Chapter 16 — The Night Before Exam Day

Ms. Tan's face instantly turned pale. The last bit of hesitation in my heart shattered to pieces. I grabbed the chair from the table and slammed it on the fire alarm button next to the window. The sound of broken glass exploded in the room. The shrill siren immediately echoed throughout the floor. Outside the door, Tham Chu swore loudly, and the sound of footsteps quickly left. A few seconds later, from the other end of the hallway, screams and the sound of police running were heard. When the door was kicked open, two police officers outside the door were lying on the ground, one had an electric shock wound on the back of his neck, the other had a cut on his arm. They are still breathing. I was taken out of the break room. The hallway camera was sprayed with black paint. The emergency exit door was wide open. A series of bloody footprints headed down the stairs. The police chased downstairs. The test center leader ran over, his face pale. "The afternoon exam must be changed to an isolated exam room." "All examiners must check their identities." "The candidates' identities are confirmed by the police throughout the entire process." Ms. Tan nodded, but her eyes stared at the document bag in my hand. "Are the documents still there?" I immediately opened it. Exam attendance notice is still available. Citizen identification card is still available. Manual explanation paper is still available. But the red cloth bundle has disappeared. My fingers are stiff. Ms. Tan also discovered it. "Where is the bronze card?" At that moment, my blood ran cold all over my body. The power outage just now, voices outside the door, sirens rang out, everything seemed to be aimed at paperwork. But what they really want to take is the bronze card. The police immediately questioned the watchman. The evidence bag containing the copper card is still on the other police officer. The bag was not torn at all. The bronze tag also remains. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But looking at the empty red cloth bundle, my heart became even heavier. The old piece of cloth that covered the copper card in the red cloth was a piece of my diaper. My aunt said the key was sewn into the diaper. My father hid it for eighteen years, but what he brought out was only a bronze card. What if there is something else in the cloth? I mentioned the story of the red cloth disappearing. The policeman's face changed. Ms. Tan also immediately understood. "What they want isn't a copper card?" I shook my head. "What they want is something that can be used with a copper card." At this moment, the police officer rushed downstairs to transmit the news. "Arrested Tham Chu." "But he doesn't have a red cloth on him." "He kept screaming, he was also fooled." A few minutes later, Tham Chu was escorted to the hallway. His face was covered in sweat, his wrists had marks, and his eyes couldn't hide the panic. I walked up to him. "Where is the red cloth?" Tham Chu was stunned. "What red cloth?" "Are you still pretending?" His face turned pale. "I'm only responsible for keeping you in the break room." "The one who took the things wasn't me." I stared at him. "Who is it?" Tham Chu's lips trembled, looking towards the end of the hallway. There was a female cleaner there who had just changed shifts. She wore a mask and pushed a garbage cart. In the garbage truck, a piece of old red cloth was revealed. The female janitor raised her head and looked at me. Those eyes were identical to the eyes of the woman in the red dress in the photo. She suddenly knocked over the garbage truck, turned around and rushed towards the building containing the afternoon exam room. 19The moment the female janitor knocked over the garbage truck, the entire hallway was in chaos. The dirty water bucket rolled against the wall, the mop hit the ground, old newspapers and plastic bags were scattered everywhere. The piece of red cloth she held tightly in her hand was like a fire left over from eighteen years ago. The police immediately gave chase. Tham Chu was pressed against the wall, still screaming loudly. "I really don't know who she is." I didn't look at him. Because the direction the woman ran towards was the afternoon isolation exam room. Ms. Tan pulled me back. "You can't chase after me." I looked at the flash of red fabric

then disappeared around the corner of the stairs. "She might have something my mother left in her hand." "That's not something I have to exchange my life for now." Ms. Tan's voice trembled for the first time. "Manh Chi, there's an exam in the afternoon." I know. But the more I know, if that piece of cloth is taken away, the list corresponding to the bronze card may never be opened. The head of the test site sent someone to blockade the lecture hall building. The loudspeaker temporarily announced that all afternoon candidates entered the exam room ten minutes late and accepted the second test. There was a commotion outside. Parents' voices echoed through the window. I stood in the middle of the hallway, still clutching the bag containing documents. Tham Chu suddenly whispered. "She is Ms. Hong." I turned to look at him. His eyes were averted, his lips were white. "I met her when I was a kid." "She's not a janitor." "She always followed my mother." The police scooped him up. "Full name." Tham Chu shook his head. "I don't know." "My mother just called her Ms. Hong." "The person who delivered the rice at stove number 7, it was her." My stomach felt a cold knot. During the past eighteen years, every time my aunt survived, she probably saw these eyes. I tried to hold back my voice and asked. "What did she use the red cloth for?" Tham Chu's throat moved. "My father said, the copper card is only half of the lock."