I couldn’t help but lament that this sort of bullying happened in almost every class, hidden in a dark corner where teachers and parents couldn't see, and most people were either perpetrators or victims.

Although I can say with a clear conscience that I had never hurt a classmate either physically or verbally, I wasn’t completely innocent. In my young and ignorant days, I too giggled when my classmates pointed and jeered at a less attractive student or one who wore ugly clothes.

The sobbing left Xiaotao covered in cold sweat. Afraid she might catch a cold, I removed my coat and draped it on her. Wiping the tears away, Xiaotao smiled and thanked me. "I’m sorry, I get so emotionally affected by these things..."

"I think having strong emotions makes you adorable," I chuckled.

Xiaotao blushed and shyly retorted, "Nonsense!"

After she had calmed down, we continued to discuss the case. The novel was so well-written, it managed to raise everyone’s hackles and even won a prize that year. However, a novel alone couldn’t prove a motive or that Lin Xiaolan was the murderer.

We perused some of her other works and found that the theme of bullying appeared more than a dozen times, suggesting Lin Xiaolan was indeed bullied at school.

"What is she doing now?" I asked curiously.

Xiaotao searched online. "Looks like she’s a well-known author. One of her works was adapted into a movie last year."

"So she should have the means to hire a hitman!” I nodded. “We should pay her a visit."

"I'll leave a message on her Weibo to see if she would like to meet," Xiaotao said, tapping away on her cell phone.

Perhaps Lin Xiaolan was busy or didn't believe Xiaotao was an officer so we didn’t receive a reply. It wasn’t until five days later that Wang Yuanchao finally located her current residence.

On that day, I was helping out in the store. Xiaotao drove over to pick me up before heading to a residential area. Downstairs of her apartment, we hit the doorbell and heard a cold voice ask, "Who are you looking for?"

Xiaotao flashed her badge but the woman refused, "I’m sorry, I don’t have time now. Please make an appointment!"

"Ms. Lin, we are here with a search warrant,” Xiaotao persisted. “You'd better cooperate with the police!"

Of course, Xiaotao was lying; we had no search warrant.

After a brief pause, the woman replied, "I’ll give you half an hour. Come on up!"

"How arrogant!" I sneered.

"Well, I heard these female authors are all very arrogant,” remarked Xiaotao. “Apparently, she’s beautiful and still single."

"Why are you telling me this?” I huffed. “I'm not from a dating website!"

Her housekeeper opened the door for us. I looked the woman up and down a few times, sizing her up. She was fat and behaved naturally, without a sliver of suspicion.

Lin Xiaolan's apartment was elegant and exquisitely decorated, filled with the smell of books. When we entered the apartment, she was sitting on a deck chair out on the balcony, wearing a white dress that revealed her slender figure, eyes shielded by a pair of dark sunglasses–a beauty indeed. There was a cup of black tea on the table beside her.

After Xiaotao and I took our seats, the housekeeper poured us two cups of black tea. Lin Xiaolan leisurely grabbed her cup and asked, "What can I do for you?"

I furrowed my brows at the sight of those sunglasses that perfectly hid her expression. In my opinion, those who spoke with sunglasses on were merely pretending to be cool. It should be a crime to do so!

Xiaotao went straight to the point, "I had the honor of reading your works. In one of your novels, you wrote about being bullied by three roommates. I’d like to know if this novel is based on a true story?"

"Readers like you are so crude. No matter what you read, you only want to know if it’s true or not. But is it really that important?” Lin Xiaolan chided. “Was Dumas ever imprisoned? Did Hemingway fish? Was Jin Yong[1] a chivalrous warrior? Whether true or false, literary works have their social significance."

"We aren’t here to discuss literature,” Xiaotao interrupted. “We’re the police and what we care about are facts. Is the novel based on reality?"

Lin Xiaolan snorted and looked away, "It's true. I killed the three of them!"

I couldn't read her face, only her body language, but she seemed very relaxed without a trace of nervousness. I couldn’t help but wonder, Is her mental state that good?

Xiaotao broke the silence. "You shouldn’t joke around. Your three roommates are no longer alive!"

A hint of surprise flashed past Lin Xiaolan’s face. Her reaction didn’t appear to be fake. "Natural causes or was it an accident?" she looked up at us.

Xiaotao reached out to remove her sunglasses and asked, "What do you think?"

I was secretly pleased with her move since it allowed me to finally observe Lin Xiaolan's real appearance. Her eyes were brimming with shock which had me at sixes and sevens. Wasn’t she the murderer?

"I’ll ask you once more. Were you bullied by them?" Xiaotao reiterated.

Lin Xiaolan nodded, her eyes growing dim. "Yes! Those were all my personal experiences."

Xiaotao pressed on, "And that includes everything you mentioned in your novel–dunking your head in the toilet, slapping you, pouring cold water over you, etc."

Lin Xiaolan nodded silently, anguish engraved on her pretty face, but I noticed an abnormality in her body language.

"So they indirectly caused your boyfriend’s death?" Xiaotao continued.

Lin Xiaolan nodded, "I will never forget that day–November 14th. Ever since then, I’ve never liked anyone else. My heart aches with hollowness. I hate them so much that I wish I could kill them! In fact, I’m a little surprised but mostly happy to hear that they’re dead. They deserved it, but I swear that this has nothing to do with me!"

Xiaotao cast a questioning glance at me. "Ms. Lin, you’re lying," I sneered.

"I’m innocent!” she exclaimed. “I didn't kill them!"

I shook my head, "That’s not what I mean. When you admitted to the bullying, your facial expression was very unnatural. Cold sweat seeped from the tip of your nose, your cheeks were red with your hands twisted together and your legs tightly clamped. These are all signs of lying. So what’s the truth?"

"You don't have to show off your knowledge of psychology!” she glared. “I know more about psychology than you do. I noticed you staring at my legs as soon as you entered. Do my legs look good? Do you want me to send you a signed photo?" she spat.

However, her petty tricks did little to intimidate me. With Xiaotao constantly by my side, I had long grown immune to other beauties; Lin Xiaolan was nothing special. "I'm not interested in your signed photo,” I scoffed. “Let’s talk about the bullying."

"You’re really going too far! You come into my house and expose my old wounds!” she burst out. “Those were painful events I personally experienced. Why would I fabricate them? I’m not so mentally ill that I would make up my past! You’re cold-blooded animals!"

Then she buried her face in her hands and began to sob. I frowned. Lin Xiaolan was a tough nut to crack!

[1] Jin Yong or Louis Cha was a famous wuxia writer and the author of 1957-1961 Condor Hero trilogy.