Chapter 9: Jealousy (8)

“I’m very sorry, Shengsheng,” Song Qingxiu said apologetically inside the café, looking at the woman across from him. “It’s safer to have someone accompany you home these days.”

He secretly hoped she would ask him to go with her.

But all their plans were shattered by the sudden arrival of a man.

Xi Jinyuan sat beside Jiang Shengsheng with familiar puppy-like eyes, propping his chin as he spoke to Song Qingxiu: “No need to trouble you, senior. I’ll take her home.”

His obedient smile seemed provocative in Song Qingxiu’s eyes. “After all, the student council is quite busy, so I won’t disturb you.”

Originally hesitant, Jiang Shengsheng nodded in agreement. “Jinyuan’s right. I won’t trouble Senior Song.”

Song Qingxiu was speechless.

Sitting quietly, watching their backs as they left, he clenched and loosened his grip on his cup, a dark gleam flashing in his sharp eyes.

How could a mere minor character dare to steal her away from him?

Unaware of Song Qingxiu’s thoughts, Jiang Shengsheng wearily accepted the sleep-inducing aromatherapy Xi Jinyuan handed her.

“Sis, after something this big happened, you didn’t even call,” Xi Jinyuan pouted affectionately, leaning over to pinch her nose. “Have you found out who did it?”

The school took the matter seriously, but since it was late, the old security cameras only showed a figure dressed in black with a gas mask—no way to identify them personally yet.

Jiang Shengsheng shook her head. “Don’t worry. He’s been spooked and will probably hide for a while.”

Xi Jinyuan didn’t agree but said nothing, silently resolving to accompany her every time she went home.

Perhaps because Jiang Shengsheng’s intuition was right, Wang Dali and the others didn’t make another move, and she couldn’t find any evidence linking them.

The turmoil gradually gave way to final exams.

By June, time seemed to fly even faster.

In the classroom, the chill from the air conditioner brushed her skin. With twelve minutes before class, Jiang Shengsheng habitually opened the campus app and started scrolling.

One post caught her eye—“What kind of heartless beast tortures cats! The stench of death is unbearable!”

Universities often had many furry seniors, jokingly called “Ladies’ Men” or “Brother Teasers.”

United in outrage, Jiang Shengsheng clicked the post and froze when she saw the familiar dorm building number.

According to the poster, a foul, indescribable stench had been wafting through the restroom window lately, making them gag uncontrollably.

Unable to bear it, they rushed downstairs, sniffing around carefully until they noticed something buried beneath dead branches and leaves inside a brick enclosure—a tail?

The maggot-infested tail emitted a terrible stench that brought tears to their eyes and made them vomit acid.

It turned out the golden shaded cat that had been dead for months was discovered, flies buzzing incessantly as they crawled out of the soil.

Jiang Shengsheng’s expression darkened as she quickly forwarded the post to Song Qingxiu and the others.

He replied instantly: “We’re investigating. Suspicion is normal.”

Back in the dorm, Song Qingxiu put down his phone and looked at the locked metal box on his desk.

He had suspected memory loss earlier, so he searched carefully today and found the locked box behind a stack of books in the cupboard.

The box was secured with a four-digit combination lock. Unfortunately, he hadn’t succeeded after several attempts.

He had a hunch the contents would significantly advance the case and might shed light on the true murderer of Song Wu.

This was a puzzle game, and each player had three chances to submit a solution.

The current case: Who is the real killer of Song Wu?

Previously, when they gathered with Zhu Dan and others, they had submitted “Wang Dali,” “Monkey,” and “Liuliu” as suspects but failed as expected.

When Jiang Shengsheng sent the message, Song Qingxiu was still racking his brain over the code.

The dormitory’s feng shui might really be bad, he thought bitterly after drinking some cold boiled water. Looks like he’d have to find Monkey again.

Just as he left the dorm, his phone buzzed. Song Qingxiu answered: “…There’s a result? I’ll be there, explain in detail.”

After more than two weeks, the drug powder they sent for analysis finally had a result.

Striding into the student council office, Song Qingxiu scanned the room instinctively but didn’t see the familiar figure he longed for, his heart tightening.

Zhu Dan and the others, unaware of Song Qingxiu’s unease, waved him over.

Taking the forensic report from them, Song Qingxiu skimmed it quickly as they chatted excitedly.

“As expected, Song Wu’s death wasn’t simple.”

“What kind of connections can buy hallucinogens? This dp’s got some serious stuff, probably hallucinated.”

“Zhang Dali definitely knows. If we use this to pressure him, it should work, right?”

Song Qingxiu continued to skim through.

The powder was finally identified as a hallucinogen, lethal in large doses.

A light dose would induce temporary hallucinations, floating consciousness, extreme adrenaline release, brain excitement, causing loss of reason and awareness, blurring reality and illusion.

In short, it was a plot to murder Song Wu.

“Let’s question them separately,” Song Qingxiu tapped the desk. “A cornered rabbit will bite. We can’t let this end in mutual destruction.”

The clues were becoming clear—

A Liao, Zhang Dali, and Liuliu colluded with a powerful figure behind Monkey’s back, using hallucinogens to cause Song Wu’s fatal car accident, ruled accidental death.

But the motive of the mastermind and the true killer behind those three remained unknown.

“By the way,” Song Qingxiu said, no longer hiding as the case neared its end, “I lost some memories and found the locked metal box in his dorm.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? What if it’s an important clue!” the boy with the braid grumbled.

Zhu Dan intervened, “Enough! We’re almost done. Don’t get stuck on this. We need to piece the story together and finish the case.”

They gathered around the box, studying it for a while. The braided boy said, “Just cut it open. By the time you remember, it’ll be too late.”

Violent force was not his preferred method, as damaging the contents would be a huge loss.

They split up: Song Qingxiu and Zhu Dan went to find Zhang Dali; the braided boy and others went to corner the two-faced Liuliu.

They found Zhang Dali quickly, but the others came up empty.

“Where do you think Liuliu went?!” the braided boy demanded coldly of Monkey, who was casually eating takeout with his legs crossed.

Monkey snorted and slurped his noodles. “Deaf? I told you Liuliu went out. How the hell should I know where he went?”

The braided boy cursed under his breath and strode out the door.

Meanwhile, Liuliu sat on a park bench, his gaze burning with madness as he stared at the nearby traffic lights.

Soon, the only witness, Jiang Shengsheng, would accompany her boyfriend Song Wu downstairs.

No one would ever learn his secret again.