I am still the same person you know.
Lu Qingqing vaguely felt that she had guessed Hu Jia's meaning, but she dared not confirm it.
Hu Jia, closing the door, leaned against it and smiled, pursing her lips. This Lu Qingqing was so perfectly suited to the fiancée he had envisioned.
Beautiful, with a lovely figure.
No air of entitlement of a young lady, nor the delicate fragility of a maiden.
Sharp and decisive, suiting his temperament.
Most importantly, she was caring.
"It seems Li Yang didn't lie to me; he said I found the second-best girl."
As for who the first-best was, Yu Yue!
...
The next day, as soon as Lu Qingqing heard that someone was coming to clear out Huang Yuan's belongings, she eagerly rushed out.
"Is it them?" Lu Qingqing was a little confused. "I don't recognize any of them."
"Yes, I personally heard them inquiring about Huang Yuan's dormitory," Cai Xiaojuan said.
Alright.
Lu Qingqing had originally expected that the people coming to clear out Huang Yuan's belongings would be from the criminal investigation team. She hadn't expected them to be complete strangers she had never seen before.
There were five of them.
"Hello, do you need help? I can take you to the dormitory." Regardless, having promised Ouyang Wen that she would help, Lu Qingqing proactively stepped forward to greet them.
"No need!" The suited man leading them spoke with a very stiff tone, as if he were owed hundreds of yuan.
Who are they? Lu Qingqing turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, after she had only sat down for a few minutes, someone else came looking for her.
"Qingqing, those police officers are here to find you and asked you to lead them to the dormitory."
Lu Qingqing rolled her eyes directly. "I'm not going."
Cai Xiaojuan was also proactive and immediately relayed Lu Qingqing's reply.
"You're silly. They specifically asked for you to lead them. It's such a good opportunity." Cai Xiaojuan poked Lu Qingqing's forehead.
"If I really were to lead them, it wouldn't be for an opportunity."
Lu Qingqing understood Cai Xiaojuan's thinking perfectly. After all, they were from the criminal investigation team, and if one had good connections, they might be able to report for duty there immediately after leaving the training center.
To this, Cai Xiaojuan could only express that the fortunate could not understand the hardships of the poor.
As the two chatted and laughed, a tall, slender figure walked in.
Gao Liang.
"Sister Qingqing, this is serious. You wouldn't come out unless I personally invited you."
His opening remark made Lu Qingqing laugh. "Why is it you? If I had known it was you, I would have rushed out immediately."
"If it wasn't me, would it be Tong Meng? Our Captain Wen isn't that foolish." Gao Liang tilted his head and lowered his voice. He had witnessed the conflict between the two women and knew there was friction between Lu Qingqing and Tong Meng.
"Get lost," Lu Qingqing said with a laugh.
They walked out, chatting and laughing.
The classroom was not far from the dormitory. As they reached an intersection, Lu Qingqing saw the group she had met earlier coming out of the dormitory with things in their arms.
"It seems I don't need to lead you anymore. You've already moved everything out," Lu Qingqing said.
"What things?" Gao Liang looked bewildered.
"Huang Yuan's things. Aren't those your people?" Lu Qingqing pointed to the five people approaching them.
Gao Liang glanced at them in surprise, and then his eyes turned cold. "They are not from our police team."
Huh?
Lu Qingqing was greatly shocked.
That group wasn't from the criminal investigation team? Then why were they moving Huang Yuan's belongings?
"Stop. Who are you?" Gao Liang blocked their path.
"Kid, who are you? Get lost and mind your own business." The suited man who had first reprimanded Lu Qingqing was clearly displeased.
Criminal investigators generally didn't wear uniforms, but they always carried their badges.
Gao Liang took out his badge and flashed it. "This involves a murder case. Your unauthorized removal of the deceased's belongings now makes it difficult for me to believe you have no connection to this case."
After he spoke, the criminal investigators surrounded them.
Upon seeing Gao Liang's badge, the suited man's attitude underwent a 180-degree turn. "Oh my, this is like the Dragon King temple being flooded by the Yellow River. We're all family."
"Family?" Gao Liang looked at him mockingly.
"I'm from the city's post office. You police officers run on the streets in uniform, and we do too. You catch people, and we deliver mail," the suited man's explanation made everyone laugh. They were really trying to claim kinship.
But while they laughed, Gao Liang was no fool. With a wave of his hand, he brought all of them back.
Let alone whether they were actually from the post office, even if they were, their specific purpose in packing up Huang Yuan's belongings was still suspicious.
After all, the deceased, Yi Ran, was the postal worker. If anyone needed help, it should have been for Yi Ran's side.
Of course, it was also possible they were just being kind, and helping the family of a deceased employee was justifiable.
Lu Qingqing didn't dwell on it. After seeing them off, she walked back to the classroom alone.
Huh?
Lu Qingqing's steps halted.
The small building was just ahead. On the second-floor window, a blue men's shirt was hanging.
This was the signal Lu Qingqing and Li Yongqiang had agreed upon. If Li Yongqiang wanted to find Lu Qingqing, he would hang a blue shirt by the window.
Without a word, Lu Qingqing went upstairs.
"What's wrong?" Lu Qingqing asked Li Yongqiang, very excited. After all, if Li Yongqiang had sought her out, it must be for important information.
"Nothing, I just bumped my leg against the foot of the bed," Li Yongqiang said.
Huh? Lu Qingqing looked bewildered.
This was a complete non-sequitur. Was he calling her here just to show her his injury? But his expression didn't look like he was hurt.
Just as Lu Qingqing was wondering if Li Yongqiang had made a mistake in his signal, he extended two fingers, placing his thumb on the second knuckle of his index finger. Was he making an 'X'?
An 'X'?
Lu Qingqing remembered that Ouyang Wen had said this represented negation.
What was Li Yongqiang negating?
Was his leg injury fake?
Was his intended answer to her question fake?
Seeing Lu Qingqing stunned, Li Yongqiang said, "It's my fault for not watching where I was walking." As he spoke, he pointed with his finger beneath the bed board.
Lu Qingqing bent down to look. Good heavens, there was something the size of a brick.
A listening device!
Seeing that Lu Qingqing understood the problem, Li Yongqiang said, "Right, why are you here? I told you, I don't know anything about past events, and I don't remember."
"Oh, I was just passing by below and thought of you, so I came up to see," Lu Qingqing said smoothly, finding an excuse.
"What's there to see? I'm the same as always, never stepping out the door," Li Yongqiang said, making an 'X' gesture with his fingers.
Saying the opposite of what he meant, and interpreting the opposite of what he said.
When Li Yongqiang said he hadn't left the house, it meant he had.
Lu Qingqing understood that Li Yongqiang was trying to convey information to her.
But what kind of information was he trying to convey?
The ten-year-old shooting case?
The hidden watcher?
Only by understanding Li Yongqiang's intention could Lu Qingqing find a natural way to respond.
"If you haven't gone out, then you haven't. It's safer to stay at school, after all, even if you went out, you wouldn't find the murderer of your father," Lu Qingqing decided to start the conversation with the shooting case.
"Don't talk to me about him. I cut ties with him years ago. I don't want to deal with his affairs, nor am I qualified to," Li Yongqiang said indignantly.
Seeing that Li Yongqiang wasn't taking the bait, it was clear it had nothing to do with the shooting case.
Just then, Li Yongqiang spoke again, "Instead of worrying about his matters, I might as well chase stray cats on campus."
"Chasing stray cats?" Lu Qingqing was a bit confused. What did that mean?
"Those stray cats follow me around all day begging for food, and I can't shake them off. Once I finally get rid of them, they always find me," Li Yang explained.
Lu Qingqing knew that Li Yongqiang wouldn't randomly talk about stray cats. Combining his words, "chasing after you, avoiding them, finding you?"
Isn't that what stalking is?