Chapter Four: Empty Words

Once this long-faced Aunt Yang started talking, it seemed as if she simply couldn't stop herself. She launched into a torrent of praise for all of Wenrui Xu's virtues in life. Wenrui Xu's mother could do nothing but weep quietly at her side. Several times, Xue Yan tried to interrupt Aunt Yang, but failed every time.

This woman's urge to express herself was truly formidable—so much so that even Xue Yan, who was officially in charge of asking questions, could barely get a word in. Wenrui Xu's grandparents, as well as his aunt and great-aunt, couldn't manage to join the conversation at all.

"Ms. Yang, thank you for providing us with all this information," Xue Yan finally said, noticing that Wenrui Xu's grandmother seemed constantly on the verge of speaking but lacked both courage and opportunity. She felt it simply couldn't go on like this. "Let's reserve some time for Wenrui Xu's family members…”

"Oh, but you don't understand! I've probably seen and interacted with Wenrui more times than all his relatives put together! His mother and I have been neighbors and classmates since childhood—decades of friendship. We even gave birth around the same time; our boys are less than a year apart. We live in the same neighborhood, and we visit each other four or five times a week!"

Aunt Yang, unbothered by Xue Yan's attempt, launched right back into her monologue. "I always had my son Gaoyang play with Wenrui since they were little, to learn from him. So the two boys grew up together. Granted, my son isn't as outstanding as Wenrui, but at least the two have a good relationship. You can ask my son anything—you'll see, he knows all about Wenrui!

I'm telling you, when it comes to young men in their twenties, asking the elders at home is useless. At that age, do you think they confide in their parents or grandparents? Of course not! They talk to their friends and buddies!"

As much as Xue Yan was not particularly fond of this woman, she had to admit there was truth in her words. Not just for men in their twenties—even boys of thirteen or fourteen might be better understood by their classmates and friends than their own family.

So her gaze shifted toward Gaoyang, who had sat by silently the whole time.

"Excuse me, let me interrupt for a moment!" As Xue Yan was considering how to question Gaoyang, Geng Kang suddenly spoke up. He first nodded apologetically to Wenrui Xu's parents, then turned to Wenrui Xu's aunt. "It seems the elders here aren't really involved in this part of the conversation. They've been sitting here for a while—would they like some water, or perhaps a restroom break? Why don't you assist the elders and come along with me?"

Wenrui Xu's aunt was startled, glancing instinctively at Xu's mother, who showed no reaction or objection. Only then did she agree, standing up to help her mother, while Geng Kang assisted Wenrui Xu's grandfather. The four left the reception room together.

With this brief interruption, Xue Yan realized something: looking at the drooping, reluctant Gaoyang, it seemed he hadn't come to the police station willingly at all. Dragging him through an interrogation now likely wouldn't yield much.

"Here's what we'll do," she said, taking out her phone and addressing Gaoyang. "There are quite a few of you here today, and I can't possibly question everyone one by one. Let me add you as a contact, and we can set up a time to talk later."

"No problem, no problem! This kid's not busy anyway, and with what happened to Wenrui, if he can be of any help, that's his contribution to society!" Aunt Yang quickly spoke up on her son's behalf.

Gaoyang, all meek compliance, hurriedly took out his phone to add Xue Yan as a friend.

After the routine round of questions with Wenrui Xu's parents and other relatives, Xue Yan wrapped up the session. Leaving the reception room, she discovered Geng Kang chatting amiably with Wenrui Xu's grandparents in the office.

Of course, after losing their grandson, genuine happiness was out of reach, but at least the two old folks were no longer as timid and withdrawn as they'd been in the reception room. They now showed the relaxed relief of having found someone to confide in.

As soon as Wenrui Xu's parents and their group came out, his aunt hastened to help her parents up. Xu's mother glanced at them warily, then walked straight to Geng Kang and shook his hand.

"Officer Kang, I'll leave my son's case in your hands!" she said tearfully, her voice choked. "He was our only treasure, and this has struck us such a blow! Perhaps the young don't understand, but we're of an age—you must know the pain of being a parent. Please, give us an answer for Wenrui!"

"Don't worry," Geng Kang replied earnestly, nodding solemnly. "Whether out of empathy or professional duty, we will give you an answer."

Having heard these words, Wenrui Xu's mother finally let herself be led away by her husband, expressing her thanks over and over.

At last, the sizable group departed, and calm returned to the office. Xue Yan let out a long breath, then looked at Geng Kang, unable to resist teasing him.

"Uncle Kang, how old is your child now? Doing well in school? And what's your secret for staying so young? Care to share?" she asked, picking up a thermos from the desk and pretending it was a microphone.

"Sorry, that's private—no comment," Geng Kang replied, playing along with even more theatrical flair, as if fending off a pack of tabloid reporters. "But my secret to staying young? I'm happy to share that: just smile, and you'll be young for ten more years!"

With that, he grinned, a dazzlingly sunny smile.

"I have to hand it to you!" Xue Yan laughed. "I was going to reason with them, explain that we're not rookies, that solving cases is a team effort, not the work of one or two people. But you just turned yourself into their peer—and the best part is, you don't look anywhere near old enough to be in your forties, yet you actually managed to convince her!"

"As the saying goes, less is more. Why make things harder than they need to be? If you try to reason with someone in her state, she won't be able to process it anyway—so you'd just be wasting your breath," Geng Kang said with a smile. "Her prejudice is all about age. No matter what you say, if you're not old enough, she'll think you're not capable—so why bother? As for how I convinced them, that's even simpler: lies work best when you almost believe them yourself. If your attitude is calm and your eyes are steady, the other party can't help but believe you!"

"It seems you have plenty of experience in this line of work," Xue Yan observed, gaining a new appreciation for Geng Kang's unconventional methods. He was nothing like Chen Jiabao before him.

"Stay calm, kid, stay calm," Geng Kang raised an eyebrow. "I'm not big on principles, so prepare yourself."

"By the way, when you pulled Wenrui Xu's grandparents aside, was it to ask about his 'possession'?" After joking around, Xue Yan steered the conversation back to the case.

"That's right. But let's hear from you first—did you get anything valuable from those people?" Geng Kang wasn't in a hurry to share his findings.

"Not much. It seems Wenrui Xu had trouble sleeping and was agitated in the period before his death, but his parents had no idea how long it lasted or how severe it was. He suddenly came home from school, saying he couldn't sleep there. After returning, he spent most of his time alone in his room, barely eating. According to his father, he seemed stable for the first day or two, but by the third day, his condition declined again. On the day of his death, it was his fourth day as a day student rather than a boarder. Because of his poor appetite, he skipped dinner and went straight to bed, never to wake again.

His parents and relatives described his school life in glowing terms, but it sounded more like empty praise. It was clear they didn't really know what was going on with him—there was precious little concrete information, and the rest was hearsay and wishful thinking." Xue Yan summarized the reception room situation for Geng Kang. "So, what did Wenrui Xu's grandmother tell you? Does she know anything about the yellow paper and ashes in his stomach? Otherwise, how could she claim he was 'possessed'?"

"You guessed it," Geng Kang replied. "Wenrui Xu's grandmother was actually very frightened. On one hand, his mother is extremely domineering at home, making it hard for the old woman to speak up. On the other, she's genuinely afraid that her grandson's death might be her fault."

"Her fault? How could that be?" Xue Yan was surprised, instinctively guessing, "Did she give him some weird folk remedy to drive out evil, and accidentally kill him?"

"The old lady isn't quite that reckless. She's timid and superstitious, easy to influence. She didn't secretly give Wenrui anything strange, but she did take him—without his parents' knowledge—to see some 'immortal' to perform an exorcism ritual for him," Geng Kang answered.