Chapter 17: Still dead

Too many coincidences.

Gu Zhiye didn’t believe Yu Song would commit suicide, but he found too many suspicious points in these two cases, and most of the coincidences seemed too much to be mere chance.

Too many coincidences probably aren’t coincidences at all.

He needed to get to the bottom of this.

After searching through all the surveillance cameras at He Zilu’s house, he brought out a telescope to scout the surroundings through the window, but found nothing.

The only camera facing Shugui—if someone had incited He Zilu to jump to her death, they surely wouldn’t have missed “watching” their own masterpiece.

Yet, he found no cameras pointed directly at the window.

At night, it wasn’t easy to check the neighboring residential building.

He would have to investigate which residents could see that window tomorrow.

“Xiao Jun, I’m just worried you might be affected by He Zilu. Didn’t you also hear the music through your earphones? If there’s really something wrong, you’d be in danger too.”

Yu Song raised her hand: “Alright, that sounds reasonable. But don’t worry, I definitely won’t kill myself.”

“You still haven’t answered my question—how exactly did He Zilu bully you at school? Was it just her, or was there a small clique involved?”

“She does have a few good friends, but they’re a bit better than her. I wouldn’t call it a clique. He Zilu likes to talk bad about me behind my back, spread rumors, act weird in front of me, dirty my bed sheets. She even tried to get the teachers and classmates to ostracize me. That’s about it.”

Gu Zhiye frowned. This kind of covert bullying was the hardest to prove. He asked, “Have you ever fought back?”

“I can’t be bothered with her. Let it be. People who can be easily provoked aren’t worthy of my friendship.”

Gu Zhiye looked at her confident and magnanimous demeanor and couldn’t help but laugh: “Xiao Yu, you’re so bold here, daring to confront me, and yet you say you didn’t fight back when classmates spread rumors about you? That doesn’t add up.”

Yu Song knew her transformation was too drastic; it would definitely arouse suspicion. But she couldn’t be a timid weakling like the original character.

The more she pretended, the more suspicious it looked.

“Just because you’re a cop, that’s why I dared to confront you. No, that’s not confrontation. I’m just explaining my doubts.”

Yu Song put on an innocent face: “What if I said nothing and was mistaken for a murderer and thrown in jail? Wouldn’t that be an injustice?”

Gu Zhiye had no retort: “Don’t worry. There are many procedures from suspect identification to incarceration. Our Criminal Investigation Team has never handled wrongful convictions.”

Yu Song sighed: “I’m not saying you’ve ever done that. It’s just me—since birth, I’ve been unlucky. I’ve always expected the worst in every situation.”

Gu Zhiye thought of her irresponsible parents and realized her pessimistic self-assessment, though harsh, was quite accurate.

“So you mean you’re very pessimistic, negative in social interactions, don’t plan to make friends, and don’t care what others think of you. He Zilu’s rumors and defamation don’t bother you. Then why did you go to her house late at night? And say you wanted to confront her?”

Gu Zhiye fixed his gaze on Yu Song. “Xiao Yu, can you tell me how you planned to confront her?”

“I planned to file a complaint in front of her parents before school started. Whether or not they could control He Zilu, it would at least be a warning. I didn’t expect her family to have so many problems. Her situation was worse than mine—she cut herself and then jumped off the building.”

Yu Song pretended to be upset and sniveled, “Officer Gu, now I understand why He Zilu always targeted me. Although my family is poor and my parents don’t care about me, I’ve never given up or thought of suicide. Her parents looked loving and wealthy, and the whole family seemed bright and shiny. But in reality, her parents are fighting over mistresses and divorcing. He Zilu wanted to jump. Well, isn’t that what they say: every family has its own troubles? I guess she was probably jealous of me—I’m much stronger than she is. No matter how bad my home life is, I live carefree at school.”

“Jealous of you?” Gu Zhiye chuckled; she really dared to say that.

“Carefree means no matter how others insult or slander you, you don’t care. And ‘living alone’ means you don’t have any friends at school, no classmates you can talk to, always by yourself. That’s what you mean, right?”

Yu Song was a bit surprised. “School hasn’t even started, Officer Gu, and you’ve already investigated my school situation? Did you even ask all my classmates?”

“That’s easy to find out. Yu Song, what exactly were you doing at He Zilu’s house? Why go there tonight? You know she was going to commit suicide, right?”

From calling her “Classmate Xiao Jun” to “Xiao Yu,” and now using her real name directly, it was clear Gu Zhiye’s patience was wearing thin.

Yu Song, unable to give a reasonable answer, rambled. She had already considered on the way over whether or not to reveal the dark tutor.

She didn’t trust Gu Zhiye enough, and was afraid of triggering plot events from the original story.

Xing said she could guarantee she wouldn’t break the law, but the dark tutor was very powerful and hidden in the shadows.

Yu Song was genuinely afraid he would fabricate evidence at the next crime scene to frame her as the murderer.

Xing said with the Tianwang System’s coverage and high-tech evidence collection methods, wrongful convictions were rare, but since humans handled cases, mistakes could still happen.

As the main villain in the original story, Yu Song had to be careful.

“Officer Gu, you can check not only my location, but all my communication records, including chats with friends and posts online. Also purchase records—I did buy a lot of things recently, but I never bought a diamond ring, nor did I browse He Zilu’s music app on her computer. Using process of elimination, you can tell it wasn’t me. As for why I went to her house, I already said—I just wanted to complain to her parents. People sometimes get sudden strange ideas.”

“Why did you knock on the door? How did you know she was in danger? Even her mother didn’t notice. How did you know?”

“I already said—people sometimes do strange things. I originally planned to complain, but when I saw her mother couldn’t open the door, I had to knock.”

Seeing Gu Zhiye tapping his pen on his notebook like he didn’t believe her story, Yu Song threw up her hands. “Fine, I admit I once fantasized about He Zilu getting into trouble. But when I went to the He family, I found her parents arguing and her locked in her room. It wasn’t the glamorous little princess life she described. I just wanted to watch a good show, to see if she was hiding inside crying.”

“Sounds very plausible!”

Yu Song was a bit helpless. “Officer Gu, you can check the online traces anytime, even after work hours. You don’t have to waste time with me here. I admit I hoped He Zilu would get into trouble, go crazy or get hurt, and never go back to school. But I never encouraged her to kill herself. Not doing it means not doing it!”

Gu Zhiye glanced at his phone. “Don’t worry, someone’s already investigating.”

Yu Song planned to observe for a while. If he found those two unknown incoming calls, she would reveal the dark tutor. Otherwise, she didn’t know who would be the next victim when the next call came.

Gu Zhiye looked down at his notebook, feeling a headache coming on. He was sure Yu Song was connected to these two cases, but there was no solid evidence she had acted.

Just as he was about to get a cup of coffee to refresh himself, Ji Jiang suddenly pushed the door open. He glanced at Yu Song, then nodded at Gu Zhiye.

“Captain Gu, come with me for a moment.”

Yu Song noticed his tense expression and quickly asked, “Officer Ji, are you on duty too? What’s going on? Is it news from the hospital?”

Ji Jiang hadn’t expected Yu Song’s sharpness—yes, it was news from the hospital.

Yu Song wanted to ask more, but Gu Zhiye had already pulled Ji Jiang out. Two minutes later, he returned.

“He Zilu really did commit suicide!”

Yu Song froze. Dead? Wasn’t there a chance to save her?

“How did she die? Don’t hospitals put suicidal patients in restraints?”

“Depends. He Zilu was listening to music and seemed fine. Her mother was holding her, and everyone thought she was okay. After the checkup, her mother accompanied her to the ward, but then she rushed to the rooftop and jumped off, dying on the spot.”

Yu Song knitted her brows. “How could someone so easily get onto the hospital rooftop? It must be packed with people. Terminal patients, those who can’t afford treatment, the depressed, the insane—weren’t there regulations that hospital windows couldn’t open fully? How could patients get up to the rooftop?”

Gu Zhiye sighed. “Yes, it’s a man-made safety accident. The 325 Hospital has a helipad on the roof that’s only opened for missions. Tonight, the shift ended, and the staff were in a hurry to go home and forgot to lock the door.”

“Do you really buy that?”

Gu Zhiye frowned at Yu Song’s suddenly serious look. “If not, then it’s obviously hospital staff negligence. Of course, He Zilu’s mother is responsible too, as well as the police who escorted her to the hospital but didn’t keep an eye on her.”

Yu Song snorted. “Officer Gu, I find you very double-standard. Every coincidence on me is a plot, no matter the lack of evidence. Even though I saved He Zilu, you still suspect me. Now the police lose track of her, Zhao Xue couldn’t hold He Zilu back, and the rooftop door was left unlocked. Are all these just coincidences to you?”

Gu Zhiye was a bit embarrassed.

His first reaction was indeed that it was all coincidences—too many coincidences combined, causing a girl who jumped at home to jump again at the hospital.

“I wasn’t at the scene. The call was answered by Officer Ji. I’m only stating facts, not conclusions.”

He looked at his watch. “It’s late now. I’m going to the hospital. Yu Song, are you going home or staying on duty to accompany the night shift?”

Yu Song wasn’t ready to sleep.

She had to figure out whether He Zilu’s time at the hospital was connected to the dark tutor.

“Officer Gu, I want to go to the hospital too.”

“What for? I can have someone escort you home. Keep your phone open these days. This case has a lot to investigate.”

Yu Song stood up. “Officer Gu, I’m temporarily cleared of suspicion. I’m a free person now, right? I want to go to the hospital myself. If you can give me a ride, great. If not, I’ll just take a cab.”

Gu Zhiye was a bit helpless but saw the determination in her eyes and could only wave at her, “Let’s go.”