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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 465: Human Skin Puppet (Part 28)
I really just wanted to see who was following me; I had no intention of sitting here idly. Once the server left, I immediately stood up and vacated my seat, moving to a spot against the wall to continue watching. Before long, a familiar figure rushed into view. She looked flustered, hurrying along while mumbling something to herself.
She glanced over at Douban Dumplings, then walked a few steps down the alley before turning back towards Douban Dumplings again, facing away from me as she watched the crowd on the street.
I slowly walked out and placed my hand on her shoulder. She jumped nervously, her eyes widening in surprise when she realized it was me. The curse words she had been about to say were swallowed back as her face turned crimson with embarrassment. She smiled awkwardly and said, "Brother Qi, you knew I was following you?"
"Girl, with your clumsy tracking skills, do you think you could hide from me?"
"Hey, actually Qin the Boss asked me to assist you. I was afraid you wouldn't agree, so I quietly followed."
I suspected that it wasn't Qin the Boss who sent her; if he had, she wouldn't have sneaked around like this. She would have confidently walked alongside me instead. After all, this girl always insisted on being right and never backed down.
Seeing her like this, I decided to contact the boss for verification; otherwise, he might worry about her safety. While I spoke, I took out my phone. When Ling Juan saw that I was really going to call, she panicked and quickly said, "Brother Qi, actually it was my own decision to come here. I'm really curious about you and want to know what you've seen and how to see those 'people.'"
I couldn't help but think that this girl had learned how to lie quite well; however, she hadn't made any progress in her work. I shot her an annoyed glare and turned to leave. She hurried after me, repeatedly apologizing and asking if we were going to call Chen Pi's house now.
"Yes," I replied. "If you're scared, just go back." She smiled brightly and said, "Once I chose this line of work, I've never been afraid."
Stubborn as a duck with a hard beak; I thought to myself that she'd better not end up calling for Brother Qi later on. Then we headed straight for Chen Pi's house. On the way there, Ling Juan carefully recounted everything Qin Jian had told her about Chen Pi.
In fact, Chen Pi was renting a place; Qin Jian had gone to investigate after receiving some recorded information.
So Chen Pi wasn't from City A; what was he doing at Jiang'an Family Bridgehead? If nothing had happened—if that unfortunate uncle hadn't bumped into him—perhaps he wouldn't have shown his face so easily. I speculated that he must have some secret dealings with Gousi. What kind of dealings? I wasn't a fortune teller; everything depended on how the situation developed and the results of the investigation.
Ling Juan asked why we were going to Chen Pi's house. "Just to take a look," I replied. From her question, it seemed that Qin Jian hadn't told her much more about Chen Pi or why I was going there. This was for the best; the girl was quite chatty and if she accidentally let slip something important, it could lead to trouble.
We hurried along until we finally reached our destination. Bringing Ling Juan along had its advantages; when she flashed a sweet smile at the guard at the entrance, he waived many questions and allowed us both to enter without registration.
"Brother Qi, bringing me along is a win-win situation for you!"
"Are you from Chengdu?" It hadn't been long before she started mimicking Qin Jian's tone.
"Half of me is from Chengdu; my mom is from Chengdu, and my dad is from Beijing." I responded with an "oh," as Ling Juan casually linked her arm with mine. It felt awkward, and I wanted to shake her off, but she warned, "Don't move too much. There's surveillance at the entrance. If they figure out we're not a couple, it could be trouble."
I couldn't help but feel that being with Ling Juan was shrouded in mystery, almost like we were part of an underground meeting.
"The sixth door, it's on the third floor, right?"
I wasn't sure. Looking at the structure and layout of this Two-Story Building, it clearly wasn't a residential area; it seemed specifically built for rental purposes.
Ling Juan acknowledged with an "oh," released my arm, and headed upstairs. We came across a corridor leading to a series of doors. The door numbers were arranged sequentially: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and finally 6. We both stared at number 6. I couldn't knock on the door; in the end, it was Ling Juan who took the initiative to do so.
We were both dressed in plain clothes. Just like at the accident scene earlier, Qin Jian was also in plain clothes. If Gousi hadn't told Chen Pi what I was doing, he wouldn't know my true identity.
Knock knock knock—
The sound of her fingers tapping against the iron door echoed dully. The door had a peephole, and after a long wait without any sound from inside, I felt as if there were eagle-like eyes observing us through the peephole.
"Is anyone home?" Ling Juan asked in disappointment, her voice low.
I nodded and took a deep look at the peephole. "If no one's home, let's go."
Ling Juan sighed softly and walked ahead while I calmly scanned our surroundings, keeping pace with her light steps. Just as we had taken a few steps, the door to number 5 opened. A woman emerged holding a bag of trash; she had curly hair and looked slightly puffy-faced, appearing lazy and still half-asleep. She glanced at us nonchalantly before heading straight down the corridor toward the staircase.
Timing it perfectly as she passed by, Ling Juan suddenly called out, "Auntie..."
The woman stopped and turned to look at Ling Juan. From behind Ling Juan, I estimated she was in her forties or fifties. Her questioning gaze fixed on Ling Juan as she asked, "Young lady, what can I do for you?"
Ling Juan nodded with a smile and said, "Auntie, I wanted to ask if a gentleman lives in number 6. He's my cousin; I haven't been in touch for a long time and wanted to see him."
I couldn't help but admire Ling Juan's ability to think on her feet; I quietly gave her a thumbs up.
Upon hearing that Mr. Six was Ling Juan's cousin, the woman's expression immediately shifted to one of disdain. In a dissatisfied tone, she replied, "I only know that someone lives in that room; turns out it's your cousin. He's quite an odd fellow; it's rare to see him coming or going. I'm not very familiar with his situation. But since he's your cousin, could you please tell him to keep it down at night? There are noises coming from that room all night long—no idea what kind of nonsense it is—making it impossible for the neighbors to sleep."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, that's right. I have to get back to work now."
The woman left, and Ling Juan and I exchanged a glance, silently turning to look at Door 6. There was still no movement; I thought to myself that the person inside must be quite composed. Despite our efforts to find them, they remained unresponsive, which could only mean one thing: something shady was going on behind that door.
"What should we do?"
"Stop looking back all the time. Just keep walking; we need to go downstairs," I advised Ling Juan, feeling an unsettling sense that there were cold eyes watching us quietly from within.
Ling Juan and I headed downstairs and immediately contacted Qin Jian to inform him that our efforts had been in vain. We had no idea if Chen Pi was home, but there was no sign of activity at all.
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