Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The police rushed forward. They pinned Wang Yu hard against the floor, wrenched his arms behind his back, and snapped handcuffs around his wrists.

He Zhiyuan, who had still been trying to resist, collapsed completely at the sight. Weeping uncontrollably, he crawled toward me and reached for the hem of my trousers. “Tiantian, I’m sorry… Everything Dad did was to keep you safe! I pretended to be crazy for ten years, and I treated you so badly, all so you could stay alive…”

I stepped back in disgust, avoiding his hand.

I looked at the sobbing man on the floor and felt strangely calm. There was no hysterical screaming inside me, only a chill that went to the bone. Even now, he was still trying to hide his cowardice and filth behind a self-serving lie.

“Mr. He, stop making excuses for yourself.” I looked down at him, my voice utterly cold. “If you had truly wanted to protect me, you would have gone to the police ten years ago. You wouldn’t have stood by while my sister died of thirst, or watched me suffer in agony for an entire decade.”

He Zhiyuan’s lips trembled as he tried to argue.

“Do you know the name of the stray cat you used as a ‘reminder’?” I held his gaze and pronounced each word distinctly. “Her name was Jingjing. The same jing that means clean and pure. My sister’s name.”

He Zhiyuan went rigid. A bloodless shock flashed across his tear-streaked face, and even his breathing stopped.

“You killed her a second time with your own hands.” The sight of him—hypocritical to the bitter end, yet unable to answer—struck me as infinitely absurd. “He Zhiyuan, did you really think hell would overlook you?”

His entire body convulsed. His mouth opened, but it was as if an invisible hand had closed around his throat. Not another sound came out.

Two officers stepped forward, hauled the limp He Zhiyuan to his feet, and escorted him toward the door together with Wang Yu.

The heavy, disordered footsteps in the corridor slowly receded.

The nightmare that had lasted ten years was finally torn apart.

Xu Yan handed me a tissue and gave my shoulder a gentle pat.

“He Tian, you did very well. You faced the darkest abyss and still refused to let it drag you in. Ten years did not allow hatred to consume you. Instead, you became a worthy judge.”

“Your obsession has finally found its answer. From today on, you no longer have to be Sisyphus, forever pushing the same stone uphill.”

Xu Yan’s voice was warm and steady. “I look forward to seeing you shine in academia as a criminal psychologist.”

I took the tissue and wiped the dampness from the corners of my eyes.

Sunlight streamed through the corridor’s barred window, and motes of dust drifted quietly in the beam.

As Wang Yu’s and He Zhiyuan’s footsteps faded into the distance, the nightmare of ten long years finally came to an end.

A soft rain fell on the day the case was finally closed.

Holding a black umbrella, I stood before the grave with a bouquet of rock chrysanthemums gathered from the cliff cradled in my arms. In my other hand was the old water bottle Jingjing had carried on her twelfth birthday. I bent down, unscrewed its cap, and slowly poured the clear water onto the earth before the headstone.

In the fine rain, the soil made a faint rustling sound, as if swallowing gently.

It was as though the twelve-year-old girl trapped in the mine had finally received the rain she had waited for.

My vision blurred in the mist.

I seemed to see a girl in a school uniform, her hair tied in a ponytail, standing beside the headstone in all her bright, lively grace.

She lifted her clean, innocent face to the cool spring rain and freely swallowed the falling droplets in great gulps.

Then she turned to me. Her eyes curved into lovely crescents, and a mischievous smile lit her face.

“Sis, the water is so sweet. I got the rock chrysanthemums, too, so you can’t be angry with me anymore, okay?”

I reached for her through the curtain of rain, but my fingertips touched only the cool spring breeze.

“I’m not angry anymore, Jingjing.”

I gently laid the bouquet of rock chrysanthemums before the headstone. Droplets slid from the petals.

They were as pure as her smiling face at twelve years old.

“The demons have gone to hell. From now on, you can drink whenever you’re thirsty and eat whenever you’re hungry.”

“Your sister will always be with you.”