“Why didn’t you go?” Qin An knew his cousin well; it was strange for him not to attend such a lively event.
“…You wouldn’t understand.” Just mentioning the club made him think of that iron rod stuck in the co-pilot seat, so much so that he would cover his head in fear after waking up at midnight.
Zhang Run’s expression grew serious before he finally managed to say, “I really don’t understand…” How could I understand if you don’t tell me? Qin An thought to himself.
“Ah—I’m so hungry.” Only when their stomachs growled did they remember they hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch. Luckily, the housekeeper had already prepared the meal.
“Let’s eat, let’s eat—”
—
On the other side, the duty officer delivered the message and left.
Lin Yumei was initially scared to death by the police visiting her home, but when she learned that Lin Ya was there to help, her heart finally settled.
She had been wondering why he hadn’t returned yet; thankfully, nothing bad had happened.
After returning home from the department store, Lin Yumei started cleaning. She worked until her home was tidy, and everything was in order.
The two children, feeling hungry early, had already eaten their meals. After finishing, they took a shower and quickly fell asleep.
Lin Yumei boiled some dumplings, put on her coat, wrapped the food box in it, and was ready to bring Lin Ya something to eat.
The police station wasn’t far, and after about twenty minutes of walking, she arrived.
“Why are you here?”
At that moment, the police station was brightly lit and busy.
Li Ping An and Zhou Ying had also returned; they brought back the victim’s decayed remains and the weapon that had been buried together with them.
The criminal, Wang Jianguo, turned pale upon seeing the weapon and quickly confessed during the interrogation.
Three months ago, Wang Jianguo had accidentally seen the victim walking out of the bank. Seeing the bulging bag that the victim carried filled him with greed, prompting him to follow the victim and look for an opportunity to rob him.
However, he didn’t expect the victim to be strong. When Wang Jianguo snatched the bag and attempted to run, he was caught by the victim, who held his arm. In a panic, Wang Jianguo pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim in the neck, causing his death.
After killing the man, Wang Jianguo was frantic, quickly taking the body deep into the mountains to bury it, along with the weapon, deeply underground.
The victim’s family, noticing he hadn’t returned home for several days, rushed to the police station to report him missing. After several days of searching, the police still had no leads due to a lack of information.
So it dragged on until now.
In these times, when a crime is committed by a stranger, it’s challenging to find any leads. Unlike in the 21st century, where cameras are everywhere, making it easy to locate someone in the city.
However, even in the 21st century, there are many unresolved cases and missing person reports in places without cameras.
So sometimes, it’s not that the police are ineffective; it’s just that there aren’t enough clues.
Of course, now that the criminal has been captured, this case is no longer related to Lin Ya.
He could go home now.
Just as he bumped into Lin Yumei, who was bringing him dumplings, Lin Ya quickly ate a few before greeting Zhou Ying and heading back with Lin Yumei.
It was already past eight in the evening.
Aside from the dim light of flashlights and the occasional lights from houses, it was nearly dark all around.
Lin Yumei led the way with a flashlight, while Lin Ya followed behind. As they passed through a dim alley, faint footsteps echoed behind them.
Someone was following them—
Lin Ya remained silent, moving forward. As he turned a corner, he casually glanced back and caught sight of a rough hand gripping a knife peeking out from the alley.
As they walked further away, the footsteps hesitated for a moment but soon followed again.
Lin Yumei, oblivious, continued talking about her plans with Lin Ya.
Today, she had taken the two kids out, noticed many food vendors, and thought it would be a waste not to use the money she had for a little business. Lin Yumei was skilled at making noodles, and her hometown was famous for it. She considered trying to sell buns at a stall.
If business went well, it could provide a stable and legitimate livelihood.
So she planned to ask Lin Ya for his opinion since it was his money.
Not only did Lin Ya have no objections, but he also wholeheartedly supported her idea.
This relief eased some tension in Lin Yumei’s heart.
The apartment they rented had been newly built a couple of years ago, and each household had their own toilet, which was much more convenient than other places where you had to go to a public restroom, and most people bathed at public bathhouses.
“I’ll go to the restroom; you head upstairs first.”
As they reached the public restroom, Lin Ya suggested that Lin Yumei go ahead and handed her the remaining talismans from today.
He wanted to draw the person following him out but wasn’t sure if they were targeting him or Lin Yumei.
“Here, take the flashlight. It’s dark inside, and I’m afraid you might trip,” Lin Yumei said, offering him the flashlight. She then walked back using the light from nearby houses.
Smelling the strong stench, Lin Ya stepped inside, unfazed, using the flashlight.
Once inside, he turned pale and stood rigidly in the corner, reluctant to step in.
[Host, I want to vomit…] The usual voyeuristic view of 123 couldn’t hold back any longer, snapping a few pictures before blocking Lin Ya’s perspective.
Lin Ya: “…” Furious.
He didn’t wait long before a shadow appeared at the entrance—a masked figure with a knife charging at him.
If it were any other time, Lin Ya might have taken it easy since he was in a good mood, but now he felt dirty and a little nauseous, leading him to strike harder than intended.
He removed the mask and beat the person into a pulp, and after delivering a kick into the latrine, Lin Ya couldn’t help but vomit from the disgust.
He quickly dashed out of the restroom.
Despite it being late at night, there were still many people around needing the restroom, so Lin Ya didn’t need to call the police himself; someone else would help.
After a long day, Zhou Ying had originally thought he could go home to shower and sleep after the interrogation, but just as he was about to leave, he was dispatched again before he could even step out of the police station.