Lin Jinran watched Duan Dongwei rolling on the ground, acting crazy and muttering to himself with a lingering fear. She always felt that there was something indescribably off about him.
Su Qinian stepped in front of Lin Jinran to protect her and quietly recalled what had just been said. "Duan Dongwei, I don't care if you're really crazy or just pretending. We must get to the truth of what you did back then."
"Think it over carefully here. I'll leave you my contact information. Call me when you've made up your mind."
Was it resolved so quickly?
Lin Jinran was slightly taken aback. She was being pulled out by Su Qinian. She wanted to say something, but seeing Su Qinian mouth "We'll talk later", she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
Back in the car, Su Qinian said, "Duan Dongwei recognized us. Amid the chaos, he whispered something to me. He's not really crazy. He knows what he's doing."
No wonder there was a sense of unease. He didn't seem truly crazy.
Was it possible that since he saw the two of them, having fulfilled his last wish, he didn't bother to act crazy anymore?
"What did he say?" Lin Jinran asked anxiously.
"Go straight left from the village entrance. There's something under the third willow tree you see. He told us to go look for it."
Without further ado, Su Qinian and Lin Jinran immediately got out of the car and searched for the willow tree. After walking for about half an hour, they successfully dug out a fairy tale book under the third willow tree.
Lin Jinran flipped through it roughly but found nothing. She shook the book, but still, there was nothing. "Did all this effort just lead to this book?"
Su Qinian observed it carefully, then took it from her. "Let's check the page numbers first. There might be something wrong."
Halfway through flipping the pages, they found that one page was thicker than the others. Su Qinian checked the page numbers. The pages he flipped to were 151 and 154, missing 152 and 153.
"It's glued together." Lin Jinran and Su Qinian exchanged a look. They filled in the hole under the willow tree so that there was no trace, then returned to the car.
Su Qinian instructed the driver to go to the city center immediately to find a professional to open that page.
In the anxious waiting, a call came saying that they had successfully opened it. Inside was a note with a permanent Baidu Netdisk link.
Lin Jinran transferred it to her own Baidu Netdisk. With a trembling hand, she clicked to open it. It was a recording. She took a deep breath and clicked play.
"Duan Dongwei, how's it going with Xiang Yanhua? Is she about to die?"
First came a cold and familiar voice. Lin Jinran trembled all over, feeling a chill running through her body.
She knew this voice all too well. It was Yang Jinzhi's voice.
Su Qinian grabbed her other hand, interlocking their fingers. A continuous stream of warmth flowed in through their palms, dispelling some of the cold.
"Why are you calling me at this time? I'm still at work."
"I'm just calling to check on the situation. It'll only take a few minutes. I'm asking you, when will Xiang Yanhua die?"
"It's hard to say. Every time I inject a very small amount of the drug, afraid of being detected."
"Isn't the college entrance examination in about fifteen days? I want Xiang Yanhua to die on the day of the college entrance examination. You, Duan Dongwei, go and inform Lin Jinran of this news. Lin Jinran cares most about her mother. Let's see how she'll do in the college entrance examination."
"..."
Yes, she, Lin Jinran, cared most about her mother. Yang Jinzhi took advantage of her love for her mother and suppressed her inhumanely.
She didn't even let her mother go when she became a vegetable.
Lin Jinran felt so cold that her blood seemed to freeze. She stared blankly at her phone, her eyes empty and lifeless, without saying a word.
Su Qinian sighed and reached out to pull her into his arms, trying to give her warmth.
Her empty heart seemed to gain some heat.
There was still one more recording from the Baidu Netdisk that hadn't been listened to. Su Qinian clicked play for her.
"Hello, Lin Jinran. When you hear this recording, I know that Xiang Yanhua has passed away and the tragedy has already happened. Yang Jinzhi found me in your sophomore year of high school and coerced and bribed me in various ways. I initially refused."
"But later something happened to my father, and I finally gave in to Yang Jinzhi. Before Yang Jinzhi asked me to kill your mother, I treated her with all my heart. There's no doubt about this."
"It's just that everyone has their own choices. After much hesitation and entanglement, I chose my own interests and caused the death of your mother. I'm sorry. I thought if I let your mother die a week earlier, you might feel better and be able to get through the difficult time and be in the right state for the college entrance examination."
"I was wrong. I didn't know that you had suffered from depression. As soon as Xiang Yanhua passed away, your depression relapsed and you fell into pain. I was afraid that the matter would be traced back to me, so I hurriedly left with my father."
"I left the previous recordings on purpose, afraid that Yang Jinzhi would take extreme measures. I didn't expect that I really underestimated her. She was so cruel that she didn't even care about the recordings and was determined to kill me. My father is a good example."
"I don't know how long Yang Jinzhi will spare me, and I don't know if you'll find me and let this recording see the light of day. I can only gamble day after day, year after year."
"If the truth about Xiang Yanhua's death can be revealed, the guilt in my heart will be reduced. Lin Jinran, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for letting you down."
Duan Dongwei's recording was from eight years ago. By then, his father had already died. He had been hiding and acting crazy, trying to confuse Yang Jinzhi.
After listening to the recording, Lin Jinran couldn't calm down for a long time. She silently shed tears in Su Qinian's arms.
"We'll definitely uncover the truth. Jinran, you have to believe that justice will prevail in this world. Duan Dongwei left the evidence because he couldn't bear the condemnation of his conscience."
Su Qinian rested his chin on Lin Jinran's head. He could feel her thin shoulders shaking constantly as she shed silent tears, soaking most of his collar.
"Yang Jinzhi and Lin Cheng have done so many crazy things. They must pay the price they deserve." Lin Jinran said in a muffled voice, her eyes glistening with tears.
Why should the bad guys be free and carefree in the world while the good people lie in the cold ground forever?
"They will." Su Qinian said firmly. "Last time when you mentioned the depression rehabilitation training center, I sent someone to infiltrate it to collect evidence. I believe we'll get results soon."
Once this kind of thing is exposed, the ugliness of human nature will be on full display, and it will cause an upheaval in society.
"Jinran, now you still have me, and you have friends like Qiao Songyue, Xie Wanyu, and Tao Wan. We unconditionally believe in and support you. You have to have confidence in yourself, okay?"
The teardrops falling on the ground were like blooming flowers. Lin Jinran clenched her fists, her eyes firm. "I will have confidence in myself."
In the past, she had fought alone.
From now on, there would be her lover and friends firmly supporting and unconditionally believing in her.
Lin Jinran believed that the day when Yang Jinzhi and Lin Cheng would pay the price they deserved was not far away.
She would patiently wait to see it.