Chapter 76: The Motive of a Thirteen-Year-Old
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“The morning news brings the latest updates on the case. According to insider sources, the police have extracted crucial evidence from the scene, including what seems to be the suspect’s fingerprints…”
“Looks like the case is about to be solved. Unbelievable.”
During breakfast, Chu Feng’s dad scooped a spoonful of duck egg porridge, muttering to himself.
“I’m off.”
As usual, Chu Feng skipped breakfast, pretending to be in a hurry to avoid being late for school, so he could eat the soft-boiled egg made by Xie Shiyu.
“Chu Feng.”
A pristine, white math workbook was placed in front of Chu Feng. Xie Shiyu asked:
“How do you solve this problem?”
“…”
“You haven’t done a single problem!”
Xie Shiyu: “No problem, I’ll just randomly fill in the multiple-choice questions at the front.”
Chu Feng glanced at the book. It was the first major problem in the math workbook. “What about the problems at the back?”
Xie Shiyu: “I’ll leave those blank. The teacher knows it’s because I can’t do them.”
Even Xie Shiyu knew that the first major problem was the simplest one. If he left it blank, it would show a lack of effort, and the math teacher would definitely nag about it.
Chu Feng sighed, “This is a moving point problem mentioned by the teacher last time. For the first problem, you can solve it using the Mean Value Theorem. For the second problem, you need to consider two scenarios. In the first scenario, point P is to the left of point O. Set the time to x seconds for the distances to be equal: 10-3x=2x. In the second scenario, point P is to the right: 10+2x=3x. This gives the solutions x=2s or 10s.”
Xie Shiyu: “…”
Chu Feng: “Did you understand?”
Xie Shiyu slowly leaned in closer. Chu Feng thought he was reaching for the workbook, so he pushed his own written solution over…
Xie Shiyu pressed down on the notebook with his long fingers touching Chu Feng’s hand.
Chu Feng tried to pull his hand back, but found Xie Shiyu staring intently at him.
“What… are you doing?”
Chu Feng felt uneasy under his gaze.
Xie Shiyu: “Nothing, just thinking that the way you explain things I don’t understand is really…”
“Really what?” Chu Feng lightly frowned. Strange? Pretentious? Hard to relate to?
Xie Shiyu suddenly leaned close to Chu Feng’s left ear and whispered:
“Really cool.”
Warm fingertips brushed over the back of Chu Feng’s hand as the workbook was taken away.
Chu Feng was left in a daze as Xie Shiyu, holding the workbook, got up to submit his homework to the group leader.
On the table, Xie Shiyu left the breakfast he had made for Chu Feng: a soft-boiled egg, a glutinous rice ball with fried dough sticks, and a packet of soy milk.
Chu Feng watched Xie Shiyu’s back. This guy, holding the workbook, leisurely twirling a pen, was randomly filling in the multiple-choice answers on his way to the group leader, likely using the “three shorts one long, choose the long; three longs one short, choose the short; if in doubt, choose C” strategy. Xie Shiyu’s carefree attitude showed he had no awareness of any issues with his behavior.
Chu Feng picked up the breakfast Xie Shiyu made for him, thinking that if he ever discovered that Xie Shiyu didn’t actually care for him, he would definitely beat this guy up.
The thirteen-year-old Chu Feng lowered his head and took a fierce bite of the soft-boiled egg.
***
“Moving point problems seem difficult.”
Xie Shiyu twirled his pen, flipping through the math book like he was inspecting it.
This topic was often the final challenging question, but once the principle was understood, it wasn’t too hard. Chu Feng replied:
“It’s okay. Do a few more problems and you’ll get it.”
Xie Shiyu thought about the workbook he submitted today: “I miscalculated. I thought the first major problem would be easy, so I just scribbled something, but it was so difficult, and I got it all right.”
“…” That problem was the exact same as the one from last time. The answers are the same, so of course it should be correct.”
“Oh.” Xie Shiyu: “When was the last time? Yesterday?”
“No.” Chu Feng: “It was during last Wednesday’s PE class, the math teacher covered for it. Oh, I think you weren’t there.”
Last Wednesday’s PE class was the last period in the afternoon, and it was raining, so the class was canceled and replaced with math. The class representative notified everyone about the change.
Xie Shiyu took advantage of the break before the period started and left school early, skipping the math class that replaced PE.
This was typical for Xie Shiyu. Chu Feng remembered that PE classes had previously been replaced by other subjects due to rain, and Xie Shiyu always skipped and went home. The first time Chu Feng saw him leave, he felt a bit disappointed, thinking they wouldn’t be able to walk home together after school…
But when school ended, Chu Feng found Xie Shiyu waiting for him at the school gate with an umbrella.
***
However, last time, Xie Shiyu didn’t wait for him.
PE classes weren’t always replaced, so Xie Shiyu’s skipping was unpredictable, as was his waiting. At that time, Chu Feng didn’t think much of it and went home alone.
—Thinking back now, that was the first time Xie Shiyu skipped class and didn’t wait for him at the school gate.
Was something delaying him?
***
“Preliminary findings indicate that the victim died between 5:00 and 7:00 PM last Wednesday. Two segments of blue ribbon were found near the victim’s clothing fragments.”
At the police station, the table was covered with piles of crime scene photos.
“The ribbon edges are very frayed, suggesting they were torn off during a struggle.”
“The victim had a confrontation with the suspect?”
“Very likely, and the forensic report shows the victim may have had a long history of drug use, possibly leading to a dispute over drugs and resulting in murder to silence them.”
“…Not necessarily. Look at these body parts, the cuts are so clean. This killer must be experienced. Each body part has been deliberately tied with a dead knot using nylon rope, which matches the pattern of a serial killer. Six years ago, there was a case involving dismemberment with red plastic rope…”
“Should we open a case for investigation?”
“We can’t be sure yet. The knotting method in the red plastic rope dismemberment case is significantly different from this one. Let’s send the blue ribbon to the forensics department first…”
***
“I’m back.”
A siren wailed as police cars sped down the street. Today, after school, Xie Shiyu returned home and stood alone in the cramped 404 room. Through the nailed-shut window, he saw the flashing red lights outside, resembling a trail of blood.
“Mom, what do you want for dinner?”
His mother was curled up in the corner, her pupils dilated, muttering:
“Don’t hit me, don’t hit me, don’t hit me…”
Xie Shiyu fried a few simple dishes, served the porridge he had cooked before school, and brought it to his mother, then poured out a sedative from the medicine box.
His mother reached out to grab a handful of pills to shove into her mouth, but Xie Shiyu stopped her:
“Mom, taking medicine on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach. Eat first.”
The doctor said she had been severely traumatized recently, but with rest, she might slowly recover.
***
Last Wednesday
“I’m back.”
Thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu skipped P.E. class to come home early, as he often did, to cook and clean. This way, his mother could do less work, and he would return to school to walk home with Chu Feng.
With this in mind, Xie Shiyu opened the door as usual—
The house was a mess.
The familiar, terrifying h*ll:
—Father was back!
Five or six years ago, to avoid fulfilling Ji Shiming’s prophecy, he didn’t kill his father but framed him for drug trafficking, sending that demon to prison.
Even if he wasn’t an ordinary child, he wasn’t a demon either.
Now, the real demon was back.
***
Xie Shiyu’s mother, He Wensui, had lived a stable and happy life for the past five or six years.
Because her husband was caught for drug trafficking, she successfully divorced and found a decent job.
The family didn’t have much money, but with no drug-addicted husband to drain her, she had saved up some money and was planning to move to a better place with her son, Xie Shiyu…
At the brink of everything getting better, the demon returned.
Because the quantity of drugs trafficked was small and his attitude was good, her ex-husband, Xie Junfeng, was released early and immediately sought them out.
She was beaten nearly to death, worse than ever before.
In the past, she endured a life of constant fear, stealing and bartering, and frequent beatings, but she managed to survive.
After living a normal life for six years with her son, being thrust back into this h*ll was unbearable. Their fragile hope was crushed like an ant.
Her junior school son had not yet returned home.
Facing the furious 1.9-meter-tall man alone, she felt immense fear.
“I tell you! Even if we’re divorced, you’ll never get rid of me! If you dare to move, don’t blame me for coming after you with a knife!”
Bang—
Like any time before, this demon took all the money from the house. The hard-earned savings she had accumulated over five or six years were gone.
After a while, the house phone rang. Numbly, she answered, and her manager hesitantly said:
“Today… your husband made a scene at the restaurant. We’re really sorry, but we can’t afford this trouble. Starting tomorrow, you don’t need to come to work.”
Click, the phone was hung up.
She looked once more at the shattered mess covering the floor. Since getting married, she had seen this scene countless times, cleaned up countless times, and endured countless times. But today, she seemed unable to bear it any longer. The broken cups, glass, plates, and bowls lay in shards, cutting into her feet as she stepped on them without feeling any pain.
These shards resembled her life. Ever since Xie Junfeng started using drugs, she had been unable to get a divorce. Her family had cut ties with her, and no matter how many times she cleaned up the broken pieces, they would shatter again. Her life held no hope anymore. Continuing like this, being beaten, being shattered, being endlessly harassed and threatened—what was the point of it all…
Covered in bruises and bleeding from the head, she walked to the window in a daze.
She looked down. Fourth floor—not too high, but she had heard that jumping from the fourth or fifth floor was often fatal. Higher floors might cause you to get caught, but the third or fourth floors—jumping meant death.
She propped herself up and stood on the window ledge.
17:05
At that moment, the door suddenly opened:
“Mom—”
***
Thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu, skipping P.E. class, came home early and saw the scene:
Blood, broken pieces, and his mother standing by the window.
In that instant, Xie Shiyu had a thought:
He must kill him.
Becoming a demon was fine.
In the wardrobe, a small elementary school uniform lay quietly at the bottom, with a pocket containing a red scarf.
Amidst the bright red was a blue ribbon.
A long-ago trump card was about to come into play.
***
Water rushed over dishes and the water cup for medication.
Since the last beating, his mother’s mental state had been very unstable. Xie Shiyu handled all the household chores.
Woo—woo—
Outside, a siren wailed, the red light growing and shrinking along the glass window, lengthening, shortening, and then disappearing into the dark silence.
***
Night fell heavily. In the police car, an excited officer called over the radio:
“Captain!! The forensic results are in!”
“We found the killer’s fingerprints on the blue ribbon!”
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