El hibisco como pintura

Capítulo 22

As soon as she got on the bus, Gao Xiaoyuan kept asking questions.

"Xu An, how did you know Principal Chen was in trouble?"

"She's the one who asked me to meet her."

"Has Principal Chen returned from the meeting? How come even Chen Shuai doesn't know? Why would Principal Chen go looking for you? How does she know you? And how does she know your phone number?"

"I'd like to know those things too."

"Then how did you know that Principal Chen had an accident?"

“When I arrived at the meeting place, she was already gone, but I found her phone that she had left behind. I think something must have happened for her to hurriedly drop her phone.”

"But why would Principal Chen be looking for you?"

"She didn't tell me; she only said she had a secret to tell me."

A secret! Gao Xiaoyuan was stunned.

Second Principal's Message

When the car stopped, Xu An and Gao Xiaoyuan jumped out and ran towards Chen Shuai's house as fast as they could. When they arrived at the door, they found it wide open. Both Xu An and Gao Xiaoyuan had a bad feeling. They rushed inside and found Chen Shuai standing alone in the living room.

Chen Shuai stood stiffly in the center of the hall, looking around, unable to accept this fact.

Shards of broken glass were scattered everywhere on the floor. The sofa was overturned, the corner table lay across the floor, and the coffee table was smashed in half. Bright red bloodstains were everywhere on the walls, the television, and the cabinets. It looked like a fierce fight had taken place here, and someone was injured, or perhaps someone…

If all this blood comes from the same person, then that person is sure to die!

"What...what happened here?" Gao Xiaoyuan stared at the scene in horror, stammering and unable to speak.

Chen Shuai didn't react, standing there blankly, like a wooden doll.

Xu An's piercing gaze swept over everything before he said in a deep voice, "It seems someone has already gotten there before us."

"Who did this? Should we call the police?" Gao Xiaoyuan cried out in fear.

Xu An gently placed his hand on Gao Xiaoyuan's shoulder, intending to comfort her, but found that her body was trembling violently, as if she might collapse at any moment. Xu An immediately pulled Gao Xiaoyuan into his arms and whispered, "Don't be afraid."

Gao Xiaoyuan buried her head in Xu An's arms, closed her eyes tightly, and said sadly, "This blood... could it be Principal Chen's?"

Xu An didn't answer, because he didn't have an answer at all. He looked at Chen Shuai. What could he say now? This was Principal Chen's home, and everyone instinctively assumed it was Principal Chen's blood, but he knew no one wanted that blood to be Principal Chen's.

"Mom—" Chen Shuai suddenly roared and rushed upstairs.

Gao Xiaoyuan and Xu An quickly caught up with them.

In Principal Chen's bedroom on the second floor, the scene was equally chaotic, with bloodstains everywhere. Looking at this horrific sight, Chen Shuai was utterly unable to accept it. He reached out and grabbed his hair tightly, crying out, "No! No!"

Xu An remained silent, simply observing everything in quiet.

Gao Xiaoyuan's tears continued to flow: "It might not be Principal Chen. Didn't Xu An say she went to meet him? Then she wouldn't be going home. This blood definitely isn't..." Gao Xiaoyuan wanted to comfort Chen Shuai, but she couldn't continue speaking.

Tears welled up in Chen Shuai's eyes: "Mom—Mom—" Chen Shuai collapsed weakly to the ground.

Gao Xiaoyuan looked at Chen Shuai sadly, tears streaming down her face. She slowly walked to Chen Shuai's side, knelt down, and softly said, "Chen Shuai, perhaps this isn't Principal Chen's blood, maybe..."

"Something must have happened to my mom...it must be..."

"Chen Shuai..." Looking at the distressed Chen Shuai, Gao Xiaoyuan couldn't find any words to comfort him.

"You'd better be rational before things get to the bottom of this!" Xu An's cold words came from above Chen Shuai. Gao Xiaoyuan quickly looked up at Xu An. His expression was indifferent and calm, as if none of this concerned him, which surprised Gao Xiaoyuan.

Chen Shuai glared at Xu An, then suddenly scrambled to his feet and lunged at Xu An, grabbing his collar: "You're inhuman! My mother got into trouble because she was going to see you! And you're saying this to me!"

Xu An sneered, "I think it's you who's not human now."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuai roared in anger, "What did you say?!"

Gao Xiaoyuan quickly stood up and grabbed Chen Shuai's arm: "Chen Shuai, don't be like this. Xu An said this in the hope that you can be more rational."

"That person is my mother, how can I be rational?" Chen Shuai shouted at Gao Xiaoyuan.

“If you’re always so irrational, like a mad dog, you’ll never find the truth,” Xu An said calmly.

Chen Shuai swung his fist at Xu An, and Gao Xiaoyuan screamed in fright and closed her eyes.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood, almost suffocating, but there was no sound.

Why is it so quiet? Did Chen Shuai miss Xu An with his punch?

Gao Xiaoyuan couldn't help but open one eye and look at Chen Shuai and Xu An.

Chen Shuai's fist was right between Xu An's eyebrows, but he didn't make any further moves.

Xu An's expression remained calm: "If the blood in the lobby and this bedroom is Principal Chen's, then Principal Chen is undoubtedly dead."

"Xu An!" Gao Xiaoyuan called out nervously, she was really afraid that Chen Shuai would throw that punch.

"If someone wants another person to die, there are many ways to do it, but there's no need to make the walls and the floor covered in blood."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Chen Shuai asked, glaring fiercely at Xu An.

"I would say that if someone makes a mess of the walls and the floor with blood, then that person's purpose is definitely not to kill, but to scare people."

Chen Shuai raised an eyebrow.

Gao Xiaoyuan was stunned. She felt that Xu An's words made a lot of sense. No wonder Xu An's expression looked so calm. It turned out that he had already seen through this point. Gao Xiaoyuan had to admire Xu An's analytical ability.

"If you want to find out the truth, you must not lose your mind."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuai suddenly released Xu An's collar and said softly, "You're right. To find out the truth, I must calm down."

Gao Xiaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief and gently reached out her hand to Chen Shuai: "Shall we find out the truth together?"

Chen Shuai looked at Gao Xiaoyuan's hand, then at Gao Xiaoyuan herself, a bittersweet smile appearing on his face. He reached out and took Gao Xiaoyuan's hand in his.

"And you?" Gao Xiaoyuan looked at Xu An, but Xu An ignored the two of them, his gaze fixed on the old tape recorder on the writing desk.

"Is that Principal Chen's?" Xu An asked.

Chen Shuai turned around and looked at the tape recorder on the desk, and said sadly, "Yes, my mother has always treasured this tape recorder and never let me touch it. She said it is a testament to her youth."

Xu An strode to the table and was about to reach for the tape recorder when Chen Shuai stopped him.

"My mom won't let anyone touch it!"

Xu An sneered and said, "Didn't you notice there was a cassette tape in the tape recorder?"

“That’s my mom’s cassette tape. She would listen to it when she was alone, so I never knew what was on the tape.”

"Didn't you notice that everything in the living room and bedrooms is a mess, but this tape recorder is undamaged?"

Chen Shuai looked at the tape recorder in surprise.

"Now that Principal Chen is gone, if you want to find out the truth, I advise you to listen to this." Before Chen Shuai could react, Xu An had already pressed the play button.

Zhuo Fan... Mom is so sorry...

Principal Chen's voice came through the tape recorder. His voice sounded a little choked up, as if he was speaking in a very emotional state.

Chen Shuai stood blankly in front of the tape recorder, listening quietly.

Xu An and Gao Xiaoyuan stood on either side of Chen Shuai, listening together.

Zhuo Fan, I know that you haven't forgotten what happened in Class 0 of the first year of high school all year, and you've always wanted to find out the truth. Don't blame your mother; it was because I really didn't want you to be involved that I had you change your name to Chen Shuai and sent you abroad. However, I know that you, like your mother, will never forget that night a year ago.

Now, Mom has decided to tell you the truth.

Actually, I... Zhuo Fan, you are not an orphan, I am your biological mother.

Tears welled up in Chen Shuai's eyes, and his hands clenched into fists.

Gao Xiaoyuan looked straight at Chen Shuai. It seemed that Chen Shuai hadn't lied to her; he really didn't know anything. Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly felt a little guilty.

Xu An looked at Gao Xiaoyuan, a hint of sadness flashing in his eyes.

I don't know how you'll think if I tell you these things, but I really don't want to hide it from you anymore.

Actually, that night wasn't a rehearsal, but rather...

Principal Chen, I'm back!

Just then, a young girl's voice suddenly came from the tape recorder.

Principal Chen, do you still remember me?

You are... ah—

Principal Chen screamed from the tape recorder, followed by a chaotic sound, like two people fighting, seemingly knocking over something. Then all the sound on the tape disappeared.

Chen Shuai frantically pounded on the tape recorder: "Why is there no sound? What happened?"

Gao Xiaoyuan: "Chen Shuai, don't do this. I think the tape recorder might have been stopped at the time."

“Something must have happened to my mom, definitely!” Chen Shuai looked at Xu An: “My mom came back, and she had a fight with someone. This blood…” Chen Shuai didn’t dare to finish his sentence.

Xu An remained calm: "You must calm down. You just listened to the tape. Principal Chen has something to tell you. Perhaps she knows something, but some people don't want her to say it, so they interrupted the recording. If you want to know the truth, don't be so irrational."

Gao Xiaoyuan also comforted him, "Chen Shuai! Don't panic, Chen Shuai! You just said you wanted to be rational! Chen Shuai—"

"Do you recognize that girl's voice?" Just as Gao Xiaoyuan was pulling at Chen Shuai, Xu An said calmly from the side.

Chen Shuai froze. He glanced at Xu An first, then quickly rewound the tape to the part where the girl's voice was. After listening to it several times, Chen Shuai was suddenly stunned.

"I recognize her voice, I know her, she is... Fang Manting!"

Three investigators, Fang Manting

Name: Fang Manting

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Special skill: Flute

Home address: No. 49, Baiyu Village, Chengnan District

On the long-distance bus to Baiyu Village, three students sat side by side in the last row.