Chapter 56: Three Duels

2022-05-20

Why would someone trying to kill themselves cling so tightly to a briefcase? Judging from his actions, there must have been something valuable inside.

With that on my mind I asked, “You said he was holding the briefcase in the surveillance footage, so where is it now?”

“We still haven’t found it. No clue where it ended up after the accident,” someone replied.

Just as the words left their mouth, my phone rang. It was Mary calling.

Mary got straight to the point: “Wu Meng, we’ve got this guy’s info. His name is Li Zhinan, twenty-five, living alone in Dongxing City. Right now he’s a junior employee at a financial company, making about three thousand yuan a month. I’ll send you his address in a bit.”

“Okay,” I answered, tugging at my hair. “Still, we can’t say for sure whether this case is linked to the other two yet.”

Mary replied, “I’m sending the address. Handle it as you see fit.”

“Let’s go check it out,” I said, glancing at Guan Zengbin and Gu Chen. “The style of this case feels way off from the other two, but something about it just doesn’t sit right. Even if it’s unrelated, we should at least try to figure out why Li Zhinan took his own life.”

By the time we were ready to leave the subway had finally started running again.

Line 1 was back to normal. Most of the commuters piled in. A life had ended here, but no one seemed to care anymore. Maybe to them, this would just become something to gossip about during lunch. Only the stubborn stains of blood on the wall served as a silent reminder to every passerby—someone had died here.

Li Zhinan’s rented place was far from his workplace. No wonder he took the subway every day.

It was an old apartment—no maintenance, no security cameras, not even its own bathroom. The communal toilet sat a short distance downstairs, an old-fashioned latrine. We made our way up after contacting the landlord, who opened the door and waited for us inside.

The apartment was cramped, with no kitchen, just a living room and two bedrooms.

One bedroom had become a storage closet crammed with all sorts of odds and ends. But when we opened the other bedroom door, we were stunned by what we saw. The entire room was plastered with superhero posters, every inch covered.

Stepping inside felt almost like stepping into another world. Maybe, for him, that was exactly the case—he’d been living in a different world all along. It was a little jarring, honestly. Sure, a twenty-five-year-old guy might be into superhero movies, but not many would take their obsession this far.

“There’s a notebook here,” Gu Chen said.

I turned and saw Gu Chen flipping a large notebook in his hands.

“What’s in it?” I asked.

Gu Chen handed me the notebook. “It’s his diary. I skimmed a few pages earlier—maybe there’s something useful in here.”

By the time dusk settled, I’d finished reading the thick notebook, most of it written in plain, straightforward language. It gave me some understanding of Li Zhinan, and why his room was filled with posters of superheroes. Every boy grows up with dreams of sword fighting and saving the day—we all want to be heroes at heart.

Li Zhinan’s hero dreams started way back in elementary school.

Wang Ernao was a legend in the village—the kind of kid who lit up a cigarette at eight and chased after girls by ten. He always wore a pair of sneakers washed nearly white and carried a sword—a handmade wooden one. Everywhere Wang Ernao went, screams followed. The other kids had never seen someone like him before.

Maybe Wang Ernao wasn’t his real name. Around here, names are just placeholders anyway. Still, among the kids he was the unchallenged boss. His favorite pastime? Ambushing girls on their way home and teasing them with clever remarks.

But every villain needs a hero to take him down.

Li Zhinan and Wang Ernao first faced off one autumn afternoon.

Wang Ernao cornered the girl Li Zhinan had secretly liked since grade school.

Li Zhinan stood up. “Let her go, Wang Ernao. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.”

Both raised their weapons—Wang with his wooden sword, Li Zhinan with a calligraphy brush he’d just brought from class. Honestly, waving around a brush looked even cooler than a toy sword. Real masters could defeat their foes with almost nothing in hand.

Sometimes, one move is all it takes to win a duel.

When Wang Ernao fell flat on his back, Li Zhinan raised the brush in victory. Technically, Wang had tripped on a rock running over, splitting his head open. Rumor was Li Zhinan jabbed the brush at him—but really, the rock did more damage.

The girl said, “You’re my hero.”

But being a hero isn’t easy. Heroes have to hold themselves to higher standards.

The world doesn’t make it easy on heroes, especially when the girl starts showing up again.

At seventeen, in high school, Li Zhinan, Wang Ernao and the girl landed in the same class.

There was one difference—Li Zhinan had gotten in on merit, but Wang Ernao’s family bought his way in.

Girls’ tastes can be unpredictable. The girl bombed an exam and was crushed by the pressure, so she drank too much one night.

She’d called Li Zhinan, but he was too upright for that kind of party.

Li Zhinan said, “Let me walk you home.”

Some people are always seeing girls home, others are always coaxing them back out.

The girl didn’t really want to go home. Li Zhinan didn’t get it, but Wang Ernao did.

Wang said, “If you don’t mind, I’ve got a shoulder right here for you. Even the moon waxes and wanes, so why shouldn’t people have their ups and downs too?”

Wang Ernao, like a combine harvester charging across a field, swept away the girl’s heart.

And like a harvester cutting wheat, pretty soon there was nothing left but withered crops in the field. Wang Ernao was never the responsible type. He dumped her, leaving her heartbroken. So she came to Li Zhinan.

Like any good hero, Li Zhinan said gently, “Your past doesn’t matter to me. It’s alright.”

That night was their second duel.

This time, Wang Ernao didn’t trip—the hero became the loser.

Sometimes, the most painful thing is realizing a hero has grown old.

Li Zhinan said, “So what if you have her body? You’ll never have her heart.”

Wang Ernao told him a story.

Once, a lock was fastened on a door. The golden key stepped up, eager to try, but couldn’t open it. Then the humble iron key came along, gave a simple turn, and the lock clicked open. The iron key said, ‘I won her heart. But you, golden key, never will.’

“Want to know what the golden key said next?” Wang Ernao laughed as he walked away.

Li Zhinan was left wondering what Wang Ernao actually meant.

The truth was, that girl had never actually dated Li Zhinan—not really. He couldn’t figure out where it went wrong. He genuinely loved her, and she knew it. But she’d date guys like Wang Ernao, just never him.

Was he still her hero? Late at night, Li Zhinan would ask himself that question.

Li Zhinan got into university. Wang Ernao and the girl didn’t.

At twenty-five, Li Zhinan found a job in Dongxing City making six thousand a month—not bad for that city. He figured it was time to find a girlfriend, settle down, and maybe start a family.

So he looked for the girl, and they dated for a month.

But they still broke up in the end. One night, Li Zhinan came home early and found Wang Ernao there.

Their third duel had no victor.

The girl said, “Let’s break up. We’re just not compatible.”

Li Zhinan argued, “I’m ambitious. I work hard and would do anything for you. So why do you pick him? Ever since we were kids—you did this with him, but not with me.”

She stayed quiet for a long time. Finally: “I don’t know. You’re a good guy, but…”

Li Zhinan insisted, “If it’s a personality thing, I can change.”

Wang Ernao offered his own take: “You don’t get it. You’re clueless! All that ‘not compatible’ talk? Why me? I’ll tell you—while you’re earning six grand a month, my dad gives me sixty grand. Get it? Has nothing to do with personality—you’re just book-smart, that’s all.”

The girl finally snapped. “It’s not about the money, it really is just personality. Li Zhinan, you don’t get it at all. What you want isn’t what I want—why can’t you just be a normal guy? Why do you put yourself on a pedestal? Aren’t you tired? Why act like you’re above everyone else all the time?”

That’s when Li Zhinan understood he’d lost from the very start. Turns out, not everyone is looking for a hero.

Some things are decided long before the story even begins.

If he’d chosen to stay that night, would things have turned out differently?

That’s what a hero does—sacrifices himself for others.

They say the golden key replied, “I never cared about winning her heart. I was just in it for the fun.”