HH Chapter 67

Guo Zhenguo’s lips quivered slightly, and he leaned back in his chair, frowning and looking away. “Yes, I know. It was very serious. He almost didn’t make it when he was a child.”

Hearing that the conversation seemed to be turning serious, Fang Yuan collected himself and walked in with a notebook, just as Pei Qinghuai continued questioning. “Does Guo Jiayi know about this?”

Guo Zhenguo thought for a moment, then looked up with a hint of doubt in his eyes. “Probably not. After that incident, neither his mother nor I mentioned it again. It never happened again, so we didn’t bring it up.”

Seeing Pei Qinghuai deep in thought, Fang Yuan seized the opportunity to ask, “How long ago did you and Guo Jiayi part ways?”

“More than ten years ago,” Guo Zhenguo replied impatiently.

Fang Yuan continued, “During that time, did Guo Jiayi have any conflicts with others?”

Guo Zhenguo scoffed, “He wouldn’t have dared back then!”

Just as he finished speaking, Cheng Ye walked in with someone. Guo Zhenguo stood up to support the old woman and looked at Cheng Ye. “I’ve said all I needed to say. I sincerely hope you catch the culprit. We’ll take our grandson back to raise him.”

As the elderly couple slowly walked out, Cheng Ye didn’t say anything further. He sat down and looked at Pei Qinghuai. “What did you ask them?”

Pei Qinghuai recounted the conversation, concluding that there were two possibilities: first, Guo Jiayi might have had a tendency to abuse children; second, Guo Jiayi might not have known about his allergy to mercurochrome.

Fang Yuan sighed in frustration. “So we have no useful clues, just a bunch of irrelevant information.”

Cheng Ye stood up and said, “Let’s all go home and rest. We’ll talk after the autopsy results come in.” As he was about to leave, he turned to Fang Yuan and said, “I need you to visit Sunshine Community with Jiang Fei tomorrow morning.”

Fang Yuan, who had hoped to sleep in, looked crestfallen and responded with a drawn-out, sorrowful “Okay.”

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and looked at Pei Qinghuai, who was still seated. “Aren’t you leaving?”

Pei Qinghuai looked up. “I want to visit the scene again.”

Cheng Ye glanced at his watch and smiled. “Does it have to be this late?”

An awkward silence fell among the three. Fang Yuan, sensing the tension, coughed lightly and said, “I’ll just go to the bathroom.”

As the door closed behind him, Cheng Ye shrugged. “Let’s go, I’ll drive.”

Pei Qinghuai stood up, pocketing his notebook and pen. Once they were in the car, Cheng Ye began asking questions. “What did you find?”

“Nothing much,” Pei Qinghuai replied. “I just didn’t get a good look during the day and wanted to check again.”

Cheng Ye remarked, “It seems like this might have been an accident.”

Pei Qinghuai turned his head. “Guo Jiayi was a college graduate, right?”

Cheng Ye nodded. Pei Qinghuai continued, “It’s possible, but even high school students know not to mix disinfectant with toilet cleaner.”

“Do you have any suspects?” Cheng Ye asked, changing the subject.

Pei Qinghuai’s tone softened. “Not yet.”

Cheng Ye stopped asking questions. As they rode the elevator, he thought about what he’d seen earlier that day. When they turned on the lights at Guo Jiayi’s home, Cheng Ye muttered, “Some people seem decent but do unspeakable things.”

Pei Qinghuai, squatting down and examining something, chuckled. “You haven’t seen the darker side of people yet.”

Cheng Ye, hands in his pockets, asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Pei Qinghuai replied, standing up and walking to another room.

The items seen earlier had been taken by the evidence team, leaving the room looking like a simple storage space. Cheng Ye, wearing gloves, rummaged through the items. “These are all children’s toys.”

Pei Qinghuai added, “And they’re all on the first and second floors.”

Not understanding the significance, Cheng Ye continued searching until Pei Qinghuai’s voice came from behind him. “Do you remember whose face was in that black-and-white photo we saw earlier?”

Cheng Ye paused. “I forgot. The evidence team probably took it. We’ll find out at the meeting tomorrow.”

Pei Qinghuai raised an eyebrow. “I’ll check the other room.”

Cheng Ye nodded. As Pei Qinghuai opened the door and dusted off the room, the light flickered before turning on. The bedroom looked newly married, with a tidy bed and a jar of wedding candy by the bedside. The wedding photo showed Guo Jiayi grinning widely.

After a while, Cheng Ye called him over. He handed Pei Qinghuai a crumpled, yellowed piece of paper. “A divorce agreement.”

“Where did you find this?” Pei Qinghuai asked.

“In the box in the far corner,” Cheng Ye replied, looking over. “It was with a pile of waste paper. Almost missed it.”

Pei Qinghuai stared at the box, lost in thought. Cheng Ye, used to Pei Qinghuai’s behavior, continued searching for any overlooked items.

The next morning, Fang Yuan, with dark circles under his eyes, stood at the entrance of Sunshine Community with Jiang Fei, who yawned. “Are you sure Captain Cheng gave us this task?”

Fang Yuan, eyes drooping, replied, “Call and ask if you don’t believe me.”

Jiang Fei chuckled. “No need.”

Arriving at Guo Jiayi’s apartment, they saw a neighbor preparing to leave. Fang Yuan took the chance. “Hello, we’re from the Criminal Investigation Team. We need to ask you about Guo Jiayi.”

The neighbor glanced at Fang Yuan’s badge and said, “Guo Jiayi? The one who was taken to the hospital yesterday?”

“Yes,” Fang Yuan confirmed.

The neighbor waved dismissively. “Not much to say. Simply put, he’s a good person, but he’s got a lot of issues.”

Jiang Fei stifled a laugh as Fang Yuan continued, “Anything else? Did he have any recent conflicts?”

The neighbor shook his head. “I don’t think so. He didn’t seem the type.”

Sensing a gap, both Fang Yuan and Jiang Fei asked, “What do you mean?”

The neighbor explained, “Once, for some unknown reason, there were rats in the building. He was so scared he fainted.”

“Fainted?” Fang Yuan’s eyes widened. Given the state of Guo Jiayi’s kitchen, he found it hard to believe that someone who fainted at the sight of a rat lived there.