Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 152: A Series of Questions

Chapter 152: Chapter 152: A Series of Questions

"Alright, let’s move on to discuss Xia Yue’s matter." Gu Fan had barely finished his sentence when he noticed Du Jun’s sneering look, and his response: "Don’t forget, Xia Yue was following you when he got into trouble, you aren’t going to try and put this on me, are you?"

Gu Fan nodded: "Yes, on the surface it appears that way, but upon closer analysis, you are not without responsibility in this."

"Oh, then I’d like to hear how you’re going to analyze this." Du Jun snorted coldly, appearing unconcerned.

Gu Fan continued: "That night, we secretly unlocked a palace that was not open for visitors and stealthily obtained the map. We could have returned the same way we came, but we bumped into a night watchman. Fearing unnecessary trouble, we had to change our route, which led us to another palace that was open to the public."

Du Jun interjected: "Yes, from the beginning to the end, you were leading everyone, Xia Yue was following you. I had nothing to do with any of this."

"Don’t worry, it will be connected to you soon enough." Gu Fan concealed his smile, his expression appeared as if he had Du Jun all figured out, causing a slight change in the once confident face of Du Jun.

"That night, due to the party held by the Foreign Culture Museum, several palaces were also open late into the night. I had Su Hui check the surveillance, and there were at least a dozen people in all the open areas. But the odd thing is that the palace where Xia Yue’s accident occurred only had us, isn’t that odd?" Gu Fan’s tone grew serious, his expression solemn: "I always wondered why? Afterwards, it dawned on me that someone must have known we were planning something that night, so they waited for us to retrieve the map. As soon as we did, the night watchman conveniently showed up, forcing us to change our route and walk right into the open doors of the palace."

"Because all the palaces open that night were brightly lit with open doors, we didn’t even think twice before entering. But why were we the only ones there?" Gu Fan looked at Du Jun with a puzzling gaze, making Du Jun’s expression unnatural.

Gu Fan gave a slight smirk, carrying a tone of mockery: "If my guess is correct, all the approaches to that palace would have been guarded, any other visitors would have been turned away. If other visitors had been present in the palace, it would have been difficult to execute their plan against us. However, two conditions must have been met for this to work. The first, there would have to be an insider who informed those behind the scenes of our plans that night. The second, conditions needed to be created for us to be able to act on that night."

"What do you mean? I don’t understand." Du Jun tried to appear unruffled, but his eyes betrayed a hint of unease.

Gu Fan looked unconcerned: "When we visited the Foreign Culture Museum, by chance, I discovered a secret room had been opened. But due to the number of people during the day, it was difficult to make a move, and at night, the museum was closed. To my surprise, the Foreign Culture Museum, which had never been open late, suddenly decided to host a party that night. This presented an opportunity for further investigation. What a coincidence, no? More surprisingly, we were trapped in the palace and could have called for help, but can you guess what happened? A grand dance and music performance drowned out our calls for help. This is the twelfth coincidence."

Du Jun frowned: "I still don’t understand. None of this has anything to do with me."

Gu Fan’s expression darkened: "Don’t you see? The grand music and dance performance and the palace we entered were all deliberately targeted at us. They knew we were going to the Foreign Culture Museum. Don’t you think such an event would have been planned in advance with perfect timing and setup, specifically to trap us? Apart from an insider, is there any other plausible explanation? If there indeed is an insider, who else is a more suspicious candidate than you, Du Jun, considering there have already been eleven coincidences pointing in your direction."

Du Jun gritted his teeth, his face pale: "Gu Fan, you’ve gone mad, you’re making up stories to falsely accuse me."

"Alright, let me tell you about the thirteenth coincidence." Seeing Du Jun’s growing discomfort, Gu Fan quickly reassured him: "Don’t worry, this thirteenth coincidence seemingly has nothing to do with you."

Hearing this, Du Jun looked bewildered: "What exactly are you getting at, Gu Fan?"

Gu Fan drearily continued, "Remember Feng Jin and Shen Yun? Shen Yun originally had a decent boyfriend, but Feng Jin still tried to get mixed up with her. When they were caught in the middle of their amorous affair at the cinema by Shen Yun’s boyfriend, a fight broke out between the two men over Shen Yun. At that time, our manpower was split; some of us had to cooperate with Zhou Yu, while others had to stay and look after Feng Jin and Shen Yun. This resulted in us being understaffed."

"Sure, that was a coincidence, but it doesn’t involve me." Just as Du Jun finished speaking, he noticed the interrogative look in Gu Fan’s eyes, and another remark, "At first, I didn’t take it to heart. But when I suspected there was a rat in our ranks, I wondered if someone had intentionally informed Shen Yun’s boyfriend about her unclear relationship with Feng Jin and when they would be going to the cinema. So, Shen Yun’s boyfriend appeared on that day and had a fight with Feng Jin, disturbing our plans."

In response to this, Du Jun disdainfully said, "So are you suggesting now that every coincidence in your eyes is a deliberate arrangement? You’re suspicious about everything now, have you gone neurotic?"

Without showing any signs of anger, Gu Fan responded, "Fine, let’s talk about how Feng Jin and Shen Yun disappeared. Originally, Shen Yun had broken up with her boyfriend and was officially together with Feng Jin, no longer needing to hide from others. But what happened next? Shen Yun started hooking up with another man on the outside. To make matters worse, during a movie date with Feng Jin, they were caught by Shen Yun’s other boyfriend, resulting in another fight over Shen Yun. The reasons behind both fights were strikingly similar; they both took place in the cinema. I don’t know how to describe this coincidence. So, I have been wondering if someone has been deliberately messing around with Feng Jin. After such a disgraceful event, Feng Jin and Shen Yun parted on bad terms. Each returned home alone, only to be abducted."

Du Jun shook his head, "Indeed, that’s a bit too coincidental. But this coincidence really has nothing to do with me. Your twelfth and thirteenth coincidences also have nothing to do with me."

"Fine, the fourteenth coincidence, which directly involves you, is next." Gu Fan smiled, his anticipation of the upcoming drama causing Du Jun to tense up.

"Lv Wei’s disappearance raises a big question. It happened during the final part of our team-building exercise, where we had to solve riddles from one location to another. The team that returned in the shortest time after solving all the riddles won." Gu Fan continued with a grin, watching Du Jun intently. "At first, I was on the same team as Lv Wei and a few others. We were struggling at the beginning, spending a lot of time solving just two or three riddles. Meanwhile, other teams had solved four or five riddles and were far ahead of us. This gave an illusion that other teams were better, and you know well that Lv Wei has a competitive streak. Knowing that he was lagging behind the other teams, he sped up, leaving his teammates behind. This resulted in Lv Wei separating from his team, becoming urgent and impatient, and thereby an easy target."

Du Jun immediately retorted, "Gu Fan, what you’re saying is pure speculation. Even if I knew Lv Wei is competitive and impulsive, I wouldn’t have been able to control the progress of your team and other teams."

"You could have, because you were the one who introduced the organisers of this team-building event." Gu Fan enunciated each syllable solemnly, "This is the fourteenth coincidence. The people you brought in arranged it meticulously so that our team would face the most difficult riddles from the outset, while other teams faced the easiest ones. In other words, our riddle-solving journey went from difficult to easy, while it was the opposite for other teams. That’s why our team was far behind the others at first, causing the unsuspecting Lv Wei to panic and speed up."

"Du Jun, you knew that I have good stamina and could keep up with Lv Wei. So, you deliberately created a situation for Lin Xi to divert my attention from Lv Wei. But, what you didn’t expect was, I discovered the key information when I went to check on Lin Xi. Her team’s initial riddle solving pace was faster than ours, but was later overtaken by us. Only then did I realize that the riddles our team faced at the beginning were the most difficult."

"I’ve stated fourteen coincidences so far, among which twelve are related to you Du Jun. Do you have anything else to say?" Gu Fan stared intently at Du Jun, watching his solemn face.

However, all Du Jun did was to take a deep breath, "Gu Fan, your fabricated story is entertaining, I don’t even know how to refute it. But can you convict me based on your story alone? Isn’t it possible that people might think you are trying to eliminate me, a rival for love?"

A rival for love?" Gu Fan scratched his head and then sighed, " Du Jun, you’ve misunderstood one thing. Lin Xi and I are together now. You’re not competing with me for Lin Xi anymore, so you’re not a rival."

Hearing this, Du Jun gritted his teeth, displaying a touch of resentment, "Anyway, without compelling evidence, you can’t convince anyone. No one will believe your fabricated stories, they are just nonsense."

"Then let me mention the fifteenth and sixteenth coincidences. This time, it’s not something made up, but a fact." Gu Fan gazed steadfastly at Du Jun, his expression stern as ever, "Tell me, why were all twelve of our missing classmates born on the same day of the same month of the same year, and how come all of them were admitted by you into the dance society?"