair shop quickly, saying it had been vandalized the night before.
Zeng Xiasheng's body moved before his brain, and he ran inside. As soon as he turned the corner, he saw a wall covered in bright red paint. The rolling shutter door had been dented and cracked by someone, and in the middle was a piece of printed paper that looked like a big-character poster. The words "Laolai" and "Pay back" were glaringly prominent.
The proprietress's voice came from a distance, complaining incessantly, saying that the visitors had been making trouble for half the night and had scared the neighbors. She originally wanted to call the police, but then she was afraid that the two men had taken people's money in an unclean way and would arrest them again not long after they were released. As a result, despite their good intentions, the two young men acted like cowards and no one answered the phone.
Zeng Xiasheng stood frozen in the doorway for a moment, realizing that this incident wasn't his fault. His phone continued to vibrate in his pocket, leaving him no room to make a call. Besides his own SIM card, there was also a secondary card belonging to Tang Sizhuo, specifically for him. He could use it to contact Chen Tianhao, but there was no way to avoid the risk of implicating Tang Sizhuo. After careful consideration, Zeng Xiasheng simply turned off his phone, planning to call Chen Tianhao later from a public phone.
He walked down the alley and saw the tin house on the rooftop from a distance. It used to be gray and inconspicuous, but now it was also splashed with blood-red paint.
As expected, if the debt collectors could find the store, they could also find his residence. Zeng Xiasheng secretly thanked himself for the fact that he had been leaving early and returning late during the past few days with Tang Sizhuo, without attracting attention. Today, he was even more worried about the landlord's difficulties in canceling the lease early, so he refused to let her come with him.
The landlord, probably having heard the landlady's curses, stood on the rooftop and looked out. When he saw Zeng Xiasheng, he was stunned for a moment, then looked away, pointing to the sky and the ground, and swearing: "You murderer, you're in jail. I shouldn't have rented to you! You've been in prison for ten years and you still haven't learned your lesson. You're a dog that can't change its nature. You're always causing trouble. Move out now! You're not going to give me a cent of your deposit back for messing up the house like this!"
Zeng Xiasheng was furious after being scolded, but he was somewhat in the wrong, so he gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger, running upstairs in two or three steps.
The tin house only had an internal gate, no anti-theft lock. Although the things in it were worthless, it was not appropriate to leave the door wide open when going out. He had installed a small lock when he moved in, but now it had been smashed open and thrown into the red paint that had flowed to the ground.
The iron door banged against the frame in the wind, and Zeng Xiasheng was startled. The house had definitely been broken into and searched. If they found Tang Sizhuo's letter, they might report it to her, as they often do, using the usual debt collector tactics of harassing relatives and friends and exerting pressure. He had no time to argue with the landlord. He immediately opened the door and rushed in. Before his eyes could adjust to the dimness, there was a loud bang behind him, and the door was kicked shut.
Zeng Xiasheng turned around and found a young man standing at the door. The tattoo on his collar extended to his chin, and he was looking at him provocatively.
Suddenly, someone made a few sounds like teasing a dog, "Hey, buddy, here it is."
The room was a mess, with seven or eight men standing or sitting, stepping on scattered clothes. Zeng Xiasheng said nothing, glancing around. Fortunately, he didn't see the envelope.
The leading man was a few years older than him, with a fierce look on his face. He sat at the head of the bed and played with an electric shock device, which made a crackling sound from time to time.
"Your brother is quite good at hiding. We can't catch him, so he has no choice but to come to you. 2.4 million, how are you going to pay it back?"
Zeng Xiasheng clenched his fists, considering the possibility of running away, and whispered in a low voice to delay time: "I don't know."
"Not aware?"
The man suddenly laughed out loud, took out a few crumpled papers from his pocket, crumpled them up, and threw them in front of him with a flick of his finger.
"You can look at the copy and tear it up as you please. You're the guarantor, it's written in black and white. How can you say you didn't know?"
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