I had a gathering with several married friends.
Somehow, someone took the lead, and everyone started complaining about their “wives.”
Of course, there were also those who showed off their love through complaints.
Wang Pangzi, who worked in IT, opened an APP.
He said it was a “marriage – love countdown.”
Enter the information of you and your wife or girlfriend.
And you can calculate the duration of your marriage or relationship.
Just as we were mocking the outdated and boring product he developed,
Brother Li beside us rushed to use it first.
And he found that his marriage only had 2 minutes and 34 seconds left.
1
“Brother Li, you really believe this?”
Looking at Brother Li’s worried face as he stared at the phone screen, I thought he was being funny.
This kind of APP is just for fooling high – school students in puberty.
How old are we? We’re in our thirties, old hands in life.
Downloading this kind of APP is an insult to our IQ, okay?
“Well, I had an argument with Ali when I was going out just now.”
Brother Li said tremblingly, his eyes never leaving the screen.
Ali he mentioned was his wife.
They had been married for over ten years, and as far as I knew, their marriage was harmonious and happy.
“Come on, it’s just an argument. Who here hasn’t fought with their wife?”
The people present nodded in agreement after hearing what I said.
“But Ali said that if I went out to drink, she would commit suicide.”
Brother Li’s words immediately silenced the lively and carefree private room.
“Brother Li, I’ll take you back. Don’t let this little thing damage your relationship with sister – in – law.”
Han Peng quickly picked up his coat and car keys, ready to take Brother Li home.
He was the only one who didn’t drink at the scene, saying he was preparing for pregnancy.
“Yeah, Brother Li, I’ll go back with you and apologize to sister – in – law by the way.”
“Right, right, we’ll go too.”
Four or five people present also nodded in agreement.
“Could it be too late?”
Brother Li held up his phone, and the countdown on the screen had started for 10 seconds.
“Pangzi, this APP of yours isn’t accurate, is it? Don’t take out this kind of kid – fooling thing to embarrass yourself.”
Hearing my words, Pangzi understood and quickly said:
“Right, right, I made this for fun. Come on, Brother Li, I’ll take you back right away.”
So, with the help of everyone, Brother Li got into Han Peng’s car.
The rest of us also took a taxi and headed straight to Brother Li’s house.
2
Brother Li lived in a luxury community in the city center.
The housing price was 30,000 yuan per square meter when he bought it.
Now, it has risen to over 70,000 yuan.
Just because of this, he was the most successful among us currently.
“Come on, give me a hand.”
As soon as Brother Li got out of the car, his legs went weak.
Pangzi and I, one on the left and one on the right, managed to hold him up with great difficulty.
“Here’s the key, open the door.”
I took out the induction key from Brother Li’s pocket and threw it to Han Peng.
“Beep – beep – beep -da～” The electronic lock opened.
“Sister – in – law, sister – in – law? We brought Brother Li back.”
“Sister – in – law, we won’t drink anymore in the future.”
“Sister – in – law, we’ll definitely supervise Brother Li well in the future and not let him drink.”
“…”
Our group of six or seven people swarmed into Brother Li’s house.
But after shouting for a long time, no one was seen.
“Did sister – in – law go out?”
I first helped Brother Li to the sofa and then said:
“Don’t all of you search around randomly? You’ll mess up Brother Li’s house, and sister – in – law will have to clean it up when she comes back.”
Hearing my words, everyone silently returned to the sofa and sat down one by one.
Looking at Brother Li with a flushed face, we all seemed like kids who had made mistakes, silent.
“Well, I, I need to pee.”
Pangzi had drunk a lot of beer and was in a hurry to urinate.
“Go ahead. It’s the third room on the left in the corridor, the one with the frosted glass door.”
Pangzi had never been to Brother Li’s house, but I had been there many times.
“Okay.”
Pangzi stood up and trotted happily to the toilet.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
As soon as this fat guy entered the bathroom, he started cursing.
“I said, Pangzi, can you stop making such a fuss.”
“Sister – in – law, sister – in – law～”
At this time, Pangzi also ran out of the bathroom, stuttering and repeatedly saying “sister – in – law.”
“What’s wrong with you? Did you pee your pants?”
At this time, I noticed that Pangzi’s pants were already wet.
A strong smell of urine also reached my nose.
“Sister – in – law is dead!”
Pangzi finally said the complete sentence.
As soon as these words came out, the few of us were first stunned in horror, and then we all rushed to the bathroom door.
Sure enough, Brother Li’s wife was quietly lying beside the toilet.
One of her hands was still on the toilet.
But on her wrist, there was a big, bright – red cut.
A sharp, bloody razor blade was dropped beside her…
The police and ambulance arrived soon.
The few of us were interrogated separately.
Facing the police’s questions, I told everything in detail.
“Excuse me, officer, is my sister – in – law saved? It was suicide, right?”
After the interrogation, I couldn’t help asking the police.
“The person is still in rescue. Whether it’s suicide or not, we’ll tell you naturally after the investigation is clear.”
3
When I got home, it was already the early morning of the next day.
The sun was almost out.
My wife had heard something about last night’s incident. As soon as I came back, she pestered me and kept asking.
“Ah, I’m so tired. Can you let me sleep?”
“Where can I download that APP of Pangzi’s? Install it for me too.”
My wife seemed very interested in that APP.
“How would I know? The installation package he sent in the group last night seems to have been withdrawn.”
Looking at my wife’s slightly disappointed expression, I fled into the guest room as if running away.
Then I locked the door.
I’m the kind of person who can’t handle things. Clearly, I hadn’t slept all night, but now my eyes were wide open like copper bells.
After hesitating for a long time, I still opened the installation package sent by Pangzi.
“Is it really that accurate?”
This was the sentence that appeared most in my mind from last night until now.
“I don’t believe it.”
I clicked to download and install, and then opened that APP.
I filled in as much personal information about my wife and me as possible.
I found that this APP was quite good at handling privacy.
It only asked about information like the dating date and marriage date.
So I filled in as much as I could.
Finally, I saw a countdown:
12 days, 21 hours, 34 minutes, and 12 seconds.
“Damn! So short?”
Although compared to Brother Li’s two minutes, mine was quite long.
But I’m only 32 years old this year.
Beep – beep – beep～
While I was still depressed, someone in my “brothers who love to drink” group sent a message.
It was a countdown screenshot sent by Han Peng: “3 hours, 21 minutes, 44 seconds.”
Han Peng: “What should I do? My countdown is only three hours.”
Pangzi: “Brother, why are you still playing? Brother Li hasn’t even come out yet.”
Han Peng: “My damn curiosity!”
Pangzi: “Brothers, I was wrong. Please uninstall it, okay?”
Me: “I also tested it. My countdown is 12 days.”
Pangzi: “……”
Brother Jie: “You guys are making me want to play too.”
Ayi: “I want to play too.”
Mr. Xu: “+1.”
Lao Gu: “1.”
Pangzi: “……”
Me: “@Pangzi, can you fucking turn off the server of this game?”
Pangzi: “To be honest with you guys, this game wasn’t developed by our company.”
Me: “What? You fucking!”
Pangzi: “Actually, someone else sent it to me. I played it and thought it was fun, so I shared it with you guys.”
Me: “…… Then how long is yours?”
Pangzi: “20 years.”
Ayi: “I tested it. My countdown is 34 years.”
Mr. Xu: “I also tested it. 21 years.”
Lao Gu: “You guys are not so good. Mine is 40 years.”
Pangzi: “……”
Han Peng: “Fuck, why do I only have three hours?”
Me: “Hanzi, why don’t you two come to my house? I have a monitor at home. We don’t want to get into trouble later.”
Han Peng: “The key is that my wife is on a business trip and won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.”
Pangzi: “@Liu Hang @Han Peng, brothers, are you really taking this seriously?”
Me: “But Brother Li’s situation is too mysterious. It’s better to believe it exists than not.”
Han Peng: “Then I’ll come first?”
Me: “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
4
When Han Peng arrived at my house, the countdown only had 2 hours left.
“Honey, Han Peng is here. Let’s entertain him well, okay?”
“Okay, then I’ll go grocery shopping.”
“Han Peng likes crabs. Buy more.”
“Okay.”
After sending my wife away, I pulled Han Peng and sat on the sofa.
“You brat, have you had any conflicts with Tingzi recently?”
Tingzi was Han Peng’s wife. She was quite beautiful and hot – tempered.
She was a bit of a feisty beauty.
“……” Han Peng didn’t answer my question for a long time.
“Speak up. You’re making me anxious.”
“Brother, actually, actually I’m, I’m investigating Tingzi’s affair.”
“……”
“I felt something was wrong half a year ago. This woman went out wearing stockings once, but when she came back, the stockings were gone. She said she got them dirty while eating and threw them away.”
“Just this?”
“Of course not. Last time I also found a greeting from a strange man on her phone, asking her if she wanted to go out.”
“So what?”
“Of course it matters. The key is that there was no chat record before this message. It was clearly deleted.”
“So, you’re investigating your wife?”
Yeah, I hired a person who secretly shoots.
“…… When will you get the results?”
“I don’t know.”
Hearing what Han Peng said, my head was buzzing.
Looking at Han Peng’s phone on the coffee table, the countdown on it only had 1 hour left.
“Forget it, wait. I don’t believe this APP can be so mysterious!”
Just when the countdown reached half an hour, my wife came back.
Han Peng didn’t notice his phone, and my wife saw it.
“You guys are playing that APP? Install it for me too.”
My wife picked up Han Peng’s phone, looking excited.
Damn, I just got a 12 – day countdown. How could I let her install it?
That would be a disaster.
But my wife was quick – eyed and snatched Han Peng’s phone, finding the installation package.
“Damn it!”
After my wife installed that APP, she grinned and started filling in the information.
I watched her excited anticipation on her face.
It felt like ten thousand ants were crawling in my heart.
“Honey, we still have 50 years. It seems we can achieve our golden wedding.”
My wife held up her phone, with a sweet smile on her face.
We had been married for ten years. If we had another fifty years, that would be a solid 60 – year golden wedding.
Seeing this, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
It seems this crappy APP is really just for entertainment.
With the same information filled in, the output time was so different!
It’s really ridiculous.
Just as I was secretly rejoicing…
Beep – beep – beep～
“New message!”
Just as the countdown on Han Peng’s phone reached the last ten seconds, a message popped up.
“Can’t be?”
Han Peng’s hands were shaking as he clicked on that message.
“Who?!”
Han Peng stared at the phone screen with a pale face, flipping through it again and again.
“What’s going on?”
I was so anxious beside him, but I didn’t dare to look.
After all, if it was really evidence of Tingzi’s affair, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to look directly.
After a while, I heard Han Peng sigh deeply.
“This thing is really accurate.”
Han Peng handed me the phone.
I took the phone with trembling hands and saw that the screen was filled with indecent photos of a man and a woman.
5
After sending Han Peng away, I lay on the bed, thinking about what had just happened.
It seemed mysterious, but when I thought about it carefully, it might just be a coincidence.
But this was too much of a coincidence.
Thinking about it, I fell asleep in a daze.
Unexpectedly, I slept until the next day.
“You can really sleep. I thought you wouldn’t wake up.”
My wife seemed to heave a sigh of relief when she saw me wake up.
“You must be hungry. What do you want for breakfast?”
“Whatever.”
I turned on my phone and saw it was already eight o’clock.
That means I slept for about seventeen or eighteen hours?
This is rare.
“Give me your phone. Let me take a look.”
“What for?”
“I want to see that countdown.”
“Okay.”
My wife handed me her phone.
I still wanted to study this APP.
But when I opened the APP on my wife’s phone, I noticed that she didn’t even fill in the names correctly.
She filled in our “pet names”! Like “Hanghang” and “Linlin”!
Damn it.
That means if we filled in the correct names…
Thinking about it, I changed the names on my wife’s phone to our real names.
Although the other information we filled in was different.
But the countdown showed exactly the same time.
Seeing this, I unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
“Da – da – da – da – da～”
The phone rang, and I quickly answered it.
“Is this Liu Hang?”
“Yes, yes. You’re Officer Zhang, right?”
“Is it convenient for you to come to the police station now? We need you to check some things.”
“Okay, I’ll come right away.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
I rushed all the way to the police station.
“Officer Zhang, how’s the situation?”
Officer Zhang didn’t answer but directly took me into a conference room.
“Where’s Brother Li? Was my sister – in – law saved?”
Facing a series of my questions, Officer Zhang calmly opened a file and said:
“I called you here mainly to ask you a few supplementary questions.”
“Please ask. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“I have to tell you some bad news first. Ms. Wang Li (sister – in – law) has passed away.”
Hearing this, my head felt heavy.
“She, she still didn’t make it?”
“According to the forensic identification, her time of death was between 6 – 8 pm the day before yesterday.”
“Six o’clock?”
I thought about it. At that time, I was still arguing with my wife at home.
Of course, it was about the gathering and drinking.
“You were the first to see Li Cheng the night before yesterday, right?”
Li Cheng was Brother Li.
“Yes, I booked the private room, so I went there early. I arrived at about 6:50 because we made an appointment at 7 o’clock.”
“What time did Li Cheng arrive? Can you be more specific?”
“I remember it was 7:10. Because I was playing a game at that time and needed to keep track of the time.”
“What was Li Cheng’s emotional state at that time?”
“Brother Li usually has a serious face. He didn’t seem to change much that night.”
“Do you remember the order of people arriving?”
“Um, Brother Li was the first to arrive. Then came Li Xiong (Pangzi), and then Xu Bing (Mr. Xu)…… I don’t remember much after that.”
“Do you have a regular habit of gathering and drinking?”
“Yes, more or less. But the people who come are not fixed every time. Often someone can’t come.”
“Were all of you there the night before last?”
“Yes, it was a rare occasion when we were all there.”
Looking at Officer Zhang’s gloomy face, I couldn’t help asking:
“Officer Zhang, you don’t suspect that Brother Li, Brother Li killed…”
Before I could finish speaking, Officer Zhang interrupted me:
“Sorry, we can’t draw a conclusion yet. I’m sorry to trouble you again today. Please sign here, and you can go back later. Thank you.”
“Okay.”
6. Back home, I was completely stunned. Staring at that damn countdown, I didn’t know what to do. Fortunately, I had a few days off and had no work.
“Ding – dong～” My phone rang. It was a message from the drinking group again.
Brother Jie: “What should I do? My countdown suddenly changed to 2 hours.”
Pangzi: “……”
Mr. Xu: “……”
Me: “What’s going on? Are you still playing with it?”
Brother Jie: “I got 42 years when I tested it before. I just wanted to test it for a friend, and then I found it changed to 2 hours.”
Pangzi: “This thing can change?”
Mr. Xu: “Mine didn’t change.”
Brother Jie: “I don’t know either. I didn’t change a single word of the information in it, but it suddenly changed.”
Pangzi: “Are you sure you didn’t accidentally touch something?”
Brother Jie: “I’m sure.”
Seeing this, the group fell silent. After all, the incidents of Brother Li and Han Peng were still fresh in our minds.
Me: “@Pangzi, have you found the maker of this APP? Can you figure it out?”
Pangzi: “I’ve been looking for two days, but I still can’t find them.”
Me: “I’m telling you, now this APP has us all on edge. You have to speed up.”
Pangzi: “Who do you think is the most anxious? I’ve lost three pounds already.”
Me: “Then work harder.”
Brother Jie: “But what should I do now?”
Me: “Where’s sister – in – law?”
Brother Jie: “She’s right beside me.”
Me: “You two didn’t have a fight, did you?”
Brother Jie: “No, we’re fine. But she’s almost scared to death.”
At this point, I suddenly realized that this might be a good opportunity. A good chance to uncover the true face of this APP.
Me: “How about this? Everyone is free now, right? If not, please take a leave. Let’s go to the private room where we drank last time. Brother Jie and sister – in – law come too. We’ll all gather together and wait until the countdown is over. Won’t this thing be self – debunked?”
Brother Jie: “Okay!”
Pangzi: “Okay, I’ll go right away.”
Mr. Xu: “I’ll go ask for leave now.”
Lao Gu: “+1.”
Ayi: “1.”
Han Peng: “I’d better not come.”
Pangzi: “You especially should come. We won’t be at ease if you don’t.”
Han Peng: “I’m so sad.”
“……”
Soon, everyone who drank together that day, except for Brother Li and Brother Jie, gathered.
“Why haven’t they come yet?” I looked at the time. It had been almost an hour, and Brother Jie and sister – in – law still hadn’t arrived.
“I’m calling them.” At this time, Pangzi had already picked up his phone.
“What, traffic jam?” Pangzi’s exclamation made me break out in cold sweat.
It seems this APP has great power. We could all arrive here quickly, but Brother Jie, who was the closest, was stuck in traffic.
“What should we do?” Pangzi looked at me, a hint of fear in his eyes.
Seeing this, I took Pangzi’s phone and said,
“Brother Jie, are you driving or taking a taxi?”
“Driving.”
“Okay, can you get away now? Is there an emergency lane or a sidewalk on the side of the road? If not, just leave the car there and take the subway. The countdown should be about 1 hour left, right?”
After hearing what I said, Brother Jie stammered for a while.
“My car is stuck in the middle of the road now. I can’t move it.”
“Then why not let sister – in – law come first?” Pangzi suggested.
“No, they can’t be separated now.” I firmly rejected his suggestion.
“I came here by motorcycle today. I can go there to replace Brother Jie and sister – in – law and let them come first?” Ayi said.
“How much time is left on your countdown?”
“34 years.” Ayi said, holding up his phone.
“Okay, then I’ll go with you to escort Brother Jie and the others.” Mr. Xu also suggested.
“Okay, let’s go first.”
7. Not long after Ayi and Mr. Xu left, my phone rang again. It was Officer Zhang.
“Sorry to disturb you. Can you come to the police station now?”
“What’s the problem again?”
“Well, the matter has been investigated clearly. Wang Li did commit suicide. We need you to come here and sign the closing – case documents.”
Since it was on speakerphone, everyone looked at each other in surprise after hearing this.
“Really suicide?”
“Yes.”
“……”
“If it’s convenient, can you help contact everyone who was at the gathering that day? Ask them to come to the police station to sign.”
Looking at the room full of people looking at each other, I quickly said,
“Okay, we’ll come right away.”
“Are you all together?” Officer Zhang suddenly asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay, then come together.”
After hanging up the phone, we were like deflated balloons.
We all slumped in our chairs.
“So it was really suicide?” Pangzi said, relieved.
“Just such a coincidence?”
“Is that APP really that accurate?”
“What about Brother Jie and the others…”
“……”
“Okay, let’s quickly contact Brother Jie and the others and turn around to go to the police station.”
“Okay, I’ll call Brother Jie.” Pangzi said, and then dialed the phone.
“No one answered.”
“Then I’ll call Mr. Xu. Haven’t they met yet?”
Han Peng said, and then dialed Mr. Xu’s phone.
“Did you pick up Brother Jie?”
“Something, something happened.”
Mr. Xu seemed to be gasping for breath on the other end.
“What happened?”
“Sister – in – law was hit by a car.”
“Hit?”
“Is it serious?”
“Quite serious. She was just sent to the ambulance.”
“What did the doctor say?”
“They said she needs to be rescued.”
“What about Brother Jie?”
“He went with the ambulance.”
“……”
“Then cut the crap. Now you go to the police station immediately. We’ll talk in detail there later.”
“Go to the police station? Why?”
“Okay, stop asking. Hurry up. We’ve already set off.”
“Okay, got it.”
After hanging up the phone, we quickly took a taxi.
These days, there are so many unexpected things. One after another, I felt like my heart couldn’t take it anymore.
As soon as we arrived at the police station, two policemen in uniforms rushed up and pinned Pangzi to the ground.
Then they quickly handcuffed him.
They were so fast that I didn’t even have time to get out of the car.
“What are you doing?” I asked in confusion.
But the police didn’t explain to me. They just escorted Pangzi in.
“Hey, what’s going on, Pangzi?”
Rather than this, Pangzi’s silence made me even more confused.
8. “So, sister – in – law wasn’t killed by herself, nor by Brother Li, but by Pangzi?”
After Officer Zhang’s explanation, we were all shocked.
“After Li Xiong (Pangzi) confesses clearly, we’ll tell you the specific situation.”
Facing the polite Officer Zhang, we didn’t know what to say for a while.
That means when Officer Zhang called me just now, he was actually fishing. Fishing for this fat fish, Pangzi?
Confused, I waited at home for a day.
This Officer Zhang came late and informed us.
He also briefly explained the course of events to us:
It turned out that Pangzi and sister – in – law had a debt relationship.
A year ago, sister – in – law found Pangzi, saying that Brother Li’s company owed a huge debt, and he was caught by the creditors and almost beaten to death. She wanted to borrow money from Pangzi.
Pangzi was a rich second – generation, and since he worked in IT and had a high salary, he really wanted to help Brother Li. He lent her money several times, adding up to more than 700,000 yuan.
Brother Li didn’t know about this at all. Pangzi was a nice guy and was afraid that Brother Li would worry about paying back the money, so he never mentioned it in front of him.
The key is that Brother Li didn’t owe any debt at all.
It was sister – in – law who spent money extravagantly and seemed to gamble, owing a lot of money outside.
Later, when Pangzi found out the truth, he wanted sister – in – law to pay back the money.
But how could sister – in – law have the money to pay?
Pangzi was so angry that he was about to tell Brother Li directly. Then sister – in – law suddenly proposed something like paying with her body.
To be honest, although sister – in – law was in her mid – thirties, she was really good – looking and had a great figure.
Pangzi, blinded by lust for a moment, agreed.
This had been going on secretly for more than half a year.
On the day of the incident, when Brother Li and sister – in – law were arguing at home,
Pangzi was also there, but he was under the bed.
Originally, Pangzi hoped that Brother Li would leave quickly so that he could get away.
But sister – in – law seemed to have lost her mind. She kept not letting Brother Li leave and even said insanely that she would commit suicide.
As soon as Brother Li went out, Pangzi climbed out from under the bed and started scolding sister – in – law.
I don’t know what kind of shock my sister – in – law received that day. She ran to the bathroom, picked up a razor, and put it on her neck.
This almost scared Pangzi to death.
Just as Pangzi was trying to persuade her nicely, sister – in – law started threatening Pangzi for money.
She even demanded one million yuan.
Pangzi was speechless and was about to run away. But sister – in – law seemed to be really desperate. She took out the razor blade and cut her hand.
Pangzi was so scared when he saw the blood that he scrambled away.
“But this wasn’t done by Pangzi. It was indeed suicide!”
Hearing this, I didn’t know how to define the responsibility.
Officer Zhang frowned when he heard me say this and continued to convey Pangzi’s confession:
Later, while drinking, Pangzi became more and more afraid and worried. But he didn’t dare to bring it up on his own initiative. So he came up with that APP which he had developed for fun before.
He specifically set Brother Li’s time to two minutes.
The purpose was to end this drinking party quickly and let everyone go to Brother Li’s house together.
On the one hand, he was worried about sister – in – law, afraid that something would happen to her.
On the other hand, if something really happened, everyone could prove for him that “sister – in – law committed suicide at home.”
“So, is Pangzi considered to have committed a crime?”
Officer Zhang lowered his head and thought for a while, then said,
“It might be a case of negligent homicide. It’s hard to say for now.”
“How did you find out about the relationship between Pangzi and sister – in – law?”
“We found out by checking the deceased’s account. Actually, yesterday was… Oh, right. Li Xiong (Pangzi) asked me to tell you that the APP was indeed made by him. The incidents of Han Peng and Brother Jie were probably just coincidences.”
Although the mysterious veil of that APP had been lifted in Officer Zhang’s words, it was just a little thing for fun.
But in my heart, I didn’t feel relaxed at all.
“Can I see Pangzi?”
“No.”
“……”
When we came out of the police station, we all looked dull.
No one could have imagined that things would turn out like this.
“By the way, how’s sister – in – law Jie?”
I suddenly thought of this and quickly asked.
“You don’t know? Sister – in – law Jie has passed away.”
“Dead?”
I looked at Han Peng in disbelief, as if what he said was false.
“Didn’t we say it in the group yesterday? Didn’t you see it?”
“Did we?”
I quickly opened my phone. Sure enough, there were more than 99 unread messages in the drinking group.
“You didn’t look at your phone all day yesterday?”
Han Peng seemed very surprised when he saw the full screen of unread messages on my phone.
“Seems like, I didn’t open WeChat yesterday.”
Yeah, what was I doing yesterday?
Why didn’t I see the chat messages all day?
Dazed, I felt a little dizzy.
“Brother Liu, you don’t look well. How about I take you back?”
Just as Han Peng finished speaking, suddenly, a countdown seemed to appear in front of my eyes.
I remembered that I had been staring at that countdown all day yesterday.
“Brother Liu, what’s wrong with you? Quick, call an ambulance.”
Before I lost consciousness, the anxious voices of my good brothers were ringing in my ears.
9. When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed.
“You finally woke up?” My wife, who was sitting beside me, showed a somewhat haggard smile.
She looked very tired.
I also tried to force a smile and said,
“Sorry, I’ve been a bit tired these days.”
“I’ve heard about everything. Why didn’t you tell me?”
My wife said, and then brought her phone in front of me.
“You’ve been in a coma for three days. I was almost scared to death.”
“I’ve been in a coma for several days?”
My wife nodded with tears in her eyes.
“Is there nothing wrong?”
“No, the doctor said you’re over – tired and highly stressed. You need to rest for a while.”
Hearing this, I finally felt relieved.
“How about, after you’re discharged from the hospital, we go on a vacation to have a good rest?” My wife suggested.
“It’s okay.”
I struggled to sit up and habitually touched the side of the bed.
“Where’s my phone?”
“The doctor said you shouldn’t look at your phone or computer these days.”
“It’s okay, just for a little while.”
“No way.”
Just as my wife and I were at a standstill over the phone, Han Peng arrived.
He gave me a lot of greetings and concerns.
“Where’s Brother Jie?”
Interrupting Han Peng’s chatter, I finally asked my question.
“Brother Jie, Brother Jie went back to his hometown, taking sister – in – law…”
“What exactly happened that day?”
Han Peng became stutter when I asked this question.
He also turned to look at my wife.
It seemed that there was some secret that couldn’t be heard by my wife.
“Hey, Han Peng, is there something dirty you don’t want me to know?”
My wife is always sensitive. Han Peng’s little thoughts naturally couldn’t escape her.
“Fine, sister – in – law, I’ll say it, I’ll say it…”
It turned out that that day, Ayi and Mr. Xu quickly found Brother Jie and sister – in – law on their motorcycles.
So, Ayi stayed in Brother Jie’s car.
Mr. Xu accompanied Brother Jie and the others to take the subway.
On the way, Mr. Xu received a call, so he asked Brother Jie and the others to go first, and he followed behind.
Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, sister – in – law was hit by a car at a corner.
“Come on, this, this is too coincidental, right?” My wife exclaimed.
“Don’t rush. Listen to me.” Han Peng lowered his voice when he said this.
“You think things are that simple? Mr. Xu said he saw that at the corner, Brother Jie pushed sister – in – law.”
“Pushed?” My wife exclaimed.
“Shh～”
Han Peng quickly motioned for my wife to be quiet.
“Where’s Mr. Xu?” I asked quickly.
“He’s at work. He’s a big boss, and he has a lot of things to do.”
“Did you tell the police?”
“No, Mr. Xu only told me in private.”
“Why don’t you tell the police?”
“The key is that Mr. Xu isn’t 100% sure that Brother Jie did it on purpose. After all, there was some distance. At that time, Brother Jie was walking with sister – in – law, and they just reached a corner.Logically, the cars there shouldn’t drive fast, but unexpectedly, the car still ran over my sister – in – law’s head…
“What do you think?”
“Um～”
Han Peng seemed to be stumped by my question. He scratched his head and said,
“To be honest, I think Brother Jie is using that APP.”
“Using?”
“You mean the two – hour countdown he said was fake?”
Han Peng shook his head and said,
That’s not what I mean. I mean psychological suggestion.
“Psychological? Suggestion?”
“Brother Liu, you may not be gossipy, so you don’t know. Actually, I’ve long known that Brother Jie and sister – in – law weren’t getting along well. You know Brother Jie is a son – in – law who lives with his wife’s family, right? Sister – in – law has a bad temper, so I feel it might be true.”
“By ‘true’, you mean Brother Jie pushed sister – in – law?” My wife interjected.
Han Peng nodded, then sighed helplessly,
“But there’s no surveillance there, sister – in – law is gone, and Mr. Xu doesn’t dare to testify. Now, it’s up to Brother Jie what to say. The police can’t find any motive or evidence either.”
“What about the driver who caused the accident?”
“Don’t mention it. It was a young girl. She was so scared that she couldn’t even speak and was also hospitalized.”
Hearing this, my wife and I were both silent.
“Now, I don’t care about all these true or false things. As long as you two can make it through the countdown, this matter will be over.”
Han Peng looked at me with a worried face.
“Hey, do we look like a couple who will have a marital change?” I quickly retorted.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that this matter has been too mysterious until now. These are all bloody cases! Just like you said, it’s better to believe it exists than not.”
“So, what are you guys going to do with us?” my wife asked with a smile.
“Well, I’m here on duty.” Han Peng touched the backpack beside him and continued, “I discussed with the guys. We’ll take turns asking for leave to come here and accompany you 24 hours a day for the last three days of this countdown to ensure your safety.”
“Is it necessary to go to such lengths?”
“Yes, it is. No matter how stupid we may think our actions are in the future, for now, we have to do what we should do.”
10. After staying in the hospital for two days, on the last day of the countdown, I finally got home.
That night, it was Mr. Xu’s turn to “supervise” us.
As soon as we met, I pulled Mr. Xu aside and whispered to him.
“Mr. Xu, did you really see Brother Jie…”
Before I could finish my sentence, Mr. Xu put his index finger to his lips.
“That kid Han Peng told you everything? Does Linlin (my wife) know?”
I nodded.
Mr. Xu seemed speechless after hearing this. He took a sip of wine and said,
“I told that kid Han Peng not to tell you for now.”
Seeing Mr. Xu’s “twisted” expression, I sneered and said,
“Old Xu, what are you pretending for? With Han Peng’s big mouth, if you told him, you actually wanted us to know, right?”
“……”
“Seriously, did you really see it?”
“Really. As soon as I picked up Brother Jie and his wife that day, I received an important call from a client. So I asked them to go first, and I followed behind while talking on the phone. You know how I get when I’m on the phone. But just out of the corner of my eye…”
“And then you saw it?”
“Yeah, right at that corner, Brother Jie, who was originally holding sister – in – law’s waist, suddenly pushed her. I thought something was wrong, and the next second, sister – in – law fell under the wheel.”
Listening to Mr. Xu’s description, a picture seemed to form in my mind.
“Do you think it’s possible that when Brother Jie saw the car coming, he pushed sister – in – law to save her? But accidentally ended up hurting her?”
“Ah?”
Mr. Xu was stunned by my bold guess.
“Now that you mention it, it seems, it seems there’s really something to that.”
Mr. Xu stroked his chin and thought it over carefully.
“I think a decent and honest person like Brother Jie wouldn’t do such a heinous thing, right?” I added.
“Wait a minute. Let me think again. If he wanted to save her, he should have pulled her back, right? At that time, Brother Jie was on the inner side of the road. If he wanted to save sister – in – law, he should have pulled her towards him, not pushed her out. That doesn’t make sense.”
Mr. Xu said firmly.
This made me feel a bit chilly.
“Forget it. Brother Jie has gone back to his hometown. What’s the point of us speculating here? Anyway, you won’t tell the police.”
“Yeah, I’ve been struggling with this for a long time. But I just can’t bring myself to say it. I’m afraid of misunderstanding Brother Jie. Sister – in – law has already passed away. If I ‘stab him in the back’ like this, it wouldn’t be right.”
“Okay, then let’s turn the page on this. Let’s not mention it anymore.”
“Okay, come on, have a drink.”
Mr. Xu picked up the wine bottle and filled a glass for me.
“You’re such a big boss. Why are you so skilled at pouring wine?”
“I’m not a big boss at all. I have to serve clients like a nobody every day.”
“Haha, stop pretending.”
“Come on…”
After joking around with Mr. Xu for a while, it was already twelve o’clock.
“Hey, it’s already twelve. Aren’t you going to sleep?” My wife came over to “urge” us.
“Not yet. The countdown is only four hours away. We should stay awake and get through it, right?”
Mr. Xu picked up my phone, opened the countdown, and placed it on the table.
“Fine, you guys can keep fooling around. I’m going to sleep first.”
My wife said and walked into the bedroom.
“Good night, baby.”
“You’re so old, and you still call her baby. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Mr. Xu said in disgust.
11. Just like that, on this calm and cool summer night, Mr. Xu and I drank quite a bit, glass after glass.
When the countdown was down to only 32 minutes, I glanced at Mr. Xu.
He was already drunk and snoring.
“Mr. Xu? Old Xu?”
I pushed him hard a few times, but Mr. Xu didn’t respond at all.
“He’s a big boss, but his alcohol tolerance is even worse than mine.”
Leaving the drunk Mr. Xu, I quietly walked to the bedroom.
The light in the bedroom was off.
My wife was wearing a white nightgown and was now in a deep sleep.
Oh no, to be precise, she was in a coma.
I pulled over a chair and sat by the bed.
The moon was big tonight. In the moonlight, my wife’s face looked very tender.
So tender that it seemed like water could be squeezed out.
“Forget it. There should be opportunities in the future, I guess.”
I said to myself. Then I took out a piece of paper from my pocket.
On this paper was the “suicide note” I prepared for my wife.
“Brother Jie was really quick. He got ahead of me.”
I smiled bitterly and helplessly. Then I walked to the window, tore the “suicide note” into pieces, and threw them into the night.
After closing the window, I took out my phone and opened the countdown APP.
There were only 21 minutes left.
I placed the phone beside my wife and watched the time tick away, second by second.
Until it reached zero.
“Honey, why aren’t you sleeping?”
It gets light early in summer, and my wife had woken up.
“We’ve made it through this countdown. Nothing happened.”
I forced a smile.
My wife looked at the phone and said to me in a somewhat mocking tone,
“Look at you, making such a fuss. I told you this thing can’t be trusted. A bunch of grown – up men, so silly.”
(The End)
