Roses in Flames

Seeing the murderous intent in the man's eyes, Zou Xu's pupils contracted sharply. "I...I don't know what you're talking about? I haven't killed anyone..."

The man grabbed Zou Xu by the hair and forced him to stand in front of the tombstone. "Dare you say you didn't kill them?"

Zou Xu's teeth chattered. "One jumped off a building, one overdosed on sleeping pills, one suffered a difficult childbirth and severe bleeding—what does that have to do with me—ah!"

Before he could finish speaking, the man forcefully stomped on his most vulnerable spot.

Zou Xu let out a piercing scream of pain.

That kick from the man probably ruined his manhood.

Zou Xu curled up like a shrimp, his face as pale as paper, and he saw stars before his eyes.

Cold sweat soaked his back and forehead. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the man. "I'm the son of the richest man in the neighboring city. No one dares to treat me like this. My dad will never forgive you!"

The man showed no fear, only a twisted, chilling smile. He pulled out a sharp dagger. "I was originally planning to torture you slowly, but I've changed my mind. Scum like you isn't worth my time. I'm going to send you straight to the underworld to be buried with them!"

After saying that, the man raised the hand holding the dagger high and then forcefully stabbed it towards Zou Xu's chest.

Zou Xu closed his eyes in despair and fear.

"call out--"

A pebble flew through the air and struck the man's wrist, which was holding a dagger, with perfect accuracy.

The man cried out in pain, and the dagger fell to the ground.

The man sensed something was wrong and tried to quickly pick up the dagger, but just then, a cold, ruthless voice rang out, "Police! Don't move!"

Xiao Lin led the police officers out of the woods.

Xiao Lin walked at the front, holding a gun in his hand, his eyes sharp as an eagle, and his aura as cold as ice.

The man froze on the spot. He slowly straightened up, his face showing no panic, but rather a regretful smile on his lips. "I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. If I had known, I should have just killed him in the car."

Xiao Lin looked at the man with dark, unfathomable eyes. "You never intended to kill Zou Xu outright. What you want is far more than just Zou Xu's life."

The man met Xiao Lin's gaze, a faint smile flashing in his eyes. "Captain Xiao, do you think I have any other motives?"

Xiao Lin glanced at the photo on the tombstone, his features tense. "You deliberately made the murder happen in Yecheng, instead of in the neighboring city where the Zou family has absolute power, because you calculated that the neighboring city was too murky, and the police couldn't investigate it or dared not investigate it."

The man looked at Xiao Lin with a hint of interest. "As expected of Captain Xiao, whom I have my eye on. That's right, the deaths of Zhao Jiashu and Luo Zilin are related to me. I deliberately lured Zou Xu here. Killing Zou Xu directly wouldn't be enough to quell the hatred in my heart. Zou Xu was the mastermind back then. He was able to escape legal punishment and remain unaffected because he had a father who could control everything. I have been following Captain Xiao's handling of cases. You are an incorruptible and fearless police officer. I believe you will bring justice to the dead."

Xiao Lin frowned deeply. "If you have grievances, you can come to the police station to find me. You have killed two people, which has crossed the legal line. You will also fall into an abyss of no return."

A desolate and indignant smile appeared on the man's face. "If Zhao Jiashu and Luo Zilin hadn't died, would it have attracted the attention of the whole society? The Zou family is all-powerful in the neighboring city, colluding with officials and businessmen, and extremely arrogant. Zou Xu, relying on his father's power, committed all sorts of crimes at school, bullied classmates, killed a teacher, and caused the deaths of three people, yet he received no punishment whatsoever. Even public opinion is on his side. I appealed everywhere, and what did I get in return? I was beaten and disfigured. If I hadn't had plastic surgery and been given a new face, I don't know if I would still be alive today."

Lying on the ground, clutching his lower body in excruciating pain, Zou Xu's pupils contracted slightly upon hearing the man's words, as if he had just thought of something.

Xiao Lin looked at the man's resentful and twisted face, then glanced at the photo on the tombstone again. "What's your relationship with them?"

The man looked at the photo on the tombstone, his thoughts drifting away. "Lingxi, Teacher Huihui, and I were from the same village. Six years ago, our village was flooded, and a landslide swept away half of the village. Lingxi's parents and many other villagers were all gone. Lingxi and I became orphans. It was Teacher Huihui and her husband, Teacher Sun, who took us in."

"After I finished high school, I joined the army, while Lingxi studied at the middle school where Teacher Huihui and Teacher Sun taught."

"Lingxi was pure and beautiful, and had good grades. She told me that she wanted to go to Tsinghua or Peking University, but when I came back from my military service, they were all gone."

"I heard people say that Lingxi committed suicide by jumping off a building, Teacher Huihui died from massive bleeding and the death of her unborn child, and Teacher Sun committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. The most ridiculous thing is that they also said that Teacher Sun and Lingxi had an affair at Teacher Huihui's funeral, calling them adulterers."

"Lingxi is so innocent. She and I are incredibly grateful to Teacher Huihui and Teacher Sun. How could we possibly do such a thing? Besides, Teacher Huihui and Teacher Sun are deeply in love, and both are good teachers with sound values ​​and high moral character. How could they possibly do such a thing?"

"But they died so mysteriously. I wanted to find out the truth, but I couldn't find anything. Until one day, when I was taking stock of Lingxi's books, I found a stack of crumpled letters. The letters must have been torn, and there were dried tear stains on the edges. I stared at the clean letter and could feel the tiny bumps on it with my fingertips. Those were the marks left by the pen tip when it was written."

"So I used a pencil to quickly scribble on the blank paper. After the pencil shavings filled in the recessed lines of the strokes, the writing gradually came through."

"That was a letter Lingxi wrote to me before she died, but it was destroyed before it could be sent."

The man's fingers trembled as he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Xiao Lin. "Captain Xiao, look!"

Xiao Lin quickly put down his gun, took out gloves from his pocket, put them on, and took the letter.

On the clean surface of the letter paper, a layer of even pencil ash was spread, revealing the girl's beautiful handwriting.

……

Jiang Su Ge:

I really don't know what to do. Teacher Huihui and Teacher Sun have passed away, and I probably won't live much longer either... It's all my fault, I killed them.

I was born with a baby voice, and my voice is soft and delicate, like a baby's. I never pretend to be weak on purpose, but that rich young master Zou in my class always says that I am deliberately seducing him.

He and Zhao Jiashu and Luo Zilin from my class harassed me in various ways. They stuffed disgusting notes and dead rats into my drawer, stuck chewing gum on my chair, and spread rumors behind my back that I was promiscuous.

I hid in the bathroom to cry, and they cornered me there, pulling my hair, taking off my clothes, and taking nude photos of me. Zou Xu and Luo Zilin even forced me to give them to them... I was so scared.

I know Zou Xu's family is rich, and I can't afford to offend them, but I'm being driven crazy. Teacher Huihui noticed my abnormality and talked to me. I couldn't help but tell her about being bullied.

Ms. Huihui was furious. She went to find the three of them, but to my surprise, she fell down the stairs not long after.

It must have been the three of them who did it, but the school said the surveillance cameras were broken, and the police also determined that Teacher Huihui fell down the stairs by herself.

Mr. Sun lost Ms. Huihui and his child, and his hair turned white overnight. At Ms. Huihui's funeral, I comforted Mr. Sun, but for some reason, my head became very dizzy. When I woke up, I was lying in Mr. Sun's arms, and we were both disheveled.

School leaders and students came over. Zou Xu and his two companions were the first to rush in. They were convinced that I and Teacher Sun were having an affair.

Teacher Sun's teaching certificate was revoked. The more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong. I wanted to talk to Teacher Sun about my doubts, but when I got there, I found that Teacher Sun couldn't bear the blow and had committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills.

It must be Zou Xu and his gang. They killed Teacher Huihui and smeared my and Teacher Sun's reputations. But what can I do? Nobody believes me. I really want to avenge Teacher Huihui and Teacher Sun.

Zou Xu wanted to sleep with me, didn't he? I've decided to grant his wish and stab him to death when he lowers his guard.

The letter stopped abruptly at this point, leaving a long scratch at the end of the page.

It must have been made when the pen tip was suddenly pulled away.