Chapter 552: Murder Notice

Ten minutes later, Liu Qin sat in the office, clutching a cup with trembling hands, spilling water everywhere.

Chen Shi sat across from him and asked, “Want a cigarette?”

Liu Qin shakily took one and lit it. Lin Dongxue said, “The authorities didn’t agree to protective custody for you, but if you’re really scared, you can stay here. We won’t restrict your freedom.”

“Thank you!”

“How do you know you’ll be the next target?”

“Look at her QQ status. Check it quickly.”

Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue took out their phones and added Ah Zhen’s QQ number. Her status read, “The loneliness of sorrow, the bones of longing, the withering flowers, one, two, three…”

“Her previous status was something like ‘The flickering flame.’ Last night, I logged on to leave her a message and noticed the change. No one knows her QQ password. This must be a murder notice. I must be the second victim! Absolutely!”

Chen Shi said, “While I don’t fully agree with the murder notice idea, let me correct you. You’d be the third.”

“The third? Is it Ai Guowei?”

“Sun Jun. He’s already dead.”

“Sun Jun?” Liu Qin thought for a moment. “Sun Jun from the foreign languages department? Why him? He never did anything to Ah Zhen!”

“Who is the person you mentioned earlier?”

“Ah Zhen’s brother.”

“Was he bad to Ah Zhen?”

“He was actually very good to her, maybe too good. Being the only male in a single-parent family, he had a lot of authority. When she was in middle school, she was found to have depressive tendencies. Her brother sent her to an unregulated institution for treatment, which only made her more sensitive and fragile. She never dared to express her suicidal thoughts to her family again. She kept everything bottled up inside.” Liu Qin pulled at his hair. “I should have realized she wanted to talk to me that day. You don’t know, she used to confide in me all the time. These past two years at work hardened my heart, made me less sensitive. I thought she should have matured. Now I realize, she never grew up! I killed her!”

Liu Qin pounded his head. Lin Dongxue grabbed his wrist, “Stop blaming yourself. This isn’t just a simple suicide anymore; it’s murder. We need your help.”

Liu Qin wiped his tears and took a sip of water.

Lin Dongxue asked, “Do you know about the fight between Gu Daqiang and Sun Jun?”

“No, they fought? Sun Jun even borrowed money from Gu Daqiang!”

“It was at the farewell party.”

Liu Qin recalled, “Was it because of Ah Zhen?”

“Most likely.”

“I just remember Gu Daqiang announced he was dating Ah Zhen at the farewell party. They had kept it a secret before. Then Gu Daqiang took Ah Zhen to his classmates’ table. The fight probably happened there. Our farewell party wasn’t in the same room.”

“I see. You didn’t know Sun Jun well then?”

“We only interacted after starting work. We had no connection in school.”

Chen Shi asked, “You lent Sun Jun twenty thousand. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“You knew he was a gambler. Why lend him money? Twenty thousand isn’t much for you, but it’s not a small amount either.”

“I knew what kind of person he was, but he begged me desperately, almost knelt down. He said he needed the money to pay off high-interest loans and start over. He had a million in debt. With Gu Daqiang’s persuasion, I lent him twenty thousand, and Gu Daqiang lent him thirty thousand. Honestly, I bled inside lending that money. Can such a person repay? He gambled it away again. After that, I cut ties with him. I’ve done my part as a friend. Let someone else be his victim!”

“So, Gu Daqiang had a good relationship with him.”

“Yes. They fought in college but were friends afterward. It’s fate to work in the same city. I had conflicts with roommates in college, but years later, we were as close as ever.”

Lin Dongxue said to Chen Shi, “The killer being able to access Ah Zhen’s QQ shows they were very close.”

“I think so too.”

“Ah!” Liu Qin suddenly exclaimed, “I remember now. Ah Zhen’s QQ space isn’t open to the public. She wrote diaries there. You should check them for clues!”

The information department couldn’t handle this task. The quickest way was to visit Ah Zhen’s home. Liu Qin insisted on coming along, as he was too scared to stay alone.

At Ah Zhen’s home, Liu Qin knelt at the entrance, bowed three times to the empty room, and murmured, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Lin Dongxue remembered when a boy in her middle school drowned. The shock was indescribable. When death strikes someone close, its weight and suddenness are overwhelming.

Liu Qin’s careless words on WeChat that day led directly to Ah Zhen’s death, causing him immense guilt.

It was Lin Dongxue’s first time at Ah Zhen’s home, which was immaculately clean, with furniture spotless and delicate crafts on the shelves, reflecting the owner’s sensitivity.

She saw a glass jar filled with colorful paper stars. Liu Qin said, “Officer Lin, you can open them.”

Lin Dongxue skeptically took out a few and unfolded them. Each star had neat, beautiful handwriting, saying things like, “I hope Ah Qiang stops swearing. It’s not cool at all,” “I hope his knee heals soon. He’s been frowning and hasn’t smiled at me for three days,” “Seeing Ah Qiang talk to that girl makes me sad. I can’t sleep. Maybe I’m overthinking,” “My world only has him, but his world has many people coming and going. Am I too selfish for wanting to keep him to myself?” “After saying ‘Goodnight,’ I always stare at the chatbox, hoping he’ll say more. If only he knew.”

These fragments revealed a girl’s fragile heart and her intense love for Ah Qiang. Lin Dongxue was moved, thinking of the departed, her eyes welling up.

Chen Shi, observing, said, “Look at her handwriting, tilted to the right, indicating she was very emotional. Also, these letters seem boxed in, showing she had an invisible cage inside her, a severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.”

“Stop it! Who asked for your analysis?” Lin Dongxue pushed him away.

Chen Shi shrugged helplessly. Liu Qin, silently crying, wiped his tears with his sleeve, careful not to let them fall on the notes. “I taught her this. Write wishes on paper, fold them into stars. It makes you feel better.”

“Liu Qin, I didn’t expect you to be so thoughtful. Have you always been gay?”

“I’ve liked boys since middle school. So, Ah Zhen and I were like sisters.”