Pure Darkness

Chapter 31

Our team interrogated three survivors and, therefore, became suspects. Conflicting answers. . . Where does the truth lie? There's obviously something to hide, and hopefully it won't take long for the Scooby Gang to figure out the truth. As a bonus, Ding Mo has given us an idea of the future! Read to the end to feel ‘family life’ Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao

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Their third destination was the Wen Xiaohua dormitory. His bed was slightly dirty, worse than Xu Sheng's bed, but still better than Lu Ji's bed. The walls are filled with class schedules, several animated festival flyers, and images from pictorial magazines featuring sportswear brands backed by various celebrities.

On the bookshelf there are several books on entrance exams for graduate programs, as well as several motivational books. The table's pretty messy, but not dirty. The closet contained several white T-shirts, as well as several cartoon T-shirts, and shorts. Under the table was a pair of sports shoes.

After leaving Nan Hua University, they parted ways and visited the apartment rented by two graduated people, Jiang Xueran and Rong Xiaofeng.

Rong Xiaofeng and a female schoolmate shared the rent. He lives in the restroom. The later is pink, and many of her cosplay photos are taped to the wall. The room was a little messy and dirty. Dirty clothes had been thrown into the corner, and were still not washed. The cupboard is cream. All the clothes inside look cheap, but the design is elegant and trendy, and the clothes are colorful.

Bo Jinyan noticed that there were several green plant pots on the balcony, so she asked her housemate, “Whose plant is this?”

The girl replied, “Oh . . . I'm taking care of them.”

“This was not planted by Rong Xiaofeng?”

When the girl heard the news of Rong Xiaofeng's death, she was shocked. Still a little numb, he replied, “No. . .he won't plant a plant. He . . .he has no patience for this kind of thing. She just loves cosplay and listening to music.”

It seemed that Jiang Xueran's financial situation was relatively better than the others, as he had rented a one-room apartment by himself. However, the location is quite far away, and the apartment is old. The apartment block was built in the nineties, and has a long corridor that runs down the middle of each floor, with small rooms on either side. Jiang Xueran's apartment could be said to be neat. There are some shirts and pants that are quite expensive hanging in the closet. However, the color scheme in the apartment was plain and cold, without much decoration. It seems like he didn't make much changes to the apartment when he rented it. Most of his clothes were also black, white, and gray. There was nothing on his bookshelf other than a few books related to the job market and finance.

After he left Jiang Xueran's apartment, Bo Jinyan asked Jian Yao, “Can you see it clearly?”

Jian Yao replied, “Ya, it's clear.”

“I already know the secret they are hiding,” Bo Jinyan said. “The three of them all lied.”

Jian Yao said, “I think I also know what it is.”

Bo Jinyan smiled faintly. “‘Bunga’ criminal psychology blooms right in front of my eyes.”

——

In the interrogation room, a white light, silent and loud.

The first person to be interrogated was Wen Xiaohua.

One must choose a soft persimmon to squeeze – this has always been Fang Qing's strategy.

Wen Xiaohua was much calmer than the night before. However, Fang QIng was well aware that, for a boy with such a weak character like this, the calmness was only a thin layer of paper. One little prick, and it'll rip.

“When did you join Yueying Animation Studio?” Fang Qing asked flatly.

Wen Xiaohua replied, “Last year. . .in the first half of the year.”

“At that time, how many people were in the animation studio?”

“Three, or two. Only Rong Xiaofeng and Jiang Xueran.”

“What is your main responsibility in the animation studio?”

“MY . . . I am responsible for playing the role of shotacon *, and I do miscellaneous work.”

*T/N (zheng tai) – cute young boys, from Japanese loan word shotacon

Fang Qing frowned for a moment. “ Shotacon ?”

An Yan quietly approached her and whispered an explanation. Fang Qing relaxed his brows, and nodded.

“The day before the incident, you bought water from the convenience store and brought it back to the studio. Has anyone seen you do this?”

Wen Xiaohua's face immediately flushed slightly. “I, I don't pay attention to anyone.”

“Did you stop somewhere for a while?”

“No!”

. . . . .

Gradually, touch on more sensitive topics.

Fang Qing looked directly at him. “Are you sure no outsider can have the studio” key

Wen Xiaohua replied, “It shouldn't be possible.”

“But the poison is placed in the water,” said An Yan lightly. “In addition to the two who died, only the three of you have access to the water.”

Wen Xiaohua immediately panicked. “I don't know! That's definitely not me! That's not me! Why would I want to poison them, me, me. . . I really didn't know something like this would happen.”

Fang Qing cut him off. “Then who do you think poisoned the water?” Her cold tone made Wen Xiaohua tremble.

“ME . . . don't know.”

“There must be such a person,” Fang Qing continued, “because the poison is unlikely to enter into the mineral water bottle by itself. Wen Xiaohua, you should be clear about this – poison found in all water bottles. If you are hiding information now, who knows, maybe next time the killer strikes, you might be the victim!”

Wen Xiaohua shivered.

After quite a long silence, he lifted his head, and said, “. . . Jiang Xueran.”

Fang Qing and An Yan remained silent.

Now, Wen Xiaohua could not calm down. He stuttered, “Jiang Xueran! In our group, he's the coldest! If . . . If there really was someone who poisoned the water, it wasn't an outsider, it would have been him!”

“Why do you suspect him? What motive did he have to kill everyone? ” Fang Qing asked slowly.

Wen Xiaohua stared blankly for a moment, then lowered her head. “I don't know. You said there had to be someone.”

Fang Qing and An Yan exchanged glances, but remained silent.

“One last question.” Fang Qing took something from the drawer. It was the little monk ornament that Bo Jinyan found in the studio studio, which had been cleaned. She asked, “Who bought this jewelry?”

Wen Xiaohua moved her lips before replying, “I don't really remember. Maybe . . Maybe it belongs to Lu Ji.”

——

The second person to be interrogated was Xu Sheng.

This girl as had been observed before. He sat quietly and was a little nervous behind the table, and answered all of Fang Qing's questions with a short statement.

“When did you join Yueying Animation Studio?”

“September last year.”

“At that time, how many people?”

“Three.”

“Yang three?”

“Rong Xiaofeng, Jiang Xueran, Wen Xiaohua.”

“On the day of the incident, what did you do?”

“Does someone do makeup for all of you?”

“No. We have no money to hire someone, so we do it ourselves.”

Fang Qing asked, “Did you notice if anyone touched the water? There are only five of you in the studio.”

Xu Sheng bit his lower lip, and said, “I didn't notice it. Wen Xiaohua bought the water.”

“Oh?” Fang Qing asked. “So, you suspect Wen Xiaohua?”

Xu Sheng shook his head. “I don't suspect him. He has no reason to kill us.”

Fang Qing once again asked, “Then, who do you think put poison in the water? There must be someone; the poison cannot get into the bottle by itself.”

Xu Sheng hesitated before replying, “I don't know.”

“The poison is in all water bottles,” An Yan said. “Do not hide anything from us. Otherwise, the killer might target you next time, then what will you do?”

Xu Sheng's face paled, but he remained silent.

“. . . .Jiang Xueran,” he said slowly.

“Why?” Fang Qing asked.

“His character is more selfish, and he does not really talk about affection or friendship.”

“Why did he kill someone?”

Xu Sheng paused for a moment before replying, “I don't know. But it can't be Wen Xiaohua or myself.”

Finally, Fang Qing took out the ornament once more. “Whose jewelry is this?”

Xu Sheng looked at it without saying anything.

“It cost more than two hundred dollars (about US$30); it's quite expensive.”

“It belongs to Wen Xiaohua,” Xu Sheng said.

——

Compared to Wen Xiaohua and Xu Sheng, Jiang Xueran looked extremely calm, and even showed a somewhat unconcerned attitude.

“Animated studio started by you?” Fang Qing asked.

Jiang Xueran paused for a moment, then said, “Ya. I started with Xiaofeng. I never thought something like this would happen.”

“On the day of the incident, what did you do?”

“What else can I do? It was the biggest animated show of the year. I organized the members as they prepared to perform and kept busy. The water was bought by Wen Xiaohua; I did not touch it.”

“I heard that your group will soon be disbanded?” Fang Qing asked.

Jiang Xueran sighed and said, “Ya. Officers, you know, we all graduated or have graduated, and have to work. Things like animation and cosplay – it's okay to have fun with this during university. Once a person starts working, where will he have energy? In addition, the cost is high, and you do not earn much. ”

“Does anyone disagree?” An Yan asked.

Jiang Xueran replied, “No, everyone agrees. We all have to survive, and we all need to eat.”

“Who do you think put poison in the water?” Fang Qing casually slipped the question. “You are all convinced that only the five of you have the key. Only the three of you can access the mineral water to enter the poison.”

To An Yan and Fang Qing's surprise, Jiang Xueran showed no doubt and inner struggle from the other two. Without the slightest hesitation in his voice, he replied, “That is Xu Sheng.”

“Why?” Fang Qing asked.

Jiang Xueran laughed grimly before replying, “Who knows? He was very antisocial, and no one knew what he was thinking. Wen Xiaohua had no guts. Since there is no one else, it must be him!”

Fang Qing lifted his teacup to drink some tea, and did not say anything. An Yan also continued to look down and type. Jiang Xueran looked at the two of them, and his face turned red slowly. “You suspect me?”

“Not that we suspect you,” said Fang Qing. “Among your colleagues, someone suspects you.”

Jiang Xueran looked extremely angry, and cynically said, “I? Am I a spender who has too much free time? Why would I want to kill them? This is definitely an attempt to slander me! It must be Xu Sheng, it was the only correct answer, only he could do it. Also . .” Something seemed to attack him suddenly. “If not Xu Sheng, have you ever thought that maybe two people died, Lu Ji and Rong Xiaofeng? You can't be sure that it's not one of them that put poison in the water, so that someone else will die with them, or to shift the blame onto us! Isn't this the kind of plot that happens on detective shows on television? Anyway, it wasn't me! I have to be really sick to kill people!”

Fang Qing did not react to his agitated outburst. Instead, he once again took out the ornament and asked, “Who bought this?”

Jiang Xueran stared blankly for a moment, then stared at the top of the table. “Maybe . . . Rong Xiaofeng.”

—————————

(A small drama completely unrelated to – story about ‘ tidying up’ household that happened years later)

Jian Yao was the type of person who liked tidying things up. Their house is always bright and clean*, with everything in its place. Although Bo Jennyan was not the one doing the cleaning work, she was basically quite chatty, and liked everything neat and tidy. Thus, the case files and clothes should be neatly arranged.

*T/N (chuang ming ji jing) – literally, window cleaning and table cleaning.

However, one day. . .

Jian Yao suddenly realized that her son, Bao Jian's room, was always falling apart. Books were placed carelessly and clothes scattered. Every time he entered the room, it was like walking into another world.

Jian Yao asked Bo Jinyan, “This careless child, who do you think he is after?”

Bo Jinyan approached this matter very academically. “He who is lying down with a dog wakes up with a tick*. Is there someone we associate so closely like this? ”

*T/N (jin zhu zhe chi) – part of Chinese proverb, , (jin zhu zhe chi, jin mo zhe hey) – if you work with cinnabar, you will do it stained red; if you work with ink, you will be stained with black which is one of the products of the environment of a person.

The two thought of the same person simultaneously, and also remembered how that person and Bao Jian were good friends despite their different ages. No wonder they always felt deja vu when walking into Bao Jian's restroom!

Jian Yao was somewhat disappointed. “Definitely because Bao Jian has been playing with his ‘ siblings’ An Yan for too long. Just look at An Yan's place, it was as messy as a pile of weeds. Gosh, I don't want my son to be an old bachelor otaku in the future!”

Bo Jinyan smiled faintly. “Don't worry about that, I'll talk to him. It's my responsibility as his father.”

Night time.

The father and son sat facing each other.

Bo Jinyan said, “Don't learn An Yan gege's bad habits, like his recklessness. Ah, every time I walk into your room, I feel like I'm logged into TKP.”

Bao Jian said nonchalantly, “That's my way of life.”

“Betulkah? You want to live the life of an old bachelor otaku in the future?

“As if it wasn't your situation back then.”

“You must be kidding me! Don't you know that, when I chased after your mother, An Yan was still counting his gaming credits on the computer? ”

After a moment of silence, Bao Jian opened the drawer. It was filled to the brim with a stack of fragrant and luxurious stationery.

Bo Jinyan was stunned.

Bao Jian said casually, “This is just a love letter I received this semester. If I want to be in a relationship, it's possible at any time. Ah, Dad, let me ask you, did you receive a love letter while you were studying?

Bo Jinyan was silent for a while before replying, “Sorry, I don't want to continue this conversation.”

Bao Jian said, “Obviously, neither do I.”