The Swan Bay Murders

When Li Jiangluo went upstairs, he turned off the other lights, leaving only a small night light by the wall.

This is probably their habit. It is indeed better to sleep with a little light at night than in total darkness.

I didn't sleep, I sat on the couch and smoked.

In the past few days, the addiction to cigarettes has been particularly heavy, and Li Jiangluo is the same, smoking one after another.

His way of lighting cigarettes is extremely jerky, and he probably never smoked before.

The wall clock on the wall of Berlin’s house only rings once at zero o’clock. This is what Li Jiangluo told me, because he was afraid that I would be scared if I fell asleep.

How can I, a big man, be scared so easily, not to mention that I can't sleep at all.

There was still a little light in the small bedroom upstairs, so I wondered if he was asleep.

I will be moving out tomorrow. This is the home that Li Jiangluo and Berlin have run together, so I will be nostalgic to some extent.

But not necessarily, there is another possibility that he is eager to leave and start a new life.

Everything in the living room has been tidied up, except for a picture hanging on the wall.

That painting was drawn by my brother when he was in high school. At that time, he was very obsessed with oil painting. He was very busy with his studies and still had to find time to paint on weekends.

I didn't expect this painting to be hung in the living room by them. After all, the high school paintings still look a little immature now.

I stubbed out my cigarette, walked over, and stared at it for a while.

Do you believe that there is a connection between brothers?I believe.

From childhood to adulthood, as long as one of us gets sick, the other must follow suit. Every Spring Festival, the four of us in our family like to hide presents. Whoever finds one will keep it. Every time, since this game Every time since the beginning, Berlin and I have found gifts from each other.

I looked at the painting in front of me and felt a little strange.

A voice from upstairs interrupted my thoughts.

Li Jiangluo came out of the bedroom and was obviously taken aback when he saw me standing here.

"Brother, you haven't slept yet." He came down from upstairs, a little embarrassed, "I'm going to the toilet."

I nodded to him and asked casually, "Berlin likes this painting?"

Li Jiangluo glanced sideways, then frowned, and said thoughtfully, "This painting wasn't hung here before..."

He came over, stared at it and said, "The award-winning work of the year he graduated from undergraduate has always been hung here. When did it change to this?"

I suddenly remembered one thing. That year when we were just in elementary school, I started playing in the first exam because I answered half of the questions, but I only got [-] points. After the papers were sent out, I didn’t dare to show them to my mother, so I My brother folded our transcripts and hid them in the interlayer of the photo frame.

I have a hunch that this painting must not have appeared here for no reason.

The wall clock on the wall rang exactly at zero o'clock, and Li Jiangluo beside me watched me take down the painting in puzzlement.

I turned the picture frame over, unscrewed the iron pieces used to fix the four corners, and took off the back baffle. Sure enough, there was an envelope sandwiched between the baffle and the painting.

My heart was beating so fast because these must be the last words my brother left the world.

On the envelope, it was beautifully written "Jiangluo Dear Father", I looked at Li Jiangluo, his eyes were red standing there, and his chest was heaving violently due to his excessive breathing.

I took out the envelope and handed it to Li Jiangluo even though I really wanted to know what my brother had written.

His hands were trembling, and when he was halfway up, tears flowed down, like beans, and I could hear the sound of them falling to the ground.

At this moment, I believe that Li Jiangluo loved my brother. No matter what the cause of my brother's death is, no matter whether he and Xu Zhao really joined forces to kill my brother, at least at this moment his heart is still thinking of Berlin.

Tears do not lie, eyes even more so.

I put down the picture frame, held his wrist with one hand and stuffed the envelope into his hand.

"He wrote to you." After I finished saying this, I turned around and reinstalled the picture frame, and then stared at the picture, but I kept thinking about what was written in the letter.

Li Jiangluo opened the envelope, and I heard the sound of paper being folded, which was so clear at night that it was impossible to ignore.

He should be watching, there are tears dripping on the paper and making a headache, he has too many tears, and he doesn't know when they will dry up.

I put down the picture frame, went to bring a tissue and handed it to him. He looked at it seriously and ignored me at all.

I became more anxious, wanting to know what my brother said, and whether he revealed who killed him.

I went over, wiped Li Jiangluo's tears, and said in a deep voice, "Don't cry, the words on the letter will be messed up."

He finally raised his head, wanted to say something but opened his mouth and seemed unable to make a sound.

I couldn't wait, and snatched the letter from his hand.

I think Li Jiangluo should see a psychiatrist, otherwise he will probably go crazy soon.

That letter was indeed written by my younger brother. I know his handwriting very well. No one can fool me with forged ones.

Therefore, I will not investigate the truth anymore, because the truth has already been revealed.

I read the letter Berlin wrote to Li Jiangluo, and I have nothing to say, just heartbroken.

Sadness, pain, regret, disappointment, yes, disappointment.

That letter let me know that no matter how good my younger brother is in my eyes, he is still the most ordinary man driven by desire in the world, and he has failed others.

I know why Li Jiangluo cried so sadly. He kept apologizing to me since he knew that Berlin was infected with HIV. I don’t know why he was sorry. I was sorry for Berlin. It was obviously Berlin who cheated.

In the morning Xu Zhao knocked on the door and brought breakfast.

Neither of us told him about the letter from Berlin.

Li Jiangluo refused to take a bite, Xu Zhao scratched his head anxiously, and looked at him with a look of hatred for iron.

Xu Zhao knocked on the table and said to him: "What's the use of you doing this? Jiang Luo, you can't do this anymore!"

I didn't like to see Xu Zhao surrounded by Li Jiangluo, so I took a bowl and squeezed to sit between the two of them.

They were all a little surprised, but I calmly picked up a bun and put it in Li Jiangluo's bowl: "Eat quickly, you wash the dishes after eating."

I kept a straight face, maybe a little too serious, and they stopped talking.

I feel guilty towards Li Jiangluo, because my brother betrayed him and I doubted him.

The letter revealed Berlin's love for Li Jiangluo between the lines, but I don't understand why he cheated on him even though he loved him so much.

Berlin committed suicide. He didn't leave a word for me and my parents, but wrote a full page letter for Li Jiangluo. How could I not be angry.

Li Jiangluo looked very bad, took a bite of the steamed stuffed bun, ran to the toilet and vomited before swallowing it down.

I quickly followed, only to find that Xu Zhao was already stroking his back and comforting him softly.

I looked at them and couldn't tell what it was like.

The current situation is caused by Berlin himself. He should have had a warm little family with Li Jiangluo and enjoy their lives.

But everything is gone.

I have no brother, and Li Jiangluo has no lover.

The perfect man in our hearts changed after reading that letter.

The sunny brother in my heart turned out to be an emotional thug who ended up killing himself.

Li Jiangluo came out of the bathroom and looked at me apologetically.

I poured him a glass of warm water and stopped forcing him to eat.

Now it seems that I have to make up for my brother's mistakes, and that's fine. In fact, I should have returned to China a long time ago to be with my parents.

During these days abroad, my parents said more than once that they missed my home and those old friends in China. I can no longer be selfish. I have one less family member. Nothing is more important than making them happy.

Li Jiangluo and I moved to Xu Zhao's vacant house. Xu Zhao's police force had something to do, so he left first and left us two keys.

Li Jiangluo stood there in a daze, and I said to him, "I'm going back to China for work, so we'll live here temporarily, and I'll look for a house in a few days."