Chapter 65: The Connection Between Four Lives

2022-05-20

Still half-carrying Zhang Xue awkwardly, I finally stopped after running for a while, certain those burly men wouldn’t be chasing us anymore. I set her down. She looked at me, and I looked right back. For a brief moment, we silently admired each other’s nerve and guts.

Zhang Xue spoke first. “How do you know these streets so well? This should be your first time here, right?”

I held up a finger and shook it. “The moment I walked onto this street, I could tell it was well-planned. Plus, I noticed plenty of cyclists cutting through the alleys, which means most of them must connect somewhere instead of ending in dead ends. As long as you keep heading the right direction, you’ll find a way out.”

“I’ve got to hand it to you,” Zhang Xue said, folding her hands in a mock salute.

I asked, “When did you realize I was following you?”

Imitating my gesture, Zhang Xue shook her hand. “Haven’t you ever noticed subway glass is reflective? You were staring at me so much it was impossible to ignore. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t seen you before. Why follow me?”

“Impressive.” I copied her hand-salute. “But when women do the hand salute, it’s the opposite of men—your right hand should be on top, left hand underneath.”

She rolled her eyes, started walking again and said, “Boring. You’re just like one of my teachers.”

After we walked a long way, Zhang Xue stopped again, looking a little shy. “Do you… want to walk me home?”

Since the truth was already out, there was no point pretending. Besides, if this got around one day, it might haunt me forever. With a shrug, I moved to walk by her side. She walked even slower now, as if trying to stretch out time—and honestly, I’d noticed her dragging her feet on the way home earlier too.

Why was Zhang Xue stalling?

“Hey, Zhang Xue. Can I ask you something? Why are you walking so slowly? If you’d picked up the pace earlier, I probably wouldn’t have even seen you.”

She didn’t answer right away, just kept walking. Then she switched topics. “I know why you followed me. You wouldn’t do it for no reason. I heard Mr. Gao Rui is dead, poisoned with potassium cyanide. So, you all suspect one of us who stole the potassium cyanide, right?”

I never expected this fifteen-year-old girl to have both sharp instincts and a quick grasp of my real purpose.

I didn’t say anything.

As we walked, Zhang Xue continued, “Mr. Gao Rui was a good man. Just last year, I used to get extra biology lessons from him, and he never charged us a cent. He even encouraged us—said if we got into Yucai High School, maybe he’d be teaching us there for biology too.”

“He actually tutored you all?” I asked.

She nodded. “One day in eighth grade, I ran into him on the school field. At first, he asked why I wasn’t in class. I thought he was just going to report me and drag me to the office, but instead he asked what class I was supposed to have. I told him biology offhand, and his whole face lit up—he said he was a biology teacher and could help me. Seemed a little odd at first, but I gave it a shot, and he was a great teacher—his lessons were lively and he was so gentle.” Zhang Xue’s voice grew softer. I could hear the catch in her throat.

Yeah, Gao Rui really was a gentle soul.

She kept talking. “A lot of us liked going to his classes. He was more like an older brother, not at all like the usual teachers. We’d mess around and learn at the same time. Even Zhou Guo, who’s always top student, showed up for his lessons. Tell me—why would anyone want to hurt someone like that?”

But the truth is, no one set him up. It was his own decision to end things—he just had a little ‘help’ along the way.

I sighed. “Where did you hear all this from?”

Zhang Xue dropped her gaze. “The whole school’s been talking. But it wasn’t us. The five of us all got along with him. Why would we ever do such a thing? I hope you find the real killer soon.”

Looking at her, I didn’t know what to say. She genuinely seemed unaware that Gao Rui’s death was a suicide and not a murder. But I couldn’t tell if she truly didn’t know or if she wanted to throw off my suspicion on purpose.

After all, lying is practically human instinct.

I nodded. “I will. Someone as kind as him deserves a real answer. No matter what the truth turns out to be, he deserves it.”

Zhang Xue stopped in front of an old building by the street and looked up. “Thanks. I know you’re a good person. My home’s up there—see that dark window? That’s us.”

“Don’t you live with your dad?” I asked. I already knew she came from a single-parent family, raised by her father.

She gave a small smile and shook her head.

“Go on in. I’ll stay out here until your lights are on.” I reached out and gently patted her head.

She nodded but paused at the entrance. She stopped in the shadows of the stairwell—inside, everything was pitch black. The eaves blocked out the moonlight, so I couldn’t make out her face, only the blur of her outline. For a second, I couldn’t tell if she was crying or if I was just seeing things.

“How about… you come up with me? After all that running, you must be thirsty.” she said.

Some strange emotion hit me, and before I knew it, I’d agreed to her invitation. Honestly, it was just a glass of water—and I was wiped; we’d run quite a distance.

I followed Zhang Xue up the stairs. Neither of us said a word. The stairwell was dark, but moonlight slanted through the windows, stretching our shadows long across the wall, trailing behind us like two dance partners.

“Everyone’s bound to fall someday, there’s no such thing as happiness that never fades…”

That low, soulful voice was Eason Chan—the ringtone on my phone.

Glancing at the caller ID, I saw ‘Bossy Sis.’ “Hey, Mary, what’s up?”

Mary’s voice sounded like she was stuffing her mouth. “You know that suicide list you gave me? I went through their details and guess what? Something interesting popped up. The four of them were all connected—even if they didn’t know each other well, they’ve at least crossed paths.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She cleared her throat. “Let’s go one at a time. Do you remember Zhang Mingliang selling his old house? Know who brokered that sale? It was that guy who jumped off the building—Ma Liliang. Weird, his name’s a lot like mine.”

I groaned.

“So,” Mary continued, “after Ma Liliang sold the house, he wired the money to Zhang Mingliang’s chosen account. By then, Zhang Mingliang had already made up his mind to die and didn’t want the money showing up in Gao Rui’s account—he was afraid it’d link them too easily. So he went with another person.”

“Someone we know too?” I asked.

“Yeah. That someone is Wang Yiman—the so-called Widow Wang. She agreed, but instead of stashing the money, she handed it straight to Li Zhinan. He’s an employee at Jinrun Financial, manages investment and stuff. In just three months, Li Zhinan took Zhang’s initial one and a half million yuan and turned it into twenty million.”

“Wait, how? Turning one and a half million into twenty million in three months?”

“He used that money to set up a trap—got the bank to lend him twenty million.” Mary replied.

Suddenly I remembered that file in Li Zhinan’s briefcase—the one from XX Bank, half ripped up. That must have been the paperwork he used for the scheme. Still, how did he pull this off?

“I’m lost,” I confessed.

“Not surprised,” Mary grumbled. “It gets complicated. Li Zhinan faked a bunch of things, fooled the bank for a while. But the truth is, it wouldn’t have lasted long. By then, though, he must have already decided to die, so he didn’t care about fall-out.”

Something in my mind clicked, but I could tell there were still missing pieces. Outwardly, these four people seemed unconnected, but now I was hearing about all sorts of tangled ties. Ma Liliang sold the house, Wang Yiman handled the accounts, Li Zhinan set up the scheme.

But in Gao Rui’s suicide note, he only mentioned having one and a half million in assets. So, where did the twenty million go?

“So where’s that twenty million now?” I asked.

“We’re here,” Zhang Xue said softly.

I nodded.

On the phone, Mary went on, “Haven’t tracked it down yet. That twenty million bounced around various domestic banks, then got wired abroad. What happened after that? Who knows. That’s what makes telecom fraud so hard to crack—the speed and complexity of online transfers…”

I shook my head. “Honestly, Mary, finding out this much already is impressive. If you track that money, amazing—if not, don’t stress. I’m hanging up.”

“Got it! I’ll keep you posted. Oh, and stop saying ‘hang up.’ Say ‘put down the phone’—it’s less unlucky. Otherwise, it’s either an accident or just… the end.” With that, she hung up.

A bit superstitious, isn’t she? I guess life and calling someone aren’t so different—in the end, it’s either you put down the phone, or I do.

Zhang Xue stood at the door, already holding out a pair of slippers for me. “Come in, Wu. Did you find something out?”

I changed into the slippers, glanced around her home, and replied, “Yeah, got a few new leads.”