Chapter 39 Equipment Room
"And... there really is a murder lawsuit?" Qi Xiaopang was shocked. Did he really get the prophet card this time?
Ban Bieyi turned to glance at Zhou Xiaoya, who was drifting away from the crowd like a lone ant. Just a glance, but when he turned back, his eyes had changed, as if something had suddenly emerged, as if something had been abandoned. He slowly said, "Ten years ago today, a female student from this school died. She was Zhou Xiaoya, from Class 2, Grade 9."
Ban Bieyi looked as if he were reminiscing, but his words flowed smoothly, even using somewhat official language, as if he had been reciting them countless times in his mind: "The student had a medical condition, had no medicine on him, and was unaccompanied by anyone. The best time for rescue was missed, and he ultimately died... It looks like a regrettable accident, but this 'accident' was actually... man-made."
"How can you be sure it was man-made?" Qing Bai asked.
Ban Bieyi pursed his bloodless lips and said in a low voice: "Because I was the first person to find her body."
Qing Bai's expression remained unchanged for nine years, but Qi Xiaopang's had twisted into a cry like a world-famous painting. He wasn't exaggerating; his years of watching movies had caused his brain to reflexively think of a death question at that moment: What was the probability that the first person to discover the body was the murderer?
The questions were too heartbreaking and the data too shocking. Qi Xiaopang shook his head vigorously in his heart and frantically repeated to himself that animation, film, television and novels are not equal to reality.
Ban Bieyi was lost in his own emotions. His face was no longer pale, but now had a sinister tinge of red. "I searched for a long time before I found Teacher Li and got the key. I opened the locked door, and there she was, lying behind it, her fingers rubbing against the crack. Her bloodshot eyes were wide open, staring...staring out the door..."
Listening to Ban Bieyi's description, Qing Bai suddenly had an idea. He looked at Jiu Nian and instantly understood where this sense of familiarity came from... Zhou Xiaoya's condition before her death was very similar to that of the 'class teacher' who answered the door when they went to the office before.
Qing Bai asked, "Where was Zhou Xiaoya locked up?"
Although the question was a question, Qing Bai already had a guess in his mind.
Sure enough, the next second, Ban Bieyi raised his hand and pointed, and when he looked in the direction he saw, the end of his sight was the matchbox-like sports equipment room.
Qi Xiaopang was no longer shouting. He just couldn't understand. "So they are discussing things at the crime scene?"
How brave does one have to be to do this?
Ban Bieyi nodded.
Qi Xiaopang couldn't understand, but Qing Bai said it was normal: "If the question is really about the cause of Zhou Xiaoya's death, or who the murderer is, it's normal to discuss it at the place where Zhou Xiaoya died."
Is this normal...?
Qi Xiaopang didn't know whether it was normal or not, he just knew that it seemed like he had suddenly jumped from the metaphysics channel to the criminal investigation and reasoning channel. These days, he was getting more and more criminal.
Jiu Nian, who had been silent in front of outsiders, finally spoke: "How did you find out that Zhou Xiaoya was locked in the sports equipment room?"
This point was grasped very well, and one sentence silenced Ban Bieyi.
Ban Bieyi remained silent and Qing Bai did not urge him. Instead, he turned around and looked at the situation in the playground. The bell for class had not rung yet, but the students who had been laughing and playing just now had already lined up. A male teacher in a dark blue sports suit stood at the front of the line, with his arms folded, saying something.
The distance was too far for Qing Bai and the other three to hear clearly what he was saying, and they couldn't even see the physical education teacher's face clearly. They could only vaguely see his dark skin and the bright yellow whistle rope hanging around his neck, with occasional silver flashes of light when he moved.
After the physical education teacher finished speaking, Zhou Xiaoya, who was standing in the back row, stepped out and walked towards the edge of the playground in the same small steps as when she came in, while the other students had already lined up and started running in circles to warm up.
After watching for a while, Qing Bai suddenly asked, "Is your class's PE teacher Li Nan?"
Ban Bieyi was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected Qing Bai to know even such an insignificant thing: "Yes."
Qing Bai didn't know what Ban Bieyi was thinking, although even if he knew, he wouldn't refute it... He didn't think that an insignificant physical education teacher would have a name in the cracks.
"He became ill afterwards?"
Ban Bieyi recalled: "Yes, it was probably when we were about to graduate. It must have been a serious illness, and the school even organized a donation."
As they were talking, the class bell rang. The team was running laps on the playground. The closed door of the sports equipment room finally opened. Chen Qiaoxi, Chang Qiuqiu and Gao Tai walked slowly towards this side along the edge of the playground. They didn't seem to have any intention of running laps over there.
Qing Bai felt that their previous conversation in the classroom did not end in a bad mood. It seemed that Chang Qiuqiu thought so too. She even waved to them when she saw them from afar. So less than half an hour after they separated, they stood together again, including Chen Qiaoxi who had taken the lead in leaving.
I don’t know what they talked about in there, but at this moment his mood seemed to have returned to normal, and he looked honest and simple again.
However, although they were together, the two sides, which had already split into two groups, had nothing to say to each other. Everyone turned their eyes to Zhou Xiaoya who was sitting by the flower bed in the playground.
As Qing Bai watched, he finally understood why Chang Qiuqiu had specifically told him before leaving that "you can also observe physical education classes" - a group of people came out of the teaching building, led by two who were obviously leaders, followed by a number of teachers holding documents and thermoses. It was unclear whether they had finished the tour or were on their way to another.
Anyway, as soon as we came out of the teaching building, we saw the energetic Class 2 of Grade 9 running around in circles on the playground, which attracted our attention. The two leaders, who seemed to be having a good conversation, turned around and led the people towards the playground.
Li Nan was quite calm, as if watching the students running in circles like a donkey pushing a millstone was the most important thing in his life. He was so focused that he didn't even glance around. He stared at them and even picked up the stainless steel whistle hanging around his neck to set the pace for the running students.
That team of teachers was also very interesting. They just stood by the playground and watched and discussed at the same time. If you didn't know, you would think it was some serious teaching seminar.
They just ran around in circles monotonously and couldn't see any flowers no matter how hard they looked, so naturally they noticed Zhou Xiaoya sitting alone by the flower bed.
Seeing the two leading leaders walking towards Zhou Xiaoya, Qing Bai thought about it and followed them.
"Hey, what are you going to do?" Chang Qiuqiu was the first one to ask.
Qing Bai didn't turn around and casually replied, "Just joining in the fun."
Jiu Nian also stayed by Qing Bai's side, but his presence was still weak.
Qing Bai and Jiu Nian, both of whom were great leaders, had left, so Fat Qi naturally didn't dare to fall behind. When he left, he didn't forget to help the frail Ban Bieyi up.
The remaining three people looked at each other.
"What did he say he was going to do?" Chang Qiuqiu's face was full of incomprehension.
Chen Qiaoxi sneered, his words sounding harsh and unbelievable, belying his simple and honest appearance. "Why do you care about other people? They don't have to deal with...anything. They're 'teachers', so they should just worry about themselves. Could it be that Miss Chang really wants to pick up men in this kind of place?"
Chang Qiuqiu, who was being called names and being sarcastic, was not angry. Instead, she sighed and said, "The class monitor's temper is really getting worse and worse."
After sighing, Chang Qiuqiu replied directly: "Yeah, as a man, temper and ability must always be greater."
Without waiting for Chen Qiaoxi's reaction, Chang Qiuqiu changed the subject, putting away his sarcastic expression and saying seriously, "But that guy seems to be quite capable. At least he dared to approach us. Unlike us, when we saw him, we acted like we saw a ghost... Oh, not like, but like we saw a ghost. We've been avoiding him everywhere for three days..."
Being criticized for his bad temper and incompetence, Chen Qiaoxi said bluntly: "You are capable? Aren't you afraid? Don't forget how you treated him back then. Now he——"
Chang Qiuqiu interrupted Chen Qiaoxi with a smile: "Yes, yes, I'm just incompetent and timid. I'm trapped here because of my own fault. I deserve this bad luck."
"You!" Facing the indifferent smile on Chang Qiuqiu's face, Chen Qiaoxi really felt like he had punched into a pile of cotton. Then he looked at the high platform next to him who was like a mute and could not do anything, and Ban Bieyi in front who was sick but always had someone to protect him. Suddenly, a strange idea popped up in Chen Qiaoxi's mind: With this configuration, who will die if not him!
Bah! Bah! Chen Qiaoxi quickly suppressed the thought as it came to his mind. They hadn't run out of ammunition or food yet, and even if they really couldn't get out, as long as Ban Bieyi was there... he would never be the first to die!
Chen Qiaoxi was lost in thought, but Chang Qiuqiu didn't intend to stop talking. She brought the topic back to Gao Tai. "After hearing what the monitor said, I just remembered that what I did back then was nothing. It was just some trivial things, just some ignorant gossip... The one who really hurt her was you, right? Hmm, Gao Tai?"
Gao Tai did not answer, but just looked at Chang Qiuqiu deeply, then looked away and pretended to be mute.
Seeing Gaotai like this, Chang Qiuqiu curled her lips and said, "Boring." She also quieted down.
Qing Bai, who had already walked away, naturally had no idea what a wonderful and informative exchange of words had broken out between the remaining three people after they left. Jiu Nian did look back, but didn't say anything.
Qing Bai had long legs and took big steps, and he arrived at Zhou Xiaoya before the leader. He didn't go closer, but stood two steps away with his hands in his pockets, looking like he was just passing by to watch the fun.
When the leader approached, Zhou Xiaoya, who looked like a wax figure, finally stood up slowly, bowed slightly, and said softly, "Hello, Principal."
This was the first time Zhou Xiaoya spoke. Her voice was as weak as Qing Bai had imagined. She sounded unwell, which matched her pale face perfectly.
However, the principal, whether it was because his ears or eyes were not working well, or perhaps because there were leaders from other schools present and he just wanted to express his concern for the students who hadn't attended class, asked very kindly, "Why didn't you go to class? Are you not feeling well?"
It is true that you asked the question even though you already knew the answer.
Zhou Xiaoya nodded, reluctantly cooperating with the performance.
The principal who asked the question also nodded, finished with satisfaction, expressed his concern for teachers and students, turned around and slowly left.
However, the other leader was a little ignorant. Although he didn't say it to his face, his voice was quite loud and Qing Bai, who was standing two steps away, could hear it clearly.
"...Students nowadays don't have good physical fitness. We need to focus on both... increasing physical exercise..."
I don't know if it was because of the last few sentences, or if there was already a communication session with the teachers, but before leaving, the two leaders exchanged a few words with the physical education teacher Li Nan. Although we couldn't hear what they said because we were far away, it was not difficult to guess that Zhou Xiaoya was mentioned by looking at them while they were talking.
The "visiting team" that appeared inexplicably in the playground quickly left. After running countless laps, Class 2 of Grade 9 was finally stopped. The students went to the sports equipment room in groups of three or four to choose the sports equipment they needed. Everything was natural and harmonious, just like an ordinary physical education class.
After watching quietly for a long time, Qing Bai suddenly whispered, "If we keep following this 'Zhou Xiaoya', maybe we can find out who locked her up in the gym room."
Qi Xiaopang, who was holding Ban Bieyi, looked a little confused: "It can't be that simple, right?"
If they could know the answer just by watching, how could they have gotten it wrong for three nights in a row?
Ban Bieyi was stunned for a moment, then he smiled bitterly as if he had suddenly figured something out: "Maybe it's that simple, but unfortunately... no one dares to get close to her."
Not to mention following.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
