Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I stared at the computer screen, rereading my conversation with Ma Wei and turning it over and over in my mind.

My thoughts were a tangled mess.

The earlier exposé post had speculated that Bai Yanmei’s uncle by marriage, Qi Wentao, was the killer.

Tonight, Bai Yanmei’s cousin’s son, Lin Zhicheng, pointed to Bai Yanmei’s obsessive pursuer, Ma Wei, as the real murderer.

And Ma Wei said he had once been in the same room as the killer, but hadn’t seen what the killer looked like.

On the surface, everyone’s theory seemed to hold water.

So who exactly killed Bai Yanmei?

Five days later, I received a package.

The sender was Miss Su. It had been mailed from Shanghai, and the phone number was hidden.

The package was sealed very tightly. There were only two items inside.

An old diary, and a small jewelry box.

Inside the jewelry box was half of a black pendant. It felt like jade to the touch, its surface carved with simple, archaic patterns-plain work, yet it carried a certain quiet grandeur.

The diary had a dark brown faux-leather cover. Even after all these years, it had been preserved very well; only the spine showed creases from being opened and read.

I washed my hands three times, put on silk gloves, and only then did I open the diary.

The paper of the title page had yellowed. A rose had been drawn on it, and beneath it was written the name “Bai Yanmei.”

Beautiful handwriting.

I turned to the next page. The writing was childish and done in pencil, so many of the words were no longer clear.

For characters she didn’t know, she used pinyin instead.

“September 1, 1982, Wednesday. Sunny.

Today Dad gave me a [illegible] diary.

He told me to write down what I [illegible] every day, and not to write a boring list of events.

He said he would check it anytime.”

–

“September 2, 1982, Thursday. Sunny.

Today I helped Dad peel potatoes. Dad said I’d grown up, and he praised me.”

Reading this, I couldn’t help but smile.

Bai Yanmei as a child was truly adorable.

I kept flipping through the diary.

“September 4, 1983, Sunday. Overcast.

Today Dad took me to Aunt’s house.

Qi Xin gave me a piece of candy. It was so sweet.

Aunt and Uncle had a fight.

Qi Xin said that if her parents got divorced, she liked Dad better and would live with Dad from then on.

If it were me, I would choose Mom.

No, that’s not right. I want both Dad and Mom.

I asked Dad where Mom went, and when she would come back.

Dad said she would come back next year.

Dad is lying.

Qi Xin said Mom went to Hong Kong with someone, had another child, and didn’t want a burden like me.

I miss Mom.”

–

I frowned.

That Qi Xin really was vicious. She deserved to be scared into a nervous breakdown.

The next dozen or so pages were the trivial daily life of Bai Yanmei as a child. I skimmed quickly and stopped on the page dated October 17, 1983.

There was only one short line on that page:

“Today, I don’t have a dad anymore.”

–

I remembered.

When I had looked up the information before, I found that when Bai Yanmei was eight, her aunt and uncle were fighting and talking divorce. Her father rode his bicycle over on a rainy night to mediate, fell, and died.

Ah.

I let out a long sigh and continued reading.

After that, she rarely kept a diary-only a few entries a year-and her handwriting gradually changed from childish to neat and forceful.

There wasn’t much content, but it was enough to show that she was living under someone else’s roof, careful with every step.

Her aunt treated her as if she were her own child, but her uncle, Qi Wentao, still favored his daughter more. For example:

“January 3, 1984. Overcast.

Today Sister Xin asked me when I was going back to my own home.

She said I stole her mom. She said I had no shame.

That’s not true.

I have my own mom. It’s just that Mom went to a very faraway place…”

–

“May 12, 1987. Sunny.

Aunt has been away on a business trip for several days. I miss her.

After school, Uncle and Sister Xin weren’t home.

I made dinner on my own, but after I waited a long time, they still didn’t come back.

A little after seven in the evening, Uncle and the others came back. They said Sister Xin’s grandma was sick, and the two of them had gone to visit her.

I quickly said I had made dinner, and that we could eat after heating it up.

Uncle said there was no need and told me to eat by myself.

Uncle went to watch the evening news. Sister Xin went to do her homework.

Forget it. I can eat by myself too.”

–

“May 13, 1987. Overcast.

Today I ran into my classmate He Xiao’an.

He said that yesterday afternoon, he saw my uncle take Sister Xin to a restaurant, and they ordered braised pork.

I told He Xiao’an that Uncle had planned to take me too, but my stomach hurt, so I didn’t go.

After I parted ways with He Xiao’an, I ran to the riverside alone and cried for a very, very long time.

A light rain started to fall. I was so cold.

Dad must have been that cold that night too.

If Dad were still here…

If I wanted to eat braised pork, he would take me to a restaurant.

I’m not that petty. I would invite Sister Xin to come with us.”

–

By the time I reached this point, tears were already streaming down my face without my realizing it, and my heart ached terribly.

Yanmei…

If I could meet you, I would hold you tight and make you all kinds of delicious food.