Chapter 312: The Real Killer

2022-05-20

Judging by how firm Xu Man sounded, she definitely wasn’t lying. Still, it caught us off guard. Before, based on Jiang Xiaochun’s ring, I’d suspected her relationship with Hu Pei was rocky, and guessed that she had someone else on the side.

And even earlier, just by looking at Jiang Xiaochun, it was clear she didn’t seem all that upset over the two deaths. That’s hardly how someone would act after seven years together, even less so for a mother. Now we know Jiang Xiaochun and Hu Pei had no real feelings for each other—it was just a marriage of convenience. And Hu Xiaoxue wasn’t even Jiang Xiaochun’s daughter. She was the child of the woman in front of us—Xu Man.

Xu Man stubbed out her cigarette on the coffee table, then spoke slowly: “But why are you asking about this? Did their sham marriage get exposed?”

The way Xu Man looked at me, I didn’t have the heart to bring up Hu Pei and Hu Xiaoxue’s deaths. All this woman ever cared about was her daughter Hu Xiaoxue growing up healthy. But who would’ve thought, at only seven or eight years old, Hu Xiaoxue would be killed so brutally.

“Yeah, some things came to light. But are you sure about this?” I asked.

“I’m sure,” Xu Man said, lighting another cigarette. “If that hadn’t happened, the four of us would probably still be close friends. But ever since, I haven’t had the face to see anyone else. Funny thing is, even though we were best friends, every one of us was selfish. That’s just human nature.”

The way Xu Man put it left me a bit confused, so I asked: “When you say best friends, who do you mean?”

She glanced at me, not holding anything back. “We were all friends seven years ago—two of them you might not know. There was me, Jiang Xiaochun, Lü Zhiqiu and one named Deng Xuemei.”

Xu Man assumed we wouldn’t know two of them, but in fact, we were quite familiar with every one. As it turned out, these four women had once been close friends. Lü Zhiqiu died seven years ago. Deng Xuemei’s fate is a mystery. Jiang Xiaochun pretends to be crazy, and Xu Man has worked as a hostess for seven years.

Four best friends—yet one met a worse end than the next. That actually made things more interesting. Since Xu Man was in the inner circle, she probably knew a lot about the past. And as Lü Zhiqiu’s best friend, she’d even gotten involved with Hu Pei, who used to be Lü’s boyfriend. Maybe there’s something to that saying about friends… you can’t turn your back on them.

“There’s something I’ve wanted to ask. You and Lü Zhiqiu were close, but you also knew Hu Pei was her boyfriend,” I said.

Xu Man waved it off. “Seven years have passed. What’s done is done, and I own up to my mistakes. Lü Zhiqiu’s personality… she never really got angry, or maybe she just didn’t know how. Even though I knew Hu Pei was her boyfriend, I also knew that if I took him from her she wouldn’t say anything. She’d still treat me as her friend, no matter what.”

Zhao Mingkun let out a helpless sigh. “Nice people get bullied the most in this world.”

Xu Man flicked her ashes. “Yeah. If Lü Zhiqiu had stood up for herself, maybe I wouldn’t have done it. I guess I just took it for granted, knowing she wouldn’t care. At first, I didn’t even care much for Hu Pei, but because he was Lü Zhiqiu’s boyfriend, I wanted to see what would happen.”

I shrugged. People’s jealousy and competitiveness run deep, especially when it’s about those closest to you. It’s easy to spot on the surface, but what lurks deeper in the heart can be terrifying.

Maybe Xu Man never even liked Hu Pei—she just wanted to take him away from Lü Zhiqiu.

“So… did you get what you wanted?” I asked.

Xu Man shrugged again. “If I had, why didn’t Hu Pei marry me? I was too naive, really. Hu Pei loved having someone steady at home and another woman outside. With a gentle girl like Lü Zhiqiu, why would he give that up? But maybe there were things Lü Zhiqiu couldn’t accept either, because in the end, she didn’t marry Hu Pei either.”

Hearing that, I furrowed my brow. It seemed Xu Man still didn’t know Lü Zhiqiu had died seven years ago.

But I didn’t point it out. Instead, I asked, “And the other two? Jiang Xiaochun and Deng Xuemei. Especially Deng Xuemei—what kind of person was she?”

Xu Man shot me a surprised look, not expecting me to know Deng Xuemei’s name.

After a moment, she said, “Honestly, I liked Deng Xuemei the least. We only became friends because of Lü Zhiqiu. Deng Xuemei was so fake—always pretending to be broke in front of Lü Zhiqiu, saying she didn’t have a dime, then buying designer clothes and the latest phones behind her back. She wasn’t lacking money but acted like she was for sympathy.”

That actually matched what Song Ying had said. But when we’d visited Lao Deng’s house, they really didn’t have anything. It didn’t quite add up, unless Deng Xuemei put on a show at home and another for outsiders.

And honestly, when someone lacks something, they usually do their best to fake having it. Deng Xuemei grew up poor, probably never got the toys she wanted, never ate the snacks she craved, never went on trips. That longing twisted her heart. Back in middle school, she was probably laughed at by the other kids for having nothing. When she got to university, in a place where no one knew her or her family’s situation, maybe that was the first time she could pretend.

So to avoid ridicule, she acted wealthy and started mocking others. That’s probably what split her life in two—the person at home and the one out in the world.

Xu Man let out a cold snort. “Out of all of us, she was the one I looked down on the most. I spoke up a few times, but Lü Zhiqiu never seemed to hear. She gave Deng Xuemei money every month, and Deng just used it for having fun. What could you do? One person was willing to give, the other to take.”

I nodded and pressed on: “What about their relationship? Were they close?”

Xu Man frowned. “Lü Zhiqiu saw us all as her best friends, but Deng Xuemei never really saw her that way. I still remember running into Deng Xuemei at a bar once. I happened to sit behind her, and she didn’t see me.”

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Xu Man went on. “I overheard Deng Xuemei talking about Lü Zhiqiu, calling her an idiot who had no idea she was being used, saying she was someone so naive she’d end up helping the person who betrayed her. She even joked that if they ever needed to eat out they’d just get Lü Zhiqiu to pay. Lü never learned how to say no.”

Xu Man grew angry as she spoke, getting to her feet: “After everything Lü Zhiqiu did for her, Deng Xuemei still trashed her behind her back.”

“Although…” Xu Man sighed and sank back down. “Although I tried to steal Lü Zhiqiu’s boyfriend—well, I failed at that… But I lost my temper and confronted Deng Xuemei. She told me if Lü Zhiqiu never blamed her, why should I butt in? Even if I told Lü Zhiqiu, she wouldn’t be angry.”

Xu Man shook her head. “To Deng Xuemei, Lü Zhiqiu was just a fool. She was never really her friend.”

Hearing all this, I rubbed my temples in thought. If that’s true, it’s hard to imagine Deng Xuemei avenging Lü Zhiqiu. Normally, if someone secretly helps you for years, you’d feel grateful, and since Deng Xuemei only had a few years left to live, it’d make sense she’d do something drastic.

But both Song Ying and Xu Man said the same thing—Deng Xuemei was selfish and fake. Even if it was her last moment, she’d never give up her own life for someone else. If that’s true, there’s no way she’d seek revenge for Lü Zhiqiu.

Not to mention all the suspicious details that suggest Deng Xuemei’s sudden disappearance is unusual. So there is a real possibility that she isn’t the killer. But if not her, who is?

Why were there chemicals found in Deng Xuemei’s home? Why were there all those plants and animals stuffed in her drawers?

If there’s another killer, it has to be someone close to her; no one else could’ve put those things there. Who could it be?

After pondering for a while, one name settled in my mind.