El hibisco como pintura

Capítulo 8

"Xiaoyuan, speak up! Xiaoyuan..." Principal Chen's voice came from the phone, but Gao Xiaoyuan couldn't respond because she noticed that there were several bloodstains under the cake, and the bloodstains looked like musical notes.

Gao Xiaoyuan rushed out of the kitchen and headed straight for the second floor. After grabbing the notebook, she ran back to the kitchen and anxiously flipped through it, making a rustling sound as she turned the pages. Finally, she found the explanation for those few notes.

I'd like to invite you to celebrate my birthday with me.

Gao Xiaoyuan opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. After a pause, she quickly picked up her phone and called out, "Principal Chen, there's a problem with this house, Principal Chen... Principal Chen..." Gao Xiaoyuan looked at her phone; Principal Chen had already hung up.

Suddenly, a long shadow appeared on the ground. Gao Xiaoyuan's hand froze, her heart leaped into her throat, and her eyes were fixed on the shadow.

The shadow suddenly moved, and it seemed to turn around and leave.

"Don't go!" Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly looked up, only to see a boy in a school uniform flash past the kitchen door. Because he was moving too fast, Gao Xiaoyuan couldn't see his face clearly, but she immediately chased after him.

Is it just my imagination that the living room is completely empty and there's no one there?

Gao Xiaoyuan stood in the living room, disappointed.

As the last rays of the setting sun faded and darkness fell, Gao Xiaoyuan found the light switch, and the lotus-shaped ceiling light immediately illuminated the entire hall. Gao Xiaoyuan slumped helplessly onto the sofa.

There really is someone in this house! But why doesn't that person want to see her?

Just then, a beautiful piano piece began to play again.

Gao Xiaoyuan glanced sideways at the music room at the end of the corridor. After hesitating for only two seconds, she rushed to the music room as fast as she could and pushed open the door.

The music room was pitch black. By the light from the living room, Gao Xiaoyuan could only vaguely see a white piano standing alone in the middle of the room. Following the wall, Gao Xiaoyuan felt for the light switch. When the light finally came on, she noticed blood dripping from the piano keys, and a black key was missing where the blood had been.

Four boys wearing school uniforms

Gao Xiaoyuan quickly left the music room. She didn't want to stay in the house a moment longer; she just wanted to leave immediately. However, the door remained locked. Gao Xiaoyuan ran into the kitchen to get her phone, only to find that a piece of cake was missing, and there was still some uneaten cake on one of the plates on the dining table.

How could this happen? Who ate the cake? There are definitely people in this house!

Gao Xiaoyuan felt uneasy. She quickly ran upstairs to the second floor, squeezed into Li Wenbin's bedroom, closed the door tightly, and then hid in the small bathroom, shrinking into the bathtub, rapidly dialing her phone.

"Principal Chen, Principal Chen, answer the phone quickly!" Gao Xiaoyuan found that there was no sound from the phone. She tried dialing a few more times, but there was still no sound. Only then did she notice that there was no display on the phone screen. Could the phone be out of power? Gao Xiaoyuan quickly removed the back cover of the phone, only to find that there was no battery.

How could there be no battery? It was working just now... Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly thought of the unfinished cake in the kitchen, the music in the music room, and the boy in the school uniform... Could it be that someone deliberately took her phone battery to prevent her from contacting the outside world?

Gao Xiaoyuan panicked. It seemed someone was trying to trap her here. What to do! What to do! Gao Xiaoyuan was so scared she was about to cry. Helplessly, she huddled in the bathtub, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Calm down, you must calm down!" Gao Xiaoyuan tried her best to calm herself down, and then quickly went to the sink and splashed cold water on her face several times: "Don't panic! You must not panic!" After telling herself a few words, she looked up at herself in the mirror.

On that pale face were a pair of terrified eyes, her trembling lips unable to close, and tears welling up in her eyes. Gao Xiaoyuan really couldn't believe that the girl in the mirror was herself.

Will I die? Will I be trapped here and die?

A tear rolled down her cheek, but before it could even slide down her face, Gao Xiaoyuan's eyes widened as she saw red liquid flowing down the wall reflected in the mirror.

Gao Xiaoyuan slowly turned around and then slowly raised her head.

Several more blood-red musical notes appeared on the bathroom ceiling.

What does that mean?

Gao Xiaoyuan pushed open the bathroom door, intending to grab the notebook, but then remembered it was still on the kitchen table. She hesitated, wondering whether to go downstairs. Just then, she caught a glimpse of a hole in the wall in front of the bed.

One dent is missing.

Gao Xiaoyuan immediately looked up and saw that there was indeed a missing dent, because a black piano key had been inserted into that spot.

The missing piano key had been embedded in the wall, but why was it done that? Gao Xiaoyuan couldn't figure it out. What she really wanted to do now was find out what those musical notes on the bathroom ceiling meant.

Section 29: Boys in School Uniforms (2)

Gao Xiaoyuan hesitated, then reached out and gripped the doorknob, but didn't have the courage to open the door. She pressed her ear against the door to listen for any sounds outside.

It's very quiet outside.

Gao Xiaoyuan straightened up, her hand gripping the doorknob sweating. After hesitating for a few minutes, she pulled the door open.

The living room lights were still on, and the door to the music room was still open. However, when Gao Xiaoyuan looked into the music room, she noticed a figure vaguely in the darkness.

Gao Xiaoyuan held her breath, her body stiffened on the spot, her eyes fixed on the shadow in the darkness, her hand already gripping the knife she had taken from her sleeve.

The shadow was moving, seemingly heading towards the outside of the music room.

"Who...are you?" Gao Xiaoyuan asked fearfully.

The shadow didn't speak, it just slowly walked away.

Gao Xiaoyuan nervously took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest, and her hand gripping the knife was sweating profusely.

The shadow slowly emerged from the darkness, and when Gao Xiaoyuan could see it clearly, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Xu An!"

Five Gates Inside and Outside

Xu An was wearing the school uniform of the same school as Gao Xiaoyuan, and he was holding a black piano key in his right hand, with blood seeping from his hand.

"So it was you!" Gao Xiaoyuan finally understood. The extra person in the room was Xu An, the one who had played tricks on her. Perhaps he really was the murderer, or perhaps she really shouldn't have believed him.

"Xiaoyuan..."

"Don't come any closer!" Before Xu An could finish speaking, Gao Xiaoyuan immediately raised the knife in her hand and pointed it at him: "Don't come any closer, or I won't be polite!"

"Xiaoyuan, I'm here to see you." Xu An's face was expressionless as he coldly looked at Gao Xiaoyuan and said, "You shouldn't have come here alone."

“It was you, you did all of this, didn’t you?” Gao Xiaoyuan said as she retreated to the stairwell.

Xu An took two steps forward: "What are you talking about? I just came in."

"You just came in?" He was lying. The front door of the house was locked, and Xu An couldn't have come in. "Don't lie to me anymore. You're not Xu An at all. Your name is Qiu Wangzi. You're the one who killed Su Siyu!"

"You said you would believe me." Xu An stopped walking and looked at Gao Xiaoyuan with disappointment.

"That's because I was too stupid. I thought that if I liked you, I should trust you, but you lied to me time and time again!" Gao Xiaoyuan cried out sadly.

Xu An was stunned, staring blankly at Gao Xiaoyuan: "You said...you like me?"

Gao Xiaoyuan's lips trembled, and her body shook. She looked at Xu An sadly, but couldn't say a word. Time seemed to stand still as Xu An and Gao Xiaoyuan stared at each other, neither speaking nor asking anything. After what seemed like an eternity, Gao Xiaoyuan finally spoke.

"Perhaps I was wrong..."

"Xiaoyuan..."

A tear rolled down Gao Xiaoyuan's cheek. She suddenly turned around, ran quickly into the bedroom, and slammed the door shut.

Xu An stood there, stunned. Did Xiao Yuan have a crush on him all along? A flicker of surprise crossed Xu An's cold face. He slowly walked up the stairs, stood at the door, and gently knocked: "Xiao Yuan."

Inside the door, Gao Xiaoyuan was leaning against it, already sobbing uncontrollably.

"Xiaoyuan, there are some things I haven't told you because I have my own reasons." A trace of sadness flashed across Xu An's face.

Gao Xiaoyuan squatted down, burying her face between her legs; she didn't want to hear any more.

"Xiaoyuan, even if I lied to you, it was with good intentions." Xu An didn't know how to explain; his feelings were very complicated at that moment.

Gao Xiaoyuan slightly raised her head, her eyes already red from crying: "Are you going to kill me?"

As soon as Gao Xiaoyuan uttered those words, Xu An outside the door froze, looking sadly at the door: "Xiaoyuan..."

"Tell me, are you here to kill me?" Tears soaked Gao Xiaoyuan's entire face.

"Why don't you believe me?" Xu An lowered his head, the sadness between his brows making him look very tired.

"Why did you do this? Why did you kill Su Siyu? Why did you do so many bad things? What exactly happened back then? You were still a high school student, why were you so cruel?" Gao Xiaoyuan asked, tears streaming down her face, her voice hoarse.

Xu An didn't say anything, but took a photo out of his school uniform pocket and slipped it under the door.

Hearing the sound, Gao Xiaoyuan looked down and saw the photo being shoved in. But instead of reaching for it, she deliberately looked up and said, "What are you trying to do now?"

"Take a look at that photo first."

Gao Xiaoyuan lowered her head and slowly picked up the photo.

The photo looks a bit old, so it must be quite some time old. It shows two adorable babies snuggling together, their faces beaming with smiles.

“We are twins.” Xu An’s voice rang out from outside the door.

Gao Xiaoyuan remained silent, her eyes fixed on the two babies in the photo; they were indeed identical.

"Not long after we were born, our parents died in an accident." Xu An's voice was low and filled with an indescribable sadness.

Gao Xiaoyuan listened quietly without interrupting him.

"Later, we were both taken to an orphanage. We depended on each other from a young age. But when we were six years old, he was adopted by a family surnamed Qiu, and when I was seven, I was adopted by a family surnamed Ai. That's how we were separated."

"Have you not seen each other again?" Gao Xiaoyuan couldn't help but ask.

Xu An fell silent. He squatted down against the door, his eyes filled with sorrow. After a long while, he softly said, "No."

Gao Xiaoyuan's heart suddenly ached. She hadn't expected Xu An to have such a background, but she quickly regained her composure: "Don't try to fool me with a story. I won't fall for it! I just saw you holding a bloodstained piano key. Why did you do that!"

"Do you know who they are?" Xu An didn't answer Gao Xiaoyuan's question, but continued speaking.

Gao Xiaoyuan didn't understand what Xu An meant, but he didn't press her for details and continued talking.

"The fact that all the students in Class 0 of the first year of high school were orphans seems very suspicious."

They were all orphans, which surprised Gao Xiaoyuan; she had never considered these questions before. Were they all adopted children? The crucial question was, was what Xu An said true?

"Why should I believe you?" Gao Xiaoyuan said this, but for some reason, her heart seemed to have been persuaded by Xu An.

Xu An, standing outside the door, did not answer the question.

"Thump—"

"Um……"

Gao Xiaoyuan heard Xu An make a muffled thud outside the door, followed by a series of disordered footsteps, and then all the sounds disappeared.

"Xu An, Xu An!" Gao Xiaoyuan stood up and pressed her ear to the door.

There was no sound outside the door.

"Xu An..." Gao Xiaoyuan called softly again, but there was still no response from outside the door.