Chapter 36

Zhen Ai rarely had a peaceful night's sleep, but after the effects of the red wine wore off, she found herself waking up at six o'clock, just as usual.

Instead of getting out of bed, she rolled around comfortably on the large, soft mattress, enjoying the feeling of the plush bedding against her skin. The velvet mattress and fluffy blankets felt like cotton candy, a delightful change from her usual sleeping arrangements.

Thick curtains blocked out the light, and she turned on the bedside lamp, its dim glow enhancing the room's serene and elegant decor. With her eyes closed, she nestled deeper into the blankets, trying to recall the events of the previous night, but it was like trying to grasp wisps of cotton in the wind—nothing concrete to hold on to. After a rare bout of laziness, Zhen Ai finally got up, washed up, and headed downstairs.

As she descended the stairs, the elevator chimed, and Yan Su stepped out, clearly having just returned from a walk.

He glanced at her with a calm demeanor, his expression unchanged from usual.

"Did you bring me back last night?" Zhen Ai asked, realizing too late how pointless the question was. Given his personality, he wouldn't give her a straightforward answer.

"Last night, an angel passed by, lent you its wings, and you fluttered back yourself," he replied, his gaze aloof.

Zhen Ai followed behind him, muttering, "It would have been simpler if you just said 'yes.'"

Yan Su, with keen hearing, didn't even turn around. "Think about it—what's the simplest answer?"

That morning, Owen had prepared breakfast.

As Yan Su pulled out a chair and sat down, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and picked up. "What's with the urgency? Is the wedding going to run away?"

Zhen Ai had grown accustomed to his tone and sat down calmly.

Yan Su continued, his tone sharp, "When I'm hungry or thirsty, I become unbearable."

As if he ever was easy to deal with otherwise.

"Do you want me to analyze where your friends have been, who's flirting with whom, or who's in a relationship when I arrive?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Great! I appreciate your practical attitude!" he concluded the call and prepared to eat. Just as he picked up his knife and fork, he paused and said, "We'll head to Hampton later."

Zhen Ai blinked, "Ah, the wedding."

Yan Su shot her a displeased look, "My family matters are just so insignificant to you?"

Weren't you the one who said the wedding wouldn't run away?

"Just another example of your double standards!" Zhen Ai grumbled under her breath.

Yan Su considered it briefly before responding, "I understand idioms."

Before they left, Owen suddenly said he was too busy with work to join them.

Zhen Ai was baffled, wondering what on earth he had been busy with.

She remarked, "But Owen, your job is basically me!"

Owen's face turned as red as a tomato, and he hurried off.

Zhen Ai was left even more puzzled.

---

This was Zhen Ai's first time attending a wedding, and she felt a flutter of anticipation. Wanting to ask Yan Su about the event, she found him driving with an intense focus, his handsome face set in concentration, as if the dashboard read "For your safety, please don't speak to the driver."

After several failed attempts to break the silence, she finally said, "Yan Su, can you really multitask?"

Yan Su frowned, "You still can't see that after all this time? Your comprehension skills are terrible."

Feeling embarrassed, Zhen Ai thought he could have just said "yes."

She quickly decided not to dwell on that. "If that's the case, let's chat!"

"About what?" he asked, his tone slightly wary.

Feigning nonchalance as she played with her hair in the mirror, Zhen Ai suggested, "Let's talk about your thoughts, like… why did little Parker commit suicide?"

Yan Su shot her a quick glance through the rearview mirror. Her seemingly casual demeanor betrayed a deeper seriousness. 

He redirected his gaze, willing to indulge her curiosity. "Sure."

Zhen Ai was taken aback by his agreement.

Yan Su's expression remained calm as he recalled the past, despite his reluctance to revisit old wounds. Thinking about how Zhen Ai had defended him at dinner the previous night, he felt a sense of pleasure from her support.

He squinted slightly as he pondered. "Initially, a reasonable explanation was that Parker killed Laura, and someone among the students learned he was the murderer. Out of revenge or other motives, they killed him in the same manner. This clever killer misled the police into thinking it was a serial murder case, making it hard to find the true culprit."

Zhen Ai nodded, "I thought the same at first. And to be honest, when I read the description of Parker's death scene, I immediately thought of a serial killer. I nearly overturned my previous theories."

"The public had no idea that Parker was a key suspect in Laura's case, so when Parker and Laura's deaths were similar, everyone assumed it was a serial killer."

Yan Su smiled slightly but without warmth. "And when I suggested Parker committed suicide, the world probably thought I was either insane or entangled in some family conspiracy."

Zhen Ai felt a pang of injustice for him. "Why not analyze the Laura case publicly, showing everyone that Parker was her killer? Regardless of whether Parker committed suicide, at least it wouldn't be a serial murder case."

Yan Su turned to her, his light brown eyes clear and slightly puzzled. "But wasn't Parker a minor?"

"There were other students in the car. Do you really think letting the media know they were hanging out, doing drugs and smoking weed is a good idea? Trust me, the media would definitely shift their focus and criticize youth education based on that."

Zhen Ai was momentarily taken aback. In this moment, he was actually concerned about protecting the rights and privacy of minors…

Her heart sank a little as she turned to gaze out the window.

After a while, she collected herself and continued, "So why do you think Parker committed suicide?"

"I didn't rule out the possibility of suicide from the beginning."

"Why not?"

"Just because. It's a habit."

Zhen Ai remembered Owen mentioning that Yan Su would consider all possibilities (even the least likely ones) to ensure the accuracy of his conclusions.

Perhaps this was the reason he claimed he wouldn't make mistakes.

"I considered those alibis that didn't match up, the bizarre murder methods, even theories of dual or collective murder, and I found flaws in each one," Yan Su continued, his gaze steady on the road. "In the end, only one possibility remained."

"What about the suicide note?" Zhen Ai asked. "That didn't seem like a normal note—it looked fake."

Yan Su smiled faintly, "What if Parker wanted to create the impression that he was murdered?"

Zhen Ai was taken aback, not having considered such a motive before. But now, the case seemed simpler and more reasonable: "Do you think the suicide note was written by Parker himself?"

"Yes," Yan Su replied firmly, suddenly serious. "I've seen Parker's room. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old high school boy, extremely tidy and organized, with a bookshelf full of detective novels, especially locked-room mysteries and impossible crimes. In other words, he was a meticulous planner with basic reasoning skills, aware of different ways to write a suicide note and how to mislead the police effectively."

Zhen Ai realized: "In the Parker case, I've always wondered why the murderer was so bold and confident. They knew Parker had invited many friends over and chose to kill him in a place where people were waiting. Killing him there was one thing, but they did it just ten minutes before the agreed time—if someone arrived a bit early, they could have run into the murderer."

"I considered whether the murderer had some method to control when everyone arrived, but there's no evidence of that," Yan Su said with a faint smile. "If Parker committed suicide, that question disappears. He was his own killer, so he didn't need to leave the bathroom, avoiding encounters. He hung himself and opened his phone at the moment, waiting for everyone to get impatient and call. Even if someone arrived early, those few minutes would be enough for him to suffocate."

But why would Parker commit suicide? 

Zhen Ai was about to ask when she paused to analyze it herself. As she thought, she couldn't help but murmur, "He committed suicide but disguised it as murder. He must have wanted to convey a message. If so, that message would manifest in illogical ways at the crime scene, something that would shock the person who found the body."

Her voice was soft, but Yan Su heard her clearly. He couldn't help but smile slightly, glancing at her through the rearview mirror as she rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. She looked truly adorable when she was serious.

But when he looked away, he saw the smile in his own eyes and felt a strange unfamiliarity, momentarily startled by himself.

What a perplexing expression.

He felt a mix of surprise, discomfort, and awkwardness, ultimately directing his gaze straight ahead.

Zhen Ai, oblivious, continued piecing together clues and discussed with him: "There are two suspicious points—first, the condensation and fingerprints on the glass. Parker deliberately asked everyone to come on time to control the steam from the hot water, fearing he'd die too soon and the mist would clear, making it hard for others to read the writing."

Yan Su deliberately questioned, "If no one can see it, neither will the forensic team."

"The writing is meant for the people who discover the scene, an immediate shock. Just like the second point, his suicide note was written with a waterproof pen and hung on him. His target was those students!"

Zhen Ai's mind sparked, "Hanging himself, stripping his clothes, the writing on the glass—all of it was his masterpiece. After experimenting on Laura, he replicated it perfectly on himself. He did all this to intimidate the others!"

Yan Su gazed ahead, his expression unreadable: "Exactly. Details of the minor case won't be released, so others wouldn't know he killed Laura. But his suicide scene is so shocking that it makes everyone believe it's murder. The rest will live in fear, wondering if they're next."

Zhen Ai felt a chill run down her spine. Was Parker seeking this kind of psychological torment?

"What are these students so afraid of?"

Yan Su asked, "Do you remember their testimonies after Laura's death? The part where they went back to the car without finding her."

Zhen Ai: ...

How could she possibly remember...

Yan Su waited a few seconds, realizing her expression had turned gray and that she hadn't reacted, he slowly added, "Oh, I almost forgot your memory capacity."

Zhen Ai protested, "Not everyone is as peculiar as you. Besides, doesn't remembering all this tire you out?"

Yan Su: "Does a computer need rest?"

Zhen Ai: "But computers crash and freeze sometimes."

Yan Su turned to her, looking nonchalant: "Don't compare me to your memory-limited Windows 98."

Zhen Ai: ...

Yan Su recounted:

"Kerry's testimony—after getting in the car, Tony asked if we should keep looking; I checked the car and found the fuel tank was broken; Anna complained about Laura's insensitivity; Parker argued with her; at that moment, Qi Mo noticed the threat on the window, the pentagram and the words 'money or life'...

Tony's testimony—after getting in the car, I asked if we should keep searching; Kerry said..."

After hearing all the testimonies, Zhen Ai frowned: "They're all the same; they didn't lie."

"Which parts are the same?"

"The general sequence of events, everyone's statements, the order of speaking..."

Zhen Ai suddenly halted: "It's all identical. Tony asked, Kerry mentioned the car, Anna complained, Parker argued, Qi Mo noticed. Earlier statements had their own focus, but this part is strikingly similar—they must have conferred! But why?"

Yan Su remained calm: "The only explanation is the writing on the glass—they all wanted to conceal something. What was written on the glass wasn't 'money or life' but something they all feared yet wouldn't dare disclose."

Zhen Ai recalled Parker's suicide note. Now, through Yan Su's clarity, it seemed very clear and reasonable.

"Yes, it was me who killed Laura. I can't endure that ugly face, that hypocritical nobility anymore." — This was his reason for killing Laura.

"Guilt and sin suffocate me. Those who make mistakes deserve to die; I deserve to die." — Parker intended to kill everyone and then take his own life.

"No, in fact, I'm afraid someone has already discovered my sins." — Before Parker died, Yan Su had talked to him. Perhaps he suspected Yan Su had already figured it out.

"So, rather than wait for him to punish me, I'd rather die on my own terms." — He preferred to kill another (himself) and leave the remaining fear for others.

"Today, I will end my life before the devil." — He called his companions to witness his death. Because they were the devils!

As they neared the coast, the ocean breeze flowed through the car window, bringing the gentle chill of spring.

Yet Zhen Ai's heart felt heavy. She remembered seeing Parker's photo in the evidence box—a handsome, golden-haired, blue-eyed boy under eighteen, looking like a fairy tale prince.

How could such a bright young man meticulously plan such a grim spectacle?

What was truly hidden behind this?