Chapter 56

“I heard that the Long family’s studio has a lot of unspeakable things—sculptures, paintings… some really bloody and terrifying stuff. Don’t you think so, Teacher Qiu? When the janitor came over, it seemed like you were the only one there, and you followed them into the studio, right?”

The female teacher who had been called on moved her lips but didn’t join the conversation. When Bai Wei looked at her, she hesitated, glanced at him, and then shrank back.

“Really? That means the stuff in that box was probably done by the Long family too. But Longxia is disabled, so some psychological distortion is to be expected…”

“Not all disabled people are like that! Longxia was already psychologically messed up from the start. Do you guys remember Long Qiu?”

“She was a little spoiled but a kind girl. She didn’t seem like their sister at all.”

“Everyone used to say that the car accident was an accident. But I’ve heard for a long time that Longxia and Long Qiu didn’t get along. Longxia herself said she was jealous of Long Qiu—why could she stay with their parents while Longxia had to go study away… After Long Qiu’s death, her little dog mysteriously disappeared. Maybe Longxia started doing things back then…”

“Long Chun can’t be excluded either. Long Xia wasn’t very agile, and who else would assist her other than him?”

“Oh my god! This whole family looks so decent on the outside…”

A voice interrupted their discussion: “Is Ai Wei here?”

Lu Sen stood at the office door, holding a box of small snacks and a cup of yogurt. Everyone in the office saw him and leaned over to look: “Teacher Lu!”

“Won’t be for long,” Lu Sen smiled, “Teacher Qiao is coming back next Monday.”

When he placed the snacks he had prepared on Bai Wei’s desk, Teacher Mu clicked his tongue: “I used to envy the Long family’s lifestyle. But now I realize, stability and happiness like yours are the best.”

“Such a great relationship…”

“That’s right, to think they’re willing to give up their family’s wealth and elope. I heard their family has a huge ancestral mansion, and they even have a shuttle from the front yard to the garden.” Someone said with a sour tone, “If it were me, I wouldn’t care about love, just wealth and honor. I’d want to live in that ancestral mansion for the rest of my life.”

“Really jealous, I want that too.”

Lu Sen’s baking was getting better and better. Bai Wei stared at the small box, thinking to himself that Lu Sen knew he couldn’t refuse the snacks that Lu Sen made.

It made him feel strangely as if someone had grabbed the back of his neck while he was walking down the street.

“Since your relationship is so good, have you considered going home together, living with the whole family?” Someone poked Lu Sen. “Family affection is important, and maybe Bai Wei misses home.”

Bai Wei looked at the small snacks and didn’t hear this sentence, nor did he notice the slight gloom in Lu Sen’s eyes.

The two walked outside the office together. Lu Sen said, “Starting next Monday, I won’t have anything to do at school. After that, I’ll take you to school every day, and then head back to the repair shop to work.”

Bai Wei replied, “Mm… before a new art teacher is hired, I still need to substitute for a few weeks.”

“Do you like being an art teacher? Or have you considered continuing to teach art here?” Lu Sen suddenly asked.

Continuing to work here?

This was clearly not what Bai Wei had expected. He had only come here to help Qiao Min from the beginning.

Bai Wei was about to shake his head directly, but then he suddenly had a thought—if he didn’t plan to kill Lu Sen, but instead intended to live here for the rest of his life, would he be willing to work as an art teacher in the middle school of Snow Mountain Town?

Or, would he be willing to substitute for art classes a few times a week?

“No, I haven’t considered continuing to teach here, it’s just…” Bai Wei swallowed the rest of his sentence. His mind was in a mess, and he didn’t even know what he was thinking.

“Just what?” Lu Sen pressed on. “What does your future plan look like, dear?”

“Just… I think…” A flash of memory about Nandu and the publishing house passed by. Bai Wei furrowed his brows, planning to end this topic. “Okay, can we not talk about this now?”

After sensing Bai Wei’s hesitation, Lu Sen’s resolve grew stronger.

During these substitute teaching days, Bai Wei’s mood had been quite good. He no longer stayed alone in the study for the whole day, using writing as an excuse, like before. They would drive to and from work together every day and have lunch in the school cafeteria. They met many people at the school—especially Bai Wei—many of whom they could maintain a long-term relationship with. These people would come to their shop to repair cars and invite them to activities.

This gave Lu Sen an idea.

Perhaps, having Bai Wei continue as an art teacher would help him tie Bai Wei to the town more permanently and stably.

And with Bai Wei staying in Snow Mountain Town, he could be with him.

Moreover, during this time, Lu Sen had also heard many people’s opinions about the Bai family. They all believed that the Bai family’s wealthy life was indispensable and enviable. These views confirmed that Lu Sen’s initial understanding of the Bai family and his plan to inherit it were indeed correct. From their perspective, it was truly an attractive life.

—-

After fleeing to Snow Mountain Town, Lu Sen’s original plan had been to improve his relationship with Bai Wei and then return to the Bai family to inherit the family business.

But now, Lu Sen suddenly did not want to do that at all. The thought of Bai Wei becoming Bai Wei of the Bai family again, instead of being only his Bai Wei, made him feel uncomfortable.

He wanted Bai Wei to establish more connections in the town and stay here with him permanently.

“You never talk to me about your work. But I’ve noticed that recently, when you were writing, you seemed troubled, but during your time at the school, you seem to be in a better mood. If you’re willing, we can go to the principal and help you settle here…”

“Stop talking about this. I haven’t considered these things,” Bai Wei said.

Bai Wei’s tone was emotionally firm. Although Lu Sen received this message, he had no intention of giving up.

He had to find a way to make Bai Wei accept this.

Back in the office, Bai Wei found that the other teachers had gone to class, and only Teacher Qiu was still in the office. As the only teacher who had entered the art studio with the janitor and was called out by the Long family members, she had been unusually silent during the afternoon discussion.

Bai Wei felt that she must have seen something. But he didn’t expect her to speak to him when they were alone.

“Um…” Teacher Qiu hesitated. “When I went into the art studio with the janitor, I accidentally flipped open a cloth covering the easel.”

“Mm.” Bai Wei didn’t expose her awkward lie, which she used to cover her curiosity.

“I thought about it and decided I should tell you. I saw your…”

Bai Wei’s forehead tightened. He didn’t need to think to know that it was either something bloody or something unsightly. But Bai Wei could always disguise his feelings well. He said, unexpectedly and sadly, “I didn’t expect Long Xia to dislike me this much. I only met him for the first time this week…”

“Oh, no. It’s just… it was so strange that I decided to tell you. The bottom part of the painting has skeletons from hell, but the top part paints you… very holy, very perfect,” Teacher Qiu said. “But I think this painting couldn’t have been done in a week. At least it would take two months.”

“Ah?”

This really surprised Bai Wei.

But what Teacher Qiu said next surprised him even more.

“And in that painting, you look younger than you do now. It looks like you from your middle school days.”

—–

In the end, the various news about the Long family was suppressed by the town mayor. This wasn’t surprising, since the Long family had a long relationship with the mayor. Out of respect for their deceased parents, the mayor wouldn’t let the Long family be in too much trouble.

But the mayor’s explanation was quite laughable. The second week, Bai Wei heard some teachers laughing and gossiping after arriving at the school.

“Someone sneaked into the art studio and deliberately put the body in a box. My god, who would go through all that trouble for such a meaningless act?”

“The mayor even said it could have been a serial killer from the wanted list. How could a serial killer come to Snow Mountain Town?”

“Yeah. And our townspeople are so weak and simple. We’re not like the citizens of Black Port City who’ve been through many hardships. If a serial killer had infiltrated, many people would have died in our town. How could we have remained unscathed?”

“My cousin knows those vigilantes from Black Harbor City. They’re currently searching all over the world for the remaining serial killers on their wanted list. My cousin has mentioned Snow Mountain Town to them many times, but they just listened half-heartedly and never had any intention of coming here.”

Life in the small town sure sounds lively. But Bai Wei still asked, “Do those vigilantes only go after serial killers?”

“Yeah, besides that, they have no interest in other criminals.”

Hearing this, Bai Wei felt somewhat relieved. He only planned to kill one husband, not a lot of people. Even in the future, these mentally unstable vigilantes probably wouldn’t get involved with him.

On the other hand, the enthusiasm and kindness of the town’s residents were becoming a real nuisance to him. More and more visitors started showing up at his house, which often frustrated him and forced him to shut down many of his traps.

He had to find a way to get rid of these overly eager townspeople! Only in a sufficiently quiet environment could he focus on his murder plans!

But what Bai Wei didn’t realize was that, during this time, he had been thinking less and less about his plan to eliminate Lu Sen. Perhaps it was in the daily snacks, or maybe in the daily pick-ups and drop-offs…

Until today’s art class.

As soon as Bai Wei entered the classroom, he immediately sensed something was off. A group of teenagers had gathered together, all staring at one person’s phone. He recognized the annoyed girl sitting nearby—it was Jin Xin, who had been at the banquet a few days ago.

“That’s so impressive…”

“Wow, such high viewership!”

“Brother Tang, you’re amazing! You’re going to be famous!”

The person surrounded in the middle was Jin Xin’s cousin, Tang Lin. Bai Wei cleared his throat, preparing to ask them to disperse for class. But one of them saw him.

“Damn, Sherlock is here!”

Several of them froze in panic, as if they’d committed a terrible crime. Bai Wei, too, was puzzled.