Couple of Mirrors – Chapter 44: Which is More Important, Me or the Gun?
(cn: reference to self-harm)
Yan Wei places two dishes on the dining table. ‘Would you care to try it, Detective Jiang?’ she asks.
Jiang Bin chuckles. ‘I didn’t realise you knew how to cook, Miss Yan.’
‘Cooking’s not the only thing I know how to do,’ says Yan Wei. ‘I know how to kill people, too.’
Jiang Bin holds up a photograph of Yan Wei’s rifle. ‘Oh? In that case, have you seen this gun before, Miss Yan?’
Yan Wei takes the photograph and looks at it. ‘Yes.’
For a long moment, both Jiang Bin and Xu Youyi stare at her.
Then Yan Wei hands back the photograph. ‘In a magazine,’ she adds.
She looks steadily at Jiang Bin. ‘If you think that’s a crime as well, Detective Jiang, you’re free to arrest me again.’
She isn’t acting or speaking like someone who has a gulity conscience, Jiang Bin reflects. In fact, she sounds quite outraged. Could this be an act?
Just then, Chen Yong bursts into the studio. ‘Boss, something’s happened!’ he yells. ‘Zhou Heng slit his wrists while he was in his cell!’
‘We need to go and find out what’s going on!’ barks Jiang Bin, as Xu Youyi and Yan Wei stare at him silently.
At the door, he turns. ‘Don’t worry, Miss Yan. Innocent bystanders are safe from us. But I’m not going to let the real murderer get away. No matter how difficult it is, I will find the evidence I need to prove their guilt!’
‘Yes,’ Xu Youyi interjects. ‘The two of us sincerely hope that you’ll find the real murderer soon, Detective Jiang, so that Weiwei’s innocence can be finally be proven beyond doubt.’
Xu Youyi and Yan Wei watch as Jiang Bin leaves the studio. After a while, Xu Youyi pokes Yan Wei in the arm. ‘Let’s eat,’ she says. ‘The food’s getting cold.’
Yan Wei sits down. ‘They said Zhou Heng tried to kill himself…’
Xu Youyi picks up her bowl and chopsticks. ‘I don’t think it was a genuine attempt. I’m quite sure he was just trying to get out of prison so he’d be able to see me.’
‘Do you want to see him?’ asks Yan Wei.
Xu Youyi puts down her bowl and chopsticks again. ‘Whatever will come, will come,’ she says. ‘Whatever has to be ended, I’ll end.’
Yan Wei is silent for a moment. Then she asks, ‘By the way, when did you get rid of my gun?’
‘Just before you went to prison,’ Xu Youyi tells her. ‘I thought, if I could find it, sooner or later somebody else would. You won’t blame me for getting rid of it?’
‘It’s a pity to let the police keep it,’ Yan Wei muses. ‘It’s fine though. I can go back to the police station and—’
Xu Youyi breaks in at this point. ‘No! That’s too dangerous!’
‘Given my abilities, they won’t even know I’ve been there,’ says Yan Wei. ‘They didn’t notice when I slipped those photographs into Chu Huizi’s handbag the last time—’
‘This is different!’ snaps Xu Youyi. ‘This is evidence that links you directly to the crime! You mustn’t be rash!’
‘But…’ Yan Wei begins.
‘I said no,’ says Xu Youyi firmly.
Yan Wei looks dejected as Xu Youyi glares at her.
Xu Youyi presses her advantage. ‘Let me ask you, which is more important: me or the gun?’
Yan Wei turns red.
‘Fine, I won’t go,’ she concedes.
Xu Youyi laughs delightedly as Yan Wei continues to sit there, red-faced.
She takes Yan Wei’s wrist. ‘Come with me.’
Yan Wei allows Xu Youyi to lead her into the basement. ‘What’s going on?’
Xu Youyi leads Yan Wei to the crib, to Yan Wei’s puzzlement. ‘You want me to turn the crib upside-down?’ she asks.
Obediently, Yan Wei does so…
…and is surprised to find…
…the rest of her firearms collection, taped to the underside of the crib. ‘How…’ she stammers.
She looks up at Xu Youyi, a smile on her face. ‘What an amazing idea! I thought you’d—’
‘That I’d gotten rid of them all?’ Xu Youyi asks.
‘You didn’t know the truth about me then,’ says Yan Wei, looking down at the guns. ‘Weren’t you scared when you found all these?’
‘Of course I was,’ says Xu Youyi with a smile. ‘I nearly ran off to the police station to turn you in!’
Yan Wei leans forward. ‘Then why didn’t you turn me in?’ she asks.
Xu Youyi, caught unawares, blushes.
She looks away. ‘I don’t really know why…’
Quickly, she turns her back on Yan Wei. ‘Perhaps I thought, before condemning someone to death, I should at least give her the chance to explain herself…’
Yan Wei gazes at her, but says nothing.
At Dezi Hospital, Zhou Heng (handcuffed to his bed), is throwing what can only be called a tantrum. ‘Feng Hong left hours ago! Why isn’t Xu Youyi here yet?’
Just then, Xu Youyi and Yan Wei step into the waiting area outside Zhou Heng’s hospital room. Mr and Mrs Zhou are both sitting there, with Feng Hong keeping them company. Mrs Zhou rushes up to Xu Youyi and raises her hand threateningly. ‘You wicked woman—’
Before she can land a slap on Xu Youyi, however, Yan Wei grabs hold of her wrist easily…
…and flings it aside.
Feng Hong comes running up and puts a steadying hand on Mrs Zhou’s shoulder. ‘Watch out, auntie!’
‘Don’t forget,’ Yan Wei reminds her. ‘It was your son who asked her to come here.’
‘You?’ Mrs Zhou exclaims in shock, looking at Xu Youyi.
‘That’s right, auntie,’ says Feng Heng. ‘Zhou Heng wanted to see sister-in-law—’
‘Let her go in,’ says Mr Zhou, who has remained in his seat all this while.
Xu Youyi turns to look at Yan Wei. ‘Weiwei…’
‘Go,’ Yan Wei tells her. ‘I’ll be here waiting for you.’
***
Please view the original manhua here.
douqi 随笔 