Chapter 5: Where Does Hatred Come From?

“Officer Mu, who do you think killed her?”
Xia Wuyou leaned in closer and lowered her voice to ask.

The park was silent in the late autumn, a few leaves quietly drifting down from the trees.

“Oh, come on! There’s not a soul in sight for a whole kilometer around. Even if you shout at the top of your lungs, no one will hear you!”
Su Tianmu was a little exasperated by her behavior.

“Oh! Sorry, force of habit! Hehe!”
Xia Wuyou settled back into her seat, gazing at the empty scenery around them, suddenly feeling a little out of place.

It was a mystery why Xia Wuyou had chosen to meet outdoors in the park.

“You can’t imagine what it’s like, having a ghost following you around all day, and sometimes even giving you a scare. That’s a feeling you’ll never understand!”
Xia Wuyou complained, shivering as she spoke.

“That’s why, even if it’s a bit chilly now, I still need to replenish my positive energy under the sunlight!”
With that, Xia Wuyou stood up, stretched out her arms, and lifted her head, as if embracing the sun.

“I feel like there’s something off about that Su Ye, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
Su Tianmu, rarely finding time to visit a park, leaned back comfortably on the bench when he saw Xia Wuyou stand.

“Su Ye? The girl who was bullied?”
Xia Wuyou turned around to look at Su Tianmu. Her wide, innocent eyes made her small face seem especially round.

Although Xia Wuyou couldn’t be called a classic beauty, her mischievous nature and sunny disposition made her shine dazzlingly bright in Su Tianmu’s eyes—almost blindingly so.

Wait, that wasn’t right. The blinding thing wasn’t her, but the glaring sun.

Because Xia Wuyou was standing in the direction of the sun, Su Tianmu had to squint when he looked up at her.

“That’s the one. What have you heard others say about her? What’s her relationship with Wang Meiqi?”
Su Tianmu squinted at her, shielding his eyes.

“Let me tell you, Su Ye is not as simple as she looks! Don’t be fooled by her gentle appearance—she’s actually quite calculating!”
Xia Wuyou crinkled her little nose, adopting the airs of a gossip queen about to take office.

“Didn’t you hear about how she and Wang Meiqi argued over that article submission?”

Xia Wuyou deliberately drew out the story.

“She actually hated Wang Meiqi for that incident! But she went around telling everyone she wasn’t angry, that it was all a misunderstanding.”

“Do you know which interview they were fighting for?”
Su Tianmu cut off her dramatic commentary with a question.

“I think it was for some paint company or other—I can’t remember the name!”
Xia Wuyou scratched her head, as if scratching would help her remember.

“Wang Peishan—the boss of that company is called Wang Peishan,”
Su Tianmu reminded her.

“Yes, yes, that’s the name!”

“There was more going on behind the scenes. A super gossip queen told me that the interview didn’t go well at all. Even though the chief editor ended up doing the interview personally, this Wang Peishan guy was still dissatisfied.”

Her words piqued Su Tianmu’s interest.

“What exactly happened? Why didn’t anyone mention this during our inquiries?”
Seeing his curiosity, Xia Wuyou immediately mimicked Wang’s mischievous manner, lowering her voice in mock secrecy.

“Apparently, Wang Meiqi leaked some kind of trade secret in the final draft of the interview, causing a significant loss to the company. In fact, before the article was published, the boss had already noticed the problem and asked her to delete the content, but for some reason, it was still published.”

Su Tianmu, absorbed in the case, paid little attention to Xia Wuyou’s antics.

If what she said was true, Wang Peishan must have had something incriminating on Wang Meiqi.

Could it be that Wang Peishan orchestrated her murder for revenge? What exactly did Wang Meiqi have on him?

And what about Su Ye? What was she hiding?

A string of questions blocked his path—where was the breakthrough?

“We shouldn’t just speculate here. Let’s talk to the people involved and find out directly.”

...

The beautiful scenery was utterly wasted on these two who looked more like secret operatives than casual visitors.

The autumn wind still blew, the leaves still fell alone, and not a single person stopped to admire them.

Modern efficiency being what it is, the magazine quickly appointed a new chief editor. Though everyone was still shaken by the previous editor’s tragic fate, life had to go on, and work had to be done.

“Xiao Ye, I think you’re very capable. Do your best in this probation assessment—I have high hopes for you!”
The new editor seemed inexplicably attentive to Xiao Ye, perhaps having heard some rumors as well.

“Thank you, Chief. I’ll do my best!”
Su Ye replied happily.

Privately, everyone gossiped—some said Su Ye had landed herself a wealthy backer and was about to rise to the top, even winning over the new chief editor.

“Shh! Keep your voice down—what if she hears? That wouldn’t sound good.”

“If she dares do it, why be afraid of people talking?”

Two young women were whispering in the restroom. As soon as Su Ye walked in, they quickly scattered.

Su Ye shot them a disdainful look and muttered, “If you have the guts, say it to my face. Talking behind my back—how pathetic.”

She then took out her lipstick and began to apply it, the vivid red drawing a striking splash of color on her lips.

Suddenly, as if her hand were no longer under her control, she used the lipstick to scrawl the word “MURDERER” in large, trembling letters on the mirror.

“Ah! Help! There’s a ghost!”
She struggled desperately to move her feet, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t budge.

“Don’t come after me! It wasn’t me...”

...

The rumors of the magazine being haunted grew wilder by the day.

“Fina, why haven’t you been gossiping about the stuff upstairs lately? That’s not like you!”
Xia Wuyou glanced at Fina, who was working in earnest, surprised by her uncharacteristic silence.

“I wouldn’t dare gossip anymore. Haven’t you heard? Everyone upstairs is wearing red clothes to work now, or at least a red string on their wrist—they say it wards off evil. Otherwise, they’re too scared to come in!”

She finished by quietly showing off the red string tied around her own wrist.

Xia Wuyou could only force a bitter smile. If red really worked, she thought, she’d have dyed her hair bright red long ago.