For the next two days, Lü Qingqing continuously tailed Chen Xi.
From the moment she first saw Chen Xi, Lü Qingqing believed Tong Meng’s words.
Because she had seen this face before.
The last time she was at Hu Jia’s house, didn't Lü Qingqing see a strange man on the balcony? She even climbed down from the balcony to chase after him. Although she didn't catch him in the end, she remembered his appearance.
It was this Chen Xi.
After tracking him for two consecutive days, she found nothing unusual. He neither followed Hu Jia nor met with his superiors. Instead, he frequently entered and exited residential areas.
What’s more, the places he went to were different every day, as if he were searching for someone.
Several days passed in a blur, and Hu Jia even entered his next memory cycle.
During this week, she and Hu Jia didn't meet much. Everyone thought she was studying at the Transmission Institute.
Only Zhan Ruoxuan came to her house specifically to block her. “Why haven’t you returned to school yet? If you don’t go back and build relationships with everyone, how will your plan be implemented later?”
Lü Qingqing was also anxious. She had told Zhan Ruoxuan before that she wanted to develop her own network of influence to compete for higher positions in the future.
According to Lü Qingqing’s plan, she was destined to become Hu Jia’s direct superior.
But for someone like her, with no money, no power, and no influence, reaching higher positions required connections.
And her classmates from the Transmission Institute were the source of these connections.
After all, those classmates would later be distributed in various departments of the police system. Establishing good relationships with them would undoubtedly be beneficial for her future competition for high positions.
However, she hadn't yet identified the force behind the stalker, and she was unwilling to give up so easily.
“Give me another week. I promise to return to the Transmission Institute after a week.” Lü Qingqing set a small goal for herself.
“There’s an outdoor training session at the school in mid-December that will last two to three days. This kind of close contact is a great opportunity to build relationships; don’t miss it.” Zhan Ruoxuan reminded her again as he left.
“Is he your classmate?” Hu Jia had long noticed Lü Qingqing whispering with a man downstairs.
“Yes. You’ve met him, you just forgot,” Lü Qingqing didn't want to say more.
This week, Hu Jia and Lü Qingqing’s interactions were relatively calm. One reason was that Hu Jia had entered a new memory period, and his feelings for Lü Qingqing relied solely on the text in his memo.
The other reason was mainly due to the short time they spent together. Lü Qingqing was at the Transmission Institute during the day, and Hu Jia was at work.
Even though they still ate dinner together, there was always a sense of distance.
If it weren't for Lü Duobao calling him "brother-in-law" every day, Hu Jia might have forgotten he had a fiancée.
“Tomorrow is Friday, isn’t it your physical fitness test? I’ll go and see,” Lü Qingqing said while preparing dinner in the kitchen. Hu Jia’s sudden remark startled her.
“No!” Lü Qingqing quickly refused.
“What’s wrong?” Hu Jia had been very confused all week, his mind full of question marks.
According to the records in his memo, his relationship with Lü Qingqing should have been very good. Why did he not feel close to her this time after regaining his memory?
So he specifically sought out Li Yang for advice. Li Yang’s analysis was that they spent too little time together and lacked care.
For this reason, he even suggested attending Lü Qingqing’s physical fitness test, offering her a glass of water, and saying words of encouragement and care.
To his surprise, Lü Qingqing refused so decisively.
“I’m not feeling well and won’t be participating in the physical fitness test tomorrow,” Lü Qingqing gave a casual excuse.
“Where are you feeling unwell?” Hu Jia suddenly understood and blamed himself. No wonder Lü Qingqing hadn’t been very active this week; she had been feeling unwell.
Uh.
Lü Qingqing felt flustered, her mind spinning rapidly, trying to find a good excuse.
Seeing Lü Qingqing’s dilemma, as if it were difficult to speak, Hu Jia suddenly understood, “Ah, I get it.”
Lü Qingqing looked bewildered. What did he get?
Hu Jia quickly pulled Lü Qingqing over and dried her hands with a towel. “You too, you should have hinted at it. I’ll take care of washing rice and vegetables.”
After saying that, he pushed Lü Qingqing out of the kitchen. “No, I’ll handle dinner too.”
Lü Qingqing remained bewildered.
Hu Jia pressed Lü Qingqing into a chair. “You rest well. I heard that you shouldn’t touch cold water during this period.”
Lü Qingqing sat on the chair as if frozen. It took her a long time to snap out of it. This person? Wouldn’t he have misunderstood something?
Damn it!
How could she explain this?
…
She continued to hide in the corner, nibbling on a steamed bun, her eyes never relaxing.
Lü Qingqing discovered a problem. Chen Xi had been roaming around for the past few days, but for the last two days, he had been frequently appearing at a household in Shibati.
At first, Lü Qingqing thought he was just visiting relatives, but she later realized something was wrong. He always played with the children inside when the homeowners were not around.
Children.
This group constantly stimulated Lü Qingqing, as the previous two suicide cases were related to children.
To confirm her suspicions, Lü Qingqing knocked on the door of that household.
“Who are you?” A sturdy man opened the door.
Lü Qingqing showed him her police ID. “Hello, we are currently conducting a census in the area. We’d like to ask how many people are in your household.”
The man, seeing that she was a police officer, quickly invited Lü Qingqing inside.
After a conversation, Lü Qingqing became even more convinced of her suspicions.
The man’s surname was Zhang, and he made a living doing manual labor. Because he carried a shoulder pole to help people move things every day, everyone called him Zhang Bangbang.
He had a four-year-old daughter at home, and his wife had run off with someone two years ago and had not returned since.
Another single father raising a child alone. This was exactly the same family situation as the previous two suicide cases.
“Daddy, hug me.” The little girl’s voice was so cute and milky.
Zhang Bangbang looked at his daughter with such tenderness, his eyes full of affection.
Watching the father and daughter together, Lü Qingqing couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. She was glad she had listened to Tong Meng and tailed Chen Xi.
At the same time, she was furious. What kind of person would have such a cruel heart to destroy a family that was seeking a shred of sweetness amidst bitterness?
“I’ve seen a strange man appearing at your house these past few days, playing with your young daughter and buying her food. I thought he was a relative of yours,” Lü Qingqing deliberately revealed Chen Xi’s information.
As expected, Zhang Bangbang was stunned when he heard this. “Lingling, has an uncle been playing with you these past few days?”
“That’s Uncle Chen. He’s very nice to me. He always takes me to buy good food and carries me when we go shopping,” the little girl said.
Hearing his daughter’s words, Zhang Bangbang became anxious. There were many child traffickers on the streets, and little Ling Ling was their target.
“Officer, I don’t know that person,” Zhang Bangbang quickly sought Lü Qingqing’s help.
Lü Qingqing also pretended to be surprised. “That person always comes when you’re not home, and his behavior is indeed very suspicious. Little Ling is so well-behaved. This matter must be taken seriously, or she might be snatched away one day without you even knowing.”
Zhang Bangbang was already worried, and Lü Qingqing’s fright made him completely lose his composure.
“Then what should I do?” Zhang Bangbang asked.
“Here’s what, lean in and let’s think of a way to catch him,” Lü Qingqing said.
…