I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 19: Chapter 17: A New Case Appears

The online situation was resolved quickly.

The police released the details of the case.

The person who started the rumors was taken to the police station, where they were reprimanded and detained.

Su Miaoyi dropped her phone off for repairs before heading back to Jinrong District.

Thankfully, it was just a broken screen. It was fixable, but she would have to wait two days for a replacement screen to arrive.

Zhuang Yanzheng had given her the money for the phone repair and the taxi fare.

After dinner, Zhuang Yanzheng had taken a thousand yuan from his wallet and given it to her for emergencies.

Since she was going to pay him back anyway, Su Miaoyi didn’t stand on ceremony and took the money.

Back at her apartment, Su Miaoyi went into the bedroom. The sight of the clothes piled all over her bed made her head throb.

She ignored the clothes and sat down at her computer.

She opened a new document.

And typed out a title: Self-Criticism.

Without even thinking, her fingers flew across the keyboard, and five hundred words appeared on the screen.

Then she looked at the five hundred words and suddenly came to her senses.

’Why am I writing a self-criticism?!’

’He’s not my boss.’

Su Miaoyi slapped her own hand.

’What a waste. These five hundred words would have been perfect for my novel.’

After a couple of sighs, Su Miaoyi opened her writing software. She stared at the screen for five minutes, then decided to take a nap on the couch first.

’My thoughts will be clearer after I wake up.’

With no phone to distract her, she pulled a book out from under the coffee table and started reading, eventually drifting off to sleep.

She slept soundly this time, with no strange visions or dreams.

She must have been asleep for a long time, because the sound of the lock on her front door turning was what startled her awake.

BEEP, BEEP. In a single, fluid motion, Su Miaoyi shot up from the couch and grabbed the fruit knife from the coffee table.

Then she saw Cheng Jue standing in the doorway.

Seeing her, Cheng Jue paused. ”Sis, you’re home. I knocked but no one answered, so I used the code to get in.”

Su Miaoyi let out a breath of relief and put the fruit knife back on the coffee table. ”I was asleep, I didn’t hear you.”

She got up and looked out the window. The sky was already completely dark.

She then looked up at the light.

Cheng Jue hadn’t turned it on.

’So... I didn’t turn off the light last night, which means it’s been on all day!’

Su Miaoyi winced, thinking of the electricity bill.

Cheng Jue changed his shoes at the door, walked over, and waved a hand in front of her face. ”I called your phone, but it didn’t go through. Are you okay?”

Su Miaoyi slapped his hand away. ”The screen’s broken. It’s being repaired. Did you get into another fight with your parents? It’s your weekend off, and you came running here?”

Cheng Jue had just started his senior year of high school, and classes had begun in mid-August, so she hadn’t seen him the last time she’d gone back home.

”How can you think of me like that? Can’t I have just missed you and come to see you?” Cheng Jue said with a smile.

Su Miaoyi scoffed. ”Fine, then I won’t put in a good word for you.”

”Sis.” Cheng Jue grabbed the hem of her shirt, shaking her arm.

Su Miaoyi shot him a look. ”You’re a grown man, stop acting like a kid. Let go.”

Cheng Jue released her and followed her to the kitchen. ”We got out of school this afternoon, so I went home. Mom and Dad said if I want to study acting, I should get lost. So I got lost and came here.”

”You really took ’getting lost’ to heart, coming all this way.” Su Miaoyi grabbed a Coke from the fridge and tossed it to him. ”So you’re sure about this? You definitely want to study acting, right?”

”Yeah.” Cheng Jue nodded.

”Okay,” Su Miaoyi said. ”I’ll talk to your parents. I’ve already researched some training programs. I’ll take you to look at them tomorrow, and you can pick one. Don’t worry about the money. I’ve got it covered.”

Cheng Jue stared at her.

Su Miaoyi met his gaze. ”Cheng Jue, I know a lot of your teachers have said you have the looks and the talent for it. But you only have six months.”

”I know,” Cheng Jue said.

Su Miaoyi nodded. ”What do you want to eat?”

Cheng Jue grabbed her arm.

He was very tall, and Su Miaoyi had to tilt her head up slightly to look at him. ”What’s wrong?”

”Sis, when I make money, it’s all yours,” Cheng Jue said with great seriousness.

”Get out of here. If you’re going to talk about money, don’t call me Sis.” Su Miaoyi slapped his hand away. ”Let’s go eat out.”

”Let’s just order in,” Cheng Jue said. ”It’s already past eight. By the time we go out and come back, you’ll never get your writing done.”

”You have an excellent point.” Su Miaoyi patted his shoulder and headed for the bedroom. ”You order, I don’t have a phone. Do you have money? If not, take some cash and go buy something.”

”I have money,” Cheng Jue said.

Su Miaoyi walked to the bedroom, saw the pile of clothes on the bed, and walked right back out.

Cheng Jue handed her his phone. ”See what you want to eat. I don’t need my phone, you can use it for now.”

Su Miaoyi took the phone and looked up at him. ’Isn’t this the perfect opportunity for some free labor?’

’They’re just my outdoor clothes, anyway.’

Cheng Jue took a step back. ”What are you doing?”

Su Miaoyi’s eyes narrowed into a grin. With one foot, she shoved him into the bedroom.

Cheng Jue stumbled into the room and stared at the mountain of clothes on the bed. ”Sis, your closet threw up!”

”Yep.” Su Miaoyi walked away, phone in hand. ”Clean it up, and you’ll get to eat.”

Cheng Jue looked at the overflowing bed of clothes. ”I’ve been your servant since we were kids.”

”You should be grateful. At least ’servant’ is still in the human category,” Su Miaoyi’s voice drifted in from the living room.

Cheng Jue didn’t say anything more and obediently started folding the clothes.

...

「Huating Imperial Garden, Unit 3, Apartment 601.」

The doorway was cordoned off with police tape.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Yan Cheng pulled on shoe covers and gloves, then entered the apartment and headed straight for the kitchen.

They opened the refrigerator.

Inside, a human head sat on a shelf.

Even though they were mentally prepared, the sight still sent a jolt through them.

Half an hour ago, the command center had received a report.

Three cleaners had discovered a human head in the refrigerator while cleaning the apartment at Huating Imperial Garden.

The cleaner who opened the fridge had been so scared she fainted on the spot.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at the head in the refrigerator and frowned.

Yan Cheng glanced at him and asked, ”You know him?”

”Looks familiar,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

He left the refrigerator to Yan Cheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked around.

The forensics team was collecting evidence in the room.

But the cleaners had already finished two-thirds of the apartment, so collecting any useful evidence would be difficult.

Qi Feng reported, ”Captain Zhuang, we’ve only found the head.”

Zhuang Yanzheng went to inspect the bathroom. ”Any bloodstains?”

An officer replied, ”No bloodstains found.”

Zhuang Yanzheng checked the other two bathrooms and came up with the same result.

Qi Feng continued, ”We got the owner’s information from property management. It’s Shen Yanzhou. We tried contacting him, but his phone isn’t connecting. Property management said that according to the facial recognition entry data, no one has lived here for more than three months.”

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at him. ”Shen Yanzhou?”

Qi Feng nodded and handed him a tablet.

It displayed the homeowner’s information.

The young master of Jinghai’s wealthiest family.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at the screen, then took out his phone and found a number. ”Have them call this one.”

Qi Feng jotted down the phone number and went to make the call.

Zhuang Yanzheng went back to the kitchen.

The head had been moved from the refrigerator to the floor.

Yan Cheng was conducting a preliminary examination.

Zhuang Yanzheng took a closer look and realized why the face was familiar.

He had seen him before.

This was Shen Yanzhou’s driver.

”Preliminary estimate, time of death was about a week ago,” Yan Cheng said.

Zhuang Yanzheng stepped out of the kitchen and exchanged a few words with Qi Feng, then went to look at the bedroom.

He opened the closet. Inside hung a few suits and some pajamas.

He checked them all but found nothing.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Shen Yanzhou had known each other since they were children.

The two knew each other quite well.

Shen Yanzhou had his own villa, which was his permanent residence.

There were indeed very few signs of anyone living here. The untouched areas confirmed that it had likely been vacant for over three months.

The security in this building was excellent. Entry and exit required facial recognition and registration.

’So how did the head of someone who died a week ago end up in this refrigerator?’