Cambiaformas - Capítulo 6
"I can assume that Ran Anhui fell in love with someone else, and then you killed her. Otherwise, how could you, as her boyfriend, be so indifferent to her death?"
Xie Siyan's face darkened; she felt that coming here with Cao Xiangui was a complete mistake. "If you don't have evidence, please don't make things up! I have nothing more to say to you."
They parted on bad terms.
Cao Xiangui stared at the empty seat opposite him, lost in thought. His intuition told him that Xie Siyan was unlikely to be the murderer. But he must know something. Was he unwilling to reveal even a single detail to protect someone, or to keep some secret?
Do you believe in reincarnation?
"I don't believe it." Feng Qi didn't turn around, his eyes fixed on the computer screen, his fingers typing incessantly. Today was an interview with a prominent figure in Zhicheng. A woman in her forties, who already owned the largest chain of department stores in Zhicheng. Sitting in the garden of her suburban villa, he would ask some trivial questions: how she earned her first pot of gold, how she made her fortune, how she built her chain empire. The article didn't need much thought, just an abundance of praise.
"Is it interesting to write this?" Mo Ran rested her chin on Feng Qi's shoulder, looking at the text on the computer with great interest.
"It's boring."
“Ah, I know this woman.” Mo Ran suddenly laughed, pointing sarcastically to the description of the woman's appearance on the screen, “It’s so exaggerated.” Seeing that Feng Qi ignored her, she changed the subject: “Why don’t you believe in reincarnation?”
"I've said it before, I'm a staunch atheist."
"There are many things in this world that science cannot explain."
“I said—” Feng Qi pushed Mo Ran’s head away: “Don’t you have classes? You’re always coming to my house.”
Mo Ran laughed and lay down on the bed, teasing the little black cat on the bed: "I've come to see Xiao Hei."
"Speaking of past and present lives, Ran Anhui believes in which, and do you?" Feng Qi quickly typed the closing remarks, glanced through the manuscript again, and sent it to the editorial department. Only then did he turn his head to focus on talking to Mo Ran.
Ever since returning from her trip to Hanyu Cave with Mo Ran, Mao Tingting, and Xie Siyan during the May Day holiday, Ran Anhui has been having strange dreams. Furthermore, her diary entries gradually reveal a belief in reincarnation. She believes the person she frequently sees in her dreams is her lover from a past life. Anhui refers to that person as "A-kun."
Mo Ran shrugged: "I guess so."
"What happened to you in the Jade Cold Cave? Why didn't An Hui mention it at all?"
"Nothing happened, except that An Hui got separated from us for a few minutes in the Cold Jade Cave. That path was very dark, and we weren't paying attention, so we lost her. When we turned around and found her, she had fainted on the ground. When she woke up and we asked her, she didn't know anything. She only said that everything went black and she lost consciousness."
That's all?
"That's all. Oh, right," Mo Ran said, as if suddenly remembering something, "Since coming back, Mo Ran has been saying a lot of strange things. Maybe she's been reading too many novels."
Do you believe in reincarnation?
“I haven’t experienced it, so I can’t draw any conclusions. If it really happened to me, maybe I would believe it.” Mo Ran hugged Feng Qi’s neck from behind and breathed softly into his ear: “Maybe we were lovers in a past life.”
Feng Qi pushed her away with a headache: "Please keep a distance of one meter from me."
Seeing his helpless look, Mo Ran readily let go of his hand and smiled happily at him: "I really like you, Reporter Feng."
I don't like you at all.
Mo Ran shrugged and said nonchalantly, "It's okay, I allow you to be slow to warm up." After saying that, she quickly leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
Chapter Six: The Celebration
Unexpectedly, Cao Xiangui found him. Feng Qi was stunned for a moment before warmly inviting Cao Xiangui into the house. The old man didn't stand on ceremony and sat down in the only chair in the house, calmly taking out a cigarette from his pack and lighting it.
Feng Qi pulled out a disposable paper cup, poured in hot water, and handed it to Cao Xiangui: "No one usually comes to our house, so we didn't buy any tea. Please make do with this, Grandpa." Cao Xiangui glanced at Feng Qi and saw through his intentions. He simply said, "The old man isn't that picky."
"It must have taken some effort to find this place, right? My place is quite remote."
The old man smiled meaningfully: "I have acquaintances at the newspaper, and they still give this old man some face."
Hearing the old man's reply, Feng Qi realized his approach hadn't worked. A direct, conversational style was more suitable when talking to Cao Xiangui. So, he cut to the chase, asking, "Grandpa, what brings you here this time?"
Cao Xiangui nodded in satisfaction and said, "I've learned a lot. The old man doesn't like beating around the bush. I'm here hoping you'll cooperate with me in investigating the incident where Ran Anhui fell to her death last time."
Feng Qi had long suspected that Cao Xiangui's visit was most likely about this matter, but he couldn't understand the old man's persistence. If, as a journalist, he was investigating this case with ulterior motives, then what were the old man's motives? Without understanding the old man's motivations, he was unwilling to agree hastily.
"Wasn't that case closed? The criminal investigation team determined it was a suicide, and even the body was cremated."
The old man flicked the cigarette in his hand and snorted, "I just praised you a few times, and you're already going around in circles. Haven't you been getting quite close to the eldest daughter of the Ran family these past few days? Don't tell me you just like her and want to be friends with her."
"Can you tell me why you're so persistent? Do you know Ran Anhui?"
"I don't know him. Do I have to know him to be attached? Besides, when have I ever been attached?"
Feng Qi looked at the old man and said frankly, "If you don't tell me why you want to investigate, then I can refuse you. After all, you've come to me because you need my help. It's not as convenient for a retired old man to investigate as it is for a reporter. You ask me to be frank, so can't I also ask you to be frank with me?"
After coughing a few times, Cao Xiangui frowned and remained silent for a while. Then he raised his head and stared straight at Feng Qi. After a long while, he slowly said, "I just don't want to see a case like my son's happen again... Twenty years ago... Xiaoshan..."
The old man's resolute face slowly revealed a pain that had been buried for a long time. Feng Qi suddenly felt that it was a very cruel thing to ask an old man to talk about his pain.
“Sir!” He interrupted Cao Xiangui, apologetic, “If bringing this up will upset you, you don’t have to say anything; it’s your privacy. I understand the gist of it, and I agree to cooperate with you in investigating this matter. After all, it’s beneficial and harmless to me.”
Cao Xiangui looked at Feng Qi thoughtfully, and finally nodded, saying, "You really do always worry about gains and losses." Feng Qi, hearing this, laughed awkwardly, "Isn't everyone like that?"
"That's true." Cao Xiangui had composed himself and his face returned to its usual coldness.
Why did you find me?
"Because you are at least sincere."
"So what do you need me to do?"
"Can you come into Ran Anhui's house?"
This request stumped Feng Qi, who hesitated slightly before saying, "This is a bit difficult."
“I’ve investigated. Before Ran An Hui died, the only man she was close to was Xie Si Yan. But according to her friends and Xie Si Yan, there was someone she was willing to break up with her childhood sweetheart Xie Si Yan for. Who this person is will be very helpful for us to understand the truth.”
"Xie Siyan said she's fallen in love with another man?" Feng Qi naturally connected this man with the past life lover mentioned in An Hui's diary. Could this person really exist, or was it all just Ran An Hui's dream?
"No, he only said that all of this was a lie that Ran Anhui made up to break up with him."
“It’s not entirely as Xie Siyan said…” Feng Qi hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to show Ran Anhui’s diary to Cao Xiangui.
With Feng Qi's guidance, Cao Xiangui quickly finished reading the diary about Ran Anhui's past life lover. After a moment's thought, Cao Xiangui asked, "Is the past life lover mentioned in the diary really a real person?"
Feng Qi shook his head helplessly: "I'm not sure. In Ran Anhui's later diary, she wrote that she recognized her lover from her past life, but it seems that the person doesn't remember anything from her past life and is very cold to her."
“The diary mentions this person almost every day since the end of May.” Cao Xiangui casually flipped through Ran Anhui’s diary: “Let’s assume that there is such a so-called lover from a past life. Ran Anhui mentions this person every day, down to the smallest details of daily life. If they hadn’t had frequent contact, they probably wouldn’t have written about him in such detail.”
Feng Qi seemed to wake from a dream and replied, "You mean, this person is someone close to Ran An Hui?"
Cao Xiangui closed his diary and asked in return, "Do you believe in reincarnation?"
"I am a staunch materialist, and the idea of reincarnation is too superstitious. Or you could say I'm superstitious about science."
The old man smiled and said, "That's a good attitude. So, can you go to Ran Anhui's house?"
"This is not something I can decide."
"I believe you have the ability. We should make good use of the resources available, shouldn't we?"
Feng Qi looked at the old man; no one would feel good about being seen through. He paused for a moment, then finally gave a faint smile: "The old man is right."
Mo Ran agreed unexpectedly readily. This ease of agreement aroused suspicion in Feng Qi's heart.
"Anyway, there's practically nothing left in the house. My mom threw away what she wanted to throw away and what she wanted to throw away." At this point, Mo Ran smiled at Feng Qi: "If you can find anything, that would be a pleasant surprise!"
An Hui's room was all pink, a typical girl's room. Several posters of Korean and Japanese celebrities were pasted on the walls. Just as Mo Ran had said, the bookshelves, wardrobe, and desk were completely empty. Mo Ran walked in from outside and handed Feng Qi a can of cola: "Dad said he's going to turn this room into a study."
From the moment the case began, Feng Qi had a strange feeling, but couldn't quite grasp the key point. Mo Ran's words just now suddenly made him understand what had been troubling him. Ran Qilei and An Ying's reactions were too strange. They seemed to want to erase all traces of their younger daughter. Shouldn't ordinary parents keep photos and clothes of their daughter to remember their deceased child?
"Your sister's room is quite pink."
Mo Ran smiled: "That's because she was originally a very girlish girl."
"This makes me very curious, what would your room be like, considering you're not exactly a girly girl?"
“Yes, she’s not a girl.” With that, Mo Ran walked out of the room and pushed open a door across the street.
The room was very simple and clean, with only a large bookcase on one wall and a mattress. The curtains were also a cool-toned sea blue.
As soon as Feng Qi entered the room, he was drawn to the bookshelf. He walked over and looked at the books in the shelf with some surprise: "You have so many books." Mo Ran shrugged: "My dad is quite accommodating to my needs."
He randomly picked up a book, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a book on criminal law. Feng Qi raised an eyebrow: "High school students reading this?"
"I watched it because I was interested in it."
While casually flipping through the photos, one fell to the floor. Feng Qi bent down to pick it up, and Mo Ran's slightly narrowed eyes caught sight of it. The photo showed Ran Anhui and Mo Ran together. Anhui was smiling brightly, while Mo Ran's face showed a hint of impatience.
"Your sister likes you a lot."
“She’s the same to everyone.” Mo Ran lowered her eyes and smiled slightly. “Do you believe that someone would be kind to another person without any reason or precaution?”
"There are still people like that in this world."
"You're definitely not."
"Neither do you."
Mo Ran raised her head, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes brimming with an air of arrogant confidence: "Of course I'm not, and besides, I don't believe it."
Feng Qi smiled noncommittally, tucked the photo back into the book, and put it back in its original place: "It seems my visit wasn't very effective this time. I didn't find anything."
"Haven't we already discovered it?"
"You noticed that too?"
"My eyesight is pretty good."
As they spoke, they reached the door. Before Mo Ran closed the door, Feng Qi said to her, "Do you know how I feel right now?"
She raised her eyebrows without saying a word.
Feng Qi chuckled self-deprecatingly: "I'm just your pawn, moving along the path you've laid out. But, little girl, don't underestimate others."
"I'm your pawn too, aren't I?"
Feng Qi glanced at Mo Ran, then quickly walked downstairs. Many questions awaited him. He had no time to concern himself with who was being used by whom.
Originally intending to investigate the strange behavior of Ran Qilei and his wife towards their daughter, Feng Qi was greatly disappointed after two days of investigation. Almost everyone who knew Ran Qilei and his wife said that the couple doted on their daughter. Perhaps because their eldest daughter had been abducted, they spoiled Ran An Hui, granting her every request. Although their daughter, raised with such pampering, was a bit spoiled, she was a lively and cheerful girl, very lovable. The fact that such a girl committed suicide was something no one who knew Ran Qilei, his wife, or Ran An Hui had ever expected.
"Did they have an argument? Or were they simply disappointed and angry at their daughter's disregard for life?" Feng Qi realized that the clues he had painstakingly found were useless, and he couldn't help but feel discouraged, gently stroking Fei Xue's forehead. "If it was an argument, then what was it? The obedient daughter committed suicide not long after the eldest daughter was found. In the meantime, who was that so-called lover from a past life?"
Suddenly, Feng Qi sat up, lost in thought. He seemed to have just thought of something.
Pushing Feixue away from him, Feng Qi nervously pulled out Ran Anhui's diary from the bookshelf, muttering to himself, "How come I didn't think of that? If that's the case, everything can be explained!"
October 3rd!
Feng Qi looked at the overflowing words of happiness in the diary and a complicated smile appeared on his face.
"Now everything can be explained."
October 3rd, sunny. That day, Ran An Hui went out with the person she liked. He finally showed her kindness. Although she had begged him to watch the fireworks celebrating National Day, he readily agreed. This was something Ran An Hui would never have imagined before. She was used to his rejections and thought he would refuse as usual. But he agreed. Brilliant fireworks lit up the night sky, and the surrounding crowd looked up in awe of their beauty. She wasn't looking at the fireworks; she was looking at him—his dreamy eyes, his indifferent profile, the lingering loneliness around him. But then, he turned and looked at her. The fireworks continued, and she couldn't hear the exclamations of the crowd. She only saw his face getting closer and closer, and then, his lips covered hers.
Ran Anhui's writing is excellent; she described this scene beautifully. Even Feng Qi blushed slightly when he read this diary entry. It wasn't just the guilt of peeping, but also a touch of being moved.