Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I pressed myself sideways against the wall and secretly peered inside.

My dad had a cigarette in his mouth, but he wasn’t smoking it. He rubbed his eyes and said, “If he really had anything to do with it, the police wouldn’t have let him come home. Didn’t they already look into it? At noon, Yanwei locked An’an in the house and snuck out on a date. That little bastard didn’t come back until five-thirty!”

Uncle Ma looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

My dad lowered his voice. “What about the police station? Any progress?”

Uncle Ma rubbed his face and shook his head. “Captain Wan won’t reveal a word. I only managed to hear a little through someone I know at the station. The forensic doctor said An’an’s time of death was around five yesterday afternoon.”

My dad slammed his fist against the water tank. “Could the killer be someone from the factory? What kind of animal does that to such a little kid?”

Uncle Ma shook his head. “An’an wasn’t violated.”

The cigarette fell from my dad’s mouth. “What? I saw the child’s body from a distance last night. There seemed to be a bite mark on her wrist, blood on her body, and her dress had been taken off.”

Uncle Ma frowned. “The forensic doctor said there were basically no fatal external injuries on An’an’s body. He also said a bunch of professional terms-something about being frightened, dilated pupils.”

My dad asked, “What does that mean?”

Uncle Ma said in anguish, “More or less, it means An’an may have seen something terrifying and been scared to death.”

My dad’s eyes widened. “Everyone says the seventh floor of the family housing block is haunted. Could An’an have been… by a ghost?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Uncle Ma’s tone turned displeased. “There are no ghosts in this world! The forensic doctor said that to determine An’an’s true cause of death, they’d need to perform an autopsy. My sister refused to let them. She cursed those police officers for being useless at solving cases and said she wouldn’t let them disturb her child in death.” My dad sighed. “Ah! Come on, let’s go back to the ward first.”

Hearing that much, I quickly fled and hid in the fire escape, sitting down on the stairs.

The instant my backside touched the step, a stabbing pain shot through me like hundreds of needles.

I buried my head between my knees, my mind filled with the conversation between my dad and Uncle Ma.

Besides a ghost, what else could scare someone to death?

But An’an had a heart condition. Maybe the killer had tried to assault her, and she was so terrified that her illness acted up and she died?

Who was the killer? Why would they hurt such an adorable child?

As I thought about it, my tears once again flowed uncontrollably. It was all my fault. I hadn’t taken good care of An’an.

Just then, I felt a gust of cold wind blow over me, chilling my spine.

Fear rose inside me, and my heartbeat instantly sped up.

I clenched my teeth, gathered my courage, and looked back-only to find Aunt Ma standing not far away.

Her hair hung loose around her face. Her complexion was deathly pale, and she was staring straight at me.

Every hair on my body stood on end. “Auntie.”

Aunt Ma spoke coldly. “Zhu Yanwei, you killed my daughter, didn’t you?”