Yang Kaijian didn’t understand how a good thing could turn out like this. The ship that he thought was in the bag was gone, the high school registration was cancelled by that old man, and the new factory slot… Hearing the noise of his parents, Yang Kaijian only felt irritated.
He picked up his jacket and headed out the door.
Xiao He had been waiting in front of the Yang family for a long time, the late autumn of Qinghe town already had a hint of chill, he shrank his shoulders and paced on the path not far away, seeing Yang Kaijian come out his eyes were bright and quickly walked forward.
“Brother Yang!” Xiao He called out.
Yang Kaijian looked up and saw that it was Xiao He, his eyebrows just furrowed. Xiao He was now a street rat, and Wang Chengzai repeatedly told him not to have any contact with Xiao He, in case the day’s events were exposed, they would both have to eat the consequences.
“What are you doing here?” Yang Kaijian’s face was ugly.
After working as a waiter in the guest house for so long, Xiao He had seen all sorts of contenances, what was in the mind of a high school student like Yang Kaijian, he would not be able to tell?
Xiao He inwardly scolded his mother, using words so beautifully, yet was able to run faster. Wang Chengzai size was a second generation of officials, he did not dare to move at the moment, Yang Kaijian was something, yet he dared to act arrogantly.
“Brother Yang, it’s not authentic for you to do this. I lost my job for this. Now no company in Yantian County dares to ask me. Brother Yang, you have to help me!” Xiaohe said with narrowed eyes.
It was now off duty time, and from time to time there were bicycles riding by on the path, some of them recognizing Yang Kaijian and Xiao He, and they couldn’t help but cast their curious eyes over.
Yang Kaijian was in shock, and he quickly pulled out a very reluctant smile, “Brother Xiao He, let’s go to the next grove to talk.”
Qinghe Town was so big, news spread quickly, if he and Xiao He stayed on the road for a long time, he was afraid that a lot of gossip could come out tomorrow, after all, Xiao He’s reputation was not good now, and he didn’t want to be tainted at all.
Xiao He gave him a seemingly smiling look, then nodded, and they walked deeper into the grove together.
“This is all of it, take it.” Reaching the depths of the woods, Yang Kaijian fumbled with his body and took out eight dollars, which was the money he came out planning to buy cigarettes with.
Xiao He’s eyes narrowed, “Eight dollars? Brother Yang, I can get sixty dollars a month for my job at the hospitality office…”
Yang Kaijian was not a good-tempered person to begin with, and when he heard Xiao He’s words, his face darkened all of a sudden, “That’s all, do you want it or not!”
“You’re a beggar! Two hundred dollars, give it to me in two days, or I’ll tell everyone that you and Wang Chengzai instigated me to smear Li Zheng! I heard that you are still fighting for a place in the new factory, Roche’s people are so close to Li Zheng, and if this matter is exposed, I’ll see how you can enter the factory!” Xiao He said loudly.
“Don’t you f*cking dare!” Yang Kaijian’s temple veins jumped, Yang Sheng and Wang Aijuan quarreled all afternoon because of this matter, and when they found out the news that Yang Kaijian was expelled from school, Yang Sheng raised his hand and slapped Yang Kaijian, ordering him to apologize to the old principal right away, making him get for his diploma back even if he had to beg!
Yang Kaijian was on fire, and he had stepped into his minefield again.
“What wouldn’t I dare.” Xiao He wasn’t easy to bully, he shouted out as he headed out of the grove, “Fellow villagers, that time at the guest house…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he only felt a sharp pain at his heart. Xiao He lowered his head with difficulty, his eyes looked at blood, and a dagger stuck in his heart.
“Xiao He only felt that everything in front of him was covered with blood, his heart made a “zi-la” sound as it rubbed against the sharp metal, and his vision slowly disappeared. His entire body was like a car that had lost its engine, and the flow of blood gradually came to a halt.
”Yang.” Xiao He fell heavily to the ground, his eyes wide open, his lips trembled slightly as if he was trying to say something, blood foamed out through the corners of his mouth.
Yang Kaijian’s entire body was trembling, killing… he had killed someone! He didn’t know why he did it, but he had a fruit knife on him and was spurred on by Xiao He’s words, and his blood was hot….
He didn’t want to die. Yang Kaijian stumbled to Xiao He’s side and pulled out his dagger so violently that blood instantly splattered his face.
He vigorously wiped it off and took off his bloodied jacket, then staggered out into the woods.
This grove was a mecca for the town’s young lovers to date, and every day after dinner, there would be many young men and women meeting privately here.
“Ah! Dead man!” A scream shattered years of peace in Qinghe Town.
The town’s police station cordoned off the grove for the night, and the town leader’s face was so black it could drip water… Murder! There hasn’t been a murder in Qinghe in years! The contract for the new factory was signed just a few days ago, and this happened. The foreigner’s contract clearly stated that China must guarantee the security of the factory’s location.
It was a slap in the face!
“Check! Check it out! Even if I have to dig into the ground, I’ll find this murderer!”
**********
”Sis, what’s wrong with you?” Li Zheng clearly noticed that Zhou Sitian had been a bit absent-minded these past few days.
“No…nothing.” Zhou Sitian came back to her senses, a gentle smile on her face.
Li Zheng’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, he wrote papers calculating experimental data line, he wasn’t good at guessing his sister’s mind.
“Alright, you quickly go do your homework, I’ll clean up the table.”
Li Zheng gave her a suspicious glance, and at Zhou Sitian’s insistence, he went back to his room three steps at a time.
When Li Zheng’s back disappeared in front of the room, the smile on Zhou Sitian’s face could no longer remain, she was afraid but didn’t dare to tell him, she had been feeling that someone was following her these past few days.
From the way to school until she stepped into her home, she felt that it wasn’t her own illusion, and when she thought of the nighttime murder that happened in the grove, Zhou Sitian felt the blood in her entire body freeze.
“Xiao Zheng, I have to go to the office to help the teacher this morning, so I’ll leave first. I’ve asked Chaoyang to go with you.” When the morning dawned, Zhou Sitian said to Li Zheng at the door of his room.
Li Zheng blinked his sleepy eyes and answered.
Zhou Sitian bit her lip and carried her textbooks out the door. She couldn’t get her brother involved, if that murderer was after her, it would be dangerous for Li Zheng to go with her.
Zhou Sitian rode her bike to the main road towards Dongliu High School, she saw the school gate from afar, she was relieved.
Smiling and greeting the gatekeeper, she pushed her bike and walked quickly towards the carport.
As Zhou Sitian was bending over to lock her bike, a figure suddenly sprang out of the shed and she took two steps back with a sudden shock.
“Yang Kaijian?” Seeing that it was an acquaintance, Zhou Sitian’s appearance relaxed a bit, “Why are you like this?”
She saw that Yang Kaijian’s eyes were covered with red blood, his clothes were damp and wrinkled after the night, and the hair next to his ears was stuck together for some reason, making him look very sloppy.
”Why? All because of your good brother!” Yang Kaijian laughed out in a low voice, “I’m finished, I’m finished for the rest of my life. As such, I won’t let you guys have it easy either. Zhou Sitian, if you want to blame someone, blame your brother!” There was a hint of madness in his eyes.
Yang Kaijian knew that he couldn’t escape. More than one person had seen him and Xiao He go into the grove together yesterday, Qinghe Town was just that big, so many pairs of eyes, he couldn’t escape.
Since he was going to die, they would all die together. Yang Kaijian slept in the shed for a night, determined to stab Li Zheng, Zheng Xiaodong and all these people to death, but he didn’t expect that the first person to come was Zhou Sitian.
Yang Kaijian fiercely rushed towards Zhou Sitian, the tip of the dagger raised high still had the blood mark of Xiao He on it, Zhou Sitian’s face suddenly turned pale, she quickly ran outside the shed, but how could a weak lady outrun a strong boy.
Yang Kaijian quickly caught up with her, and when Yang Kaijian’s dagger was about to stab Zhou Sitian, a fierce middle-aged man with a large rock rushed out from the side and smashed it hard on Yang Kaijian’s head.
Yang Kaijian’s head instantly started bleeding, “Who the hell are you, why are you meddling in Laozi’s business!” Yang Kaijian’s eyes were red, and the bright red blood covered half of his cheeks, making him look like an evil ghost crawling out of hell.
“Laozi? You weren’t even born when I moved the knife!” The middle-aged man’s voice was hoarse with a strong hostility. [laozi means I, your father]
The two men wrestled together, the middle-aged man didn’t care about the sharp dagger in Yang Kaijian’s hand, he tugged at Yang Kaijian’s collar and smashed at his head.
“Ahhhhh!” Yang Kaijian’s face suddenly turned bloody, and he clutched his dagger and stabbed it hard into the middle-aged man’s back.
Blood splattered in front of his body, and Zhou Sitian finally came back from his fear, “Someone help, help!” She shouted loudly.
The car shed was not far from the security room, the school’s security guards heard, saw the scene in front of them and went into shock.
The crowd quickly went forward to separate the two men, Yang Kaijian had already lost his voice, his hands weakly hanging down, the middle-aged man behind the two was bleeding, and soon formed a blood puddle on the ground.
“Dead, this young man isn’t breathing.” The security guard poked under Yang Kaijian’s nose and spoke up.
“Regardless of whether he’s breathing or not, take him to the hospital first. Help that man stop the bleeding, two people can’t die at a time.”
“This man…it’s Zhou Deqing, isn’t it, that’s him, we lived in the front and back doors when we were kids!” A security guard suddenly pointed at the middle-aged man.
Zhou Sitian fiercely raised her head and stared at the middle-aged man who was lying on the ground and could not stop bleeding, taking an unconscious step forward.
The middle-aged man noticed Zhou Sitian’s gaze and a straining smile appeared on his face.
Zhou Sitian was stunned, then quickly turned her head and ran outside the school.