June 24, 1994, Friday, Sunny.
Dear Uncle Gu,
You’re not mistaken; this diary entry is indeed addressed to you. By the time you read this, I believe you’ll have learned the whole story. And if I’m not wrong, Ma Na has already returned home. As for Zhou Xijie, I hope he suffered greatly before being strangled to death.
I can imagine your expression as you read these words. I’m sorry to disappoint you. That night in the sewer, I believe everything you said was sincere. I also believe that if I had gone back with you then, you would have cared for and protected me like your own daughter, allowing me to become an ordinary, but normal girl.
Do you know? That was the life I longed for desperately.
So, please believe me when I say that making this choice caused me no less pain than anyone else.
The reason I gave up my last chance to return to a normal life was because of the killer you mentioned.
His name is Vincent. I think he should have a name, not just be called a killer.
During the time I was trapped in the sewer, if it weren’t for Vincent, I might have died long ago. He treated my wounds, gave me food and water, and did everything he could to meet my various needs. He even got beaten bloody for a pair of white sneakers I craved. I don’t know what he saw me as. I only know that when my life had completely hit rock bottom, he alone gave me the courage and hope to keep living. I only know that while he could brutally kill those women, he treated me like a precious treasure. I’m not someone without a sense of right and wrong. However, even if the whole world condemned him as a murderous demon, he was still my only family during those days.
Moreover, Vincent did those terrible things, including to Ma Na, under Zhou Xijie’s orders. So when I witnessed him being murdered by Zhou Xijie, I couldn’t believe he deserved it or that his death was justified, let alone just walk away. Even if I had followed your advice and lived with you, I would never have been happy. I had to do something for him, even if it meant bearing the guilt for the rest of my life.
Uncle Gu, I’m truly sorry for making this choice. But I want you to know that I never personally killed anyone. Not even Ma Na. Even when I could have easily killed her without anyone ever knowing. If saying this can slightly reduce your sense of my guilt, I’ll be content.
Uncle Gu, thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Thank you for the fried eggs you made. Thank you for spending so much energy and time searching for me. Thank you for not treating me as a disposable child. Thank you for letting me feel that I was once so deeply loved.
Lastly, I have one more request. Please thank the aunt you mentioned in the sewer and the girl who once helped me escape in the auditorium.
Uncle Gu, by the time you finish reading this diary, I will have gone to another place. Please don’t continue looking for me. We may meet again, or we may not. But I promise you, I will always remember you, and I will live on well.
Half a month later.
As temperatures continued to rise, more and more people enjoyed outdoor activities. Especially after the recent rains, the Litong River became fully nourished. The once narrow channel widened, and the reeds grew more lush. This area was no longer rarely visited; fishing enthusiasts even had to arrive early at the riverbank to secure the best spots to cast their lines.
Gu Hao stood quietly on the bridge, watching a family of four laughing on the shore. A small tent had been set up with a barbecue grill in front. The older girl was helping her mother prepare skewered meat and various vegetables. The younger boy stood by his father, intently watching him bait the hook.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, it was truly a beautiful scene, even making Gu Hao smile involuntarily.
Behind him, traffic flowed like a shuttle on the wide bridge. A Jeep drove up and slowly parked by the roadside. Tai Wei jumped out of the car and, seeing Gu Hao standing motionless by the railing, hesitated for a moment before quickly walking over.
“I knew you’d be here, old man,” Tai Wei said as he reached Gu Hao’s side. “What are you looking at?”
Gu Hao exhaled deeply, “Nothing much. I’ve got nothing else to do, so I’m just wandering around.”
“We should get you a pager,” Tai Wei said, trying to keep his tone light. “It’d save me from always struggling to find you.”
“No need,” Gu Hao smiled. “Besides you, no one else is looking for me.” He looked up at the sky. “Has your mother left?”
“Yeah, she took an early flight this morning,” Tai Wei said, a bit embarrassed as he scratched his head. “The old lady’s quite trendy, having a travel wedding and all.”
“That’s nice.”
Although Gu Hao’s expression remained calm as usual, Tai Wei still felt a pang of sympathy.
“Uncle Gu, you really can’t blame my mom. She was furious that day. Besides, no one expected Old Wu to show up with a ring and propose on his knees. With all those women egging her on, anyone would have given in…”
“It’s alright,” Gu Hao lowered his head. “Teacher Wu is a good man, and your mother always had a soft spot for him. We…” He suddenly put on a stern face. “Who are you calling ‘Old Wu’? When they come back, you’ll have to start calling him Dad.”
“That’s impossible,” Tai Wei pouted. “I only have two fathers: my birth father and my godfather.”
“You little rascal, just wait for your mother to deal with you,” Gu Hao shook his head. “How are things going on your end?”
“We didn’t find anything special at Zhou Xijie’s house,” Tai Wei suddenly looked proud. “Later, I had a stroke of genius and discovered a large number of photos and videotapes in a camera cabinet in the No. 4 Middle School auditorium—guess what they were?”
“What?”
“They were all of that damn vagrant abusing the three victims, from rape to murder, nothing left out,” Tai Wei clicked his tongue. “It made our deputy chief vomit. Can you imagine how disgusting it was?”
“Zhou Xijie filmed it?”
“That’s right. He kept the key to that cabinet,” Tai Wei nodded. “His wife told us that Zhou Xijie had always been quite repressed at her home, and he became impotent in their marital life quite early. Apart from work, he spent most of his time in a rented studio. So, we suspect that he approached the victims, lured them to the rental house, where the vagrant raped and killed them while he filmed. Finally, the vagrant dumped the bodies in that stormwater retention pool—we did find the victims’ hair and handprints in the rental house.”
Gu Hao frowned, “Why would he do such a thing?”
“I consulted a criminal psychologist,” Tai Wei pondered. “He suggested that Zhou Xijie’s sexual dysfunction stemmed from his lack of respect and importance in his family status. Only when he had complete control could he satisfy his sexual desires? In other words, he couldn’t perform with his wife, but he could when watching the videos and photos.”
“So,” Gu Hao mused, “Zhou Xijie was the mastermind, and the vagrant was just an accomplice?”
“Yeah,” Tai Wei snorted. “This bastard was very cunning. He had the vagrant do the raping and killing, so his DNA wasn’t found. As for the vagrant, being an idiot, he probably got to satisfy his sexual urges with women, and Zhou Xijie likely gave him other benefits, so he just went along with it blindly.”
“It seems your suspicions back then were correct, kid!”
“Hehe,” Tai Wei gloated again. “I just felt something was off.”
“Your mentor must have been quite embarrassed, right?”
“Not really. To be honest, my mentor is quite a man,” Tai Wei smiled. “He agreed with my thoughts deep down. When the bureau wanted him to close the case earlier, he stubbornly put it on hold. After the case was truly solved, the bureau wanted to promote him, but the old man adamantly refused.”
He sighed, “My mentor is retiring in a couple of years, and I hope he can leave with honor.”
“He is indeed a real man,” Gu Hao nodded. “Find an opportunity to bring him to my place, we’ll have a drink together.”
“No problem,” Tai Wei put his arm around Gu Hao’s shoulders. “He’s heard about your glorious deeds and wants to meet you too.”
“Ah, what I did was nothing,” Gu Hao smiled bitterly, then suddenly remembered something. “How’s Ma Na doing?”
“She’s still in the hospital, and needs some time to recover,” Tai Wei shrugged. “We still can’t mention what happened in the sewer to her. We can’t ask; she just cries and gets upset when we do.”
“What about her father?”
“He’s being dealt with separately. Ma Dongchen doesn’t seem to care though. Even though it was unintentional, he seems quite pleased to have killed the man who was going to harm his daughter.”
Gu Hao made a sound of acknowledgment but said nothing more.
Tai Wei hesitated for a moment, “Speaking of which, Uncle Gu, any news about Su Lin?”
“No.”
“Have her family members come to bother you again?”
“Old Su said I withheld information and wants to hold me legally responsible,” Gu Hao chuckled. “I can’t be bothered with him.”
Tai Wei remained silent for a long while, then sighed.
“I still can’t figure out how a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl could cause so much trouble,” he glanced at Gu Hao. “Ma Na intermittently described some of what happened that day. Su Lin knocked Zhou Xijie unconscious with a stick, tied him to the iron gate, took Zhou Xijie’s mobile phone, got Ma Dongchen’s phone number from Ma Na, then sent her to the stormwater network outlet of the Litong River, and lured Ma Dongchen into the sewer…”
Tai Wei still seemed incredulous, “Is this something a child could do?”
Gu Hao, however, seemed distracted, as if talking to himself, “Indeed.”
“Uncle Gu,” Tai Wei persisted, “What kind of girl was she?”
“Oh?” Gu Hao came back to his senses and pondered for a moment. “A girl who wanted to wear a white dress and become a mermaid princess.”
“What mermaid princess?” Tai Wei was even more confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Gu Hao lowered his head and turned his gaze back to the bridge below.
Tai Wei pondered for a while, still not understanding, and shook his head, “Who knows where she’s run off to.”
“She?”
Gu Hao looked at the wide Litong River. Small waves rippled on the water’s surface, shimmering like scales under the sunlight. It carried vibrant life and countless secrets, stubbornly surging towards an unknown distance, flowing ceaselessly.
A smile appeared on Gu Hao’s lips.
“I think she’s swum to the sea.”
(The End)