The cicadas' shrill cries tore through the sky.
The May sun was overly harsh, shining through the lush branches and casting large patches of mottled light and shadow on the playground.
Chen Er sat on the iron railing, his legs swinging vigorously in the air.
As the college entrance examination approached, everyone was under the pressure of getting into a good school. Sorrows and joys flashed by without leaving a trace, and people soon buried themselves in the sea of books.
There was no need to have a proper physical education class. It was free - activity time.
Those who wanted to study stayed in the classroom to hit the books; those who wanted to relax or had already given up went to the playground.
The basketballs, volleyballs, and badminton balls in the basket were quickly snatched up.
Not far away, a boy waved at the shade where Chen Er was sitting and shouted enthusiastically, "Ji Pei! Come on! Let's play basketball together!"
Chen Er knew the call wasn't for him, so he followed the shouting boy's gaze.
On the bench diagonally behind, a boy was sitting with his head down, quietly reading a book.
Chen Er sized him up. He was good - looking, with slender limbs and fair skin. A thick book was laid open on his knees. He stared intently at the pages, his face expressionless. If it weren't for the turning of the pages, Chen Er would even have suspected that he wasn't reading at all.
This was Chen Er's classmate, whose name seemed to be Ji Pei.
"Boss Chen! What are you standing here for? Show me the beautiful view you're enjoying!"
The shout interrupted Chen Er's train of thought. In the glaring sunlight, a tall figure strode over.
Chen Er looked up. It was Qiangzi.
He was wearing a gray undershirt and was covered in sweat.
Chen Er frowned.
Qiangzi jumped onto the iron railing and squatted steadily beside Chen Er. Turning his face, the scar between his eyebrows came into view. He tilted his chin in Ji Pei's direction and asked, "Boss Chen, what are you looking at? Are you interested in that guy?"
Chen Er looked over.
The boy on the bench was frowning, obviously engrossed in the book.
"He's from our class, right?" Chen Er said, his tone sounding like a question but also like a statement.
"Right," Qiangzi replied briskly. "That guy's name is Ji Pei. He failed to get recommended for further study, and now he's acting all deep again."
"Come on," Chen Er chuckled. "You're just jealous of him."
"Bullshit!" Qiangzi's face fell, but soon his eyes sparkled. He asked furtively, "Boss Chen, don't tell me you've really taken a fancy to him? What's so good about this pretty boy? He's as weak as a woman. He's got hardly any muscles. He's so far off..."
Chen Er ignored him.
In the distance, there came a burst of wild shouts from the boys. They must have won the basketball game.
"Let's talk about something serious," Chen Er said calmly, his expression immediately turning solemn. "Was there a person named Sheng Qingqiu among our group that day?"
"The group from the alley?" Qiangzi asked.
Chen Er nodded.
"… Sheng Qingqiu? I don't remember such a person!"
Qiangzi frowned deeply.
After a while, Qiangzi clapped his hands, almost falling off the iron railing in his excitement.
"I remember!" he shouted. "Sheng Qingqiu! Isn't she that good - looking chick from Senior Two?"
Chen Er gave a soft "hmm" and asked, "You know her? Tell me about her."
Qiangzi's eyes sparkled with excitement, and he immediately started talking. "That chick is the school belle. A few of my buddies are chasing her. But she's so stuck - up, thinking she's all that just because she's good - looking! Who knows what kind of slut she is behind everyone's back!"
Chen Er chuckled but didn't say anything.
Qiangzi leaned over, his strong body - odor wafting over. He blinked his eyes and asked in a low, curious voice, "Boss Chen, did something happen to you that day?"
Suddenly, the sun seemed to dim, and the sky darkened. The boy on the bench silently closed his book, lowered his eyes, and got up to leave.
Chen Er was silent. The backlit made it hard for him to see the boy's expression.
He said,
"Sheng Qingqiu is dead."
"I'm a witness."
Qiangzi suddenly looked up, his eyes full of shock.
The night seemed like paper soaked in oil, turning translucent. The half - withered plants seemed to wake up from their drowsiness, sighing softly and trembling slightly. The earth was like a steamer with its lid removed.
Among the passers - by on the street, someone said that the weather was about to change. As if in response, there was a loud rumble in the sky. Soon, the raindrops started to fall patter - patter.
Step by step, the figure walking in the rainy night gradually became clear.
It was a boy who wasn't very thin. He was wearing a simple white T - shirt and looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. He stared straight ahead and walked in a bit of a hurry to the community mailbox.
"The information was right. He really came," Yang Heng said, looking down at his watch admiringly.
Qin An smiled, his eyes curving like a crescent moon.
The reason they were keeping an eye on this boy was actually from the words of Sheng Qingqiu's nanny. According to the nanny, Xiao Huang, Sheng Qingqiu would ask her to pick up letters from the mailbox every Tuesday, but she never said anything about the content of the letters. Xiao Huang was afraid that something bad might happen, so she secretly wrote down the name of the sender. In less than half a day, the investigation team had found out this person's identity.
Qin An stood up, patted Yang Heng on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go. It's our turn."
The boy in the white T - shirt had just dropped the letter into the mailbox. When he turned around and saw the two of them, he was startled for a moment, and his expression became uneasy.
Yang Heng frowned and took out his ID while saying seriously, "We need you to cooperate with our investigation. Is it okay to talk somewhere else?"
Yan Yang's expression instantly froze. Under Yang Heng's imposing gaze, he nodded hesitantly.
The three quickly found a nearby coffee shop. Qin An ordered two Americanos and looked up at Yan Yang. "What would you like to drink?"
"I… I don't mind," Yan Yang said, his head down, his voice very soft.
Yang Heng shifted his gaze and couldn't help but chuckle. The hand on Yan Yang's knee was trembling.
Qin An clasped his hands together and stared directly into Yan Yang's eyes.
"You know Sheng Qingqiu, right?"
It was obvious that Yan Yang swallowed hard. He was thinking about how to answer. "Sheng Qingqiu… You mean the Sheng Qingqiu from Senior Two in our school? Yes, I know her."
"So, the letter you just dropped was for her?"
Yan Yang averted his eyes and gave a soft "hmm".
"We think you may be related to Sheng Qingqiu's death," Qin An said flatly.
Yan Yang's eyes widened in an instant. He slapped the table and stood up. He was very emotional, and his eyes were blood - shot.
"You're saying she… she's dead!!" he roared.
Yang Heng nodded. The boy in front of him slumped back onto the sofa like a deflated balloon.
After a while, they saw the boy's shoulders shaking. He buried his head and let out sobs.
The phone rang for a while.
Jiang Cong answered the call and heard Yang Heng say first, "Professor Jiang, Qin An and I have successfully caught Yan Yang."
"Okay. Do you have any information?" Jiang Cong pulled out a chair and turned on the desk lamp.