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墨書 Inktalez
According to the description from the old lady, Xu Rong was a somewhat shy and timid little girl. In her visions of the future, Xu Rong would surely grow up to be a virtuous wife and mother—kind and frugal. However, reality proved that the current Xu Rong was far from a traditional girl; she was reckless and self-indulgent, avant-garde and rebellious.
Twenty years may not mean much in the vast expanse of history, but for an individual, it is long enough to change everything—personality, interests, habits. The old lady continued to speak at length, introducing us to her classmates one by one.
She mentioned that at the time, Wu Shuhau's family wasn't very wealthy; they were in the startup phase. Many other children were in similar situations. Those who had worked in the coal mining industry back then had now become big bosses. Wu Shuhau was known as a little tyrant in class, often leading a group to bully other children.
As I looked through the photographs, most of them featured two or more children together; there were very few solo shots. It seemed like candid moments of children at play. However, after flipping through about ten pages, I distinctly felt something was off. Among these children, there was one who appeared alone in several photos. In those pictures, it seemed no other child was playing with him.
From the photographs, this child looked quite spirited but was small and somewhat short for his age. In the pictures, he sat alone in his designated spot, either reading or staring blankly outside. He gave off a sense of being out of place, as if he didn't belong to the same dimension as the others.
I pointed at the boy and asked, "Grandma, what is this little boy's personality like? He seems not to enjoy playing with the other kids."
The old lady nodded and replied earnestly, "You're right; this child doesn't talk much. He is extremely introverted and never shares his feelings about anything. If he needed to use the restroom during class, he would never raise his hand to tell the teacher; instead, he would just wet or soil his pants. Only when other kids noticed would he stammer that he needed to go."
We frowned upon hearing this; it seemed this child was indeed excessively introverted.
"He didn't have many friends," the old lady reminisced. "He usually sat quietly on the side, doing just okay in his studies and never causing trouble—he was a very quiet child. Later on, in third grade, he transferred to another school. I saw him once or twice after that, but that was over ten years ago; I don't know what happened to him afterward."
We nodded in understanding as I continued to ask, "Did those kids often bully him? Or did anyone mock him?"
The old lady said, "Children at that age don't really understand much. Teasing or bullying isn't usually their intention. They were just playing together without any malice. For example, they might give him a nickname or tease him a bit; it's not a big deal."
I couldn't agree with her perspective—especially since those who work as detectives know that analyzing motives and understanding their underlying causes is fundamental. Aside from passion killings, most murderers begin developing twisted minds during childhood before eventually turning to crime.
What may seem like innocent play among adults could be perceived differently by those involved. Just like how adults might think nothing of giving away a child's toy, for that child it could feel like losing a king or a warrior from their world...
"Who bullied him?" I asked while looking at the photos. "Besides Wu Shuhau, were there others? Maybe Xu Rong? Or anyone else?"
The old lady fell silent for a moment before speaking again: "I honestly can't remember; those trivial matters are hard to recall. Don't doubt him; he shouldn't be labeled as a killer. He is timid and shy—how could he possibly do something like that?"
I furrowed my brow; although I knew it was inappropriate to ask such questions, I felt compelled to inquire further: "Do you remember his name?"
"He!" The old lady's words were caught in her throat, and she couldn't say anything for a long time.
I already knew the outcome; the old lady had completely forgotten about this student. Perhaps she could recall the person if she saw a photo, but she had utterly forgotten this person's name. Unlike when she spoke about Wu Shuhau or Xu Rong with such enthusiasm, the old lady seemed reluctant to discuss this classmate.
During school, those students who had average grades and didn't cause trouble were often the easiest to forget. Teachers might remember the top ten students from every exam and could recall the mischievous kids who played pranks, but it was difficult for them to remember those who fell in between.
The old lady shared many stories with us, none of which mentioned this classmate. It was worth noting that this was the last class she taught, and there were only about twenty students in total. Compared to this classmate, she even remembered students from over fifty years ago.
As I left the old lady's house, I specifically requested a group photo of the entire class. If the next victim turned out to be one of these classmates, then even if this classmate wasn't the Killer, the Killer must have had some conflict with someone from this class or was indeed one of them.
Mary asked me, "Do you really think that classmate is the Killer? It's been twenty years; someone wouldn't commit Passion Killing over something that happened two decades ago, right? If that's the case, how petty would they have to be?"
I shook my head and nodded at the same time, saying, "I don't know; there are all kinds of things in this world. The evidence we have is limited, and we can't make a judgment on whether he is the Killer yet. However, we should follow this lead further. Also, this situation isn't just about school; it likely extends into their home lives."
"Are you referring to Wu Jianye?" Yan Junde asked.
I replied with a sound of agreement and said to everyone, "Mary, we have the photo now; please find out that classmate's detailed information as soon as possible. Yan Junde, you and I will go to the hospital and see if Wu Jianye's wife has any clues to offer—whether it's stories from their childhood or enemies of Wu Jianye and others."
Yet deep down, I felt that this matter was closely related to that child. Yang Yi had once seen a frail man in an elevator, and the photo showed that child looking similarly thin and small. Based on normal growth patterns and his tendency to avoid people, it seemed like he could have been cut from the same mold as the child in that photo.
Could it be that the Killer who brushed past Yang Yi was indeed this isolated child from the picture?
While Mary began investigating this matter, Yan Junde and I drove to the hospital. Inside, Wu Jianye's wife lay on a hospital bed looking weak. As soon as we revealed our identities, she burst into tears, demanding that we catch the Killer and avenge her husband and son.
After much effort calming her down, I quickly asked, "It's our duty as police officers; don't worry—we will catch the Killer. We're here to gather information that will greatly help us analyze who the Killer might be. Did Wu Jianye ever mention having any enemies?"
"Enemies?" The woman pondered for a long time after hearing my question before shaking her head and saying, "I really don't know. I understand that when a family becomes prosperous, it can easily attract jealousy. But honestly speaking, my family hasn't reached a point where we have enemies like that. Usually, it's just business conflicts, but those issues can be resolved—would anyone go so far as to kill?"
"Has Wu Jianye mentioned anything unusual recently or exhibited any strange behavior?" I continued asking.
The woman shook her head vehemently and said, "No, everything was perfectly fine."
I took out the photo and asked the woman: "If your husband is sent to the police, do you remember this classmate of Wu Shuhau when you were young?" As I said that, I pointed to the photo. The lone guy standing in the front row showed the women. After the woman saw it, she seemed a little panicked, and something was obviously wrong in her expression. I saw her flash of panic, but the woman said: "I know she is my son's elementary school classmate, but I don't know the rest..." "Really don't know?" I looked at the woman seriously. Said: "This is about your husband and son, about whether we can catch the murderer. If you have anything to say, it's better for you to say it seriously. The dead are the most important, what can be done now than catching the murderer? KillerWhat's more important?" The woman looked at me for a while, then looked at the nanny who was following me in the hospital, and then said, "Can I just talk to you about this matter?" It seemed like the woman really had something going on. To speak out, I nodded, and Yan Junde and the nanny walked out of the separate ward. At this time, the woman said to me: "It must have been twenty years since this happened. I don't know why you doubt this." But to be honest, something really happened, and it’s something I can’t let go of in my life...” Then, the woman told me a story that I can’t forget to this day. This story is about the protagonist. It was this withdrawn child. The supporting characters included Wu Shuhau Xu Rong and several other children, a total of five people, three boys and two girls. Later, it became two boys and two girls. This story happened twenty years ago, when the children were still in the third grade of elementary school. At that time, there was no so-called Internet, let alone smartphones. At that time, the only channels through which people could obtain information were newspapers, television, radio, etc., which were far less abundant than they are now. It all started when a child got a DVD. A Charming Widow sent a letter to Young Man, and asked Young Man to go to her house for dinner in the middle of the night. After finishing the meal, she gave him her man's Gallop, and by chance they met again on the road. When he got a ride with a Young Woman, the girl’s behavior after getting on the bus made him unable to control himself. Click for more otaku benefits... <div style="text-aliger;margin-bottom:30px"><a id="pb_shouye" .akxs6.odules article="" addbookcase.php?bid="5186&cid=3139234""> 《</a id="pb_shouye" .akxs6.odules></div style="text-aliger;margin-bottom:30px">
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