Chapter 2

By the third day after Mạnh Tuyền's death, events had taken a turn no one expected.

Hứa Ngọc Dao. Vương Ngọc Dao. Trương Ngọc Dao.

One woman after another came forward to accuse my husband of sexual misconduct of varying severity.

According to the victims, he would first win them over, then use his authority as a teacher to pressure them, making repeated insinuations and trying to coax them into sex.

At first, I had wondered why the police hadn't held Lâm Thanh Thần accountable for secretly recording the video and posting it online.

Later, I understood.

Public attention could also bring new leads.

Through their investigation, the police found several more women who had been involved with Mạnh Tuyền.

Unlike the others, these women had slept with him willingly.

That was hardly surprising.

He was young and handsome, with a scholar's refined air. When he deliberately pursued women barely into their twenties, it was difficult for them not to fall for him.

Whenever they spoke about their time together, they recalled their “romance with Professor Mạnh” fondly.

Ha.

What a sweet love story.

Including the women who had come forward themselves, there were nine in all.

Four said they had been assaulted.

Five said they had been in love with him.

The difference between the two groups was that all four who reported assaults said he had subjected them to sexual violence.

Because it had happened only once, and because they feared his position, they had never dared go to the police. They had simply buried their humiliation.

The women who said they had loved him, on the other hand, all described him as gentle.

“It only happened once, but it's a beautiful memory.”

Those were one woman's exact words.

I didn't know whether to consider myself fortunate or unfortunate.

Unfortunate, because my dead husband had cheated on me with more than a dozen women, at the very least.

The irony was that he had slept with each of them only once.

What I hadn't expected was that his vile behavior in life would make the police begin to suspect me.

“Ms. Lý, we don't mean to offend you. Given the circumstances, though, we need to ask some questions about your marriage.”

Once again, I sat opposite the police giving a statement.

They asked about everything, from the state of our marriage to our sex life. The questions were painfully detailed. Even the most private matters had to be discussed frankly.

Gritting my teeth, I gave them a full, honest account of our life together.

We had always lived normally, I told them.

Mạnh Tuyền had never been violent at home.

I even questioned whether the sexually violent man those students described could really be my husband.

We had been very happy together.

Everyone who knew us knew that.

The officer opposite me remained silent for a long time.

Eventually, the one surnamed Trần looked up, his gaze suggesting more than his words.

“Ms. Lý, a few nights ago, when the online controversy was at its height, our colleagues saw you scrolling through your phone in the early hours.”

“You were watching me?”

I sprang to my feet in alarm.

Thinking back, my window had been open that night, and I didn't live very high up. Someone watching from outside could indeed have seen everything I did.

“Please calm down. It was part of the investigation.”

I took a deep breath. It was a while before I regained my composure.

“My husband was dead. His scandals were all over the internet. I couldn't sleep, so I read what people were saying. What's wrong with that?”

“Then why were you laughing so happily?”

“What...?”

For a moment, I couldn't make sense of his question.

“The night before last, our officers saw you laughing as you looked at your phone. You didn't look like someone who had just lost her husband.”

My thoughts became even more confused.

“I don't remember... I'm sure I wasn't laughing.”

They must have been mistaken.

I insisted over and over that I hadn't killed anyone.

How could I possibly have killed my husband?

Even if I really had laughed while looking at my phone, it could only have been a reaction to unbearable mental strain, something beyond my control.

“All right. We'll stop here for today.”

After repeated rounds of questioning, they finally decided to let me go.

As I rose, I said irritably, “I certainly didn't do it. Please catch the killer soon.”

When I got home, Mạnh Tuyền's parents seemed to have gone gray overnight.

I decided to take them back to the village first.

They had lost their son. Now his disgraceful conduct had been exposed and his reputation destroyed.

What parent could bear that?

I packed at once and drove them back to the village where he had grown up.

I had visited before.

Blue skies, green trees, lovely hills and water.

It was summer. Lotus leaves and flowers covered the pond, and the breeze carried their faint fragrance.

Villagers kept coming to visit my in-laws.

No one mentioned the shameful accusations.

After all, Mạnh Tuyền had once been the pride of the entire village.

What I hadn't expected was to find Lâm Thanh Thần there.

When I saw him, he was standing barefoot in the pond picking lotus flowers, a large bunch already in his arms.

It took him a while to notice me on the bank.

“Mrs. Mạnh?”

He sounded surprised.

“Can anyone pick the lotuses here?” I asked, trying to sound relaxed.

“My friend and I planted them. Take some if you'd like.”

I didn't answer.

“Do you live in this village too?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Then you knew Mạnh Tuyền before university?”

He waded out and came up to me.

“Professor Mạnh is the most famous person in the village. Everyone knows him.”

His eyes seemed evasive.

I was about to press him when another voice interrupted.

“Why are you giving her flowers?”

I turned.

A tall, lean man stood facing us, his baseball cap pulled low. The shadow over his eyes made his face look even colder.

He looked a little older than Lâm Thanh Thần.

For some reason, though, I felt I had seen him before.

“She's Mạnh Tuyền's wife. She's just walking around the village. She doesn't want our flowers,” Lâm Thanh Thần explained.

Apparently, the other man was a villager too. He had thought I was asking for their lotuses.

As if I had any interest in admiring flowers now.

I still had questions for Lâm Thanh Thần, but after the man's arrival, he quickly found an excuse to leave with him.

I found his behavior stranger by the minute.

The next day, I asked around and found out where he lived.

I was just about to go inside when the police station called.

Mạnh Tuyền's autopsy report was ready.

“We've confirmed that he died of asphyxiation, approximately two to three hours after he disappeared from the surveillance footage.

“Vương Mạn Mạn has a complete alibi for the period after she left him, so she can essentially be ruled out.

“There are also indications that he struggled before his death, but we haven't recovered any suspicious DNA.

“We believe he may have injured the killer during that struggle.

“Large quantities of cleaning chemicals were found on the body. The killer may have cleaned it thoroughly to wash away any blood.”

The officer continued, “Ms. Lý, ordinarily we shouldn't disclose these details to you. But public pressure is intense. We're keeping you informed in the hope that you won't post anything damaging to the police online.”

Mạnh Tuyền's prominence had put enormous pressure on them.

“Don't worry,” I said. “I won't say anything irresponsible.”

Only after I hung up did I realize that cold sweat had soaked my back.

Just then, Lâm Thanh Thần came out of his courtyard.

On his arm was a scratch that had only just scabbed over.

“Mrs. Mạnh... what brings you here?”

He was carrying luggage.

He looked as though he was going away.

Or preparing to flee.

My suspicion grew stronger.

I wasn't a police officer. I knew nothing about criminal psychology. Faced with my doubts, I could only confront him directly.

“Are you going somewhere?”

It was broad daylight, and this wasn't an isolated spot. Even if I exposed him, surely he couldn't kill me here to silence me.

“Yes. I've arranged to travel with a friend. We'll probably be away for a while.”

He seemed perfectly natural, even rather relaxed.

Perhaps noticing something wrong, he asked, “You look very pale. Have you been getting enough rest?”

“I'm fine.”

I went on, “What happened to your arm?”

He glanced down.

“This? I scratched it while working a few days ago. It's normal to get a few scrapes doing things in the countryside.”

A flawless answer.

But if he really was the killer, he would have prepared his explanations. It was hardly surprising that he could remain calm.

I sat on a wooden chair in the courtyard and decided to be blunt.

“I still have a lot of questions about Professor Mạnh.”

He nodded for me to continue.

“Those allegations online... you knew about them long ago, didn't you?”

This time, he didn't answer.

He only lowered his eyes, unable to meet mine.

I took that as a silent admission and pressed him.

“You put those videos online to destroy Mạnh Tuyền's reputation.

“You wanted to see him disgraced.

“You wanted to ruin his life completely.

“Didn't you?”

I stared at his face, trying to see right through him.

He frowned slightly.

“Mrs. Mạnh, he's dead.

“How am I supposed to ruin his life when he's already dead?”

I froze, then suddenly laughed.

“That's right.

“He's dead.”

My smile vanished.

I changed tack at once.

“How do you know Vương Mạn Mạn?”

The day we first watched the footage, I had been too distraught. All I had wanted to know was the identity of the woman he had cheated with.

I had forgotten to ask how Lâm Thanh Thần knew her.

Or what relationship they had.

“The police have already asked me those questions.

“I still have packing to do. I can't talk any longer. I'm sorry.”

There.

He wasn't so calm anymore.

He went inside and bolted the door.

Refusing to give up, I pounded on it and shouted.

“Is it really so hard to answer a few questions?

“Or do you have a guilty conscience?

“Lâm Thanh Thần!

“What were you doing the night Mạnh Tuyền died?

“Do you dare tell me?

“You clearly hated him.

“But why?”

No matter what I said, there was no further answer.

I became even more convinced that he was the killer.

Could he secretly have been in love with Vương Mạn Mạn?

Had he killed Mạnh Tuyền in a jealous rage because she had spent a night with him?

No.

That couldn't be it.

Even if his taste was peculiar enough for him to kill over her, he wouldn't have exposed their connection so readily.

There had to be something else I didn't know.

Or perhaps he loved one of the many other women who had been involved with my husband.

“Ma'am, isn't it a little rude to block someone else's front door?”

A man's voice came from behind me.

I turned. It was the man in the baseball cap from the lotus pond.

He looked about twenty-four or twenty-five, with thick eyebrows, deep-set eyes, and pale lips.

There was something cold and aggressive about him.

“I just want to ask a few questions,” I explained. “I'll leave when I'm finished.”

“But you're bothering him.”

Clearly, he was telling me to go.

I stood my ground.

“I'll leave when I've found out what I want to know.”

“He doesn't owe anyone answers except the police.”

This man was plainly hostile.

I couldn't be bothered arguing and stalked off.

What I hadn't expected was that he would follow me.

He trailed me all the way home, with no intention of leaving.

When I challenged him, he merely said, “Mạnh Tuyền just died. The village head asked me to keep an eye on you.”

I frowned, not understanding.

He shrugged.

“They're afraid you'll do something desperate.”

Then I understood.

They were worried grief over my husband's death might drive me to harm myself.

They were worrying for nothing.

I would never do that.

“What's your name?” I asked.

“Dương Trác.”

I had never heard it before.

“Dương Trác.” I looked at him. “I suspect your friend killed my husband.”

He didn't seem surprised.

“Do you have any evidence?” he asked flatly.

“No.

“But if you know anything, you have to tell me.”

“I don't know anything.

“You know more than I do.”

Some friends they were.

Neither would give me a straight answer.

I was furious, but there was nothing I could do.

That evening, I called the police for an update.

They said they had begun investigating the female students who had been involved with Mạnh Tuyền. His colleagues were also a major focus.

“The body was moved for disposal. We haven't located the original crime scene yet. The investigation is continuing.”

Hearing Officer Trần's voice, I couldn't help asking, “He had a student named Lâm Thanh Thần. Have you investigated him?”

“Yes,” Officer Trần replied. “In fact, we're preparing to bring him in again.

“Ms. Lý...”