Chapter 57: Let Me Accompany You in Crying
"Acheng, are you sure Jiang Director will call?" The female agent anxiously paced back and forth in the room. "Maybe you should go back and apologize to the director."
"Why are you in such a hurry? It's only been 21 hours and 36 minutes. Are you worried that Jiang Director won't need me anymore?" Acheng smiled on his face, but his fingers nervously grabbed the leather sofa, and his legs couldn't stop shaking. "Everything is within my expectations. The crew is probably in chaos by now."
"Is that so?" The female agent looked at Acheng's trembling legs and uncertain eyes, and a bitter smile appeared on her face. "Then let's wait a little longer."
...
"Jiang Yi, do you know how much impact changing the lead actor will have? Do you know how much effort I put in to bring their company on board? Do you really think this film has so many supporters?"
"I will try to control the cost, and besides, Acheng's remuneration is already high and unreasonable. The actor I value more than him..."
"Don't bother telling me anymore. The filming can be postponed for another three days. I think you should calm down as well." Long Jie hung up the phone, leaving Jiang Director with the two screenwriters in the smoke-filled room.
"Director, do we need to make further revisions to the script?" The screenwriter took out a hat to cover his balding head.
"After these few days of hard work, everyone should take a break first." Jiang Director lit a cigarette and locked himself in the small room.
After leaving the filming location, Han Fei had a good chat with the victims' family members. He wanted to gather more information and get to know his roommates better.
The ghosts in the eyes of others were roommates living under the same roof in Han Fei's eyes.
Using the experiences and memories of the victims, Han Fei filled the ethereal ghosts with tangible human beings.
"They can't come back, but I will convey your longing and love for them."
Sitting with the victims' family members, listening to their stories of the past, Han Fei felt an unprecedented feeling.
There seemed to be a thread connecting the eerie underworld game and this warm real world. That thread connected life, death, and time, intertwining the two.
Sometimes, Han Fei would also ponder why the game "Perfect Life" existed and if it had a deeper meaning.
Around five o'clock in the afternoon, as Han Fei was about to bid farewell to the victims' family members, he received a call from Li Xue.
"After investigating further, have you found any incriminating evidence against Meng Changan?"
"It's not related to Meng Changan. As the investigation deepened, we discovered more and more clues, and all these clues point to Meng Changxi!" Li Xue's voice came through the phone. "The results of the forensic analysis in the Ecological Forest Black House have come out. We found traces of two people, one belonging to He Shouye and the other to Meng Changxi. Furthermore, we checked the backup footage from several years ago, and we found Meng Changxi's figure near the street where He Shouye had a car accident. Now we suspect that He Shouye didn't die in a car accident but was murdered by Meng Changxi."
"Meng Changxi killed He Shouye?" Han Fei put his phone on speaker and opened the victim relationship map he had created. "Why would he kill He Shouye?"
"It's highly possible that it was to silence him. Meng Changxi and He Shouye are both murderers. They contacted each other somehow and killed the people they wanted to eliminate. Meng Changxi killed He Shouye to prevent his own exposure."
"Could someone be framing Meng Changxi?"
"We can't rule out that possibility. It's also because of this consideration that we haven't issued a wanted order for Meng Changxi." Li Xue's voice changed. "In order to catch the perpetrator of the body puzzle case, we have uncovered all the information about He Shouye and Meng Changxi from their past. Meng Changxi disguised himself well, but this guy He Shouye is truly a scumbag. He's not a local; he married and had children in the countryside. We visited his former neighbours and put in a lot of effort to find his ex-wife."
"Ex-wife?"
"Yes, He Shouye appeared to be very decent before getting married, but after marriage, he gradually revealed another side, domestic violence and various perverse hobbies. Initially, He Shouye was suppressing himself, but later, when He Yuhuai was born, the child was weak and had congenital diseases. He Shouye's attitude towards the mother and child became worse and worse, and physical abuse became the norm. Eventually, his wife couldn't bear it and escaped alone."
"He Shouye threatened his wife multiple times, saying that if she didn't come back obediently, he would kill He Yuhuai, forcing his wife to finally report to the police, and they got divorced afterward."
"The focus of the dispute between the couple was the house. Neither of them wanted the child with congenital diseases. According to the neighbours, that child, He Yuhuai, was very pitiful. He had no friends and was always locked up at home, living in constant fear. He became the parents' punching bag, and the crying of the child in the house never ceased."
"The most common thing the neighbours heard was He Shouye's angry roar—Why are you crying? I'll strangle you if you keep crying!"
"Probably because of his own child, He Shouye despised children. According to his neighbours, He Shouye was normal most of the time, but as soon as he heard a child crying, he would go mad."
"In the end, they divided their property equally, and He Yuhuai was awarded to the mother. But what happened next was tragic. The mother didn't want the child and once took He Yuhuai far away to play hide-and-seek, but in the end, she abandoned the child and left alone."
"After the police found the child, they had no choice but to send him to He Shouye. You know what happened next. He Shouye learned about a wealthy man's child who had kidney disease, and when he found out that his child's kidney was a perfect match, he secretly made a deal with the wealthy man."
"The tragedy originally started with that child. If he had someone in his family who could give him a little love and accept him, the subsequent tragedies might have been avoided."
Li Xue spoke a lot, and after listening, Han Fei couldn't help but see the figure of the crying child from the game "Perfect Life."
The child who lived downstairs, always standing alone beside the shrine, a black figure with an indistinguishable face, without any friends, constantly crying, playing an endless game of hide-and-seek with other children.
"Maybe I should go and accompany that child..." Han Fei silently repeated the name He Yuhuai in his heart. He planned to meet him and let him cry.
"Why are you in such a hurry? It's only been 21 hours and 36 minutes. Are you worried that Jiang Director won't need me anymore?" Acheng smiled on his face, but his fingers nervously grabbed the leather sofa, and his legs couldn't stop shaking. "Everything is within my expectations. The crew is probably in chaos by now."
"Is that so?" The female agent looked at Acheng's trembling legs and uncertain eyes, and a bitter smile appeared on her face. "Then let's wait a little longer."
...
"Jiang Yi, do you know how much impact changing the lead actor will have? Do you know how much effort I put in to bring their company on board? Do you really think this film has so many supporters?"
"I will try to control the cost, and besides, Acheng's remuneration is already high and unreasonable. The actor I value more than him..."
"Don't bother telling me anymore. The filming can be postponed for another three days. I think you should calm down as well." Long Jie hung up the phone, leaving Jiang Director with the two screenwriters in the smoke-filled room.
"Director, do we need to make further revisions to the script?" The screenwriter took out a hat to cover his balding head.
"After these few days of hard work, everyone should take a break first." Jiang Director lit a cigarette and locked himself in the small room.
After leaving the filming location, Han Fei had a good chat with the victims' family members. He wanted to gather more information and get to know his roommates better.
The ghosts in the eyes of others were roommates living under the same roof in Han Fei's eyes.
Using the experiences and memories of the victims, Han Fei filled the ethereal ghosts with tangible human beings.
"They can't come back, but I will convey your longing and love for them."
Sitting with the victims' family members, listening to their stories of the past, Han Fei felt an unprecedented feeling.
There seemed to be a thread connecting the eerie underworld game and this warm real world. That thread connected life, death, and time, intertwining the two.
Sometimes, Han Fei would also ponder why the game "Perfect Life" existed and if it had a deeper meaning.
Around five o'clock in the afternoon, as Han Fei was about to bid farewell to the victims' family members, he received a call from Li Xue.
"After investigating further, have you found any incriminating evidence against Meng Changan?"
"It's not related to Meng Changan. As the investigation deepened, we discovered more and more clues, and all these clues point to Meng Changxi!" Li Xue's voice came through the phone. "The results of the forensic analysis in the Ecological Forest Black House have come out. We found traces of two people, one belonging to He Shouye and the other to Meng Changxi. Furthermore, we checked the backup footage from several years ago, and we found Meng Changxi's figure near the street where He Shouye had a car accident. Now we suspect that He Shouye didn't die in a car accident but was murdered by Meng Changxi."
"Meng Changxi killed He Shouye?" Han Fei put his phone on speaker and opened the victim relationship map he had created. "Why would he kill He Shouye?"
"It's highly possible that it was to silence him. Meng Changxi and He Shouye are both murderers. They contacted each other somehow and killed the people they wanted to eliminate. Meng Changxi killed He Shouye to prevent his own exposure."
"Could someone be framing Meng Changxi?"
"We can't rule out that possibility. It's also because of this consideration that we haven't issued a wanted order for Meng Changxi." Li Xue's voice changed. "In order to catch the perpetrator of the body puzzle case, we have uncovered all the information about He Shouye and Meng Changxi from their past. Meng Changxi disguised himself well, but this guy He Shouye is truly a scumbag. He's not a local; he married and had children in the countryside. We visited his former neighbours and put in a lot of effort to find his ex-wife."
"Ex-wife?"
"Yes, He Shouye appeared to be very decent before getting married, but after marriage, he gradually revealed another side, domestic violence and various perverse hobbies. Initially, He Shouye was suppressing himself, but later, when He Yuhuai was born, the child was weak and had congenital diseases. He Shouye's attitude towards the mother and child became worse and worse, and physical abuse became the norm. Eventually, his wife couldn't bear it and escaped alone."
"He Shouye threatened his wife multiple times, saying that if she didn't come back obediently, he would kill He Yuhuai, forcing his wife to finally report to the police, and they got divorced afterward."
"The focus of the dispute between the couple was the house. Neither of them wanted the child with congenital diseases. According to the neighbours, that child, He Yuhuai, was very pitiful. He had no friends and was always locked up at home, living in constant fear. He became the parents' punching bag, and the crying of the child in the house never ceased."
"The most common thing the neighbours heard was He Shouye's angry roar—Why are you crying? I'll strangle you if you keep crying!"
"Probably because of his own child, He Shouye despised children. According to his neighbours, He Shouye was normal most of the time, but as soon as he heard a child crying, he would go mad."
"In the end, they divided their property equally, and He Yuhuai was awarded to the mother. But what happened next was tragic. The mother didn't want the child and once took He Yuhuai far away to play hide-and-seek, but in the end, she abandoned the child and left alone."
"After the police found the child, they had no choice but to send him to He Shouye. You know what happened next. He Shouye learned about a wealthy man's child who had kidney disease, and when he found out that his child's kidney was a perfect match, he secretly made a deal with the wealthy man."
"The tragedy originally started with that child. If he had someone in his family who could give him a little love and accept him, the subsequent tragedies might have been avoided."
Li Xue spoke a lot, and after listening, Han Fei couldn't help but see the figure of the crying child from the game "Perfect Life."
The child who lived downstairs, always standing alone beside the shrine, a black figure with an indistinguishable face, without any friends, constantly crying, playing an endless game of hide-and-seek with other children.
"Maybe I should go and accompany that child..." Han Fei silently repeated the name He Yuhuai in his heart. He planned to meet him and let him cry.
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