Wu Ping could not stand Gao Da’s harsh words and ran off aggrieved.
Seeing Wu Ping leave and Shui Ping having no intention of going after her, Gao Da finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Are we still going to the police station?” Seeing everyone looking at him in surprise, Gao Da sighed softly and said, “If you want to go, hurry up. The Ping An reporter is coming tonight to investigate the case! I'm his assistant, he'll definitely look for me then!”
“Still thinking of pressuring people? Off you go!” Shui Ping pushed Gao Da and Old Hua, and they left the square.
The crowd gradually dispersed, and Shui Gang also disappeared.
“Everyone, where is my dad?” Xiao Gao, who had rushed over after hearing the news, anxiously asked everyone after finding his father absent from the square.
“Your dad hurt Wu Ping and was taken away!” an aunt said indignantly.
“What!” Xiao Gao was so surprised he couldn’t speak.
The farce ended just like that. By the time Ping An, Gao Xiaofei, and Hei Dou arrived at the community, the incident had already been discussed as gossip by the aunts for a long time.
Ping An naturally didn’t know what had happened to Gao Da. At this moment, he was on the roof of Building C, investigating the spot where the shadowy figure had been peeping.
“You shouldn’t come anymore, it’s getting dark soon. Isn’t it better to meet tomorrow?” Su Tang had been calling non-stop all afternoon. Ping An spread his hands in resignation and said, “Okay, okay, then you come. When you arrive, see me first, and then go see Jiaozi!”
After hanging up, Gao Xiaofei eagerly crowded around.
“It was at this spot. Although it rained the next day, there were clear traces of two telescope stands here. Here, these are photos taken by our technical investigation later!” Gao Xiaofei said.
“This location is absolutely perfect, with a clear view of the opposite building. At night, if you’re not paying attention, who would notice someone lying here and peeping!” Ping An said.
“If that person was peeping here often, wouldn’t they have noticed the drone long ago?” Gao Xiaofei asked.
“I suspect the peeping gang and the drone are not connected, and are not even the same matter!” Ping An said. “I’ve been re-examining the case for the past few days and found almost no overlap between the peeping gang and the drone. We’ve always assumed there must be a connection between these two, but what if there isn’t?”
“You mean they’re doing their own thing, with no connection?” Gao Xiaofei said.
“Not entirely! At the very least, the one who fell to his death on Jiaozi’s balcony was very likely caused by the drone! Let’s imagine, the peeping gang definitely didn’t want to be discovered, and the drone also didn’t want to be discovered. Then, one day—they discovered each other, and then, would they fight? For example, a peeper thought they could catch the drone, but was led astray by the drone and finally fell to their death on the balcony!”
“That’s interesting, continue!” Gao Xiaofei said.
“From a practical standpoint, the peeping gang is not a monolithic entity. At least four people might not be directly involved in Wang Huan’an’s death! Otherwise, they wouldn’t have tried so hard to report the case! The fifth person wanted to silence them, but why? He was well hidden, and no one knew!” Ping An said.
“Ahem, there is already evidence proving Shui Gang owns a telescope and is related to Wang Huan’an!” Gao Xiaofei interjected.
“Then why don’t you arrest him?” Ping An raised his eyebrows provocatively.
“You continue,” Gao Xiaofei said helplessly.
“Based on the information gathered, we now know the peeping gang used illegal means and raped Wang Huan’an. If Shui Gang, oh no, if the fifth person and the other four shared a common hobby of peeping for pleasure, then why wouldn’t the fifth person know that the other four would rape Wang Huan’an?”
“You mean?”
“Heh, the peeping foursome, their purpose for peeping was for pleasure, while the fifth person, his peeping had a hidden motive!” Ping An stood where the shadowy figure had crawled, using his hands as binoculars, and looked intently at the opposite building.
“Those four guys are not in league with Shui Gang! But they are all peepers!” Gao Xiaofei finally understood.
“Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to connect the clues I have!” Ping An said. “Remember the walkie-talkie? That was the only thing Shui Gang had openly. He didn’t even care about the binoculars, right!”
“Mm-hmm!”
“Based on this deduction, the fifth person must have known about the peeping activities of the other four, and he tacitly approved it! Or, he had some leverage held over him, and was forced!” Ping An said. “The fifth person’s skill in committing the crime is clearly not on the same level as the other four, and those four were just doing it for entertainment, otherwise they wouldn’t have reported the case! But why would the fifth person help them peep?”
“Was he threatened?” Gao Xiaofei looked at Ping An, trying hard to make his understanding exist in Ping An’s world.
“If not, I can’t think of anything more fitting and realistic!” Ping An shook his head.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, the earphone that Han Xiao took away was actually not an earphone. When we organized the information later, through high-precision processing of the video, we discovered that the earphone was actually a bracelet!” Gao Xiaofei said.
“Oh, that’s new. The bracelet?” Ping An asked.
“After Han Xiao died, we searched everywhere, but couldn’t find it! Do you think the fifth person being threatened might be related to this bracelet?” Gao Xiaofei said.
“The person is dead, and regardless of that, they first took the bracelet. This bracelet must be very important! You know, old friend, believe it or not, this bracelet is likely the key to solving everything!” Ping An said.
The exploration on the rooftop took quite a while. After some analysis, Ping An and Gao Xiaofei finally had their first “spark” of understanding regarding the case. In Gao Xiaofei’s words, it was a “feeling.”
Summer nights always arrive late.
As the sun had just set, Ping An, using the last rays of sunlight, carefully examined the footprints on the wall behind the supermarket and then smiled mischievously at Gao Xiaofei.
“It’s no fun if you discover it!” Gao Xiaofei shook his head and said helplessly, “Sometimes I really don’t know how your brain works. I just said you would probably find something wrong with this footprint!”
“Tell me, what good stuff are you police hiding?” Ping An took out a cigarette and slowly lit it.
“After appraisal, this footprint is about 28 centimeters long. The sole pattern indicates it’s an ordinary pair of tourist shoes. Guess whose feet are like this?” Gao Xiaofei asked.
“Shui Gang’s, probably!” Ping An said. “I have a general idea of what Shui Gang did that night. Now I just need evidence!”
“Tell us, we’re all curious. How did Shui Gang create an alibi that night? Even if Old Hua didn’t keep an eye on him! How did he split himself, playing hide-and-seek with you in the community while at the same time greeting the security guard and openly entering the community!”
“Su Tang will be here soon, right? Let’s go pick her up and then go see Jiaozi!” Ping An’s heart suddenly pounded a few times. He looked at his watch, feeling a little uneasy.
After calling Su Tang and arranging a time to visit, Ping An, Gao Xiaofei, and Hei Dou went to Gao Xiaofei’s house to tidy up. About 20 minutes later, Su Tang and Fei Keqing, who was worried, arrived as promised.
“Alright, you and Su Tang can go. Hei Dou will stay home. I brought noodles, so the three of us won’t intrude on their home. I’ll make cold noodles for you to eat!” Fei Keqing called out.
Carrying a pile of fruit, Ping An and Su Tang arrived at Jiaozi’s doorstep.
Just then, Xiao Gao, who was in a meeting at the property management company, suddenly found his phone sending out alarms uncontrollably! After he quickly dealt with it, he realized his phone wasn’t broken, but rather a software on his phone had issued an alert.
“Oh no, wasn’t my dad at the police station? How could he have a heart attack!” Xiao Gao looked at his phone and almost fell to the ground. It turned out that this software was a health monitoring software for the elderly. The elderly person wore a bracelet, and if the bracelet detected that the elderly person was in trouble, it would immediately send an alert to the guardian and provide location information.
Poor Xiao Gao, after learning that his father had been taken to the police station, rushed back to work for a meeting and temporarily ignored it. In fact, he was quite supportive of his father’s “late-life romance,” but if it meant disregarding everything else, that would be too much.
Now, his father must have had some problems. Xiao Gao hurriedly took leave and rushed to the police station.
Fengdian Community was a relatively large community in the area, and a police station was naturally set up there. This police station was located next to the south gate of the community.
“Officer Shui! Isn’t my father here?” Xiao Gao ran into the police station and found only Shui Ping inside.
“Your dad? I just educated him and Old Hua, and let them go!” Shui Ping patted two inspection reports on the desk. “Here, these are the letters of guarantee written by the two old comrades! What’s wrong?”
“That’s not right, the location pinpointed by the phone is here—Officer Shui, my dad had a heart attack, and the alarm has been going off for a while!” Xiao Gao explained anxiously.
“Oh, you mean the bracelet your dad was wearing? He said it was too hot here earlier, so he took it off and forgot to take it with him when he left!” Shui Ping handed a bracelet to Xiao Gao.
“Oh, then it’s fine. But why would this bracelet suddenly alarm?” Xiao Gao took the bracelet and casually put it in his pocket.
“Didn’t you call your dad? Oh, right, you couldn’t get through, your dad’s phone is broken!” Shui Ping said, and suddenly remembered Gao Da smashing his phone in public.
“No wonder, I called several times but no one answered!” Xiao Gao said. Then where could this old man have gone?
“Don’t worry, I’ll check the surveillance for you!” The kind-hearted Shui Ping immediately opened the computer and brought up the video.
In the video, Gao Da and Old Hua signed two documents respectively, then waved goodbye to Shui Ping and left.
Shui Ping then brought up the outdoor video and found that Gao Da and Old Hua did not return to the community but walked towards the woods outside the community.
“I heard—did my dad have a falling out with Uncle Hua?” Xiao Gao suddenly asked, embarrassed.
“Yes, but the two of them have already made up!” Shui Ping said.
“I’d better go chase after them and take a look!” For some reason, Xiao Gao suddenly had a bad feeling.
Across from Fengdian Community, there is a small forest. In midsummer, it is not only a gathering place for young couples but also a good place for middle-aged and elderly friends to chat and gossip.
Xiao Gao, missing his father, hurried into the small forest, searching for his father like navigating a maze.
“Dad!” Xiao Gao called out aimlessly a few times in the woods.
“Ah!” Unexpectedly, someone answered, but it didn’t sound like his father.
Indeed, a small garbage truck carrying four trash cans slowly drove over from the dirt road by the edge of the forest.
“Captain Shui?” Xiao Gao, hearing the wrong voice, viciously wanted to see who was taking advantage of him, but to his surprise, it was Shui Gang.
“Captain Gao, enjoying your leisure time, practicing calling out for your dad in the woods?” Shui Gang was the previous security captain, and Xiao Gao was a later addition. Frankly, these two never really got along.
“I’m looking for my dad, have you seen him?” Xiao Gao said with a dark face.
“Grandpa Gao? Oh, I just saw my sister take him to the police station. You should look there,” Shui Gang kindly reminded him.
“I know, but after he and Old Hua left the police station, they went straight into the woods.” Xiao Gao said anxiously.
“Hey! You don’t know what happened just now. I was there and saw everything. Your dad and Old Hua had a disagreement about Sister Wu. They probably went into the woods to find a quiet place to negotiate!” Shui Gang couldn’t help but chuckle as he recalled the scene.
“My dad’s bracelet indicates he had a heart attack!” Xiao Gao, ignoring Shui Gang’s teasing, took out the bracelet and said, “At the police station, my dad’s heart started acting up when he took off the bracelet, but when I went to the police station, there was only the bracelet, and the old man was gone!”
Hearing Xiao Gao say this, Shui Gang quickly got out of the garbage truck and said apologetically, “I’m helping Old Xie from the property management’s sanitation department today and have been in and out of this forest several times. I haven’t seen your dad!”
“But the surveillance video shows they came in!” Xiao Gao became anxious.
“Xiao Gao, don’t worry, I’ll drive the truck in and then call the brothers from the security department to help you look!” Regardless, an elderly person in trouble is not a good situation. Shui Gang comforted him for a few words and then drove away with the machine.
After Shui Gang left, Xiao Gao continued to search in the forest. However, Shui Gang’s words before leaving were useful. Searching alone was not a solution. Thinking of this, he called the deputy captain of the security team.
“Da Mojo, where are you?” Xiao Gao asked.
“In the security office, there’s a case! Sister Chunhua from Building C discovered her phone was missing and suspects it was stolen. I’m helping her check the surveillance now!” Da Mojo replied on the phone.
“Then you be busy with your work, and have someone who’s free come to the forest!” Xiao Gao said. “My dad is missing, help me find him!”
As night fell, a grand search for a father began in the forest.
Back at Jiaozi’s home.
After not seeing each other for half a month, Su Tang and Jiaozi became inseparable as soon as they met, holding hands as they went upstairs. This left Ping An awkwardly in the living room.
“Reporter Ping An, please sit down!” Facing Ping An, Liao Yuan did not show any embarrassment, his demeanor was almost the same as usual.
“Mr. Liao, to be honest, I don’t know if I should trust you!” Ping An’s heart was filled with mixed emotions as he faced Liao Yuan.
“Ping An, you are a smart person, do you think you should trust me!” Liao Yuan said earnestly.
“I don’t believe that you, nor Mr. Yang, would do anything out of line for money. What is your purpose?” Ping An said, “Why don’t you two just tell me directly?”
“Our purpose is naturally for the future!” Yang Jie interjected. “What is the difference between a person and a walking dead if they have no future!”
“You two know what I want to ask!” Ping An thought for a moment and decided not to play guessing games with them anymore.
“We can’t tell you yet! If you trust us, please find the truth yourself!” Liao Yuan sighed softly and said.
“If that’s the case, I’m sorry, I won’t serve you anymore!” Ping An said decisively. “If everything is as I suspect, then your actions have truly crossed my bottom line!”
“Very well!” Liao Yuan nodded with a smile. “In fact, my wife and I are no longer senior executives of Fengdian Company, so our previous cooperation can come to an end.”
“Very good, I am also here today to formally inform you two that no matter what your purpose is, I will not let Jiaozi encounter any trouble.” Ping An finally spoke his mind.
Ping An had wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with Liao Yuan, but this couple seemed like they had given up on themselves, with a “what happens, happens” attitude that was truly sickening to behold.
Ping An was always cautious and never acted without certainty. He had been willing to help Liao Yuan with his company’s public relations crisis because of Jiaozi’s situation, and had secretly prepared to help the family get out of trouble. However, he never expected to be “slapped in the face.” Now, seeing Liao Yuan’s indifferent expression, he frankly felt more disgusted than if he had eaten a fly.
When words don’t match, silence is golden! Ping An firmly believed that Liao Yuan’s actions had another purpose, but now that they had said everything, continuing to talk would be him being overly sensitive.
“Su Tang! We should go!” Ping An shouted into the air, tilting his head up.
“Master, it’s only been half an hour! Can’t we sit a little longer!” Su Tang poked her head out from the second floor, saying with dissatisfaction.
“Meeting is enough, there will be opportunities in the future, we still have things to do!” Ping An said with a blank expression.
At Ping An’s insistence, Jiaozi accompanied Su Tang downstairs, and the old housekeeper followed.
“You are the old housekeeper?” Ping An looked at the old housekeeper and suddenly remembered that this was the old housekeeper who had gone to Lake Island to pick up Jiaozi.
“Hello, Mr. Reporter! I heard you were feeling unwell a few days ago? Did you receive the gift from Mr. Liao?” The old housekeeper shook Ping An’s hand courteously.
“It’s rare to be able to eat authentic bird’s nest in the northern region. You have indeed gone to great lengths!” Ping An shook the old housekeeper’s hand just as warmly, and was unwilling to let go for a long time.
“You took care of my young lady, that is kindness that must be repaid!” The old housekeeper spoke very eloquently.
“You saying that has driven a wedge between us! Please ask the old master for instructions, and say that Ping An of An Shi Group would very much like to pay a visit…” Ping An said sincerely.
An Shi’s Ping An? Su Tang, who was standing by and had heard enough to feel nauseated, looked at her master with confusion. Hadn’t her master always been reluctant to mention his relationship with An Shi? Why was he so proactive this time?
The old housekeeper, who also heard the word “An Shi,” lowered his posture even further and replied equally earnestly, “As per the distinguished guest’s request, I will certainly report to Mr. Liao and make all necessary arrangements. We await your arrival at any time!”
The overly effusive pleasantries ended here. The old housekeeper was very satisfied with Ping An’s words and actions, not because of An Shi’s investment, but because people like Ping An were better as friends than as enemies. If Mr. Liao had his assistance…
The old housekeeper’s imagination ran wild, but he maintained a gentle smile. He watched Jiaozi greet Ping An affectionately and agree to continue their unfinished trip on another day, thinking to himself if he should ask Mr. Liao to reassess the relationship between Ping An and himself. At this moment, even a fool could see that Liao Yuan and Yang Jie had treated Ping An like a pawn, and their future would only hold enmity, not cooperation…
Reluctantly, Jiaozi saw Ping An and Su Tang off to the elevator.
In the elevator, Su Tang looked indignant, rolling her eyes at her master as much as she could.
“Alright, stop rolling your eyes, or they’ll go cross-eyed!” Ping An said nonchalantly.
“Master, this isn’t like you!” Su Tang said.
“Jiaozi’s parents harmed Jiaozi, isn’t that a fact?” Ping An asked.
“Yes!” Su Tang said.
“Is Jiaozi one of us?” Ping An continued to ask.
“Yes?” Su Tang continued.
“Then, was I wrong to say some nice things to the old housekeeper who personally protected and took care of Jiaozi?” Ping An asked finally.
“Yes…” Su Tang looked at her master doubtfully, feeling that something was not quite right, but she didn’t know how to ask.
“Now, Jiaozi’s matter is concluded. Master needs to focus on dealing with that shadowy figure. So, some things are best left as they are!” Ping An said as they exited the elevator.
“Oh!” It was clear that Su Tang didn’t understand her master’s words, but she habitually replied.
“Call Hei Dou, we’re going straight home!” Ping An looked at his phone and instructed Su Tang, “Your godparents need time to have some couple time, the three of us will eat out tonight!”
“You’re the master, you decide!” Su Tang pouted and called Hei Dou.
“Last time, didn’t you mention a barbecue restaurant, oh, what was it called!” Seeing his apprentice looking unhappy, Ping An drew out his words and pretended to ponder.
“Brazilian Simba! It’s Brazilian Simba! Go, go!” Indeed, Su Tang, whose worries were dispelled by barbecue, happily hugged her master’s neck and said, “Little beef, little beef, little beef…”
“Hey, hey, don’t pull, my neck will break. Did you call Hei Dou? Hurry up, or we’ll be late and won’t get a seat…”
The elevator descended all the way, passing by Gao Xiaofei’s 19th floor, or rather, Wang Huan’an’s 19th floor, and heading down.
As soon as Gao Xiaofei heard that Hei Dou was leaving, he didn’t even bother to feign courtesy – he desperately needed to have an unusual conversation with Fei Keqing.
Hei Dou, looking bewildered, waited for the elevator on the floor, silently cursing Gao Xiaofei for abandoning friendship for romance.
“Tear… tear…” In the quiet corridor, a faint sound suddenly came.
Hei Dou suddenly turned around, his face solemn as he looked at the door of Wang Huan’an’s apartment behind him, listening intently with his ears pricked.
“Ding!” The elevator door opened. Hei Dou rubbed his nose, shook his head slightly, and walked into the elevator.
The voice-activated lights in the corridor quickly dimmed.
In the darkness, the anti-theft door of Wang Huan’an’s apartment, which had been sealed by the police, suddenly opened from the inside, but quickly closed again.
In the instant this anti-theft door opened and closed, if one looked closely, they would see an old man inside, covered in blood, struggling to breathe through his nostrils, because his mouth had been… stitched shut with sewing thread…