"Liu Chenxi, you can't just die like this."
As I said that, I ran towards Liu Chenxi. She was about to commit suicide, but I didn't want her to. The moment I reached out to grab her wrist, her hand suddenly turned and clasped mine. With a twist, I cried out in pain and naturally spun around, my back facing Liu Chenxi. She then kicked me behind the knee with her high heel, making me lose my balance and stumble forward a few steps. By the time I turned back, Liu Chenxi was already standing on the high platform.
At this point, I knew it was impossible to save Liu Chenxi by force. I stared into her calm eyes and said loudly, "Liu Chenxi, is this revenge worth it? Sacrificing yourself?"
"This isn't about revenge. If it weren't for revenge, I would have jumped from this hundred-meter-high building long ago. I've deceived so many people, and seeing the despair in their eyes felt like a knife cutting into my heart. I haven't killed anyone, but that doesn't mean no one has died because of my deceptions. I'm grateful to be able to end my life so easily as a form of atonement."
...
At that moment, I knew I couldn't save Liu Chenxi. For some reason, instead of feeling relief at the end of a wicked person's life, my heart felt stuffed with pain, like it was filled with stuffing, heavy and aching.
"Goodbye, Liu Chenxi. I wish you a peaceful life in your next existence, free from deception."
"Thank you. I have a parting message for you too: a schemer and a liar are two different things. Don't lose your way because of gains and losses."
With that, Liu Chenxi spread her arms and leaped.
...
I turned away and began to cut my steak with forceful strokes, chewing the succulent meat without tasting it. Tears flowed uncontrollably.
A while later, Yu Xiaoluo rushed in with two other people. She stood before me. I looked up at her, probably seeing the ugliest expression on my face in my life, and managed to choke out a few words: "Liu Chenxi jumped."
"I know. It was just you and Liu Chenxi on this floor. Tang Nan, we're not accusing you of pushing her, but an investigation is necessary."
"I understand. Can I ask you one favor?"
"Speak."
"After the investigation is over, please return this half-bottle of red wine to me. It's Liu Chenxi's last remaining asset, and I have a use for it."
"I'll try my best."
"Thank you!"
...
I spent the night at the local police station, falling asleep as dawn broke. Not long after waking up, I saw Wang Zeyu arriving at the station. I looked at him and asked with a smile, "Captain Wang, are you personally interrogating me?"
"I'm here to take you home."
The police officers unfastened my handcuffs. Wang Zeyu looked at me with a somber expression. "If there's anything you want to tell me, I'm all ears."
I smiled. "You're truly joking. Let me rest for a bit, have a meal, and I'll report to you at the Criminal Investigation Bureau this afternoon."
...
As I was leaving, I saw Lao Tie's dejected face. He rubbed his hands and said glumly, "Yesterday at the ghost market, someone made an offer, and I quoted a price. I never expected anyone to bring two million in cash and not even haggle."
"Did you see who bought it?"
"Yes, Bi Shuwen."
"Did you tell the police?"
Speaking of this, Lao Tie's face contorted with pain. "Yes, the two million was confiscated. Tang Nan, do you think the police will return that two million to us?"
"We don't need it anymore."
I thought Lao Tie would object, but instead, he gave a forced smile. "Alright."
Seeing my surprised look, he gave a sheepish grin. "Anyway, you're the schemer. If I follow you, I won't have to worry about money in the future."
...
Lao Tie and I ate a little and returned to the hotel. I looked at Lao Tie's dejected face and asked with a smile, "Still thinking about that two million?"
"My heart aches a bit."
I burst into laughter and dragged the suitcase to Lao Tie. On top of the suitcase was a bag. The bag contained sixty thousand that Bi Shuwen had given me, and the suitcase contained two million from Fourth Master.
Lao Tie opened the bag and gasped, "So much money?"
"That's not ours."
Those words pricked Lao Tie's heart. He looked at the money with reluctance. "This money went to the police again?"
"I'll be using it to report for work this afternoon. Open the suitcase and take a look."
Lao Tie opened the suitcase, wincing in feigned pain. "So much again. Will this also be confiscated?"
"This won't be. This is a deal between me and Fourth Master. This money is ours."
"Ours?"
"Of course, ours. Good brothers share their fortune, fifty-fifty."
Lao Tie stared blankly at the stacks of cash. I chuckled, tore the paper band off a stack of money, and playfully threw it at Lao Tie's face. The scattered bills fluttered down like snowflakes. Lao Tie was stunned, then snapped back to reality, grabbed the money, tore off the paper bands, and started throwing them at me like a snowball fight.
I was slightly taken aback. Honestly, I never expected Lao Tie to retaliate. So, I threw a stack, he threw a stack, and soon, money covered the bed and floor. We both lay on the money. I looked up at the ceiling. "Lao Tie, with this money, what do you want to do?"
"What about you?"
"I want to go back to my hometown, re-enroll in high school, and get into university."
Lao Tie laughed heartily. "Back to high school? Will those kids call you classmate or uncle?"
I dismissed his teasing with disdain. "What about you?"
"With this money, I want to try my luck in Xi'an. There are many ancient tombs there, and many good things. I want to become someone like Fourth Master, commanding respect in the antique world."
"Are you really not planning to go back to school with me?"
"Forget it, Tang Nan. We're men of the world now, millionaires! Do we still need to bury our heads in books with children for some high-minded, empty promises?"
Upon hearing this, I flipped over and jumped off the bed, saying earnestly, "Then so be it. To each his own. Goodbye, Master Tie."
Lao Tie also sat up and looked at me with a serious expression. "Tang Nan, are you serious?"
I put the sixty thousand back into the bag, slung it over my shoulder, and walked towards the door without answering Lao Tie's question. Lao Tie called out, "You need to pack the money!"
"Since you want to be Master Tie, it's all yours."
...
I placed the sixty thousand on Wang Zeyu's desk and reported my findings verbatim. Wang Zeyu, unlike me, wasn't sentimental about Liu Chenxi's tragic past, but his expression lacked the joy of solving a case.
"Do you believe Liu Chenxi's story? That she didn't kill Bi Dawang?"
"A dying man speaks the truth. I don't think she had any reason to lie with her life. She said she never directly killed anyone, and I believe that."
"Then who killed Bi Dawang?"
"If Bi Dawang intended to trade the Qianlong thumb ring with someone else behind Fourth Master's back, then it would be normal for Fourth Master to eliminate Bi Dawang without anyone knowing."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm not sure."
I firmly denied it. It was an uncertain matter, and we couldn't pin the blame on him just because he was dead. Wang Zeyu seemed satisfied with my answer and nodded slightly, changing the subject.
"By the way, this morning, we apprehended Bi Shuwen at the bank."
"What was she doing at the bank?"
"Negotiating a bill of exchange."
I gave a wry smile. "So, she finally sold that set of Qianlong thumb rings."
"Yes!"
"To whom?"
"Bi Shuwen doesn't know either. She said she sold it at the ghost market according to Liu Chenxi's instructions to an adult man wearing a skullcap and Qing dynasty attire."
"You didn't see the other person's face?"
"No."
I sighed. This was all Liu Chenxi's arrangement. I looked at Wang Zeyu and asked earnestly, "Captain Wang, I don't understand. Bi Shuwen is the murderer, right? How could she so brazenly go to the bank?"
"When our colleagues from the Major Crimes Unit arrested Bi Shuwen, she claimed to have an alibi. That's correct, her location during peak rush hour made it impossible for her to be the murderer. But there's a logical flaw here: if she took the subway, she would absolutely have had time to commit the crime."
I sighed and explained helplessly to Wang Zeyu, "This is Liu Chenxi's specialty. She likes to use conditions that others are not fully aware of as her weapon. Bi Shuwen rarely takes the subway, so she wouldn't have noticed this logical loophole."
Wang Zeyu sighed, interlacing his fingers. "You're right. How should I put this? You and I have failed. Liu Chenxi's contact used funds that could not be withdrawn from their account to purchase a national treasure. At this moment, that person has likely already fled Beijing."
Wang Zeyu fell silent, and the atmosphere in the office became oppressive. "We can't let him escape. If fifty million is just the tip of the iceberg of this 'logical paradox,' then this organization of deception is too terrifying. Now, we must apprehend the contact, establish a special task force, and uproot this criminal organization."
I thought for a moment and then said earnestly, "Captain Wang, I think the term 'schemer' has made me too arrogant. I didn't keep up with Liu Chenxi's pace in understanding and planning the schemes, and instead, I was used by her. So, I want to..."
"You want to quit?"
"Yes, I want to go back to my hometown, re-enroll in high school, and attend university."
Hearing this, Wang Zeyu's eyes brightened. "To study at the police academy?"
"No, I'll aim for an industrial school. Learning math, physics, and chemistry will help me anywhere. Or, I could go for liberal arts and perhaps write about schemers as novels in the future?"
I expected Wang Zeyu to object, but instead, he extended his hand and smiled, "Good child, I support you."
...
As I was leaving, I heard that Yu Xiaoluo hadn't gone home to rest. She went to her office and fell asleep on her desk, exhausted, with a man's police uniform draped over her. On the desk was the half-bottle of red wine I had asked her to retrieve for me. I quietly picked up the wine, knowing how tired she was, and decided to slip away. However, just as I picked up the bottle, she woke up. She immediately bombarded me with questions, "Do you think Liu Chenxi's contact could be the killer Qin Sisi mentioned?"
My expression became a little awkward. I had just told Wang Zeyu that I was done with this matter. I smiled sheepishly at Yu Xiaoluo and said, "Thanks for the wine."
"Why not talk to Qin Sisi? Qin Sisi has also been making some moves. Right after we questioned her, she suddenly had a stomach hemorrhage from eating something and had to be treated outside the facility."
A thought struck me. Qin Sisi wasn't in prison. Perhaps I could talk to her. Liu Chenxi had given me the jade thumb ring again, but she said it was a gift for Qin Sisi. Even if I didn't want to deal with anything anymore, I still had an obligation to return the jade thumb ring to Qin Sisi.