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墨書 Inktalez
According to the information provided by Uncle Guo Xiaoli, they realized that the person he knew in life was Zhuo Xiaoman. It seemed that Guo Xiaoli came to this construction site to work perhaps because of Zhuo Xiaoman, and it was easy to see that Guo Xiaoli liked Zhuo Xiaoman. Could it be that Guo Xiaoli's death was truly a suicide? Did he take his own life because Zhuo Xiaoman had died, thus choosing to follow her in death?
This thought struck her as absurd. Although there are instances of people committing suicide out of love, for someone who harbored unrequited feelings, it seemed a bit unreasonable. However, human emotions can be unpredictable; perhaps he was willing to die for her.
She did not voice this thought, but Ruan Hongmei spoke up for her, only to be quickly met with denial from everyone.
Chu Feifan said, "While deep love might lead someone to choose suicide after the sudden death of their partner, typically those who intend to take their own lives leave behind a note explaining their reasons. However, Guo Xiaoli did not do so. Witnesses also mentioned that his movements were very stiff, as if his body no longer belonged to him."
Chu Feifan's words held some truth; those who commit suicide often write a note unless in an emergency situation. Yet Guo Xiaoli had no pressing circumstances at hand, and his death occurred two days after Zhuo Xiaoman's. He had ample time to write a note but chose not to.
Su Jin'er glanced at the clock; it was already 11 o'clock. She said, "We should head out now; Hongmei has to participate in the Singing Competition this afternoon."
Captain Xing nodded and escorted them to the door. As they reached the entrance, Chu Feifan pressed his lips together, hesitating to speak.
Su Jin'er turned her back to him and said, "I know what you want to say, but since you were able to get information from Qin Yu, why not just keep playing along?"
Chu Feifan was taken aback for a moment but quickly understood her words; she had already forgiven him.
"Okay!" Although he felt happy, he responded calmly.
Three people had already died, and their relationships were becoming clearer. But what was the killer's motive? Was it merely for the sake of killing?
After thinking for a while without coming up with any answers, she decided to stop pondering and smiled at Ruan Hongmei. "Have you chosen your song?"
Ruan Hongmei pouted and said, "I've been busy with the case lately and haven't had time to pick a song, so I'll just have to improvise this afternoon."
"Anyway, you sing beautifully! There's no need to worry about being outperformed."
Ruan Hongmei, blushing from the compliment, said, "Shouldn't we go eat?"
The two of them came down from the dormitory and headed straight to the cafeteria. She had initially wanted to find Hao Hongtao, but remembering that Ruan Hongmei had a competition in the afternoon, she didn't want to let her down. Besides, Captain Xing and the others would likely go look for him, so she felt at ease going with Ruan Hongmei to participate in the competition.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, they arrived at the Student Activity Center. The center was about 300 square meters, currently consisting of only one building and a swimming pool. The purpose of that building was still unknown, covering an area of about one hundred meters, while the rest was open space. Therefore, the student council had temporarily set up a stage here for the students' competition. At this moment, the area was already packed with students. Although the sun overhead was still blazing, it seemed to have no effect on their enthusiasm; perhaps it was because medical studies were just too dull!
Su Jin'er and Ruan Hongmei quietly stood at the back of the crowd. The competition was set to start at two-thirty, so they only needed to wait.
However, standing under the sun was unbearably hot. Before long, their faces were flushed from the heat, and a layer of fine sweat beaded on their skin. Su Jin'er pulled Ruan Hongmei over to a shaded area; although it was far from the stage, it was much cooler.
"Why is it taking so long?" Ruan Hongmei complained, but in reality, she was very nervous. Due to family reasons, she could only secretly enjoy music. Now that she finally had a chance to showcase her talent, she felt anxious about having to keep it hidden.
Su Jin'er held her hand and said, "There's no need to be nervous; just perform normally."
In truth, Su Jin'er wasn't worried about Ruan Hongmei's performance; rather, she was concerned because someone had died during the last competition. This time she felt a bit scared and had an unsettling feeling in her heart.
Could someone die again?
In the past, she thought death was a common occurrence; people died every day and others were born. Therefore, she never felt particularly sad about it and could accept it calmly. Now she realized that her ability to accept death so easily wasn't due to a lack of fear but because death happened to others and not herself. She suddenly recalled a saying: some things are comedies when they happen to others but become tragedies when they happen to oneself.
Now she fully believed this; losing Linyuan made her understand that if it were herself who died, perhaps she wouldn't be afraid. However, if anyone close to her were to die, it would be a painful experience.
When one is not mindful of time, it passes quickly. Just as Su Jin'er lost herself in thought for a brief moment, the competition began. This competition was significant because over one hundred students had been selected, and they would choose thirty to advance to the next round. Although it was just organized by the school, the students seemed filled with anticipation.
"It's starting."
When the host appeared on stage, Ruan Hongmei excitedly said.
The host was a tall girl, estimated to be over 1.7 meters. Strangely, there was no male host.
"Why isn't there a male host?" Ruan Hongmei asked nervously, but still curiously.
"I think he probably hasn't arrived yet!"
"Do you know who the male host is?"
"Of course, he is your dream prince!"
As she spoke, Su Jin'er looked at her with a teasing smile.
Perhaps due to her nervousness, Ruan Hongmei did not respond.
The host briefly explained the rules of the competition and then the contest began.
Su Jin'er's mind was not fully focused on the competition; she was still thinking about what had just happened and what occurred last night. She could be certain that the eye did not belong to a human, but she really didn't want to think about the Demon aspect. However, the situation was so strange that it left her puzzled.
While the intense competition was underway, Captain Xing was also not idle. After learning that Wang Xiangxiang and Hao Hongtao had staged a scene together, he quickly went to find Hao Hongtao.
He first went to Hao Hongtao's dormitory but did not find him. Only one classmate was reading in the room while the others had gone to watch the competition.
He knocked on the door, and a frail-looking boy wearing glasses opened it. He looked at him in confusion and said, "Who are you looking for?" Without waiting for Captain Xing to answer, he added, "They all went to watch the competition; you should go to the activity center!"
As he prepared to close the door, Captain Xing held it open with his hand and said, "I'm a police officer. May I ask if Hao Hongtao has gone to watch the match?"
Although he stated his identity as a police officer, he still asked politely.
The boy who opened the door was momentarily taken aback, then a look of fear appeared on his face. He lowered his head and said, "He should be off campus. He hasn't returned for several days."
"Where does he live?" Captain Xing thought that Hao Hongtao didn't seem like a wealthy person who could afford to stay in hotels all the time, and the boy's answer confirmed his suspicion.
"He has a rental place outside. He should be there now."
"Can you give me the exact address?"
Glasses Boy thought for a moment, then walked into the room and leaned over the table, presumably writing down the address. After a while, he came back with a piece of paper and said, "Here you go."
"Thank you!" Captain Xing took the note and expressed his gratitude. Just as he was about to leave, the boy quickly shut the door as if Captain Xing were a plague. Captain Xing glanced back at the closed door, finding the boy quite strange. While all the other students had gone to watch the match, this one was hiding in his dormitory. Upon learning that Captain Xing was a police officer, he had shown clear signs of fear. Although most people might feel intimidated by police officers, they generally wouldn't be scared; yet this boy's reaction was unmistakably one of fear. Could he also be related to this case?
Despite these thoughts, his feet did not stop moving; finding Hao Hongtao was the most important thing.
He looked at the paper, which read: 26 Lotus Street, Spring Welcome Hotel.
Lotus Street?
Was there such a street? He had never heard of it before.
When he reached the school gate, he glanced at the security booth and noticed a young man reading a newspaper. He walked over and asked, "Excuse me, where is Lotus Street?"
A young man put down the newspaper and shook his head, saying, "Sorry, I just started working here, so I'm not very familiar with the area."
Captain Xing thanked him and then walked outside. Right next to the school gate was a restaurant, and the Boss should know where Lotus Street was. After inquiring, he learned that if he walked about two hundred meters into the snack street, he would reach Lotus Street.
He followed the snack street inward and soon saw a rusty sign with the words "Lotus Street" written on it. However, due to the passage of time, most of the paint had peeled off.
As he walked while looking at the door numbers, he quickly found Spring Welcome Hotel.
After asking the Boss, he learned that Hao Hongtao was staying in room 201 on the second floor. He showed his police badge and went straight upstairs. Fearing that Hao might escape, he cautiously approached that room.
Leaning against the door, he listened for a while but heard nothing. He knocked on the door, and after a long time without a response, just as he was about to knock again, footsteps sounded from inside.
"Who is it?" a voice asked.
Captain Xing did not answer; he simply waited quietly.
The door slowly opened to reveal a haggard face, which belonged to Hao Hongtao.
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