Sombra 380

Capítulo 2

I couldn't help but frown slightly. This seemed unlikely, because I didn't think anyone could turn a blind eye to such a bizarre situation—especially since that person was his girlfriend.

I then asked, "Do you think anyone has any reason to want to kill her?"

He shook his head, staring at the ground, but then looked up at me and said, "But she said someone wanted to kill her. This definitely wasn't an accident. Please, you have to help me find out who killed her!"

Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but smile wryly. Honestly, I'm just a very curious person. Although I've had some strange experiences, I've never been a private investigator. I truly never imagined that someone would ask me to investigate a murder case; it's a bit too much for me. And based on that single clue he's convinced of, I think even a real private investigator couldn't help him. Therefore, I could only say to him, "I think this matter might indeed be a bit strange, but I can only promise you that if I have the opportunity, I can do my best to investigate the cause of her death. But first, I'm not some kind of omnipotent person, so you don't need to believe that I can definitely get the results you want; second, if Su Quan's death was truly an accident, I hope you can rationally accept the facts."

After listening to me, he was silent for a moment, then said, "Then, can you believe me when I say she was murdered?"

I hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, but our society nowadays values evidence. Even if I believe you, it doesn't mean that what you say is the truth."

He sighed softly, looking rather disappointed, and said, "Okay, thank you."

After saying that, he got up and took his leave. I saw him to the door, and he told me his room number, asking me to let him know if there was any news. I readily agreed.

After seeing Zhou Hua off, I went back inside and carefully recalled what he had just said. He insisted that the dead girl was murdered, but the reason was so flimsy that even I couldn't fully accept it. No wonder he said from the beginning that if he went directly to the police, he would be considered crazy.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [6]: But then I thought of what Su Quan said. If everything was really as Zhou Hua said, and she foresaw how she would die—and it was so accurate—that would indeed be a terrifying thing. Suddenly I thought, could it be that this overly realistic illusion caused her mental breakdown and ultimately led to her suicide? This seems to explain why she died the same way she said the day before, because it was actually something she deliberately created.

I initially thought this idea was a reasonable deduction, but upon closer examination, I felt that something was amiss, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Just then, my roommates and others pushed open the door, interrupting my train of thought, so I didn't pursue the matter any further.

The next day at noon, after I bought lunch at the cafeteria, I happened to see Chu Yi sitting by the window. I remembered that I had wanted to talk to her about celebrating Uncle Yuan's birthday the day before, so I walked over to her.

As I approached her, I noticed she was chatting with a girl next to her, unaware of my presence, so I greeted her first.

She turned her head, saw it was me, and said, "Oh, it's you."

I put down my lunchbox and sat down opposite her, saying, "You're here early today, did you skip class again?"

She glared at me and whispered, "Stop talking nonsense."

The girl next to her overheard our conversation and couldn't help but smile. I gave Chu Yi a questioning look, and she replied, "This is Han Ying, she takes English class with me, she's in the Chinese department." Then she turned to introduce me to Han Ying.

But Han Ying picked up the conversation and said to me, "Lu Haofeng, right?"

I nodded in surprise, not expecting to have such a high level of fame.

She smiled and said, "I've read a few of your stories, and they're quite well-written. Why didn't you apply to the Chinese Literature Department back then?"

I shrugged and said, "Does writing a story necessarily require a Chinese literature major?"

She tilted her head and smiled, "Of course. But perhaps you're an exception."

I smiled too, and suddenly felt a bit of goodwill towards Han Ying.

After hearing Han Ying's words, Chu Yi said to her, "Alright, if even a top student like you from the Chinese department says that, then he will become even more arrogant in the future."

Han Ying and I exchanged a glance. Then I said, "Did I interrupt your conversation?"

Upon hearing this, Han Ying quickly replied, "Oh no, it might be better if you were here."

I didn't quite understand what she meant, so I looked at Chu Yi, who then said to me, "Yesterday, a girl fell from the building in our building, did you know that?"

I nodded, and Chu Yi continued, "That girl is in the same dormitory as Han Ying, and she is also in the Chinese Literature Department. Her name is Su Quan."

I gestured for her to continue, but Chu Yi raised her eyebrows and said, "That's all." But then she pointed at Han Ying, "When we were in class together today, she said she had something she wanted to tell me, but just as she was about to say it, you arrived."

I smiled and said, "As the old saying goes, 'It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.'" Then I asked Han Ying, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Han Ying glanced at Chu Yi, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Actually, I really don't know who to talk to about this. In the end, I thought that only Chu Yi could help me, so I came to you out of desperation. I hope you won't laugh at me, okay?"

When I saw her pitiful look as she spoke, I quickly nodded, and Chu Yi also said, "Don't worry, how could I laugh at you?"

Han Ying looked at me, smiled, and said, "I think I really do resemble Cai Xiaoyun now."

Upon hearing this, I repeated, "Cai Xiaoyun?" The name sounded vaguely familiar at first, but then I remembered—Cai Xiaoyun was the girl from last semester who thought she'd encountered a ghost in the library. Mentioning her reminded me of my own experience: it started as a girl hearing strange footsteps in the library, but who would have thought it would escalate to the point where I almost never made it out of that primeval forest alive? Even now, recalling that incident, I still feel incredibly lucky to be alive. (That experience is recounted in the story "The Moon.") I pondered Han Ying's words for a moment and cautiously asked, "You're not saying you also heard footsteps or something, are you?"

Han Ying seemed a little embarrassed and said softly, "Actually, I agree with your explanation of ghosts, but this time..."

Chu Yi then asked, "Did you really see or hear something?"

Han Ying was silent for a moment, then said, "Actually, I didn't see it, but I'm afraid it was aimed at me." Her voice grew softer and softer, her eyes fixed on the lunchbox in front of her, and the terror in her eyes made anyone who saw her feel a chill.

Chu Yi then reached out and grasped her slightly trembling hand, which was resting on the table, and whispered, "It's alright."

Han Ying quickly regained her composure, blushed slightly, and said, "I'm sorry, I know you all know more about ghosts or souls than I do, so please don't laugh at me. I'm really a little scared."

I already had a good impression of Han Ying, and seeing her like this, I immediately said, "No one has any reason to laugh at another. Because no matter how knowledgeable a person is, everyone is equally ignorant in the face of nature." Then I added, "Moreover, I myself am quite ignorant."

She smiled after hearing this and looked at me and Chu Yi gratefully.

I said, "Okay, tell me what happened to you."

She thought for a moment, then said, "Like I said, it wasn't me who encountered anything, but what they encountered was closely related to me."

Before we could ask any questions, she continued, “Su Quan—that’s the girl who fell from the building yesterday. We were roommates, but, how should I put it, we weren’t very close. So after I found out she was dead yesterday, I was really scared.”

As she said this, she looked up and saw my puzzled expression. She smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh, I've been rambling. I think I should start from the beginning."

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [7]: Anything else?

---The inner demons are not dead

Reply [8]: I nodded in agreement, and she said, “Actually, when the semester started last year, the six of us in the dormitory were just like other dormitories, and we got along very well. Su Quan and I were bunk beds, and we were good friends. But in the middle of the first semester, she and I, well, you could say we both fell in love with the same boy.”

(When she said this, it involved some of her personal emotional issues, and since she and I weren't very familiar with each other, her speech was inevitably disjointed. The following is a summary I've edited to make it more coherent for you.) "But at the time, I didn't know that Su Quan also liked that boy. At first, that boy and I were very close, but later, for some reason, he left me and chose Su Quan."

"I was really heartbroken back then because I asked that boy why he left me for her, but he never told me. I couldn't bear losing to Su Quan in this way without even knowing why. Coincidentally, one day, I had my fortune told on the street, and the fortune teller told me that during that time, a demon destined to ruin my happiness would appear. I was going through a really low period at the time, so when I heard what he said, I naturally believed him. Therefore, I really hated Su Quan during that period."

"But since the beginning of this semester, I had almost forgotten about it. On the one hand, since the fortune teller said it was destined, I couldn't avoid it. On the other hand, I have a fellow villager who has always been very good to me, and he is my current boyfriend."

As she spoke, she lowered her head, and her face gradually flushed.

"So, a few days before the start of the semester, my relationship with Su Quan was still not very good, but we got along fine. But just the day before yesterday, something like that happened."

“That day at noon I went back to the dormitory to get my things. When I opened the door I saw Su Quan in the room. There was no one else in the dormitory. I was going to leave after I got my things, but suddenly I found her standing in front of the parrot that Wen Kai gave me.”

She added, "Oh, Xu Wenkai is my current boyfriend. He gave me that parrot when we went out together last week. I've loved birds since I was little, and this parrot is both beautiful and quiet, so everyone loves it when I put it in the house."

Then she continued, "I felt something was wrong, so I ran to the parrot, but it was already dead."

"That parrot died a horrible death. Its neck was broken, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of its beak. But the cage it was in was made of soft wire, so it couldn't possibly have broken its neck by itself. Besides, it had always been very well-behaved. So I immediately assumed that Su Quan had killed the parrot. I don't know why, but I was unusually angry at that moment. I cried and pointed at her, shouting loudly. I'm not usually like that, but I was completely out of character then. Maybe it was because I had been suppressing my anger towards her since last semester, so I really lost my temper that day."

"Incredibly, Su Quan didn't react to my accusations at all. She neither defended herself nor explained herself, but just stood there with a faint smile. Although I didn't pay attention to her at the time because I was too excited, now that I think about it, she did look very strange. She was even unmoved when I said, 'No wonder people say you're a monster.'"

"Later, my shouts attracted the attention of classmates from the next class. They pulled me away and persuaded Su Quan to leave."

"Later, I cried for a whole afternoon. The more I thought about it, the sadder and angrier I became. I felt that Su Quan must have been jealous of my relationship with Wen Kai, so she did such a despicable thing. So at that time, I cursed Su Quan to die like that parrot."

"But I was just thinking about it at the time. Who knew that she would actually fall from the building the next day, and it is said that she really broke her neck."

As she spoke, her voice trembled, and tears welled in her eyes. "But I really didn't mean it. I just thought she killed the parrot and wanted her to get her comeuppance. I didn't mean to kill her, I really didn't mean to think that..."

She choked out those two sentences, then couldn't hold back any longer and buried her face in her arms, sobbing.

Chu Yi sighed softly, put her arm around Han Ying's shoulder, and whispered words of comfort. But Han Ying seemed to cry even harder, and suddenly, between sobs, she looked up and said, "Today, I overheard someone say that they saw Su Quan's ghost last night. She... she's looking for me..."

After she finished speaking, she buried her face in her hands and cried again. I looked at her, unsure of what to say. In today's university campuses, romantic entanglements between boys and girls like hers are not uncommon, but I know absolutely nothing about resolving these kinds of issues, especially since the other party is a girl. So I shrugged at Chu Yi, implying that it was best to leave this matter to her to handle.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [9]: Chu Yi immediately understood what I meant and nodded to me.

After a while, Han Ying gradually calmed down. Chu Yi handed her a tissue to wipe her tears. She took the tissue and, still choking back sobs, said to me, "I... I don't know what to do. Can you... can you tell her that I really didn't mean it, and tell her... tell her not to come looking for me, okay?"

When I heard this strange request, I didn't know how to answer her. Chu Yi said, "Don't be afraid. No ghosts will come looking for you. Trust me, you have no responsibility for Su Quan's matter."

After hearing Chu Yi's words, Han Ying turned to look at Chu Yi, still hesitant, and said, "But..." But Chu Yi gently shook her head and said, "Believe me. You didn't do anything wrong. Although you had such thoughts, one shouldn't blame oneself for a momentary thought."

I often say that Chu Yi's words have a calming power; sometimes I even feel that the effect is similar to hypnosis. Sure enough, although Han Ying was still sobbing after hearing Chu Yi's words, her emotions were no longer as agitated as before. Chu Yi continued, "How about this, if you're still scared tonight, you can move into my dorm to sleep, okay?"

Han Ying seemed much relieved after hearing this, and nodded with a hint of shame, saying, "Well, thank you so much."

I also said, "Chu Yi is right, you are not responsible for this. No one should be held responsible for any of his unacted ideas. Stop thinking about ghosts."

Han Ying was silent for a while, then finally nodded to me.

It was almost lunchtime in the cafeteria, so the three of us left. Chu Yi offered to take Han Ying back, and I wanted to go back to my dorm first, but then I remembered Zhou Hua, who had come to see me last night. He had insisted that someone had killed Su Quan, but I never expected to meet someone today who actually admitted to wanting Su Quan dead. Could there be some connection between the two? Or were they just "overthinking"? I hesitated for a moment, and Chu Yi immediately sensed that I had something to say, so she said, "I'll take her back to her dorm first. Wait for me downstairs, I'll be right down."

I agreed and followed them to the girls' dormitory.

As I waited for Chu Yi downstairs, I was thinking about the two things that happened last night and today. Just when I was at a loss, someone called me from behind. I turned around and saw that it was the boss and his girlfriend.

I greeted them as well. The eldest brother walked over to me, looking at the lunchbox in my hand, and said, "Who are you waiting for here, sleeping in the open?"

I smiled and said, "Likewise."

At this moment, the boss's girlfriend, Ye Mengyao, also came over and asked, "Are you waiting for Chu Yi?"

I nodded, and the older man said, "Then we won't bother you any longer."

I replied, "Likewise."

The eldest brother and Ye Mengyao both smiled and waved goodbye to me. But they hadn't gone far when Ye Mengyao turned around and said to me, "Hey, by the way, did you know that a girl in our building fell from the building yesterday?"

I said, "I know, what's wrong?"

She seemed to consider it for a moment, then said, "I think you might be able to take a look at this matter."

I frowned and asked, "Why?"

"Because, as I see it, this matter may, perhaps is a little strange."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

She smiled slyly and said, "I can't really put my finger on what's strange about it right now; it's probably just a feeling. By the way, didn't you have quite a few of these kinds of feelings in your story that you couldn't even explain?"

I still didn't quite understand what she meant, but she didn't give me a chance to ask, and continued, "Hey, never mind, just pretend I didn't say anything." After saying that, she waved to me and left with the boss. I was left standing there dumbfounded, completely confused about what she was trying to say.

Just as I was puzzled by Ye Mengyao's words, Chu Yi came out of the building. She came to my side, patted my shoulder, and said, "What are you thinking about?"