Soon, the taxi stopped by the entrance of Happy Garden Residency at the south of the city.
After paying the fare, Mu Yu got down from the taxi and stood at the entrance in a trance.
For the past few days, she gathered some information through different channels in the workplace regarding the homicide case in the forest, but there was no clue that could help solve the case. She suspected that Rong Jian did not tell her the information in detail, but she did not blame him, because she was just a forensic doctor after all.
Due to her curiosity and unwillingness to return to Qin’s house so early, she successfully kept it a secret from Rong Jian and sneaked to Happy Garden, where Sun Meilan stayed when she was alive. She wanted to interview the people here, in hope that she could unearth any details that were omitted.
“Hi!” Someone patted on her back.
“Ah!”
Still thinking about the case, Mu Yu who was deep in thoughts was startled and turned around panickedly. Unexpectedly, she tripped and lost balance at once.
“Be careful!” A strong large hand reached out to her and held her in the nick of time. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, thank you.” After Mu Yu regained her balance, she expressed her gratitude to that person.
“Luckily you’re fine.” That person let out a breath of relief and apologized. “Sorry, I acted too impulsively.”
“Yunzhe? I mean, President Yi.” After Mu Yu recognized Yi Yunzhe, the photo which was photoshopped by Dong Wanqing flashed before her eyes. She quickly pushed him away and took a step back subconsciously. After keeping a distance from him, she greeted him with an awkward smile. “President Yi, what a coincidence.”
A tiny trace of desolation flashed across Yi Yunzhe’s eyes when she addressed him as President Yi. He pretended that he did not notice her small gestures and pointed at the residency entrance. He then asked casually, “Are you staying here?”
“No. Well, my friend lives here. I came to visit her.” Mu Yu did not want to have any further interaction with him, so she pointed inside and answered perfunctorily. “She must be home now. I’m going inside.”
Yi Yunzhe was obviously disheartened, but he did not say much. He just smiled and replied, “Alright, we’ll chat some other day.”
Mu Yu waved her hands. When she was about to turn around, she suddenly heard someone calling her name. She looked around and saw her best friend, Jiang Wenwen, running toward her.
Jiang Wenwen dashed toward her delightedly and pulled her arms while asking breathlessly, “Mu Yu! Why are you here? And is this your friend?”
While asking, she sized Yi Yunzhe up curiously. She emphasized the phrase ‘friend’ in her question.
Mu Yu understood her meaning and explained instantly, “He is Yihan’s friend.”
“I am Yi Yunzhe.” Yi Yunzhe smiled while introducing himself.
“Oh, so you are Yihan’s friend.” Jiang Wenwen instantly got Mu Yu’s message. Her eyes sparkled with an uncanny beam as she greeted him joyfully with a hand shake. “Hi Mister Yi, I am Jiang Wenwen, Mu Yu’s best friend. I am the same age as Mu Yu and I am a teacher. I like…”
Her introduction sounded like an arranged date. It made Mu Yu feel embarrassed, so she interrupted her hastily, “Wenwen, don’t you have something important to discuss with me?”
“What? I…”
“Let’s talk inside.” Mu Yu held her arm and dragged her into the residency, while turning back to wave at Yi Yunzhe again. “Goodbye, President Yi.”
“Hey, Mu Yu, I…”
When Mu Yu noticed Jiang Wenwen’s gaze was still fixed on Yi Yunzhe, she pinched her secretly. As Jiang Wenwen gasped in pain, she whispered in her ears, “Cut it out, he has a girlfriend.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m hundred percent sure. Yihan told me.” Mu Yu was certain that Jiang Wenwen would not give up on him if she did not tell such a lie.
As expected, Jiang Wenwen retracted her gaze reluctantly and sighed as soon as she heard that.
“Stop sighing.” Mu Yu comforted her with a smile. “The ‘matchmaking lady’ must have prepared a handsome and wealthy candidate spouse for you. It’s just that it isn’t the time for him to appear yet. You must wait for him patiently.”
“You always have the best advice. Anyway, are you still in touch with Young Master Qin recently?”
“What? Well…”
“How is it? Is there any progress? Tell me quickly.” Jiang Wenwen could sense the ambiguous vibe. She hugged Mu Yu in curiosity and excitement.
“If I say that we have registered as a married couple, will you believe me?” Although her marriage with Qin Jinhuan had only been a month or two, she knew that Jiang Wenwen would find out sooner or later, so she told her frankly.
“Married?!”
“Hey, lower down your voice please!” Mu Yu dragged her to a remote area hastily.
“Both of you really have registered for your marriage? When did that happen? And when do you plan to have your wedding ceremony? Oh my god! It’s just a few days since I last contacted you. How did the both of you progress so fast? And why didn’t you tell me this right away? Am I not your best friend?”
Jiang Wenwen asked a barrage of questions, but Mu Yu looked at her watch and saw that it was already 5pm. She recalled her purpose of this trip and knew she did not have time to talk to her
about these. So she said, “It’s a long story. Why don’t you go home first and we’ll talk about this online at night? I have some important matters now.”
“What important matters?”
“It’s about my work. Alright, I really don’t have time to chat. I’ll meet you online tonight.” After that, Mu Yu walked off hastily.
“We’re already reaching my house. Are you sure you don’t want to come inside and have a sit?”
“Your house? No wonder this residency sounds familiar.” Initially, she dragged Jiang Wenwen into the residency to avoid Yi Yunzhe. She did not expect that Jiang Wenwen was really staying here and was amused by this fact. Looking around on the spot, she could not help but feel perplexed. “Why do I feel that your house doesn’t look like what I remembered?”
“Firstly, it’s because you’ve only been here a few times. Secondly, it’s because I usually lead you to my house through the north entrance. We came in from the south entrance today.”
“I see! Oh, which building is your house at again?”
“Building 18.”
“What a coincidence!”
“What do you mean by coincidence?” Jiang Wenwen felt baffled.
Mu Yu did not answer her question. Instead, she asked, “Do you know that a woman who lived in Unit 903 of Building 18 was murdered in the Cheng Xi forest a few days ago?”
“I know. The entire residency knows this. Everyone hated that shrew. Since her death, the residency has become a lot more peaceful.” Jiang Wenwen was initially talking in a nonchalant manner. But she suddenly thought of something, and looked at Mu Yu anxiously. “Did you come here today to investigate her death? Don’t tell the police about my complaints just now! I heard that the murderer has not been identified. Anyone who disliked her, or had grudges on her will become a suspect. That’s why I didn’t say anything when the police asked me about this previously. I didn’t want to be a suspect!”
Mu Yu comforted her immediately. “Don’t worry. The police always rely on evidence to crack a case. They will never wrongfully accuse an innocent person.”
Jiang Wenwen was not convinced. She shook her head and said, “I understand what you said, but if I become a suspect, I will be interrogated frequently. I am a teacher, so I have to protect my reputation!”
In Mu Yu’s impression, Jiang Wenwen was always daring and bold. It was rare to see her being this pigeon-hearted. If it was any other usual time, Mu Yu would laugh at her. But Mu Yu understood her feelings right now, so she smiled and reassured her, “Compared to other people that were interviewed by the police, you are considered very polite to Sun Meilan with your words.”
“Really?”
Mu Yu nodded. “Some of them even cursed her to suffer in the 18th level of hell in front of the police.”
“I can guess who cursed her even without you telling me.”
“Really? Who abhorred her so greatly?” Mu Yu was extremely curious to know.
“It’s either the one who lives one floor above her or the one below her. I’m tired of standing. Let’s go to my house and have a drink. I’ll tell you the story in detail.”
“Alright.” Mu Yu followed Jiang Wenwen to Unit 703, which was her house.
Jiang Wenwen poured her a glass of water and continued her story. “I’ll start with the one living below Sun Meilan. Doesn’t every house have a crossbeam for the air conditioner’s external unit outside the window? Sun Meilan was worried that it would be noisy if she installed it at her own crossbeam outside the window, so she used a metal rod to knock off a small area of cement in secret. I didn’t make this up, someone saw it with her or his own eyes. Then, she said that she couldn’t install the external unit on her own crossbeam because it was damaged, so she installed it outside Unit 803’s window when the family went out to work. When the family of 803 returned home, they were furious. They wanted to get people to uninstall it, but Sun Meilan instigated her son to gather the local loafers and smashed 803’s door. She even threatened them in several ways.”
Mu Yu was infuriated. “Didn’t 803 report her to the police?”
“Of course they did. The police wanted to ascertain the responsibility of Sun Meilan’s son. But Sun Mei Lan threw a fit and made a scene in 803, causing chaos in the unit. The female owner could not bear the clamor. In the end, she gave in and told the police that she will let it slide. This matter was left unsettled since then.”
“That’s so terrible.”
“There’s even worse. The household who lives above her is a married couple who are in their 50s. They live with their two grandchildren of seven and eight years old. Occasionally, the two children would make some noises at the floor above and Sun Meilan would rush up and cuss them while kicking at their door. She would cuss out both the old and young, to the point where the family did not dare to open the door. If she met the children without any adults around, she would pinch them. I’ve seen it before. Their arms and legs were severely bruised. It really hurts to witness.”
“What?! Didn’t you stop her?”
“I’ve stopped her once, but that shrew not only scolded at me at full blast, she also cursed my parents.” Jiang Wenwen pulled her to the balcony while speaking. She then pointed at the shed above her. “She wasn’t satisfied after cursing my family, she even intentionally waters the flower or pours water while I’m drying my clothes and quilt for several times. I could not hold in my anger, so I ran upstairs to confront her. But she cussed me back with all kinds of vulgar words. Sigh. You’ve never seen that situation. Her mouth is even more powerful than Pao Lung-Sing [1] in the movie Hail the Judge! After my mother installed this shed, she warned me not to meddle in that shrew’s business. Since then, I’ve been avoiding her just like most of the people in this residency. If you ask around the residency, they will give you a long list of Sun Meilan’s vulgar arguments.”
Mu Yu clicked her tongue and shook her head. “As the saying goes, a loose tongue is a source of evil. No wonder her tongue was cruelly cut off and mutilated.”
She had heard that Sun Meilan was a fierce woman from Rong Jian, but she did not expect her to be this fierce.
“Her tongue was cut off?!” Jiang Wenwen was initially astounded, then she clapped with joy. “That served her well. She sowed the seeds of her own ruin. Mu Yu, the murderer is actually doing a good deed by killing her. The police don’t have to catch the murderer.”
“We are living in a society with a legal system. We should punish Sun Meilan through legal means if she is wrong. Murdering a person is not allowed.”
“She has so many enemies. God knows who murdered her.” Jiang Wenwen shrugged her shoulder under Mu Yu’s gaze. “I have proof of absence. Not only me, most of the people in this building who disliked her do. Those few people who don’t have the proof are also confirmed to be innocent by the police.”
“I didn’t say that all of you are the murderer, I just—” The phone rang and interrupted Mu Yu’s sentence. She took out the phone and when she saw that it was from her mother, she quickly answered the phone.
As soon as they were connected, she heard her mother wailing. She panicked at once.
[1] Pao Lung-Sing was the lead character in the movie Hail the Judge (1994). He was a court official in the Qing Dynasty. He wanted to help a woman who was sentenced to death in an unjust prison. Through hardships, he finally defeated the perpetrator and the evil forces behind him, and exposed the truth to the world.