evildoer

Chapter 7

Chu Yi sat down opposite me, looked at me, and said, "You came up with an explanation in just one night?"

I knew my excitement was written all over my face at that moment, so I said directly, "I have an idea, but I still lack strong evidence."

Chu Yi smiled and asked, "In which matter did we suddenly have strong evidence?"

I smiled and said, "That's true."

Chu Yi gestured for me to tell her my idea, and after thinking for a moment, I started from my dream and talked about my idea.

I didn't mean to scare Chu Yi; I was just telling her about my dream in order. But because the dream had such a profound impact on me, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy as I recounted it.

When I described seeing the eye fall out of "Su Quan's" eye socket, even Chu Yi couldn't help but cover her mouth and let out a soft gasp. Only then did I realize that I had been so engrossed in the story that I forgot to tell her it was just a dream.

When I told her, she breathed a long sigh of relief, just like I had.

Then I told her about my idea, including how I came up with it and the few doubts I still had.

She listened to me quietly the whole time, then subconsciously brushed her hair aside and said, "As far as I can see, the direction of this idea is correct. But..."

Chu Yi always considers things more thoroughly than I do, so I was even happier to hear that she agreed with my idea. But when I heard her tone change, I wondered what she was going to say, so I asked anxiously, "What is it?"

Chu Yi frowned: "Even if this hypothesis is true, what does it prove?"

I was taken aback; this was indeed a problem I hadn't considered. But now that Chu Yi had brought it up, I couldn't help but wonder, what was the point of all this painstaking investigation? — Su Quan's death had already been proven by the police yesterday to be an accident. As Chu Yi said, even if my hypothesis was correct, so what? I couldn't just push Han Ying to court like that. That would really be like a scene from a second-rate novel.

The moment I thought of this, my previously high spirits plummeted. Chu Yi immediately saw what I was thinking. She squeezed my hand and said, "Alright, don't be so discouraged. Think about it. Although the truth of this matter may not have much to do with most people, if you give up now, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep at night."

Chu Yi knows me too well. Indeed, whether I can find evidence to prove my hypothesis is meaningless from a legal or common-sense perspective (because my hypothesis is unacceptable to the law and common people). But my curiosity makes me unable to stop.

Since I had already decided that no matter what, I should at least "do right by" my curiosity, I shook Chu Yi's hand as well.

Seeing that I had shaken off my earlier dejected look, Chu Yi smiled happily and said, "I reckon the hospital where Su Quan is being treated is the same hospital my mother goes to. Let's go check her medical records together later."

So we arrived at the hospital shortly after breakfast (of course, Chu Yi confirmed beforehand that Su Quan was indeed receiving treatment at this hospital). We used Chu Yi's mother's connections and easily obtained Su Quan's medical records.

Su Quan's medical record was simple and unremarkable. The attending physician was a renowned doctor who initially diagnosed her with mild paranoid schizophrenia, caused by excessive stress from daily life. During the nearly one month of treatment, Su Quan cooperated very well, so after a month, the doctor concluded that she was essentially cured but needed to pay close attention to her health in the future. The treatment then ended.

This medical record doesn't seem to be of much help to my assumptions, because this kind of mild schizophrenia is actually quite common, especially when caused by excessive life stress—it's just that people rarely consider it an illness these days.

However, while reviewing the treatment records, Chu Yi discovered a very useful piece of information: Su Quan's brainwave intensity was slightly higher than that of ordinary people, and a test conducted after the treatment ended showed an improvement compared to when the treatment began. However, since both test results were within the normal range, they went unnoticed by anyone.

However, this was a great gain for Chu Yi and me. We guessed that it was very likely that Su Quan's brainwave intensity continued to increase after the treatment ended. If that were the case, then six months later, her brainwave intensity would have far exceeded that of ordinary people.

We have no other findings at the hospital besides this, but in fact, this too cannot be proven and can only be considered a hypothesis at best.

At noon, we returned to school. On the way, I thought of what Chu Yi had said that morning and couldn't help but sigh: "Using one hypothesis to prove another, and thinking you're quite right, haha, I'm afraid only I would do something like that."

Chu Yi corrected me, saying, "It should be something only we could do."

I smiled knowingly. In any case, I felt more and more that having Chu Yi by my side was truly a very happy thing.

Back at school, we had a quick lunch. I had originally wanted to talk to Su Quan's roommates again, but I wasn't really interested anymore. So, after parting ways with Chu Yi, I went back to my dorm for a nap.

Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [23]: It may be because of the nightmare last night that I was sleep-deprived. I slept soundly from noon until the afternoon, until a rapid pager beeping woke me up.

I checked my watch; it was already past four in the afternoon. I picked up my pager and saw that it was Liu Shiyan calling me from her building (my pager is a digital type, so I couldn't tell what she wanted from me).

I didn't know what she wanted to talk to me about at this time, so I wasn't in a hurry. After getting up, I washed my face and drank some water before I went to find her.

As I left the dormitory building and headed towards the girls' dormitory, I saw Liu Shiyan hurrying towards me.

She walked up to me, and I was about to ask her what was so urgent, but she didn't give me a chance to speak at all: "Why are you so slow?"

I immediately sensed that something might have happened, but before I could ask her, she reached out and handed me a piece of paper, saying, "Take a look at this."

I took the paper and saw that it was a letter. I asked, puzzled, "What's going on?"

Liu Shiyan said anxiously, "This letter was mailed by Su Quan herself on the day she died. The recipient was her dormitory. I just went to find Fang Linlin and saw Han Ying crying on the table. Linlin was holding this letter and didn't know what to do. I tried to comfort Han Ying for a long time, but it was no use. So I asked Linlin what was wrong, and she showed me this letter. I called you as soon as I finished reading it."

As soon as I heard that the letter was sent by Su Quan, I immediately picked it up and read it carefully.

The letter contained roughly the following content:

How are you all?

By the time you read this letter, you may no longer be able to see me.

I'm leaving.

Is this what you wanted?

Li Hong, you no longer need to be jealous that my grades are better than yours; Ding Yue, you no longer need to worry about people rummaging through your things; Han Ying, you no longer need to be sad about your parrot...

Shouldn't you all have a good time?

Think about it, we've been together for over a year, but I've never seen any of you truly smile happily in front of others. Although we live together, we all live behind distorted masks.

Stop denying these things, because I can sense what's beneath your masks.

But this is precisely my tragedy.

I didn't intentionally want to see those things, but I couldn't control myself. You can't understand how I feel. Every day I see so much filth and falsehood; it's already suffocating me, and yet you still...

I know these things are difficult to explain to you, and I don't want to explain anything to you. I'm afraid no one in this world would understand how I feel.

Han Ying, I know you've always hated me, and although it's become unbearable, I don't blame you. Because if I were like any other person, we could still live our lives without interfering with each other. I just want to say, why can't we all take gains and losses less seriously?

Okay, that's all for now. But please believe me, I genuinely hope you can live a more relaxed and happy life.

Su Quan

After reading this short letter, I couldn't help but close my eyes. This letter could be considered Su Quan's "last will and testament," with an overwhelming sense of sorrow and indignation leaping off the page, moving me deeply.

Her letter might seem incomprehensible to most, but it instantly resolved all my doubts. Based on this letter, my previous assumptions were largely correct. Su Quan did indeed possess an "ability" beyond the reach of ordinary people: she could unconsciously sense others' thoughts about her. However, it was precisely this "ability" that caused her to live under pressure unimaginable to most. The day before, an accident triggered a surge of intense hatred from Han Ying towards her. Such a situation would have no consequences for an ordinary person, but due to Su Quan's strange "ability," it plunged her into an inescapable nightmare, ultimately leading to her suicide or an accidental fall to her death under this torment.

The death of Su Quan, which had haunted me for three days, finally had an answer, but I felt no joy as I usually do after resolving a problem. Instead, I felt increasingly heavy-hearted. Throughout this whole affair, Su Quan had always been a vague and somewhat eerie figure in my mind. Every time she was mentioned, one or two strange and unbelievable things would come up, so in my mind, she seemed to truly be the "demon" that Han Ying and Xu Wenkai described, possessing a certain "evil aura." But now, after reading her letter, I felt a deep sense of guilt towards her. Because I fully understand that, in fact, she was the true victim from beginning to end.

My mood was unusually heavy at that moment, but Liu Shiyan interrupted my emotions with an impatient question. She said, "Hey, why are you suddenly so listless? What exactly does Su Quan's letter mean? I don't quite understand it. Is it related to the mysterious death of Su Quan that you mentioned? Why is Han Ying crying like that? Can you go and comfort her?"

Her barrage of questions left me both amused and exasperated. I tried my best to answer them one by one: "I think I roughly understand what she meant by this letter, but it would take some time to explain it to you from the beginning. I think this letter should be able to explain her death. As for Han Ying, I don't think there should be any major problems; she was just frightened."

Although Liu Shiyan heard my answer, she clearly still didn't quite understand, so she was eager for me to explain what exactly happened.

It wasn't that I didn't want to tell her, but firstly, I was in a bad mood, and secondly, it was something that couldn't be explained in just a few words, so I made an excuse.

Seeing that I wouldn't tell her the whole story, Liu Shiyan wrinkled her little nose in frustration. I smiled at her adorable expression, but then I suddenly remembered something. Because of this, I felt incredibly lucky and blurted out, "Luckily, Zhou Hua didn't see the letter."

I suddenly remembered the "speculation" that Zhou Hua mentioned to me last time. Although I scolded him for his wild imagination back then, it seems that his idea at that time was indeed somewhat relevant.

Therefore, I thought that if he saw this letter, wouldn't he have "real evidence"? I was really afraid that he would ask Han Ying to "pay with his life"! — I'm not exaggerating. Judging from his mental state yesterday, if he had read this letter, he might have done anything.

Although I muttered this to myself very quietly, Liu Shiyan still heard me. She exclaimed, "Huh? You mean Zhou Hua? I just saw him storming towards our building in a huff."

Upon hearing this, I immediately had a bad feeling and almost screamed. I grabbed her hand and said, "You saw him go to your building?"

Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [24]: Liu Shiyan was caught by me and didn't know what to do. She didn't understand what I meant by asking this question, but my expression must have made her realize that it was a big deal, so she hurriedly nodded vigorously.

At this moment, my premonition grew stronger and stronger, and I quickly said to Liu Shiyan, "Hurry up and take me to Han Ying's dormitory."

She probably rarely saw me so serious, and she was immediately infected by my urgency. Without asking why, she nodded and hurriedly led me towards their building.

All the way, I kept praying that my premonition was wrong, and that what I imagined would not happen.

Liu Shiyan and I practically ran to the fifth floor where Han Ying's dormitory was located. When we arrived at Han Ying's dormitory, Liu Shiyan was already out of breath from nervousness and running. I didn't knock on the door directly, but instead leaned close to the door and listened first.

A shouting sound could be faintly heard coming from inside the door, and it sounded like a boy's voice.

Without further hesitation, I pushed the door open.

There were only two people in the room. One was Han Ying, who was facing away from the window, her eyes red and swollen, but she was still crying. The other was the person I least wanted to see at that time and place—Zhou Hua.

He had his back to the door, and was pointing at Han Ying with one finger, seemingly saying something. My sudden entrance startled him, and he turned around.

I guessed that what I had just sensed might have happened, so I shouted, "Zhou Hua, what are you doing?"

When Zhou Hua saw me, he seemed both happy and nervous. But he still waved a piece of paper in his hand and said to me, "Lu Haofeng, I have evidence! I have evidence that she killed Su Quan!" After he finished speaking, he pointed his finger fiercely at Han Ying.

I guessed it earlier. Since Su Quan sent a letter to his dormitory before he died, he could very well have sent another letter to Zhou Hua. And if Zhou Hua had read the contents of that letter, the situation we are in now could very well have occurred.

And as it turns out, my hunch was right—a kind of right that I hate.

Although I didn't know what Zhou Hua had just said to Han Ying, I was very worried about Han Ying's current situation, so I said to Zhou Hua, "Okay, everything is negotiable. What evidence do you have?"

I intended to use that sentence to ease the tension and calm Zhou Hua down before making any further plans. But I never imagined that it would become the most disastrous thing I ever did in my life.

After hearing my words, Zhou Hua quieted down considerably, but began muttering to himself, seemingly talking to himself. I, of course, wouldn't let this opportunity pass. I was certain that Zhou Hua's current behavior was teetering on the edge of extreme danger. I even decided that, at the crucial moment, I would use some forceful measures to stop him from doing anything crazy.

I was trying to gradually close the distance between us without him noticing when he suddenly looked up at me and said, "Yes, you warned me about that a long time ago."

I didn't understand what he was talking about, but just to be on the safe side, I stopped and asked, "What?"

Zhou Hua replied with a bitter smile, "You warned me long ago that this is practically no evidence in this society." He paused, then suddenly his face contorted with rage. Pointing viciously at Han Ying behind him, he roared, "But I won't let this murderer get away with it! Su Quan fell from this window, and I'm going to avenge her!"

After saying that, he turned around and pounced on Han Ying.

I was only a second or two too slow to react to his words, and by the time I tried to rush forward and grab him, it was too late!

Han Ying was so frightened by Zhou Hua's distorted face that she could only scream and completely forgot to get away from him.

Just as Zhou Hua was about to rush up to Han Ying and push her down the stairs, and I was too late to catch up, Zhou Hua's leg was suddenly tripped by a stool under the table next to him!

Normally, this would only cause his foot to hurt for a while, but this time it caused Zhou Hua to lose his balance as he rushed forward, and he stumbled and fell forward.

For some reason, Han Ying suddenly thought of dodging, and she dodged out of the window!

The windowsills in the girls' dormitory seemed to be lower than those in the boys' dormitory. Although Zhou Hua wasn't particularly tall, the windowsill only reached a little below his waist. So when his leg tripped, he yelled and flailed his arms wildly, falling straight out the window!

I was startled by this sudden turn of events, but I didn't slow down my pursuit of Zhou Hua. His tripping actually helped me; that brief moment was just enough for me to reach out and grab his clothes as he fell out of the window!

However, because he charged forward with such force, when I suddenly leaned out of the house and grabbed him with my right hand, the force of his downward movement dislocated my right shoulder!

The sudden, intense pain forced me to grit my teeth, but more importantly, my right arm was now powerless, and even the strength to grab Zhou Hua was gradually fading, let alone pull him up.