Pristine Darkness Chapter 78

Bo Jinyan and An Yan are both affected by Jian Yao's beatdown of Chen Jin in the previous chapter. Well, An Yan maybe not so much, as someone else is on his mind . . . Meanwhile, the criminal investigators interrogate Chen Jin and start unravelling the mystery behind the b.u.t.terfly Killer. It's indeed a tangled tale . . .

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Chapter 78

Bo Jinyan sat next to the window, a Rubik's cube in his hands. Every face was badly scrambled, but, in his hands, the order was largely being restored. His fingers, as nimble as the waving tail of a scurrying fox, moved swiftly until every face was neatly arranged, a single colour on each face. Then he tossed the cube to An Yan who was sitting behind him.

An Yan could not resist such a simple yet complex intellectual game. He caught it with one hand, scrambled the faces, and then solved the cube.

This was how it usually was between these two otakus who had been companions for such a long time.

After solving the cube, An Yan threw it aside and lifted his head to say, coolly, "Jinyan, in future, just let me deal with this kind of unqualified serial killer." He was rarely mischievous, but he imitated the low and serious tone of Jian Yao's words the day before precisely.

The corners of Bo Jinyan's mouth curled up slightly, then immediately flattened back down. "Fool*!"

*T/N 无聊 (wu liao) – literally, 'no chit-chat', colloquially used to refer to someone who has too much time on his or her hands and is thus bored, engaging in senseless activities, being silly or stupid.

An Yan was only concerned with displaying his self-satisfaction. "F**k, don't you think sister-in-law was so freaking cool yesterday? I had no idea sister-in-law had this kind of yu jie* character deep in her bones!" Having said this, An Yan glanced slyly at Bo Jinyan.

*T/N 御姐 (yu jie) – literally, 'imperial elder sister'. This refers to the ACG (j.a.panese Anime, Comics, and Games) role featuring a young woman who is mature in appearance, personality and temperament, and may include being taller than the male lead or default reader audience. This maturity may also manifest in physical strength and self-confidence. Information found here.

Naturally, Bo Jinyan was unable to catch the expression in his eyes or the implied meaning. With a faint smile and a hint of admiration in his voice, he said, "Indeed, right now, my wife is cool beyond comparison."

Because of this little episode, An Yan had even texted Gu Fangfang about the incident the day before, and then wrote, "Xiao Fang, too bad you couldn't see my sister-in-law standing there, she was the epitome of cool!"

Gu Fangfang did not reply immediately.

After some time, An Yan received a photograph sent by her.

In a darkened room, a slightly-built young man in red clothes crouched, one hand caressing a sword, the other pressed to his forehead. The stance was fresh and elegant, and while his murderous spirit was evident, it was understated. However, upon closer inspection, that pretty face, those bright and clear eyes – weren't they Gu Fangfang's? It was impossible to distinguish whether the figure was male or female, but its heroic spirit was compelling.

An Yan looked at the photograph in silence for a while before coming to a conclusion —

His own woman was even more cool.

At this point, the curtain closed on the 'b.u.t.terfly Killer Case' that had shocked the entire province. The culprit had been arrested and brought to justice. Another suspect, Feng Yuexi, had fled, and the police were making every effort to hunt her down.

After he recovered consciousness from his beating by Jian Yao, Chen Jin was taken to the interrogation room. Shao Yong and Fang Qing, those two wily foxes, presided over this important interrogation together.

Under the blazing light, Chen Jin's facial expression was hard to describe. His face was pale and his eyes were vacuous; he seemed to be in a daze, yet a smile that was not quite a smile hovered around his lips.

"Can I smoke?" he asked hoa.r.s.ely.

"No," Shao Yong replied.

Then his expression became even quieter.

Fang Qing asked, "Why did you kill Nie Shijun?"

Chen Jin grabbed his hair fiercely with his hands. In that split second, he felt pain. It was enough to engulf him and helped him repress the deep pain he had felt over many days.

Why did he kill Nie Shijun? This was indeed an infuriating question, yet one which he found difficult to talk about.

Chen Jin thought the story would best be told starting from over 10 years ago, at a time in his youth.

He, Shi Peng, and Feng Yuexi were all from a town to the south of this city and had been friends since young. Two ordinary boys and a beautiful and developing girl, what other story could there be? Naturally, they followed her closely; it was an infatuation and pursuit that started in their early years.

They attended remedial cla.s.ses together, played ball together, and explored the mountains together; the marks of these childhood sweethearts* were all over every square inch of the small county town.

*T/N 青梅竹马 (qing mei zhu ma) – lit. green plums and a bamboo horse, fig. childhood sweethearts, a man and a woman who had an innocent affection for each other in childhood.

However, the term 'childhood sweethearts' is frequently used to denote two people, not three. He and Shi Peng were good buddies, and Feng Yuexi never raised the issue, so neither did they.

In Chen Jin's mind though, he was far better than Shi Peng. His results were better, his family situation was better, and his interpersonal relations were better. Shi Peng was a problematic student, while he was the President of the student union. He was the stereotypical good student who never gave any trouble, but Shi Peng got into trouble again and again. There was only one aspect in which he could never beat Shi Peng – everyone acknowledged that Shi Peng was very masculine and really cool.

The oppressive feeling in his heart would probably have started pretty early on, right? He was too outstanding in the eyes of his parents, of his schoolmates, of Feng Yuexi. As a result, he never made a misstep, but he always had the urge to do something that would overstep the boundaries, that would cause destruction! However, he never let this impulse show. From a young age, he was reserved and outstanding.

When he was In university, this quality of being outstanding was not diminished in the least. At that time, Shi Peng entered a vocational high school and Feng Yuexi was admitted to an ordinary college. However, Feng Yuexi seemed unable to decide between the two of them. She said she was afraid to harm the relationship that they had from young; she said she was worried that she would gain a lover but lose a treasured friend. Consequently, the relationship between the three of them became unsettled and awkward, with no easy resolution. Occasionally, Chen Jin would wonder whether Feng Yuexi was deliberately leaving the two of them dangling, but this thought was gone as soon as it appeared. He would not allow himself to entertain such disloyal conjectures. This was probably because, to him, Feng Yuexi was something he had sought after for many years, but had failed to attain. If he could not win over Feng Yuexi, wouldn't that prove that he was not as good as Shi Peng?

However, he did not know if he was wrong in thinking that Shi Peng's pursuit of Feng Yuexi appeared to be less ardent than before. At the same time, he did not give up completely, either.

When he became part of the office brigade, Chen Jin became increasingly unhappy.

The company was fine, and so was the work. However, the staff members in the head office of this multinational company, located in the south, were all outstanding.  Chen Jin led a respectable life, but among them, he finally appeared mediocre. He was under intense pressure at work. Every day, he got up early and returned home late, exhausted, such that his health suffered. He seemed to have nothing to talk about with his colleagues, none of whom flattered him or even valued him. On many nights, when Chen Jin drank heartily in violation of the 'Principle of Healthy Living', he felt sick and tired of his tedious life. Deep within him, that impulse to destroy everything was getting increasingly stronger.

However, these were mere thoughts. How could he give up such a life? In the eyes of his parents, his fellow villagers, his former schoolmates, he was their golden boy, the object of everyone's envy.

His only course was to continue being outstanding.

It was at this time that Feng Yuexi graduated from university. Graduating together with her, and therefore appearing on Chen Jin and Shi Peng's horizon, was the apparently taciturn and mediocre Nie Shijun.

At first, Chen Jin and Shi Peng took Nie Shijun to be Feng Yuexi's good friend and treated her with courtesy, in the vein of 'love me, love my dog'*. The only thing was, this girl's temperament was somewhat reserved, and sometimes even gloomy; when she spoke, she could be hasty. Gradually, they did not feel comfortable with her, because, many times, when Chen Jin or Shi Peng asked FengYuexi out, Nie Shijun always tagged along. She always sat beside Feng Yuexi, arm in arm, and neither of the men could interpose himself between them.

*T/N 爱屋及乌 (ai wu ji wu) – lit. love the house and its crow; fig. be involved with someone and everyone connected to him or her

Once, Shi Peng said jokingly to Chen Jin, "Hey, I say, this Nie Shijun, she can't be what they call . . . lesbian, can she? Why is it that I think there's a bit of hostility in her eyes whenever she looks at me?"

Chen Jin looked at him in astonishment, but Shi Peng merely waved his hand and said, "I'm joking. If she really is one, I don't think Yuexi would interact with her."

Even though the speaker didn't really mean anything, the listener took everything seriously.

For Chen Jin, whose life had become tedious to the point of death, this episode led to suspicion, enragement, and excitement. Inadvertently, he began to observe Nie Shijun. But, the more he observed, the more strongly he confirmed his suspicion. Every look Nie Shijun gave him, and every look she gave Feng Yuexi, was vile and nauseating proof.

As a result, he always glared at Nie Shijun in secret with a gloomy expression.

However, this was not the only way Nie Shijun made men angry. Later, Chen Jin discovered that she always bought Feng Yuexi gifts, just like the two of them did, and she was even more indulgent than they were. Branded bags, cosmetics, clothes . . . every time he saw Feng Yuexi nonchalantly wearing, putting on the things which Nie Shijun had bought her, not seeming to have noticed anything, Chen Jin felt so angry that he simply wanted to vomit blood. Once in a while, he would intimate to Feng Yuexi that all this was inappropriate, but she would look at him in surprise, and calmly say, "Chen Jin, I don't quite understand what you mean. Are you insinuating that I'm greedy, eager to prey on someone for their wealth? She's reserved by nature, so, even if she wasn't a good friend, I would damage her self-esteem if I rejected her gifts. Besides, I also give her gifts."

However, in the end, Feng Yuexi could not keep it up either.

As it so happened, that day, Chen Jin had arranged to meet Feng Yuexi at a restaurant. He had just reached the door of the private room when he heard Nie Shijun's cold, sneering voice issuing from within. "Do you think I am as stupid as those two? Always letting you keep us hanging? If you want to cast me aside completely, I'll kill myself."

Chen Jin waited outside the door until Nie Shijun left before walking in. Once inside, he saw Feng Yuexi had cried until her beautiful face was stained with tears*. Seeing him enter, Feng Yuexi was fl.u.s.tered for a split second, but it was immediately replaced by vulnerability and sorrow.

*T/N 梨花带雨 (li hua dai yu) – lit. rain on pear blossoms; fig. tears on the face of a beauty.

"Chen Jin, Shijun is really . . . that kind of person, she has evil intentions towards me!"

That was the first time Chen Jin pulled Feng Yuexi into his arms. The strange thing was, he was not as happy as he had long imagined he would be,  but he was still very satisfied. It seemed to be satisfaction with another kind of significance.

Shao Yong and Fang Qing exchanged glances. Shao Yong asked, "Did Feng Yuexi hint that she wanted you to kill Nie Shijun?"

Chen Jin reflexively refuted the suggestion. "No, no, she didn't . . .". He paused, then suddenly smiled faintly. "Maybe . . she did."

From the time Nie Shijun's paper-thin facade was destroyed, the relationship between Chen Jin and Nie Shijun deteriorated greatly. Several times, when Chen Jin picked up Feng Yuexi for a meal, he could always see Nie Shijun standing on the balcony, not bothering to hide the resentment in her eyes. Chen Jin thought of her as a pervert, nothing more than a piece of garbage!

He had even warned Nie Shijun, but she remained absolutely unmoved. It was as if she considered herself a man and looked at Chen Jin with utter contempt as she said, "You love her? I do, too. But, is this even something that you need to concern yourself with? Don't you know that, in Yuexi's heart, you're not as good as Shi Peng?"

Chen Jin was just a second away from hitting her at that time. But he was a high-ranking white-collar worker, a good student; he probably, definitely could not be invited to the police station because he had hit a woman, not even a woman like this shameless bi*ch!

Had Feng Yuexi hinted that he should take care of this problem? Maybe she had. More than once, Feng Yuexi had sighed, "I really don't know what to do right now! Who is going to help me? Aiya, if only Prince Charming* would come and rescue me from this misery*!"

*T/N 白马王子 (bai ma w.a.n.g zi) – lit. prince on a white horse; 水火 (shui huo) – lit. water and fire; fig. extreme misery

"Chen Jin, tell me, what should I do? If you can resolve this issue, I would really be very, very grateful. You're not like Shi Peng, who is so dense, and is still so stupid; he doesn't care about this sort of thing at all."

Translator: shl

Editor/ Proofreader: Summer