Chapter 269: Lü Xiangyang’s Vengeance

2022-05-20

By the time we arrived at the school, it was almost noon. Today wasn’t a weekend, so the students were still in their last period. I flashed my credentials and the grade director, who clearly wasn’t new to seeing us, asked, “What brings you here this time?”

“Lü Xiangyang is one of your students, isn’t he?” I said.

The grade director offered us seats then replied, “Lü Xiangyang? Didn’t someone come by asking about him before?”

I sat down and explained, “The last guys had other things to handle, so we’re taking over this case. Could you bring Wang Ang here? We have quite a bit to ask him.”

Shooting us a look, the grade director remarked, “Looks like both our departments work pretty much the same—always caught up in emergencies.”

As he spoke, he called a teacher. Before long, a teacher led in a tall, lanky student. He looked about seventeen and appeared nervous upon seeing us.

The teacher introduced him, “This is Wang Ang. In just this one week, so many people have come by. The kid’s almost depressed from all the attention.”

Wang Ang quietly took a seat and gazed at us, waiting for our questions.

Clearing my throat, I started, “Wang Ang, just answer whatever I ask, no need to stress. There’s nothing for you to fear—this really isn’t about you, okay?”

Wang Ang folded his hands in front of him and spoke slowly, “You’re here about Lü Xiangyang, I guess? Yeah, he did come to my place, but only stayed for a day. We’re pretty good friends—he used to come over to game sometimes. That day, he just came by to play games.”

I nodded, then asked, “When exactly did he come to see you? And when did he go missing?”

Wang Ang’s gaze drifted to the side—a classic move for someone lost in thought. It was clear he was genuinely trying to recall and not just making up a story. After a pause, he answered, “About two weeks ago—twelve days back, to be precise. It was a Friday. He boards at the school, but that Friday, instead of going home, he came over to my place.”

Seeing our faces cloud over, Wang Ang quickly explained, “He used to come over a lot before, and his parents knew about it. They seemed to dote on him, so they never had much to say. He spent that night at my place and the next day told me he was going to get revenge.”

“Revenge?” I looked at Wang Ang, getting a bit worked up. “Did he tell you any details? Who was he going after?”

Wang Ang glanced at me but shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. He wasn’t specific. I butted in and asked, and he just said it was for a woman or something. He kept it mysterious. Then he left the next day. I had no idea he’d go missing. His mom has asked me about him over and over, but I can’t reach him either.”

Frowning, I asked, “Does Lü Xiangyang have a girlfriend? Is it possible he was doing this for her?”

Wang Ang shook his head and cast a glance at the grade director, clearly hesitant about something.

“Don’t be nervous,” I said, “Whatever you know, just say it. No need to stammer.”

Wang Ang seemed to steel himself, then admitted, “He does have a girlfriend. She’s a student here too. But when he left, he never mentioned her.”

The grade director’s face immediately soured, annoyance flickering across it. “Wang Ang, why didn’t you say this earlier? We’ve got no clue where Lü Xiangyang is, and the kid’s dating so young?!”

Wang Ang hung his head, murmuring with embarrassment under the director’s glare.

I waved it off, then asked, “What’s his girlfriend’s name? Is she aware of all this?”

Wang Ang shook his head and looked at us. “Not sure. You should ask her directly. She’s in our class—her name’s Li Xiaojuan. Maybe you should talk to her.”

I looked at the grade director. “You heard him.”

He shrugged and called that same teacher again.

In a few minutes, a girl walked into the office.

She was dressed trendy, her uniform custom-marked with an odd, almost eerie design. That was all it took for the grade director to snap, “Li Xiaojuan, what happened to your uniform? The school didn’t give you one so you could doodle all over it!”

Li Xiaojuan was the opposite of Wang Ang—she had a fiery personality and retorted, “It’s my uniform. Why shouldn’t I draw on it?”

The grade director seemed ready to keep arguing but I immediately stepped in. “Li Xiaojuan, didn’t you know your boyfriend has gone missing?”

“Of course I know,” Li Xiaojuan said, plopping down next to Wang Ang. “As his girlfriend, how could I not? But honestly, I don’t know much more about it. When he left, he just told me he was going south for something, but he didn’t say what.”

Zhao Mingkun looked at her and asked playfully, “Weren’t you worried he was off seeing another girl?”

Li Xiaojuan snorted, “As if he’d dare. Besides, us girls have no need to meddle in men’s business. If he really tried to cheat, I’d never let him get away with it.”

Her words were so bold and rousing that even the grade director was left speechless, face turning green with frustration as he pointed at her, unable to get a word out. Compared to Wang Ang’s timid responses, this kind of straightforward girl was much easier to question.

I pressed on, “So he didn’t tell you anything else?”

Li Xiaojuan paused in thought. “Really, he didn’t say much. Just that he was off to get revenge. I didn’t ask what it was about. He said he’d probably be gone a long while. I figured he’d told his family, but apparently not.”

“But,” Li Xiaojuan added, “he seemed like he really had something important to handle.”

Revenge—when it came to Lü Xiangyang, if it wasn’t for his sister, I honestly couldn’t imagine what else would drive him. And he was tight-lipped. He hadn’t told even his best friend or girlfriend what he was really up to.

“What’s Lü Xiangyang like, usually?” I turned to Li Xiaojuan. “Is he talkative?”

She shook her head. “He’s the type who doesn’t speak much. That’s how a real man should be. Keep quiet about small stuff, take charge when it matters. Not like some people, chattering away all day like sparrows on a power pole.”

That last jab was clearly aimed at the grade director. Li Xiaojuan really was a force to be reckoned with.

The grade director was so mad his hair nearly stood on end. “Li Xiaojuan, have your parents come in tomorrow!”

Li Xiaojuan shrugged, completely unfazed. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she added, “Oh right, maybe a bit more than a month ago, he used my phone to buy a ticket. If he was heading south, it was probably then.”

She pulled out her phone as she spoke.

The grade director pointed at her. “You even bring a phone to school? You know that’s not allowed!”

Li Xiaojuan ignored him, opened her ticket app, and entered Lü Xiangyang’s ID. Sure enough, the purchase record popped up—a train ticket for a station in the southern region. But whether he actually took that train was anyone’s guess. In the past, we could’ve checked, but these days that’s impossible.

Considering how clever the killer had been, it wouldn’t be hard for him to set up a fake ticket as a cover. But could all this really be Lü Xiangyang’s doing?

Could a seventeen-year-old pull off things we couldn’t even imagine? And who really killed Lü Zhiqiu seven years ago? Those thirteen people couldn’t have all taken part in her death. If we could find the true culprit before another thirteen were killed, maybe the one seeking revenge would finally stop.

But neither Zhao Mingkun nor I could leave Dongxing City to investigate further. If we could prove Lü Xiangyang really went to a city in the south, at least that would clear him as a suspect. Sometimes, pursuing the truth and testing out leads are equally important.

But who should go?

Gu Chen! He popped into my mind right away. He’s jobless these days—this kind of legwork is perfect for him.

“Then it’s settled,” I said to Li Xiaojuan. “If your boyfriend gets in touch, make sure you let us know right away.”

After a moment’s thought, I added, “Let me give you a QQ number.”

I gave her Gu Chen’s QQ number.

“Got it. If there’s nothing else, I’ll get going,” Li Xiaojuan replied.

As she turned, I finally caught a clear look at the design on her uniform. From the front, it was a beautiful woman’s face, but from behind, it stretched into a woman’s upper body. The head and torso were connected by a long neck that looped around one side of her waist.

Instantly, I remembered the huge face I’d seen at Luo Ding’s house—it looked almost identical.

“What’s the story behind the drawing on your uniform?” I asked.

Li Xiaojuan just shrugged and answered, “Oh that? Lü Xiangyang drew that for me. He’s always into weird, quirky stuff.”