Though still a bit dazed, Meng Zhao clearly noticed Lu Shichen's barely perceptible raise of his eyebrows—a somewhat surprised expression.
Lu Shichen was wearing loungewear, probably having just showered not long ago; his hair tips were still damp. Meng Zhao could even smell the mix of water vapor and shower gel.
This guy actually didn’t turn out ugly, Meng Zhao’s mind instinctively thought. Compared to high school, Lu Shichen seemed much taller now, with sharper facial features. The aloofness in his eyes remained, but he now carried the oppressive aura of an adult man.
The dog was the first to react. The gray-and-white border collie stood by Lu Shichen’s legs, barking several times at Meng Zhao.
"What a coincidence," Meng Zhao snapped out of his thoughts, pulling out his badge and flashing it at Lu Shichen. "I’m here to ask a few questions."
Usually, flashing a badge is just a formality, but unexpectedly, Lu Shichen reached out, snatched the police badge from Meng Zhao’s hand, and looked down at the text on it. He let out a soft hum, sounding amused. "The little punk from back then actually became a righteous police officer?"
Meng Zhao’s expression shifted slightly, swallowing the curse that almost escaped his throat. Yes, it was that same Lu Shichen—detestable and condescending.
But with a case on hand, Meng Zhao didn’t intend to waste words with him. Besides, although this guy was unlikeable, his father Lu Chengze was a benefactor to Meng Zhao’s family. Because of that connection, Meng Zhao had to maintain a superficial plastic friendliness.
Lu Shichen returned the badge and turned toward the living room. "What do you want to ask? Sit down."
Meng Zhao didn’t bother with formalities and sat boldly on the sofa opposite Lu Shichen, ignoring his scrutinizing gaze. Casually, he asked, "How long have you been back?"
"About half a year."
"I heard you were doing well abroad?"
Lu Shichen wasn’t modest. "So-so."
Meng Zhao’s gaze fell on the iPad on the solid wood table. The screen was still on. Although his English wasn’t great in school, he could roughly tell it was about finance. Lu Shichen probably worked in finance. Meng Zhao thought that wasn’t surprising; people with no popularity like him are best suited to dealing with money.
Just then, the bathroom door opened. Meng Zhao hadn’t expected anyone else here and turned to look. Lu Shichen’s high-class appearance made Meng Zhao subconsciously assume he wouldn’t have roommates.
The woman who came out of the bathroom clearly wasn’t a roommate. She looked mixed-race, wrapped in a towel, with long wet curls, probably just showered. "Oh? You have a guest?" she said, surprised, seemingly not expecting outsiders.
Meng Zhao looked away, thinking he probably spoiled Lu Shichen’s fun. Daytime debauchery, really… doesn’t this guy have a job?
Lu Shichen didn’t respond but asked Meng Zhao, "Weren’t you here to ask something?"
The woman, probably feeling her attire inappropriate, quickly slipped back inside.
Feeling this wasn’t a place to linger, Meng Zhao cut to the chase: "Have you seen the resident upstairs recently?"
She was tight-lipped: "No."
"The singing during the livestreams at night is pretty noisy, right?"
"Yeah, quite noisy."
"I heard they even called the police because of it?"
"That time," Lu Shichen thought for a moment, "it wasn’t about singing. They had a party until 3 a.m. The noise exceeded 60 decibels at night, which meets the threshold for a police call."
"Have you thought about moving? This place is rented, right?" Meng Zhao had noticed the room’s simple furnishings when entering, seeming like a temporary rental.
"I’ve been looking but haven’t found a suitable place yet."
Meng Zhao nodded and stood up from the sofa. "By the way, the upstairs resident was strangled to death last night in that demolition area. If you recall anything, contact me anytime." He handed Lu Shichen a business card while watching his expression.
Lu Shichen showed no surprise or interest and looked up at Meng Zhao. "Is that so? Officer Meng, why not stay a while?"
Meng Zhao always felt the words "Officer Meng" sounded ironic coming from him. He bent down to pet the border collie’s neck, squatting slightly and rubbing it. "No, I have other things to do. Cute dog, what’s its name?"
"Xiaodao."
Meng Zhao’s expression shifted again. Whether coincidence or not, his own nickname was Xiaodao. Hearing it from Lu Shichen felt like being insulted as a dog.
Meng Zhao left the apartment and ran into Cheng Yun, who had just shaken off Zhang Chao.
"How was it, Team Leader Meng? Did you see the upstairs resident?"
Meng Zhao wrapped the dog hair on his hand with a tissue, expression unamused. "I saw a dog."
Cheng Yun followed behind him. "The cleaning lady from Zhou Yan’s place just arrived. I told her to wait in the living room."
Meng Zhao nodded. "Okay."
Entering the apartment, Qin Xiaobai and the cleaning lady sat on the living room sofa, pale and exchanging worried looks. After all, a murder nearby isn’t easy to digest.
The cleaning lady looked to be in her forties or fifties. Her clothes were slightly faded from washing but she appeared neat. Upon seeing Meng Zhao, she stood up somewhat nervously.
"Please sit," Meng Zhao said, observing her. "Do you usually come at this time to clean?"
She sat back down, hands clasped. "Yes, Mr. Zhou gets up late. I come at noon to clean and cook for him."
"Has Zhou Yan been away these past few days? Do you still come as usual?"
"He said he was on a business trip last week, so I didn’t come. He messaged me yesterday to come today."
"Can I see the message?"
Meng Zhao took the phone the cleaning lady handed him. It was a small iPhone 5 with a plain transparent case, now yellowed. The voice message from Zhou Yan on WeChat said: "Aunt Zhao, I’ll be back tomorrow. Please come at the usual time."
Meng Zhao copied down Zhou Yan’s phone number and WeChat ID, then returned the phone. "Did your child give you this phone?"
"Yes, Xiao Zhou gave it to me."
Meng Zhao nodded, not surprised. Zhou Yan seemed to live comfortably, giving his old phone to the cleaning lady as a favor, showing generosity. Also, most cleaning staff address clients as "Mr. X" or "Miss X," but these two called each other "Aunt Zhao" and "Xiao Zhou," indicating a good relationship.
"Which cleaning company do you work for?" Meng Zhao asked.
"Shunyi Cleaning Company, but…" The lady hesitated. "I signed a private contract with Mr. Zhou, bypassing the company. Please don’t tell the company."
Meng Zhao smiled. "Don’t worry, I won’t say anything." Signing privately can save a lot of agency fees, but most people don’t trust cleaning ladies enough and choose to sign with the company. It seemed Zhou Yan had a good relationship with this lady.
Meng Zhao finished recording the information in his notebook and capped his pen. "I’ll contact you if there’s anything else."
From the bedroom came Zhang Chao’s voice: "Zhao’er, come here!"
Meng Zhao informed the lady and headed toward the bedroom. "Is the password unlocked?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Zhang Chao was tidying up the equipment beside him. "I even cracked the iPad password for you, isn't that impressive?"
"Chao, you're awesome," Meng Zhao complimented half-heartedly, picking up the iPad and opening Taobao. The account was already logged in. He checked the purchase history, and sure enough, that dress was bought online by Zhou Yan himself.
"Whoa," Zhang Chao leaned over to look with him. "Is Zhou Yan into cross-dressing?"
"Probably not," Meng Zhao returned to the home screen and glanced at the time. "Let's discuss it back at the meeting." He efficiently dismantled the computer and hoisted the main unit. "Cheng Yun, come grab the data cable and keyboard. Qin Xiaobai!"
Qin Xiaobai sprang up from the sofa and jogged to the door of Zhou Yan's bedroom. "What's up, Officer Meng?"
"Help me move the monitor." As Meng Zhao walked out, he noticed the cleaning lady still bent over cleaning Zhou Yan's bathroom. He paused. "You should head back early to have lunch."
"Ah," the lady replied, her back slightly hunched, "I’m just tidying up. It was all agreed upon."
Once outside, Meng Zhao asked Qin Xiaobai as they walked, "When Zhou Yan wasn't home, did you receive his packages?"
"I want to sleep, so I don't accept packages," Qin Xiaobai bent his leg and tapped the small half-meter-high iron door on the wall with his knee. "They all go in the water meter box. The delivery guys know."
"Aren't you afraid of theft?" Meng Zhao glanced at the water meter box.
"It's fine. Nothing's ever been stolen. Especially valuable items are kept at the property management office."
In the elevator, Zhang Chao set the equipment box on the floor and looked at Qin Xiaobai. "Your roommate was murdered, and you don't seem to be affected much. You've got a strong heart."
"Hey," Qin Xiaobai hugged the monitor. "We're just roommates renting together. He only moved in three months ago. We barely saw each other. My relationship with him isn’t even as close as his with that cleaning lady. It wouldn't be normal to act too grief-stricken. It would be a bit creepy, actually."
Meng Zhao stood opposite him, quietly observing Qin Xiaobai's expression as he spoke. "What do you do again?"
"I'm…" Qin Xiaobai's usually smooth tongue stumbled. "A hotel lobby manager."
Meng Zhao said nothing, just nodded.
"Officer Meng," Qin Xiaobai hesitated, "Do you know who killed Zhou Yan? Won't the next target be me?"
Meng Zhao looked at him. "Still investigating. Don't worry."
*
Qiao Yu changed clothes and came out of the guest bedroom, crossing her arms and leaning against the door. "Who was just here?"
"The police." Lu Shichen, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, was scrolling through the morning's financial news on his iPad.
"Police?" Qiao Yu jumped slightly, stood up from the door, and sat beside Lu Shichen. "You didn't get into trouble, did you?"
"I killed someone," Lu Shichen said calmly. "Wearing the same shirt as you."
Qiao Yu was wearing Lu Shichen's shirt, which reached her thighs, exposing part of her chest, revealing a sudden glimpse of spring. Hearing Lu Shichen's words, she thought he was joking. "I didn't bring a change of clothes, so I borrowed yours. Didn't my brother tell you to take good care of me?"
Lu Shichen flipped a page on the iPad, his expression unreadable. Qiao Yu was the sister of his former company's chairman, Qiao Mingjia. When abroad, Qiao Mingjia had helped him a lot, so when Qiao Mingjia sent his sister to stay temporarily, it felt quite natural.
Lu Shichen wasn't used to living with others. Fortunately, Qiao Yu's stay coincided with his business trip to a neighboring city. He had just returned yesterday and only needed to send Qiao Yu off today to be rid of the siblings.
Qiao Yu tilted her head and leaned on Lu Shichen. "That police officer just now was so handsome. Do you know him?"
Lu Shichen replied after a moment, "Yeah."
Qiao Yu looked at Lu Shichen. His face was like a carefully sculpted artwork. From the side, the lines from his brow bone to his nose bridge were smooth, somewhat resembling a Western person with deep features, but his eyes and brows carried a faint, aloof Asian delicacy.
Feeling she should be more proactive, Qiao Yu reached out to unbutton Lu Shichen's shirt.
Lu Shichen didn't stop her but leaned forward to pick up a small medicine bottle from the solid wood table and handed it to Qiao Yu.
"What's this?" Qiao Yu paused, confused, and took it.
"Look at the side effects line," Lu Shichen reminded her.
Qiao Yu's gaze shifted to the side effects, and her expression immediately soured. She saw it read: "May cause loss of appetite, lethargy, decreased libido."
Lu Shichen turned to look at her, expression calm. "Sorry, I'm sexless."
Qiao Yu gave an awkward smile. "…Really? Are you joking?"
Lu Shichen continued, "More precisely, erectile dysfunction."
Qiao Yu was speechless for a few seconds. Lu Shichen admitting to being sexless with such a face made her feel complicated. "…Is it because of this medicine? What kind of medicine is it? Can't you stop taking it?"
"Antidepressants," Lu Shichen removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Treating illness is more important than indulging desires."
Qiao Yu was silent for a moment but couldn't resist her curiosity and asked, "So you haven't had any for years? Don't you ever have those… urges?"
"Of course I do," Lu Shichen glanced at her and said lightly, "I just kill someone instead."
His expression was natural, and Qiao Yu couldn't tell if he was joking.
Lu Shichen stood and walked to the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking down. From the 17th floor, it was hard to see people below clearly, but Lu Shichen recognized Meng Zhao—standing by the trunk, the one with the longest legs.
Besides longer legs and slightly longer hair, Meng Zhao hadn't changed much over the years.
Seventeen-year-old Meng Zhao had deep eye sockets with sharply defined black-and-white eyes. When staring at someone, his eyes seemed to hide a thin blade glinting coldly, ready to be drawn at any moment.
Still so interesting, Lu Shichen thought. He liked to provoke Meng Zhao.
Thinking of this made life seem a little more interesting.
"So… do you need to take your medicine today?" Qiao Yu, holding the small bottle, came to the balcony edge and asked worriedly. "Should you see a doctor and switch to another medicine?"
Lu Shichen's sexlessness made her feel heartbroken—not for herself, but for all humanity. Handsome men were already rare, and this one was sexless…
"No need today." Lu Shichen straightened and walked back inside. "Isn't your brother sending someone to pick you up soon? Change your clothes."
Meng Zhao tidied the desktop computer, closed the trunk, and looked up at the building above. Just now, he had sensed that gaze again. But on the 25th floor, only a grandfather was standing on the balcony of the seventh floor, watering plants, and their eyes met. The old man shouted, "Sorry, young man, did I water you?"
Meng Zhao: "…No, please continue."
"What's wrong?" Cheng Yun also looked up.
"Nothing." Meng Zhao shook his head slightly. Was it an illusion? He thought while walking to the passenger seat. "You drive. Let's go to the property management office first."
The property management office was near the gate. Meng Zhao got out and went inside, asking the front desk, "Do you have rental information for the community?"
"There are a few left by owners," the receptionist handed over the registration info. "Are you looking to rent?"
"Just want to see if there's anything suitable."
"What size are you looking for? Most here are about 190 square meters, with similar layouts. Here's a floor plan…"
Meng Zhao looked at the floor plan. It was similar to the building where Zhou Yan and Lu Shichen lived. If Lu Shichen really wanted to move, would he really be unable to find a suitable place, as he claimed?
Meng Zhao returned the floor plan to the receptionist, showed his police badge, and pushed over the hard drive. "Please copy the surveillance footage from 6 p.m. last night to 8 a.m. this morning."
