After leaving Luo Sui’s home, the team headed to her workplace.
Luo Sui worked as a sales representative at a medical equipment company called “Quan Quan Health.” When they arrived, they were greeted by the company manager.
The manager was an older woman—very polite and professional. She even brought along the employee who worked at the desk next to Luo Sui to help answer their questions.
“In my impression, Luo Sui was an employee with good conduct and a hard-working attitude. As for her private life, I don’t know much about it,” the manager said with an apologetic smile. “She didn’t ask for leave these past two days, and she hasn’t come to work. I tried to contact her, but I couldn’t get through. I don’t know what happened.”
As for the employee sitting next to Luo Sui, her surname was Lu, and she went by the nickname “Lu-Lu.” Lu-Lu knew more than the manager, but only vaguely: “Luo Sui? I just know she liked cats. Her computer screen and phone wallpaper were both cats. She had a cat cafe she went to often—what was it called? Meow Meow Cafe? Other than that, there wasn’t anything particularly special…”
The information provided by Luo Sui’s two colleagues was minimal. In today’s busy life, people emphasize social boundaries, and under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t pay specific attention to someone else’s private life.
“What about the flowers on Luo Sui’s desk? Do you know anything about them?” Ji Xun suddenly asked.
They were sitting in the manager’s office, which was enclosed in glass. Looking out, they could see a bouquet of fiery red roses sitting on Luo Sui’s desk, already starting to wilt.
“Those were sent on March 14th, White Valentine’s Day. Luo Sui didn’t come in that day, so they’ve been sitting on her desk ever since. It was probably that person who sent them to her,” Lu-Lu said.
“That person?” Zhao Wu asked, “Which person?”
“We don’t know either. The sender never left a name. At first, Luo Sui would ask who sent them, but later she stopped asking—maybe she figured out who it was,” Lu-Lu added. “It’s easy to guess, really. It must be someone who wants to pursue her. Otherwise, who would send flowers, snacks, and cute cat figurines every few days? And all of them happen to be things Luo Sui loves?”
“How long ago did it start?” Ji Xun asked again.
“I forget… she probably started receiving them shortly after she joined the company,” Lu-Lu replied. Perhaps inspired by the specific question, she began to open up. “But although the person kept sending things, we never saw him come to the company to pick Luo Sui up. Most of the time, Luo Sui moved about on her own. They might be in a long-distance relationship, just dating online.”
“Do you know if Luo Sui had any very close friends?” Huo Ranyin asked.
“…I don’t think so,” Lu-Lu said.
“No?”
“Right, I don’t think so,” Lu-Lu continued. “Nowadays, everyone uses WeChat for contact and work. I sat next to her, and one time I took her phone and saw that her WeChat contact list was remarkably clean. Except for colleagues, there wasn’t even anyone selling things on her Moments feed. Later, while we were chatting, she said her mental state hadn’t been great over the past two years. She once had a bout of depression and, in a moment of impulse, cleared out her entire Moments history. She considers herself to have overcome depression and is living again now.”
“Besides, it’s not just her Moments. She worked quite hard—she came in early in the morning and worked overtime until seven or eight at night. You can imagine she didn’t have much time to go out with friends. Also, the company has team-building events from time to time, and we’re allowed to bring friends, boyfriends, or family members. Everyone usually brings someone—singles bring friends, couples bring partners, married people bring family… Luo Sui was always alone. So, I don’t think she had any close friends in her daily life. At least, even if she did, we never saw them. Oh, wait, we did see her ‘god-grandfather’.”
“God-grandfather?”
“Yeah, a pretty stylish old man. He looked very handsome and seemed quite wealthy. It seems she got to know him while running business errands shortly after joining the company, and because they hit it off, they became god-relatives,” Lu-Lu nodded. “Occasionally, he would come to the company to pick Luo Sui up. Every time he came, Luo Sui was very happy. Even though they were god-relatives, I saw that their relationship was indeed very close. When he came, it was when Luo Sui was least focused on work, but everyone understood—you have one less day left to spend with people from the generation of your grandparents…”
Without a doubt, this stylish, handsome, and wealthy old man was Hu Kun.
Occasionally, Hu Kun would come to the company to pick Luo Sui up.
Only, no one in the company knew the true relationship between Hu Kun and Luo Sui. Just like the neighbors near Hu Kun’s house, they simply assumed that Luo Sui, who frequently visited Hu Kun’s home, was his granddaughter.
They asked a few more questions, but the people at the company couldn’t provide any more answers.
The team didn’t press the issue, but they instructed the manager to notify the police immediately if Luo Sui made contact.
Next, they headed to Old Hu’s home to question his family members.
The villa was still the same villa. Compared to the last visit, Hu Zheng’s wife was now staying there, as were Mrs. Mei’s relatives. It was supposed to be a spacious place, yet every time they visited, it was noisy and chaotic. In just a day or two, Old Hu’s portrait that had been in the living room was gone—it seemed as if all traces of Old Hu were being thoroughly erased from this villa that belonged to him.
When the police arrived, Hu Zheng’s wife was the most proactive.
She knew her husband had been arrested and wanted to plead for him, but she was also eager to cause trouble for Luo Sui, so she told them everything she knew: “You’re asking about ‘K’? ‘K’ is Luo Sui’s lover!”
During police visits, it’s actually rare for a witness’s testimony to immediately hit the nail on the head. They always talk about what they want to say, whereas the police want objective, factual evidence.
Fortunately, after some back-and-forth, Hu Zheng’s wife gradually got into the zone and began to talk about ‘K’ in detail.
“Luo Sui has a Weibo account called ‘Melancholy Florentine.’ I learned about ‘K’ through her Weibo. She often interacted with ‘K’ on Weibo, leaving comments like ‘kisses’ and ‘hugs,’ wishing each other well on holidays, or posting separate Weibo entries @-ing each other with blessings. When they saw some beautiful scenery or tourist spot, they would even invite each other… You tell me, is this what a decent person does? The relationship definitely wasn’t simple. They’ve probably checked into a hotel together countless times. Her behavior with K online wasn’t even hidden; it was just bullying the old man for not knowing how to use the internet so he couldn’t discover her unfaithful true colors. Hmph… I don’t know what kind of soul soup she fed the old man. Every time we brought up K to him, he would get annoyed and tell us to leave! The old man is truly blind!”
Hu Zheng’s wife cursed with a foul expression.
While Zhao Wu and the others chatted with Hu Zheng’s wife, the rest of the team watched the scene. Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin, however, went in the opposite direction and began to quietly observe the villa.
Since the “Old Hu” who died in the hospital was not the real Old Hu, Old Hu must have had a different location of death. To let Old Hu die without alerting others, the best place would naturally be in his own home.
It was likely that Luo Sui had made her move on Old Hu right there in the house.
Since everyone was in the living room watching the police interrogation, it made things convenient for Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin. The two moved quickly, inspecting the house from top to bottom. They soon discovered clues in the villa’s basement media room.
The media room was a place for watching movies and playing games. The room was not large, and the television inside was enormous, occupying half the wall. There was a small window through which one could see the garden. The coffee table facing the TV was made of wood.
“The coffee table has been replaced,” Huo Ranyin said.
No matter how well maintained it was, it wouldn’t be so brand-new that the legs didn’t have a single trace of wear—there should at least be some dust or scratches.
Using a gloved hand, Huo Ranyin carefully lifted the carpet under the coffee table, which also looked very new. In the cracks of the wooden floor, there were brown stains: “It should be here.”
“It makes sense. In the media room, you can turn the volume up very high. Even if Old Hu struggled violently before he passed, the sound would be masked by the movie and wouldn’t be heard outside. Mrs. Mei wouldn’t have discovered it…”
Ji Xun paused abruptly.
“Do you remember when we went to the hospital, the nurse said Mrs. Mei had also been to the hospital?”
“Of course I remember.”
“Hu Zheng noticed something was wrong with the body while handling it, so… did Mrs. Mei realize that the Old Hu in the hospital wasn’t the real Old Hu?”
They looked out through the small window of the media room and saw the person currently in the garden.
Hu Zheng’s wife and Mrs. Mei’s relatives were all crowded into the living room watching the police interrogation, but Mrs. Mei was staying in the garden alone, nimbly moving flower pots and loosening the soil, doing all sorts of chores.
She wore her hair simply tied back with a plain black band. The way she bent over in the sun to tend to the flower beds looked just like the silhouette of an old ox silently working in the mud.
“Everyone knew that Old Hu’s death was a bit suspicious,” Ji Xun commented. “But no one chose to speak out. Old Hu truly lived in a way that made everyone angry and resentful…”
Yet, thinking about it carefully, this probably wasn’t too strange.
Because of Luo Sui, Old Hu’s relationship with his children was poor.
Because of Luo Sui, Mrs. Mei, who had been properly living with Old Hu as a companion, looked like an invisible person.
Old Hu and Luo Sui, on the other hand, were intimate and sweet together.
And yet, Luo Sui was the one who killed Old Hu.
The two came up from the media room. Ji Xun, wearing his face that appealed to all ages, went over to help the lonely old woman tending the garden, who seemed so out of place compared to the people in the living room.
“Grandma Mei, can I ask you some questions?” Ji Xun greeted her while helping the old woman move a flower pot.
“Go ahead.” The old woman didn’t look up, only speaking, her voice seeming to emerge from the dirt, carrying a dull tone.
“Can I start by asking your name?” Ji Xun smiled. “This is for the deposition, it’s being recorded, so I need your full name.”
The old woman looked up at Ji Xun, and a flicker of unfamiliarity seemed to flash in her eyes.
“…Lili,” Grandma Mei said. “Mei Lili.”
Mei Lili—a soft and beautiful name that didn’t quite match the old woman’s aged appearance.
Ji Xun understood why the old woman showed that look of unfamiliarity—she was unfamiliar with my question, but also unfamiliar with her own name. This name must have perfectly matched her at her youngest and most beautiful; since it matched her youth, it was naturally far removed from the aged self she was now.
Grandma Mei was extra nimble at her work. In the time it took to exchange those few words, they had finished moving the pots on the rack, and the old woman went to tidy up the pots in the corner of the garden.
Compared to the pots outside, these few pots were hidden deep; there was a creeper vine hanging down in front of them, and if one didn’t look carefully through the gaps in the creeper vine, one could barely see them.
“Do these plants not like the sun?” Ji Xun asked curiously. “Is that why you put them here?”
“No.”
“Then why?” Ji Xun pressed for the answer.
“Because that woman doesn’t like them,” Grandma Mei said flatly.
Without a doubt, “that woman” was Luo Sui.
Even though it was the space where she lived, she couldn’t defy the will of an outsider. Ji Xun was momentarily surprised, and after the surprise, he felt a bit of sympathy for the old woman.
“Do you know anything about Luo Sui?”
“What do you mean?” Grandma Mei retorted.
“For example, how Luo Sui and Old Hu met, what Luo Sui usually did, how often she came here, where Old Hu and Luo Sui met, whether Luo Sui had any strange behavior—” Ji Xun listed a whole bunch of things at random.
Grandma Mei was silent for a long time.
“I don’t really like to pay attention to their business. But they were often together, very sticky. Whenever they could avoid people, they would start kissing and hugging. Sometimes I would still be home, and they would start… they didn’t do it so often outdoors, perhaps they still wanted to save face. As for the other things you asked, I’m not really sure. However…”
“However, what?”
“Old Hu loved woodworking. He had a place specifically for woodworking. He wouldn’t let me go there, but he might have taken Luo Sui there,” Grandma Mei said.
