I See Murders Before They Happen

Chapter 80: Chapter 78: The Phone Has Been Tampered With

Zhuang Yanzheng had said they were going out to eat.

But as Su Miaoyi looked out the window, the scenery grew more and more remote.

She couldn’t help but ask, ”You’re a cop, not a human trafficker, right?”

Zhuang Yanzheng glanced at her and pulled the car over to the side of the road. ”Get out.”

After getting out, Su Miaoyi followed him into an alley. They made a couple of turns, and when they emerged, they were in front of a malatang shop.

The shop’s facade looked like it had been there for many years, but the inside was clean and quiet. At this hour, they were the only ones there.

When the shop owner saw Zhuang Yanzheng, he came out to greet them. ”Captain Zhuang, it’s been a while.”

”I’ve been busy lately,” Zhuang Yanzheng said, heading inside.

The owner noticed he had brought someone with him and turned to look at Su Miaoyi.

Upon seeing her, the owner paused for a moment, then said, ”This young lady hasn’t been here in a few years. I thought you’d been transferred for work.”

Su Miaoyi looked at the owner, then back at Zhuang Yanzheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng also turned to look at her, but said nothing.

Since he didn’t speak, Su Miaoyi didn’t either. She just offered a small smile.

”Come in, come in,” the owner urged.

Zhuang Yanzheng handed her a basket for picking out ingredients.

Su Miaoyi took it. ”I’ve already eaten.”

”Then give it to me,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

”Can’t I eat a little more?” Su Miaoyi looked at him. ”It’s not like this is the only basket.”

Zhuang Yanzheng scoffed with a laugh and grabbed another basket. ”This place was here when I was in school. Shen Yanzhou and I used to come here all the time back then.”

”I would have thought a young master’s diet consisted of meals planned by a nutritionist,” Su Miaoyi remarked.

Zhuang Yanzheng clicked his tongue. ”Stereotype.”

Su Miaoyi smiled. ”So, was it really you who said that ’a seven-figure sum counts as money too?’ line?”

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at her.

Su Miaoyi ignored his stern expression, her own face full of curiosity.

Zhuang Yanzheng sighed softly. ”Everyone’s young, wild, and reckless at some point.”

Su Miaoyi burst out laughing.

”Keep it down,” Zhuang Yanzheng said with a frown.

Su Miaoyi switched her laugh to silent mode and kept laughing.

”But a seven-figure sum really doesn’t count as much,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Su Miaoyi’s smile vanished.

It reappeared on Zhuang Yanzheng’s face.

After a moment, Su Miaoyi brought the conversation back. ”Well, this shop must be ancient then. After all... you’re so old.”

Zhuang Yanzheng gritted his teeth.

Su Miaoyi quickly shuffled half a step to the side. ”You can’t assault a member of the public.”

Zhuang Yanzheng slowly let out a breath.

Su Miaoyi asked again, ”It wasn’t just you and Shen Yanzhou who came here, was it? There was also...”

She didn’t say the name.

”The owner mistook me for her just now, didn’t he?” Su Miaoyi asked, looking at Zhuang Yanzheng.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked back at her.

He could see no hint of familiarity with the place in her eyes.

And yet...

”Do I look that much like her?” Su Miaoyi asked.

Zhuang Yanzheng averted his gaze. After a pause, he said, ”The owner only saw her a few times. It’s been so many years, it’s normal for him to get it wrong.”

Su Miaoyi nodded and said no more.

After they finished eating, Zhuang Yanzheng and Su Miaoyi left.

Once they were in the car, just as Su Miaoyi fastened her seatbelt, Zhuang Yanzheng made a phone call.

When the other person picked up, he got straight to the point: ”Is the apartment at Weiyang Palace vacant? Is the heating on? Has anyone cleaned it recently?”

Shen Yanzhou listened and then asked, ”What’s wrong? Did your house blow up? Did your dad finally get sick of you and kick you out?”

”Who lit your fuse? You sound like you swallowed a firecracker,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

Shen Yanzhou took a deep breath. ”Someone’s interested in the Weiyang Palace apartment, and I’m about to sell it. You can live somewhere else.”

”No, the security elsewhere isn’t good enough. Don’t sell it.”

”Do *you* need security? To protect your neighbors from being scared by you?” Shen Yanzhou said. ”I’m about to sign the contract. Why wouldn’t I sell? In business, integrity is what matters most.”

”Aren’t there two apartments? Are you selling both?”

”Yes.”

”Why are you suddenly selling the apartments?”

”They’ve been sitting empty for years, they’re going to fall into disrepair...” Shen Yanzhou said. ”But really, did your dad actually disown you?”

Zhuang Yanzheng also took a deep breath. ”It’s for Su Miaoyi.”

Shen Yanzhou suddenly went silent for a few seconds.

Su Miaoyi watched him from the side.

She had wanted to interrupt him several times, but Zhuang Yanzheng had glared her into silence.

”Cat got your tongue? Say something,” Zhuang Yanzheng said.

”Is she moving in tonight?” Shen Yanzhou asked.

”Yeah. We’ll be over in a bit.”

”I just had someone clean it a couple of days ago. The heating is on. She can move right in,” Shen Yanzhou said. ”I’ll head over now and wait for you.”

Shen Yanzhou’s attitude made Zhuang Yanzheng fall silent again for a moment.

’No one could make Shen Yanzhou compromise so unconditionally.’

’Unless...’

’In Shen Yanzhou’s eyes, he would never treat anyone as a substitute.’

’Because in his heart, no one was worthy.’

Zhuang Yanzheng felt like the term ’Vice-Captain’ had driven him mad. He pressed his brow. ”We’re close by. We’ll wait for you.”

He hung up the phone and, before Su Miaoyi could speak, said, ”Don’t refuse. What’s more important than your life, than staying alive?”

Just as Su Miaoyi was about to say something...

The voice in her head suddenly spoke up: ’Move in. Staying alive is what matters most. You can’t die. If you die, you can’t accomplish anything.’

Su Miaoyi’s lips moved, but in the end, no words came out.

They arrived at the entrance to Weiyang Palace.

Zhuang Yanzheng and Su Miaoyi waited for a short while before Shen Yanzhou arrived, having come quickly.

The three of them entered the residential complex.

Su Miaoyi said, ”I’m sorry to trouble you, Mr. Shen.”

”It’s no trouble,” Shen Yanzhou said. ”I should be thanking you. Someone will finally be living here, so the apartment won’t be empty anymore.”

”I’ve interfered with you selling the apartment,” Su Miaoyi said.

She had felt very awkward on the way over.

But after seeing Shen Yanzhou, that awkwardness faded.

”It wouldn’t have sold for much anyway. In this location, holding onto it is how it appreciates in value,” Shen Yanzhou said. ”If it weren’t for the fact that no one was living here, I’d be reluctant to sell it.”

Zhuang Yanzheng watched his hypocritical display.

”Just think of it as helping me make money,” Shen Yanzhou said.

Su Miaoyi smiled without a word and followed him into the elevator...

Zhuang Yanzheng was efficient. He said he’d have Su Miaoyi move, and that very night he had a place arranged for her.

The next day, Shen Yanzhou brought an assistant to help Su Miaoyi move.

While moving, Su Miaoyi paid special attention to every single item.

For each one, she could recall its origin—where she bought it and why.

There were no unfamiliar items in her home.

’Then what was the purpose of ransacking her place?’

’She was starting to wonder if they had the wrong person.’

’Was she taking the fall for someone else?’

’But of course, she’d lost her memory and couldn’t remember.’

After the move, Su Miaoyi went to the municipal police department and asked the tech division to help her check her phone.

She waited at the department the whole time.

The results came back for the blood collected from the drawer yesterday. They had extracted DNA, but it didn’t match anyone in the database.

The identity couldn’t be confirmed.

And the tech division also came back with results.

The data on her phone, especially from June, had been manually deleted.

And it wasn’t a simple deletion; the data was technically corrupted, and the damage was thorough.

It was impossible to recover.

”Was it done remotely?” Su Miaoyi asked.

”No.”

”An operation to technically corrupt data like this, how long would it usually take?”

”The person who did this is very skilled, a real expert. Ten to fifteen minutes, I’d say.”

Su Miaoyi didn’t know how to do that kind of thing.

So, during the days covered by her memory loss, someone had handled her phone.

Ten to fifteen minutes was not a short amount of time.

’Under what circumstances would her phone have been in someone else’s hands for ten to fifteen minutes?’

...