DF Chapter 37

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There was silence on the other end of the phone. After a long pause, Song Yi’s tone turned calm, “What are you trying to say now?”

Zhen Yi felt lost for a moment, gritting her teeth, “Song Yi, you think the killer you saw was Tang Shang, don’t you? But Tang Shang is dead. That was you, Song Yi. Your hair was found at the scene.”

“Didn’t you say it was a setup?”

Zhen Yi closed her eyes. “Wu Zhe, Tang Yu, and Suo Lei, none of them would frame you. Because the killer is you.”

“The more you say, the less I understand. I’m at Northwest Plaza filming right now. Come and tell me in person.” She hung up the phone.

“Hey!” Zhen Yi threw her phone down and sped up, heading toward the location. A few blocks away, her phone rang again. It was Si Gui, informing her that the police were going to arrest Song Yi. Zhen Yi was shocked, “Why?”

“Based on the analysis of the spatter blood patterns on the walls of Room 36, the killer is estimated to be over 186cm tall, at least 16cm taller than the victim. Tang Yu, Suo Lei, and Wu Zhe don’t match that height.”

“Song Yi is 178cm tall,” Zhen Yi’s heart sank. “She was wearing 9cm heels that day.”

“Exactly. Of course, there’s a slight chance that an unknown tall man, not on our suspect list, could have killed him. But right now, Zhen Yi, you need to start preparing a defense for your client.”

“I understand, thank you.” Zhen Yi hung up and tried calling Song Yi again, but it was busy. Just as the line disconnected, Song Yi called back.

Zhen Yi answered, her voice now calmer, “Song Yi, listen carefully. If the police get to you before I do, don’t say a word. No matter what they ask, don’t open your mouth. I’m on my way. Wait for me.”

There was silence on the other end, followed by the sound of high heels clicking in an empty hallway.

“Zhen Yi, you’re so good to me,” she chuckled. “You said you’d defend me, even at the cost of your own morals. Turns out you meant it. So many people just say it, but you’re actually willing to do it.”

Zhen Yi fell silent. Song Yi’s voice, her speed, tone, everything had shifted—it was now someone else entirely, someone Zhen Yi knew all too well. Tang Shang. How could she imitate her so perfectly?

“But, I don’t need you to defend me,” she said.

“Why not?”

“Because I killed someone. Don’t you lawyers always say, ‘a life for a life’?” That single, lighthearted statement weighed on Zhen Yi’s chest like a ton of bricks.

Zhen Yi reached the pedestrian street, hurriedly parked her car, grabbed her bag, and ran into the crowd. Song Yi’s voice had changed again, now sighing softly in her ear:

“I saw you defend Tang Shang. That was enough for me, Zhen Yi. I don’t need you to do the same for me, nor do I want to drag you deeper into this mess. Lin Ziyi’s background is too powerful. Stay away from me.”

“We’ve been tied together for a long time!” Zhen Yi gritted her teeth, frustrated and angry enough to curse at her. “Song Yi, you must listen to me. I’m almost there, and you can’t say anything to the police. Not a word.”

“But I feel like talking right now.” The wind was loud on the other end, making her voice sound calm and distant.

“The plan to kill him was simple. That day was my first time at Ecstasy, but I had already seen pictures of the interior from a friend, so I knew Room 31 could be used. I had someone put Wu Zhe into the psychiatric hospital, and I bribed someone to drug Lin Ziyi’s drink and lure him upstairs. That idiot fell for it so easily. The private rooms upstairs at Ecstasy had just been renovated and weren’t open to the public yet, so no one would go up there. It was safe, perfect for me to enjoy torturing him at my own pace. After moving the body, I replaced the room’s carpet with one I had bought, threw the dirty one out the window, and drove away with it. It was all done.” Her tone was eerily calm, like she was simply recounting a task she had completed.

Hearing the wind howling on the other end, Zhen Yi’s sense of dread grew. She shouted desperately, “Song Yi, where are you? Where are you right now?!”

But Song Yi didn’t seem to hear her, speaking softly to herself instead. “Do you know why I’m such a good actress? Because I absorb the characters from the scripts and make them a part of me. That way, I’m never alone or afraid. Tang Shang and I are good together. The rumors of us not getting along were just for publicity. Tang Shang didn’t die; she’s still with me. We thought Lin Ziyi and the others would definitely go to prison. But they accused Tang Shang of creating scandals, and the heartless netizens all spat insults at her. They got away with it. But we couldn’t let it go. We had to kill him…”

Listening to the string of bizarre statements, Zhen Yi wasn’t scared. Instead, she felt a deep sadness. All these years, Song Yi had been holding herself together, talking to herself, and carrying the burden all alone.

The next second, Song Yi’s voice changed again—this time to Tang Shang’s—followed by a soft laugh.

“To kill him, I spent ten hours a day exercising and studying his routines. Haha, I’ll never forget the scene of him tied to the bed. He thought he was about to get some tender loving care, but I pulled out a knife instead. He tried to scream for help, but his mouth was stuffed with his underwear. After I had tortured him enough, I untied him. He thought he could escape, but I still slit his throat.”

Her voice shifted back to Song Yi: “The police in charge of my case back then said there wasn’t enough evidence at the scene. So, I cleaned up all the traces. Do you know why there was hair left on the curtain? I felt like my mom and Tang Shang were outside. I wanted them to see, so I pulled the curtain.”

Zhen Yi’s heart tightened, and she felt suffocated.

“Zhen Yi, you were right. My relationship with Tang Shang wasn’t like what the media said. We were close. No, actually, I loved her. I loved her very much,” her voice became ragged and angry, trembling with emotion. “But Lin Ziyi and those disgusting men! Those repulsive men! Didn’t they deserve to die?”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “Lawyer Zhen, tell me, why do men humiliate and destroy women? Why are women so easily broken?”

Zhen Yi’s throat was so tight she couldn’t speak. The wind on the other end of the phone was loud, and her own breath was ragged from running. Sweat dripped down her forehead, but her heart felt cold. “Song Yi, where are you? You’re on the rooftop, aren’t you?”

Song Yi was silent for a moment. “I don’t want to go to jail.”

Zhen Yi nearly lost her mind. “You idiot. You’re sick! Song Yi, you’re sick!”

“You won’t go to jail,” Zhen Yi’s legs were burning from the running, but she didn’t stop. “I promise you won’t go to jail. You’re sick, you need treatment!”

“Zhen Yi, I didn’t mean to lie to you. It’s just that sometimes, I really don’t know what’s happening. I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t lie to you. Don’t be mad.” This was yet another version of Song Yi speaking.

“I know, I know you didn’t lie to me. You’re just sick. Song Yi, come down. I’ll take you to see a doctor, okay? Just come down!” Zhen Yi’s voice choked, urgent and sorrowful, on the verge of tears.

But Song Yi didn’t listen. “If back then I had met a lawyer like you, or a police officer like Si Gui… If back then, someone had given me a fair judgment, Zhen Yi,” she said, her voice tinged with bitterness, “my heart wouldn’t have been stuck in hell all this time.”

Zhen Yi’s heart felt like it was about to shatter. As she reached the plaza, she immediately spotted Song Yi on the rooftop of the building across from her. Down below, the film crew was still unaware of what was happening.

“Do you know? That day, I walked in front of the surveillance camera on purpose. I said something to the camera: ‘Come and catch me!’” Song Yi said. “I really, truly wanted the police to catch me, to at least prove that they could catch the killer. To at least prove that when I became the killer, I had the right to be judged.”

Tears filled Zhen Yi’s eyes.

Long, intense running had left her drenched in sweat, her voice hoarse as she shouted, “Song Yi, aren’t we friends? You can’t do this!”

On the other end, there was a moment of silence. Zhen Yi rushed forward, crashing into a balloon vendor. The colorful balloons floated up, while her heart felt like it was about to burst. Her voice twisted with grief and anger, desperate and hysterical:

“You bunch of idiots! Idiots! Tang Shang, and you! I had plans to meet her, but all I got was news of her suicide online. And now you!” Her voice was harsh, hoarse, and broken as she cried out, “Song Yi, are you going to jump in front of me too? Song Yi, how dare you!” She spat out each word angrily, “How dare you! Song Yi! If you dare jump, I will never forgive you! Never!”

There was still silence on the other end. Zhen Yi’s vision blurred from the strain, and she saw the shadow on the rooftop, unmoving. She gripped her phone tightly, “Song Yi, wait for me. I’m coming up right now.”

She sprinted toward the building. “Zhen Yi, I…” Song Yi’s voice came through softly, with the sound of wind in the background.

Zhen Yi’s heart, which had been pounding furiously, suddenly froze for a second.

She ran past a flock of pigeons, and they took off like fireworks. On the phone, Song Yi said something beautiful. Zhen Yi’s breath caught, and for a moment, it felt like time had stopped.

But in the very next second, reality yanked her back as she heard the screams of “Ah! Ah! Ah!” from the crowd.

Her head snapped up, just in time to see a shadow plummeting from the building at incredible speed.

The sound of a body hitting the concrete was both terrifying and crisp.