Chapter 156
Chapter 156
Just then, two elderly best friends from the floor above happened to be coming down the stairs.
When the two women saw the police investigating in the stairwell, they stretched their necks curiously and took a few extra looks.
The curly-haired woman linked arms with her old friend and cautiously leaned close to her ear, loudly whispering, “I heard that child Xu Xiaobao was pushed down the stairs a few days ago and fell into a vegetative state!”
Her friend looked shocked. “Good heavens! That happened?”
The curly-haired woman slapped her friend’s arm, quickly darted a glance toward the police, then pursed her lips and gave her a look, signaling for her to keep her voice down.
But her friend was too curious to resist, so the curly-haired woman covered her mouth and continued whispering at full volume.
“You don’t live in our community, so you wouldn’t know!”
“The day that child was found, there was blood all over the stairwell! Scared me half to death!”
“Aiyo, I don’t know who could be so cruel. How could anyone do that to such a little child…”
The two women gossiped for a while, then walked past Jiang Li.
Jiang Li instinctively glanced toward the police.
In the cordoned-off area, under the blood detection test, a puddle of fluorescent substance appeared on the floor.
Jiang Li did not get involved any further. She turned and headed up the stairs.
By the time Jiang Li had climbed several flights and arrived at her own door, her pupils suddenly dilated.
Her heart tightened. She strode forward and rushed up to the old iron door.
Following Jiang Li’s gaze, there was a brand-new door Lock embedded in the shabby iron door.
Dai Chunli… She had changed the door Lock!
Jiang Li took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to smash the door down.
She found a “Lock Opening” advertisement pasted on the wall, took out her phone, and was about to call someone over to change the Lock.
But just then, an unknown number came through on Jiang Li’s phone.
Jiang Li glanced at the caller ID.
An anonymous avatar, a gray icon flashing.
The shrill ringtone-“ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling”-sounded especially piercing in the empty corridor.
Jiang Li remembered that she had blocked spam calls.
Then this call… who could it be?
Someone from the Intelligence Department, or the Ghost Face Organization?
A faint sense of foreboding rose in Jiang Li’s heart.
After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Li answered the call.
A familiar voice came from the other end.
“Sister Jiang, are you back? It’s me, Xiaoqiang!” Xia Xiaoqiang’s delighted voice rang out.
Hearing that the call was from Xia Xiaoqiang, Jiang Li relaxed slightly.
She smiled and answered, “Mm, I’m back. I’m at my door.”
“Sister Jiang, Sister Jiang, don’t go back in. Hurry downstairs! Our car will be at the entrance of the community in three minutes. I’ll take you to stay in a big villa! It has security, so it’ll be safer!”
Xia Xiaoqiang’s voice rose with excitement.
Jiang Li looked at the new Lock on her door, then thought of the place Xia Xiaoqiang had arranged for her.
After two seconds of consideration, Jiang Li nodded and agreed. “All right. Thanks.”
Jiang Li once again passed by the police and headed downstairs.
She heard a young auxiliary officer grumbling angrily.
“If you ask me, we should just arrest Dai Chun-pah, pah, I mean, arrest that person! Interrogate her thoroughly. I don’t believe she won’t slip up!”
A female officer said, “We’ve already applied to the higher-ups for a summons. Approval hasn’t come through yet. We’ll probably have to wait a little longer.”
A male officer chimed in, “Exactly. With the Strange Tale invasions these past few years, the number of cases our bureau receives has exploded. The procedures are moving a bit more slowly.”
“…”
Jiang Li quietly took in their conversation without a change in expression.
It seemed Dai Chunli had gotten herself into trouble.
Jiang Li made her way to the entrance of the residential complex.
Outside, night had already fallen.
She had only just arrived downstairs when a black sedan slowly braked and stopped in front of her.
Once the car came to a halt, Xia Xiaoqiang opened the door and got out from the back seat.
Jiang Li glanced at the time. The sedan had arrived pretty quickly-two minutes early.
As soon as Xia Xiaoqiang stepped out, she threw herself enthusiastically into Jiang Li’s arms and gave her a face-to-face hug.
“Sister Jiang, long time no see! Come on, come on, get in!”
Xia Xiaoqiang excitedly nudged Jiang Li along and ushered her into the car.
The driver in the front had just started the engine and was about to pull away.
But then, up ahead, a man wearing a helmet and riding a red heavy motorcycle crashed into the front of the car with a loud bang.
The sedan’s bumper was smashed on the spot.
Beside Jiang Li, Xia Xiaoqiang, who had been unlocking her tablet and preparing to reply to a message, froze.
“What’s going on?” Xia Xiaoqiang’s expression tightened.
In front of the car, the tall motorcyclist swung himself off the bike.
He strode forward, took off his gloves, and rapped on the driver’s window. Knock, knock.
“Get out!” the motorcyclist said coldly.
The driver looked uneasily back at Xia Xiaoqiang in the rear seat. “Miss, this…”
Xia Xiaoqiang looked tense. “Handle it quickly. Don’t ask him to pay.”
The driver nodded, pushed open the door, and got out.
Xia Xiaoqiang raised her wrist, checked her watch, then frowned and stared fixedly outside the car.
She looked genuinely worried.
Jiang Li glanced at Xia Xiaoqiang. Out of the corner of her eye, she inadvertently caught sight of the tablet.
Xia Xiaoqiang’s tablet screen was large, and it was sitting bright and obvious on her lap, forgotten mid-use.
After being unlocked, the screen had remained on a chat interface with a woman.
When Jiang Li glimpsed the two familiar profile pictures, she stilled slightly.
H-how could this be…
“Xiaoqiang, have you been in contact with my stepmother?” Jiang Li asked directly, voicing the suspicion in her heart.
Xia Xiaoqiang was taken aback at first when she heard Jiang Li’s question.
After she realized what Jiang Li meant, she scratched her head and said sheepishly, “Yeah. Haha, you noticed.
“I saw online that your stepmother was looking for the Ghost Face Organization.
“I didn’t know what kind of trick she was trying to pull, so I disguised myself as a contact from the Ghost Face Organization and chatted with her. I even arranged a meeting with her. Hehe.”
When Xia Xiaoqiang smiled, she looked utterly harmless.
Jiang Li studied her for a moment, and for the time being, the doubts in her heart eased.
The two familiar profile pictures Jiang Li had seen just now-
One was the Death Skull of the Ghost Face Organization, and the other was a close-up selfie of the middle-aged woman Dai Chunli.
Xia Xiaoqiang’s explanation happened to fit the logic perfectly.
At that moment, the argument outside the car grew louder.
It seemed the driver was saying the motorcyclist did not need to pay.
But the motorcyclist was turning the tables instead, trying to extort money from him. He grabbed the driver and refused to let him leave unless he paid for the motorcycle.
Xia Xiaoqiang looked as if she could barely sit still. She seemed to want the matter handled quickly so the driver could come back.
Jiang Li asked casually, “Have you been the one contacting Dai Chunli this whole time?”
“Yeah, it was me, Sister Jiang. Why?” Xia Xiaoqiang was watching the two people arguing outside as she answered, somewhat distracted.
Suddenly, she unfastened her seat belt and opened the car door to get out.
“Sister Jiang, let’s have the driver stay here and deal with it. We’ll head back first. We can’t keep Dad waiting! I’ll drive!”
Jiang Li smiled and nodded in agreement.
But just as Xia Xiaoqiang closed the car door and was about to circle around to the front and get into the driver’s seat-
Jiang Li abruptly yanked open the car door and sprinted away at full speed!