Chapter 135
Chapter 135
The killer wasn’t necessarily living in this residential block. It would be too hasty to assume that the murderer was living here based on the clues they had thus far. Even so, Jun Zishu’s intuition told her that the killer must be living here.
A solitary man with violent tendencies?
Jun Zishu jotted down the new information she learned about Unit 401’s resident. Even so, she didn’t think that the divorced man living in Unit 401 could be the killer. This was because the clean wounds on the victims’ bodies showed that the killer was extremely calm when committing the murder, so the killer should be a rational person. Or, more specifically, the killer looked like he enjoyed the process of cutting up his victims.
Those who carried out domestic violence were typically people who would react chaotically towards stimulation or when intoxicated. Meanwhile, when these people weren’t stimulated or intoxicated, they would behave rationally like any normal person. However, murder was evidently something that required a huge stimulus.
After the wife finished talking, the husband continued, “I’m not so sure about the others, especially the ones living on the sixth floor. Our house is on the second floor, so we don’t come across those people very often. They’ve never walked past our place, either, so we don’t know.
“I’ve seen the young man living on the sixth floor a few times before. He would always be carrying a bunch of parcels down to pass them to a courier, so he should be an online seller.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
After hearing the couple’s account, Jun Zishu silently crossed off the middle-aged man living in Unit 201 from the list of suspects. The other party looked very much like an ordinary middle-aged man. He liked to gossip a little, and he was quite enthusiastic. He also reacted like a normal person when they visited. Moreover, he also had a wife, so it was unlikely that he was the suspect.
According to the criminal profiling, the suspect should be living alone and have a somewhat gloomy and cautious personality. The suspect was also probably someone with a decent education and social experience.
After exiting Unit 201, Jun Zishu and Wang Duoduo knocked on Unit 202’s door. Unfortunately, they received no response, which was within expectations. The career woman living here should still be at work, and she should only return in the evening.
They similarly got no response from Unit 301, the grade school teacher.
Afterward, when they knocked on Unit 302’s door, a middle-aged woman wearing an apron opened the door. The woman was the wife of Tan Linlin’s mathematics teacher.
“Are you here to find Old Liu, Officers? He is still at school teaching right now.”
“No, we’re just here to understand the situation. May we go inside and ask you some questions?”
“Of course, of course. Please, come in.”
After welcoming Jun Zishu and Wang Duoduo into the house, the middle-aged woman wiped her hands on her apron before untying it and hitching it to a nearby chair. Then, she poured Jun Zishu and Wang Duoduo a glass of water each.
“Sorry for the trouble.”
“Please ask away. I’ll try to answer as best as I can.”
“In the middle of December, your husband received a three-day break because of the snowstorm. Is it true that you and your husband went out during this time?”
“Yes. Although he receives two long breaks a year because he is a teacher, he is usually very busy, even during his vacation. So, he doesn’t really have time to go home with me. Around Mid-December, my father told me that my mother had been sick for some days, so we decided to pack up and go back to the countryside to visit my mother.”
“The road conditions must’ve been harsh because of the snowstorm, right?”
“That’s right. The drive back home was quite a challenge. But we can’t not go, right?”
“What did you do on New Year’s Eve?”
“New Year’s Eve? Oh, we don’t celebrate such modern festivities,” Mrs. Liu said, waving her hand with a smile. “That day was just like any other day for us. I was at home sewing while my husband was inspecting his students’ homework.”
“How is your relationship with your neighbors in this building?”
“Not bad in general. We are close to the girl next door. She is a teacher like Old Liu, so they have a lot of common topics to talk about. She is also quite young, to me at least, and she is also good at socializing. I quite like the girl.”
“What about the others?” Jun Zishu asked.
“The others?” Mrs. Liu pondered for a moment. “…The young couple on the first floor has a cute daughter. I’ll tease her from time to time when I’m free.”
“What about your son? He is in university, right?”
“Yes, he’s studying abroad right now.”
“The old madam on the first floor is quite the spirited and happy person. As for everyone else, I don’t have much of an impression about them,” Mrs. Liu continued. “Oh, right, the girl who lives upstairs is quite fashionable. Though, she sometimes dresses a little so scantily that it makes it difficult to look at her straight. As for the other person living on the fourth floor… He’s a man who’s always holding a briefcase and wearing a cold expression. I heard that his wife divorced him and even took their child away… Hmm, what else…
“Ohhh, I think there’s a young fellow who sells things online living in our block. I usually see him with an energetic look, and he always greets me when he sees me. He’s quite the polite young man.”
That was the end of Mrs. Liu’s account. After failing to get any more information from the middle-aged woman, Jun Zishu thanked the other party and proceeded upstairs.
Both of the two households they had visited thus far gave similar accounts. Moreover, both accounts shared one thing in common: they did not mention the other resident living on the sixth floor.
No response came from Unit 401. The owner should still be at work at this time.
Unit 402 was Dong Hong’s house. When Dong Hong opened the door and saw the same faces she saw this morning, she nearly broke down on the spot.
“Can’t you ask all of your questions in one visit? Why do you have to knock on my door twice a day!”
“We are very sorry to disturb your rest, but please cooperate with our investigation.”
“Fine, fine, whatever. Come in,” Dong Hong said with a gloomy expression. After letting out a yawn and sitting down on the sofa, she pulled out a cigarette and held it in her mouth.
“I’m sorry, but can you smoke later?”
“Is smoking against the law now?”
“It’s not against the law,” Jun Zishu said with a warm smile.
However, Dong Hong shuddered when she saw Jun Zishu’s smile. Eventually, she timidly put the cigarette away and asked, “What do you want to ask this time? I really don’t want to repeat everything to you again. I really have nothing to do with Chen Yang’s death.”
“We’re here for a different matter this time. May I ask what you think about your neighbors?”
“What?”
“What do you think of the people living around you?”
“Why are you suddenly asking about my neighbors? Could it be that the person related to Chen Yang’s death is in this building?”
“We are just checking.”
“Hmm… I think I know almost everyone here. A granny and a young couple richer than me live on the first floor. I think the couple has a kid as well. An arrogant bitch, a nosy housewife, and a balding middle-aged man live on the second floor.”
“Those are some unusual adjectives,” Jun Zishu commented.
“That arrogant bitch living on the second floor is sooo fake. She wears professional wear every day and pairs it with a stuck-up face. She makes it look like everyone around her owes her millions. The nosy housewife living next to that arrogant bitch is just as terrible. What’s it got to do with her with how I dress?” Dong Hong said, sneering. Then, after letting out a huff, she continued, “Two teachers live on the third floor, and my neighbor looks like a zombie.”
Dong Hong’s evaluation of the residents was more or less the same as the others.
“Can you elaborate more on your neighbor?”
“Sure. When I moved in, he was still together with his wife and kid. I never liked him since I could sometimes hear him scolding and beating his woman, but his wife and kid had already left him, so there’s nothing more to say about that. He usually goes to work and comes home on time every day. He doesn’t have a nightlife at all, and he wears the same deadpan face every day. I think he’ll make a good pair with that bitch on the second floor.”
“How do you know he doesn’t have a nightlife.”
“There was a time when I stayed home every day. I noticed that he leaves and comes back home at the same hours every day. I’ve never seen him hanging out with other people, either,” Dong Hong said, shrugging. “As for the houses upstairs, one of them houses a married couple. The husband looks a little handsome.
“As for the other house, the guy living there is a painter. The guy looks like an honest person, and I even had him paint my walls in the past. According to the nosy housewife, the guy’s wife seems to have died already, though I don’t know how long it has been since she died. He’s quite the pitiful person.
“Further upstairs lives a shorty. He runs a Taobao store selling a bunch of random things. I bought a pair of shoes and some women’s clothing from him before; the quality was quite good.”
“What about the person living in 601?” Jun Zishu asked. If the killer really lived in this residential block, she had a hunch that it would most likely be the person living in Unit 601.
“Honestly, I’ve never seen whoever’s living there.”
“You’ve never seen him?”
“Yes. I have not seen him even once before. I don’t have any good reason to go upstairs, anyway. I’ve never come across that person downstairs, either. I used to think that nobody was living there.”
Jun Zishu’s curiosity toward Unit 601’s owner grew stronger and stronger. Even her palms had started sweating a little from excitement.
Meanwhile, this feeling reached its peak when she talked with the owner of Unit 602.
Nobody answered the door on the fifth floor, so Jun Zishu headed upstairs straight away. However, she knocked on Unit 602’s door first instead of Unit 601.
The young man living in Unit 602 was indeed quite short, failing to reach even 170 centimeters. He also looked very thin and had bags under his eyes. However, despite his unhealthy appearance, his body still radiated a youthful vigor.
After meeting with Unit 602’s owner, Jun Zishu skipped asking about the other residents and went straight to asking about Unit 601.
“I’ve seen the man living next door twice. I’m not sure if he doesn’t go out as much or because our daily routines are different, but I hardly ever see him. He gives off mysterious and elegant vibes. He is quite good-looking and very polite. I quite like him.”
“Do you know what he does for a living?”
“He mentioned it to me once before. I think he runs a store, but it’s definitely not the same as my Taobao store.”
“Do you know when he usually comes home?”
“Actually, I don’t even know when he goes out, let alone when he comes home,” the young man said, shrugging.
“Does he not live here often?”
“Probably? I’m not sure.”
When Jun Zishu rang the doorbell of Unit 601, she focused her attention on the movements inside the house. Then, the door suddenly opened without the slightest warning.