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墨書 Inktalez
I woke up to a world of white, an IV drip in my hand, the medicine dripping steadily—this was a hospital.
To my surprise, Xing Yishen was sitting beside me.
"You're awake?" His expression was complicated.
I nodded, vowing to myself that I would never drink that much again.
Officer Li entered the room, holding a report, her expression equally complex, accompanied by Xiong Er.
A strong sense of unease washed over me.
"Am I terminally ill?"
Xing Yishen furrowed his brow, then relaxed it again before looking at me. "We found traces of a hallucinogen in your system that match the results from Zhang Yi's autopsy."
My heart sank suddenly.
He continued, "The suspect hasn't left the university town; his next target is you."
A chill crept up my spine.
If I could see when others would die, what about myself?
I picked up my phone and looked at the black screen reflecting my face.
There was nothing there.
Was it that there was no danger, or could I simply not see it?
"Don't worry; the police will ensure your safety. You just need to cooperate with our investigation," Officer Li said reassuringly.
"The bar has been sealed off, and everyone who was there last night is being questioned," Xiong Er added.
Yet, I still felt my heart racing. After finishing the IV drip, I quietly made my way outside.
"Watch where you're going," Xing Yishen said as he grabbed my arm, nearly colliding with a nurse's cart.
I murmured a response and continued to rush outside.
When I returned to the cat café, the flower shop next door had also opened, and Shen Wei greeted me with a smile.
"I was taken in for questioning last night, Song Yu. Did anything happen with you?"
I shook my head, not wanting him to worry.
The lilies at the flower shop were in full bloom, looking beautiful.
"Can I buy a bouquet?"
"You don't have to pay; just take them," he replied.
I insisted on paying anyway.
Zhang Yi's grave was in a small park next to the university town. Strictly speaking, it wasn't really a grave; her body was still frozen at the police station. Her family was causing a scene, and they hadn't had the chance to bury her yet.
Classmates and teachers had set up a makeshift tomb in a corner of the park, surrounded by flowers arranged neatly.
I placed the flowers down in order.
The lilies reminded me of her—always dressed in a simple white dress, smiling gently.
Zhang Yi had a great temperament. I remembered when I falsely accused her of stealing money last month; she had come to confront me. In the end, after I brushed her off with a few words, she believed me and smiled, revealing two dimples.
Later on, she developed a strong affection for Fei Fei and asked me if she could buy Fei Fei when she had money. I told her it would be fine as long as Fei Fei was willing.
It's hard to imagine that such a tragic and undignified death could leave her feeling cold.
I truly didn't want her to die.
After leaving the park, Xing Yishen leaned against the stone pillar at the entrance, watching me.
I turned back and glanced at the vast expanse of flowers in the distance, suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of sadness.
"Actually, if it's destined for me to die, it doesn't matter if you follow me."
He opened his mouth to speak. "I'm sorry."
"Song Yu, I didn't know you were Captain Song's daughter."
Song Lian, the captain of the criminal police in Jin City ten years ago, was also my father.
"Why bring him up?"
"He was a martyr." Xing Yishen rarely spoke seriously, standing straight. "He was also my idol."
I scoffed. "So what? Does that mean I deserve to be abandoned?"
"That's not it, Song Yu." He hurriedly caught up with me, breathing heavily.
"The Song Team is a legend in our entire Jin City criminal police force. My mentor wanted to find you before, but you moved away. We all thought you didn't want to be disturbed, so—"
"I still don't want to be disturbed." I looked at him through a veil of mist in my eyes. "Please don’t follow me; I'm begging you."
The bar in East Alley had been shut down, but the case remained as tangled as an uncut knot.
The cat café still had a pitifully low flow of customers. Xing Yishen would come by every day and order a cup of Americano.
I still charged him three hundred but didn’t add lemon juice this time.
I felt like I could only do two things: raise cats and rely on my parents.
The government deposited a pension into my account every month; it was meant for that bastard Song Lian. Since he wasn't around, I spent it for him.
Every day, Shen Wei would bring fresh flowers to decorate the cat café and take a cat back to play with. I couldn't tell if he genuinely liked cats or if there was another reason behind it. He never clarified, and I had no intention of asking.
It had been two weeks since Zhang Yi's death.
The case remained unsolved, and the atmosphere in the entire Jin City began to grow tense.
Shen Wei handed me two tickets again, probably hoping to lift my spirits. They were for a newly opened escape room on South Street of the university town, at a bargain price of just nine yuan.
I wondered how a grown man like him managed to get such strange discount coupons.
He said he would guard the flower shop and that I could find a girl to go play with when I had time.
A girl?
I really didn’t have many friends in Jin City.
If I had to choose, Zhang Yi could barely count as one.
By some strange twist of fate, I clicked on a profile picture and sent a photo over.
The reply came back instantly with an "OK" gesture.
The escape room was tucked away in a corner of South Street, flanked by two newly renovated shops that hadn’t opened yet. The large signboards looked like they were dripping blood, giving off a somewhat eerie vibe at first glance.
The footsteps beside me came to a halt.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?" I turned to ask him.
"No," Xing Yishen replied, his eyes twitching as he took a step forward after a long pause. "What girl would enjoy playing this?"
"It's not that I love it; it's mainly because it's nine yuan."
It turned out that such a cheap deal wasn't so easy to claim. The female staff member smiled brightly as she pointed at the small print on the coupon.
"You can only use it for the late-night session at nine-thirty. If we play now, each person has to add a hundred."
Xing Yishen was about to take out his money.
I pressed my hand down on his, "Late-night session it is. Let's sit for a while first."
"Why not now?"
"Two hundred? Isn't that just daylight robbery?" I poured him a glass of water. "Are you a fool?"
He looked at me, silent.
But his eyes seemed to be speaking.
After ten days of drinking three-hundred-dollar coffee, he really did seem like a fool.
Oh, not just seemed; he was one.
"Are you sure you really want the late-night session?"
This was the tenth time he had asked me this question in four hours.
"The staff said there’s still half an hour left until the people for the late-night session arrive." I placed a white stone on the board. "Connect five in a row; you lost."
He sighed, "Song Yu, this is Go."
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