Gentle Sleep Instructor
Chapter 512 Trouble
Jiang Cheng avoided the topic, not wanting to drag Lin Wan’er into it.
Facing Lin Wan’er, he didn't want to, nor dared to, lie easily, “I’m not sure, but it sounds like Xiang Nan was controlled by a ghost. The killings of the children were all done under the ghost's coercion.”
“The one who truly killed the children was the ghost; the wild dog was just a cover story,” Jiang Cheng continued.
Recalling the horrific state of the children's deaths described by Huai Yi, it was almost identical to Du Feng's death.
Both had their heads separated from their bodies. The only difference was that Du Feng's head was held in his arms, while the children's heads had disappeared.
“So... the ghost we’re facing now isn’t Xiang Nan at all, but the thing inside her…” Lin Wan’er hesitated for a moment, as if considering which word to use to describe it more appropriately.
“But the thing inside her,” Lin Wan’er said, looking at Jiang Cheng with a confirming gaze.
Jiang Cheng nodded, glanced out the window, and after a long while, finally said, “That’s probably it.”
“Now we need to figure out what this thing's purpose is,” Jiang Cheng said. “I don't think it's as simple as just killing Director Qi.”
Actually, in the recording, when that interference-caused static noise occurred, Jiang Cheng immediately thought of the scene that had happened in the office.
The woman named Hu Yan had the same strange static noise when she was telling him her story.
Just as Jiang Cheng was pondering the connection between these two things, the man's voice came from the recording again.
The recording... hadn't ended.
“Things are getting worse and worse. Xiang Nan is becoming more and more strange.”
“I took her to the hospital for a check-up, but all the doctors said she wasn’t sick.”
“Neither physiologically nor psychologically.”
“A psychologist who I’m close to privately assured me that she is a completely normal person, has no problems communicating with others, and is just a bit cowardly.”
“He comforted me, saying that it's not a big problem, very common in women at this stage. Perhaps because I often socialize outside, she's worried about me messing around, so she lacks a sense of security. He suggested that I take some time to spend more time with her.”
“Damn it, he has no idea what I’m facing!”
“After returning from the hospital, Xiang Nan gradually seemed like a different person. I could feel from her eyes that she had definitely noticed something.”
“Even though I used other excuses to trick her into going for the check-up.”
“After coming back, she started looking at me, no, not the normal kind of looking, it was… it was scrutiny, it was peeking!”
“When I was eating, when I was on the phone, even… even when I was sleeping, she was watching.”
“At first, she stood far away and knew to do some cover-up nearby, but later, she didn't even bother to hide it anymore.”
“I felt more and more like she was a stranger, like she had become a different person.”
“I started to be afraid to face her. When I went to bed at night, I could only sleep with my back to her. Looking at her, I couldn't fall asleep at all.”
“I also considered sleeping in separate rooms, but I… but I was still worried about her. I naively thought that as long as I was by her side, her condition would improve.”
“You can’t even imagine, one night I suddenly woke up and found her squatting on the floor in front of me, sticking out her face, staring intently at me.”
“The distance between our faces was no more than 10 centimeters!”
“Her eyes were wide open, and I could see dense blood vessels inside.”
“At that moment, I even felt like she was going to… to eat me!”
“I knew I couldn’t delay any longer, so I contacted Dean Zhang. I’m not very familiar with him, but he has a good reputation and is known for his integrity. I felt relatively safe entrusting Xiang Nan to him.”
“God knows, I actually… I’m still worried about Xiang Nan even now, worried that she’s not doing well in the hospital, that she’s being bullied.”
“Believe me, I love her, I really love her!”
Then there was another burst of static, which Jiang Cheng found very uncomfortable.
Yin Zhenliang’s voice rang out again.
Each long period of static represented a period of time that had passed in Yin Zhenliang’s era.
He recorded these clips one after another, probably to leave behind evidence.
And Zhang Zhaowei kept these secrets for the same purpose.
“Huff…”
“I finally sent Xiang Nan to the hospital. I asked Dean Zhang for help. After listening to what I said, Dean Zhang said he needed to consider it. It was obvious he didn’t want to get involved in this matter.”
“But I have ways to pressure him through other people, people he can’t refuse.”
“In the end, Dean Zhang promised me that he would take good care of Xiang Nan.”
“I chose to tell him only a part of Xiang Nan’s situation, mainly regarding her mental state.”
“Forgive me, because I can’t, and I don’t dare to tell him everything. If he knew the truth, he definitely wouldn’t dare to get involved.”
“And I’m worried that he might even secretly contact the police.”
“After sending Xiang Nan away, I finally had the time and energy to consider the next step.”
“I still remember that the guy缠着(chanzhe) Xiang Nan mentioned that Xiang Nan was already 70 years old.”
“Although I don’t believe it, after all, I’ve lived with her for so long, and… and we even had a child. I believe I know everything about her.”
“I trust my eyes and my feelings.”
“But after experiencing so many things, I still want to investigate Xiang Nan’s background.”
“We met in a bar, fell in love at first sight, and got married not long after. She said that her parents had passed away a long time ago, and she came out of her hometown to make a living in society on her own.”
“Looking back now, I was really blinded by infatuation. Because of my trust in her, I didn’t even think about going back to her hometown with her.”
“She’s too beautiful, all my friends say so, and not just simple beauty, but a very charming kind of beauty.”
“A friend once secretly told me that the most charming thing about my girlfriend was her eyes.”
“Her eyes are full of stories, not like what a woman of her age should have.”
“At the time, I just thought it was a joke after drinking too much, but now thinking about it, I feel a chill down my spine.”
“I’m considered well-connected in society and have far more experience than people my age, but Xiang Nan is a full 10 years younger than me, yet her perspective and way of looking at things is often more sophisticated than mine.”
“After thinking it over and over, I asked a friend with connections to help me investigate.”
“About three days later, no, to be precise, two and a half days later, I was sleeping when a phone call came in. It was already after 1 AM.”
“It was my friend calling. I picked it up, and his voice immediately came through.”
“Zhenliang!” He said anxiously, “You’re in big trouble!”