HH Chapter 54

Chen Xiaonuan, as if she had just heard some juicy gossip, grinned mischievously while munching on her cookie and staring at Cheng Ye. Cheng Ye felt a chill down his spine from Chen Xiaonuan’s gaze and looked away.

“What are you looking at? Get back to work,” Cheng Ye said.

Chen Xiaonuan stuffed the last bit of her cookie into her mouth, “Okay, Captain Cheng.”

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On the other side, Zhang Yibao and Pei Qinghuai were standing downstairs from Chen Mengyao’s apartment. Zhang Yibao wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Pei Qinghuai, asking, “Teacher Pei, what are you looking at?”

“Looking for a good spot to observe,” Pei Qinghuai replied. “Let’s go up.”

“Got it,” Zhang Yibao responded.

They stood in front of apartment 301. Zhang Yibao clutched his laptop tightly while Pei Qinghuai bent down slightly to insert the key and pushed the door open. A faint smell of dust greeted them.

The surrounding area was under construction, causing dust to easily accumulate. Zhang Yibao coughed softly at the door and smiled, “Just a minor issue.”

As soon as they entered, Pei Qinghuai’s movements suddenly froze. Zhang Yibao, following behind him, was about to ask why he stopped when they both heard a rustling noise from Chen Mengyao’s room, as if someone was rummaging through things.

Zhang Yibao was stunned, his eyes wide as he looked at Pei Qinghuai. The sound in Chen Mengyao’s room indicated someone was moving around.

Both of them instinctively quieted their breathing and leaned against the walls. Pei Qinghuai’s face turned grim. If it was really the killer, they had struck it lucky.

Pei Qinghuai swallowed, flexing his joints as the footsteps inside the room grew closer. Zhang Yibao held his breath, staring at the door.

‘1…2…3…’

Pei Qinghuai counted silently. At the crucial moment when the footsteps approached, Pei Qinghuai sidestepped, sliding under the person, and stomped on the back of their knee.

A scream filled the room, followed by the sound of breaking glass. Pei Qinghuai was about to strike again but paused when he recognized who it was.

“Gao Yuan?” Zhang Yibao looked at the kneeling man, “What are you doing here? Didn’t you give us the keys?”

Gao Yuan, in pain, looked at the broken glass on the floor with distress and hurriedly picked up a photo of Chen Mengyao, holding it to his chest.

He sniffled, “I have a spare key. I missed Mengyao so much, I just came to check.”

Pei Qinghuai ignored the crying Gao Yuan and went into the bedroom. Seeing the state of the bed, his face darkened. He turned back, asking, “Did you touch the bed?”

His tone was cold and accusatory. Gao Yuan looked up at Pei Qinghuai, crying even harder, “I did. I saw the mess and wanted to clean up…”

“Do you know this is called tampering with the scene?” Pei Qinghuai’s voice rose, glaring at Gao Yuan.

Unexpectedly, Gao Yuan was so scared he hiccupped, feeling aggrieved, “I just wanted to help tidy up… She only has her grandmother left. If I don’t clean up, no one will…”

The more Gao Yuan spoke, the more upset he became. Just as he was about to say something more, his phone rang. He sniffled and answered it.

The voice on the other end was loud and angry, “Gao Yuan, where are you? Get back to work right now! Who gave you permission to leave your post?”

Gao Yuan wiped his tears, urgently saying, “I’m coming back right now.”

He stood up, bowed to Zhang Yibao and Pei Qinghuai, apologized, and hurried out, clutching the photo of Chen Mengyao.

Pei Qinghuai felt a headache coming on, standing in the bedroom dazed for a moment.

“There are no cameras in this house,” Zhang Yibao said, taking advantage of Pei Qinghuai’s frustration to quickly check.

Pei Qinghuai acknowledged with a nod, walked to the curtains, put on gloves, and pulled them open. The bright sunlight pierced through, making him squint as he looked outside.

Zhang Yibao closed his laptop and joined Pei Qinghuai, noticing him muttering numbers. Zhang Yibao followed his gaze to the opposite building, noting some curtains were drawn and others were open, revealing ongoing renovations.

“We might need to set a trap,” Pei Qinghuai said, “Check out the situations in 401, 402, and 303 across the street.”

They locked the door and left, ensuring no one was nearby. The property management was cooperative, digging out both digital and paper records after some time.

“401 is an elderly couple, 402 and 303 are under renovation and currently unoccupied,” the person said.

“Thank you,” Pei Qinghuai replied, “By the way, since they’re under renovation, do you know if anyone else has been staying there at night?”

The person hesitated, then smiled, “We wouldn’t know that. You’d have to ask the construction workers.”

“Alright, thanks.”

“No problem,” the person said.

When they reached the base of Building 8, just as they were about to go up, Pei Qinghuai was drawn to a conversation between some security guards nearby.

“You go ahead and gather information,” Pei Qinghuai told Zhang Yibao before approaching the chatting group.

They split up, with Pei Qinghuai casually inserting himself into the conversation.

“How long has this place been under construction?” he asked.

One of the workers glanced at him, “Almost a month. The company’s been delaying payments, so the workers aren’t doing their best. It should’ve been done weeks ago, but it’s dragged on.”

“Really?” Pei Qinghuai feigned surprise.

“Are you a new tenant? I haven’t seen you around,” a security guard, arms crossed, asked.

Pei Qinghuai smiled, “Yes, just moved in with my girlfriend today.”

The guard, whose name badge read Feng Daqiang, uncrossed his arms and said, “Why haven’t I seen your girlfriend? Did you come alone?”

Pei Qinghuai looked back at the building, “She’s still upstairs unpacking.”

Feng Daqiang squinted against the sun, “You must be from out of town. There was an incident here a few days ago, and the culprit hasn’t been caught yet. Be careful.”

After Feng Daqiang spoke, the others chimed in, “Yeah, apparently the guy is a psycho, only kills women. He’s already killed two.”

“Really?” Pei Qinghuai feigned concern.

“Just be careful, especially at night,” Feng Daqiang advised.

“Thanks, I will,” Pei Qinghuai responded.