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墨書 Inktalez
The person who had unilaterally changed the plan was clearly Gao Rui.
Gao Rui did not destroy Principal Zhang's body; instead, he preserved it. If you want to delay the time of death of a corpse, you need to keep it at around thirty-seven degrees Celsius and continuously move the body to relax the muscles while slowing down the appearance of livor mortis. This is not an easy task and requires careful protection.
Naturally, someone capable of doing this must have a deep understanding of human anatomy, and Gao Rui's major in college was precisely in this field. Only Gao Rui could accomplish such a feat. But why did Gao Rui choose to do this? Preserving a body is far more difficult than destroying one.
It’s like how death requires only one condition, while being alive requires many more. We often hear people say they fear nothing even death; in reality, death is the least courageous thing one can face.
Gao Rui had evidently chosen the path of death.
Gao Rui dragged Zhang Mingliang's body into the sewer, tossed the murder weapon into the drain, then threw the knife that Zhang Mingliang used for suicide onto a mountain and buried Principal Zhang's body there. Afterward, Zhang Mingliang deliberately returned home covered in mud, leaving behind witnesses, and stashed away his clothes, leaving evidence behind.
Zhang Mingliang fabricated a large amount of evidence to prove that Principal Zhang had killed himself, while Gao Rui created extensive evidence to suggest that he had killed Principal Zhang.
One thing led to another; Gao Rui believed he had accounted for everything but overlooked one crucial detail.
Hu Jiajia loved him deeply.
“So why did you do this?” I lit a cigarette and looked at Gao Rui across from me.
Gao Rui furrowed his brow, watching the wisps of smoke rise for a long time before finally speaking. “Why do this? Because it was Zhang Mingliang's wish. Do you know how I felt when Zhang Mingliang underwent gender reassignment surgery? Do you know how I felt when I read the note he left for me? Do you know how I felt when his body fell before me?”
Veins bulged on Gao Rui's arms, and his face turned a deep shade of red as he struggled to suppress his anger. In a rough, low voice, he said, “I know I will never have Zhang Mingliang's heart! But what I don’t understand is why Zhang Mingliang was willing to die for Hu Jiajia without even saying a word to her!”
“I don’t understand! I can’t comprehend!” Tears welled up in Gao Rui's eyes, but his stubbornness held them back: “But I love him. No matter what choice Zhang Mingliang made, I love him. As long as it was his wish, I will fulfill it.”
I took a deep drag from my cigarette. “So you set up another trap within Zhang Mingliang's trap?”
Gao Rui blinked, fighting back tears: “Yes. If the police's attention remains on Zhang Mingliang, they might uncover the true cause of his death. So what I need to do is divert their focus onto Principal Zhang.”
"That way, you will focus your main efforts on investigating Principal Zhang, and you won't be so fixated on the cause of Zhang Mingliang's death," Gao Rui said, looking into my eyes. "This will create the impression in your minds that Principal Zhang killed Zhang Mingliang and was then killed by someone else while trying to escape."
At this moment, Guan Zengbin couldn't help but ask, "So you planned this from the very beginning?"
"How could that be!" Gao Rui exclaimed through gritted teeth. "Zhang Mingliang had the keys to my apartment and Hu Jiajia's. When I saw the note he left for me in my bedroom, I rushed out. If I hadn't been so slow, Zhang Mingliang wouldn't have died at all!"
"If Zhang Mingliang hadn't died, what would it matter if ten Hu Jiajias died instead?" Gao Rui glared fiercely at Hu Jiajia.
I nodded and flicked the ash from my cigarette. "That was a note for you to collect his body."
Gao Rui stared into my eyes and then nodded heavily. "That's right. In the note, Zhang Mingliang told me about a series of plans he had, including his suicide plan. But when I arrived at the location, I got caught in a trap set by an old man at the construction site! If I had gotten there sooner, Zhang Mingliang wouldn't have died."
"Why didn't you shout?" Gu Chen asked. "Since you already knew the plan, why didn't you try to stop him? If you had yelled loudly enough, maybe you could have prevented it all."
"Because I saw him..." Gao Rui's voice dropped significantly. "In the moonlight, I saw Zhang Mingliang. I couldn't see his expression or even his face clearly, but I knew it was him. He was standing on the edge of the fifteenth floor, and he saw me too."
Gao Rui's expression suddenly became very confused. "Standing down below, I suddenly understood something. I would do anything for Zhang Mingliang, but he would do anything for Hu Jiajia as well. So I didn't shout; I left."
Guan Zengbin and Gu Chen exchanged glances, not understanding why Gao Rui had given up at such a critical moment.
Gao Rui continued, "It turns out that my love for Zhang Mingliang is exactly the same as his love for Hu Jiajia. I was afraid to express my feelings because I feared losing him, feared not being able to have him, feared that I would never be able to get close to him again. Even if we were together, I feared he might leave me at any moment."
"It turns out we are all equally lonely and cowardly," Gao Rui said with a self-deprecating smile. "I understand that feeling and that willingness to do anything for someone you love. So I didn't disturb him, even though he is the man I love most. If a person can't even die without being disturbed by others, then they are truly pitiful."
Gao Rui opened up.
"In fact, there were many times when I felt like I had no parents. I lived with my aunt, and I was very afraid of the dark; I could never sleep alone at night. But later, I met a boy who was my classmate. We were very close—close enough to share everything. He was a child who had been adopted, but his adoptive parents treated him poorly. So I often asked him to come sleep with me; my aunt is a good person and very open-minded."
"I am afraid of the dark, but he is not. He can protect me. However, he cannot be with me forever. Once, I was with him, and we cannot be together forever. What if I am afraid of the dark in the future? He told me that we would be together for a lifetime."
"A lifetime means forever; even a year, a month, or an hour does not count as a lifetime. I saw this line in a movie later on, and every time I think of it, I remember him. He is the person I love most in this life, the person I want to become."
"The playground was very dark, and he left alone. At that moment, I realized he truly was someone who was not afraid of the dark. But only now do I understand; I finally know that..."
"We are all the same people."
Gao Rui's words lingered in my heart, and I did not forget them for a long time. I can almost picture that night when Gao Rui stood downstairs, watching Zhang Mingliang prepare to commit suicide, suddenly understanding everything. Gao Rui had been afraid of the dark because he had once been abandoned by Zhang Mingliang on that pitch-black playground.
It turned out that Zhang Mingliang was also someone who feared the dark.
A body fell from the fifteenth floor.
Gao Rui was right beside it; this was the body of his beloved man. Gao Rui cried silently in his heart—yes, only in his heart—because he feared disturbing Old Zhang. He pressed his hand tightly over his mouth, tears streaming down his face, but he made no sound. If this is your last wish, I will fulfill it for you.
He knelt on the ground, staring blankly at Zhang Mingliang's body for a long time before finally lifting it onto his shoulders. Following Zhang Mingliang's instructions, he placed Zhang Mingliang's body in the sewer. He wanted to touch Zhang Mingliang's face, but Zhang Mingliang's head remained on the fifteenth floor.
Sitting in the pitch-black, foul-smelling sewer, Gao Rui suddenly understood one thing:
I am willing to do anything for you; death is just one of those things.
To completely confuse the police, merely disappearing would not suffice; Gao Rui needed to resolve this case quickly. Otherwise, each additional investigation would bring more danger.
So Gao Rui fabricated his motive for murder, the timing, created witnesses and evidence—everything was seamless.
But in truth, both he and Zhang Mingliang had miscalculated one thing: emotions.
Zhang Mingliang only wanted to save Hu Jiajia and had no intention of dragging Gao Rui into this mess. However, he could never have imagined that Gao Rui would go so far as to fabricate a murder scene to fulfill his own desires. Nor could Gao Rui foresee that he had already taken the blame for Hu Jiajia, while she was about to reveal the truth.
“If you don’t step forward, you could live your life in peace,” this was Gao Rui's last statement to Hu Jiajia.
Hu Jiajia was crying uncontrollably, her voice trembling as she said, “Just as you can do anything for Zhang Mingliang, I can do anything for you…”
This was Hu Jiajia's final words to Gao Rui.
Guan Zengbin once remarked that some people have loved without truly loving, while others have gone mad with love without ever having slept together. When it comes to matters of the heart, who can truly understand? Gao Rui deeply loved Zhang Mingliang, Zhang Mingliang deeply loved Hu Jiajia, and Hu Jiajia deeply loved Gao Rui.
“What a melodramatic love story,” Gu Chen commented.
“What other love stories aren’t melodramatic?” I shook my head in response.
Gao Rui walked out of the interrogation room, his expression vacant as he moved forward, seemingly devoid of soul; he looked like he had aged ten years.
Hu Jiajia followed him outside, silently murmuring: You are the joy of youth.
I had seen this phrase many times online; it made sense even when read backward.
But if gender could also be reversed, would it reduce many tragedies in this world?
Unfortunately, there are no "ifs."
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