The afternoon exams didn't last long; after two subjects, it was time to go home.

Because Beichuan Si had to meet Gangye Yoshiko at the lakeside park, he didn't waste any time at school.

After a few words with Shen Gu Mirai, he grabbed his shoulder bag and headed straight for the lakeside park.

It was now four o'clock in the afternoon. Because it was summer, the weather was hot and dry, with no sign of the sun setting.

Fortunately, the park benches by the lake were right under the sakura trees, where lush green branches screened the scorching sunlight, providing Gangye Yoshiko a shred of shelter.

Even so—

"It's still hot."

Gangye Yoshiko fanned herself with her hand while looking around.

Just as she was about to lose her patience and call Beichuan Si to ask how much longer he'd be,

Beichuan Si's voice rang out.

"Have you been waiting long?" he asked as he handed her a can of chilled orange juice, then took a sip of the oolong tea in his hand.

Gangye Yoshiko pursed her lips, took the orange juice, and said, "I only came over about five minutes ago, but I didn't expect this godforsaken weather to be so hot. Let's go, we can talk in the car."

She picked up the can of juice and pointed to the small parking lot nearby.

"Okay," Beichuan Si nodded.

This time, Gangye Yoshiko hadn't brought her personal sports car but had come directly in a police car.

The black-and-white police car was very conspicuous in the small parking lot.

Once they were both inside, Gangye Yoshiko turned on the air conditioning and began to discuss the main reason she had called Beichuan Si over:

"Actually, the reason I called you here is about a case that's already been closed."

This made Beichuan Si give her a puzzled look.

A closed case?

If it's already been settled, there shouldn't be any need for further investigation, right?

"You're expected to have that expression," Gangye Yoshiko said after taking a sip of orange juice, and continued:

"The criminal, the victim, the people associated with the case... even the case itself has been thoroughly investigated... but there are still some bizarre elements. That's the main reason I went to your house the other day."

Beichuan Si remained silent, just staring at her with his dark eyes without blinking.

Under his gaze, Gangye Yoshiko comfortably stretched in the cool air, then said, "This case is a love-murder."

"Love-murder...?" Beichuan Si raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Yes. The criminal is called Ruyue Nao, a female."

As she spoke, Gangye Yoshiko took out a stack of documents from the glove compartment in front of the car and handed them to Beichuan Si.

Beichuan Si took the documents and glanced at them.

Before him was a standard ID photo.

It depicted a pale-faced, somewhat frail woman with an overall gloomy and reticent demeanor.

She stared straight into the camera, her cold and somber gaze as if it could see through the lens.

"The incident occurred on June 2nd, a Saturday. According to the person who reported it... ah... Ruyue Nao's boyfriend, Ookubo, said that his ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend had a fierce verbal dispute. By the time our team arrived, there were only two female bodies. One of them was Ruyue Nao, and the other a girl named Yasui Kaoru."

At this point, Gangye Yoshiko scoffed disdainfully:

"But after the investigation, we found that the so-called 'ex-girlfriend' and 'current girlfriend' was all a fabrication. That fellow, Ookubo, was actually two-timing, and that day he happened to be seen by Ruyue Nao while he was dropping Yasui Kaoru off at home."

What followed was easy to understand.

Upon discovering that her boyfriend was two-timing, neither woman was willing to let it go. They attacked each other with spiteful words while confronting Ookubo, eventually even coming to blows...

This was the main reason Ookubo had called the police.

But he was still one step too late.

"Both women had been stabbed with an iron spike and died."

Beichuan Si still didn't speak, simply took a sip of his oolong tea and continued to look over Ruyue Nao's documents.

Then, he put down the documents and turned back: "The case is not that simple, is it?"

"Correct," smiled Gangye Yoshiko. "In fact, what I just mentioned was all speculation by the police after arriving at the crime scene. The real situation we saw later in the surveillance footage."

She raised a finger, her expression grew serious: "What I'm going to say next is not fiction or unfounded speculation; these are things that actually happened."

Seeing Gangye Yoshiko in such a rare, serious demeanor, Beichuan Si thoughtfully nodded.

"Originally, we all thought the two women accidentally killed each other in a struggle... but that's not the case."

Gangye Yoshiko shook her head: "The person who killed Yasui Kaoru was indeed Ruyue Nao, but the person who killed Ruyue Nao—"

Her voice paused momentarily.

A chilling voice then followed:

"Was also Ruyue Nao!"

Indeed.

After using the iron spike she carried to kill Yasui Kaoru, Ruyue Nao then drove the iron spike brutally into her own neck.

The sharp spike plunged deep into her neck, and crimson blood sprayed out.

Accompanied by the 'choking' sounds escaping her damaged vocal cords and Ruyue Nao's frantic struggle...

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