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墨書 Inktalez
"No, don't misunderstand. I'm just worried about your safety," Chu Feifan said nervously.
"Alright, I was just joking. But I still don't know what exactly happened. Can you tell me?"
Next, they recounted everything about Zhuo Xiaoman's suicide and all the clues they had gathered. The more she listened, the more shocked she became. Although she knew the story was false, the naive Zhuo Xiaoman must have believed it, which led her to choose the same method of death. She also fell headfirst, but something felt off to her; it seemed a bit unreasonable.
"What's wrong?" Chu Feifan asked, noticing her furrowed brows.
"Nothing, just find it very strange."
"If you have any thoughts, share them. I also feel this case doesn't seem like a suicide," Captain Xing said seriously as he looked at Su Jin'er.
"Think about it! If she really wanted to commit suicide, why would she let out such a tragic scream? And didn't you say that girl who was very close to Zhuo Xiaoman mentioned that her expression scared her? If someone wants to commit suicide, their expression should be one of despair and sadness. A terrifying expression shouldn't belong to someone who intends to take their own life!"
They all nodded in agreement.
"That Hao Hongtao is truly despicable! He got his girlfriend pregnant and then refused to take responsibility. Men really have no conscience," Ruan Hongmei said, tilting her head.
"Are there no good men?" Chu Feifan frowned and said discontentedly.
"Alright! You're an exception."
At that moment, Zuo Yi walked in from outside. "Hurry up, I saw Hao Hongtao."
The group hurriedly left the office and followed Zuo Yi outside. Zuo Yi had spotted Hao Hongtao at the school gate; he was talking to a girl. From the girl's silhouette, it looked like Qin Yu, but since she was facing away from them, they couldn't be sure.
"Could Qin Yu be Hao Hongtao's current girlfriend?" Ruan Hongmei speculated as they stood inside the school gate, watching them from a distance.
"No way! Can't you tell that Qin Yu likes Feifan? However, it's true that she knows Hao Hongtao," Zuo Yi replied to Ruan Hongmei. His voice was cold and devoid of warmth; ever since Linyuan's death, he had been speaking like this.
Su Jin'er looked up at Zuo Yi, whose face showed no expression, his eyes coldly watching the two people still talking. Su Jin'er clearly understood that Zuo Yi was still blaming her; Linyuan had died for him, and he was a person who valued emotions deeply. It was almost impossible to make him forget or let go of this matter. However, it was also not a solution to let him continue like this. Although he tried hard to conceal his sadness and appear indifferent, she still knew that his heart was bleeding.
"He has left," Chu Feifan said. "Let's follow him and see where he is going."
After Hao Hongtao and Qin Yu separated, Qin Yu returned to school.
"You four follow Qin Yu, and I'll follow Hao Hongtao to see what they are up to now."
"I'll go with you; it’s better to look out for each other," Zuo Yi said calmly, his eyes showing no emotion.
Captain Xing glanced at him and said, "It's fine; after all, I'm a police officer. You four should stick together!"
Without waiting for Zuo Yi's response, he walked out.
The four stood at the door watching Captain Xing leave when Qin Yu happened to arrive at the school gate. Seeing them standing there, she walked over and smiled at Chu Feifan, saying, "What are you doing here?"
Chu Feifan smiled back and said, "Nothing much. I was going out, but not anymore."
"Oh! Since it's already noon, how about I treat you to lunch?" Qin Yu said as she wrapped her arm around Chu Feifan's, brushing her chest against his arm.
"No need; we can just grab something to eat," Chu Feifan pushed her away.
Qin Yu looked at him with a resentful gaze, like a wronged little wife. This expression almost made Ruan Hongmei, who was standing nearby, gag.
"It's fine; you all go ahead! Hongmei and I will go eat with Zuo Yi," Su Jin'er winked at Chu Feifan.
He immediately understood her meaning but looked at Su Jin'er with a hint of reluctance, as if questioning whether she was going to use her charm again.
They casually grabbed some food in the cafeteria before heading back to their dorms. Since there were no classes in the afternoon, Su Jin'er and Ruan Hongmei returned to their dormitory while Zuo Yi said he had something to do and left. Recently, it seemed Zuo Yi had been very busy according to what Chu Feifan said; when asked about it, he wouldn’t say anything.
After staying in the dormitory for an hour without any news from Chu Feifan and Captain Xing, Su Jin'er sat on the bed reading, showing no signs of anxiety.
"How boring! How can you be so calm? Aren't you jealous that Chu Feifan is with that vixen?" Ruan Hongmei said, lying on the bed out of boredom.
"As long as I think about him helping Captain Xing with the case, it's fine," she replied without looking up.
"I think this is just a regular suicide case. There's nothing much to investigate. They should just close it as a suicide and be done with it. Why go through all the trouble?" Ruan Hongmei pouted.
"Although I don't want to get involved with the case either, this case is definitely not simple. But if you ask me what's complicated about it, I can only say I don't know." After saying that, she continued reading, her expression relaxed.
"You really are calm!"
Time passed quietly, and at some point, Ruan Hongmei had fallen asleep while Su Jin'er kept reading. The sky gradually darkened, yet there was still no news from the two of them.
At seven o'clock, Ruan Hongmei woke up, roused by hunger.
"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Just past seven. You've been sleeping for so long; are you going to sleep again tonight?"
"I don't know! If I can sleep, then of course I will," she said as she sat up and yawned.
Su Jin'er put down her book and said, "Then let's go eat!"
"Is there still no news from them?"
"Yeah."
"Aren't you worried?"
"Why worry?"
She answered casually. It wasn't that she wasn't worried, but worrying wouldn't help. She had said she wouldn't get involved anymore, so she wouldn't interfere.
Ruan Hongmei washed her face, and the two of them left the dormitory and went downstairs. Other students were playing around in their own rooms, and some were even playing cards.
"Aren't you worried that Chu Feifan might change his mind?"
"If he changes his mind, it means he doesn't belong to me. I won't want a love that isn't mine." Su Jin'er slowly descended the stairs while holding onto the handrail.
"But what if he loves you but has no choice but to be with another woman?"
"Then we can only wish each other well."
The cafeteria was almost empty, with only a few students who seemed to be couples eating. After getting their meals, they found a corner table to sit down.
Halfway through their meal, a girl walked into the cafeteria. This girl was none other than Zhuo Xiaoman's good friend.
"Jin'er, look, that girl who just came in is Zhuo Xiaoman's good friend."
Su Jin'er looked up and saw a very thin girl wearing a pink tracksuit. She sat alone at the entrance of the cafeteria without buying any food, just sitting there blankly.
"Let's go talk to her," Su Jin'er said as she put down her chopsticks.
"Weren't you saying you wouldn't get involved in this?"
"Then let's just consider it comforting her!"
The girl sat at the entrance with her head down, occasionally looking up towards the door as if waiting for someone. Just as they were about to approach her, Su Jin'er suddenly grabbed Ruan Hongmei and said, "Wait, she seems to be waiting for someone. Let's sit down and observe."
They had just sat down for a short while when a figure entered, and it was Hao Hongtao. Shortly after, another person came in through a different door, and this person was Captain Xing, who had been following Hao Hongtao. When he saw Su Jin'er and the others, he paused slightly. After noticing the girl sitting together with Hao Hongtao, he took a seat nearby.
Su Jin'er and her friends were seated close to Hao Hongtao, so they could barely hear their conversation.
"You know that Zhuo Man is pregnant, right?"
This was the first thing the girl said upon seeing Hao Hongtao.
"So what if I know? She's dead now, and her death has nothing to do with me; she wanted to die herself," Hao Hongtao's words made one feel an urge to hit him.
"That child she carries is yours."
"My child? Who knows? She’s so cheap; who knows how many people she’s slept with!" Hao Hongtao turned his head away.
"Do you—do you even know how much Zhuo Man loved you? Now that she's dead, can't you at least show some decency?"
Hao Hongtao suddenly laughed, but there was a clear sense of helplessness in his smile.
"You’re really foolish. Although you consider her your best friend, have you ever thought about whether she saw you as her best friend? Do you even know what she did? You say she loves me; do you have any idea how much I loved her?"
After saying this, Hao Hongtao actually shed tears.
The girl looked at him in surprise; she had never imagined that someone as gentle as Zhuo Xiaoman could do anything wrong.
"You’re lying; you’re just trying to cover up your crime of murder."
The girl stood up in agitation, drawing the attention of the surrounding classmates. She glanced around and then sat back down.
"You really are something else. I want to ask you, how long have you known Zhuo Man?"
"Two years! We've been good friends since our freshman year, and we even shared a dorm room," the girl replied obediently.
"How much do you know about her?"
"Know?" the girl murmured, "She's a very gentle girl who never raises her voice when talking to anyone. She doesn't get angry no matter what others say about her."
"Yes, you're right, but that's just the impression she gives on the surface. You don't really know the true her, and I only found out later," he said, his voice growing softer.
"Has she ever told you about her family background? Have you ever heard her mention her parents or any relatives at home?"
The girl sat there in a daze. They had known each other for two years, and indeed she had never heard her talk about it. But did this have anything to do with her death?
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