Chapter 353

Chapter 353

Song Xiaotian had really picked the right wife.

She was the president of an entire corporate group, yet she still sent side jobs our way from time to time.

According to Song Xiaotian, the real-estate tycoon hiring us this time would pay at least three hundred thousand yuan.

If all three of us went, that was a hundred thousand each.

I had to admit, the money came a hell of a lot faster than selling houses!

Before we went, though, I needed a basic idea of the situation so I could prepare.

“The developer’s surname is Xu,” Song Xiaotian said. “Last year, he finished a massive residential development. It’s built around that fourth-generation housing concept – you know, the kind with sky gardens. The occupancy rate is pretty high.”

“But last week, a female college student disappeared inside the complex.”

I froze. “Disappeared? Shouldn’t they be calling the police?”

“That’s the problem. The way she disappeared was bizarre,” Song Xiaotian explained.

“At first, no one could reach her for two days. She didn’t show up for class, so the university contacted her family. They couldn’t reach her either, so they reported her missing.”

“The police reviewed all the surveillance footage and found that the last place she went was one of the apartment buildings in that complex.”

“Then they checked the cameras in the building. She went inside and never came back out.”

My expression changed. “You don’t think somebody murdered her in there…”

Song Xiaotian shook his head. “The police investigated. They got a search warrant and searched every apartment. The residents were cooperative, but they didn’t find her body.”

“What if someone killed her, stuffed her in a suitcase, and carried her out?”

He shook his head again. “The police reviewed every camera in the building. From the moment she entered until the police conducted their search, nobody left carrying a suitcase.”

I stared at him for a long while, sorting through the facts in my head.

“So you’re saying she walked into that building and vanished into thin air…”

Only then did Song Xiaotian nod. “That’s basically where things stand. The police are still investigating, but they haven’t made any progress. That’s why Boss Xu started thinking it might be something in our line of work. He wants you to take a look and find the girl.”

I didn’t get it. “But what does one missing student have to do with the developer?”

Even if she had died inside the complex, the developer wouldn’t be responsible. Why was he so desperate to find her?

Shouldn’t her parents be the desperate ones?

“That’s exactly it. It has nothing to do with Boss Xu, but the girl’s parents have been making a scene at the complex gate every day. Banners, shouting, the whole works. It’s driving him out of his mind,” Song Xiaotian said. “If they keep this up, how’s he supposed to sell the rest of his apartments?”

That made sense. So this job was about finding someone.

Personally, I thought the girl was probably dead. If she were alive, she couldn’t keep hiding while her family caused a scene outside every day.

Besides, the police had searched the building. How could they fail to find a living, breathing person?

Of course we were taking the job. You didn’t say no to money like that.

But openly ditching work to take a private job during business hours wouldn’t look good.
So the three of us each grabbed a stack of flyers before heading out.

Xie Peng thought we were going to hand them out and wanted to come along.

“What’s a kid like you doing handing out flyers? Stay and watch the shop.” Song Xiaotian sent him right back.

“Why am I watching the shop again?”

Xie Peng stood there in disbelief. “I could’ve sworn I applied for a sales job…”

Once in the car, we headed straight for the complex.

Boss Xu was already there waiting for us. Apparently, the police were still investigating the neighborhood too.

About half an hour later, we arrived at the entrance.

Sure enough, several people were camped outside with a banner. Whenever someone walked past, they shouted about their grievance and accused the heartless developer of harming their daughter.

The girl’s family was being more than a little unreasonable.

She hadn’t even been found, and they were already causing trouble.

We didn’t linger at the gate. We went straight to the security booth and asked where Boss Xu was.

The guard called him. Not long afterward, Boss Xu came out and warmly escorted us into the complex.

He was probably so courteous because Pan Xiaorou had referred us.

“Boss Xu, did you know the missing girl?” I asked.

Boss Xu sighed helplessly. “I swear I’d never met her in my life. But her family comes to the gate every day, claiming I harmed their daughter and hid her somewhere.”

“Tell me, how is that fair? Anyone who doesn’t know the story will think I actually did something shameless and despicable.”

“How am I supposed to sell apartments if they keep this up? The sales office told me more than a dozen prospective buyers had planned to come view properties, but after seeing that family out there, they all canceled. Do you have any idea how much this is costing me?”

Boss Xu looked utterly haggard. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he probably hadn’t slept properly in days.

I told him that if we wanted to find the girl, we first needed to know whether she was alive or dead.

“Nobody knows!” Boss Xu said anxiously. “Even the police haven’t reached a conclusion. But common sense says you should find either the living person or the body, right? She vanished as if she’d evaporated.”

I said nothing more. I took out three copper coins and cast a hexagram.

Once the hexagram was formed, I took out pen and paper and began my calculations.

Practice really did make perfect. I was getting faster and faster at interpreting hexagrams. In seven or eight minutes, I had determined whether the girl was still alive.

The answer surprised me.

“The girl… is alive.”

I was baffled.

Alive?

If she was alive, what was she doing hiding in this building?

Or had she not hidden voluntarily? Was someone holding her prisoner?

Song Xiaotian looked just as surprised. “Are you sure? The police already searched the place. If someone was holding her here and she was still alive, there’s no way they wouldn’t have found her.”

Boss Xu hurriedly nodded. “They searched very carefully. I was here at the time, and the residents cooperated. They even searched all the vacant apartments.”

I thought for a moment. “Do any of your apartment buildings have a Basement?”