Lin Fan took a taxi home, but when she got upstairs to her room, she didn't see Su Ya. Had she already been taken away by the Grim Reaper? The thought of the last word sent shivers down Lin Fan's spine. Rubbing the goosebumps on her neck, she plugged her phone in to charge and turned it on, finding no missed calls. She felt relieved but also anxious; there was still no news from the school. Could she still attend classes?
She took off her down jacket and tidied up her bed in the bedroom. Despite the eerie feeling in the house, she had no other choice.
After washing her face, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep in less than a minute, only to be awakened by the ringing of her phone.
Without opening her eyes, Lin Fan reached for her phone and answered, "Hello?"
"Is this Lin Fan?"
"Yes, speaking." Lin Fan's head throbbed, and she woke up completely, immediately opening her eyes.
"Have you received your admission letter?"
"Admission letter? I haven't received it."
"Please bring your documents and come over. Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School."
"Thank you, teacher."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Fan paused for two seconds, then suddenly jumped up with a shout, turning around and bumping into a pale face, startling herself and falling to the ground.
"Sister, are you okay?"
"Could you stop appearing out of nowhere? You scared me." Lin Fan got up, seeing her, and remembered something. "Where did you go? The police came, and you disappeared. I thought you had left."
Lin Fan went to the living room to tidy up her materials, realizing it was not early, and hurried to the bathroom to wash up.
"The police had a heavy aura of death, and I was scared." She followed into the bathroom.
Lin Fan brushed her teeth, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She spat out the foam and turned around. "Then I didn't see you last night either."
"Sister, can you help me again?"
"What for?"
"I know where the murder weapon is. Can you take me there to find it and call the police?"
"Now?" Lin Fan opened the curtains and looked outside. The sun was shining brightly. "Not to mention if I have time now, can you go out? You—" Lin Fan didn't say the word 'ghost', it was too cruel. She wiped her face. "I'm not good to you."
"I can, I'm fine." Su Ya was almost crying in a hurry. "I don't have much time left."
"But I have to go to school."
She lowered her head, tears streaming down her face.
Blood dripped from her head down her neck, and Lin Fan turned her head. "Stop it."
"I'm running out of time, sister." Su Ya said, "Please, help me one last time."
The words of refusal were on Lin Fan's lips, but she swallowed them back. She put down the towel, remained silent for a moment, and nodded. "Okay, but you don't... like this. I'll help you."
Su Ya lifted her head to look at Lin Fan, a faint smile appearing on her pale lips. "Thank you."
The wound on her head had already healed completely.
Lin Fan put on a clean shirt and slung her backpack over her shoulder before heading out.
"There's an umbrella here, I'll hide under it," Su Ya said.
Lin Fan spotted a dirty black umbrella in the corner on the first floor and opened it, getting a mouthful of dust. "Has this umbrella been here for centuries? It's so dirty, and yet you can still see it."
Su Ya didn't say anything, standing in the doorway and looking at the sunlight outside. Her body appeared semi-transparent. Lin Fan shook off the dust from the umbrella and walked out of the hallway. "Be careful, you need to reincarnate properly. Find a good family in your next life."
Su Ya smiled. "In the next life, find a good family."
They took a taxi to the Taoyuan residential area.
Springtime in Jiangcheng was unpredictable. As soon as they got out of the car, the sky turned gloomy, with a thick fog hanging overhead.
Lin Fan closed the umbrella, but Su Ya didn't move. She watched a nearby building, and Lin Fan pursed her lips, approaching. "Is that your home?"
"It used to be. Not anymore." Her voice was soft.
Lin Fan felt a lump in her throat. If she were alive, she would have grown into a fine child.
Raindrops fell, and Lin Fan sighed, opening the umbrella again. "It's getting late."
"Sister, I really don't want to die."
The sound of police sirens interrupted them, and Lin Fan wanted to see where the sound was coming from. Su Ya turned back; her body was already semi-transparent.
"Sister, I want to live. I really want to live. Life is good; there's hope when you're alive."
Lin Fan's heart ached, and her throat tightened.
Su Ya hung her head, tears continuously falling. "No matter how he treated me, as long as he gave me a chance to live. Why didn't he give me one? When I grow up, I can find my mom and dad, and I can have a family."
The police sirens grew louder, and the sky became even darker, raindrops pattering on the umbrella.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
"I used to have a family, but then my dad left, and my mom married that bad man. He was so bad; he always bullied me and my mom."
The old and secluded neighborhood was surrounded by shaking branches in the wind.
"I wanted to protect my mom. I fought back against him; when he got tired of hitting me, he wouldn't hit my mom anymore."
"I'm not afraid of being hit; I'm not afraid of pain. I'm just afraid of him kissing me when he's drunk. It's disgusting. He stabbed me down there, and it hurt so much—"
"I just want to live. My mom said that when I grow up and go to college, everything will be fine."
"Sister, if I hadn't resisted that day, could I have lived? But I couldn't bear it; I was in too much pain, too much agony..."
Lin Fan clenched her fists, understanding the whole story now. She felt sorry for Su Ya; she was a kind girl who never harmed anyone, even though the whole world treated her badly.
"I want to go home, but I can't. Sister, if you see my mom, tell her I don't hate her. The murder weapon is in the ditch behind the neighborhood, it's a hammer."
"The police are here; I have to go."
Lin Fan looked around frantically, reaching out to grab Su Ya, but her hand passed through the increasingly transparent figure. "Can you really reincarnate?"
"Thank you, sister." She smiled. Su Ya was a very beautiful girl. She said, "Thank you."
The horn sounded, and Lin Fan turned around to see a police car speeding towards them.
Lin Fan stepped aside to make way, and the police car stopped. The window rolled down, revealing a stern face. He scanned Lin Fan with sharp eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I know where the murder weapon is."
Qin Feng parked the car, opened the door, and strode up to Lin Fan. "Where?"
Lin Fan took a step back. "She said there's a ditch behind the neighborhood, and it's in there."
"She?"
"Su Ya." Lin Fan explained, trying to leave with her bag. "I have to go; you can go and find it—"
Her down jacket hood was grabbed, and Qin Feng lifted her and shoved her into the car. "Lead the way."
Lin Fan cursed silently in her heart. Was he even human?
"I need to go to school for registration. It'll affect me if I'm late."
"You're in middle school?"
Lin Fan: "High school."
The car came to a halt, and Qin Feng stepped out, pulling on gloves as he circled around to the back of the residential building. His voice was low and ominous as he warned her, "Don't even think about running. Your suspicion hasn't been cleared. If you run, I can track you down."
Lin Fan lifted her leg momentarily but then returned it to the ground. Behind the building, the grass grew thick. Qin Feng stepped onto the grass beside the iron railing. There was indeed a drainage ditch outside. He walked along the wall and suddenly halted after about seven or eight meters. There was a deep black bloodstain on the rusty railing.
Ten minutes later, he found a hammer in the drainage ditch outside. Qin Feng called for Xiao Wang to come over and then jumped into the sewage to search for any overlooked clues. The rain grew heavier, and Lin Fan hugged her backpack tightly. "She said the murder weapon was a hammer, so it's probably this one."
Qin Feng didn't find any additional evidence. He climbed out of the ditch, soaked below the knees, emitting a foul odor.
Lin Fan stepped back.
He noticed bloodstains in the crevices of the hammer and placed it in an evidence bag.
Xiao Wang ran over, accompanied by two others, and Qin Feng glanced at Lin Fan. "Can you really see souls?"
Lin Fan nodded.
"How?"
Lin Fan shook her head. "I don't know. I just can."
"You have no connection to her. Why did you want to help her? Doing so will only make it harder to clear your suspicion."
Having someone else handle the case might have resulted in Lin Fan being arrested as a suspect. The risk was significant.
Lin Fan pursed her lips. "She's too pitiful. I want to help her reincarnate and have another chance at life."
Qin Feng narrowed his eyes, pondering for a moment. "Which high school do you attend?"
"The First High School."
"I'll have someone take you there."
"No need—"
"Captain Qin."
Qin Feng walked briskly to the police car at the side of the road, carrying the evidence bag. "We found the murder weapon, with bloodstains on it. Get it tested immediately." Without looking back, he gestured casually. "Xiao Wang, take her to school."
Xiao Wang: "Huh?"
She was taken to school by Xiao Wang, but it was already late, and she didn't complete the enrollment process until noon.
Lin Fan had been admitted based on her exam scores, with the school making an exception. However, the tuition fee was still a significant sum for Lin Fan. After paying the fee, she had less than a thousand left, and the school couldn't provide accommodation.
Coming from a rural town to a provincial capital city, the difference was evident. Lin Fan felt out of place in the classroom. The day passed in a haze, and after school, Lin Fan packed up her books. Her phone rang, an unfamiliar number. She answered.
"I'm Qin Feng."
Who was Qin Feng?
"Who are you?"
"The police."
"What's up?"
"The case is closed, but we need you to come to the police station."
"—Okay."
As dusk approached, the sky grew dark.
Lin Fan took a taxi to the city police station. The case had been closed; DNA from two people was found on the hammer: Su Ya and Cheng Qiang. The culprit was Su Ya's stepfather, and the evidence was solid. He confessed.
On the night of the 28th, he was drunk and raped Su Ya. When Su Ya struggled, he grabbed the hammer leaning against the wall and killed her. When the mother returned home and saw the blood everywhere, she was about to cry, but Cheng Qiang hugged her and comforted her.
If he were arrested by the police, there would be no one to earn money for the family. They still had a son.
Su Ya's mother helped dispose of the body, cleaned the floor, and fabricated Su Ya's disappearance. They didn't expect the missing person notice to become so popular online, nor did they know that Su Ya's soul would come back to report to the police.
After signing the documents, Xiao Wang stood up. "You—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the door was pushed open, and Qin Feng strode in. He gestured to Xiao Wang. "You go out first."
The door closed behind them, and Qin Feng pulled out a chair, taking a seat.
Lin Fan looked puzzled. "But isn't the case closed?"
"It is." Qin Feng pushed a notebook towards her. "This belonged to Su Ya. Perhaps it's a coincidence, but we found it the last time we searched her house. It fell from a cabinet."
Lin Fan flipped it open. The notebook was old, with curled edges.
"When did you start seeing souls? Were you born with it?"
"No."
The earlier pages were mundane. Lin Fan flipped to the last page.
February 28, light snow.
Mom went to work. He's drinking. He always hits me when he's drunk. I'm scared. I locked the door, hoping it's sturdy enough. I just want to get through the night safely.
Today is my birthday. No cake, no candles, just me.
My birthday wish is for a box of magic matches to take me back five years, to see my loving parents.
In the flickering flames, there's a lively birthday party, a sweet cake, and a beautiful dress. She has many friends. No mockery, no insults, no slaps. The sun shines warmly, clean and comforting.
"I need your help with something."
----------------------------------------
Lin Fan boarded the car, feeling dazed. She found a seat by the window and sat down, staring out into the darkness. Her heart sank inch by inch. Su Ya was truly gone, wasn't she?
The car rocked, and she closed her eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep.
Suddenly, she felt a nudge on her shoulder, jolting her awake.
"Miss, can you give up your seat?"
Lin Fan's vision was still blurry. After a day and night of turmoil, she was groggy.
"What?"
The middle-aged woman yanked Lin Fan up. "You young folks have no manners! Can't you see my daughter is pregnant? You stood there for so long and didn't offer your seat."
Lin Fan didn't realize when the carriage had become crowded. She was forcibly lifted by the woman. The car suddenly swerved, and in the chaos, Lin Fan grabbed onto the woman's arm to steady herself. The woman exploded, shaking Lin Fan off. "What are you trying to do? Want to knock over an old lady like me? Come and explain yourself! Look at this girl, how ruthless! Say a word to her, and she wants to take a life."
"I didn't—"
Lin Fan quickly let go and grabbed the handrail. When she turned around, a young woman was seated in her place. Pregnant? Her belly was flat.
"You still say you didn't? So many people saw it. You took the pregnant woman's seat, and when I said something, you stood up and pushed me. Quite impressive, huh?"
Lin Fan felt overwhelmed. "If I really wanted to push you, would you be standing now? I just accidentally bumped into you. Can I apologize? I'm sorry, Auntie."
Turning away, she walked towards the exit, not wanting to engage with the unreasonable woman.
Caught off guard, she was suddenly shoved from behind. The crowded people cleared a space as Lin Fan fell, her face hitting the floor of the carriage hard.