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CHAPTER 10
PART 5
Su Xiaotong was startled—what? Xia Qi knew who the murderer was?
She quickly sat up, pondered for a few seconds, then grabbed her phone and went to the next room, asking Gu Lei, "Have you seen the messages in the group?"
Gu Lei sat in front of the computer, working on graphic design, and replied, "Not yet. What's up?"
"Take a look now."
Gu Lei picked up the phone lying beside him, saw Xia Qi's message in the group, and was also surprised. "Xia Qi knows who the murderer is?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the WeChat alert beeped again, a message from Wang Xingxing: "Really?!"
Then, Han Lei sent a series of shocked emoticons.
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However, Xia Qi didn't reply, and no one else in the group spoke. Gu Lei couldn't resist mentioning Xia Qi: "Is it true? Who?"
Su Xiaotong sat on the edge of the bed, waiting with Gu Lei for a while. Xia Qi still hadn't replied. Gu Lei wondered, "Why isn't she saying anything? What about the others in the group? No one's talking?"
"It's nearly midnight now. Many people might be asleep. Or maybe someone saw Xia Qi's message and immediately called her."
"How could Xia Qi suddenly know who the murderer is? And if she really does know, shouldn't she tell Lao Tan? Why mention it in the group?"
"I'm pondering that too," Su Xiaotong mused. "I guess she just has a more definite suspect, that's why she said she 'seems to' know who the murderer is. If she were absolutely certain, she wouldn't mention it in the group; she'd go to the authorities."
"So, she posted this message in the group as a kind of test? To see everyone's reactions?" Gu Lei speculated.
Hearing the word 'test,' Su Xiaotong felt a jolt. She suddenly remembered Xia Qi's ambiguous call to her around ten o'clock and said to Gu Lei, "Thinking back now, when Xia Qi called me earlier, it felt like she was testing something, trying to draw something out of me…"
Gu Lei was surprised. "Testing you? Does she suspect you're the murderer?"
"She has reasons to suspect anyone. Besides, she might not have only called me. Consider this—from ten o'clock until now, over an hour, maybe she called several people."
"Then, during these calls, did she discover something? Hence, she…" Gu Lei's words trailed off.
Just then, a message from Xia Qi appeared in the group: "It's late tonight. Let's talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight."
The couple exchanged glances. Gu Lei shrugged helplessly. "Should I call her and ask what's going on?" Su Xiaotong said.
"Hasn't she clearly stated 'let's talk tomorrow'? Even if you call, she won't say much," Gu Lei replied.
After a moment's thought, Su Xiaotong gave up. Gu Lei closed the laptop, saying, "Let's sleep. We'll ask Xia Qi tomorrow. Actually, we don't need to ask; tomorrow morning, Lao Tan will see the chat log and surely talk to Xia Qi about it."
Su Xiaotong nodded. Gu Lei put his arm around her shoulder, and they walked into the master bedroom. Gu Xiaoliang was sound asleep. The couple lay down beside him, with Su Xiaotong leaning against the headboard, lost in thought.
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"Can't sleep?" Gu Lei asked.
Su Xiaotong nodded. "I'm thinking, what's really going on here."
"I'm pondering too. How could Xia Qi know who the murderer is? Even the police are temporarily at a loss in this case. She made a few calls to some members of the 'Big Family' and could figure out the murderer's identity. Is that possible?"
"If Xia Qi really achieved this, there's only one possibility—by targeting certain people she knows in the 'Big Family,' conducting specific probes, and noticing suspicious behavior or flawed logic, she could make some deductions."
"Lao Tan is also a member of the Big Family, and he knows everyone too."
"But not as well as Xia Qi. Lao Tan only occasionally attends gatherings, unlike Xia Qi, who's almost always with everyone."
"That makes sense."
"And I guess the reason Xia Qi probed and investigated everyone today is because this morning, Fan Lin explicitly expressed suspicion towards her. When you become the prime suspect, you have to take the initiative to find the real culprit."
After a moment's pause, Gu Lei said, "This might also be a diversion. Suppose Xia Qi is the actual culprit, she'd have to devise a countermeasure, such as shifting suspicion onto someone else to create confusion."
"Yeah, that's possible," Su Xiaotong furrowed her brow slightly. "Upon closer examination, this possibility seems quite high. Tonight, Xia Qi's behavior appeared deliberate. She called me first, asked random questions, might have called a few others, then said in the group, 'I seem to know who the murderer is.' But when asked who it was, she stayed silent, vaguely stating 'let's talk about it tomorrow.' It seems like intentional obfuscation."
"Is this what they call 'the murderer's counterattack'? But it doesn't seem clever. After this blatantly manipulative act, she seems even more suspicious. I wonder what the police will think."
"The police won't be easily fooled either. Tomorrow morning, Lao Tan, after seeing the group message, will immediately question Xia Qi. If she can't decisively identify the murderer, Lao Tan will likely have the same thought as us—she's deliberately diverting everyone's attention."
"Let's wait till tomorrow," Gu Lei said. "It's already half-past twelve. Stop thinking too much and get some sleep."
Su Xiaotong nodded, switched off the bedside lamp. However, even after lying down, she couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
For some reason, that ominous premonition returned.
This feeling was identical to the night Gong Yamei was murdered.
Will something happen tomorrow? she anxiously thought in the darkness.
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