Night fell, and I sat with Wu Yu on the balcony. He opened two cans of beer, and Wu Miao very cleverly opened a few bags of peanuts for us before tactfully retreating to her room, not being a light bulb.
Wu Yu looked into the distance, slowly drinking. I watched his fingers pinch the beer can, and my mood became so calm. Also holding my own can, I took a few big mouthfuls.
I'm not sure if Zhuang Yu can do it, but I think she can, I believe in her. Even something as strange as sending a weird xiāngzǐ to Chen Jia's attic, she managed to find a way to remember and did it afterwards, let alone just stopping a man from going somewhere at some time on a certain day. Although that man is still a stranger to her now.
But if two people forget each other every time they meet, yet still have feelings and like each other when they meet again. Aren't they destined to be together?
Just like me and Wu Yu. In some year, month and day in the future, maybe we will finally return to nature, have our own home, and the two of us will also be like now, open two cans of beer, sit on the balcony at home. I accompany him to drink, he accompanies me to watch the sunset?
Thinking of this, my heart gradually softened. After experiencing so much, it made me yearn for the future even more. The beer in my mouth seemed not as bitter, with a hint of sweetness.
"Tomorrow I'll go to the police station alone."
"Why?"
He turned his head to look at me and said, "Jiao Jiao, they are professional criminals, and there are two more people, one of whom we still don't know the identity of, and they're armed. With just our strength, it's impossible to catch them, and it's too dangerous. We can't let anyone else sacrifice themselves, we must seek stronger and more professional help."
"But how can you make the police believe you?" I asked.
He took a sip of beer and said calmly, "Let's take it one step at a time. Even if I'm temporarily suspected, it doesn't matter. I'll go find Old Ding, he's a very straightforward and cautious person. Maybe he won't believe me, but as long as I can persuade him to come out tomorrow and witness the first crime scene, we might be able to prevent someone from getting hurt. If we can catch those two people directly, that would be even better."
"I remained silent for a while and then said, 'From the perspective of criminology, the first crime is often the most unfamiliar and likely to have loudong. And I tend to think that both of them will appear because it's their first time. What kind of case would they be involved in later on?"
The first victim was Chen Ningmu, 22 years old, a waiter at a restaurant. The restaurant operated until 2 am and Chen disappeared on his way home on July 5th. Four days later, his dismembered body was found in a trash can two alleys away from his home by a sanitation worker.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
"What about the next victim?" I asked.
"The second victim was Liu Xiaojiang, also found in a trash can near his home. The third victim was Xu Jingmiao, found dismembered at her home. The fourth victim was Ye Xunyi, you know, found in the wasteland across from the school." He paused, pointing to a distant place with his hand, his tone extremely calm: "Wu Miao was in the refrigerator of a small hotel on that street."
My breathing suddenly became a bit stagnant, and I subconsciously looked back to see Wu Miao and my mother huddled on the sofa watching TV, laughing very brightly. As if sensing my gaze, she looked over at me. I looked at her profile, smiled at her, and shifted my gaze away.
Suddenly, I finally understood the man I met at the auto repair shop, his silence and resistance. Also understood these days, his desperation, stubbornness and unknown vulnerability. If it were me, my loved one who died tragically in front of me. Now can laugh and talk by my side, I'm afraid I would also be like a drowning person, desperately clinging to, regardless of everything, desperately struggling, just for this night to fall, finally quietly accompanying each other, ordinary yet hard-to-find happiness.
My eyes are slightly warm. I want to help him. I am a small sun, the smartest and most capable woman in his heart.
The vows of the past, the silent promises made in our hearts when we were in love, have come to be fulfilled. I want to change his fate, this difficult pass like climbing over mountains and crossing rivers, we who are born as a pair must bravely get through it together.
I said: "I'm going."
Wu Yu was taken aback, put down his cigarette, and turned to look at me.
I slowly smiled and said, "I'll go to the police station tomorrow. What if Chen wasn't the first victim? What if I was the first victim? They have no conscience or humanity, why should we follow the facts and continue to wait patiently? I'm a natural-born storyteller, better than you. I'm a well-known online writer, accompanying my boyfriend to Suzhou, sneaking out alone at night without listening, and ended up getting caught by them. Luckily, they were inexperienced for the first time, allowing clever me to find an opportunity to escape and not suffer much. I know what one of the culprits looks like, knowing where he roughly lives. Also saw in the room the names and photos of every girl they plan to attack next... Now closing my eyes, I can still describe the feeling of being locked in their darkroom, I can say out their actions, language details as serial killers with mental illness, the characteristics of their room layout, their living habits... What reason do the police have not to believe me, not to sympathize with me, and not to organize a powerful pursuit of the two potential serial killers according to our expectations?"
