What was Qin Sisi's true motive?
The police hadn't contacted me yet. Before that, Qin Sisi had given me three million yuan and specifically told Yu Xiaoluo that I had spent it myself. From Yu Xiaoluo's perspective, I was using my own money to cooperate with the police investigation, and everything I did was to be a lone hero.
But from my perspective, it was different; it was Qin Sisi who gave me the three million. What did she really want? Was she trying to drag me into trouble with three million yuan? She really didn't need to do that; she had plenty of other ways to pull me in.
...
Just as I was lost in thought, the front desk called me, saying I had a package.
A package?
Who would send a package to a hotel?
I went downstairs and collected the package. It was an envelope. Feeling it, I could tell there was something like a ring inside. Back in my room, I immediately opened the package. Inside was a photograph and a thumb ring.
I had seen this thumb ring before; it had always been on Li Dazhi's severed hand. He had once boasted that he wanted Brother Shun to cover it in gold. Brother Shun had said the ring was very valuable, but Li Dazhi insisted that he bought it for three hundred yuan from a street vendor in Beijing.
Besides the thumb ring, there was also a photograph.
The background of the photograph was an empty room. The background of the empty room was covered in cracked textures, but these textures seemed to have absorbed enough moisture to nourish many green ferns.
This empty room in the photograph was exactly the same as the empty room logo at the factory.
In front of the empty room stood a man and a woman. The woman was arm-in-arm with the man. The man appeared to be in his thirties and looked a bit shy. The girl, on the other hand, was radiant, about seventeen or eighteen years old, smiling purely and happily.
I knew both the man and the woman. The man was Chen Ashun, and the woman was Qin Sisi.
...
The moment I saw the photograph, my smile felt bitter. I had never imagined that Brother Shun would have a connection with Qin Sisi. Although I had heard more than once that Brother Shun had an old flame, I never thought that this old flame would be Qin Sisi.
Lao Gui had once told me that a scheme didn't have to be about deception; it could also be applied to career, love, and life. I had been manipulated by Qin Sisi from beginning to end because I had always believed that Qin Sisi's scheme was for money. But seeing this photograph, I understood. From the moment I met Qin Sisi, she had never truly smiled. She had saved her purest smile for this man named Chen Ashun.
Chen Ashun was killed by Li Dazhi. Li Dazhi said he threw Chen Ashun's body into the river, but the police never found Chen Ashun's body. Was Chen Ashun really dead?
...
For this reason, I decided to visit Brother Shun's home again. Hongmei was tidying up at home. She was planning to leave Ruili and return to her hometown in the Northeast with her son. I directly asked her about Chen Ashun. Hongmei gave a bitter smile and said, "Brother Shun was a man who valued brotherhood. It was just that Dazhi lost his mind, didn't trust him, and even killed him. Alas~"
The story began about eight or nine years ago. Brother Shun had never pursued Hongmei. The man who was with Hongmei was Li Dazhi, and they lived together without getting married. Later, Hongmei got pregnant and forced Li Dazhi to marry her. Li Dazhi didn't have much money, but he still wanted to get married, so he set his sights on gambling stones. Li Dazhi thought his years of experience would help him get rich overnight, but he lost badly, incurred huge gambling debts, and had three fingers cut off and delivered to Brother Shun. Brother Shun spent all his fortune to save Li Dazhi's life. Ashamed to face Hongmei, Li Dazhi took some money from Brother Shun and illegally crossed into Myanmar.
When Hongmei learned that Li Dazhi had run away, she wanted to have an abortion. It was Brother Shun who saved Li Dazhi's child and then chose to marry Hongmei. They had a prenuptial agreement; it was a fake marriage.
Brother Shun helped Li Dazhi raise the child.
Three years ago, Li Dazhi returned from Myanmar and brought a batch of fake jade roughs, intending to sell them in Ruili. Brother Shun stopped him. Brother Shun didn't want Li Dazhi to deceive people, and he also told Li Dazhi about Hongmei and the child. Li Dazhi was thus determined to use his meager funds to venture into Beijing.
Last year, in late autumn and early winter, Li Dazhi returned from Beijing. Although he didn't mention reconciling with Hongmei, he secretly gave Hongmei several million yuan and bought her a house in their hometown.
Now, with Li Dazhi in trouble, Hongmei was also taking her son back to their new house in her hometown.
...
Hearing this, I decided to ask about Qin Sisi. I took out the photograph and asked Hongmei, "Do you recognize this girl?"
"Yes, I do. She's a kidnapped girl Brother Shun rescued in Myanmar. That year, Brother Shun had just arrived in Ruili. This girl had no parents and lived with Brother Shun after being rescued. There was more than a decade age difference. Brother Shun treated her like a sister, but this little girl kept pestering him, saying she wanted to marry Brother Shun. Later, when Brother Shun made some money, he sent the girl to a business school in Beijing to study."
"What was her name?"
"I don't know her full name, but her nickname was Tiantian, from the character for 'field'."
"What happened to Tiantian later?"
"When Brother Shun rescued me and Dazhi, he was already in a desperate situation himself. Tiantian was tricked again in Beijing and disappeared. After we got married, Brother Shun went to Beijing several times to look for Tiantian, but each time he came back empty-handed."
I understood. Qin Sisi was the Tiantian that Brother Shun was so concerned about. Later, Qin Sisi and Li Dazhi came to Ruili together to set up a scheme. Brother Shun wouldn't have failed to recognize Qin Sisi. It turned out that Brother Shun had always known about Li Dazhi's ability to produce fake roughs and Qin Sisi's scheming. Even Qin Sisi and Li Dazhi's attempt to draw me into the scheme had Brother Shun's indirect involvement.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of this whole affair was Chen Ashun; he should still be alive.
Hongmei didn't know anything else. Li Dazhi had long known about his future, so he had made arrangements in advance, securing a future for Hongmei and their son. Hongmei had a house in her hometown and enough money to live on for the rest of her life if she was frugal. It was no wonder that when she learned from the police that Li Dazhi had killed Chen Ashun, she cried heartbrokenly. She didn't know anything, but she had a reason to cry.
I found Yu Xiaoluo, who had not yet left Ruili, and said earnestly, "I want to meet Li Dazhi and Qin Sisi."
"That's not how it works."
"You can stay and listen. There are no secrets between us. I just want to know about Chen Ashun."
"What do you want to do?"
I lied, "We knew each other. I want to find Chen Ashun's body."
Yu Xiaoluo frowned, "Have you been reading too many martial arts novels? You're always so self-important."
"Please, for the sake of my contributions to this case."
"What if I refuse?"
"You will agree."
Yu Xiaoluo sighed, "We will supervise your conversation throughout."
"That's only right, that's only right."
I met Li Dazhi first. Li Dazhi was very calm upon seeing me, showing no anger about me ruining his plans and getting him imprisoned.
"Where did you hide Brother Shun?" I asked directly as soon as we met. Li Dazhi didn't want to answer and chuckled, saying, "Ask the river god, what would I know?"
"Qin Sisi was the one you brought back from Beijing, wasn't she?"
"Yes, I brought this woman back to cheat money. She sold me out to the police, wanting to escape herself. I should thank you; if it weren't for you, she would have succeeded."
I understood what Li Dazhi meant by his words: "So, you've confessed to all the charges."
Li Dazhi stood up and turned away, saying to Yu Xiaoluo, "I don't want to talk to him." Since Li Dazhi didn't want to talk, I had no choice but to go find Qin Sisi.