Chapter 137: Someone is in the dorm [4]
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After dinner, Yan Yu sat on the sofa watching the evening news. Dahei lay beside him, lazily wagging his tail and yawning.
Zhao Qingqing floated in midair. Whenever a breeze passed by, her light, weightless body drifted gently back and forth.
Su Han had it the hardest of all. She was in her room grading her students’ assignments. Seeing students she had painstakingly taught get even a basic question wrong—one she had explained countless times—made her grit her teeth in frustration.
Zhao Qingqing suddenly floated over beside Yan Yu and whispered, “Darling, we agreed last time that, after we came back, you would…”
“Agreed to what?” Yan Yu asked, puzzled.
“You said you would use Soul Inquiry on me…”
Yan Yu frowned slightly. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
It was not that he did not want to help Zhao Qingqing avenge herself. He was simply worried that learning the identity of her murderer would cause her to form an obsession, robbing her of the purity and innocence she still possessed.
Zhao Qingqing nodded solemnly.
“If that is what you want, then promise me this: no matter what you see, you must stay calm and keep yourself under control. If you lose control, I can only seal you inside a stuffed toy.”
“I understand…” Zhao Qingqing was kind by nature. She did not want to become evil, nor did she want to harm innocent people.
Soul Inquiry was not dangerous, so Yan Yu did not disturb Su Han, who was still fuming. Instead, he led Zhao Qingqing into his bedroom.
After closing the door, Yan Yu asked Zhao Qingqing to lie down on the bed. He moved a chair beside it and sat down, gently taking her hand.
“I’m a little scared,” Zhao Qingqing said softly.
“You have me.” Yan Yu squeezed her icy hand and smiled.
“Mm-hmm!”
Zhao Qingqing slowly closed her eyes.
Yan Yu held his breath and calmed his mind before beginning to perform Soul Inquiry.
…
If Yan Yu’s guess was correct, the murderer who had killed Zhao Qingqing eighteen years ago had originally intended to kill his mother, Tang Xinyi.
If he could discover the murderer’s identity, he would also be one step closer to learning the truth behind his mother’s death.
When he opened his eyes, the surroundings were shrouded in dim light. Yan Yu found himself in a dilapidated classroom.
The classroom’s facilities were extremely crude. Even the desks were shared by two students, while the chairs were long benches meant for two.
“Why did the power suddenly go out?”
“Everyone, the power company just informed us that, because of a fault in the electrical system, our school may not get its power back tonight. In a little while, the class committee member in charge of supplies will go to the sports field to collect some candles. We’ll just have to make do for one night.”
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“Qingqing, you don’t look well. Are you feeling sick?”
Yan Yu turned his head. His deskmate looked extremely familiar—it was Ye Han.
“That’s right, Qingqing. If you’re feeling unwell, ask the teacher for permission to return to the dormitory and rest. The power’s out today anyway.” Zhang Weiwei, seated in front of them, also turned around.
Zhao Qingqing opened her mouth. “I think I’ve started my period…”
After asking the teacher for permission, Zhao Qingqing walked alone along the campus path toward the dormitory.
At that time, Rongcheng No. 1 High School had yet to rebuild its old campus. There were no streetlamps along the entire route. Relying on the faint light and the familiarity of memory, Zhao Qingqing felt her way through the darkness toward the dormitory.
Much of what Yan Yu saw along the way was fragmented. Perhaps because so many years had passed, Zhao Qingqing’s memories were no longer complete.
He heard Zhao Qingqing muttering to herself: “Xinyi took the day off to go to the hospital. She’s already nine months pregnant. How dangerous for her to go alone… Why wouldn’t she let me accompany her?”
After walking for some time, Zhao Qingqing arrived outside the dormitory. She unlocked the padlock with her key and pushed open the door.
The dormitory was pitch-black. Bedding lay on the simple bunk beds, and on the bed to the left sat a gigantic Hello Kitty plush toy.
Zhao Qingqing glanced at it and sighed. “That was a gift from that man to Xinyi. What a pity…”
At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Yan Yu’s mind.
So the Hello Kitty had actually been a gift received by his mother. In those days, anyone who could afford to buy such a huge stuffed toy for a girl probably came from no ordinary family.
Clutching her lower abdomen, Zhao Qingqing walked toward the bathroom.
Then, from the corner of the dormitory, Yan Yu accidentally caught sight of what appeared to be a person crouching there!
The dormitory was far too dark, and Zhao Qingqing had never imagined that another person could be inside when the padlock was still intact. She paid no attention and walked straight toward the balcony.
But Yan Yu was an observer. Even though he was seeing exactly what Zhao Qingqing had seen, his gaze naturally focused on different details.
He saw it!
The murderer had been hiding in the dormitory all along, waiting for Zhao Qingqing to return!
Turn around!
Qingqing, turn around!
Yan Yu unconsciously shouted in his mind, but his thoughts could not influence Zhao Qingqing’s memories. She continued into the balcony.
“It’s so cold.”
A kettle of hot water sat on the floor. Zhao Qingqing poured it into a washbasin, hoping to warm herself.
She stood beside the washbasin and looked at her slightly haggard reflection in the mirror.
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Suddenly—
A pair of eyes abruptly appeared in the mirror behind Zhao Qingqing!
“Ah—”
Before Zhao Qingqing could scream, the man behind her clamped a hand over her mouth. His immense strength was far beyond what a young girl could resist.
He slammed Zhao Qingqing’s head into the washbasin and held it there. The warm water rushed violently into her nose and mouth, causing her unbearable agony!
In a panic, Zhao Qingqing struggled desperately, flailing both hands.
“Gurgle…”
The man showed no sign of loosening his grip. Zhao Qingqing’s struggles grew weaker and weaker, while her consciousness gradually blurred.
At last, filled with unwillingness, Zhao Qingqing lost consciousness forever…
“Tang Xinyi, don’t blame me. I had no choice either. If you must blame someone, blame yourself for choosing the wrong man—and for becoming pregnant with his child.”
…
…
“Hah…”
Yan Yu opened his eyes and began breathing heavily.
His lungs heaved like bellows, greedily drawing in air, like a man dying of thirst in the desert who had suddenly found a spring.
“Darling, what’s wrong?” Zhao Qingqing hurriedly sat up and helped him catch his breath.
“I experienced… the agony of drowning…” Yan Yu said between ragged breaths.
He had not expected that, after so many years, so much of Zhao Qingqing’s memory would remain. A considerable portion of it had been preserved in its entirety.
And Yan Yu had fully experienced the sensation of drowning.
Zhao Qingqing waited until his breathing had steadied before asking cautiously, “Darling, did you see anything in my memories?”
Yan Yu fell silent, recalling the nightmare-like face reflected in the mirror. He realized that, because of the poor lighting at the time, Zhao Qingqing had never actually seen the murderer’s face clearly.
But he did remember one thing: the murderer had a pair of butterflies tattooed on his neck.
“The man who killed you had a pair of butterflies tattooed on his neck. Other than that, there were no clues,” Yan Yu said.
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