My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

The next students interrogated were Chen Jiawei and Mo Ling, as Li Qing's 'former' closest friends. Chen Jiawei stood Qin Weizhe's interrogation steadily and the things she said confirmed what Tian Wen, Hao Dong and Ruo Tingran said before.

On the other hand, Mo Ling had another breakdown due to Qin Weizhe's questioning. When she heard his last question of, "Who do you think would be able to kill Li Qing?" She burst into tears and poured out all of her grievances and sadness accumulated for the past few days.

"It's my fault…I am the bad one. If I am not so wilful, if my temper isn't so bad, then Li Qing wouldn't have to join Ruo Tingran's group."

Qin Weizhe's writing movement paused. "What's wrong with Ruo Tingran's group?"

"They are all bullies!" Mo Ling couldn't hold back anymore and blurted out everything. "They are so terrible. In the first year, they hid Li Qing's uniform so that she couldn't change back after PE Class, they flushed Li Qing's homework down the toilet, they mocked her verbally and then asked Li Qing to run errands for them!"

Qin Weizhe's fingers tapped on the table..

Now, here comes the first inconsistency.

Ruo Tingran claimed that after she drifted apart from Li Qing, they weren't friends anymore. No, they weren't friends to begin with. Li Qing bought an expensive bracelet for her in exchange to join her group, but Ruo Tingran didn't say anything about this bullying.

If what Mo Ling said was true—if Ruo Tingran's group really did bully Li Qing so badly—then why did she want to befriend them again? Was Li Qing so magnanimous that she could forget everything they had done to her? Or was there something hidden underneath?

"How about the teachers? Such bullying, they didn't act at all?"

"They did. But Ruo Tingran's group was really cunning! They did everything seamlessly, even if we reported it to Teacher Yao, there was no evidence at all. Moreover, it was Li Qing herself who didn't want to make it big so we can only help her secretly."

"In the end, it was Chen Jiawei who stood by her. She threatened them, saying that she recorded a video on them and if they dared to bully Li Qing again, then she would report them to the police."

"Video?" Qin Weizhe showed curiosity. "What is it about? Why didn't Chen Jiawei say anything about that?"

"Of course, she was only bluffing!" Mo Ling slapped her thigh. "How could someone who only know to do practice papers all day be able to sneak around to record a video of the bullying?"

Qin Weizhe: "…"

He recalled the mature, thick glasses Chen Jiawei and inwardly gave her a thumbs up. "Then, Ruo Tingran's group believed her?"

"They had to even if they didn't! If Chen Jiawei really pulled out a real video, then they're all finished! You also know how convincing Chen Jiawei's face was, she almost never lied before!" Mo Ling lowered her volume as if whispering a secret. 

Coupled with her swollen eyes and damp cheeks, she looked wretchedly adorable. "Mr. Detective, you should know that people like Ruo Tingran value their face the most. They have to act like a perfect student in front of their parents."

Qin Weizhe nodded, then pulled the topic back. "So, you think that Ruo Tingran's group was the one who caused Li Qing's death?"

Mo Ling pursed her lips and tears flooded her eyes again. "Li Qing...didn't commit suicide?"

Qin Weizhe offered her tissues, didn't know whether he should cry or laugh. "I say if, if!"

"Then…" Mo Ling hesitantly nodded.

Qin Weizhe finished the interrogation and said, "Can you please call Shi Nian here?"

Mo Ling blew her snot and nodded. 

Ten minutes later, a series of knocks resounded through the empty classroom. Qin Weizhe leaned forward to see Shi Nian. He beckoned with a wide smile. "Come in, come in! Hi, it hasn't been long, huh?"

The last time they met was in Xu Binchen's place when they had just caught Cui Qiqiang. More than three weeks had passed since then. 

Shi Nian smiled and bowed politely, then sat in front of Qin Weizhe.

He looked at her calm appearance and silently praised her. "So, let's get on to the topic, okay?"

Shi Nian nodded. Qin Weizhe tore off some pages from his notebook and handed her a pen. "You can write there. Nice, it saves me the time to record your statement in my notes. Write properly."

Shi Nian didn't know whether to laugh or cry and nodded.

From the beginning, Qin Weizhe never treated her like any other witness. This was the girl who survived with the serial killer alone for three months. No one knew what she had experienced during those times but the most important fact was, she came out alive.

That alone was already a glorious achievement.

Qin Weizhe tapped on his chin and asked directly. "How much do you know about Li Qing?"

Shi Nian pondered for a while. [Kind yet awkward. Has a low self esteem and is not good with expressing herself. Sometimes, it will make people misunderstand her.]

Qin Weizhe was amused. "Did you learn psychology from Miss Ru?"

Shi Nian looked up in confusion.

Qin Weizhe laughed. "For a split second, you sounded just like her. Except that you're much more mellow, kind and gentle."

The corner of Shi Nian's lips lifted up. [I am just saying what I know.]

"Then," he asked. "Do you think she's the kind of person who would commit suicide?"

This time, she shook her head without any hesitation.

"Why?"

[I heard from Chen Jiawei and Mo Ling that Li Qing used to be isolated. Maybe, she might have even gone through a period of bullying. But during those times, she never commited suicide. Why now?]

That's right. Shi Nian had pointed out what Qin Weizhe was most concerned about.

There was no motive.

Li Qing didn't show any strange behavior before her death except for buying expensive jewelry for Ruo Tingran. He had asked Luo Ning to go to Li Qing's home to search her room for diary or suicide note, but up to this moment, there wasn't any news from him. Qin Weizhe didn't really expect that he would be able to find one either.

For such a girl like Li Qing, to stand on the rooftop of Moonlight Pavilion alone, at the darkest hour early in the morning, what kind of feeling did she have at that time? Despair? Hopelessness? Or emptiness?

Exactly what had she gone through that was worse than bullying?

Qin Weizhe's face turned solemn as he asked what he had asked everyone before Shi Nian. "Then, if she didn't commit suicide, you're saying that there's a murderer in this school?"

Shi Nian's lips pursed tight and she fell silent for a while. [I don't really know about that but Detective Qin…]

[Those who can kill aren't just murderers.]

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A/N: but all murderers kill へ(´д｀へ)

oh, will Shi Nian possibly follow behind Ru Meiqi's footsteps as criminal psychologist? Let's see hehe