Chapter 5 — When He Believes the Outsiders

What made the scene all the more chilling was the discovery by the police of a journal entry written just last night in the digital notes of Chu Man:

“If I swap Su Van’s sunscreen with water, she surely won’t last long under the scorching sun tomorrow!”

“By then, Coach To will undoubtedly assume she is acting again, and he will never let her off the hook.”

“Only by grinding her beneath my feet will Coach To finally see who is truly worthy of his attention.”

The evidence was damning. Moments ago, Chu Man had been cowering among the crowd, feigning innocence, but she was now firmly restrained by two officers. Her once harmless, naive mask had shattered completely.

“Why would you do such a thing?” the lead officer asked, his voice cold and cutting. “You were roommates. You knew full well she suffered from a severe ultraviolet allergy. This act of yours constitutes premeditated murder!”

“I just couldn’t stand the sight of her!” Chu Man suddenly erupted into a hysterical, jagged laugh. Her features contorted into a mask of madness, and she screamed until her throat grew raw. “Why? Why does she get to go around acting fragile and half-dead while winning everyone’s love? Why does Coach To scold her with his words but have eyes that drift back to her uncontrollably? I am more capable than her, more resilient than her—why does no one spare me a second glance?” Her spiteful gaze fixed upon the pool of blood on the ground, mingled with the remnants of my skin. “She deserves it! She deserves to rot in the sun! It is all her fault that Coach To doesn’t love me! I wanted her own brother to be the one who killed her!”

I hovered above them. The sun remained blindingly bright, yet I felt a chill that penetrated down to my very bones. It turned out that what had pushed me into the abyss—beyond the self-righteous sense of justice of my own brother—was the viper I had kept hidden at my side. The human heart is far more venomous than the sun that scorched my flesh.

“Take her away!” The officer gestured sharply. Two policemen dragged the still-screaming Chu Man toward the patrol vehicle. As for To Lam, who remained slumped on the ground in the distance like a broken pile of rags, the sound of her crazed confession sent tremors through his body. He suddenly lunged toward the evidence bags seized by the police, his blood-stained hands frantically tearing through my backpack.

“No… this cannot be… She tricked me. All of you are lying to me…”

To Lam’s lips trembled violently. He yanked at the zipper of my bag and upended it. With a sharp sound, the contents spilled across the dirt.

Falling onto the ground were three large, unopened containers of high-dosage anti-allergy medication. Resting beside them was a small, silent slip of paper with a few lines written in my hand:

“Your birthday is coming soon. No matter how painful it gets, I must finish this military training.”

“If I can win the title of outstanding trainee, will you finally smile at me just once?”

Those words became the final straw that crushed To Lam. In the frigid interrogation room, the harsh fluorescent lights beat down upon his bloodless face. The lead officer slammed the medicine containers and my medical leave requests, which had been pulled from the evidence bag, onto the interrogation table.

The thud echoed like a thunderclap.

“To Lam, this is what you called ‘fairness’.” The officer’s voice was void of warmth. “Until her final breath, your sister was racking her brain, trying to figure out how to earn your acknowledgment. And you—you were the one who personally severed every lifeline she had.”

To Lam stared at the plastic evidence bags, his pupils dilating in terror. A wave of regret, heavy as a venomous serpent, tore through his insides. He completely crumbled.

“Su Van… my little sister…”

He suddenly raised his shackled wrists and began to strike himself in the face with frantic, self-destructive force. The sharp sounds of the blows echoed through the empty room. Blood began to seep from the corners of his mouth, yet he seemed to feel no pain. He lunged forward, slamming his forehead against the metal edge of the table.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Blood instantly ran from his brow into his eyes. He let out a wail of pure agony, seeking to mitigate a fraction of the misery in his soul through this extreme self-mutilation. Two officers rushed forward, pinning him to the chair. At that exact moment, the door to the interrogation room opened. My parents stood in the doorway, supporting one another. In what seemed like a single night, they had aged twenty years. My mother’s once well-tended face was now a map of despair, and my father’s spine was permanently hunched. Upon seeing them, To Lam struggled desperately, lunging forward until the handcuffs bit deep into his wrists, drawing fresh blood.

“Father! Mother! I was wrong. I really didn’t know her condition was that severe. I thought she was just putting on an act! Please, forgive me. Let me go out and see Su Van just one more time. I beg you…”

Slap!

My mother lunged forward and struck To Lam across the face.