Chapter 338: The Hu Family

As I spoke, I kept myself busy, rifling through Teacher Gao’s computer, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

When we stepped out of the apartment, the villagers had already moved the corpse to a side room. Gu Chen’s father was waiting in the courtyard for us to come out. As soon as he spotted us, he said, “Teacher Gao has been placed in the side room. What are we supposed to do next?”

I glanced at Gu Chen’s father, then at Teacher Gao’s body, still lying in the side room. At this point a white sheet had been placed over him, keeping his head covered.

“What about Teacher Gao’s family?” I asked, looking at Gu Chen’s father.

He shook his head. “What family does Teacher Gao have left? After everything that happened last year, his parents couldn’t show their faces in the village anymore. They left a year ago, and we have no way of contacting them. Faded from our world, just like that.”

“Is there any contact info on his phone?” I pressed.

“Didn’t see a phone when we were moving the body. I checked his pockets—nothing there, nothing anywhere,” Gu Chen’s father replied.

I spoke slowly, “That means there probably won’t be anyone coming to claim the body any time soon. Just stick to the village customs—when the roads improve, have someone take the body to the funeral home. In the meantime, lock up Teacher Gao’s place so no kids wander in and get traumatized. Then, could you take us to Hu Ningning’s home?”

Gu Chen’s father nodded, relayed my instructions to several villagers, then led us toward Hu Ningning’s grandparents’ house.

The sky grew even darker, a haze of dust stretching between heaven and earth. The distant streetlights looked like lonely beacons, only illuminating patches nearby. Everything farther out was shrouded in fog. The sky seemed to press down on us, making it hard to breathe. Although it was already past eight, the air was still muggy and sweat dripped down our backs.

As we walked, Gu Chen’s father spoke quietly, “Hu Ningning’s grandparents are still here, but she’s not. The village doesn’t have money to fix the roads, and with roads this bad it’s too tough for her to come home. So these days, Hu Ningning boards at school.”

I scratched my head and asked, “What about her parents?”

He waved a hand. “Still working far from home. After what happened, they couldn’t look after her daily. Besides, Ningning herself seemed like she didn’t really understand any of it. She just thought it was a normal day, like playing after school. For her, it’s just a strange little memory. And the family can’t keep bringing it up, either.”

I nodded. For an eight-year-old girl like her, it’s best if she can forget all this. Otherwise, a shadow like that will linger inside her for life. Most people who develop psychiatric symptoms have some lingering darkness from their childhood tucked deep in the subconscious. There’s truth to the old saying—what’s formed at three stays, and by seven they’re set for life.

After walking a bit, Gu Chen’s father pointed to a courtyard gate. “That’s Hu Ningning’s grandparents’ place. Let’s go.”

He strode ahead and slapped the courtyard door, shouting, “Old Hu, Old Hu! Open up!”

After a few loud knocks, we heard movement inside. A moment later, someone swung the gate open. An old man in his fifties or sixties with a towel draped over his head looked us over, then said in a slow voice, “Oh, Gu Lao’er, did you ever figure out what happened at your home? Honestly, I always figured it was that Gao Dafu character stirring up trouble.”

Gu Chen’s father just shook his head, sighing. “We still haven’t gotten to the bottom of it… and now Teacher Gao is dead.”

“Dead?!” Old Hu slapped his thigh, elated. “Dead, are you? Good, good! I wanted him gone a year ago! Come inside and tell me all about it. How’d that scum die?”

“Gu Chen’s back too? And who’s this? Come in, all of you!” Old Hu led the way, calling back, “Honey! Come quick! That scumbag Gao is dead!”

We followed Old Hu through the door and into the house.

Once we sat, Old Hu’s wife—Hu Ningning’s grandmother—poured us water. Old Hu settled in, sitting cross-legged on the bed and handing out cigarettes. We gladly accepted, lighting up and listening as Old Hu launched into a tirade. “Gu Chen, by seniority you should call me Uncle! Let me tell you, getting rid of monsters like him is a blessing for everyone.”

I neither agreed nor disagreed, simply saying, “Yeah, Teacher Gao clearly had issues. But what happened still seems strange.”

I took a slow drag, then continued, “Uncle Hu, I’m sure you’ve heard about Gu Hui’s case, right?”

“Of course,” Old Hu replied, exhaling smoke and heaving a sigh. “I figured Gu Chen came back because of that. Gu Lao’er, don’t take it too hard, but I’ll say it plain—had to be that pervert. Wasn’t it Gu Hui who exposed what happened with that so-called teacher last year? You think a little girl would make something like that up? No way. She must have seen it with her own eyes.”

I didn’t argue, but something about this rubbed me the wrong way. The road to this village wasn’t great, but the place wasn’t cut off from the world. Old Hu used a smartphone, and kids nowadays are much more worldly than the adults realize. Sometimes, adults forget that children catch more than they let on.

“Uncle Hu, I hope you don’t mind these questions. We’re just trying to get the facts straight. Since Ningning isn’t here, you don’t need to worry about her hearing anything. Can you recall the details from last year? The more you tell us, the better. What do you think made Teacher Gao do what he did? I heard he was pretty popular with the ladies.”

Old Hu flicked his cigarette butt to the floor. “He’s an animal. You can’t measure him by human standards. Here in the village, only Gu Chen and that creep have really done anything with themselves, both went to top universities. You look at Gu Chen—joined some important team, right? Then you look at Teacher Gao—personable on the outside, acting all proper, offering to escort my Ningning to and from school. Turns out it was all a setup from the start.”

His eyes burned with anger. “My wife’s getting on in years, her eyesight’s not good. I can barely walk these days, forget about riding a bike. When Ningning started first grade, there wasn’t much we could do. That creep said he’d lend a hand. At first, we thought we’d met a decent man.”

Old Hu’s wife echoed him, “Who could have guessed…”

Old Hu nodded. “He helped that way for a few months and then, one day, Ningning came home saying she didn’t feel right.”

“We asked her what happened,” Old Hu went on.

He let out a heavy sigh. “My wife and I were furious. I went looking for that animal—he was just lounging around watching TV. So I gave him a piece of my mind, landed a few punches.”

“Of course, he kept denying everything. The villagers weren’t sure what to believe, since on the surface, Gao Dafu always seemed decent and was always helping others with odd jobs. But that’s the thing with people like him. They know how to hide.”

“And then?” I asked.

“And then?” Old Hu repeated. “Then we called Ningning’s parents. You young people know best—they took her into town for a hospital checkup. No way to be sure, but we suspected the worst.”

I nodded. “And Ningning told you that herself?”

“She did,” Old Hu confirmed.

But this didn’t add up. Something about the hospital findings and Old Hu’s story contradicted each other. Which source was telling the truth?

“How did Gu Hui find out?” I pressed.

Gu Chen’s father exchanged a glance with Old Hu before explaining, “I know this part. One day Gu Hui was playing at home while her grandparents were talking about the whole thing. Gu Hui happened to overhear and casually mentioned she saw something, too.”

He paused, then added, “I don’t know exactly what she saw. Maybe Gu Hui was out playing and just stumbled on it. She said she peeked through a window and saw something, though she wasn’t sure what it was.”

“But by the time Gu Hui spoke up, nearly two weeks had passed,” Gu Chen’s father said, tossing his cigarette to the floor. “Her grandparents rushed to tell Old Hu, and word spread across the village. A little girl wouldn’t lie about that. It became set in everyone’s mind that the story was ironclad, an open-and-shut case.”

Old Hu interrupted, “Except there was never any real evidence, so there was no way to bring Teacher Gao to justice. That’s why nothing ever came of it. Afterward, he just stayed cooped up in his place, sending friends to buy things for him when he needed something.”

Old Hu’s wife continued, “Then, a few days back, everyone heard about Gu Hui—that she was found in a pit, already gone for a day or more. I’m telling you, it had to be Teacher Gao. If Gu Hui hadn’t spoken up, the truth would still be hidden, and he’d still be a teacher. He always claimed his life was ruined by all this.”

She let out a cold snort. “And what about my Ningning? Her life was ruined too, but does he care? Glad he’s dead, honestly. Good riddance.”

I looked out the window, eyeing the height from the windowsill to the ground, lost in thought for a while before asking, “So where’s Hu Ningning—at school, right now?”

“Yes…”