Xu Qingzhu said, "I found it in a corner under the bed."
Liang Shi: "..."
Just how superstitious is this Qiu Zimin?!
No, how much do I hate her?
“I suspect it’s a form of witchcraft,” Xu Qingzhu said. “But I had a friend examine it, and she said it was just a way to vent anger and had no real effect.”
Liang Shi: "..."
Chapter 51
The rag doll was filthy, even though Xu Qingzhu had already dusted it off.
When Liang Shi picked it up, his hand was still covered in dust.
It was about the same size as a regular doll hanging on a schoolbag. You could vaguely see that it was a light pink color through the armpit area. Its facial features were all worn down, leaving only a grayish-brown patch.
The needles were inserted haphazardly, with more than a dozen needles densely packed into the narrow abdomen.
One of the doll's legs had been torn open, revealing the cheap cotton inside.
Liang Shi examined the doll in his palm for a while, then lowered his eyes and pulled out the needles one by one.
These are all household embroidery needles.
Liang Shi had only ever seen these things in period dramas.
A total of 12 needles were pulled out.
Liang Shi placed them side by side on the bedside table, and then looked at the button.
The buttons were nothing special, just ordinary shirt buttons.
Judging from its shape, it looks like a button from a cuff.
What's most unusual is that there are bloodstains on the buttons, not the natural red color or dye, but blood red.
It looks like it's been quite some time.
Liang Shi was not a professional and could not determine how long the bloodstains had been there.
No one expected to find something like this inside the house.
It looks really creepy.
After a long silence, Liang Shi spoke first, "Where did you find it?"
Xu Qingzhu replied, "The doll is under the bed near the bedside table, quite out of the way. This bed probably hasn't been replaced; the area under it is extremely dirty, covered in dust, and looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a long time. The button is behind the door, and its color is very similar to the baseboard tiles, so it must have been left behind because it wasn't cleaned properly."
Upon hearing this, Liang Shi bent down, turned on his flashlight, and peered under the bed. Just as Xu Qingzhu had said, it was covered in dust.
The bed itself wasn't of good quality; the wooden planks looked quite old. The mattress on top, however, was of good quality and must have been recently replaced, as the smell hadn't completely dissipated.
She tried to find more, but Xu Qingzhu said, "I've already looked at everything. This is the only thing left; the rest is just dust."
Liang Shi glanced around and then walked behind the door.
The bricks behind the door were light red with a slightly cracked texture. She stuck the button on the bricks, and it was indeed not noticeable.
The discovery of the rag doll and the blood-red button made both of them somewhat uneasy.
Both of them had seen that horrifying photo.
Although the room is now decorated in a fresh and clean style, every detail seems to match the original.
The wind was strong outside, whistling through the treetops.
It adds a touch of eeriness.
After waiting a while, Liang Shi asked gently, "Do you want to go home?"
Xu Qingzhu hesitated, "Isn't that inappropriate?"
Qiu Zimin fainted after arguing with Liang Shi, and it seems inappropriate for Liang Shi to go back to Repulse Bay so late.
But Liang Shi got up, took pictures of the doll and the row of pins, found a transparent bag and put the blood-red button into his pocket, got up and opened the door, his gentle voice carrying a hint of determination: "Let's go, let's go home."
She didn't want to stay in this room.
Xu Qingzhu is always cautious, and she took a picture after finding the doll.
On her way back, she sent it to Liang Shi.
Liang Shi chuckled, "You're more meticulous than I am."
She was so angry that she pulled the needle out.
Indeed, this "evidence" should be preserved.
Xu Qingzhu was in charge of driving.
After driving a short distance, Liang Shi called Liang Xinzhou and said that he wanted to be alone for a while, so he was leaving the old house first and that he didn't need to worry.
Although he didn't want to mention Qiu Zimin, Liang Shih still asked Liang Xinzhou to take good care of Qiu Zimin out of respect for him.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one.
//
In the old house.
Lingdang was startled awake by a nightmare and burst into tears. Sun Meirou rushed back to comfort her.
Yu Wan stayed on the third floor to take care of Qiu Zimin, who had fallen into a coma.
The brothers Liang Xinzhou and Liang Xinhe went to the study.
Liang Xinhe's brain still hadn't processed this information, and he asked Liang Xinzhou incredulously, "Brother, is this true?"
Liang Xinzhou countered, "Does it really matter whether it's true or false?"
“No.” Liang Xinhe, who was usually eloquent, was at a loss for words for a moment. After considering for a moment, she said, “No matter how important it is, I have the right to know the truth.”
“It’s true.” Liang Xinzhou didn’t hide it from him. “You were still young back then. After my third sister went missing, Dad and Mom had a big fight because Dad took my third sister out and lost her. Mom had just given birth not long ago and was showing some signs of postpartum depression. Afterwards, the psychologist suggested that she go out to relax and then she came back with Liang Shi.”
"Where did Liang Shi come from?" Liang Xinhe asked.
Liang Xinzhou said, "I found it."
"From where?" Liang Xinhe asked again.
Liang Xinzhou slowly shook his head, "I'm afraid only Mom knows these things."
He had asked her, but Qiu Zimin only said that she picked it up from next to the trash can, and that it looked so pitiful because it was so small, so she brought it back to raise.
Qiu Zimin said no more.
If he asks too many questions, Qiu Zimin will complain that he is long-winded and say that he is just a kid and doesn't care about so much.
Liang Xinzhou didn't dare to ask any more questions and kept it all to himself.
"What about Third Sister?" Liang Xinhe asked. "Haven't we found her after all these years?"
“My parents have been searching, but there’s been no news. Those people are incredibly cunning; they steal babies and sell them, some even crossing borders to smuggle the stolen children abroad under false identities. How could they possibly find them?”
As Liang Xinzhou spoke, he recalled a heartbreaking incident: "In those years, it wasn't just our family that lost children. Mr. Gao, who went out with our father, also lost his daughter. Because of this daughter, his wife divorced him, and he was filled with guilt. A few years later, the financial crisis hit, his company went bankrupt, and he jumped off a building. It is said that when he died, he was still holding the pen that his daughter had used for her first birthday celebration."
Liang's father used many connections, but still couldn't find it.
The clues even ended at the foot of the mountain where they went to play, and all signs seemed to indicate that they were seeking revenge against their enemy.
Afterwards, all I could do was blame myself and feel guilty.
Back then, Mr. Gao spent almost everything he had to find his daughter, but the little girl was not even a year old and could not speak. She would stop crying if given some food, which made the search much more difficult.
Years have passed, and technology has advanced, but the case from many years ago remains unsolved.
“I recently learned that Dongling City cracked a human trafficking case, and some children were reunited with their families,” Liang Xinhe said. “What if my third sister was among them?”
“I’ve also been following that matter. I’ve already had someone check, and there’s no one who meets the criteria,” Liang Xinzhou said. “And…”
He paused, then asked very seriously, "Do you really want to find your third sister?"
Liang Xinhe was taken aback. "Aren't we going to look for them?"
"Have you thought about what Liang Shi would do if we found Third Sister?" Liang Xinzhou asked in a deep voice.
The study fell silent immediately.
Autumn rain falls suddenly, with large raindrops pattering against the glass, and fine raindrops forming lines that meander across the glass before eventually flowing into the ground.
A moment later, a blinding light flashed across the distant horizon, tearing an irregular opening through the gray sky.
A thunderous boom resounded.
Liang Xinhe snapped out of his reverie and understood Liang Xinzhou's unspoken meaning.
—I'm not looking anymore.
“She’s our own sister after all.” Liang Xinhe frowned. “Isn’t she the one Mom and Dad have always wanted to find?”
"So many years have passed, do you know what she looks like now? Even if we find her, will we still have feelings for her?" Liang Xinzhou was so calm and rational that he was almost like an AI. "If she comes back, Liang Shi will definitely leave."
"Where can she go?" Liang Xinhe asked. "Even if Third Sister comes back, Liang Shi is still a member of the Liang family. She has no other family members, and everything she eats, uses, and lives in is provided by the Liang family. Where can she go?"
"She's probably filming a movie," Liang Xinzhou said.
Liang Xinhe was taken aback, then said nonchalantly, "How much money does she earn from acting?"
“But didn’t you notice that she’s cut back on spending?” Liang Xinzhou said, “She didn’t spend a single penny on her credit card this month; she used her debit card for everything. And I checked her bank statement; in the past two weeks, she’s only spent less than 1,500 yuan, including 300 yuan for gas.”
Liang Xinhe: "..."
Only when the data was presented to him did Liang Xinhe begin to feel a sense of reality.
But he still didn't quite believe that Liang Shi, who had been spending money like water for so many years, could immediately change this habit.
“I think she’s already preparing for the worst,” Liang Xinzhou said. “She probably didn’t just find out about this.”
Liang Shi was very calm, and talking about this matter with him was like talking about someone else's business.
His attitude was polite, but it carried a hint of indifference and aloofness.