The Yu Brothers’ Case Book

When he woke up, he was submerged in water.

A pair of warm hands touched his head.

“Xiao Yu, how many times have I told you not to sleep in the bathtub? You’ll drown.”

Someone pulled him out and refilled the tub with warm water. “Dad got you a large bathtub because you used to love playing with water when you were little, not because I wanted you to end up soaking in here and drowning yourself when you got older.”

When he opened his eyes, he saw a kind and gentle face.

“I bought your favourite pudding on the way back from picking up your older sister. Come, blow your hair and put on your clothes, and we can go and eat some snacks.”

He stared at the familiar face somewhat hesitantly, his words stuck in his throat. Finally, he softly uttered, “Dad…”

“What’s wrong?” The man rubbed his head. “So spoiled; even though you’ve grown up, you still need your dad to come pull you out from the bathtub every time you bathe. Don’t you find it embarrassing?”

He grabbed onto the man’s hands and placed his face against those thick and broad palms, his tears falling out from his eyes.

This was his…

“Oh Xiao Yu, it’s fine to feel embarrassed sometimes. The fact that you’re growing up so well puts Dad at ease. You’ll definitely have tons of grandchildren for me in the future.” The man wiped away the boy’s tears and gently hugged him. “Be good now, come on out of there. Or else your brother and sister will eat up everything.”

“Ok.”

When the man left, he stood up from the water. The mirror reflected the gem-like violet eyes on his slightly pale face.

When he left the bathroom, he found his older siblings playing around in the living room.

There was no shrine, and the dining table was filled with his favourite snacks.

When they were little, their father would often buy treats to lure them into doing things, the typical kind of tricks played on children. That was also why their whole family enjoyed eating sweets like these.

As he walked barefoot into the kitchen, he found his mother preparing dinner. The moment she saw him enter, she smiled. “Xiao Yu, go eat some snacks in the living room. Dad bought them on his way back.”

“Zǐzǐ and Gēgē will leave some for me…” The voice that came out of his mouth was soft, as he was not good at speaking.

“Mm, Zǐzǐ and Gēgē treat Xiao Yu so well.” His mother smiled, her hands busily moving to prepare the food.

“I’ll help.” He glided past his mother and glanced at the pot that was already close to a boil, then individually transferred the prepared ingredients next to him into the pot with practiced movements.

Just like that day.

They had been happily preparing the meal for the entire family.

It had been a sumptuous meal, his mother and him preparing the wide variety of foods side by side in the kitchen. Each dish had given off its own, unique aroma.

His older siblings had run in, warmly helping them carry the plates out.

The man had walked in to lightly peck his mother on the cheek, resulting in all the children calling out “ooooh” and sniggering among themselves.

He would always remember that meal.

He and his mother had poured all their hearts out into working together and preparing the best meal of his memories.

The steaming rice, the fragrant dishes, and the sounds of laughter and mirth from the people around the dining table.

He had sat there, watching everyone eat until they had been satisfied. His father had not stopped eating the dish Xiao Yu had made, his face full of smiles as he praised how good it was, how delicious it was, how his Xiao Yu was also a great cook, and how he would never have to fear the possibility of not getting any food because of an argument with his wife.

Like a short-lived yearning.

The house would no longer be filled with screams, as if those noises would vanish for all eternity.

“Xiao Yu has an amazing Gēgē.”

He looked around at his family, his hands tightly clenching into fists as he greedily studied all their faces, branding them into his heart forever. “And an amazing Dad…”

The tears fell down one after another, but he smiled as he said, “Thank you guys…”

Thank you so much for being my family.

I will never, ever forget.

His father reached a hand out to rub his head. “That’s great, really great. My Xiao Yu can live happily in the future. Dad can rest easy now.” He then grabbed some food and placed it into Xiao Yu’s bowl. “The dish Xiao Yu made is very tasty. You should cook like this for your Gēgē and your Dad to eat in the future too, and be a good boy.”

This is the last time.

When he woke up, his face was covered with tears.

From the seat next to the bed, Yu Yin quietly placed a box of tissues nearby to wipe the tears from time to time.

The grief and sorrow lasted for a very long time.

After a while, he finally raised his head to look up at the person next to him, the latter silently pouring out a cup of tea to pass it over to the former’s hands. “It’s true. Your dad just left,” Yu Yin softly said, as if knowing what the dream had been about.

That black shadow had left.

In the past few weeks that had seemed to stretch on without ending, that black figure had never left, forever standing next to the bed instead.

At first, Yu Yin had no idea what it was. However, when he thought it over more carefully, he understood everything.

The shadow had never sported any malicious intent, maintaining a faint and extremely gentle smile while watching the child sleeping for a long time. It had not paid Yu Yin any mind, standing there like that until it had finally just left.

Yu Yin knew that this person would never return again.

“Ah Liu-gē dug up a box from the flowerbed at your home. Inside it were voice tapes of Wang Zhao Tang’s initial coercions for your family to sell the house as repayment for their debts and what kinds of things he did to your Zǐzǐ and Gēgē…It seems like your dad had recorded it all. There were also some other related evidences. These were all handed over to the police already. Another thing they found inside was a letter left for you.” Yu Yin pulled out an unsealed envelope from the drawer and passed it over to Xiao Yu. “None of us have read it. Also, this necklace is for you.”

He pulled out the violet necklace that Shuang Shuang had originally found.

Xiao Yu looked at the envelope and wiped his eyes. “Can you…read it to me?”

Yu Yin took the envelope and studied Xiao Yu for a moment before finally nodding. “If you don’t want to listen at any point, just tell me to stop.” He opened the envelope to find several pieces of paper inside.

“Ok.”

Xiao Yu nodded.

Yu Yin patted his shoulder. He then unfolded the letter and began to read out the messy words scrawled on it:

To my child:

Or perhaps you are the person who found this letter. This should already be after my death. I simply hope to convey some matters, and I hope that the person to see this will be my child.

I have done one good thing and one bad thing in my lifetime.

The good thing is that I possessed a perfect family.

The bad thing is that I personally destroyed the family.

Xiao Yu, my most beloved little son. By the time you are seeing this letter, I hope that you are currently with a family of good people.

Your dad has let you down too many times.

You are my son. I truly believe that…but I still doubted you.

I’m sure that your hatred for me already runs down to the bone.

As someone that has nothing aside from and more debt, I never dared to tell anyone that I loved you the most. I have done so many cruel things with my own hands, and I do not mind even if you do hate me.

The current me can no longer break away from that person. I hate that incense but cannot control myself.

As a failure, I need many excuses. I cannot control my own actions, and instead vent everything out onto you. Whenever you look at me with those extraordinarily clear eyes, I truly feel very pained. I am incapable of completing my responsibilities as a father to the end, and used hatred to lighten the weight instead.

Yes, I am a despicable dad for having my child suffer in order to alleviate my sins.

I do not dare say you are my biological son, because the moment those words leave my lips, I can no longer tell myself that what I have done was correct. However, from the beginning up until now, I never doubted that you were my actual child.

While my mind is still clear, I want to write this here.

You can hate me forever; at least your dad can still stay in your heart that way.

I killed everyone in the family. There are no longer any survivors. This incense killed us all.

However, you cannot die, Xiao Yu.

You are such a good child, you should properly live onwards and enjoy better things. If we are no longer there, you do not need to continue enduring this pain.

Dad truly loves you very much.

So I cannot bring you down to Hell with me.

You should have an even better family, and properly live your life.

Dad will not let that person take everything away. I leave this to you as a gift for your future coming-of-age. Wear this violet necklace well.

Continue living bravely in our place.

Finally, Dad just wants to tell you…

That your eyes are truly beautiful, and that Dad really loves them.

“That is all that’s written.”

Yu Yin carefully spoke as he looked through the later pages filled with scribbles. Some were quick sketches that seemed to be of a house and of a child. However, the lines were messy, likely drawn while writing the letter. There was no way of knowing what the writer had been feeling while completing this letter.

However, there was shakiness in the marks on the paper. Some of the ink had already been blurred together by water, making it impossible to discern the words.

He did not dare to agitate Xiao Yu, whose usually blank face was now covered in tears. That pained expression made it extremely difficult for Yu Yin say that this writer had likely been crying while recording this final message.

But Xiao Yu would know eventually.

“I misunderstood…” Xiao Yu clutched the cold necklace, then covered his face and cried bitterly.

He had always thought that his father had hated him to the point that he was not allowed to die with the rest of the family…but Xiao Yu had gotten it all wrong. Truly, he had misunderstood entirely.

It was because Xiao Yu was so loved that his father could not bear to let him die too.

This was the final message they had left behind for him.

Yu Yin sighed and moved to sit on the bed, hugging the person shaking uncontrollably while patting his back. “It’s all in the past…” Everything had come to pass. From now on, he would live a happier life. He must. The better life he has, the more at ease his deceased family members will be, until the day when they are reborn into this world.

“Mm…” Xiao Yu could not stop his tears as he reflexively hugged the person next to him.

“The doctor said that your body is just a bit weak right now, and that you need to properly recover yourself after waking. You’ll be released to come home in two days.” With no idea how to comfort the other person, Yu Yin could only lower his voice and talk about other things.

“Mm.”

“Also, that jam of yours was way too much. Why is there even rose jam? I think we might as well give some to Xiao Hai. I heard her injuries weren’t light. If we get Dad to bring it to her, she’ll be very happy.” Since she was injured for no reason because of something related to our family, it should be ok if Dad shows off his appeal a bit…maybe…?

Apparently, Xiao Hai had recently been released from the hospital. Her fervent attacks of love had gotten more powerful after that first kiss. She now even personally made trips to the police station to deliver love-filled lunchboxes.

“Mm.”

“You were way too out of the line this time. I’m a bit unhappy about it, so I punish you by forbidding you from eating sweets for a month.” Watching Xiao Yu try to kill someone had been really terrifying. Fang Yi Xun had later been dragged home by Teng Qi to be disciplined as well.

“Mm…”

“…That necklace you’re holding is worth 3.7 million.” This had been the concluded by the specialist that Jiu Shen had found to appraise it.

“…”

“I’m not joking.”

So his younger brother was currently hugging him with a necklace worth 3.7 million. What an expensive hug.

“…”

“…”

***

He opened his eyes from his peaceful sleep.

The space was so silent that even the sound of dust blowing around was extremely clear.

A faint light passed through the curtains, drawing out a line that climbed up the wall and onto the small desk.

It shone on the items placed there.

A cellphone, necklace, and picture frames.

After the new year, their whole family had chosen a time to go out on vacation and take the photo. Someone had even been chased by a sheep because they had been fooling around too much.

There was also the photo from several years ago that included a family of five, smiles on their faces as they stood in a pasture, his father hugging all of them with a warm smile.

He had later found this photo hidden in the jacket of that book.

He was no longer waking from the cold waters, nor sleeping through clamour. The air no longer had that unusually sweet scent, and his chest was no longer filled to the brim with emotions that could burst out at any given time.

When he woke up, he felt relaxed.

The breeze coming in from outside the window carried a faint aroma with it that slowly cleared his mind.

He jumped off his bed. He had slept in a bit later than usual; when he walked downstairs, he could already hear the sound of the TV. As he passed the kitchen, his dad smiled at him and handed him a cup of morning drink.

He saw his older brother sitting on the sofa, watching the TV, and occasionally skipping around channels to watch the news.

Then, he walked over to sit on the sofa, snuggling up against the back of the person next to him.

“Acting so spoiled first thing in the morning? It won’t work today either. In order to punish you for what happened last time, you are not allowed to go out to eat at the dessert shop.”

Yu Yin was sitting cross-legged on the sofa as he ignored the wordless attack from behind. He was insistent on keeping his declared punishment. Plus, he had already yielded quite a bit. Although they did not go out to eat, they would still often buy it online. It was just that the brat loved eating his fill at the dessert shop so much that even moves like attacking from behind were being pulled out.

“Let’s go.”

“No!”

“Let’s go…”

“Don’t even think about it!” There were still fourteen days and sixteen hours left before the month was up. There was no way he would break like this.

“Gē…”

Yu Yin was in the middle of drinking, and he instantly spat it out.

What a sinister move!

“I’ll…I’ll think about it…” Damn, it was too sudden. So it’s okay to attack my weak points directly when you want to eat at the dessert shop? Suddenly going from the usual ‘Ah Yin’ to ‘Gē’ just for the dessert shop?

The morning news was broadcasting about a chemical explosion in a certain factory district that had caused a fierce fire.

He stared at the flames on the screen.

The day Xiao Yu had awoken, the Shaodi Yu household had suddenly broken out into a great fire that same night. Although nobody had been living inside, there were still many flammables inside the house, and the blaze had been so fierce that it had been difficult to put out. It had burned for an entire day and night before everything inside had been cleanly burned away, leaving nothing behind.

The fire brigade had later informed them that the blaze had likely started from the front entrance.

Back then, someone had lit themselves on fire at that front entrance.

However, they had not been able to find the reason behind the fire, so the incident had been closed as an accident.

He had asked Xiao Yu about it, but Xiao Yu had said it was fine, since he no longer had any regrets left in that house. His home was not that place. The burnt ground would become part of the past, but he would never forget anything about his birth or his life that had happened there.

While carrying these heart-breaking memories, he continued to live happily in a new life with his new family, forever.

Because he was well, his family would be even better.

Yu Yin lightly sighed and wiped away the drink he had just spat out. “Forget it, let’s go after school today. I happen to have an arrangement to meet with the little Class President there anyways, since I never properly thanked him for borrowing money last time.”

He had met many people along the way…Ok, it might have also been the help of non-humans too.

After the incident, Yu Yin had suddenly discovered one day that, to his horror, his vision was no longer sporadic. Now he could see everything crystal-clear. However, he did not feel much of a difference after growing used to it.

“Thanks, Gē.”

Xiao Yu smiled.

Although very faint, it was a smile of genuine happiness.

And it would likely continue to stay that way from now on.

After breakfast was prepared, everyone gathered to enjoy the meal.

Xiao Yu helped bring everyone their backpacks and work bags, and the adults quickly got ready to rush to whatever work or class they needed to go to. Each and every one of them were heading out to different locations, but they would always return to this home at the very end.

“Be good at home, Xiao Yu. If you get bored, you can go look for Ah Si and the others to play,” Yu Tong said as he rubbed Xiao Yu’s head.

“Remember to look up the shops you want to eat at online.”

He stood at the doorway and waved at them,

“Safe travels, everyone.”

From now on, he would live very well.

“How did Lin Ya Qing die in the end?”

As Yan Si waited for a corpse to thaw, he made some hot chocolate and passed it over to his visiting friend.

Although it appeared as if all the matters had drawn to a close, there seemed to be quite a few questions that had not yet been answered. He glanced at his friend. The autopsy report containing the cause of death had been submitted ages ago. However, there still seemed to be something that had not yet been resolved.

“She was killed. Did you not know that?” Li Zi Hong indifferently shot his friend a glance before opening his laptop and organising his documents.

“Obviously I knew that already. But why was she killed over there?” According to what the little girl had said, she had only known that a man had murdered Lin Ya Qing. However, Yan Si had no idea what the reason behind it was.

Li Zi Hong sighed as he took the warm drink. “This is just the conjecture from the reports that Jiu Shen provided…The male shoeprints discovered on the scene were later confirmed to match Wang Zhao Tang’s shoes, and the knife also had his fingerprints. In addition, Lin Ya Qing had scratched the other party before dying, and Wang Zhao Tang’s DNA was found underneath her fingernails. Their communication records were also pulled up, and it was confirmed that the lovers really had arranged to meet there. The person who killed her back then was unmistakably Wang Zhao Tang.”

He flipped open the investigation [report] of the body that Jiu Shen had provided. The house had been covered with footprints, some deep and some shallow. A few had been destroyed by the police, while a few had remained intact. It had taken them two days to finally retrieve all the footprints, only to discover that Lin Ya Qing had circled around the inside of the house several times, looking for something on the second floor and leaving behind her fingerprints, before then going up to wait on the third floor.

Afterwards, Wang Zhao Tang was confirmed to have gone straight up to the third floor. There, the two had fought, and Lin Ya Qing had been killed.

“Lin Ya Qing’s savings in the bank had been completely withdrawn. In comparison, the few bills found at the scene had been only a small portion of her withdrawn money. We believe that, due to the incense, she ended up having a dispute with Wang Zhao Tang over money. The sum was eventually found in a bank account under Wang Zhao Tang’s name…My thoughts are that Lin Ya Qing might have wanted to use this money to flee as far away as possible and never sell incense again. Back then, Wang Zhao Tang was at Shen Shu Ning’s place nearby, so they had arranged to meet up at the Shaodi house to discuss matters. From the beginning, Wang Zhao Tang had always felt a strong greed towards his possessions, so when he heard Lin Ya Qing refuse him, he might have become violent in his anger. However, this is just my personal conjecture.”

The truth would forever be hidden in silence now that both of them had died.

Li Zi Hong mused to himself: This is the only possible ending to this case now.

But there seemed to be something leading him [here]. The room where the body had been hidden had actually been the room that Shaodi Yu had originally owned while living at that house. The only reason it had been so empty was because nearly everything inside had been tossed.

They could not understand why the room had been covered with black paper, and why the deceased had chosen the location to negotiate.

They could no longer ask anyone for these answers.

“I see.” Yan Si sat down on the adjacent chair and spun around a few times. “I’ve always wondered, why did you suddenly request to transfer over here? If I recall correctly, your work was originally closer to home, wasn’t it?” He had always found his former roommate’s arrival much too abrupt. Logically speaking, it should not have been easy for Li Zi Hong’s job to change.

When he had later asked his friend, he had found out that the guy had voluntarily requested to be transferred.

“…Because of Wang Shi Kai.”

“Who?” Yan Si scratched his head. The name was foreign to him, but it also felt like he might have heard it from somewhere else before.

“In the district I was previously in, there was an officer named Wang Shi Kai. He was investigating a drug case. When I later found out about it, he had already died in the line of duty. Back then, the person who had allowed him to investigate the case had been me; I had signed his application documents. Only a few days later, his remains were found.” Li Zi Hong rubbed his face. He had never forgotten this matter. “Back then, the suspect involved was Wang Zhao Tang. However, because we did not have any evidence, we could only let him go.”

Thus, he had requested to be transferred over when he had found out about Wang Hong’s incident here.

There had been something leading him towards this direction. Upon arriving, he had accepted the Shaodi family case, then began to get hopelessly tangled into things with this bunch of people.

From a work respective, he had been getting a bit too closely involved.

Although, he did not dislike it either.

“Ah, that’s it. All the answers have been revealed!” Yan Si flashed him a thumbs-up. He just knew that this guy who actually loved sticking to one place for work would not have suddenly requested a transfer and gone through the trouble of helping Yu Yin and the others meddle with matters so easily.

Li Zi Hong smiled and continued to look at his computer.

The end of a case also represented the beginning of many more to come.

Their work would never stop, day after day, stopping and continuing.

“Oh, right, why did you run over to my place to do your documents today? I’m pretty sure my place is called a forensic lab, not a prosecutor office?”

“…The inspectors are making their rounds upstairs again.” Do you think I actually like this place that much? I only came because I had no other options. “I requested my colleague to inform the inspectors that I would be here with the forensic scientist to discuss the examination report today.”

“Whoa, whoa! This isn’t your refuge, you know!”

“I’ll treat you to dinner after work.”

“…All-you-can-eat hotpot!” He would choose a very costly one, deathly expensive even.

“No problem.”

“Yi Tai, I heard you would continue your studies?”

After class, Yu Yin was walking down the hallway. Upon turning the corner, he bumped into the person who he had been worrying about this entire time.

Yi Tai nodded, his usual, slight smile on his face. “Since I communicated with my family afterwards, and there ended up not being any major issues anyways, I may as well continue my studies until the end.”

Next to Yi Tai, Ah Fang stood with his head in his hands, a helpless expression on his face.

Yu Yin eventually figured out later what exactly had happened.

The reason why every single hospital that the theoretically visually-impaired Yi Tai visited could not detect anything unusual was because…regardless of whether it was a vision test, colour test, or any other random mix of tests, Yi Tai would guess all of the answers correctly with his terrifying instincts. In the end, the hospitals had absolutely no way of finding any problems [with his sight]; every single hospital would end up with this same issue.

Ah Fang had been thwarted.

Xiao Hai had later introduced them to what seemed to be some kind of private folk clinic. And for some mysterious reason, the clinic was actually able to just barely preserve Yi Tai’s sight for the time being.

A small part of Yu Yin was relieved by this.

“Oh? You seem to be pretty relaxed. I assume that all the troubles were resolved while we were gone.” The source of trouble smiled and patted Yu Yin on the shoulder. “However, I think it’s best you focus on your studies right now, since I feel like you really will be failed this time, and you will have to attend supplementary lessons during summer break.”

“…I beg of you, please tell me a way to avoid such a horrible calamity.” Yu Yin felt like he would faint.

Damn it, if Dad finds out I need to attend summer remedials, I’ll be strangled to death by them both!

“Just…passing all the midterms should be enough to get through. However, that’s just a feeling, no need to believe in it too much,” was the tactful response from Yi Tai, whose feelings were always 100% accurate.

“I definitely believe in it!” Crap, looks like I need to hurry up and go find a classmate’s notes on the exam scopes.

After bidding farewell to the other two, Yu Yin had a slight urge to ram his head into a wall.

He just knew that he would be doomed eventually if he kept skipping classes, and now the karmic retribution had arrived…It seemed that he could only pull his ultimate move now, and ask Xiao Yu to teach him in English and math, the subjects he was weak in.

Although it was extremely shameful, this was the last-resort trick.

Yu Yin’s hands curled into fists as he began brainstorming how to swindle the child.

“Oho, what is Ah Yin-gēgē standing here for so early in the morning….”

Yu Yin turned around and reflexively shot a withering look at his female friend. He also spotted a male he did not recognise standing behind the girl. The male seemed educated and refined, and also very rich.

He reached this conclusion based on the brands the other person was wearing.

Li Lin Yue flashed a smile as she sent the male off first. “Just hooked him in recently, although he’s just playing around too. It’s perfect timing, since now I have someone to drive me to and from school.”

They walked side-by-side.

Since they were little up until now, without any romantic feelings, the two of them had always been good friends that mucked through garbage together.

“Be careful, if you keep switching boyfriends like that you might actually run into problems.” Despite knowing that his friend was good at keeping herself out of trouble, she seriously changed boyfriends about as fast as she changed clothes. This made Yu Yin worry that she might one day really end up suffering.

“Don’t worry, I have it under control.” Li Lin Yue flipped her long and beautiful black hair and smiled. “If a life is created by accident, the other person will have to be a good father that can take care of children too.”

“Pretty sure those are uncommon now. Not all guys that play well can be good fathers.” Yu Yin smiled back at his friend of many years, whose pretty face was adored by many. In contrast, the two of them had always regarded each other as friends.

That was just the kind of relationship they had.

The female’s beauty was enough for anyone to hold their breaths, and most would be willing to do anything for her. However, he was not part of that majority.

“Then if it really does happen one day, would you save me?” Li Lin Yue’s smile widened. “No matter where I look, Ah Yin-dàgēgē is still the one I feel most reassured about…”

“Please, you need your vision checked.”

Yu Yin patted the woman’s shoulders, as if he would to a fellow brother. “But seeing as we’re best friends, I could make the effort to extend my pinky for saving you if you really did end up with a baby with some irresponsible person.”

“That’s a promise, then, Godfather-dàgēgē.”

Consequently, his life began to gradually return to its usual rhythm.

Yu Yin glanced at the short shrubs beginning to flower before he watched his female friend turn around the corner and leave first.

He smiled, truly feeling very relaxed now.

As he turned around the next corner, a pair of grey eyes suddenly met his. A strange girl he had never met stood before him, bloodstains covering her chest.

The dark blood dripped onto the corridor and a chilly breeze whipped past his ear.

Is everything going back to normal?

…Maybe?

“I beg of you, please stop coming! I’m going to fail school—!”