【033】 Death of Chen Bin
Gu Juan had been practicing in the space for five days and came out on the last day of the holiday. He brought Er Jianmei, a basket of vegetables and a basket of fruits to Xi Lang's house and planned to have lunch at his place.
Gu Juan sent him fruit more and more often, and Xi Lang accepted it without batting an eyelid. He had grown accustomed to the taste of the fruit Gu Juan sent him, and the fruit he bought himself always tasted unpalatable.
After cutting a plate of fruit, the two went to the rooftop garden to bask in the sun.
Xi Lang handed the hot tea to Gu Juan and studied his expression. "Have you seen today's news?"
"No. What's wrong?" Gu Juan asked casually.
"Something big happened in your school last night." Xi Lang looked strange.
"What's the big deal?" Gu Juan asked curiously.
Xi Lang said carefully, "It's a homicide case." He told Gu Juan in advance because he was worried that he would be frightened when he heard about this after returning to school.
Gu Juan was very surprised. "Murder? What happened?"
"Last night, a boy from your school was murdered. His death was very... bizarre."
Gu Juan asked in surprise, "Which college are you from? How bizarre is this?"
Xi Lang picked up the newspaper that was pressed by a glass vase on the table and handed it to him.
"College Freshman Dies Mysteriously Late at Night"—the title didn't reveal much, but Gu Juan continued reading. The article didn't name anyone, simply stating that the victim was a "Chen, a freshman in the School of Computer Science." His eyes were wide open in terror at the time of his death, as if he had witnessed something unbelievable. Police initially determined that the victim's throat was slit. Next to the text was a photo with his face blurred. Beneath the body lay a pool of blood, practically soaked in it. The reason the death was considered bizarre was that it had rained the previous afternoon, and the ground was still wet. Yet, there were no traces of anyone else's footprints around him except his own! Furthermore, the ground around him, including the dry grass, had turned black, forming a circle. This black circle wasn't caused by fire, but rather by corrosion. Most bizarrely, the blood didn't seem to have flowed naturally, but rather to have been sucked out, as his entire body appeared shrunken and eerily dry.
Gu Juan frowned, "It's indeed a bit strange..." Just as he finished speaking, the phone on his table rang.
Xi Lang saw a "Z" flashing on the screen, and his brows furrowed slightly. Generally speaking, code names are only used when one doesn't want others to know.
Gu Juan picked up the phone and walked to the railing, "Hello."
"Mr. Wu, Chen Bin is dead!"
Gu Juan was secretly surprised, "What's going on..." He suddenly thought of "Chen, a freshman in the School of Computer Science" in the newspaper, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Z" is the pinyin initial of "detective". "You can look at today's newspaper. I just found out that he's dead. This is so strange. I saw him yesterday afternoon. How could he be dead?"
Xi Lang watched Gu Juan from a distance. He was certain the person who had called Gu Juan was the same person who had called him in the school cafeteria last time. Who was that person? Every time this person called, Gu Juan's expression was unusual.
"I saw the crime scene from a distance, and it's exactly as the newspaper said. The only footprints around the deceased are his own. This is so strange!" "Z" panicked. "Mr. Wu, look at this... someone's dead now..."
Gu Juan glanced at Xi Lang and said, "Wait for my call." He hung up the phone, walked over to Xi Lang, and smiled. "I won't stay for dinner. I have something to take care of."
Xi Lang stared at him, took a sip of tea, and asked calmly, "Is it about selling the house again?"
Gu Juan avoided his eyes and said, "Well, let's go."
Xi Lang stood up and grabbed his wrist. "What kind of trouble have you run into? I'm worried about you if you're like this."
Gu Juan's heart trembled slightly, and he smiled nonchalantly, "It's really no big deal. I can handle it. Trust me!"
Xi Lang slowly loosened his hand and nodded calmly, "Go away."
Gu Juan walked to the door and turned around to see Xi Lang still standing there, maintaining the same posture as before. He smiled at Xi Lang and said seriously, "I'm not a child, don't worry. If there's anything I can help you with, I'll call you."
Xi Lang's expression relaxed slightly and he nodded.
Gu Juan went downstairs and called Z.
"There's no need to investigate Chen Bin's case, and let An Jiaqi's case be put aside for now."
Z asked cautiously, "Chen Bin, it's not you... right?"
Gu Juan was speechless. "If I really wanted to kill him, why would I have gone to so much trouble to investigate his scandal?"
"That's true."
Gu Juan returned to school. The atmosphere was more tense than before. Students walked hurriedly, and almost no one was laughing or joking. He pushed open the dormitory door. Zhao Rui, Liu Hui, and Zhang Cong were sitting together, discussing Chen Bin's death.
"Third brother, you're here. Did you hear?" Liu Hui pulled a chair over and motioned Gu Juan to sit down.
"I just heard about it. What exactly happened?" Gu Juan asked.
Zhang Cong and Liu Hui both shook their heads.
Zhao Rui whispered, "I heard a piece of gossip, I don't know if it's true."
Liu Hui immediately became interested. "What gossip?"
Zhao Rui said, "As you all know, almost all public areas on campus are equipped with surveillance cameras. I heard that a master from our School of Computer Science obtained a surveillance video of the death scene. The video captured a vague human-like shadow floating in mid-air. Many people say that the person who killed that boy was not human!"
Zhang Cong shuddered, "Is this true?"
Zhao Rui continued, "The police concealed this matter from the media for fear of causing panic."
Liu Hui rubbed his arms and said, "It sounds like the truth."
Zhao Rui shook his head. "Forget it if you don't believe it. Anyway, I do believe it. Otherwise, how can I explain that unknown corrosive substance?"
Rumors like these on campus must have a source. Gu Juan really wanted to see the video to see if it actually captured a levitating humanoid figure. He regretted not learning more about computers. "Is there really such a master in this school?"
"Of course there is!" Zhao Rui said, "I heard it's a senior from our college. As for his name, I don't know."
Zhang Cong continued, "I heard the police haven't left yet. I wonder if they can find the murderer. What if it's a serial killer? Who would dare to go out at night in the future?"
At this time, there was a knock on the door.
Zhao Rui went to open the door, and there were two people standing there, a man and a woman. The man was about thirty-five or thirty-six, with a square face, a straight back, and a righteous demeanor; the woman was only about twenty-five, with a delicate face and also stood straight.
These two people looked very much like policemen. Gu Juan thought for a moment, thinking that they were probably coming for him.
"Is classmate Gu Juan in this dormitory?" asked the middle-aged man.
Gu Juan stood up and said, "It's me, please come in."
The middle-aged man walked in, looked at him with sharp eyes, smiled faintly, and asked, "You seem to know why we are here?"
Gu Juan remained calm, "Police officers are one of the most meticulous professionals. You must have already found out that Chen Bin and I have a grudge."
The middle-aged man stared at him for a few seconds, handed him his police ID, and turned to Zhao Rui and the other two, "We are police officers and would like to speak to Gu Juan alone."
Gu Juan glanced at the officer's ID. The officer's name was Du Yong. "So it's Officer Du. There's nothing to hide. I don't mind having other people here—if you don't mind, why not let them stay?"
Du Yong did not insist, "In that case, then sit down."
The dormitory door was still open. Zhao Rui, Zhang Cong, and Liu Hui exchanged glances and tacitly ignored it. The two police officers had come looking for Gu Juan, and students were sure to have seen them. If they closed the door, rumors might spread around the school that would be detrimental to Gu Juan. It was better to leave it open.
Gradually, a lot of students gathered outside the door.
Du Yong knew that this student, Gu, was the provincial champion in science this year. He could see through the children's thoughts, but he didn't want to embarrass them. He spoke politely, "Student Gu, this is just routine business. I hope you don't mind."
Gu Juan nodded, "Don't worry, Officer Du, I understand and will definitely cooperate with your investigation."
Zhao Rui poured two cups of hot tea for the two police officers and sat down quietly aside.
"According to our investigation, on the afternoon of September 1st, you and Chen Bin had an argument in the corridor outside. Can I know what the reason was?" Du Yong asked.
Gu Juan answered truthfully, "While waiting for the elevator downstairs, classmate Chen Bin rushed in... After we got out, he pointed his index finger at me and spoke rudely. I didn't want to argue with him, so I casually asked him if he was also from Congzhou University. He suddenly became very angry and attacked me. In self-defense, I fought back, but I didn't hit him hard. He said something harsh and left. That's what happened."
A boy outside the door couldn't help but speak up, "That's what happened. A lot of people saw it that day."
"Yes, I was there too," said another boy.
Du Yong nodded. The surveillance footage in the corridors showed it all, leaving no doubt. He then asked, "Where were you between 1:00 and 3:00 this morning?"
Gu Juan took out a pen and paper and wrote a line of words, "This is my home address. From around 9 o'clock in the evening of the 1st to this morning, I was at home the whole time and did not go out. There are surveillance cameras at the gate of our community and on the first floor of the building where I live. You can check it out."
"We will, thank you for your cooperation." Du Yong and the female police officer stood up.
At this moment, a voice that Gu Juan was very familiar with sounded outside the door, "Excuse me."
Xi Lang had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He walked a few steps to Gu Juan, put his arm around his shoulders, and glanced at the two policemen, "What's going on?"
A wave of warmth rushed through Gu Juan's chest. He smiled and shook his head at Xi Lang, "It's okay, just a few questions."
Du Yong and the female police officer nodded to Gu Juan and left together.
The students who were watching also dispersed. Because the police had left the door open during the questioning, and because Gu Juan's answers were so frank, no one gossiped.
Gu Juan looked at the sweat on Xi Lang's forehead and could imagine how anxious he was. He took out a tissue and wiped the sweat off him. He asked softly, "Why did you come here so suddenly?"
Zhao Rui, Zhang Cong and Liu Hui were all stunned and thought that the two brothers had a really good relationship.
With outsiders present, Xi Lang couldn't tell them that he had chased after Gu Juan because he felt he was worried about her expression. He pulled a watch out of his pocket and handed it to Gu Juan, "You left your watch at home. I brought it to you."
Gu Juan recognized the watch as Xi Lang's and guessed his intention. His chest felt warm and he said, "Thank you."
"I have something else to do, so I'll leave now. Please take me down." Xi Lang said.
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