Qingqing’s tone was filled with temptation, but Zhang Qingyang began to tremble as if he were hearing the most terrifying words imaginable.
"I... I... When did I ever invite you?"
Qingqing blinked her seductive eyes, looking innocent.
"Yesterday. Didn't you hold me and tell me to come back today?"
Only then did Zhang Qingyang remember that when he was taking advantage of Qingqing yesterday, he had said plenty of sweet things. He had only said it in passing, never expecting it would become the justification for Qingqing to enter his room tonight.
"What... what do you want?"
Zhang Qingyang’s voice shook, and he was nearly on his knees before her.
"I haven't done anything, and I don't know anything. Please, just let me go. I'm leaving in two days!"
Qingqing acted as though she didn't see his pathetic state. She picked up the newspaper Zhang Qingyang had been reading with a melancholy expression, her fingers gently stroking the paper.
"Did you know? Xiaotian and I were friends since childhood. We came to this city together to work and lived together. I watched her fall in love, and I watched her get married..."
Scalding tears rolled from Qingqing’s eyes, and her voice began to turn shrill.
"But I never expected she would marry such a beast in human skin!"
"That man took all her money, making it impossible for her to leave him. Whenever he was unhappy, he would beat and curse Xiaotian. When she couldn't get a divorce, I could only find a way to help her escape."
Tear stains blurred the makeup on Qingqing’s face, her eyes filled with endless sorrow.
"But I didn't expect that man to come home so early that day. He found out she wanted to run away, and then he did those things..."
No matter how dull-witted Zhang Qingyang was, he could tell this wasn't Qingqing’s own story. He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling some of his strength return.
"We should go to the police! Find someone to punish him! This has nothing to do with me, you can't hurt me!"
The anguished Qingqing stopped at his words. She lowered the hands covering her face and tilted her head to look at Zhang Qingyang.
By now, her makeup was completely ruined. Black eyeshadow and red lipstick were smeared across her face, making her look grotesque.
"Liars... all you men are liars!"
Qingqing suddenly broke into an exaggerated smile. "Since you dared to do those things to Xiaotian, you must have been prepared for what you would face, right?"
Zhang Qingyang finally understood. He let out a blood-curdling scream and tried to bolt for the door, but before he could even reach the bedroom exit, a sharp pain shot through his leg, and he collapsed.
He turned his head to see a knife buried in his leg, with blood gushing out frantically.
The pain made him lose his mind. He began to beg for mercy through tears and snot, trying to tell Qingqing that he wasn't Xiaotian’s husband and that she had the wrong person!
Humming a song, Qingqing fetched more knives from the kitchen and gently locked the door.
...
By the time Nan Yue went downstairs, only Lu Li and Gu Xiang Kai were there. None of them had found Chi He.
"He might have met with an accident too. He was such a good boy."
Lu Li’s expression was full of regret. Chi He’s looks were very popular with girls, and he was gentle and polite. She hadn't expected him to die so silently.
Nan Yue was also somewhat surprised. She had felt that Chi He wasn't facing an immediate death threat, which was why she had dared to go back and rest yesterday.
Was there some clue that both she and Chi He had overlooked?
"What happened to Zhang Qingyang?"
At Nan Yue’s question, Lu Li sighed. "You'll know once you go inside."
Zhang Qingyang’s door wasn't closed, and a thick scent of perfume lingered inside, failing to dissipate even with the door open for so long.
Zhang Qingyang’s body was in the room—or rather, it was everywhere.
The room looked like the scene of a brutal dismemberment. His hacked limbs and organs were scattered throughout the space.
Lu Li stood in the corridor, dry-heaving. No one wanted to step inside.
Nan Yue looked at Zhang Qingyang’s severed hand. There were several deep wounds on it that reached the bone, likely accidental marks from the killer missing their aim during the dismemberment.
A scent of cigarette smoke wafted over. It wasn't the brand Gu Xiang Kai usually smoked; he had probably bought a pack from the convenience store out of frustration with the mission.
"The killer was a woman."
Both Nan Yue and Lu Li turned to look at him. Gu Xiang Kai pointed with his cigarette-holding finger toward the severed hand.
"The strength wasn't great. It probably took several hacks to sever the limbs. Also, there are signs of a struggle. Zhang Qingyang was likely still alive at that point."
Lu Li felt a wave of nausea and rubbed her arms. "Then it must have been Qingqing."
"He really was courting death."
"No, he probably didn't dare to let Qingqing in."
Nan Yue shook her head. "Zhang Qingyang was lustful but he also feared death. I suspect his favorability with Qingqing reached a certain threshold."
Lu Li was confused. "Reached a threshold? They still killed him even then?"
Nan Yue sighed. "In this mission, nobody ever said the neighbors we were supposed to please were the ones who came looking for us."
"Everyone living in the apartment is a neighbor. If you please the wrong one... people die."
For entities like Qingqing and Zhao Ming, once favorability reached a certain point, it would lead to death.
So, like Luo Feifei, Zhang Qingyang had chosen the wrong person to please.
Lu Li was now as anxious as an ant on a hot griddle. She went back and flipped through her newspapers again and again, but she couldn't find any clues related to the little girl.
Because she had never built up favorability with the girl, Lu Li already felt like she was being watched. She constantly felt as if the girl were in her room.
"I have no choice but to help her find her parents today."
Lu Li had a strong premonition that if she didn't build favorability or find another way, the little girl would no longer just exist in her imagination tonight.
She would truly appear beside her.
Lu Li hurried downstairs, and Nan Yue could do nothing to help her.
She looked at Gu Xiang Kai. "I found your clue."
Gu Xiang Kai paused his smoking and crushed the cigarette in the next second.
Nan Yue accompanied Gu Xiang Kai to find the Apartment Manager. When she had learned about Chi He’s clue yesterday, she had also suggested he find the Apartment Manager.
She felt that the concept of calling the police didn't exist in this mission.
Gu Xiang Kai had always been bold. After hearing the clue Nan Yue provided and organizing his thoughts, he immediately went to the first floor.
Xiao Min was on duty at the front desk and gave Nan Yue a smile when she saw her.
"I want to report something. Someone is committing elder abuse in the apartment."
Xiao Min’s smile vanished, and her expression became stern.
"Are you sure? Slandering your neighbors without evidence is considered unfriendly behavior."
Gu Xiang Kai wasn't intimidated by Xiao Min’s threat in the slightest. He explained the situation clearly to her. "You can go and ask the owner of the convenience store. You'll know if it's true or false then."
Xiao Min remained silent for a moment. "Please wait here, tenant. I will go and verify this now."
Watching Xiao Min push open the door and walk out, Nan Yue breathed a massive sigh of relief.
Her only concern for Gu Xiang Kai was whether the shopkeeper counted as a tenant of the apartment. If Xiao Min had been unwilling to verify with him, Gu Xiang Kai would have been finished.
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