"I'm Lin Bei, who are you?"
The woman took off her sunglasses and smiled a little reluctantly. She had a pretty face, but her eyes were bloodshot and dark under her eyes. Without the sunglasses to cover her eyes, she looked much more haggard.
She had a jade Buddha hanging around her neck, which looked very valuable and did not match her fashionable outfit.
"We are security investigators, a formal third party working with the police."
Yin Ren solemnly showed his work card. He had been practicing secretly in his mind for a while.
Lin Bei looked Yin Ren up and down and said, "If the situation wasn't inappropriate, I would have wanted to poach you."
What does "dig you" mean? Yin Ren, who emerged from the ground, was immediately alert.
Fortunately, his partner came to his rescue at the right time. Zhong Cheng turned on his phone and pressed the record button: "What is Miss Lin's occupation?"
"I have a self-media studio, doing some local advertising and product promotion." Lin Bei leaned back in her chair tiredly, "Haigu is not a first-tier city, and the business is just like that. Wait, has it started yet?"
"Yes."
"Let's order something first. I'd like a soy milk ice latte. What would you two like to drink?"
Zhong Cheng stopped sipping the milk and held Yin Ren's ice cream spoon in his mouth.
"Ms. Lin, we all know all this." Zhong Cheng interrupted Lin Bei's rambling, "Please tell me about the abnormal situation first."
Lin Bei turned to stare at Yin Ren, her eyes slightly moist: "Okay."
There was plenty of sunlight during the day, and this man's skin was even cleaner than Lin Bei's who had put on makeup. It was midsummer, and unlike the men around him who were full of sweat and odor of cigarettes, Zhong Cheng's breath was very fresh.
It is understandable that you don't believe it. The police are basically good comrades who are comparable to those in the scientific guard post, and the suspect Xie Chao has already been cremated.
In their WeChat chat records, the two had quarreled over this matter. Even when Xie Chao was free, he would not do anything at home. However, whenever Gao Mengyu dared to raise an opinion, the quarrel would end with either "How much money do you make? Don't you see who supports the family?" or "How can you play with cats when you don't have time to work?"
Without waiting for Zhong Cheng to ask, she continued speaking.
This is a result that is right in front of my eyes! Yin Ren took a mouthful of the sundae with a surge of emotion.
"A glass of hot milk, no sugar."
"You continue." Yin Ren said.
"Yes!" Lin Bei suddenly became excited for some reason, "It must be Xie Chao! He is a pervert, he still hurts people even after his death!"
Then Gao Mengyu could only remain silent.
"Meng Yu could have gone to a good second-tier university, but she stayed in Haigu for Xie Chao. She told me last year that she regretted it a little."
He wanted to tell Zhong Cheng that they could continue to be partners. This man exuded a sense of security and trust.
That's exactly what they found suspicious.
No wonder he is so healthy and never snatches the food he likes.
Yin Ren was not surprised, he had probably figured out the eating style that Zhong Cheng was talking about.
Zhong Cheng was in high spirits, he drank the milk in one gulp, and listened very attentively. As for Yin Ren, his giant sundae had long been eaten up, with only a thin layer of cream left in the cup.
Lin Bei glanced out the window subconsciously, rubbing the corner of the tissue nervously: "We went to the same middle school and high school, but we weren't very familiar with each other back then. I passed the college entrance examination, and we only started chatting after I came back to work."
Wow, Yin Ren exclaimed. Zhong Cheng said that he really gave him a sense of security in all aspects—not only was his spiritual vision zero, but his social skills were even worse than those of a newly unearthed ghost. Whether he was a ghost or pretending to be a human, it was difficult to show his true colors in front of this person.
Zhong Cheng made this point clear.
She started coughing due to excessive excitement and drank several sips of coffee. After a long sigh, Lin Bei took out a medicine bottle from her bag and swallowed a few pills.
Zhong Cheng said, Yin Ren: "..."
Lin Bei's attention gradually shifted to Zhong Chengshuo. Perhaps she needed this gentle and non-irritating sense of security right now.
Lin Bei seemed to have sensed the two people's doubts. She was a little helpless: "Mengyu is very introverted. Even though we are in the same city, she is not very willing to go out. I chat with her a lot on WeChat, but we have rarely met offline."
Lin Bei choked.
"About two or three years ago, we met by chance at the pet hospital. My cat was sick and she happened to take it for a checkup. After that, we talked about cats from time to time, and then talked about life... Well, we should be considered friends."
Yin Ren smiled brightly: "What Brother Zhong wants to say is that we clearly understand Miss Gao's situation. You look very tired. The sooner we discuss the abnormality, the sooner you can rest."
"Let me have some." Yin Ren interrupted happily, "I want this waffle chocolate deluxe sundae, what about Brother Zhong?"
Lin Bei: “…” Why is she the only one who doesn’t fit in? If she had known earlier, she should have made an appointment at a cold drink shop.
"To thank you for your cooperation, the meal expenses will be paid by Shi'an." Zhong Cheng said after taking the order and quickly returned to the topic, "Ms. Lin, what is your relationship with Gao Mengyu...?"
"I told the police, but they didn't believe me. You must investigate Xie Chao."
"Later, Xie Chao lost all his money in stock speculation and was very angry. The two quarreled every few days. Then that incident happened... Xie Chao strangled Qiqi to death. Oh, Qiqi was Mengyu's cat. She adopted it when she was just in college and had a deep affection for it. Mengyu thought about calling the police, but the cat was worthless and she had no evidence..."
"Before, Xie Chao had been pestering Meng Yu. Meng Yu would come to me every now and then to confide in me. She sounded very painful, but when I asked Xie Chao what he had done, she wouldn't say anything. It wasn't the kind of avoidance that didn't say, it was the kind of 'not daring to say'."
Lin Bei was full of evil spirits and was full of malice. Regardless of whether this situation was related to Gao Mengyu's disappearance, he could find some powerful ghost to report.
After taking the medicine, Lin Bei continued to rub the tissue nervously.
Yin Ren sniffed the fresh ghost on her body and put down the spoon: "You took the initiative to find us... Do you have any guesses about Gao Mengyu's disappearance?"
"When we were in high school, she and Xie Chao were quite famous in our grade. They were deskmates and had a very good relationship. Meng Yu's grades were OK, but Xie Chao was basically at the bottom of the class, and he was the only one who could talk."
"The housing market has been good in recent years, and Xie Chao is good at handling things, so he made a few dozen. Mengyu is a counter clerk, earning more than 4,000 a month. They have lived together for two years, and Xie Chao basically treats her like a nanny... Mengyu made less, but her job was not easy. There was really no way to let it go, the problem was that Xie Chao looked down on her."
Whether in the Shi'an Canteen or here, Zhong Cheng said he always eats light and balanced food, not too little but not too full. He is quite restrained in his food choices and doesn't like oily foods such as cakes and fried chicken.
God knows how he managed to finish it all so gracefully and elegantly. Even Lin Bei, who was sitting opposite him, didn't notice anything was wrong.
She took out her cell phone and checked the chat history with Gao Mengyu. Looking at the time, it was shortly after Xie Chao's death.
[“Feather Cat” withdrew a message]
[LadyBud: That’s great. No need to withdraw it, right?]
[“Feather Cat” withdrew a message]
[LadyBud: Don't force yourself, just do it according to your habits.]
[Feather Cat: I don’t dare to go out. It’s so cold outside and everywhere smells like roses]
[Feather Cat: I'm a little scared. Do you have time recently?]
This was the content of the last conversation between the two.
"I was busy with work at the time and didn't reply to her. She never contacted me again after that, and I thought..."
Lin Bei shook her head. "Forget it, let's not talk about this. She retracted those two sentences. One was to tell me that Xie Chao was dead, and the other was that she always felt that Xie Chao was not dead yet, and she didn't want any records of mentioning Xie Chao to be kept."
Seeing that the two listened seriously, Lin Bei half cried and half laughed: "As for why I said it was Xie Chao who did it... I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have evidence. Can you guys go with me?"
"Of course." "No problem." They said in unison.
Unlike what Yin Ren expected, Lin Bei did not go too far. She just asked Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren to follow her about 20 meters behind her, and she walked out of the store alone and turned into the alley near the shopping center.
This alley is a dead end, with only the back doors of some small shops. The shops are unevenly built, the surroundings are dirty, and the view is very poor.
Lin Bei walked to the end of the alley and stopped moving, as if she was waiting for something.
The two men then stopped and hid behind a protruding corner of the house.
Yin Ren narrowed his eyes.
The air around Lin Bei gradually distorted, revealing a fierce ghost in a suit holding a bouquet of flowers.
The ghost's suit was poorly tailored, and it was obvious that it was not expensive. He wore a pair of gloves that were too white, a mask that was also too white, and a top hat that covered his hair tightly.
There were no eyes, nose or mouth in the holes of the mask, only a dark void. At the same time, it was holding something that looked like a bunch of roses.
The pretty cellophane was tied with ribbons and filled with rotten, broken dirt. They were dry and cracked, and looked like flowers from a distance.
The rich fragrance of the roses filled the air immediately, forcing its way into my nostrils, almost turning into a foul stench. The black and red ghostly spirits were like drops of blood, constantly splashing and dancing above the bouquet, like a drizzle falling in the wrong direction.
The fierce ghost stopped at the deepest part of the shadow, only two or three steps away from Lin Bei. It exuded evil spirit and malice without reservation. It was noon in summer, but the air in the alley became increasingly cold.
[It’s so cold outside, and the smell of roses is everywhere]
The current situation is exactly the same as Gao Mengyu's description. Even Zhong Cheng was influenced: "It's quite cool here."
Yin Ren was somewhat emotional. It was truly a very powerful ghost, perfect to be eaten with a chocolate sundae.
However, considering that it had to be packaged as performance, Yin Ren put the idea of adding a side dish back.
Lin Bei shivered and crossed her arms in the sun, as if the cold was unbearable.
"Can you smell it?" She gnashed her teeth. "It smells like roses, it's cold, and there's that shadow! See it? As long as I go to a place where there are fewer people, it will come out..."
Lin Bei's eyes rolled around, her lips turned blue, but the water vapor she exhaled did not turn into white steam. Her voice was not loud, close to a gibberish, but Yin Ren could hear it very clearly.
"I haven't slept well for four or five days... I told others and they thought I was crazy. I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I just want to rest..."
It seemed that she couldn't see the ghost's appearance clearly, but she could see a faint human figure.
The fierce ghost completely ignored what Yin Ren and Zhong Cheng said. It kept guarding Lin Bei, whispering meaninglessly in its throat. The bunch of dirty "roses" kept emitting evil spirits, getting closer and closer to Lin Bei's face.
Lin Bei's voice became smaller and smaller. She swayed twice and almost fell down.
From a distance, it looked like a man handing a bouquet to his beloved woman. More and more ghosts splashed onto Lin Bei's face, and they quickly penetrated into her skin, turning into strands of black and red blood.
As a mortal who believes in ghosts and gods and whose mental state is not very good, Lin Bei was greatly affected.
Yin Ren waved his phone, signaling Zhong Cheng to contact Liang Shan. Then he strode forward and inserted himself neatly between the man and the ghost.
Yin Ren turned his back to Li Gui and supported Lin Bei with concern: "Miss Lin, are you okay?"
The bouquet was separated by Yin Ren, and Lin Bei's breathing became smoother. Her eyes were out of focus, and she shook her head lightly, holding Yin Ren's arm tightly with one hand.
The fierce ghost let out a vague and mocking laugh, and tried to bypass Yin Ren and continue attacking Lin Bei. The next moment—
The ghost: “?”
It found itself unable to move.
Yin Ren stepped hard on the instep of its foot with his heel. The fierce ghost felt no pain, but could not move even a step.
It angrily hit Yin Ren on the back of the head with the bouquet, but Yin Ren acted as if nothing had happened. The evil spirit from the bouquet could not hurt him at all, but he pretended not to see the evil spirit, muttering nonsense such as "We will definitely pay attention to the clues you gave us" and "Drink more hot water and keep your hair ventilated when you go back."
Unfortunately, no matter how angry it was, it was of no use. That foot was like a stake, nailing it firmly in place.
Even after Lin Beixu came over, Yin Ren still refused to let go of his feet.
He remained where he was and continued conscientiously, "Ms. Lin, are you feeling better? I do smell the scent of roses, and the temperature nearby is abnormal."
Sharp ghost: “…” You continue pretending.
Lin Bei was completely unaware: "Ever since Meng Yu disappeared, I've been like this when I'm alone... I'm too cold to sleep, and I'm unlucky when I go out... It must be Xie Chao, it's not enough that he's harming Meng Yu, he wants me dead too..."
"Why did he bother you?"
"I once suggested that Mengyu take the postgraduate entrance examination, and she listened to me."
Lin Bei smiled weakly.
"Xie Chao knew about this, and he created several fake accounts to add me on WeChat and curse me, and even put my mobile number on that website. They broke up because of Meng Yu's postgraduate entrance exam, and in his opinion, I must be the instigator."
Yin Ren recalled for a moment and took out his phone. "My friends, Brother Rose is really affectionate!"
A familiar video, with the male anchor pretending to wipe his tears. In the black and white background of the video there is a man, who looks exactly like the ghost.
The video was newly released in the past two days, with eye-catching yellow words on the screen: Shocking Donghe, Mr. Rose unfortunately passed away due to illness!
"Is he Xie Chao?" Yin Ren pointed at the man in the black and white background picture.
Lin Bei was surprised: "No! No..."
She suddenly paused for several seconds.
“… I don’t know, I, I…”
Lin Bei's lips trembled violently, her eyes widened, as if she had been greatly stimulated. Seeing her poor condition, Zhong Cheng came over after making the call, still holding the phone in his right hand.
"Oh, it's okay. We can talk about it later." Yin Ren comforted her, "Our colleague who is in charge of this will be here soon, Zhong-"
Yin Ren turned around and the voice stopped abruptly.
In just a moment, someone broke open the back door of the store closest to them.
He was a skinny man in a dirty white shirt. After the door opened, he did not hesitate for a second.
The man rushed towards Zhong Chengshuo quickly. His eyes bulged out, and the blade in his right hand turned into a cold light.
The author has something to say:
Xiao Zhong, danger! (?)
A few dozen is a colloquial term referring to a few hundred thousand.
Speaking of the smell of tobacco... Actually, as a non-smoker, I have never understood the way the "aroma of tobacco" is described in literary works.
I just think the cigarette smells bad_(:з」∠)_This is where Minister Fu is criticized by name!
(End of this chapter)