Coincidence

  Staring at him, even though he was expressionless at the moment, I could see the seriousness in his eyes. Suddenly remembering that day when he left the police station before, he had said with an unprecedented stern tone: "Once Du Xiangyuan is released, he will become a killing machine." A thought emerged from the depths of my heart: this might be the real reason why he was willing to intervene in this case and bring out the true manipulator behind it. Otherwise, he could have told the police at the beginning that Wu Yan was suicidal and that Yu Xiuping's family was killed by him.

  I asked hesitantly: "Will you feel regretful?" He raised an eyebrow, "Regret what?"

  "There was no investigation into the root cause, and the trail marked by those three English letters was also gone. Perhaps with Du Xiangyuan's death, these things would really become a permanent secret."

  "Something that was already foreseen, what's there to regret? And didn't you say so yourself? Every incident has an entry point, it's just a matter of time. However, judging from the current situation, there's no need to pursue it further."

  After that, the two of us didn't communicate again. I really picked up the script and started reading it. Kōjō leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed. Actually, I had roughly read through this stage play script before, and the draft for the promotional illustrations was almost complete. However, words are a thing that seems to have a different sense of presence when looked at with one's eyes versus when read aloud.

  Gradually drawn into the plot, this is undoubtedly a romantic tragedy. Many lines express the male protagonist's strong love for the female protagonist, but it seems to be tinged with tragic sentimentality. The two are not accepted by their families and elope, having a child together. Just as they are enjoying happiness, they are found by their families and forced apart. After the child is taken away by the male protagonist's family, the female protagonist develops depression and becomes melancholic every day. On the eve of her arranged marriage to another man by her family, she stabs herself in the heart with a sharp knife. Upon learning of his lover's death, the male protagonist is overcome with grief and, holding their child, jumps off the building where they once loved each other, committing suicide together.

  The story goes up to this point, and there are still a few more pages that I don't have the heart to read. A sarcastic voice comes from beside my ear: "How interesting." I come back to myself and only then remember that Gao Cheng is still sitting next to me. When I turn my head to look at him, I hear him asking: "What do you think of this play?"

  I thought for a moment and replied sincerely: "The plot is a bit clichéd, but it's mainstream, this kind of tragic play fits the stage drama's exaggerated performance." Stage plays are different from ordinary TV dramas or movies. Since they are performed by real people on stage, they usually need to use exaggerated methods to attract the audience. Apart from the actors' acting skills, the plot also needs to be exaggerated and have a touching point.

  Forehead suddenly aches, just reacted to being poked by Gao Cheng with one finger, "What's wrong?"

  "Knock some sense into your head." He drawled, "Who asked you to comment on this play?"

  That's not what he asked himself! I covered my forehead, feeling very stuffy: "What do you want to say?" The most annoying thing is that he says half a sentence and lets me guess the second half, but I always can't guess what it means.

  "What is the ending of the last two protagonists?"

  "They're all dead."

  " Cause of death?"

  "The heroine stabbed herself in the heart with a knife, and the hero..." I paused, a flash of lightning struck my mind, and I stared at him in shock: "You mean... no, it's impossible, it must be a coincidence."

  Gao Cheng's lips curled up slightly: "Coincidence is the most illusory word in this world."

  "But......" facing the mocking face of Gao Cheng, I couldn't utter a word in refutation. Just now when I was reading, I was too deeply immersed in the tragic plot and didn't notice that the way the two protagonists died was so similar to the Wu Yan case. Although the female lead wasn't killed by the male lead, she died from a sharp blade just like Yu Xiuping; and the scene of the male lead embracing the child and dying together was basically the same as Wu Yan's.