Second type of death

Chapter 15

“Yes,” I nodded, “a little.”

"Tell me about it." After tidying up, he walked out, and I followed closely behind, sharing the ideas that had just popped into my head. Although Wangyue Elementary School didn't have any particularly outstanding features, there were still some things to be explored in the materials, which could become excellent advertising material. Ouyang nodded frequently, interjecting his own opinions. As we passed the door, we quickly greeted Xiao Guan and continued our discussion. Ouyang was a very experienced planner. His ideas weren't numerous, or even particularly novel, but they were all practical. Compared to him, although my creative ideas kept popping up, after his analysis, I realized that very few were truly feasible, which was somewhat disheartening.

“It’s alright. You’re new to this industry, and you’ve already done a remarkable job,” he comforted me. Just as I was feeling pleased by his words, he suddenly changed the subject, “What exactly are you investigating Meng Ling’s background for?”

Caught off guard by his sudden question, I was speechless and couldn't answer.

Fortunately, I didn't need to answer anything; someone had helped me out. We had already left the office building and reached the school gate. From here, we could see the bustling road outside the gate, a stark contrast to the quiet campus. It was well past dismissal time; students and teachers had all left. Under the pale green mist, only a few students who had stayed behind were slowly walking along the path towards the school gate. Director Li's voice came from behind us. Ouyang and I turned around, and he was running towards us enthusiastically: "Leaving already?" Behind his black figure, the empty campus seemed somewhat desolate. When people are gone, everything is lifeless, and the buildings all appear unusually tall.

“Director Li,” Ouyang quickly extended his hand to shake his, “You haven’t left yet? We should have told you, you see…”

"Don't say that, don't say that," Director Li waved his hands repeatedly, "Did you find anything?"

"There's one thing, we'll sort it out and discuss it with you later," Ouyang said with a smile.

"That's good, that's good," Director Li said repeatedly, turning his gaze to me. "Xiao Jiang, I'm entrusting the creative idea to you. I heard from Ouyang that your idea is very good."

"Hmm, it's alright." I nodded.

Director Li and Ouyang laughed at the same time. Ouyang gently nudged me and said, "It's really different right after graduation. If someone praises you like that in the future, you should humbly say, 'Not at all.'"

"Mm." I nodded.

"By the way, Xiao Jiang," Director Li asked with a smile, "did you really see a student in that old building?"

"Yes, that's right." I nodded repeatedly.

“Oh, that’s strange. Our security guards didn’t find anyone inside…” he muttered to himself, then suddenly laughed. “Maybe he ran out when they weren’t looking.” His smile seemed a little unnatural. As I wondered why he was laughing like that, I couldn’t help but look back at the old building.

The old building, shrouded in smoke and mist, took on a hazy, indistinct appearance, its dilapidated exterior blurred, as if the entire building were slowly melting away. The black corridor was empty. A tall tree in front of the building stretched a branch, still not yet green, into the corridor. From where I stood, the tender green of the unsprouted buds on the branch was completely stained black by distance, dusk, and the pervasive drizzle. It was just as the wind was picking up, and that branch trembled violently in the wind. All the trees swayed and shook, further emphasizing the stillness of the building and the campus.

I don't know when, but the students who stayed on campus had all left, and it seemed that only the three of us were left on campus. The temperature seemed to drop even lower, and the chill seeped into my body from all directions, so I wrapped my clothes tighter.

I hope the boy I saw really left that old building. If he hid because of his mischief, the dark building might have frightened him at this late hour. But he must have left already; no child would want to hide in such a building for long in this weather.

As if to refute my idea, another child suddenly appeared in the open corridor on the second floor of the old building.

This was the same child I had seen at first. He slowly walked out of the building's hidden section into the corridor, his face pale, his clothes dark, and his long, messy hair blowing wildly in the wind as if it would be uprooted. He stood in the corridor, one hand gripping a branch that stretched into the corridor, looking down at us.

"He's still there!" I quickly pointed to Director Li. The child didn't seem to see me pointing at him, and remained quietly standing in the corridor, looking in our direction. Perhaps he didn't notice us. From that angle overlooking the campus, the three people standing at the school gate might just look like insignificant projections.

Upon hearing what I said, Director Li and Ouyang both looked upstairs at the same time.

"Where?" Director Li turned around and asked me.

“There,” Ouyang pointed enthusiastically, “on the second floor, next to that tree branch.”

"Where?" Director Li shook his head, looking around, but no matter how clearly Ouyang and I pointed out the location, he still couldn't see the child. Standing to his side, I saw that his sallow face had turned deathly pale at some point. On such a cold day, his face was covered with beads of sweat, and besides anxiety and tension, there seemed to be something else in his expression, something that inexplicably reminded me of Xu Xiaobing.

"You must have seen wrong," Director Li said sheepishly, wiping the sweat from his face. "I really didn't see any children."

Ouyang and I exchanged a glance. The child had remained standing quietly in our sight, never leaving. But Director Li's expression didn't seem feigned; something else in his expression was now even more pronounced, practically screaming "fear." His expression made me feel somewhat uneasy, and Ouyang seemed to be affected as well, his expression becoming strange. He stared at Director Li for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled, waved his hand, and said, "Hey, whatever, we should go."

"Okay, let's go, there's no one left on campus," Director Li said repeatedly, politely pushing us outwards with his hand.

Filled with doubt, I found myself walking towards the building, led by the two of them, while repeatedly glancing back at the old building—the child was still there—neither Ouyang nor I were mistaken; the child stood on the old building, and even from this distance, he was clearly visible. Director Li couldn't possibly have missed him. If he truly hadn't seen him, then there was only one explanation—the child, like Gu Quan, was blind. I was surprised that I could think of Gu Quan so calmly at this moment. Perhaps it was because the child was so far away, but the thought of Gu Quan, and that the child, perhaps like Gu Quan, might be invisible to ordinary people, made me feel as if countless unseen creatures were lurking in the misty rain around us, watching our every move. This thought sent a chill down my spine.

After seeing us off at the school gate, Director Li exchanged a few more pleasantries and then turned to walk in another direction. Ouyang and I, needing to buy yarn for Aunt Xu, strolled slowly along the sidewalk. The rain gradually intensified, and our hair and clothes began to get wet. Ouyang hadn't brought an umbrella, so I took mine out of my bag and handed it to him. We huddled under the umbrella, barely managing to cover our heads, but our cotton coats, exposed outside, were gradually getting soaked, glistening with water. Ouyang held most of the umbrella over my head and continued discussing the project proposal with me, while I was still thinking about things I didn't understand, giving him vague, incoherent answers.

Things are getting increasingly incomprehensible. If Director Li truly can't see the child, then why is he so panicked? Is there something else going on? If the child is indeed invisible like Gu Quan—at least that proves Li Yuntong isn't mentally ill, which might be the only good thing—however, if the child is like Gu Quan, why can't Ouyang and I see Gu Quan, but can we see this child? Not only that, Ouyang even knows Meng Ling. Since I moved to No. 6 Yunsheng Street, this is the first person besides the bookstore owner who has seen and knows Meng Ling. Before this, Meng Ling was merely a concept, a written existence.

"What did you say?" Ouyang suddenly patted my shoulder and looked at me strangely.

"What?" I looked at him, puzzled.

“You just said ‘you know him too,’” he frowned and looked at me. “What do you mean? That doesn’t make any sense.”

"You saw that child, didn't you?" I ignored his question and asked, following my own train of thought, "Why can't Director Li see him?"

Ouyang's expression changed, and he quickened his pace, saying, "Hurry up, the market is about to close. If we don't buy any yarn, Aunt Xu might eat us alive."

“Tell me, why can’t Director Li see him?” I hurried after him and persisted in asking. He turned his head and looked around, clearly not wanting to answer my question. Desperate for an answer, I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stand still and stare directly at him. He smiled helplessly: “I’ll tell you, but don’t be afraid.”

"Yeah, I'd be scared if you hadn't told me." I nodded vigorously.

"Let's buy some yarn first," he said, pointing to the yarn market that was closing up shop. It was nearing dusk, and the little street specializing in yarn and sweaters was deserted. Only vendors were packing up their shops, and the street was covered in colorful plastic bags and wrappers, looking incredibly dirty. We took Aunt Xu's yarn to several shops and finally found the same yarn in a shop that was half-closed. A large bag of yarn was almost sold out, with only a few bundles left at the bottom of the plastic bag, dangling forlornly. The seller quoted a price, and I was about to pay when Ouyang stopped me, smiling, "How about a discount?"

"Okay, what price are you offering?" The boss was quite straightforward.

Ouyang examined the yarn carefully: "Closing stock, the last bit left. It can't be too expensive." He quoted a price that was two-thirds lower than the price quoted by the shopkeeper. I stared at him in astonishment, thinking that the shopkeeper was about to curse.

"How about adding a little?" the shopkeeper asked in a consultative tone.

"At this price, will you sell it or not?" Ouyang glanced at the time and frowned impatiently.

“I can’t sell it for this price, the cost price isn’t even this much,” the shopkeeper swore. “How about this, I see you really want it, let’s compromise, you add two yuan, how about that?” I was surprised again, I didn’t expect the price to be reduced so much. Just as I was about to agree, Ouyang shook his head: “This is the price.”

"Forget it then, I can't sell it. There's no reason for me to lose money in business." The shopkeeper was furious and embarrassed. Ouyang pulled me away, but I kept looking back, stomping my feet on the ground, and said to Ouyang, "Forget it, let's just buy it. What if we can't find it anywhere else?"

"Yes, they're all closed now. Besides, this stock is only available here at my shop. If you come back again, it'll be sold out," the shop owner said loudly.

Ouyang laughed, "I know another place that's even better." He pulled me along for about ten meters when suddenly we heard the shopkeeper behind us shout, "Come back, come back! I've sold it to you, sigh!"

Ouyang winked at me, and I secretly gave him a thumbs up. We turned back, and the shopkeeper had already wrapped up the yarn, muttering to himself with regret, "If it weren't for the fact that we were about to close, I would never have sold it for this price. Boss, you're really good at bargaining."

Ouyang smiled and said, "You guys are really something. By the way, is Xiang Bihua still setting up a stall here? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Yes," the shopkeeper handed us the yarn and pointed to a shop that was completely blocked off by an iron gate. "She's already closed up shop. I've been setting up my stall here all this time. We're familiar with each other now, so please patronize my business more often in the future."

"Definitely, definitely. You'll have to give me a discount next time!" Ouyang said as we turned and walked away.

"Oh dear, we're already losing money," the boss said enthusiastically from behind. "I promise I won't make any money off you. Goodbye."

It wasn't until we walked out of the street that I finally burst out laughing, and while laughing, I clasped my hands in a fist and bowed to him, saying, "I admire you, you're really amazing."

Ouyang laughed too: "That's how it is when you buy things. You should learn more about it. Actually, bargaining with customers is sometimes just like buying things." He pointed at me, "You have to be thick-skinned and confident."

"Hmm," I nodded repeatedly, "Who did you learn this from?"

“Hehe, I don’t know much about the yarn market, but I know someone here who sells yarn,” he added, “who is Meng Ling’s mother.”

"Who?" My blood seemed to heat up in an instant. "Is it Xiang Bihua?"

Ouyang nodded.

My mind was in turmoil. I had so many questions to ask him, but I didn't know which one to ask first. Just then, Ouyang's phone rang. He answered it for a few moments, hesitated for a while, and then hurriedly hung up, saying anxiously, "I have to go. Go home by yourself."

“Hey, you…” I wanted to say that you haven’t told me about Meng Ling and that child from earlier, but seeing how anxious he was, I had to give up. “Okay, where can I take a bus to Yunsheng Street?”

"Over there." He pointed to the bus stop, then jumped into a taxi and drove off. I watched his car leave, and was about to head towards the station when I couldn't help but turn back and look towards Wangyue Elementary School. There was no one in sight at the entrance of Wangyue Elementary School; only the wind whipping rainwater across the gate, making the faded characters on the gate look brand new.

Further away, several people were slowly walking away from me. One of them looked vaguely familiar. I gazed at her for a long time, but she only seemed to disappear into the distance. The feeling of familiarity grew stronger with each passing moment. I unconsciously followed, quickening my pace, almost jogging. The umbrella was blown about by the wind, constantly flipping open, making me look quite disheveled. Just as I was about to catch up, she suddenly turned around, her pale face looking at me with a puzzled expression through the rain.

I was taken aback.

"Xu Xiaobing?"

"Jiang Ling?"

We called out each other's names at the same time, quickly ran together, and asked, "What are you doing here?" Then we both fell silent, waiting for the other's answer. Xu Xiaobing was silent for longer than me, so I couldn't help but say, "I came to Wangyue Elementary School to meet a client."

She opened her mouth, looking at me with even greater surprise: "You're also going to Wangyue Elementary School?"

"You too?" I asked in surprise.

She nodded: "I'm here to do business too."

What a coincidence! I wondered to myself, do such coincidences really exist in the world?

On the way home, the car swayed like a cradle, the sounds of wind, rain, and Xu Xiaobing's nagging buzzing in my ears. After a long pause, Xu Xiaobing finally recounted in detail her bewilderment at our simultaneous appearance at Wangyue Elementary School, and then proceeded to explain what had happened that day. When she mentioned the name "Meng Ling," I was jolted awake from my drowsy state and sat up straight.

Xu Xiaobing only made up her mind to get to the bottom of this this morning. There was something I had forgotten, but she remembered. On Yunsheng Street, the bus stop she needed to take was in the opposite direction from where I was walking, a ten-minute walk or so, almost crossing the entire street, including the post office. The post office wasn't open yet, but the postman was already there, tidying his motorcycle in front of the post office. Xu Xiaobing hadn't remembered the thing I'd forgotten until she saw him. Seeing the postman, she suddenly stopped and stared at him. The postman remembered Xu Xiaobing well because when she first moved here, mail was delivered to room 302, number 6 Yunsheng Street almost every day. Seeing Xu Xiaobing, the postman greeted her, and it was at that moment that Xu Xiaobing remembered my computer.

"Did you send mail to my room on Friday?" she asked.

“No,” the postman said firmly, “you haven’t had any mail in a long time.”

“Do you remember where I live? We received an email on Friday, which was sent to my roommate.”

"There was no mail for your house on Friday. Don't you live at number six on this street? Number six hasn't had mail in a long time. I'm not mistaken about that. You must be mistaken."

However, Xu Xiaobing knew I had received the mail, and it was a large one at that. Since there was still a long time before work, she estimated she wouldn't be late, so she asked to see the post office records—she thought of Grandma Li's records. According to her, she didn't expect the postman to remember anything, because, based on Grandma Li's and her own behavior, no one remembered anything about Meng Ling, and almost everything could be corroborated by evidence.

The postman felt somewhat insulted by Xu Xiaobing's suggestion, but he didn't say much and went to check the records.

The records showed that last Friday, he did indeed personally deliver a package to room 302, No. 6 Yunsheng Street, and the recipient's name was clearly Meng Ling. The postman was extremely surprised, and Xu Xiaobing didn't explain anything to him before rushing off to work.

"Your computer was signed for by Meng Ling." After Xu Xiaobing said this to me, she stared at me, expecting some kind of reaction. But I wasn't surprised anymore; this was something I had already anticipated.

"And then what?" I urged her.

Xu Xiaobing gave me a disappointed look.

When Xu Xiaobing arrived at the company, it was still early and the other colleagues had not yet arrived. Before everyone started work, Xu Xiaobing put Meng Ling's documents back in their original places.

What happened next, if quoted verbatim from Xu Xiaobing, could easily fill a thick novel. Her main point was to state a fact—most people didn't know Meng Ling, yet Meng Ling had left her traces everywhere, like trash being thrown away. On Monday, after completing her work at breakneck speed, Xu Xiaobing spent the rest of her time investigating Meng Ling's existence. This task required immense patience; I would have given up long ago, but she persevered. She called everyone mentioned in the information who might know Meng Ling to verify, and the answer was always the same: no one knew her. After making all the calls, Xu Xiaobing paused for a moment, wanting to call me to explain the situation, but then decided against it, realizing she hadn't discovered anything new. She felt she had to do something more, because stopping made her restless.

“If I don’t stop, I feel like I’m continuing to work on this,” Xu Xiaobing told me. “But once I stop, it’s like the situation is already set in stone, and we can only let her do whatever she wants.” I can understand her feelings, but I was surprised that she was so anxious.

Driven by anxiety, Xu Xiaobing wouldn't allow herself to stop. She paced back and forth in her office, trying to figure out what else she could do. Luckily, she was the marketing manager and had her own office; otherwise, her colleagues would have been quite surprised to see her in such a state of agitation. She wandered around for a long time, but still couldn't think of anything she could do. She had made all the phone calls, and she had shown Meng Ling's photo to every colleague in the company, but she hadn't received any new answers.

So what else could she do? It seemed all that was left was waiting and anxiety. To calm herself down, she took a deep breath, sat down at her desk, took out her work notebook, and decided to try to forget about it by working.

"But you've already finished your work," I whispered to her.

"Yes," she nodded and sighed.

After realizing that even her work was finished, Xu Xiaobing was at a loss. She took out Meng Ling's photos one by one and looked through them, then flipped through the notebook containing Meng Ling's copied information. She had already contacted all the names on that list, but hadn't received any new answers. However, she noticed a problem: the people she had contacted were all clients who had business dealings with the company, or contacts that Meng Ling herself had registered in her personal profile. Judging from her profile, her social circle was clearly not that narrow; besides clients, she should have had some classmates and friends—if she had ever existed. These people weren't in the company's contact list, and consequently, she hadn't thought of contacting them. Thinking of this, Xu Xiaobing quickly and carefully reviewed Meng Ling's information. Meng Ling was from Beijing and had always studied in Beijing, from elementary school to university. After graduating, she became a teacher at Wangyue Elementary School in Nancheng and soon joined Huinan Technology Company. In reality, Meng Ling's experience was very simple, but to truly investigate her, the number of people she knew during her school years alone was enormous. Xu Xiaobing almost gave up just thinking about having to investigate so many people one by one.

Fortunately, she immediately thought of one of her classmates. After graduation, that classmate went to Beijing, took the civil service exam, and became a computer network tracker for the Public Security Bureau, responsible for collecting and organizing various information. At this time, this classmate's job might be able to provide Xu Xiaobing with many conveniences. Thinking of this, Xu Xiaobing became excited and quickly picked up the phone to make a call.

“However, I hesitated for a long time before making the call,” Xu Xiaobing said.

"Why?"

“When I was in school,” Xu Xiaobing looked out the car window somewhat awkwardly, avoiding my gaze, “I was busy working and didn’t have time to interact with my classmates, so I wasn’t very popular. I’ve barely spoken a few words to this classmate, and I don’t know if he still remembers me.”

"I definitely remember." Even though I knew she had already called, I couldn't help but offer her a word of comfort. She turned around, smiled gratefully, and nodded.

The classmate did indeed remember her. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Xu Xiaobing revealed her purpose. Upon hearing about the investigation, the other party remained silent for a moment before asking why she wanted to do it. Xu Xiaobing casually made up a lie, saying that Meng Ling's work here was problematic, and the company suspected her of concealing her past. Xu Xiaobing's years of experience as a manager hadn't been for nothing; she lied exceptionally smoothly. However, the other party wasn't so easily fooled. Hearing her explanation, he immediately replied that one couldn't just investigate a citizen arbitrarily. Before Xu Xiaobing could figure out how to persuade him, he added that, out of consideration for their classmate relationship, he would investigate in his private capacity. Xu Xiaobing was overjoyed. Before she could even thank him, the other party had already searched the database and found Meng Ling's ID number. After verifying it, it matched exactly the number Xu Xiaobing had copied from Grandma Li, indicating that such a person did indeed exist.

"Huh?" I couldn't help but interject, "So what were the results of his investigation?"

Xu Xiaobing glared at me, displeased that I had interrupted her: "Don't interrupt—he said he would check in the next couple of days, but there's still no news."