Chapter 126: That woman (4)

*Xin Lei*

I watched Zhang Chao's expressions, and it seemed as if he looked withdrawn from the conversation. He didn't seem so into talking to us anymore.

It must be because we threatened him to confess about that driver's death. But I didn't care.

Just thinking about that innocent man dragged into their family mess made my blood boil in anger. He had nothing to do with it.

I looked at Bai Li, and he waited before asking in a stern voice,

"Mr. Zhang. You are not done giving all our answers."

"Dad…"

Zhang Ning slowly lifted her hand and pressed it on his. 

Zhang Chao sighed. He looked back at us and said,

"Since Xiulan had become so dangerous, we kept her closely monitored. We isolated her from everyone in a separate room so that she doesn't harm anybody else. Naturally, we continued her treatment. But the more she started growing, the more it became difficult to handle her. Even the doctors had a hard time. Once when I came back from work, I heard how she got into a fight with Ning. She even hit her head with a vase in a fit of anger. Things were getting difficult to control even for me. She was eighteen when that fight happened."

He rubbed his temples, and he seemed tired. "I-I had enough of it. She had already killed Qiyue. I couldn't afford another horrifying incident like that happen to Ning. So, I sent her abroad for better treatment after discussing it with the psychiatrist. Actually, it really wasn't a punishment. But naturally, Xiulan felt it that way."

Zhang Ning nodded. "Yes, Xiulan obviously disagreed. She didn't want to leave, and her behavior turned even more aggressive. But Dad had already made the decision. I wondered if it was right because she hated us more than before. But…"

"Ning, I had no choice. I thought a change in the environment would help her too. So I thought that it was for the best."

I glanced at Yuan, and as expected, he seemed grave. As a psychologist, he must have his opinion too.

He said, "It wasn't for the best, Mr. Zhang. If her mental state was unstable, then you shouldn't have forced her to leave abroad. She already misunderstood that you loved Zhang Ning more than her, and then that decision must have just reinforced that belief in her that she is unneeded and unloved. Did you at least talk to her before sending her abroad?"

"I did. But she wasn't ready to listen. She thought that I wanted to abandon her. But-but what other choice did I have?"

I typed. "So Zhang Xiulan was abroad for six years, and now two you think that she is back?"

Zhang Ning nodded. "That's what we think."

"But I didn't get any news about her coming back. How can she come back when I am kept in the dark?"

I typed. "Perhaps she got someone in her favor who helped her out and also kept it a secret from you."

"That seems the most probable case," Bai Li said. "The disappearances of the victims started almost a year back."

Zhang Chao looked shocked. "What? Do you mean that Xiulan might be back in the country for one year, and I didn't even get any clue about it?"

My lips curved into a smile, and I typed. "It isn't impossible. After all, she is 'your' daughter. She must have got that from you - tricking and using people for her own benefit."

Zhang Chao angrily glared at me. I knew I must have hit a sore spot, but he couldn't retort.

"You…"

"But Dad, do you think that Xiulan is behind these murders? Can she go really that far?"

Zhang Chao seemed grim, but he didn't respond.

"Perhaps she hated mom, so she...but the other strangers. Why would she kill them without any reason?"

I wondered. If Zhang Xiulan could kill her own mother when she was just ten, then why can she not kill others? They are strangers to her, after all. How difficult would it be?

As for a reason, if she was mentally unstable, then perhaps she might be randomly killing them for her own satisfaction—some kind of warped logic maybe which she thought was right.

But that warped reason killed Fu Meili. I recalled Fu Biyu's crying face and Fu Ting's desolate expression. 

And then there was Zhang Qiyue.

A stifling pain enveloped my chest. My heart ached for Zhang Qiuyue.

How sad is that the daughter whom she gave birth was the one who killed her…

There she was trying her best to help her daughter, but what did she get in return?

Death by her daughter's hands.

I didn't know why, but my mother's memories came flashing by in my mind. 

Her gentle smile, the warmth in her gaze, and how lovingly she hugged me... everything felt so distant now that tears filled my eyes.

She loved big brother and me so very much. She never differentiated between us. She was always there for us...just like that...silently standing beside us and loving us with everything she had.

I faintly remember how blank my brother looked during her funeral. There was no expression on his face at all as if he felt no grief. But I knew what hell of a storm was inside his heart. I was the same too.

Dad kept smiling for us because he didn't want us to feel lonely. Even if I was too young, I understood that. He was bottling his own pain. He was fighting his own battle of losing his loved one, but he never once broke down in front of us.

Dad always remained strong just like a mountain and loving us double than before... silently trying to give us the part of Mom's love as well. 

Mom's warmth was gone forever.

She left us when I was also just nine, almost as young as Zhang Ning and Zhang Xiulan.

In that sense, I understood how Zhang Ning must have felt. Losing one's parent at such a young age is the most painful experience any child could go through.

"Xin Lei…"

Yuan looked at me, and I could see the concern on his face.

On my other side, I felt Bai Li's fingers entwining against mine.

I smiled and shook my head. I mouthed. "I am fine."

Yuan stared at me for a while before he nodded.

Even though Bai Li said nothing, I felt that he understood my pain. The way he tightly gripped my hand said his unsaid words to me.

Memories are indeed a mystery. One never knows when it would suddenly grip you into the past.

Bai Li shifted his gaze at Zhang Chao's direction and said, "Find about Zhang Xiulan's whereabouts. If she is indeed the killer, then she must be here."

Zhang Chao slowly nodded. "I will."

"Call us when you get any news about her. And…" he narrowed his eyes, "don't forget what we said earlier. You have to come out with how you hid Mrs. Zhang's murder."

"Bai Li-"

"I don't care about your reputation or that shit. But if you don't come clean, then we will have to do your job. Zhang Xiulan was a child when she killed Mrs. Zhang, but you were not. You were a full-grown adult capable of doing the right thing, yet you killed an innocent man."

Silence.

It was time for us to leave.

As we stepped out of the ward, Liao Huifang exhaled a sharp breath. "Gosh, that was too much to take. It was so depressing and frightening. Just in what shit have we stepped into?"

I had the same thoughts. This was way too complicated.

I typed. "Who do you think would have helped her come back into the country? I mean, if she could hide for a whole year without letting Zhang Chao get any hint about it, then it must be someone powerful. I doubt she would have pulled it off all alone, especially when she was back in the country."

Bai Li agreed. "Yes. She is not alone. Zhang Chao himself is so influential. But he didn't get any wind of it. It is hard to press any news from him if it concerns him, but she did it anyway."

"Maybe someone of the rival party just like Zhang Chao's?" Liao Huifang asked.

Yuan said, "Or it could be someone unrelated to politics but still powerful enough like maybe a businessman."

"How must have she made such a powerful acquaintance?"

There were a lot of mysteries to unfold.

I typed. "Do you think Zhang Chao would come clean with it?"

"Doesn't matter."

Tian Song, who stood behind me, said, "I already recorded our conversation. That is the evidence."

As expected of a capable Intelligence officer.

"We should go. I have already informed Zhen about you. He is waiting."

I nodded.

---

An hour later, we stood in front of a tall building. The way towards this building was nothing but a bumpy ride. It felt as if Tian Song was taking to another part of the world.

I stared at the building.

My brother was there somewhere, maybe even watching us from above.

Big brother...I can finally meet you.