System, are you messing with me? - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

The sun was shining brightly as if it wanted to paint the whole world in it's most magnificent colours and a slight breeze of fresh air passed over the heads of the people, as they gathered together on such an eventful day. But no matter how warm and beautiful the summer day seemed, it couldn't disperse the obvious gloom and coldness spreading through the limbs of the people.
There weren't only a few souls present but a mass of people of different age and origin. But in this moment they were all connected through their pain and grieve for loosing a loved one.
The thick fog of their sorrow spread like fire until the whole graveyard was cold and detached from the jumping life outside.
In this silence only the wind whistled through the people, brushing over the lilies that were placed on top of the lump of earth, giving the sleeping person underneath the last honor. A colourful picture was placed in between that last spot of warmth.
A smiling youth with beautiful facial features was looking at the present people with a charming glimmer in his eyes.
"Shu Ning! Shu Ning!"
A mournful screaming voice ripped through the air slapping the others out of their daze. In a short while all the people present started screaming that name to the fullest of their lungs. The women started waling in between, sinking down on their knees while they sobbed and yelled the dead's name. The whole funeral plunged into Chaos. Everybody was screaming and crying, so that the echoing 'Shu Ning' could be heard all over the entire town.
[2]
It has already been a few months since Shu Ning left the world but the death was like a thunderstorm raging on in the city. The gloomy mood of the graveyard had spread in the entire city. The people hung their heads, no laughter or joy could be seen as they went on with their daily lives.
Liu Jia was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching her friend scurry around the kitchen to prepare some light snacks for their movie night.
The man had a slender build with long legs and soft skin and while he was bending down to get some coke and cookies his beautiful waist line peaked out from his thin shirt.
It would normally be a charming scene, seeing the sun rays wrapping around the young man's body, giving it a mysterious glow, but at this moment neither of the two people were in the mood to pay attention to such trivial things, so the youth just picked up their snacks and then sat down right beside Liu Jia.
The woman watched the man place the things on the table and then turn back to look at her as well. Seeing the dark pupils of the other and the deep gloom hidden inside, brought a wave of sadness washing over the woman and her eyes turned wet with tears.
"Yu. I miss him so much. It's just not the same without Shu Ning."
The man named Yu flinched when his friend called out that name but still spread out his trembling arms and wrapped them around the crying woman in comfort.
"I know. I wished he was here as well. Our TV night shouldn't be without him."
Liu Jia buried into the arms of the tall man and let her tears wet the clothes of the other.
"Liu Jia. It's ok. Don't cry. Shu Ning wouldn't want to see you so sad."
Yu patted the back of the woman while his own eyes were turning red as well.
In the past the three of them were good friends. Liu Jia, Shu Ning and Yu grew up together as children and every month at a special day they would sit together in the girls living room to watch a movie. That was their own little tradition.
"Yu. What should we do now? He isn't here anymore."
"I don't know. I really don't know."
"I heard about what happened. It shouldn't be like this. He didn't do anything wrong."
Liu Jia clenched her fists tightly when she remembered the police report about Shu Ning's death. She knew that people were jealous creatures and has always been worried for her friends well being.
"Liu Jia. What have you heard?"
"Shu Ning. He didn't do anything wrong but was still... they said that someone pushed him and then he fell."
The woman stopped talking after that and the two of them stayed silent. They have long forgotten about the movie they wanted to watch and instead thought about the people that were responsible for Shu Ning's death.
"Yu. We can't continue like this. I know that nothing can bring him back anymore but I just can't stand it. Please. Yu. Those people shouldn't be left of."
The woman grabbed the sleeve of Yu and pulled at the shirt while looking up at the face of the man.
"Yes. I think the same. I don't want to be in a world where those scums aren't punished for their crimes."
"Then let's find out what happened at that day and find the ones responsible. If the police can't find out then we have to."
"Don't worry. We have different ways of handling this apart from the police."
Liu Jia finally felt her heart grow lighter again and flashed a bright smile at the person beside her. The last few months she had been wallowing in despair but just the thought of getting her revenge made her mood very happy and excited.
Now that the woman was feeling better again, she leaned back on the couch and picked up a cookie to fill her rumbling stomach. The man watched the woman's expression ease up and hooked up his lips in a smile as well.
[3]
It's been only a few days after the movie evening with Liu Jia that Yu contacted Zhou Kai again after all these years. That person was his old classmate from highschool and has always been very skilled in hacking and in interrogation, so Yu didn't hesitate at all to tell the other about Shu Ning and his death. It wasn't a pleasant topic to talk about and Yu had to stop multiple times in between his words to press down the tears that threatened to wash away his calm but all the pain he was feeling was worth it as in the end his old friend agreed to investigate the case for him.
Since that day his friend hadn't contacted him at all untill ten days later. When the call Yu had been waiting for finally came, he could hardly wait to meet up with the other and get the information he has been anxiously anticipating. Luckily the meeting was set in the evening of the same day, otherwise Yu didn't know if he could even fall asleep that night.
So now Yu found himself seated in a privat room of a popular restaurant, completely ignoring the delicacies that were spread out in front of him and instead intently watched the older Zhou Kai eat as if he had been starving for multiple days. What he probably had because he has always been that way. Completely forgetting about food or sleep when he was working on something and this time it was actually Yu's fault. So he held back his impatience and just fidgeted with his clothes on the couch across in nervousness.
Finally after changing seats five times, drinking two bottles of water, going through the whole periodic table of elements twice and going to the bathroom three times, a monotonous and manly voice echoed loudly in the small room.
"Stop fidgeting. I really can't eat in peace when you jump around the whole time. Sit down already, so that I can start telling you what I found out."
Even though Zhou Kai talked with an impatient and cold voice, Yu couldn't help but rub his itching ear from the pleasant sound that penetrated deep into his body.
"Yes. Yes. I'm listening."
"Good. Then let's start."
The detective leaned down to grab the bag he placed under the table before and pulled out a deep red folder with a black tree in the middle, that contained many pieces of paper with unorganized handwriting, pictures, an USB and different newspaper articles.
Yu's eyes automatically followed all of the others movements and rested on those slender and beautiful fingers for a moment before he visibly froze when he saw what those hands were holding. He recognized the design of that folder. It was the one Yu had gifted his old friend back in highschool, so that he wouldn't loose his homework all the time anymore.
Back then the two of them were such good friends, that you could hardly see one of them without the other. In Yu's world there were only his parents, Shu Ning and Zhou Kai he always liked to call darling.
"Your friend Shu Ning was a very popular person for a long time already. He drew in men and woman of all ages like moths to a fire but no matter how many confessions he received, he always rejected them. That's why a lot of those people started staking him, harassed him or pestered him in school instead. The police had to be involved because of that many times and got well acquaintance with your friend. Shu Ning had a very difficult life it seems. He even needed to learn basic martial arts to defend himself from his pursuers. On top of all the single men and woman out there, he also attracted those in a romantic relationship already, making their lovers despise Shu Ning a lot even though the boy always kept his distance with everyone and never stole someones boy or girlfriend. But some people would never listen to reason. So half a year ago, two girls who were tossed away by their boyfriends because of Shu Ning, made up their mind to vent their frustration on him and ambushed him on the bridge on his way home. After yelling at him for a while and seeing that Shu Ning stayed indifferent to their provocation they grew even more hateful and ended up pushing the boy off of the bridge and to his death. The girls got frightened away by that and hid themselves away at an empty and rundown building. They stayed there for a few days and then went back home again to pack their bags and leave the city. They first travelled north from here but ended up with a flat tire on the way and stopped a strangers car to drive together with them. Over the last few months they stayed with those strangers an travelled around the neighbouring towns and are now on the road back to this place again. They will arrive at their house approximately in two days. I collected all the information I could gather in this folder. There is a video of Shu Ning's death, pictures and information of the two girls, their wareabouts and some articles I could find on your friends passing."
The entire time that Zhou Kai was concluding his investigation, he was sitting completely straight in his chair and looking right into Yu's eyes, making the latter swallow his salvia in nervousness. But even though Yu felt himself getting lost inside those captivating green eyes, he still forced himself to extricate himself from those unwanted feelings because the time was not right to think further about it. Only after finding Shu Ning's murderers and giving them what they deserve would Yu allow himself relax and care about other things.
"You did well detective. We will use these information well."
Yu stretched out his hand to grab the red folder with all the evidence he needed inside but before his fingers could even touch the cool surface, his hand was caught by the others. A tingling heat spread from the place Zhou Kai wrapped his fingers around, travelling up his arms and making his heart stutter in surprise.
"W-What is it? Is there something else detective?"
"My name."
"Huh?"
Now Yu was totally confused about his old friends meaning.
Zhou Kai wrinkled his brows in a frown as he watches the younger man's bewildered expression. He didn't know why the other didn't even want to call his name anymore. They were so close in the past and the detective didn't know where he went wrong for the other to keep away from him. Even to the point of avoiding his name. So when Yu suddenly called him again after all these years, he was very pleased and happy even though the reason for the call was actually another man.
"Don't call me detective. I have a name. Say it. Or you won't get the folder."
"You are threatening me? You weren't like this in the past."
Yu chocked on his next words when he actually saw Zhou Kai raise the corner of his mouth into a small smile. It had been way too long since the last time they sat face to face like this, so Yu momentarily spaced out from that all too familiar teasing expression.
"... Zhou Kai."
The voice of Yu was very soft when he called out that name but he was still certain that the other could hear his words nonetheless. A faint blush covered the tip of his ears in embarrassment and without awaiting the response of Zhou Kai, he jumped up from his seated position, pulled his hand from the others hold to snatch away the folder and slammed the door of the private room behind him when he ran away.
[4]
"So that's what happened. They actually dared.... What trash. Yu, we have to act soon. They can't get away any longer. I don't even understand how those two could slip away from the polices investigation. If even you could gain this information, then what did the police do the whole time?"
Liu Jia was furious with anger as she paused the video they had been watching just now. On the screen you could see two girls standing at the railing of a bridge, looking down at a slender and beautiful young man, that was covered in dirt and blood as his eyes were almost completely closed.
A pang of pain shot through both of the present people's heart as they saw their friends weak and lifeless body over the screen. They both had tried multiple times to watch the video on the USB Zhou Kai had gifted them, but every time they layed eyes on the living She Ning, it was too much for them to bare to continue. But after a night of wallowing in despair again, Liu Jia cuddled herself into Yu's arms on the couch and they both held each other tightly as they went through the video again. This time until the end.
"It doesn't matter what the police was doing. It's just important that we finally know the faces of the murderers, so we have an advantage now. Those wretches will arrive in this town again in a few days time. Let's use this opportunity."
"Yes. We will get to them first. Just you wait you sluts, your carefree days will come to an end soon enough."
Liu Jia gnashed her teeth in anger again and a wicked light shone in her eyes as she stared at the faces of those girls. They would pay for this. For everything they did. Yu imprinted the murderers image inside of his brain as well as he tightened his arms around the girls shoulder
"Yu. Leave the evidence to me, ok? I will sort through them and format them, so that they can be handed to the police anytime."
"Of course. You have always been better at stuff like this. Don't worry, ok? Everything will turn out fine."
"Yes. I believe it will."
The room fell in completely silence as Liu Jia and Yu were both bowing their heads in sadness while digging their nails into their palms, thinking about Shu Ning's smiling face and the woman's fate they will decide themselves.
[5]
At the outside of the bustling city life, there was an inconspicuous car, driving unhurriedly over the country road leading to their home town. It was moving at a slow and steady pace as if the people inside weren't in a hurry to arrive at their destination and were just leisurely taking a stroll.
From the irritatingly slow speed the vehicle was moving with, it was no wonder that they were honked and yelled at many times, but both the two men and the two women inside just continued ignoring any other person outside of their own sparkling world.
When another horn from a car behind them sounded, the woman on the backseat slung her arms around the waist of the male beside her, pressing her full breast against him and seductively batted her eyelashes.
"How can those people be so loud. They are annoying. Can't they see that we aren't interested in paying any attention to them?"
The man turned his head around to look at the female's charming face so close to his and slowly let his hand wander up the curve of the others body until it could wrap around the roundness on her chest.
"Don't be upset Baby. Let me help you get your head away from those noisy idiots instead."
A bewitching moan escaped the woman's lips as the hand of her partner pinched her sensitive nipple through her clothes and the other hand kneaded the flesh of her thighs.
Ambiguous noises continued spilling from the back of the car, as the two people were tangled up together on the seats, not caring about the other two people in the front.
"They are at it again. I think I should let one of them drive next, so that I can use the time in the car as well as they do."
The boy on the driver's seat glanced at his beautiful lover at the side and grinned teasingly when he spotted the deap blush on the woman's cheeks. He couldn't help himself but lean over to press a light kiss on the red tinted flesh.
"Are you embarrassed? How cute. You look so delicious like this that i can hardly contain myself here."
"Stop teasing me. You will have your chance with me when we arrive in town."
"That will still take so much time."
A deep growl sounded from behind them and a musky smell spread through the air as the activity of the other couple finally found it's end, making the couple in front frown in disgust and roll down their windows for fresh air. But the two people, that just finished their exercise didn't bother themselves with the reactions of their comrades as they were calming down their fast breathing.
"We have almost already arrived at our destination, so what are you complaining about? You can have your meal in no time."
The voice of the older man sounded very rough as he reprimanded his young friend and pointed to the rising buildings of the city in front of them. It was a magnificent sight, seeing all the blinding lights and sky high houses. But only the two men could yowl in delight as the amount of people started increasing the further they entered the town while the expressions of the females paled and finally twisted into an ugly expression when they got closer to their birth place.
The vehicle they sat in suddenly slowed down until it came to a complete stop in the middle of the street.
The couple on the back seat leaned forward in confusion to ask the other man what happened but didn't get to open their mouths yet when they saw a slender youth and a beautiful woman, standing on the road right in front of them.
"Step out of the car immediately, or I will send some people to force you out."
"What? What is going on?"
The girl in front fearfully clutched the T-Shirt of the driver and desperately shook her head at the people outside. The others in the car weren't of any better either as their imagination already ran wild with all sorts of crime scenes.
Seeing that the occupants of the vehicle made no motion to listen to them, the man and woman who stopped the car, turned angry and signaled for the ten other burly men to force them out.
"You asked for it."
"W-Wait. No. Stop. Don't touch me. What do you want?"
The girls struggled and screamed fiercely when the burly men grabbed their arms in a tight grip and draged them out of their car, only the two males, that were travelling with them, complied with the request of the strangers when they noticed that they would stand no chance in a fight against so many trained hooligans.
"So we finally meet face to face you bitches. Ever heard of Karma before? Well, it doesn't matter. You will experience it soon enough."
The beautiful woman looked down at the four people's disheveled and dirty appearance as they were being held down by strong arms.
"Now this is a very exiting scene. Don't you think so too, Yu?"
"Definitely. But we will make it even more exhilarating."
The man put his hand on the woman's shoulder to calm her down and then turned his head to the two young boys gnashing their teeth in anger.
"You are angry at us? That's to be expected I guess, but did you ever think why we would do something like this?"
"Because you are sadists, that like trampling on others?"
An amused glint passed through the man's eyes when he heard the younger ones words and instead of being angry, he felt more like laughing at their 'not resigned' attitude.
"Yes. You could see it as that. But I must disappoint you. We two have some personal business with your girlfriends. You really picked the wrong people to copulate with. Them being murderers and all."
The two boys widened their eyes in horror at their words and turned their heads to look at the equally surprised expressions of their girls. Seeing as their girlfriends were also confused about this situation, the males felt relieved and dropped their distrust towards them as fast as it came.
"As if. What nonsense are you sprouting. Don't look for excuses for your disgusting taste."
"You are really ridiculous. Don't think about it anymore. Jia will show you what I am talking about later and then let's see if you still want to protect their asses. Guys, take the two girls with you. We will leave."
The men nodded in consent and then draged the females up by their reddening arms and pushed them after the leaving back. Hearing them scream and wail in fear, the boys that were left behind jumped up from the ground to chase after them but staggered a bit as their legs almost gave up. But the two people were too slow to steady their feet again and could only stand there on the street in exhaustion, as their girl's have already been taken away.
[6]
Yu stepped into the run down building that the girls had hid in before and signaled the other men to drop them on the floor and then pull back. After only four people were left in this place, Liu Jia and Yu stepped up in front of the ugly women and grabbed their hair, to make this trash look at them.
"You never thought to find yourself in this situation right? Thinking that no one will pursue you anymore after a few month. But you were wrong. The people haven't forgotten and the police is still searching as well, even though they are too stupid to see the truth. The same goes for us. We wanted to find you before anyone else and so we finally got you in our hands."
The girls winced in pain when the hair pulled at their scalp and while the younger of them stayed paralyzed because of fear, the other one continued to struggle and yell in anger.
"What do you want. This is a crime you know. I will call the police and then let's see if you can still be so arrogant."
"Go ahead then. Try it. But you won't get the opportunity to do so. We know that torture is forbidden and we won't lower ourselves onto your level, so don't worry. We will treat you very well."
Yu plastered a friendly smile on his face when he said those last worlds, making the women involuntarily shiver and break out in cold sweat.
"Liu Jia. We don't have much time. So let's get this over with fast."
"I know. Leave this to me."
Liu Jia nodded in Yu's direction and then raised her other hand to grab on to the collar of the trembling girl. With a strong pull at the fabric, the shirt ripped and exposed the white and tender flesh underneath. The girl broke out into loud sobs and raised her arms to try to cover herself but Liu Jia still wasn't finished yet and pinned the other onto the ground with the hands above her head. With another pull, this time at the clothes covering the girl's hips, the rest of the clothes came of, presenting the flailing body completely in the nude.
Yu first watched from the side lines as Liu Jia undressed the young girl and then went ahead and did the same to the yelling woman in front of him. Red marks and scratch wounds got exposed when the clothes of the older girl came undone, making Yu frown in disgust.
"You are a real slut, aren't you? You just got dumped by your boyfriends and still easily spread your legs for someone else again? Was it worth it? Was killing an innocent and kind person really worth all of this? If you didn't care about your ex well enough to mourn for him but go ahead and hook someone else, then why go to such extreams as murder?"
Yu fiercely looked into the eyes of the trash beneath him and with a crisp pa sound, his hand slapped her cheeks, making them turn bright red. Without bothering with the noisy wailing any longer, the boy stoop up from the ground with clenched fist and teeth and grabbed the bucket of water that was already prepared beforehand and poured it right over the bodies of the two dirty girls.
Liu Jia moved away from her target to avoid the splashing of cold water and angrily looked down at the shivering bastards with a sense of satisfaction. Like this they could at least vent a part of their frustration and anger without being brought to justice by the police afterwards.
So without further ado Liu Jia kneeled down next to the younger girl again and raised her chin to not miss the ugly expression of theirs and continued with the act of humiliation she and Yu had been discussing the past few days while waiting.
[7]
After two days of keeping the girls locked away in the abandoned building, Liu Jia told the two females that there will be someone visiting them soon. The girls initially huddled together on the dirty floor in wariness when they heard this but queted down when a few minutes later, two boys were brought into the room.
When the girls saw that it were their boyfriends they relaxed immediately and looked at them with a huge smile on their faces and such a hopeful expression that the visitors had to turn their heads away.
"What do you think boys? Go ahead and tell them what you have to say."
Yu entered the building right behind them and pushed the two youths in front of the naked girls, not letting them look away from the scene.
The two women were still completely bare and dirty from sleeping and rolling around on the ground the entire time. There were no physical injuries on their bodies but their appearance still looked very miserable and ugly. Especially with the knotted and disheveled hair and the tears and mucus smears across their faces.
"This..."
The younger boy of the men swallowed in nervousness and turned away from the two girls in front of him, as if he couldn't bear to continue looking at them, so the other youth had to step up to talk instead.
"Let's not beat around the bush. We saw the evidence collected against you two and had time to process everything before coming here to see you and so we came to a conclusion, that we were too naive and trusting. We really misgudged you two. How stupid of us to actually believe two murderers like this and even start a relationship. Well, it doesn't matter anymore. It's all in the past, so let's just forgett about everything that was. It is over between us. We will hopefully never see each other again."
The girls bodies shook when the emotionless eyes of the older boy pierced through them and only after coming face to face with their boyfriend's rejection did the females finally understand how wrong they truly were.
"No. No. No Please. Please don't leave me. I am sorry. I am sorry. I didn't mean to. I was blinded by anger and I didn't mean to push him. That was an accident. So please. Forgive me. I'm sorry."
The two women straightened up into a kneeling position and started knocking their heads onto the dirty floor as they cried for forgiveness. But the two boys just turned a blind eye to them and instead turned around to face the cutely smiling Yu.
"Thank you for telling us about them. We apologize for any inconvenience we cause at our first meeting and hope that you can let the both of us of."
"No worries. You were only victims of them as well. You weren't involved in the murder of our wonderful friend, so you can leave now and go on with your lives."
With a nod, both of the visitors strode out of the rundown building without even sparing another glance at the still knowtowing girls.
After the ex-boyfriends of the girls left the building, the females finally admitted to what they have been acused of and continued apologizing profusely. But what good does their remorse do now after Shu Ning has already died through their hands? Yu got angrier the more he listened to the screeching voice of those trash and just went ahead and dumped them at the police station together with all the evidence they had formated.
Luckily Yu and Liu Jia weren't dragged into the mess when the females were interrogated and stuffed into prison, even though they had kept them locked away for some days. It was a mistery to everyone else involved if it was because the two girls stayed quiet about it or someone else had their hands in this.
[8]
Liu Jia and Yu were finally able to relax now that the murdereres were caught and brought to justice and promptly visited Shu Ning's grave to faithfully report their actions to their friend.
"Shu Ning. It's me. Liu Jia. I have come to see you again. I hope that where ever you are, you are doing fine and that you are happy. We are happy now too because we could finally catch your murderers. The trash was brought to prison by us. Are you happy? Are you proud? I miss you so much."
Liu Jia kneeled in front of the gravestone and stretched out her hand to trace along the name ingraved on it as tears streamed down her face. She tried hard to bite back the sobs threatening to spill over her lips but to no avail. The sadness of the loss of such a bright person was just too much to bear.
Yu too was having difficulties holding back the mist in his eyes that was making it hard to clearly see the picture of the smiling youth, but he didn't want to miss out looking at him, so he fiercely rubbed at his tearing eyes.
"Shu Ning. I'm here too. Life just isn't the same without you. It's so different that it sometimes scares me. And did you know? I contacted Zhou Kai again after all these years. You always used to tell me to call him and make up again. Now I am ready to listen to you. I'm finally ready to face my own feelings and fears. Maybe it's already too late to change anything but I am ready to gamble if I have too. I don't want to regret anything anymore. So please watch over me and give me the courage I need."
As if Zhou Kai could somehow sense that Yu was talking about him, the phone of Yu suddenly started ringing, showing the name of the man on the display. Without further ado and with all the courage he could gather, he picked up the phone.
"Yes?"
"Yu. It's me."
"Yes. I could tell."
There was an awkward silence between the two of them where Yu could only hear his own heartbeat drumming in his ears.
When Zhou Kai finally broke the quiet again, Yu almost yelped in surprise because he had been too focused on listening to the steady breathing transmitted over the phone.
"I have heard that the two girls are now in prison."
"Yes. Yes. All thanks to the information you gathered for me. Thank you for your help."
"...Instead of thank you, how about repaying me."
"Re-Repay? How can I repay you then?"
"It's been a while since we last played some video games together, so how about you accompany me for a while. I'm feeling quite bored here alone."
"To-To y-your house?"
"Yes. Why? I have the better equipment here."
"Uhmm... That. Ok."
Yu stumbled over his worlds when he was replying to Zhou Kai and could feel his cheeks growing hot in embarrassement when Liu Jia knocked her elbow into his side while grinning teasingly.
"that's good then. I will be waiting here."
With a snap, Yu closed his phone again after the other side hung up and bid good bye to Shu Ning first before muttering a 'see you latter' to the still grinning Liu Jia and running of to escape from any further teasing from the woman.