Proofreader: Sandra

Chapter 154

After the broadcast reminder, the ship’s swaying became more pronounced.

Looking out through the round window, one could see the waves outside continuously surging and rolling. Amidst the vast ocean, the ship looked like a small leaf, being tossed about by the sea.

For a moment, the cabin fell silent. The passengers who had been chatting just now turned pale, grabbing onto anything nearby to maintain their balance.

Lu Siyu started coughing lightly, clutching the edge of the sofa with his hand, his knuckles turning white from the tight grip.

Song Wen, however, seemed unaffected. He got up and walked to the window, looking into the distance. In the endless sea, a small island had already appeared far away, growing larger from a tiny dot.

It was a mountainous island, covered with green vegetation and soft white sand on its beaches. From afar, one could see some seabirds circling above the island.

That was their destination, Nansha Island.

No skyscrapers, no elevated bridges, and even very few people. It retained some rare natural scenery, different from both cities and villages, like a pure land away from urban hustle, a paradise on earth, an Eden.

After watching for a while, Song Wen returned to sit beside Lu Siyu and asked softly, “Are you okay?”

The ship was swaying left and right, like a pirate ship in an amusement park. Lu Siyu, eyes closed, shook his head. Cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and he felt nauseated, his stomach churning. He couldn’t respond to Song Wen, fearing that opening his mouth would make him vomit.

Song Wen sat beside him, and Lu Siyu grabbed Song Wen’s arm, no longer caring about pretending not to know him, using him as a support. Song Wen patted him in comfort.

Lu Siyu was still within his limits, enduring with sheer willpower. However, if it lasted much longer, it would be hard to say.

Fortunately, after a short while, there was a light sound from outside, and the ship stopped.

The island, which had been some distance away, was now right in front of them.

A sailor called out, “We’ve arrived, hurry up and disembark!” They needed to return to the Xinchuan Port before the typhoon arrived.

The tourists, looking as if they were drunk, stood up shakily one by one to get their luggage.

Song Wen strapped on his own bag, noticed the mountaineering bag with a tripod beside him, and knew it was Lu Siyu’s, so he picked it up.

The group, looking a bit disheveled, was hurriedly ushered off the boat by the crew, almost as if they were thrown off. However, upon reaching the dock, the boat seemed in no hurry and just stopped nearby, not showing any sign of returning.

Amy, irritated, gave the tour boat the finger. “They were rushing us like mad earlier, but now they’re not in a hurry at all.”

Once they had their feet on solid ground and rested for a moment, those who were seasick gradually recovered.

This was a small port, and with the approaching typhoon, there were no other tourists arriving. The staff had taken it easy, and the dock was deserted.

After disembarking, the group gathered their gear by the dock. The sea breeze was strong, but not as overwhelming as it had been on the boat.

At the dock, the calls of seabirds could be heard, rising and falling.

The first thing one noticed upon stepping onto the island was the freshness of the sea air. The small island retained much of its original landscape, with many naturally growing plants and the constant sea breeze creating a very close-to-nature living environment.

Jiang Jiang checked the latest news on her phone about the typhoon. On the map, a massive white disc was approaching, with a short distance still between it and their island.

She reminded everyone, “We have about five hours before the typhoon hits.”

This five-hour estimate meant that in about three hours, the edge of the approaching typhoon would likely start bringing rain.

Teacher Su suggested, “Let’s head to Xingfu Inn quickly before the typhoon arrives. We don’t want to get caught in the rain halfway there.” Xingfu Inn was located on a small cliff on the island, requiring a bit of a walk.

Hearing Teacher Su’s suggestion, only the couple responded eagerly, shouldering their bags.

Lu Siyu took a few sips of warm water from his cup, finally recovering, and exchanged a glance with Song Wen.

Now that they were here, he couldn’t wait any longer and was eager to meet Wu Hongyou to ask about the truth of what happened back then.

Song Wen said to the group, “I’d like to explore the island a bit first. I’ll head to the inn before the typhoon hits.”

Lu Siyu said, “I plan to see if I can take some photos before the typhoon hits.”

Jiang Jiang, holding onto Qiu Lan’s arm, added, “Teacher, we want to go to the beach for a bit. Just for a short while, we’ll be careful.” With the typhoon approaching, one of them was curious and found everything fresh and new, while the other was worried about the seabirds.

Teacher Su was somewhat concerned for them, but since they were all adults, there wasn’t much more he could say. He could only remind the two students, “Alright, but you must be very careful. Come back immediately if it starts to rain or get windy. Make sure you two don’t get separated.”

The seven of them split into three groups: Lu Siyu and Song Wen planned to head to the center of the island, Jiang Jiang and Qiu Lan wanted to go to the beach, and Teacher Su along with the couple were going to the inn. So, they parted ways at the port.

Lu Siyu took his luggage from Song Wen and walked ahead. Once they were out of sight of the others, Song Wen hurried a few steps to catch up with him and then took the bag from his back again.

Lu Siyu didn’t say anything and let him do it. He continued walking briskly in front, with Song Wen having to walk quickly to keep up.

Nansha Island was small. After walking for about ten minutes from the port, they reached the residential area, which consisted of only a few main streets and a population of about a hundred people.

The typhoon was approaching but not yet here. The sky had a grayish-yellow tint, and the air was thick with moisture, making the humidity noticeably higher than inland. The sea breeze was biting, and Lu Siyu, who had never been here before, felt the wind stinging his skin, so he kept his face buried in his collar as much as possible.

On the streets, there were some stalls, shops, and farmhouses selling various items, including tourist souvenirs and seafood. The shops selling tourist items were already closed, and the others were preparing to pack up.

The island’s residents were taping their windows and reinforcing their roofs, casting curious glances at the two young men walking through the streets. The previous tourists had all left by noon, and they clearly hadn’t expected any tourists to come to the island during a typhoon.

Lu Siyu walked until they reached a few residential houses and then seemed to get lost. They were looking for 27 Qingzhou Road, but there were no street signs in this area.

Song Wen checked the map, which also didn’t have any information, so he pulled aside a local to ask for directions.

As soon as he mentioned the name Zhang Hongqiao, the local frowned and said, “Zhang Hongqiao? She’s already dead…”

Dead?

Hearing this, Lu Siyu’s face turned pale, his fingertips cold, as if all the blood in his body had been drained. His mind went blank, and he instinctively asked, “How did she die?”

The villager thought for a moment and said, “She died of an illness, I think it was last year. She’s buried just outside the village.” Then he looked at them with some suspicion, “Are you here for something?”

Seeing that Lu Siyu had become despondent, knowing he feared losing the lead, Song Wen stepped forward and continued, “We’re brothers, here to look for someone. Our elderly at home often mentioned that we have a distant relative on the island. We lost contact many years ago, but the elderly insisted we come to check. Does she have any family left?”

The villager no longer looked suspicious and replied, “She has a cousin, surnamed Li, named Li Mingmei. Her house is at the end of the road, the laundry shop.”

Song Wen thanked him, and once the villager left, he tugged at Lu Siyu and said, “Let’s go. Since we’re already here, we should go take a look.”

Lu Siyu nodded. He knew he had been too anxious. Ever since Xu Changying’s death, he had been following this lead. Hearing about Zhang Hongqiao’s death was hard for him to accept. Now that he had calmed down, he understood that Song Wen was right.

They had already come this far. Regardless of how many clues they could find, they had to do their best and leave the rest to fate.

The two of them followed the road for another two minutes and finally saw a small laundry shop.

Song Wen pulled him aside and pointed to someone by the road, saying, “It might be that person.”

Lu Siyu followed his gaze and saw a thin woman standing by some drying racks, taking down bed sheets hanging in front of the shop. Now that they were here, Lu Siyu felt a bit nervous.

Song Wen approached and tentatively called out, “Hello, are you Li Mingmei?”

The woman heard him and turned around, looking at them with some confusion.

Lu Siyu looked at the woman before him. Her skin was dark and dry, her eyes yellowed, her face lined with wrinkles, and her hair entirely gray. She looked to be in her sixties.

Lu Siyu asked again, “Excuse me, did Zhang Hongqiao used to live here?”

“Yes, but she passed away early last year from an illness… She didn’t have any relatives or friends. Who are you…?” Li Mingmei said, looking at the two men in front of her. She spoke with a bit of an accent, and her hands were rough with many marks from detergent corrosion. She was not short, but a bit hunched, making her appear small and frail as she stood there.

Before seeing this woman, Lu Siyu still had a glimmer of hope after hearing from the villagers. Now, that last bit of hope shattered in his chest.

Lu Siyu’s eyes reddened, and he found it difficult to breathe. Wu Hongyou was the person closest to uncovering the truth from nineteen years ago. So many people had sacrificed so much time and endured so many hardships for this truth. But why did they still miss it by a hair’s breadth?

The three stood in the courtyard, colorful bed sheets hanging on a nearby clothesline, blowing in the wind.

Song Wen knew how devastating losing this lead would be for Lu Siyu. He no longer hid his identity and took out his badge. “We are detectives from the Nancheng City Bureau. I would like to ask about your relationship with Zhang Hongqiao…”

The woman brushed back her wind-tousled hair. “I’m her distant cousin.”

Song Wen asked again, “Has Zhang Hongqiao always lived on the island? Did she ever use any other names?”

The woman hesitated, looking at Lu Siyu and Song Wen again before speaking. “She came to me over ten years ago. She was my mother’s cousin’s daughter. She used to be from Nancheng, and her surname was Wu. Her name was Wu Hongyou.”

Song Wen continued, “Did she ever tell you about any of her experiences?”

Li Mingmei looked down, gathering the bed sheets in her hands. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “She didn’t tell me much. I just know she experienced something that scared her and made her hide on the island. She lived in fear all her life, and even when she got sick, she didn’t dare leave the island for treatment.”

It sounded like the experiences matched. The woman named Zhang Hongqiao was indeed the Wu Hongyou they had been searching for, but they had arrived too late. This island, with its lax management, had hidden her for years.

“Come inside,” Li Mingmei said, gathering the remaining sheets and carrying them into the house. Lu Siyu and Song Wen followed her inside.

The house was an old residential building, converted into a simple laundry shop. The outer room contained a few old machines, including a washing machine and a dryer. At that moment, the washing machine was still running, humming against the wall.

The inner room was sparse and very simple.

Song Wen habitually examined the room. It was clearly the space of an elderly woman living alone. There was only one of each item: a towel, a cup, slippers, and no trace of anyone else.

Li Mingmei poured herself a cup of hot water and rubbed her calloused hands.

There were only two chairs in the room. Lu Siyu and Song Wen sat, while Li Mingmei sat on a double bed made of wooden planks.

Song Wen first checked Li Mingmei’s ID card. It had been issued a few years ago and, since she was elderly, it was valid for a long time.

Then, Li Mingmei pulled out a box from under the bed and said to the two policemen, “All my cousin’s belongings are in here. She wrote some things in a notebook. I can’t read, so I kept it. You can see if there’s anything you need.”

Lu Siyu, with reddened eyes, took the small box handed to him by the woman.

Inside were two hair ties, a worn-out doll, some old, inexpensive jewelry, and a notebook.

The notebook had clearly been there for a long time. Its cover was wrinkled, and the pages had yellowed, with a slightly musty smell.

With trembling hands, Lu Siyu opened the notebook. The pages were filled with dense writing.

He pressed his lips together and read carefully. Heaven hadn’t crushed his last bit of hope. The notebook contained the truth he had been searching for all this time.

It seemed that before Zhang Hongqiao died, she had recorded everything she had experienced.

Song Wen leaned in as well, and they read together.

As he read the words, Lu Siyu felt as if he stood at a foggy crossroads, facing Wu Hongyou from nineteen years ago.

After so many years, the woman’s image in his memory had blurred. He only remembered her as a beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure. This woman was one of his enemies. Reading about the events of that time, Lu Siyu couldn’t help but recall the tragic case. He felt a tightness in his chest, which also made his stomach ache…

“The events of that year have been a secret I’ve carried in my heart for so many years, never spoken of to anyone. I even thought I might take those secrets to my grave.”

“As time passed, I have been hiding on this island for over a decade. Every day, I lived in fear, my health deteriorated, my hair fell out in handfuls, and I didn’t dare to seek medical help. My life began its countdown.”

“Recently, I’ve been having nightmares, dreaming of Long Jinrong, dreaming of the bait, dreaming of An Kui, dreaming of that couple…those who died in the villa, who died over a decade ago. I have a premonition that I am about to join them. Before I die, I have decided to record these events.”

“The events of that year…were too strange. It all began with my acquaintance with Long Jinrong…”

“That year, I made a living ,by dancing and selling drinks in a nightclub in Nancheng. I was older and couldn’t compete with the younger girls, but my fiery temperament attracted some men who were willing to patronize me.”

“At that time, I often wondered when such a life would end. I hoped to escape this miserable life, but without any skills, I naively fantasized about finding true love.”

“One day, a wealthy old man at the nightclub kept harassing me. This old man was notoriously violent, beating people at the slightest displeasure. All the young girls in the nightclub feared him.”

“I didn’t want to engage with him, but I also didn’t dare to offend him. The old man kept pushing me to drink. Just then, a man rushed out and hit the old man with a bottle, saving me. That man was the nightclub’s security guard, Long Jinrong. At that moment, I felt I had fallen in love with him…”

“Later, this man became the most wanted criminal in Nancheng’s history, the main perpetrator of the 519 case, Long Jinrong…”

“Maybe in others’ eyes, he was utterly despicable, but back then, when he was with me, although he wasn’t a good person, he was at least a man of some loyalty. He constantly thought about how to get his father treated. Although he was fierce, he never hit the elderly or women. He spent all his money trying to cure his father. At one point, he even lived off the money I gave him, staying in the room I rented.”

“We drank heavily every day, indulged in passion, and dreamed of getting rich overnight.”

“If it weren’t for meeting that man, he might have remained a street thug, and I might have led an ordinary life, eventually marrying an honest man.”

“But everything changed because of that person.”

“A small butterfly flapping its wings has led to today’s storm…”