12

12

After a long standoff, Besie finally didn't dare to attack me. He even changed his attitude and begged me not to hold a grudge against him for what he had done, and to help me find the real culprit. Naturally, I readily agreed.

"However, if you talk nonsense after you get out and reveal what we talked about today, I won't let you go either." He finally threatened, "If you leave, we won't live here anymore, and even if you call the police, they won't be able to catch you. If that happens, you'll be in the open and I'll be in the dark. It won't be that easy for you to survive."

He loosened the rope and walked me out the door. As soon as I was out of his sight, I stumbled into a run, running until I almost got a stitch in the side, and only slowed down when pedestrians appeared on the road.

I could hardly believe that I had survived.

I wanted to scream, laugh, cry, hug everyone. Stomp my feet, repeat. The air beside the road smelled of tar, something awful and wonderful at the same time, and I breathed it in deep. It was so nice to be alive. Damn, I was alive.

I was about to head home, but a kind-hearted woman stopped me halfway. It was then that I realized how miserable I looked. My face and body were covered in clotted blood. My fingers and wrists had several horrific wounds deep enough to see the bone.

Afterward, the police, who responded to the call, rushed me to the hospital. I was first diagnosed with a mild concussion, then underwent surgery to suture my wound. In total, I was hospitalized for over two weeks.

My parents came to check in with me when I was discharged. They were considerate of my emotions and didn't argue with each other as usual. They seemed to have carefully considered every word they said.

When I was leaving the inpatient building, I unexpectedly saw a young man who looked like Zheng Kun. I couldn't help but shudder, and then I realized that I had recognized the wrong person.

My father noticed my fear and comforted me, "It's okay. The police have already filed a case against you for being bullied by a gang outside of school. They won't dare show up in front of you again."

"But the person hasn't been caught yet?" said the mother.

"It's almost there. Several suspects have been apprehended, but the results of the interrogation have not yet been determined."

Those who were caught were really unlucky, I thought to myself. But they were all delinquents outside the school, and they had committed a lot of extortion, so they were not completely innocent.

I ultimately lied about how I got hurt. I didn't mention anything about Zheng Kun and his son, only that I was on my way home when some strangers from outside the school stopped me in an alley and asked me to pay them for protection money. Since I had no money, they beat me up. Perhaps because I'd experienced bullying in elementary school, my lie was so flawless that even my father, a seasoned police officer, couldn't detect a flaw.

As for the reason for lying, I tried to convince myself it was out of sympathy. After all, Zheng Kun and his son hadn't actually killed anyone, so being caught like that seemed a bit pitiful. But deep down, I knew I was just scared.

That day almost became my last. Every time I think about it, I'm filled with dread, and cold sweat oozes from my armpits. If I hadn't realized the possibility of a third person hiding at the crime scene, or if my subsequent deductions had been a few seconds slower, I would have been a cold corpse. And a corpse that was definitely not dignified—a black plastic bag covering my face, and urine and feces flowing from my crotch.

If you think about it carefully, the reasoning at that time was actually surprisingly reasonable, otherwise Besie would not have believed it so quickly. Although there is no evidence to prove the existence of the third party's true murderer, there is no evidence to deny this reasoning.

But never mind. I'll never get involved in this case again. The police should handle the case. I haven't even graduated from high school yet, I'm just a minor. Because of my cat-like, boundless curiosity, I was caught in the middle of a storm and nearly got myself killed. Zheng Kun knew my address, so the danger wasn't over. It was best to avoid any further involvement in the case. This was the clear conclusion I reached rationally.

From now on, I will never leave the house except to go to and from school. I'll just ask my parents to pick me up and drop me off. It's embarrassing, but I can't afford to do that for my life. Thank God for giving me another chance. This time, I'll be a model student, never minding anything else besides my studies.

However, things went against his wishes and trouble came that night.

Back home, I estimated the teaching schedule and reviewed the lessons I'd missed. That evening, someone called. I thought it was a classmate who had been asked by the teacher to relay key learning points, but it turned out to be Gao Yang.

"I heard you were ill?" he asked directly. As usual, there were no small talk or opening remarks.

"You actually knew that."

"I went to your class to look for you, but I didn't see you, so I asked around."

"Thank you for your concern. I happen to be going to school tomorrow. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, although I feel a little embarrassed because you just recovered from your illness, I still want you to accompany me to a place."

"where?"

"Li Zitong's house."

I was stunned. "What the hell? You know that girl doesn't like people going to her house."

"Of course I know, but you're the only one who can help right now. If no one takes care of it, Li Zitong might be forced to drop out of school."

"What's the meaning?"

He took a deep breath. "Let me make this short. Li Zitong hasn't been to school for almost a month. When I went to the office to hand in her homework, I heard that the school was starting to take this seriously, and the homeroom teacher had made a special visit. Her father met her and said that Li Zitong was hiding in her room and refused to see anyone. The homeroom teacher kindly reminded her that this wasn't a solution. If a student is absent for more than two weeks without reason, the school can expel them. But her father directly asked what procedures were required for withdrawal, and the homeroom teacher had no choice but to persuade him to reconsider. The homeroom visit ended without even meeting Li Zitong."

"Well, that's a weird thing to say."

"Really? I think so too. Her grades are always among the top in the grade. How could she just drop out of school like that?"

"Maybe her mother's death was too much of a blow to her?"

"That doesn't mean she has to drop out. How can a kid who hasn't even graduated from high school find a good job?" he said hurriedly. "I think his father's attitude is very strange. I remember Li Zitong had a younger brother. Could he be the kind of person who favors boys over girls and thinks a girl's education is unimportant? Is that why he hastily dropped her out of school after his wife died?"

I thought about it for a moment and said, "That's possible. Their family's attitude towards their children seems completely different. Li Zitong has to watch over the music store every weekend, but I've never seen her brother come to help."

"Right, that's what I think. It seems the school isn't planning on taking any action. I asked the homeroom teacher, and he said it was someone else's family matter. How ridiculous!" He gasped. "We're the only ones who can help her now."

"What do you want to do?" I became alert.

"Tomorrow afternoon, you and I will go to her house, pretending to deliver review materials. Her father will impatiently open the door, take the materials without a word, and then send us away. This happened the first two times I went there. But now, you can keep him busy while I rush into the inner room to find Li Zitong. As long as I can say a few words to her and confirm her attitude, we can handle the situation easily. If her father forced her to drop out of school, the Education Bureau, the Women's Federation, or anything like that won't ignore it."

He was talking excitedly, but it gave me a headache. "How can I control his father?"

"Just hold him by the waist like you would in a wrestling match. If that doesn't work, just hold him by the legs. Just make sure he can't move."

"I say, this sounds like a crime, doesn't it? I'm not sure what it is, though. Trespassing, robbery, or something like that. It's not a misdemeanor that can be dismissed with an apology."

"It's okay. There are reasons for what happened. We are students, so we will definitely be treated leniently." He seemed to have anticipated my objection and predicted optimistically.

If it were two weeks ago, before I'd been exposed to the true dark side of society, his plan would have certainly been worth considering. But right now, I just wanted to be a proper student and avoid anything that crossed the line. So I took the time to explain the dangers of the plan and politely stated that it was an area that minors couldn't meddle in.

In the end, he still coldly distanced himself from me and said, "I really misjudged you. I didn't expect you to be so cold and indifferent."

I couldn't help but feel furious. This guy had no idea what I'd been through, yet he was just spouting such nonsense. I wanted to talk about how I almost died, but decided it was too much trouble and gave up. All I could say was, "That's just who I am. You wouldn't have known this for the first time, would you?"

There was silence on the other end of the line for a long time. Just when I was about to hang up, he suddenly talked about something irrelevant. "You know, Li Zitong doesn't like to talk, and he won't take the initiative to interact with others."

"Let it stay like this forever."

"But once, I heard her say in person that you are her only friend." After saying that, he hung up the phone.

I listened to the busy tone on the phone, my heart beating rapidly. Was she really saying something like that? Could Gao Yang be making this up to get me on board?

After two days of consideration, I finally agreed to Gao Yang's plan. Later, I regretted this decision deeply. I really was a person with a weak will.

Gao Yang changed the date of the operation to early Saturday morning, so that Li Zitong would be more likely to be at home. I had never been to Li Zitong's house, but Gao Yang had been there once or twice, and their homes were not far away.

Li Zitong's home was on the first floor, and I suddenly had an idea and suggested, "How about we go around and look at the windows? Maybe we can contact her without going into the house."

Gao Yang shook his head and said, "I have considered this method a long time ago, but you see."

He pulled me to the side of the house. I saw a window about two meters above the ground, covered with wire mesh for security. Unlike the sparse, striped security windows found in most homes, this mesh was thick, leaving only tiny, diamond-shaped gaps. Only two fingers wide enough to fit through; anything more would get stuck.

"It's like a prison," I commented in amazement.

Gao Yang shrugged. "It seems he was frightened by the murder. After all, it was the bizarre 'videotape murder' incident. I heard from the neighbors that after the murder, the man's personality changed drastically. He became suspicious all the time and often got drunk in broad daylight. He even had the security windows replaced."

We returned to the hallway. There were three households on the first floor. The doors of the other two looked rather worn, with half the Spring Festival couplets peeling off. Only the Li family had a brand-new, anti-theft iron door. Needless to say, it had been replaced just after the incident.

"Go knock on the door." Gao Yang ordered.

"Why me?" I couldn't help but protest.

"You should stand in front so that you can stop Li Zitong's father and let me squeeze in."

This guy must have planned this long ago, assigning this troublesome task to me. If that Li Xueqiang were drunk right now, he would probably beat me up.

But it was too late to regret now. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

There was no sound.

(Is the doorbell broken? That doesn't make sense. It looks like it's integrated with the door, so it must be newly installed...)

I knocked on the door. After a few knocks, I carefully focused my attention and observed what was going on inside, but I heard no sound. There was no sign of anyone opening the door either.

"It seems like no one is home." I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Gao Yang also tried it once, knocking on the door harder and more forcefully than I did. I even felt the door shaking slightly.

"The door isn't closed securely." He stared at the crack for a moment, then grasped the door handle and pushed and pulled it back and forth, coming to a conclusion. Before I could react, he stepped back and slammed into it. The door swung open.

The door lock is broken?

Gao Yang ignored me who was in a state of confusion and stepped into the room.

"Wait, isn't this bad?"

"Have you forgotten what we're here for? This isn't just a polite, legal visit. It's a rare opportunity like this, maybe we can see her without any conflict."

He walked in without looking back, so I had to follow him.

"Hello, is anyone home?" he called calmly.

No one responded.

A narrow corridor stretched forward. The lights were off, and the curtains were probably all drawn. The weak sunlight filtering in from the door alone prevented us from seeing clearly what lay beyond.

The only bright spot on the right was the kitchen. I peeked in. It had a small window facing the patio. The furnishings were much like my own kitchen. Of course, there was a refrigerator, cupboards, and a rice cooker. A long-handled iron wok sat on the gas stove.

But it looked like no one had cleaned the place in ages. The sink was piled high with dishes and glasses, clearly unwashed, their grease stains evident. The jars of seasonings on the counter were either empty or overturned. Chopsticks were carelessly tossed beside the rice cooker. Trash bags piled high in the corner, along with a number of empty wine bottles. There was still leftover food in the iron pot.

Did he realize he was short of seasoning while cooking and went out to buy some? It was unknown. A strange smell hung in the air, and flies buzzed in the darkness.

I sniffed hard and suddenly realized where I had smelled this smell recently. My legs and feet became numb and sore, and I collapsed to the ground.

Gao Yang wanted to help me up, "What's wrong? Haven't you recovered yet?"

I didn't answer him, nor did I take his outstretched hand. "It smells of blood."

"Blood?"

I nodded. During that horrific near-death experience, the stench of blood in the house was so thick it was suffocating. Now, while the smell was lighter, it was still the unmistakable scent of blood. The horrifying memories instantly resurfaced.

Gao Yang sniffed, "Really, I think I smelled it too!"

"Is anyone in the other rooms?"

He shook his head. "Except for the kitchen, all other rooms are locked. The door can't be opened, and there's no sound from inside."

"Go to the police, go to the police."

"But what can you do?"

"It's okay." I stood up, holding onto the wall. "I'll watch here. Go call the police."

He nodded and rushed out of the room.

After Gao Yang's footsteps faded away, I took a deep breath. My steps were still weak and I could only limp along, holding on to the wall.

The corridor remained pitch black. I felt like I had stepped into an unknown territory. Like the bottom of the Mariana Trench, or the surface of Mars. A place where even if I managed to reach it, it would be difficult to escape unscathed.

At this moment, I heard a slight gasp.

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