Chapter 19
Qi Baizi was awakened in the middle of the night by her ringing phone. As she sat up, she was still dazed from her dream. She had dreamt of Gu Yuetong. In the dream, they were painting. Gu Yuetong sat before a canvas, her long hair falling naturally as her slender, fair fingers held a brush, leaving marks on the paper. Beside her stood Qi Baizi, holding a palette of colorful paints.
This was exactly like the scene from yesterday afternoon, but with one difference: in the dream, Gu Yuetong suddenly turned around and asked with a soft laugh if she wanted to paint with her.
“I don’t know how…” Qi Baizi refused. She was good at technical drawing, but not painting.
Gu Yuetong remained gentle. “It’s okay, I can teach you.”
Then, she tentatively took the brush, and Gu Yuetong held her hand. Her hand was enveloped by a warm palm. Qi Baizi’s heart raced, her face flushing… and then she woke up.
The phone on her pillow was buzzing incessantly. She subconsciously grabbed it and sat up, but when she saw the caller ID on the screen, she rubbed her face. Han Zhiyu… why was she calling? And at one in the morning, no less. Qi Baizi was cautious. She remembered their conversation in the car and was now quite wary of this woman. However, just as she was mentally preparing to answer, the call suddenly disconnected.
Qi Baizi smoothed her messy bangs and sent a text back instead, asking: Is something wrong?
As soon as she sent it, Han Zhiyu called again. Qi Baizi hesitated for a moment, then answered. “Hello, you…”
“Xiao Bai, can you come help me?” Han Zhiyu’s hoarse, tearful voice came through. “I’m in the emergency department at Jingshan Hospital.”
“Emergency?” Qi Baizi collected herself. “What happened to you?”
“You’ll know when you get here… I can’t find anyone else.” Han Zhiyu’s tone was humble. “Please.”
The call ended. Qi Baizi quickly jumped out of bed, changed into her outdoor clothes, and hailed a taxi. On the way, she couldn’t stop thinking about why Han Zhiyu would call her. Her mind couldn’t help but conjure up many dramatic, soap-opera-like scenarios. Was she fishing? Using her as bait? She opened the car window, and the lukewarm night wind blew in, clearing her head a little. It wasn’t that she was being overly alert, but their past interactions had been dramatic enough. However, Han Zhiyu probably wasn’t foolish enough to go that far. If she was really messing with her, Qi Baizi thought, she would definitely punch her when she got there.
After getting out of the car, Qi Baizi saw two police cars parked in the lot. She had subconsciously ignored them at first, but then she saw Han Zhiyu standing at the entrance of the emergency department, surrounded by three uniformed police officers. She jogged over and stood by Han Zhiyu’s side.
One of the male police officers saw her youthful face and his expression changed. “This is the friend you were talking about? Is she an adult?”
Qi Baizi looked at Han Zhiyu. Her hair was down, and she was still wearing the same clothes from their meeting that evening. Her makeup was smudged, and she looked haggard. Qi Baizi answered the male officer, “I’m an adult. My name is Qi Baizi, and my ID number is…”
Seeing her earnestly reciting her name, the male officer interrupted, “No need to be so serious.”
A tall female officer beside them took over. “Han Zhiyu said you were chatting with her downstairs at her place around seven o’clock yesterday evening. Is that correct?”
Qi Baizi nodded truthfully.
“Alright. I can see she’s not in a good state, so I asked you to come and keep her company. Thanks for making the trip.”
The female officer signaled for the male officer to take notes, then led Qi Baizi and Han Zhiyu into the emergency department building. They stopped at one point. A nurse passed by, and the female officer lowered her voice and asked, “I’ll confirm one more time. Are you sure you didn’t use any violence against your father, Han Zheng, tonight?”
Han Zhiyu nodded timidly. Although Qi Baizi didn’t know what had happened, she could see that Han Zhiyu was genuinely terrified and hadn’t recovered yet.
“I was just going to take off my makeup when I heard him rummaging through my things. I wanted to stop him, but he rushed at me with a knife… I dodged, and he suddenly harmed himself.”
“Have you and your father had any incidents before?”
“Our relationship has always been very bad…” Han Zhiyu glanced at Qi Baizi and said in a small voice, “He has always been a gambler. After my mother passed away, I went to university in Jingzhou, and we’ve had almost no contact for so many years.”
“When we did have contact, it was always… for money.”
Han Zhiyu lowered her eyes. Qi Baizi noticed she was trembling and gave the female officer a look. The female officer understood her meaning. She had asked most of what she needed to, so she had the two male officers from outside come in.
“Go ask about the patient’s condition.”
“Yes, sir.” The two glanced at Han Zhiyu and muttered as they walked away, “What kind of normal person would stab themselves in the chest? There’s definitely something wrong here.”
“Come back!”
The female officer shouted, “Is this the place to discuss the case?”
The two froze, exchanged a look, and stood at attention. “Sorry, ma’am. It won’t happen again.”
The female officer glared at them and ordered, “I’m taking the suspect to survey the scene. You two keep an eye on things here. Call me if anything happens.”
With that, she turned and walked out. Qi Baizi pushed Han Zhiyu along to follow her. Once in the police car, the female officer’s attitude changed. She asked Han Zhiyu, “Where do you live?”
“Zhichun Garden, Building 103.”
“Nice location,” the female officer remarked, then asked Qi Baizi, “Have you been there?”
“No.”
Qi Baizi answered flatly, “We’re not that close.”
Zhichun Garden, a property within the third ring road, right near Qi Baizi’s university. The sale price was unknown, but the rent was as high as one hundred thousand yuan per month. It was nothing to the wealthy, but for a working-class person like Qi Baizi, it was a lifetime away. It was obvious that this was one of the two apartments Gu Hezhu had given to Han Zhiyu. The thought of Gu Hezhu made Qi Baizi’s attitude turn colder.
The female officer drove in the front, while Han Zhiyu trembled beside her. Qi Baizi had initially believed the testimony Han Zhiyu provided to the police, but her excessive nervousness made Qi Baizi frown and suddenly have some doubts. She took out her phone and sent a text to Han Zhiyu: Are you telling the truth?
Han Zhiyu was stunned for a moment after seeing it, wiped away her tears, and nodded at Qi Baizi. Qi Baizi texted again: I suggest you tell the truth.
Han Zhiyu was silent for a moment, then turned off her phone. Qi Baizi glanced at her, not knowing what to say.
There was no traffic late at night. Jingshan Hospital was ten kilometers from the Zhichun Garden community, and the road was clear. A little over ten minutes later, they arrived at Han Zhiyu’s home, the crime scene. As they entered, there was still a pool of blood on the floor. The forensic police had already examined the scene and were surprised to see them return.
“Just report truthfully.”
After arranging for Qi Baizi and Han Zhiyu to rest in the master bedroom, the female officer closed the door and asked her colleague, “How is it?”
“There are no signs of a struggle at the scene. There are no extra fingerprints on the knife handle or the victim’s outer clothing. According to the report sent back from the hospital by the forensic examiner, the angle and depth of the wound are indeed consistent with a self-inflicted cut.”
The female officer was stunned. “So it matches her testimony?”
Her colleague moved closer and asked in a low voice, “Ma’am, do you think there’s a problem?”
“I don’t know, it’s very strange,” the female officer frowned. “Let’s investigate further.”
“By the way, is the victim’s blood test report out yet?”
“Not yet, I’ll push them again.”
***
In the bedroom, Han Zhiyu was curled up on the bed, motionless. Qi Baizi leaned against the bay window, staring at her. Han Zhiyu had calmed down considerably by now. Sensing Qi Baizi’s gaze, she moved her dry lips. “Do you suspect I stabbed him?”
Qi Baizi said, “I didn’t think that.”
“Then what’s with that expression?”
Qi Baizi looked down at her feet, which were on the finely decorated hardwood floor.
“I’m jealous you live in such a nice house, okay?”
As she spoke, she squatted down and knocked on the floor. Han Zhiyu shot up from the bed. “What are you doing?”
Qi Baizi looked up. “I’m curious about the decor.”
Han Zhiyu’s eyes darted away as she sat back down on the bed. “Be curious then. I’m curious too. This house is beautifully furnished, everything is great, except the floor isn’t very solid.”
Qi Baizi stood up, dusted her hands, and asked, “Why don’t you redecorate?”
“No money.”
“Alright.” Qi Baizi started walking toward the living room. Before opening the door, she turned back and asked Han Zhiyu, “Want some water?”
Han Zhiyu nodded. When Qi Baizi came out, the female officer who had brought them was on the phone, her expression serious. She stood by the door, her eyes fixed on Qi Baizi. Qi Baizi picked up a paper cup from the table, poured some water, and then stood still. When the female officer hung up and walked over, Qi Baizi suddenly spoke, “If she tells the truth now, can it be overlooked?”
The female officer looked at her colleagues around her, sighed, and said, “Before we officially question her, it can all be considered a confession.”
Qi Baizi acknowledged with a grunt and carried the water back into the bedroom. She didn’t hand the water to Han Zhiyu. Instead, she held it and squatted down in front of the loose, warped floorboard.
“Tell me, if I pour this cup of water down, would it count as destroying evidence?”
“You!”
Han Zhiyu got out of bed, trying to snatch the paper cup from her. Qi Baizi took a step back, raised her arm high, and asked, “Are you going to talk or not?”
“…” Han Zhiyu remained silent.
Qi Baizi smiled. “The police outside already know. They asked me to tell you that if you tell the truth now, it can be counted as a confession.”
Han Zhiyu’s eyes reddened, and she bit her lip. “But I have a sister who’s currently serving in the army… What do you want her to do?”
Qi Baizi was silent for a moment, then lowered her eyes. “I don’t know about that, but you no longer have a choice.”
After a few seconds of stalemate, Han Zhiyu closed her eyes. Qi Baizi opened the door. The female officer came in, and she left with the water cup. A sound came from the bedroom, and the forensic police swarmed in.
Han Zhiyu was taken away, and Qi Baizi also gave a statement before taking a taxi home. She had thought it was a secret matter, but Gu Yuetong called her early in the morning to ask about what had happened overnight. It turned out that the apartment Han Zhiyu lived in was previously under Gu Hezhu’s name. The police had found that the ownership had been transferred not long ago, so they contacted the Gu Residence. Coincidentally, Gu Yuetong had been summoned back to the Gu Residence by Gu Hezhu for a talk in the middle of the night. After they finished their chat in the morning, Gu Hezhu went back to bed, and Gu Yuetong received a call from the police, who also mentioned Qi Baizi.
Qi Baizi had been planning to catch up on sleep. Gu Yuetong heard the tone of her voice and said, “You can rest first.”
Qi Baizi said, “No need. It’s tough to make people wait.”
“What I know is pretty much the same as what the police said. Han Zhiyu’s father, Han Zheng, was selling… illegal substances. Han Zhiyu was afraid it would affect her sister, so she hid this fact.”
“As for Han Zheng’s injury, the initial judgment is that it was caused by hallucinations after he consumed an excessive amount of illegal substances.”
Gu Yuetong was silent for a moment, then asked, “You weren’t implicated, were you?”
“No,” Qi Baizi said. “They let me go after I gave my statement.”
After thinking for a moment, she asked, “Does the Chairman know about this?”
“No, she’s still sleeping.” Gu Yuetong was curious. “Why, are you worried she’ll fire Han Zhiyu when she finds out?”
“…Not really.” Qi Baizi hesitated for a moment, then told Gu Yuetong about Han Zhiyu coming to find her last night. Now that she was Gu Yuetong’s person, Han Zhiyu was not on their side. Gu Yuetong had the right to know.
“President Gu, don’t be angry. Hasn’t the Chairman always been like this? It doesn’t matter to me. Please don’t get into a conflict with her, to avoid trouble for yourself.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I’ve accepted it,” Qi Baizi said.
After a long time, Gu Yuetong uttered, “You’ve been wronged.”