Chapter 10

I told Officer Li the truth. They were gone. All of them were gone.

It was simple. First, I won over Zhang Lingwei by playing the perfect Prince Charming, the kind older unmarried women loved most.

Then I killed her and dumped her in Niannian’s house, abandoned for so many years.

The only purpose was to lure Zhang Jianjun and Zhang Lingzhi here. They would be harder to kill.

Before they arrived, I deliberately stayed close to Officer Li, too, to clear myself of suspicion as much as I could.

I had put the note there myself. It didn’t necessarily have to appear in my room.

It could have appeared at any suitable time and place. Its main purpose was to connect this case to what had happened sixteen years ago.

To get the Zhang father and son back here sooner.

I had also moved into the police building on purpose. That way, I would be beyond suspicion.

I had used the fool. But he had been willing to let me use him.

Officer Li hung up in fury.

He was probably flooring the accelerator on his way to arrest me.

I walked out of the ruined temple and sat on the threshold.

I looked toward the mountain beside it, at leaves both familiar and strange.

I thought of my childhood.

It must have been summer. We had sat on a threshold just like this.

The three of us, together.

Waiting for the little watermelon in the courtyard to cool in the water.

There was no refrigerator when we were little. We soaked the watermelon in a basin of freshly drawn well water.

The water was very cold.

Sometimes Niannian couldn’t sit still. She would go over and touch the rind.

When her hand met the icy well water, she pulled it back and laughed.

Huang Yue crouched beside her, laughing along.

Later, I lifted the little watermelon and set it on a stone slab.

I cut it open with a knife.

Red flesh, black seeds. Juice trickled down the grooves in the stone.

I was still too young to be much good at cutting it.

So I ended up with three unequal pieces.

One large, one medium, one small.

Niannian stared at the biggest piece, her lips pressed together, saying nothing.

The fool stared at it, too. He swallowed with an audible gulp.

I said, “Rock, scissors, cloth. The winner picks first.”

Niannian chose cloth.

Huang Yue chose rock.

I chose scissors.

I said I’d won!

Then, as fast as I could, I grabbed the biggest piece of watermelon.

Niannian’s mouth turned down.

I laughed and held the piece out to her. “Only joking. You have the big one.”

She paused for half a second, then smiled, too.

She held the watermelon in both hands, as though it were a bowl of water.

She lowered her head and took a bite. Juice ran down her wrist.

Watching her sweet little face, Huang Yue grinned beside her.

I gave him the medium-sized piece.

He took it and stayed crouched where he was, head down, eating without a word.

The three of us sat on the threshold.

Our knees touching, we ate the whole watermelon.

At the end…

The fool put the rind on his head like a hat and chased Niannian all around the courtyard.

Niannian ran, calling, “Fool! Fool!”

That summer seemed so very, very long.

I sat on the threshold, watching them, and thought it would always be like that.