chapter 13
My grandfather’s name is Chen He, and he’s an old superstitious man.
He says you can’t just give someone a one-character name; it has to be two characters, otherwise the person’s Fate Pattern will be incomplete.
But he’s getting on in years and doesn’t have the energy to change his own name, so when he named my dad, he gave him two characters: Chen Guowen.
And my original name wasn’t Chen Mo either. I was called Chen Fuguang.
The reason I changed it to Chen Mo was because I had a serious illness when I was a child and almost died. My grandfather invited a master to take a look, and that master told him my Fate Pattern was very strange. As for how strange, I don’t remember, because I never believed in that stuff back then.
All I remember is that the master told my grandfather my Fate Pattern had to be missing something, otherwise I’d bring disaster to many people. So my grandfather changed my name to Chen Mo.
Just now, I heard the name ‘Chen Guowen’ from Brother Liu.
Meng Yifan and I almost thought of my dad at the same time.
But a name is just a label; it’s not unique to each person. Having the same name is pretty common.
Besides, my family isn’t exactly poor, but we’re not rich either. We only have one apartment, and the whole family lives there.
That apartment cost my grandfather all his savings, so it’s impossible for my family to have another place elsewhere.
“Brother Liu, this Chen Guowen… how old is he? Where’s he from?” I continued to ask Brother Liu.
To be honest, I was a bit nervous when I asked.
I was afraid this wasn’t just a coincidence…
Brother Liu thought for a moment and said, “I really don’t know, but I saw him at work today. He’s a middle-aged man, looks cultured, wears glasses, and judging by his accent, he’s a local.”
My eyes widened, and I suddenly panicked inside.
Because my dad also wears glasses, and he looks cultured too…
He used to be an accountant at a company for over ten years. After that company went bankrupt, he went to work as an accountant at a friend’s factory.
Since he’s spent years in an office, never exposed to the elements, even though he’s in his fifties this year, he only looks like he’s in his forties.
And he’s a local!
Brother Liu’s description of the first owner of that apartment matched my dad in every way-even the name was identical!
So many coincidences stacked together-can it still be called a coincidence?
This is a murder case!
How could my dad be involved in a murder case!
And where did he get so much money to have another apartment outside? Does my grandfather know about this?
At this moment, I could barely hide my panic.
Meng Yifan was also shocked, but he didn’t show it. He quickly glared at me, “Is your hemorrhoid acting up? If you need to pee, just go. Come back when you’re done.”
He was helping me out.
I quickly got up, forcing a smile. “Brother Liu, let’s eat first, otherwise it’ll get cold. I’m going to the bathroom.”
After saying that, I grabbed my phone and left the private room, hurrying to call my dad.
My dad’s phone was off-I couldn’t get through at all.
My heart sank, and the last bit of hope vanished.
His phone is never turned off, so why is it off today of all days?
Looks like he really is the first owner of that apartment, and he was summoned by the police this afternoon, so his phone is off. I just don’t know if they’ve let him go yet.
My heart was in utter chaos, my mind completely blank.
I’ve always known my dad is a good man. He doesn’t even dare to kill a chicken, so I can’t believe he would do something like murder.
But if he really was the first owner of that house, and Li Xiumei died there, if the police can’t find the real culprit and he can’t explain himself…
I didn’t dare think further. I hurriedly called my grandpa again.
My grandpa answered, and his tone was a bit different from usual-I noticed it right away.
“Xiao Mo, what’s up? What made you think of calling me?”
“Grandpa, where’s my dad? Is he home?”
On the other end, there was sudden silence.
After a while, he said, “Your dad’s home. He just got back. Why?”
“Where was he before he came home?” I asked.
Another silence.
“Working overtime. Your dad’s been a bit busy lately, so he’s been coming home late. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing. I’ll come home tonight. Don’t go to bed too early.”
After that, I hung up, not saying too much over the phone for now.
Judging by my grandpa’s tone, he probably already knew my dad had been taken to the police station.
I composed myself and went back to the private room.
I’d originally wanted to ask Brother Liu about the case, but he didn’t know much either. When the Massacre Case happened fifteen years ago, he hadn’t even graduated from the police academy.
As for the Corpse Hiding Case with Li Xiumei, he wasn’t one of the officers involved, and Li Xiumei’s body was only dug up yesterday. The officers on the case haven’t found many clues yet.
“Brother Liu, please help us keep an eye on these two cases.”
Now that Li Xiumei is involved, not only are Meng Yifan and I in danger, but even my dad is implicated. Of course I want to find out more.
“If there’s anything that needs to be taken care of, just let me know.”
“No problem. We’re all brothers here.”
Brother Liu only cares about money-I could tell.
But he was still cautious, staring at us and asking, “Can you tell me why you’re so intent on looking into these two cases? I have to ask, because if something goes wrong, it won’t be good for any of us.”
Meng Yifan and I didn’t know how to explain, but we told him the truth anyway.
“Brother Liu, you might not believe this, but we’re being haunted by a ghost, and that ghost is very likely Li Xiumei…”
Hearing this, Brother Liu almost dropped the crayfish he’d just picked up, scared out of his wits.
He swallowed hard, staring at us in a daze.
“I believe you!”
“You really believe us?”
Meng Yifan and I were a bit incredulous.
He’s a cop, and he actually believes in this stuff?
“Let me tell you, I’ve actually encountered something like this before.”
Brother Liu got excited and told us about a case: “When I first became a cop, I worked on a murder case. The victim was a young man who was killed, and we couldn’t even find his body.”
“Guess how we eventually found his body.”