Chapter Seven: The Mysterious Phone Call

  "What a shameless person! I've never seen anyone like Yang Rong before. 'Don't talk nonsense, I'm asking you, why did Zhou Linlin leave that day?'"

  Li Menglong looked at Yang Rong with a very uninteresting expression, this woman is really not interesting, "I don't know where, I guess she ate her fill and left after being satisfied."

  Fang You thought that Zhou Linlin might be going to see someone, so she chose to leave at that time. "Did anything happen in between? Did she mention going to see anyone?"

  Li Menglong thought for a moment, "It seems like there was something like that. She received a phone call and said she had to leave first because her friend was looking for her. Judging from her expression, it's probably a man. This woman is really flirtatious, but I liked her. Unfortunately, she's dead."

  Recalling everything that happened last night, Li Menglong still has a bit of an aftertaste. The woman was quite flirtatious, but she's his type, of course, the "like" he mentioned is limited to the bed only.

  Li Menglong was the last person to be with Zhou Linlin, and Yang Rong had reason to suspect him. "Where did you go after leaving the hotel this morning?"

  Li Menglong looked at Yang Rong with a somewhat amused expression. Although this woman wasn't his type, she was quite spirited and might have a different flavor to her. "You don't suspect me, do you? It's not worth it for that kind of woman. If you want to know, I'm free tonight, how about we grab dinner together?"

  Yang Rong thought Li Menglong was a bit ridiculous, thinking he had great charm, but in fact, he was relying on his father's dirty money. Without that money, he was nothing. "Yes, I'm very free tonight, it can be done."

  Li Menglong did not expect Yang Rong to accept his invitation. It seems that all women are the same. "Really, where shall we meet then?"

  "Public Security Bureau, Major Crimes Investigation Division, Interrogation Room." Yang Rong looked at Li Menglong with a hint of a smile, "How's that? Is the address detailed enough for you? Do you want to go now?"

  Li Menglong shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, "I called a designated driver after I left the hotel and had him drive me home. After I got back, I went to sleep until you all woke me up now. If you don't believe me, I have the designated driver's phone number, you can verify it."

  Li Menglong gave Fang You a designated driver's phone number, hoping they could leave their homes as soon as possible.

  The driver who drove Li Menglong today was found this morning. Through his narrative, it is indeed as Li Menglong said.

  Fang You and Yang Rong re-investigated Zhou Linlin's call records, and at 3 o'clock this morning, she indeed received a call. After investigation, the person was found, but he denied making the call.

  After investigation by the telecommunications department, it was found that he did not make this call. The call received by Zhou Linlin had been tampered with and could not be traced.

  After leaving the office, Wang Hua rushed to the residential area where Chen Yiling and her sisters lived. There were few people there, mostly elderly people. Although Wang Hua was rough in appearance, he was kind-hearted and honest, earning the trust of the elderly.

  In a short while, Wang Hua had swept the entire neighborhood. The neighborhood had been abandoned, and out of over a dozen buildings, only six or seven households remained, with some buildings being completely uninhabited.

  Wang Hua ran up and down, asking one household after another. Many people didn't even know who else lived in this neighborhood because it had long been a deserted building, with only some elderly residents unwilling to leave, so they continued to live here.

  As for Chen Yiling and Chen Yirong, they had some impression of them because in this place, apart from these two girls, there were no other girls living here.

  "Granny, do you know these two girls?" Wang Hua met a granny who had just returned in the downstairs and asked her about Chen Yiling and her sister.

  The old lady leaned towards Wang Hua and said, "What did you say?"

  The old woman was a bit hard of hearing, so Wang Hua had to speak very loudly for her to hear. Seeing the old woman carrying a large bag, Wang Hua shouted loudly: "Auntie, let me help you carry your things upstairs!"

  It was clear that Wang Hua's voice was pleasant, and his mother-in-law nodded her head in delight, "Good, a kind young man like you is hard to come by."

  Wang Hua supported his mother-in-law and sent her to the home on the 2nd floor, putting things on the coffee table. His mother-in-law's home was very simple, all old-fashioned furniture, and on the TV stand, in addition to a small TV, there was also an old man's memorial photo, who died at a relatively young age.

  "That's my old partner, dead for almost 20 years." The old lady said as she saw Wang Hua kept looking at the photo.

  Seeing his mother-in-law bring over a cup of water, Wang Hua quickly took it and said, "Mother, please sit down and rest for a while. Where is your child? Why doesn't he come to see you?"

  When it comes to the children, her elderly mother-in-law's eyes flashed with tears, but she tried to maintain a smile on her face. "The kids are all in the city, they have their own jobs, I can take care of myself, so don't bother them."

  "Mother-in-law, it's only natural for children to support their parents. If they treat you badly, just tell me and I'll have them all arrested." Wang Hua was a typical northeastern Chinese man, straightforward and blunt, he couldn't stand those who were unfilial.

  When Wang Hua wanted to take his children away, the old lady hurriedly said: "No, don't take them away. It's not that they didn't want to come, it's just me who wouldn't let them. You see, in this cold winter, my house is really too cold. When spring comes and the weather warms up, they will come back to visit me."

  Upon hearing his mother-in-law's words, Wang Hua finally felt that the room was indeed very cold. As a young and strong man, he didn't feel anything, but his mother-in-law was already in her seventies or eighties, how could she bear the chill? "Mother, this room is freezing, aren't you cold?"

  Seeing Wang Hua no longer mention catching her children, her mother-in-law felt at ease. "So many years have passed and I've gotten used to it, I don't think it's a big deal."

  "Oh, grandma, I have something to ask you. Do you know these two girls?" Wang Hua suddenly remembered that he still had something to ask his grandmother and quickly pulled out two photos from his pocket.

  The old lady picked up the two photos and took a closer look. Although she was advanced in age, her eyes were still sharp. "I recognize them," she said. "There are only two young girls living in this neighborhood, and they're both very kind. They even helped me with household chores before... what a pity, what a pity..."

  "Grandma, have you heard about their business?" Wang Hua thought that since there were only a few people in this place, and they had made such a big commotion yesterday, she must have known already.

  The grandma held the photo, pitying the two young girls, "I've heard about it, it's really a sin, such good girls... you must catch the murderer, it's really a sin..."

  "I came for this, grandma. Think about it, is there anyone following them or bullying them?" Wang Hua took a big gulp of the water given by his grandma and spoke in a loud voice, feeling a bit parched.

  "Yes, you don't know, there are many beggars living in this area, and they're not even locals, judging by their accent. They often harass those two girls who live next door to them in the same building. The whole unit is full of these people. You should go and arrest all of them." Next to Chen Qitai's apartment building was another building that had been abandoned because no one lived there, so it became a place for vagrants or homeless people to stay, as they didn't have to pay rent and could still take shelter from the wind and rain.

  Because these people are rough and uncultured, they inevitably speak loudly and lack quality.

  Wang Hua bid farewell to his mother-in-law and came directly to this building. As soon as he entered the building, he smelled a very foul smell, and the corridor was filled with all kinds of broken trash.

  Wang Hua's arrival made the people in the building extremely vigilant, thinking that he had come to drive them out. In this cold winter, if they were driven out, they would surely freeze to death outside, so no matter whose door Wang Hua knocked on, no one opened it.

  Wang Hua was anxious, and with a burst of strength, he kicked open the door of one of the houses. Fortunately, it had been a long time since the door was last used, so it wasn't too sturdy. With just one kick, the door panel and frame fell to the ground with a loud crash.

  The people living in this house are a few scavengers, the trash in the attic is theirs, and there's also a pile inside. As the door falls down, a strong stench hits your face. Wang Hua cursed out loud, "Damn, what kind of smell is this? It's not even as good as the pigsty back in my hometown."

  "Who... who are you? What do you want?" Several people stared at Wang Hua standing in the doorway, their legs trembling with fear.

  "Open the door for me, didn't you hear? Let me waste a kick in vain. When there's nothing to do, clean up the house and get rid of this smell." Wang Hua curled his lips and waved his hand in front of his nose, but it was useless, the stench remained.

  "Who are you? Why did you barge into our home?"

  "Police!" Before Wang Hua could even take out his ID, the few people heard it was the police and were about to run away. If not for Wang Hua's quick action, they would have really escaped.

  Wang Hua held one in his hand and stepped on another, throwing them to the ground. "Be honest with me, what are you running for?"

  "Officer, we really didn't mean to, this house was empty when we came, so we just moved in. Please, officer, don't arrest us!" One of the older men suddenly knelt down in front of Wang Hua, he had never seen such a scene before.

  "Get up, someone says they want to catch you and ask you a few questions. Do you know these two people?" Wang Hua saw that the three of them were under control, and showed them the photos.

  "Acquaintance, lived in our next unit, died yesterday, we saw it." The older one took a look at the photo and recognized who was inside.

  "By the way, has anyone been bothering them?"

  "It's not that there's trouble, it's just that Lai San, who lives upstairs from us, often whistles at the two of them. Once, he even scared the younger one to tears. At the time, her father came to settle accounts with Lai San, but ended up getting beaten by him instead. Officer, you mustn't say I said this, or else Lai San will beat me to death." Lai San is a local ruffian who often bullies them and even extorts protection money from them every month, so people around here are somewhat afraid of him.

  "Don't worry, as long as you're telling the truth, I'll definitely keep it confidential." Wang Hua asked and directly went upstairs.

  The remaining three people looked at the fallen door, you look at me, I look at you, what to do now, it seems they have to move again.