Chapter 78 January 21, 2000 [1]

After a few days of rest, Yan Yu finally returned to the classroom.

The warming of spring in the south was not much faster than in the north; in April, drizzles lingered and one still needed an extra jacket when going outside.

It was the season of new beginnings—after the gentle rain, the entire campus was enveloped in the fresh fragrance of earth.

Yan Yu lounged idly at the very back row of desks in Class 2, Grade 12, savoring the tranquil afternoon.

"Alright, let's look at this question. I've explained this one many times—what do we use? The process of elimination! Choosing A is definitely wrong, B can be ruled out, C is obviously impossible, so what’s the answer?—D! Yes, that's right, very good, everyone is keeping pace with the teacher!"

The physics teacher, dressed in the standard attire of a white shirt tucked into his trousers and cinched with a long leather belt, was struggling at the podium to explain the problems. Yet, few students paid him any real attention.

"Sigh... I can’t blame these spoiled heirs. If my father had money, I wouldn’t bother being a physics teacher—I’d sleep in every day myself..." The physics teacher sighed inwardly.

Everyone despises the privileged, yet everyone wishes to become one.

Just then, a student by the window whispered, "The class leader is coming!"

In an instant, the previously languid students sat upright, taking notes and feigning attentive listening.

Even Yang Xuefei straightened up.

Only Yan Yu remained sprawled across his desk, lost in a deep, carefree sleep.

Su Han, stepping lightly in her high heels, drifted past the window. She cast a casual glance into the classroom and was fairly satisfied—until she spotted Yan Yu, fast asleep.

"Ahem!" Su Han called, "Yan Yu! Step outside!"

Hearing the homeroom teacher call Yan Yu’s name, the class was instantly filled with schadenfreude. It wasn’t that they disliked Yan Yu; they simply rejoiced that it wasn’t themselves being called out.

But Yan Yu hadn’t heard Su Han at all, sleeping soundly.

"Yan Yu!" Su Han called again.

Yang Xuefei, unable to bear it any longer, gently stepped on Yan Yu’s foot. He awoke with a start, squinting as he stood up and muttered, "I know this one—it’s C..."

"Yan Yu! Get out here!" Su Han was furious, grinding her teeth. If she let Yan Yu continue like this, the class's academic atmosphere would undoubtedly deteriorate.

"Huh?" Yan Yu finally woke up, glanced at Su Han waiting outside the door, then replied with an "Oh," and staggered out.

Behind him, Fatty and Hao Zhuang silently gave Yan Yu a thumbs-up: truly our leader—even his walk is cool!

"What do you want with me?" Yan Yu asked quietly as he stepped out of the classroom.

Zhao Qingqing floated out from the Hello Kitty hanging at Su Han’s waist, smiling as she said, "Little Su is afraid you’ll ruin the study habits of the class."

"These rich kids—what atmosphere is left for me to ruin? Money is important, but is it more important than health? I’m teaching everyone to sleep more, take care of their bodies, and then they’ll have the energy to spend their money," Yan Yu replied, utterly serious in his nonsense.

Su Han snorted and handed him a file folder. "These are the materials you asked for. I had to pull many strings to get them."

Yan Yu smiled, accepting the folder. "Miss Su, you’re truly remarkable—no one else could have managed this."

Zhao Qingqing asked curiously, "What’s inside?"

"Matters of the living—dead people should stay out of it," Yan Yu replied, patting Zhao Qingqing’s head, as if to say, "Grown-up business, little kids shouldn’t meddle."

Zhao Qingqing pouted.

Yan Yu leisurely returned to the classroom. His interrupted dreams left him without the heart to continue sleeping, so he opened the folder and began reading.

In truth, the folder contained the case file of Zhao Qingqing’s death.

He kept it from Zhao Qingqing to avoid her becoming overly concerned. Yan Yu wanted to learn the truth before she did, so he could better handle the situation.

Otherwise... while Zhao Qingqing seemed adorable now, if she ever discovered who had killed her, she might turn into a vengeful spirit.

Yan Yu glanced at Yang Xuefei, saw her engrossed in browsing online shopping, and proceeded to examine the materials.

The file detailed the discoveries at the scene, included multiple witness statements, and reconstructed the sequence of events.

There were also several blurred black-and-white photos—one of Zhao Qingqing before her death, and the rest documenting evidence from the crime scene.

On the night of January 21, 2000, Zhao Qingqing, who should have been attending evening self-study in the teaching building, returned early to her dorm due to feeling unwell. That evening, a power outage struck the campus, caused by the electricity department. When her roommates returned to the dorm, they assumed Zhao Qingqing was already asleep and soon went to bed themselves.

It wasn’t until the next morning that her roommates discovered Zhao Qingqing was not in her own bed. Her body had been stuffed into a Hello Kitty plush toy; her roommates had unknowingly slept beside her corpse the entire night.

Investigations revealed that Zhao Qingqing had been murdered on the night of the 21st. The cause of death was forced drowning in the laundry basin. The perpetrator did not violate her corpse, but swiftly concealed her inside the Hello Kitty toy and left. No fingerprints or clues were found—a seasoned criminal’s work.

Police compared murder cases nationwide from the past twenty years but found no cases executed in a similar manner. They also investigated Zhao Qingqing’s relationships, but found nothing. In the end, the case remained unsolved and was archived.

"No grudges, not for money or lust—the killer had no motive to murder Qingqing. Yet their aim was so clear and their methods so practiced—why?"

Yan Yu read through every detail in the file, and suddenly, something occurred to him. He quickly searched through the materials.

"Found it..."

According to the records, on the night of Zhao Qingqing’s death, Tang Xinyi, who was nine months pregnant, secretly went alone to the hospital for a check-up.

Yan Yu took out the photo of the crime scene. Though the image was blurry, he could faintly make out that the giant Hello Kitty plush toy had been placed on his mother Tang Xinyi’s bed.

Yan Yu shuddered, unable to suppress a quiet murmur:

"The killer that year—their real target wasn’t Qingqing, but my mother..."