Eventually, Deng Linyue was also able to calmly recall what happened to her that night, and she described it for the police in detail. But because of the darkness and her extreme terror at the time, she could only attest that the killer was a man standing at least 5'7".
Fang Mu and Tai Wei had also seen the killer that night, and in fact Tai Wei had even chased him, but because of the darkness and their distance away, the attacker hadn't made a distinct impression on either of them.
There was something else the police were interested in, too: How had the killer known that Deng Linyue would be in the gymnasium by herself?
He had specifically removed a screw from the locker she was using that night, changing the 9 to a 6. This showed that he had already made Deng Linyue his target, and his actions made it clear that he knew she would be using locker nine and would be alone in the arena after the game. In which case, he had to be among those privy to this information.
This thought encouraged the police to no end, because it meant the scope of their investigation could be drastically decreased.
But after looking into it, they found themselves disappointed again.
Liu Jianjun said that he hadn't told anyone about his plans for that night. This meant that there were only two times when someone else could have overheard what was going on. First, while Liu Jianjun was borrowing the key from the arena caretaker and asking him how to use the equipment. Or second, when he asked Deng Linyue to wait for him after the game. But according to Liu Jianjun, no one else had been around while he spoke to the caretaker. As for the caretaker himself, a police investigation confirmed that he had nothing to do with the crime. Therefore, this first possibility was eliminated.
As for the second possibility, police closely investigated the cheerleaders and fans that had been near Deng Linyue at the time, and confirmed that none of them had been involved.
The investigation into the locker number also similarly ground to a halt. According to the other cheerleaders and their teacher supervisor, when they received their locker room keys in the gymnasium corridor, they were surrounded on all sides by a throng of fans streaming into the arena, so it would be impossible to determine who might have heard what locker number Deng Linyue had received.
In other words, the unfortunate events from that night did not help the police make any substantial headway toward cracking the case.
What was most preoccupying Tai Wei, however, were a pair of the numbers: six or seven? Which one would be next?
The way Fang Mu saw it, the killer was an exceptionally cruel individual dead-set on carrying out his plan. He would not give up easily, so the next victim would likely still be number six. As for whether he would try again for Deng Linyue or choose someone else, at this point it was impossible to say. This was why Fang Mu and the police both felt that they should maintain tight security over the girl while continuing to monitor all areas on campus relating to the number six.
Fang Mu went to visit Liu Jianjun several more times, his motive having less to do with their friendship than his own guilt.
Liu Jianjun had suffered a depressed skull fracture, which had caused serious brain bleeding. Although he was no longer in critical danger, some of the effects would be permanent. On several occasions, when Fang Mu had watched him drink rice porridge from a bowl, Liu Jianjun's head and hands would begin to violently shake and this often spread to his entire face and body. Seeing this, Fang Mu felt the strong impulse to throw himself before Liu Jianjun and ask for his forgiveness. But he never did. Instead he would just quietly leave the ward, hide himself in the bathroom and smoke one cigarette after another.
Zou Tuanjie secretly told Fang Mu that Deng Linyue had only visited once, after which she never returned. But as soon as Liu Jianjun was first able to walk, he had struggled up to the fifth floor to go see her. At the time, Deng Linyue's relatives had blocked him from going inside, claiming she was asleep.
So Liu Jianjun had just stood there, tears streaming down his face as he yelled incoherently at the closed door. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
To Fang Mu, this insight felt like a knife to the heart.
The JiangbinCityUniversity school authorities also visited Liu Jianjun several times. After determining the extent of his injury, they recommended that he take a year off from school to get better. Liu Jianjun's parents were extremely grateful to them. However, their son's graduate advisor told them in private that in this matter the school bore a clear responsibility, and that they should sue for just compensation. But his parents, both of whom came from working class backgrounds, would not go along with this. The way they saw it, their son had nearly been disabled from the attack, so for the school to offer him a year off was already an enormous kindness. How could they repay that with a lawsuit? Hearing this, all Liu Jianjun's advisor could do was shake his head and sigh.
Amazingly, only two weeks later Deng Linyue was back on campus.
Even though she had been the killer's main target, her injuries were much lighter than Liu Jianjun's. Thanks to the cotton jacket she had been wearing the night of the crime, her shoulder blade had suffered only a minor break. Add to this the superb care and proper nutrition she had received in the hospital, she was able to quickly return to school.
When Du Yu passed this information on to Fang Mu, he didn't pay much attention to it; he just thought it was strange that Deng Linyue hadn't returned to her hometown. When Tai Wei heard the news, he put it another way: since it was highly likely that the killer would make Deng Linyue his next target, the safest thing for her would be to return home for the time being.
Then something far more surprising happened. That afternoon, Deng Linyue unexpectedly gave him a call.
"Hello, is this Fang Mu? It's Deng Linyue."
"Oh, how are you?" he asked her.
"I'm fine. So it's like this: I want to treat you to dinner. Are you free?"
"Treat me to dinner?" The phone call surprised him, and the invitation shocked him. "Why?"
"To thank you. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here."
"You don't have to do that. It was just good timing, that's all."
"Oh no, I won't let you decline. I'm treating you and that's that! Wait for me outside the school gates at five o'clock tonight." Saying this, she hung up.
Fang Mu sighed and hung up the phone. When he turned around, he saw that Du Yu, nosy as ever, had been listening in. "What should I do?"
Without a shred of embarrassment at having eavesdropped on his friend's conversation, Du Yu grinned and said, "You go of course. What else needs to be said?"
Fang Mu shook his head. "I don't want to go. It seems…too awkward."
"Ah, stop being such an old lady and go. You want me to lend you some cash?" Du Yu reached for his wallet.
Fang Mu was about to make fun of him, tempted to say, You're so excited it's like she invited you, when his spirits suddenly fell. "If you're still thinking the same thing as before, then I'm not going to go."
Du Yu abruptly stopped what he was doing. The smile disappeared from his face. "What are you trying to say? That since Liu Jianjun is still lying in the hospital I'm trying to get you to take advantage of the situation? Don't forget," he said, looking Fang Mu in the eye, "that when a girl invites you out you need to go. It's a matter of etiquette."
Fang Mu thought about it and realized his friend was right. It was just one meal; refusing would seem a little narrow-minded. "All right, I'll go."
At 5 p.m. Fang Mu approached the school gates as planned. From far away he could already see Deng Linyue's tall, slender frame.