Chapter 322: I Have a Death Note

Lin Dongxue and Xu Xiaodong arrived at Chenghai Sixth Middle School, where the incident occurred. Although classes were supposed to be in session, the school was eerily quiet. Walking past each classroom, Lin Dongxue remarked, “Are they all in self-study?”

“Something’s off. There’s clearly writing on the blackboards,” Xu Xiaodong noted.

A boy leaning on the window asked excitedly, “Wow, are you a police officer, pretty lady?”

The students crowded around the window to get a glimpse of Lin Dongxue. She asked, “Where are your teachers?”

Boy A replied, “They were teaching, but when they heard the police were here, they left.”

Boy B added, “The principal told them not to talk to the media, so whenever police or journalists come, they hide in their offices.”

Boy C chimed in, “Are you here to see Fan Lixue?”

“Yes, where is she?” Lin Dongxue asked.

The boys suddenly started pushing the responsibility onto each other, “You go get her!” “No, you go!”

Finally, a boy came over, knocking the back of their heads and telling them to get back to their seats. He then turned to Lin Dongxue, “Officers, please don’t stand here. You’re disrupting the class. You can wait in an empty classroom on the second floor. I’ll bring Fan Lixue to you.”

“Thank you,” Lin Dongxue said.

Lin Dongxue and Xu Xiaodong went to the empty classroom. Soon, the boy arrived with Fan Lixue. Lin Dongxue thought he must be a class leader. He introduced himself, “I’m Song Hui. If you want to know about the class, you can ask me. The teachers are too scared to talk, so as the class leader, I act as the spokesperson.”

This young leader was clearly used to dealing with reporters. Lin Dongxue said, “Let’s exchange contact information.”

After exchanging details, Song Hui returned to his class. Fan Lixue, a frail girl with a bruised lip, looked at the officers with a calm, indifferent gaze.

“What happened to your lip?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“I got hit.”

“Who hit you?”

“Wang Chang’s mom. She said I was a jinx!” Fan Lixue smiled wryly. Wang Chang was one of the five deceased. “I know why you’re here. You think I had a motive to kill, right? Do the police already believe I killed them?”

“We don’t think that. We just want to understand some things.”

“Go ahead, ask me if I killed them.”

“I know…”

“Ask!”

Lin Dongxue was a bit confused and glanced at Xu Xiaodong. He mouthed, “Let me ask.” Lin Dongxue nodded slightly.

As soon as Xu Xiaodong started, Fan Lixue interrupted, “Uncle, ask me if I killed them. I promise I’ll tell you the truth!”

“I’m not an uncle…”

“Ask. If you ask, I’ll tell you!”

“Alright, did you kill them?”

“Yes, I killed them!” Fan Lixue smiled gleefully.

“How did you kill them?”

“I have a Death Note. Write a name, and they’ll die. They bullied me, so even Death couldn’t stand it and gave me the notebook.”

“A Death Note?” Lin Dongxue whispered.

“It’s from an anime. A notebook where writing a name causes death,” Xu Xiaodong explained. Then he asked Fan Lixue, “Can I see the notebook?”

“You really want to see it? Don’t regret it!”

“Why would I? Will touching it let me see Death? I’d love to see what he looks like!”

Fan Lixue giggled and waved at an empty spot next to her, “Death is right here. See him? Scared yet?”

Lin Dongxue felt Fan Lixue was making things up, but how to find a breakthrough? She thought of the connection between the two cases and asked, “Where do you live?”

“Jianshapin.”

“That’s quite far. You take the subway every day after school?”

“Yes, every day.”

“On May 7th, you took the subway, right? Do you know what happened at Chenghai Road Station that day?”

Everyone knew about it, yet Fan Lixue seemed nervous. She stammered, “Uh… three people got hit by a train, right?”

Lin Dongxue sensed something. She had a vague suspicion that Fan Lixue couldn’t have done this alone. Someone must have helped her. Could she have met this person that day?

Although Lin Dongxue couldn’t visually detect lies, she leaned forward, staring intently at Fan Lixue, applying subtle pressure. “Fan Lixue, I want you to tell me everything you did after school on May 7th.”

“Sis, I already told you I have a Death Note. Why don’t you believe me?”

“I didn’t say I don’t believe you. I’m asking what you did after school on May 7th. You can choose not to tell me, but if you lie and we find out, we’ll come back to you.”

“…..”

“You admitted to killing, so why can’t you tell us this? Is it more serious than murder?”

Fan Lixue made a face and tried to act nonchalant. “I sold my soul to Death that day.”

“Really?” Lin Dongxue took out a notebook. “Where did you meet Death? What did he look like? What did he say?”

“Death was… outside the subway station. He had big wings and flew down from the sky. He asked if I wanted a Death Note…”

Fan Lixue started making things up. Lin Dongxue seriously took notes, occasionally interrupting to confirm details. “Did Death call himself Ryuk?” “Didn’t you say you had to touch the notebook to see Death? This contradicts your earlier story.”

Fan Lixue was sweating, trying to keep up with her own lies. Xu Xiaodong was puzzled. Why was Lin Dongxue taking her seriously even though she knew it was all made up? Was this a strategy to draw out more information?

Thinking back, Lin Dongxue used to be as green as he was. But since working with Chen Shi, she had become much more composed and adept at handling various situations. This made Xu Xiaodong feel a mix of jealousy and a sense of being left behind.

After nearly an hour, Lin Dongxue closed her full notebook. “We’ll verify what you said and come back to you.”

Fan Lixue looked uncomfortable. She had been waiting for Lin Dongxue to break and admit it was all a lie, but Lin Dongxue had played along. Was this officer really foolish or too smart?

Fan Lixue reluctantly said, “Sure, check all you want. Everything I said is true.”

“Let’s exchange contact information,” Lin Dongxue said, pulling out her phone.