Chapter 149
Chapter 149
Hearing that the police were at her door, Dai Chunli wiped away her tears and scrambled up from the floor.
“Coming!”
She reflexively set her phone down on the coffee table and hurried over to open the door.
When the door swung open, two police officers were standing there. The female officer in front held up her badge for Dai Chunli to see.
“Sorry to disturb you, ma’am. We’re from the Jinghai City Public Security Bureau. We have a few questions for you. If it’s convenient, may we come in?”
As she spoke, the officer tucked her badge away and cast a quick glance inside the apartment.
Dai Chunli looked at the chaotic mess filling the room and hesitated for two seconds. Ultimately, she stepped aside and let the officers in.
“This… was there a break-in?” the female officer asked. She walked on her tiptoes, struggling to navigate the room. The place was so cluttered there was hardly anywhere to step.
Dai Chunli gave an awkward smile. “My documents went missing. I was just looking for them.”
She poured two glasses of plain water for the officers and set them on the coffee table.
“Thank you,” the female officer said politely as she took a glass.
As she reached for the cup, her gaze shifted sideways, catching a glimpse of the lit phone screen on the table.
“You are the wife of the owner of Unit 4-3, Jiang Weisen-Ms. Dai, correct?”
The female officer stared directly at Dai Chunli. Beside her, the male officer had already taken out a notebook and pen to record the conversation.
Dai Chunli nodded obediently. “I am.”
The female officer smiled, her tone carrying a hint of a joke.
“You seem quite eager to contact the Aberration World. Is there some kind of emergency?”
The officer was, of course, referring to the chat logs visible on Dai Chunli’s phone screen. Realizing this, Dai Chunli quickly snatched her phone back and turned off the screen.
She stammered, making up a random excuse on the fly.
“Uh, it’s because… because I’m worried about my daughter! My daughter, Jiang Li, is inside the Aberration World.”
The female officer’s eyebrow arched slightly.
She clicked her tongue in feigned surprise. “I wouldn’t have guessed you were so devoted to your stepdaughter. It’s rare to see a stepmother willing to give up ‘half her lifespan’ just to get in touch with the Ghost Face Organization to help her daughter out.”
Dai Chunli felt incredibly uncomfortable under the officer’s scrutiny. Her mouth felt dry, and she picked up her own thermos from the coffee table, taking a nervous sip. After a long moment, she rubbed the side of the cup and spoke with a fake smile.
“I watched Jiang Li grow up. It’s only right to treat her well.”
The female officer noted Dai Chunli’s nervousness. After studying her for a few seconds, her expression turned serious.
“Let’s get down to business,” the officer said bluntly. “Where were you and what were you doing on the night of December 26th, between 11:00 PM and midnight?”
Dai Chunli’s breath hitched for a beat.
What she feared most had finally arrived.
She pursed her lips and thought for a moment before responding. “That night, my Eyes were hurting terribly. I took a taxi to the Jinghai City People’s Hospital.”
The male officer sat nearby, recording her words faithfully.
The female officer then pulled out a photo of a little boy, placed it on the coffee table, and continued her questioning.
“The boy in the photo is Xu Binbin, nickname ‘Xu Xiaobao.’ He is your upstairs neighbor. Did you see him that night?”
At the sight of Xu Xiaobao’s photo, Dai Chunli’s throat tightened. She guiltily picked at her fingers. “N-no, I didn’t see him.”
The female officer raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Really? Because Xu Xiaobao identified your photo and said he saw you that night.”
Dai Chunli’s heart leaped into her throat.
“Maybe… maybe he couldn’t see clearly in the dark. It’s normal for a child to mistake someone for another…”
Her mind was a complete mess, turning into utter mush.
The officer continued, “Did you go out alone that night? Was any family member with you?”
Dai Chunli shook her head. “No one was with me. I went to the hospital by myself.”
“When you left the house, did you hear the sound of a child falling in the stairwell?” the officer probed, changing her angle of attack.
Dai Chunli stood firm. “I didn’t hear anything.”
The two officers asked a few more questions, and Dai Chunli managed to stumble through her excuses. After seeing the officers out, she closed the door and clutched her chest, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
As the male police officer climbed the stairs, he struck up a conversation with his female colleague.
“That Dai Chunli… how should I put it? She seemed exceptionally nervous. That’s the fourth resident in this complex who started shaking the moment they saw us.”
The female officer’s eyes flickered with a sharp light as she looked at him. “So, do you think she’s a suspect?”
The two officers exchanged a look and fell silent for a few seconds.
“Something’s off, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is,” the male officer said, scratching his head.
The female officer gave a faint smile. “She has a very good memory.”
The male officer thought back to the scene they had just left.
A few seconds later, something clicked. He slapped his hands together in excitement and pointed a finger. “Right! That’s it!”
The female officer didn’t say anything more; she simply smiled and gave a slight nod.
They had visited many residents and asked the same questions countless times. Naturally, they had encountered plenty of people who got nervous around the police.
However, this time, the particularly anxious Dai Chunli had revealed a massive flaw-
Time.
When the female officer asked what had happened between 11:00 PM and midnight on December 26th, Dai Chunli’s answer had been far too fluent.
December 26th was over a month ago.
Most people can’t even remember exactly what they were doing during a specific hour three days ago, let alone a month.
Yet, Dai Chunli had managed to recount her actions from that specific hour over a month prior within seconds.
There was only one possibility-
Dai Chunli must have experienced something “special” during that time frame.
That event had left an incredibly deep impression on her.
In fact, she had likely rehearsed it in her mind, preparing what she needed to avoid mentioning in case anyone ever asked about that night.
This was also why the female officer had asked back in the apartment if anyone had accompanied Dai Chunli.
If a family member had been with her, perhaps an argument or some other incident between them could have served as a memory anchor, causing her to remember the night so vividly.
But Dai Chunli’s answer was that she had “gone alone.”
Going alone meant that whatever had anchored the memory must have come from an external source.
And that night, their neighbor, Xu Xiaobao, had fallen down the stairs, leaving blood everywhere.
Could the event that created Dai Chunli’s “memory anchor” be Xu Xiaobao falling down the stairs?
The male officer said, “I was just thinking… Xu Xiaobao was only conscious for a few minutes and couldn’t speak. He never said anything about seeing Dai Chunli. When you suddenly said he had identified her, I actually doubted myself for a second, thinking I’d remembered it wrong. Now I see-you were bluffing her on purpose.”
Realizing what had happened, the male officer shook his head, unable to hide his admiration.
“When did you start suspecting her?” he asked.
The female officer smiled calmly. “From the moment she said she was willing to pay a high price and give up half her life for her daughter, Jiang Li. Everyone in the neighborhood knows Dai Chunli treats Jiang Li poorly. A hypocritical woman who tells nothing but lies just to maintain a public persona has zero credibility in my book.”
“Then let’s keep a close eye on Dai Chunli’s movements,” the male officer suggested.
The female officer nodded. “Agreed.”
***
After the police left, Dai Chunli’s phone pinged with three consecutive messages, all from the man named Skull.
Skull: “Have you thought it through?”
Skull: “If you agree, we can meet in person to sign the contract.”
Skull: “Tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM, Leisurely Time Cafe on Wangjing Road. I’ll be carrying a bouquet of black roses. Be there or be square.”
Dai Chunli glanced at the inheritance documents, thinking about her own penniless state.
She looked back toward the door where the police had exited and hesitated.
Her future self might end up in prison. Even if she lived a long life, she might spend the rest of it behind bars.
Rather than living a life of poverty and misery, it was better to take a gamble and live a wealthy “half-life.”
After much deliberation, Dai Chunli finally made her decision.
She opened the chat box and replied with a single word: “Fine.”