The bridge over the river was jammed again. As a major transportation artery in Yanyun, traffic jams were common, but the traffic halted for miles on the bridge was a bit too exaggerated.
Many commuters who were stuck in the jam gritted their teeth in frustration.
Li Changhe, riding his old bicycle, looked at the traffic ahead and couldn't help furrowing his brow. Finally, he pondered and said, "Yuanfang, what do you think?"
Next to him, the beautiful girl in the luxury car glanced sideways at him, her cherry-red lips parting slightly: "I think our class's perfect attendance is going to be deducted by two points today."
"Humph!" Li Changhe laughed proudly, "I have a plan that will guarantee perfect attendance!"
"So, Goudan, what's the price?" The girl laughed and asked.
"Depends on whether you'd rather be stuck in traffic in your luxury car and be late or ride on the back of my bicycle and race through life to get perfect attendance," Li Changhe continued to laugh proudly and patted the bicycle that was even older than him.
The girl leaned on the car window, chin resting on her smooth arm, and tilted her head to laugh, "I'm the kind of girl who'd rather cry in a luxury car than smile on a bicycle."
"That's such an old joke!" Li Changhe raised an eyebrow.
"No... Based on my years of experience being tricked by you. As soon as I get out of the car, you'll ride away, making me so angry that I'll chase you all the way to school! And you'll glorify it as exercising your body." The girl snorted lightly.
"Tsk! Did I get caught? The little girl who used to chase after me has gotten smarter..." Li Changhe sighed. He showed a lonely expression, slightly bowing his head in a 45-degree angle like a new groom.
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Dinner at the usual place tonight?"
"Tomorrow, I'm on duty today."
Li Changhe glanced at the driver next to the girl.
The bicycle beneath him suddenly sped up, leaving a fleeting shadow on the congested road. It was hard to imagine that this was the speed that a bicycle could achieve.
The luxury car driver looked on in astonishment.
The girl shook her head and laughed, "It's just how he is, don't mind him."
The driver asked, "I thought... A young man like him wouldn't have any connection with a girl of your background."
"So, Captain, what do you think of him?" Xiao Nan smiled and asked, though it was unclear why she addressed her driver as captain.
The luxury car driver recalled Li Changhe's appearance and dress, shaking his head, "His looks are quite delicate, but his conditions should be not very good, the clothes on his body are all cheap stall goods, and the bicycle he rides is even older than him."
"Yeah, pretty much," Xiao Nan looked at the traffic jam ahead and said, "I've known him for a long time, he's got a quirky character and not many friends. Other than his fellow orphans from the same orphanage, it's just me... He's helped me a lot of times."
"I thought he was coming over to strike up a conversation. Captain, I wanted to give you a reference," The driver laughed.
"No need for reference, I... He's just worried or maybe cautious," She said.
"Cautious about what?" The driver was startled, then realized, "Cautious about... me?"
Xiao Nan nodded and said, "He might not say nice things, but he does take good care of his friends. With so many 'incidents' happening in Yanyun recently, he's probably worried too. When he saw that my driver changed, he must have come to test. If I had shown any signs of being held hostage, he might have tried to rescue me by vandalizing the car."
The driver's face changed slightly, "No wonder the kid was eyeing me a few times. I guess having you get out of the car and walk with him was a test too? He's so observant, is he really only eighteen years old? Is he perhaps one of the 'players'?"
"Probably not..."
...
On the other side, Li Changhe rode his bicycle through the crowded bridge. Finally, he figured out why traffic was blocked.
It wasn't a car accident. It was someone jumping off... the bridge?
Even though the body had been taken away, the large pool of exploded-like blood stains left on the ground indicated that this was a high-altitude falling death case.
But how...? Li Changhe looked up, only to see the diagonal steel bars on the bridge. The nearest bridge frame was also fifty meters away. How did the person jump from the bridge? Or how did they jump to this spot?
There were also some feathers on the ground, stuck to the road. The police officers cleaning up the scene didn't even miss these, carefully placing each one into self-sealing bags.
Did the victim also jump with a pet? Otherwise, where did all these feathers come from?
And the officers might be trying too hard. Li Changhe couldn't help but wonder, some feathers even had bird poop on them, what kind of clues could that provide?
"Strange things happen every year, but there are especially more this year." He muttered to himself.
Yanyun had been very uneasy lately.
First, there was the case of missing female college students in rental houses, then the case of a psychiatrist being victimized, and finally, an abandoned factory on the outskirts suddenly became a mysterious pit.
Investigating each scene were the police and a group of black-clad personnel. They had yet to give any results, only advising the public to stay indoors as much as possible.
It was said that a psychopathic murderer had come to Yanyun.
This was also the reason why Li Changhe went to talk to Xiao Nan, the driver was too much of a stranger. It's always better to be cautious. His ever-suspicious nature, cultivated since his days in the orphanage, led him to catch up with the luxury car and say a bunch of nonsense.
Seeing that the police were about to finish cleaning up the scene and gradually restoring traffic, Li Changhe sent a voice message to Xiao Nan on his phone, "The Imperial City Road is open, don't miss our meeting at the Forbidden City Peak today!"
He reminded her that the way ahead was clear.
But suddenly, a chill descended upon him. Li Changhe shivered and instinctively looked up, seeing a black figure weaving through the towering bridge structure.
"Is this... an illusion?" Li Changhe stared carefully, but saw no anomaly. Dismissing it, he rubbed his eyes and continued cycling.
He initially thought it was just an ordinary accident and didn't pay it much attention.
Until... after school.
"Goudan, be careful on your way home tonight! The murderer struck again, right at the bridge." Someone frowned as they spoke, "Why not stay at my place tonight and avoid crossing the bridge?"
This was one of his few friends. He Feng, both of them were from the same orphanage... fellow orphans.
After leaving the orphanage, they supported each other to strive.
They eventually entered a college together and successfully ascended to high school.
He Feng was a good guy, honest and open, especially popular among girls. The boys, except for those who were jealous, got along with him well.
Li Changhe wasn't as lucky.
When it comes to a historical question during the Tang Dynasty, he could vividly explain how Li Er vied for a wife in the Black Tortoise Rebellion, which led to his own son Li Zhi's plot to steal his father's wife, leaving the male students drooling and the history teacher eager to split his skull and see if there was a hidden genius inside.
When asked about direct current and alternating current, he could recite love and hatred stories between Edison and Tesla for 30 minutes, ending with being electrocuted by physics teacher.
...
A well-rounded person, a know-it-all yet difficult to adapt to. That is the teachers' unanimous impression of Li Changhe.
Getting back to the present.
He Feng frowned and asked, "Did you hear about what happened at the bridge today?"
"I saw it. Someone chose to end their life."
"No... it's murder! Who jumps off the bridge from its framework?" He Feng grinned as he continued, "I live near the police station, a close friend told me. After the victim fell to death, they continued to be wounded - eyes gouged out, organs hollowed out. It's brutal, according to the police. The bridge area to the outskirts is the murderer's territory. Be careful. If someone follows you, run and call the police when it's safe. Or, do you want to sleep at my place tonight? No need to cross the bridge."
"Hmph, could they even catch up to my taillight?" Li Changhe knew He Feng wasn't joking, he rarely spoke seriously. "I'm a sports recruit. Give me a bike and I can show off so much their heads will spin! Take care of yourself."
His words weren't false. Li Changhe's performance was decent, but not enough to get into this school, so he took the sports recruit path. He has great physical abilities and has won many medals for the school.
He was nicknamed Riding A.
If the murderer targeted Li Changhe, they probably wouldn't be able to catch up to his taillight. Or even see the broken bike's taillight, for that matter.
"Moreover, I'm neither rich nor powerful. Why would they want to kill me?" Li Changhe grinned, "If they intend to rob me for my looks, I won't say anything. Beauty is a sin! If being handsome is a crime, I am guilty."
He Feng frowned for a moment, figuring that the murderer probably wouldn't target such a crazy fellow. Reluctantly, he waved his hands and said, "In any case, after you pack up, head back early."
"Don't worry!" Li Changhe responded nonchalantly.
But within the next few hours, he was filled with regret.
Yanyun's night was still quite beautiful, like a usually plain-dressed girl wearing a dazzling outfit. The brilliant lights allowed one's imagination to run wild.
But Li Changhe had no mood to appreciate it now. He pedaled non-stop, quickly crossing the bridge on his bike. Cold sweat seeped out. He had been cycling on the bridge for half an hour already.
Given that his bike wouldn't fall apart, his top speed was 60 yards. Thanks to his athletics, he could maintain that speed for 20 minutes.
Yet, the bridge spanned only around six kilometers, and Li Changhe couldn't seem to reach the end.
At first, he didn't care, but as the cars beside him became fewer and fewer until he couldn't see any, he realized something was wrong.
The bridge was Yanyun's major thoroughfare, where at least hundreds of thousands of people passed daily. Even at midnight, it shouldn't be deserted.
Noticing something amiss, Li Changhe mustered his strength and sprinted, yet the scenery seemed unchanged. The bright streetlights extended like a celestial avenue, and Li Changhe was alone on the bridge.
Li Changhe looked back and saw the towering bridge framework still standing not far behind him. The dazzling lights on it appeared like a giant supporting the sky.
He clearly remembered speeding up right after passing the framework. How could he not have left it behind after over 20 minutes of acceleration? Did the bridge move?
Li Changhe looked around. This was... the very spot where the traffic jam had occurred in the morning. The discovery site of the jumper.
He recalled the cold feeling from the morning and the fleeting, peculiar black figure.
With a sullen face, Li Changhe took out a bottle of mineral water from his bag and threw it off the edge of the bridge without looking.
After a few seconds...
"Crash!" The mineral water bottle that should have fallen off the bridge shattered not too far away.
Right at the victim's location in the morning!
"I knew it! I've been wondering how someone could fall to their death on the bridge. If I tried to escape by jumping off just now, I would have been flattened." Li Changhe muttered.
Looking at the shattered water bottle, he knew that tomorrow, he'd likely end up there too.
"Traffic will be jammed for that girl again. No one to offer her a ride tomorrow." Li Changhe's heart sank.