Chapter 29: Stars

Chapter 29: Stars

Wang Chao was informed by the technician, I just discovered that Jiang He used Li Weiyis SIM card to make and answer a call. The call was made to a previously dialed foreign number, and it was answered by Li Weiyis company. The range is near the Public Security Bureau.

What the hell is Jiang He up to? Wang Chao pulled at his hair in frustration.

Have you considered surveillance? Wang Chao asked.

Jiang He has exceptional skills in avoiding investigation, said another member of the criminal police.

The camera hasnt caught him since Jinlun Road. Hes obviously been avoiding detection. We can only be certain that he went south for the time being, but there were numerous forks in the road after that, and we couldnt track him down

Jiang He, Jiang He, Jiang He, muttered Wang Chao to himself.

What kind of game is he playing?

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It was midnight.

The two patrolling guards thought everything around them was fragile. Even though He Huijuan and Wu Guifeng had been dead for four days, their ghosts could return at any moment before seven days. The second guard was always scared every night when he patrolled. He had the impression that his surroundings were extremely cold and that someone was following him.

The old man had told the young guard that if something scary was behind him, he must not look back, especially if he heard someone calling his name; if he did so, the ghost would take away his soul.

The young guard chose to trust the old mans advice.

He could now hear someone walking behind him.

The sound was getting louder and louder, and the young guard realised it was getting closer.

He did not dare look back. His heart was about to jump out of his throat as he walked faster and faster with the flashlight in his hand.

At that moment, he heard a voice behind him yell, Guard number two!

The young guard was startled; he realised there was a ghost behind him!

He started humming a song, hoping to boost his courage.

But then another voice called his name from behind, and he started running.

With this information in hand, he scrutinised each of Fu Qianweis posts. One particular post caught his attention: I was drinking coffee nearby today, and Im not sure when my order will arrive. The attached image showed a Starbucks.

This was a crucial piece of information. Jiang He immediately searched for Starbucks locations in Wanlin District and found only twoone on Yunhua Street and the other on Shengli Road. But then, he discovered a photograph taken by Fu Qianwei looking out her window, and in the background, he saw numerous high-rise buildings.

He quickly compared the buildings near the two Starbucks using Google Earth and determined that the location was on Yunhua Street. He then scoured the internet for information about nearby communities, comparing the angle of Fu Qianweis photo in his mind while looking at the information for these communities. Soon, he realised that if he wanted to take a photo from this angle, it had to be in the rainforest community, and the information appeared vividly in Jiang Hes mind through a high degree of comparison.

Finally, he arrived at the precise location: Building 3, Rainforest Community, 2301, 23rd floor. However, after searching on Baidu, Jiang He discovered that the household head had posted rental information a year and a half ago, implying that this was not Fu Qianweis house but rather a rented room. According to his theoretical analysis, she is currently living alone.

Jiang He marvelled at Fu Qianweis lack of caution, despite her apparent belief that she was careful not to reveal her address in her posts. He understood that often peoples information is betrayed because they unwittingly disclose too much about themselves. In Fu Qianweis case, the message was clear: a beautiful single woman had rented room 2301 in the Yunhua Street Rainforest Community, Wanlin District, for one and a half years.

Jiang He spent several hours investigating the whereabouts and preferences of Fu Qianwei, including her love for spicy food, squid, and matcha desserts. He also learned that she disliked sour foods and small animals, enjoyed writing alone, and enjoyed reading horror novels. Furthermore, he knew the type of men she preferred, her late work hours, and her loneliness.

Jiang He had a motive for gathering this information; what if someone with ill intentions did the same thing next time?

Despite it being four in the morning, Jiang He was not feeling sleepy. He had dark circles and bloodshot eyes, but he was used to erratic sleeping patterns. He wondered if other geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci and Tesla had the same dark circles under their eyes. He identified most with Einstein, who could go without sleep for days while working but needed more than ten hours of sleep in his leisure time.

Unable to sleep, Jiang He looked out the window and started counting the stars*Note 1, but the pollution was so severe that he could only count up to eight.

While Jiang He was feeling restless, Fu Qianwei was fast asleep. She had stayed up late scrolling through Weibo, as she did almost every night, and was groggy when she woke up to her third alarm. She warmed milk and prepared for her day, planning to catch the subway at half past six for work.

But then, the doorbell rang at six in the morning, which was unusual since nobody ever visited her. Fu Qianwei walked to the door with her milk and was surprised to see a thin, dishevelled man with a beard and a dark circle under his eye.

Im a cop. He Huijuan, your high school classmate, was murdered four days ago, Jiang He said.

We suspect it has something to do with the reunion two and a half months ago. You were in charge of organising the reunion. Im here to investigate.

Fu Qianwei was shocked to hear about He Huijuans death and asked, He Huijuan is dead!?

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Note 1: Jiang He looked out the window and counted the stars: is a reference to the first book

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Translators Note: Book 1 readers are crying rn.

Unedited Chapter, will be updated as soon as Mr. Editor gets some free time.

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