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墨書 Inktalez
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying in bed, covered with a white sheet. Yuan Yun was sitting beside me, her eyes red and puffy, as if she had just been crying.
I felt very thirsty. There was a cup of water on the table beside the bed, so I gently reached out to grab it, trying not to disturb the sleeping Yuan Yun.
"Ah... you're awake?!" Just as my hand was a few millimeters away from the cup, Yuan Yun exclaimed. I could hear the joy in her voice.
"Do you want some water?" She handed the cup to me, and I drank it all in one go.
"Where is this...?" It was then that I realized I was not in any room of Zhao's house. The place felt too simple, with everything predominantly white.
"This is the hospital," Yuan Yun answered my confusion.
"The hospital?! When was I brought here? I don't remember anything at all."
"You wouldn't know; you've been unconscious for three days."
"Ah... three days?!" I was taken aback by this information. I thought I had only been out for two or three hours at most, but it turned out to be so long.
"The doctor said you suffered a severe head injury and might never wake up," she said, rubbing her swollen eyes.
"I'm sorry for making you worry. But look, I'm awake now, so don't be sad anymore." I paused for a moment and then added emotionally, "I didn't expect you to care so much about me. You must have cried a lot over these three days."
"Nonsense! Who's worried about you?" As she spoke, she noticed me staring at her dark circles and quickly added, "I had to stay here to take care of you because they couldn't find your family. Of course, I've been sleep-deprived for three days; that's why I have dark circles."
That's not just dark circles, I thought to myself but didn't say it out loud. Suddenly, something came to my mind: "By the way! What exactly happened that night?"
"You should focus on resting first. I'll tell you about it slowly once you're better."
"No, you still don't understand my personality. With such a big matter weighing on my mind, how can I rest easy?"
Seeing my stubborn expression, Yuan Yun let out a helpless sigh. "Alright, I'll briefly tell you what happened."
"Okay..."
"The situation is that the young master of the family we were staying with was murdered, and the killer, who is also the one who injured you, has not been caught yet."
"What happened next?" I asked eagerly.
"There's nothing more to it; that's the whole story."
"What about the details?" I pressed on.
"I don't know... You just woke up and are already asking so many questions. It's annoying," Yuan Yun said, standing up in frustration. "The doctor said that if you woke up today, you're basically fine. I've stayed with you for three days; I need to go rest now. The rest of the work will be left to the nurses." With that, she turned and walked toward the door.
"Wait..." I called after her.
"What else is there?" she asked impatiently, turning her head.
"Nothing much, just wanted to say—thank you."
"Tch, I thought you had something important to say. Turns out it's such a cliché line. Instead of just thanking me empty-handed, it would be more practical to treat me to a meal once you're healed." With that, she left the ward without looking back.
After Yuan Yun left, I lay in bed unable to sleep for a long time, perhaps because I had gotten plenty of rest during my three days of unconsciousness. My mind kept racing over the murder incident from a few days ago.
The shadow that injured me was definitely the killer; this was confirmed by Yuan Yun's words. As for his identity, being a mystery novel author, I instinctively began to think about the people around me. According to Uncle Fu, only four people lived in Zhao Residence: the master of the house, the young master, and their couple. Adding in temporary guests—myself and Yuan Yun—there were a total of six people in Zhao Residence that night.
At the time of the incident, I, Yuan Yun, and Uncle Fu were all in the living room. Excluding the young master who was murdered, the only one who had the opportunity to commit the crime was Old Zhao.
However, at that moment, the image of the old man's frail body and unsteady gait flashed through my mind. It was hard to reconcile that with the strong figure of my assailant who had knocked me down. Even if he had pretended to be weak in front of us, I could clearly feel that my attacker was a young person at the moment of impact.
Could it be? Was there someone else hidden in Zhao Residence? Was Uncle Fu lying to me? Could he be an accomplice to the murderer? That seemed impossible; looking at their warm and kind demeanor, they hardly seemed like bad people.
Or perhaps the murderer was an outsider, which meant Uncle Fu wouldn’t know. But that also seemed unlikely. The Zhao family had such significant assets yet hadn’t arranged for security; it showed their confidence in the electronic security system installed in their home. It would be difficult for an ordinary thief to break in from outside.
Or could it be that Old Zhao had hired someone? He might have known that his stepson would eventually turn against him, so he acted first. Yet, recalling Old Zhao’s kind and gentle appearance, he hardly seemed like a man capable of hiring a killer.
In any case, the most likely suspect for murder in Zhao Residence was that sinister-looking young master, yet he was the victim.
Sighing, I felt a sudden pain in the back of my head; it seemed I had overthought things. Perhaps it was best not to dwell on this tricky issue any longer. With that thought, I turned my head toward the window, noticing that it had started to rain outside without me realizing it.
Three days later, my injuries had mostly healed, and the doctor informed me that I could be discharged. I had expected Yuan Yun to come pick me up, but this morning she called to say she had an emergency patient and couldn’t leave. So I ended up leaving the hospital alone. Since Yuan Yun had arranged for someone to fix my motorcycle and ride it back to Y Town after the incident, I took a rural bus from S City to Y Town.
As it wasn’t a holiday, there weren’t many passengers on the bus. Most were sitting together in small groups, while I sat alone in the back row, looking rather pitiful.
I actually enjoy riding in vehicles; I love watching the scenery rush by outside and seeing how it changes day by day.
Now that urbanization is becoming increasingly common in China, places that were once wilderness or farmland have been replaced by towering buildings. I thought that within a few years, Y Town would also join the ranks of small cities. By then, if I wanted to find a quiet environment for my writing, I would probably have to retreat deep into the mountains.
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