Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-Host, you’ve really mastered the art of being strict with others while being lenient with yourself.
-Why is his focus always so weird? (Black guy questioning face.jpg)
-The Landlord Uncle is already so old, and he still has to suffer like this after dying. The host has no respect for the elderly or love for the young.
-True, he respects neither the old nor the young. Buying a bag of jelly for Yuanyuan was like asking for his life. Aside from having a decent face, he’s practically worthless.
-Sadako: I won’t let you talk about my gei gei like that!
-…Sister Sadako is giving off major toxic stan vibes.
Zhuang Daqiang’s sleeve was gripped tightly by Qiao Yu as he watched Li Xiaoqin walk away with the Review Card.
Left with no choice, he swung his arm hard. A crisp crack echoed through the air.
Zhuang Daqiang glanced at his own arm; it was perfectly fine. Qiao Yu, however, had a limp wrist-it had clearly been dislocated by the force of the pull.
He tried to shake him off, but even with a dislocated wrist, Qiao Yu’s fingers remained clamped onto his sleeve. His face was a mask of obsessive threat.
“What exactly is your relationship with Doctor Zhuang? Either tell me… or give me back my money!”
Zhuang Daqiang: “…”
Qiao Yu eventually got his thousand yuan back, but he was also kicked out of Room 4005 by the Landlord.
This was something Brother Crocodile hadn’t expected.
“Wait, it’s the middle of the night and Ghosts are everywhere. We can’t just wander the hallway forever, can we?”
Qiao Yu carefully tucked the money back into his pocket. With a sharp *clack*, he snapped his wrist back into place, his expression indifferent. “What are you afraid of? Didn’t you use a Review Card?”
Brother Crocodile glanced at Qiao Yu’s wrist before belatedly patting his chest with a smug look. “Oh, right! I’m invincible now!”
Qiao Yu couldn’t stand the other man’s petty triumph and couldn’t help but offer a biting reminder: “But you’re only invincible for twenty-four hours.”
Man-Eating Crocodile: !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ
“What do I do?” Brother Crocodile panicked for a moment. “Where should I go to find clues?”
Since this was the ‘dear son’ he had just acknowledged, Qiao Yu couldn’t exactly leave him to fend for himself.
Qiao Yu walked forward a few steps with one hand in his pocket and stopped at the door of Room 4004. “Let’s check Li Xiaoqin’s place first.”
“Oh.” Brother Crocodile nodded, acting very submissive.
Qiao Yu lowered his eyelashes, and the irritation in his heart gradually subsided.
Although the scrawny guy in front of him was a burden, at least he was an obedient one. For the sake of the guy’s life, maybe he should be a bit more proactive?
After all, this fellow clearly didn’t look very bright. Even if all the clues were laid out in front of him, he probably wouldn’t understand them.
Qiao Yu curled his finger and knocked on the door of Room 4004. The door remained tightly shut with no response.
It seemed Li Xiaoqin wasn’t home. Who knew where she had gone wandering in the middle of the night with a kitchen knife?
Waiting was out of the question. For the third time, Qiao Yu used that Small Wire to pick the lock.
As soon as the door to Room 4004 opened, a faint, chilly aura drifted out. Qiao Yu pushed Man-Eating Crocodile inside and followed, locking the door behind him.
He did this because the Ghosts downstairs, stirred by the noise, were currently heading up. The air was filled with the creaking sounds of the wooden stairs.
The apartment was very quiet. Li Xiaoqin’s husband, Hou Yong, wasn’t home either. Only Hou Yuanyuan lay on the sofa, sleeping soundly.
It seemed that only at times like this did the child look somewhat normal-no malice, no mischief, no indifference. There was only the innocence and lack of worry belonging to a nine-year-old child.
*Thump-*
Man-Eating Crocodile tripped over something and fell flat on his face.
Qiao Yu instinctively looked toward Hou Yuanyuan. The little boy was fast asleep, showing no signs of waking up.
Subconsciously, he stepped forward and placed a finger beneath Hou Yuanyuan’s nose.
Hiss… no breath!
Oh, he forgot-Hou Yuanyuan was a ghost to begin with.
Qiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to turn on the room’s incandescent light.
Room 4004 was in relatively better condition than the other rooms. It was kept very clean; moon-white curtains blocked out the ink-like night outside, their long tassels swaying slightly on both sides.
Qiao Yu glanced at the trash can that Brother Crocodile had kicked over. He knelt down to set it upright and tossed the scattered balls of paper back inside. Then… he spotted a medicine bottle in the trash.
Qiao Yu hesitated for a moment, frowning as he reached his pale fingers into the bin and quickly retrieved the bottle.
This was… Melatonin??
Used for… sleeping?
That made sense. Sleeping pills were prescription drugs; one couldn’t buy them without a medical record.
But who in Room 4004 suffered from insomnia? Qiao Yu thought about it and turned his gaze toward Hou Yuanyuan, who looked as though she were merely asleep.
Could this stuff have been given to Hou Yuanyuan??
But why? Did this child suffer from insomnia at such a young age?
No matter how he looked at it, that didn’t seem right.
“A diary! Dad, I found Li Xiaoqin’s diary!” Brother Crocodile waved the notebook he had pulled from under the pillow, looking delighted.
Qiao Yu tossed the medicine bottle back into the trash and walked over to read Li Xiaoqin’s diary with him.
February 14, 2012
On this Valentine’s Day, I registered my marriage with the person I love. The future looks bright.
May 1, 2012
Hou Yong and I held our wedding. He took out all his savings to buy me a diamond ring, and we moved into Ping’an Apartment. The rent here is really cheap, and it’s only a five-minute walk from the flower shop where I work. It’s also very close to Hou Yong’s workplace-just three subway stops away. He said he’ll work hard to save money for a house so we can have a home of our own as soon as possible.
February 14, 2013
Valentine’s Day is the busiest time for the flower shop, but being busy is good. The commissions are high, which means we earn more, and we can buy a house sooner. Hou Yong is very good to me. The shop has been rushing orders lately, so he’s been doing all the housework. To my late parents: I hope you can rest easy in heaven~
…
It wasn’t really a diary so much as a collection of daily musings. Although the entries were brief, they were filled with happiness-until 2016, when the tone changed.
January 11, 2016
We’ve been married for four years, and we still don’t have a child.
August 16, 2016
Even though the surrounding tenants keep changing, every one of them is curious why we don’t have a child after four years of marriage. When I paid the rent today, Landlord Uncle suggested I go to the hospital for a check-up. Is there something wrong with my body?
August 17, 2016
I told Hou Yong about Landlord Uncle’s suggestion. Hou Yong just smiled dismissively and said it didn’t matter even if we didn’t have children; at worst, we could adopt. He told me not to feel too much pressure. But I want to give birth to a child that belongs to the two of us, so I said, “I want one of my own blood.” Hou Yong had no choice but to say he’d find time next week to take me for a check-up.
August 20, 2016
Hou Yong’s health certificate expired, so he asked if I wanted to go to the hospital with him to get a physical as well. But today, Doctor Zhuang from the apartment came to me with a large order-100 bouquets of daisies. I have no idea how long it’ll take me to arrange all these flowers. Sigh…
As Qiao Yu read this, his fingertips involuntarily tightened for a moment.
Even though Doctor Zhuang didn’t seem to have anything to do with this Instance, the clues appearing everywhere were all connected to him. It was truly difficult not to be suspicious…