At 21:30, at the Knight Bar, Qiye played the guitar and sang Li Zhi's "City in the Sky".

Airplanes fly through the sky, city in the sky,

We are in the dusk under the rain.

Now I'm in the night in a foreign land,

I feel you flickering and flickering......

As the strings were pressed, there was a faint pain in the unhealed knife wound on the arm, but the guests at the bar didn't notice that the guitar accompaniment was not perfect.

Qiye has done his best. In order to pay off the debt he owes to Xiaolong as soon as possible, he must cherish every opportunity to perform. But even so, it will take some time to pay off my friends' money with these performance fees alone. A few days ago, Qi Ye borrowed 200,000 yuan from his friend Lin Chang, and finally sent away the loan shark. Although Lin Chang smiled and told him that he was not in a hurry to repay the money, he didn't want to affect the friendship between the two because of the debt problem.

Even if Lin Chang's family has money, it is also the money given by his parents. Qi Ye has already calculated in his heart, and when Uncle Long's operation is over and he has more time, he will find a channel to sell all the songs he has written in the past few years.

Those songs were originally written by him to a girl. Just like many unrequited people like to write love poems to express their inner feelings, Qiye adds melodies to those love poems to make them musical works.

In fact, he already knew that he might not have the opportunity to sing those songs in front of girls in his life. He was deeply in love with her from the first time he saw her when he was twelve years old. But the gap in life and the distance in reality doomed them to never come together.

Someone passed by and came back and told me,

The city in the sky is crying for you who can't breathe.

Now I'm in the night in a foreign land,

I miss you farther and farther away.

After singing the song "Castle in the Sky", Qi Ye slowly opened his eyes, and when he didn't expect it, Li Xia was already sitting not far from the stage at some point, looking at him intently. At that moment, he felt that his surroundings suddenly became quiet, as if all the customers in the bar were gone, and there were only two of them left in the world.

Who said there was no chance, at this moment, didn't the girl I like sit in front of me? I didn't have her, and I won't lose her. Why can't I read to her face the little poem I wrote that year? Even if she will never understand what price I have paid for her happiness and what I have suffered inside, I feel that is what I am destined to do.

A simple melody, a soothing rhythm, not so much a song as a mouthful. When he was twelve years old, Qi Ye met Li Xia in Longjing Village, and since then, life has completely changed to a different look.

There is an old locust tree that has grown for more than 50 years at the entrance of the village.

Next to the locust tree is a field of golden rape flowers.

When the sun is shining, I like to sit on the old locust tree,

Sometimes I read a book, sometimes I am in a daze,

Sometimes pick up a pen,

Write childish poems,

Draw simple comics.

On that day, you wore a long skirt and a straw hat and inadvertently passed in front of my eyes.

The breeze blows and lifts the hem of your skirt.

You gently press down on the straw hat,

Long hair flutters in the wind.

I just looked at you and bowed my head shyly,

But your shadow is deeply ingrained in my heart.

At that moment, I felt my heart beat for the first time.

I thought you were a princess in a fairy tale,

is the most beautiful girl in the world,

But I'm sad at the same time.

Because of your soft long hair, charming smile, clear eyes,

Nothing to do with me.

Our lives will not intersect,

I won't be the prince of your dreams......

Hearing this unfamiliar but soulful and gentle song, many guests cast curious glances on the stage. The crowd clapped twice with someone who took the lead, and then sparse applause came from all corners of the bar.

"Whose song is this? I haven't heard of it before. ”

"I don't know, I guess it's an original work."

"Listen so well, it reminds me of the feeling I used to have a crush on the class leader next door when I was in school."

No one knows, the heroine of the lyrics is sitting right among them. When the song switched to the next familiar cover work, some people were still reminiscing about the previous song, and some people had forgotten it in a blink of an eye.

She seemed to understand something, but she didn't dare to think too much. Could it be that for so many years, she has been wrong to blame Qiye?

"Lixia, have you told me all the truth? Whether or not we can catch your father's murderer depends on whether you are worthy of our work. Officer Gu's words echoed in his ears from time to time.

Why? Why do you ask? Could it be that her father's death was related to the case in Longjing Village? Could it be that the police have realized that she is lying?

Half an hour later, the singer who took over replaced Qiye. Qiye picked up his guitar and walked straight to the backstage.

Li Xia hurriedly chased after him, and the two met backstage. They looked at each other in a daze, not knowing what to say for a moment. Qiye's mood is very complicated, he longs to be friends with Li Xia, but he doesn't want the other party to have anything to do with him.

After being silent for a long time, Li Xia looked at Qiye's arm and asked without words, "Is your injury better?" ”

"Okay." Qiye replied lightly. He didn't know what Li Xia came to him for at this time, did he still suspect that he was the murderer of Li Tianhua, and wanted to "force" an answer from his mouth?

"That song just now is very good, did you write it yourself?" Li Xia continued to find a topic to ease the awkward atmosphere between the two.

"Hmm." Qiye nodded and said, "The lyrics were written in Longjing Village when I was a child, and it may sound a little naïve now, but that was really my true feeling at the time." When I grew up, I taught myself music, and I tried to write a lot of songs, and by the way, I also composed a tune for that little poem. ”

"I didn't expect you to be so talented." Li Xia smiled softly. She didn't say polite words, but praise from the bottom of her heart. If it weren't for the special relationship between the two, she would almost become a fan of Qiye.

Qiye was a little overwhelmed, pinched the shoulder strap of the guitar in his right hand, and whispered, "Thank you." Then he asked Li Xia, "By the way, do you have something to do with me?" ”

Li Xia's expression suddenly became solemn, "I want to talk to you." ”

Attacked by debt collectors during their last meeting, both men were haunted by the scene that night, and instead of going to the quiet riverfront greenway, they found a quiet café near Bar Street.

In the dim and ambiguous light, Li Xia sat on the opposite side of Qiye with a melancholy expression. It's hard to imagine that every time a young man and woman who seem to be talented and beautiful meet each other, it's because of the terrible murder that happened around them.

This was true in 2004, and it is the same twelve years later, as if the only link between them was the endless killing.

After silently taking a few sips of coffee, Li Xia finally spoke first: "I met Officer Gu at the school today. He was originally investigating the serial murder case at the Normal University, but for some reason, he was very interested in the affairs of Longjing Village, and asked me a lot about what happened that year. ”

Hearing this, Qi Ye was stunned for a moment, and put down the coffee cup that had just been brought to his mouth. "He's been looking for you too?"

"How?" Li Xia showed a surprised expression, "He also asked you about that time?" ”

"Sort of......" Qiye didn't want to explain specifically. Anyway, it's good to ask Uncle Long about the situation, or to find him, there is no doubt that Officer Gu has focused his investigation on those old things that should have been submerged in the depths of his memory over time.

Thinking of Officer Gu's shrewdness and sagacity, as well as those eyes that seemed to be able to see everything, Qi Ye felt that it might be time for the lie he had hidden for so many years to be exposed.

In fact, after Li Tianhua was killed, Qi Ye thought a lot. Although the police searched Li Tianhua's social relations and could not find anyone with criminal motives, he knew that if someone in this world hated Li Tianhua and wanted to kill the rest, it was most likely that person.

It's just that back then, the only people who knew the truth were him and Li Tianhua, when and where did that person learn the secret?

Qi Ye seriously recalled the details before and after Li Tianhua was killed, and suddenly thought of something.

Ransom calls.

Maybe the problem was on that phone call, maybe he happened to be overheard by that person when he called Li Tianhua. When you think about it, it's not impossible. At that time, he was only thinking about how to ask Li Tianhua for the money, and he didn't notice whether there was anyone hiding around him, and whether he was being followed from the very beginning.

But what I don't understand is that if Li Tianhua was killed by that person, who killed the other two people?

"What are you thinking?" Seeing that Qi was silent for half a day, Li Xia's mood became even heavier. "Remember the afternoon of March 24, when the police gathered all the villagers to investigate our alibi one by one? At that time, I said that at the time of the crime, my father and I had been catching butterflies on the hillside, and we didn't return to the village until three or four o'clock, but in fact, ......" Li Xia paused, nervously fiddling with his fingers, and spit out a few words with great difficulty, "I lied......"

"Lisha." Qiye's eyes widened and he shook his head at her, trying to stop her from continuing.

Li Xia ignored him, and still said to himself: "Actually, that afternoon, I was the only one who caught butterflies on the hillside, and I didn't know where my father went at the time of the crime. When the police investigated the alibi, I just followed what my dad had taught me beforehand and said that we stayed together all afternoon. At that time, my dad explained to me that this was done to avoid trouble because we couldn't stay in the village for too long. Of course, at the age of twelve, I would have chosen to trust him unconditionally, because I thought that how could a person as kind as my father do bad things. But ......" Li Xia couldn't say any more, buried his face in his palm and sobbed faintly.

Seeing Li Xia's thin shoulders trembling constantly, Qi Ye's heart was as uncomfortable as a knife. He wanted to rush over and hug Li Xia and tell her that no matter what happened, he would always be by her side to protect her. Just like for the past twelve years, he has buried that ugly secret deep in his heart for a simple and selfish little wish, even if he suffers a lot in his heart.

Because no one knows better than him what it's like to be a murderer's child.

He likes Li Xia so much, how can he bear to ruin Li Xia's happy and beautiful life with his own hands, how can he bear to let Li Xia lose his father and become like himself, suffering the cold eyes of others. Even if he was sorry for Uncle Long and Xiaolong, even if he had to spend his whole life to make amends and atone, he couldn't tell anyone what happened that day.

On the afternoon of March 24, 2004, he sat on the old locust tree at the entrance of the village and witnessed Li Tianhua kill Xiaolong's mother......