Genius Club-Chapter 194 - 35 The Truth Comes to Light

Lin Xian’s thumb hovered over the phone screen.

"The one who killed me is Ji Xinshui!"

Looking at the message Zhou Duanyun had sent to his mother at the end of 2021, Lin Xian was stunned.

He had once imagined countless relationships between Zhou Duanyun and Ji Xinshui.

Logically...

Their relationship should be one of cooperation, complicity, or even boss and underling, right?

How come it now looks like they are enemies?

Lin Xian continued to read on.

Perhaps because the message was sent in the afternoon, Zhou Duanyun’s mother did not reply in time.

Not until two hours later.

Zhou Duanyun sent another message:

"Mom, I’m playing truth or dare with friends, don’t take it seriously haha."

After that, the routine exchange of goodnights resumed every evening, with nothing unusual.

Lin Xian scrolled up and down a few more times, but found no more useful intelligence.

He exited the chat page first, then subtly handed the phone back to Zhou Duanyun’s mother.

Zhou Duanyun’s mother and Zhou Le were having a good chat.

Lin Xian paced the room, pondering over the two unexpected lines he had seen—

"Mom, I can’t escape... Call the police quickly to protect you! The person who killed me is Ji Xinshui!"

"Mom, I’m playing truth or dare with friends, don’t take it seriously haha."

No matter how you look at it.

This is definitely not just a game of truth or dare.

It’s not hard to see that Zhou Duanyun really is, as his mother described, a very filial, caring son who would never make this kind of joke with her.

Not just Zhou Duanyun... any child with a conscience would not tell such a lie.

Isn’t this just making the mother needlessly worry?

What mother wouldn’t be scared half to death by such a message?

And...

stepping back ten thousand steps.

Even if Zhou Duanyun really made such a bad joke to his mother on a whim, he definitely would not wait two hours before sending an explanation.

Normally, it would take about ten or so minutes to clear the air.

Therefore.

After considering everything, Lin Xian deduced—

"Zhou Duanyun told a lie!"

But this time, the lie seemed forced.

He indeed faced a life-threatening crisis at the time, either having crossed Ji Xinshui or been caught by him after committing something bad.

In any case, around four o’clock in the afternoon when the first message was sent, Zhou Duanyun indeed thought he was going to be killed by Ji Xinshui.

So he hurriedly informed his mother, identified the killer, and also told her to call the police for protection.

This behavior is more in line with Zhou Duanyun’s character.

He loved his mother deeply, the first thing he did after becoming successful was to improve her life, and his first concern during his own crisis was her safety—this made sense.

But then the situation took a turn.

Somewhere within those two hours, something happened, and Zhou Duanyun escaped danger, getting away from Ji Xinshui.

No.

Lin Xian frowned.

He definitely did not just escape!

If it were truly just an escape, he might have avoided danger temporarily, but not forever. Moreover, even if he could run, could his mother?

If Zhou Duanyun really had escaped, would he still be swaggering around in Donghai City, provoking Ji Xinshui right under his nose?

This is obviously illogical.

So it’s not hard to infer that Zhou Duanyun did not simply escape from Ji Xinshui; it’s more likely that they reached some sort of cooperative relationship, became accomplices, or Zhou Duanyun was pardoned and recruited by Ji Xinshui, turning into one of his minions.

"This explains it," Lin Xian murmured to himself.

It’s as hard to find something when it’s right under your nose...

The two chat records I stumbled upon on Zhou Duanyun’s mother’s phone today connected all the clues, weaving a complete logical web.

Recalling the conversation between Zhou Duanyun and Tang Xin on the night they had dinner with Gao Yang:

"What is Tang Xin doing now?"

"I work at the Donghai Fuxing Pharmaceutical Research Institute."

"Oh~~~~ I know your boss!"

"Really? That’s a big shot... He was once Professor Xu Yun’s mentor! You know him! Are you close?"

"That’s so-so. We’ve dealt a few times in business, but I don’t really like him. He’s too arrogant."

This clue also matched up!

The owner of the research institute and Xu Yun’s mentor are one and the same person, both are Ji Xinshui.

It was he who invited Tang Xin to work in Donghai City, and it was also he who initially wanted to kill Zhou Duanyun.

Zhou Duanyun might have felt somewhat indignant, which is why, even as he admitted knowing Ji Xinshui, he also called the old guy self-righteous.

Their relationship was a bit delicate, which could align with the results of the deductions I just made.

Train of thought.

Suddenly became clear.

Lin Xian turned his head to look again at the fake admission notice from Hunan University, framed under glass…

The post-college entrance exam life of Zhou Duanyun was filled with countless lies.

But the truth often hides beneath these falsehoods, entangled in countless threads.

With the available clues, Lin Xian began to summarize the findings of his deductions:

1. As previously suspected, Zhou Duanyun and Ji Xinshui shared an indefinable relationship, and they must have been accomplices in the murder of Tang Xin.

2. Ji Lin, with such a brilliant mind and high intelligence for solving cases, had never suspected Zhou Duanyun and Ji Xinshui, the most obvious suspects. Coupled with his closeness to Ji Xinshui, it’s highly likely that he was in cahoots with Zhou Duanyun and Ji Xinshui, plotting the death of Tang Xin.

3. Without a doubt, the murderer of Tang Xin and Xu Yun was the same group. Therefore, it goes without saying that Xu Yun’s killer was none other than Ji Xinshui, who regarded him like a father, and Ji Lin, who admired him as a youth.

…

Thinking of this result made Lin Xian’s spine turn cold.

He had always believed that people should have humanity, at least the very minimum threshold of not harming one’s own family members.

But clearly, Ji Xinshui and Ji Lin could only be described as beasts.

Lin Xian believed that Zhou Duanyun might harm Tang Xin or himself one day, but he would absolutely never harm his own mother.

And Ji Lin and Ji Xinshui…

What kind of reason, necessity, or interest would they need to have… to steel themselves to kill Xu Yun, who was like family to them?

"Killing Xu Yun, such a huge sacrifice, what benefit does it bring them?"

Lin Xian was utterly puzzled.

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But the reason is not so important in the face of an absolute outcome.

He now truly understood what Huang Que had said:

"Trouble will find you even if you don’t seek it. Perhaps you haven’t realized it… but your game of ’Catch Me If You Can’ has already begun."

Isn’t it?

It’s no longer just a simple matter of trouble knocking on the door.

Zhou Duanyun, this classmate on the surface, is nearly stuck to my side;

Ji Lin, this smart talent playing the thief shouting to catch a thief, has infiltrated the Donghai Public Security Bureau and gained the trust of the police;

Ji Xinshui, with enormous power and influential at the global level, has a strong influence domestically and is an enemy I absolutely cannot face head-on currently.

And these are just the three "murderers" I have discovered; god knows how many undetected "murderers" are lurking around me.

This game of ’Catch Me If You Can’…

Is really too hard.

The imbalance in strength between us and the enemy is severe, I am but a hamster on thin ice, surrounded by darkness filled with lurking cats, their yellow pupils vertical in the shadows. They’re just waiting for me to slip up… ready to pounce and tear me to shreds!

My situation is very unfavorable.

But fortunately, I have finally figured out who the murderers are, so I won’t fall into their trap, and that gives me some initiative.

The next step.

Is to consider.

How to turn the tables, how to bring these murderous demons to justice, how to avenge Professor Xu Yun and Tang Xin!

Soon, Zhou Duanyun’s mother and Zhou Le had finished their chat, and Zhou Le stood up, preparing to leave with Lin Xian.

Zhou Duanyun’s mother insisted, retrieving a large bag of peanuts from the inner room, urging Lin Xian to take them home to try.

Lin Xian politely declined with a wave of his hand:

"Auntie, we young people don’t know how to cook, it will just go bad if I take it, you better keep it for yourself to enjoy slowly."

However, Zhou Duanyun’s mother adamantly followed him to the yard and stuffed the plastic bag’s handle into Lin Xian’s palm:

"The peanuts I grow taste very good, take them back for your family to try!"

After speaking, she pointed to the large, peanut sprout-filled courtyard:

"Don’t be fooled by how many peanuts I grow, it’s really just finding something to do when I can’t sit still. To be honest, I haven’t eaten a single peanut in a very, very long time."

Looking at the courtyard full of peanut plants, the old mother sighed and said with a laugh:

"Back when life was tough, the peanuts that wouldn’t sell and were about to go bad, my daughter and I would eat ourselves."

"Those years, I really ate a lifetime’s supply of peanuts, I could go without them for the rest of my life and wouldn’t miss them…"

In the end, faced with such hospitality.

Lin Xian had no choice but to accept Zhou Duanyun’s mother’s peanuts.

After briefly sitting at Zhou Le’s house, exchanging a few small talks, Lin Xian left for the high-speed rail station, carrying the large bag of peanuts back to Donghai City.

Stepping out of the high-speed railway station, the sky was already pitch-dark, with a light drizzle falling.

Lin Xian stood in the rain, gazing at the brightly lit Colorful Donghai in the distance…

It seems.

This battle reminiscent of hide-and-seek.

Is truly about to begin!