Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Where did they go?
Yao Xiulan still remembers the weather that morning.
It was a sunny, bright day, and the hot sun shone on her bare arms, as if gilding her dull and pale skin.
A passionate symphony was playing on the radio, and a banner reading "Welcome to the Class of 1987" was hung under the gate of Jiangtan Normal University. The festive red words on a white background and the kind smile of the counselor, Teacher Ding, made her shy heart leap with joy.
She mustered up her courage and stepped forward, whispering, "Hello, teacher. I'm Yao Xiulan, a freshman in the Chinese Department."
"Classmate, come over here to register." A pretty, tall girl waved at her and introduced herself. "My name is He Ling, and I'm from Jiangtan. Where are you from?"
Yao Xiulan nervously grasped the bulging snakeskin bag and said, "My name is Yao Xiulan, and I'm from Dengzhou."
"Oh, hello, hello." He Ling looked him up and down, staring at the red birthmark with a fake smile. "There aren't many girls in the class, and we live in the same dormitory... Is this all you have?"
"Ah... yes."
Yao Xiulan lowered her head. The snakeskin bag was filled with bedding, a few changes of clothes and books. She and her sister had been selling rice dumplings at the entrance of the village for a whole summer, and they had barely managed to save enough money before school started.
"It looks quite heavy." He Ling raised her chin and waved to the group of heads behind her, "Someone come and help me!"
Immediately a boy came over.
Since leaving Jiangtan that year, Yao Xiulan has lived in Chaojiang Village for seven years, and this is the first time she has seen such a tall and handsome man.
She looked up blankly, her lips slightly parted, her heart pounding.
"Mr. He, my name is Feng Qisheng." The boy didn't even look at Yao Xiulan, but grinned at He Ling and said in Mandarin with a slight dialect accent, "What can I do for you?"
He Ling raised her eyebrows. "Then help this classmate Yao take his luggage to Building 2, Room 501."
Feng Qisheng hesitated for a few seconds, turned his back to Yao Xiulan, and said in a low voice: "But I only want to serve you, classmate He."
He Ling's cheeks flushed. She glanced at Teacher Ding who was not far away and said in a soft voice, "Don't be like this. We are all classmates. We should help each other."
"Oh, that's such a pity..." The boy's voice quickly dropped to a whisper, "She can't help me with anything, I'm only doing this for your sake..."
The cicadas chirped and the midsummer sun suddenly turned cold. Yao Xiulan stood there holding the snakeskin bag, unable to move forward or backward.
She could sense Feng Qisheng's displeasure at the moment, and could also sense that He Ling seemed to enjoy being pursued by the opposite sex.
"It's not heavy, the luggage isn't heavy." Yao Xiulan lowered her head, using her bangs to hide the upper half of her face. She laboriously carried the bag and turned to run towards the dormitory building. "I can do it myself. No, no help..."
*
"I... I'm not familiar with He Ling. We haven't been in touch for many years..."
"I'm sorry, I don't know much about the three of them..."
"What? Feng Qisheng and He Ling are married? I really didn't know. They didn't even tell me they were getting married. Officer, you can tell I don't have a good relationship with them, right?"
"Yao Xiulan? Is there such a person in our class? Why can't I remember... Wait, officer, let me recall... Oh, is it the one with the birthmark on her face? Sorry, I've never dealt with her!"
“Beep, beep, beep—”
In the office, Ji Yinhe put down the phone in frustration and rubbed his face with his hands.
"Any progress?"
Yu Jing, Niu Dazhi, Sang Xiangyang and Lu Zheng, each of whom had a phone in hand, shook their heads.
“…”
Ji Yinhe let out a breath.
There are only three names left on the list that have not been crossed out.
One of them happened to be He Ling and Yao Xiu Lan's roommate. According to Teacher Ding, this female comrade named Zeng Rou was also He Ling's close friend in college. Before their junior year, the two of them went in and out together and were as close as sisters.
Zeng Rou now works at the Beijiang District Education Bureau. Ji Yinhe called her office directly. After two busy tones, a competent female voice rang out from the other end, "Hello, who is this?"
"Hello, Comrade Zeng. I'm Ji Yinhe, Captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Tiandu Branch." Captain Ji calmly introduced himself. "Do you know He Ling, a Chinese teacher at Chengguan Middle School?"
“…”
There was silence for a few seconds. Just when Ji Yinhe thought she would panic and deny it like the previous few people, Zeng Rou sighed and took the initiative to answer: "I know her. She's a college classmate. We're quite familiar with each other... I, I saw the news about the family annihilation case."
Ji Yinhe quickly grabbed the notebook. "Okay, let's get straight to the point. Can you tell us what kind of person she is? What's her relationship with Feng Qisheng and Yao Xiulan? Also, why did she move out of the dormitory back then?"
Zeng Rou paused for a moment, and then the sound of footsteps came from the receiver, and the background sound went from noisy to quiet.
"He Ling...is a very complicated person. She did some...not-so-good things, so I broke up with her in my junior year. Xiulan was also her victim." She sighed. "Officer Ji, it's hard to explain over the phone."
Ji Yinhe frowned slightly.
She was now increasingly curious about their college past.
Recently, the news is reporting a "thallium poisoning case" - an outstanding female student at the capital's top university was poisoned, and the perpetrator was most likely a jealous roommate.
The case has happened for almost two years, but there is still no clear result, which has caused widespread controversy in society.
Although the capital and Jiangtan are separated by thousands of miles, this incident also serves as a wake-up call to the public security system - sins are not only found in key locations where crackdowns are carried out, but are also slowly growing in the invisible corners of the ivory tower.
Ji Yinhe thought that Zeng Rou dared to use the word "victim", which meant that there must be a deep grudge between He Ling and Yao Xiulan.
——Perhaps this is exactly Yao Xiulan’s motive for murder.
But if this speculation is true, then why did she wait until several years later to take action, and why did she kill Feng Qisheng and Feng Xiaojing?
Moreover, the body of Yao Xiulan's father happened to be buried in Zi Teng Lane.
This is too coincidental...
Captain Xiao Ji took a deep breath. "Since it's hard to explain over the phone, let's talk in person. Don't worry, it won't affect your work. Shangdao Coffee is across from the Beijiang Education Bureau in half an hour. Is that convenient?"
The receiver was silent for a few seconds, and then Zeng Rou's dry and tense voice came:
"good."
*
On the last evening of 1988, there was no snow, but the temperature hit a record low in Jiangtan. The whole campus was filled with joy. As soon as the bell rang, everyone ran out of the Soviet-style building, rubbing their red, frozen fingers. Their laughter was filled with anticipation and longing for the New Year.
The door of Room 501, Building 2, was slammed shut. He Ling stood in front of the window with her arms folded, staring at the girl in the corner with a cold face.
"Yao Xiulan, are you going tonight?"
Yao Xiulan shook her head and covered her face with her hands. "I won't go. Last time, someone wanted to kiss me..."
"What's wrong with a kiss? Will it make you lose a piece of flesh?" He Ling frowned. "You know in your heart, with that disgusting birthmark on your face, what normal boy would be intimate with you?"
"..." Yao Xiulan shook her head slightly, her whole body almost sticking to the wall.
"So, just listen to me." He Ling coaxed, "Those people are not bad. They are all my father's friends and well-known in society... Is this cotton-padded jacket you are wearing a gift from them?"
"...Yes, yes." Yao Xiulan said in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible.
"That's all." He Ling stepped forward, took the girl's cold hand, and threatened with a smile, "You like Feng Qisheng, right? But sorry, he likes me now. However, if you are willing to help me a few more times, I would also be happy to help you connect and arrange some dates..."
Yao Xiulan raised her head, her eyelashes trembling, "Really?"
"Really? The car is waiting for us outside!"
He Ling put her arm around Yao Xiulan's shoulders and forced her to go out.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw my roommate Zeng Rou standing in the corridor holding a book, with a look of disbelief on her face.
"He Ling, where are you taking Yao Xiulan?"
He Ling raised her chin arrogantly, "Mr. Zeng, I advise you to stop meddling in other people's business!"
She strode out of the dormitory with the dazed Yao Xiulan as if she was carrying a chicken to be slaughtered.
*
"—So, where did they go?"
In the small private room of Shangdao Coffee, Ji Yinhe and Lu Zheng looked at the woman opposite them with a tired face.
Zeng Rou shook her head. "I don't know the details. I was standing outside the dormitory at the time and only heard words like 'Taiwanese businessmen'... Anyway, they didn't come back until midnight that night. After that, Xiulan's mental state became very bad. She could barely cope during the day, but at night she would hide under the covers and cry. Her grades plummeted."
Ji Yinhe frowned, "Didn't you tell the counselor?"
Zeng Rou sighed, "To be honest, He Ling was the princess of the class back then. All the teachers and classmates liked her, and everyone in the dormitory, except me, stood on her side. How could I dare to say anything nonsense..."
"..." Ji Yinhe pressed his eyebrows, "Why did He Ling move out of the dormitory?"
"Because of Yao Xiulan's sister." Zeng Rou picked up the coffee and took a sip.
"——Yao Yulan?" Ji Yinhe and Lu Zheng asked in unison.
"Yes." Zeng Rou nodded. "She seemed to have learned martial arts. She rushed into the dormitory and pinned He Ling to the ground. We didn't react at the time!"
Ji Yinhe's forehead jumped. Yu Jing came back from Chaojiang Village yesterday and also said that Yao Yulan had practiced boxing.
She vaguely recalled that some time ago, she seemed to have seen a young girl with great skills...
Zeng Rou continued, "He Ling got beaten up. Although she wasn't injured, she felt embarrassed and moved out. Um... By her senior year, Xiulan was much better. Everyone was busy graduating, so I was assigned directly to the Beijiang District Education Bureau. However, I remember that it was Xiulan who was assigned to teach at Chengguan Middle School, but in the end—"
“!!”
Ji Yinhe's pupils widened instantly, and Lu Zheng asked with a sullen face:
"So, not only did He Ling use Yao Xiulan as a tool for her father's socializing, but she also stole her favorite male classmate and her valuable job opportunity?"
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