Chapter 63: Uninvited Guest

Zhou Yi said, "According to the security guard, Xu Jiaguang stopped going to work ever since Zhang Hui went missing. Aside from dropping off and picking up his daughter from school, he just wanders around holding a missing person sign. Apparently, the residents in the neighborhood are already used to it."

"As for the past few days, he should have gone out by now, but after dropping his daughter off this morning, he hasn't stepped out again."

Qiao Jiali looked thoughtful. "He stood you up yesterday, and today he's broken his usual routine by staying in. Zhou Yi, your intuition was right. This Xu Jiaguang is very likely hiding something."

Although the security guard was somewhat unreliable, matters like this were easy to verify. Especially since Xu Jiaguang had been constantly parading around with a missing person sign, the local residents were bound to have a deep impression of him.

After all, rubbernecking was human nature; not even the highest authorities could stop people from wanting to watch the spectacle.

"Since he didn't come to find me, I'll pay him an uninvited visit."

Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali entered the residential compound. The security guard didn't ask too many questions and even greeted Zhou Yi warmly.

The two walked toward the building where Xu Jiaguang lived. Along the way, they passed an exercise equipment area where several middle-aged women were basking in the sun, looking utterly bored.

Qiao Jiali muttered "wait a moment" and walked over to the group of women. Nobody knew what topic she brought up, but within a few sentences, she was chatting, laughing, and getting along famously with them.

After chatting for a while, when it was time to leave, the women were quite reluctant to see her go, repeatedly calling out, "Stay and chat a bit longer, dear!"

Qiao Jiali returned to Zhou Yi's side and said, "I originally just wanted to casually gather some information, but I actually managed to dig up something useful."

Zhou Yi immediately perked up his ears to listen closely.

"The apartment where Xu Jiaguang and Zhang Hui currently live used to belong to Zhang Hui and her ex-husband. After their divorce, the ex-husband moved out with their daughter. Not long after that, Xu Jiaguang moved in."

"Is this apartment Zhang Hui's?" Zhou Yi asked.

"That's not certain."

Zhou Yi had previously deduced that Zhang Hui and Xu Jiaguang had divorced after an affair, a point that had been confirmed by Officer Miao. As the fault party, it was normal that she failed to win custody of her daughter, but the only way she could have retained the upper hand in property division was if it had been premarital property.

"There's something else. The women said Zhang Hui didn't have a very good relationship with her ex-husband."

"Did they constantly argue?"

Qiao Jiali blushed slightly and said, "Zhang Hui told other people that her ex-husband was no good in bed and couldn't satisfy her."

"Uh..." Zhou Yi was momentarily speechless. While the desires of the flesh were natural, broadcasting such intimate private matters felt somewhat inappropriate—especially for a man, as it was tantamount to psychological torture.

"Well, the security guard mentioned earlier that Zhang Hui and Xu Jiaguang had a wonderful relationship and were always acting all lovey-dovey in front of outsiders despite their age."

Although police officers were supposed to maintain an objective and impartial perspective while handling cases, discussing such topics with a female colleague was still somewhat awkward.

Qiao Jiali cleared her throat and nodded awkwardly.

"Word has it that ever since she married Xu Jiaguang, strange noises often came from their apartment in the middle of the night."

"Stra..."

"At first, the neighbors thought it was screams from domestic violence and, fearing the worst, even called the police. But when the police arrived and asked, they found out it was *that* kind of sound..."

Qiao Jiali didn't continue, but Zhou Yi already understood what she meant.

Back when he was a beat cop in his past life, he had seen plenty of such cases—kids running around upstairs disturbing the neighbors, dogs barking early in the morning, or someone howling like a ghost in the middle of the night. Trifles like these were everywhere.

However, this also introduced a new problem. If the couple's intimate life was that harmonious, Xu Jiaguang's motive for murder became even less convincing.

Could his intuition have been wrong?

"Senior Sister Qiao is truly brilliant. Officer Miao and his team failed to uncover any of this information."

Seeing the topic change, Qiao Jiali's expression relaxed considerably.

"Hah, you can't blame them. Neighborhood aunties are a demographic that absolutely loves gossiping. But if you expect them to provide leads when questioned by the police, they're mostly unwilling to speak up. Most of the information is just hearsay, often embellished in the retelling. Who wants to take responsibility for that?"

"Yet, hidden within these rumors and gossip, you can often find crucial clues for solving a case. In Captain Wu's words: when investigating a case, it's better to chase a false lead than to miss a genuine one. Because if you follow a wrong lead, you can always turn back, but if you miss it, it's gone for good."

Zhou Yi nodded. He knew Qiao Jiali was intentionally trying to mentor him. Although, based on his experience from his past life, he had long since developed this kind of mindset, he was still deeply grateful for her guidance.

In his previous life, he had trusted the wrong people and been framed.

He never expected to encounter so many like-minded comrades right at the start of this life. It was truly something to rejoice over.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"On the night two days before Zhang Hui went missing, someone saw her having a clandestine meeting with a man in the compound."

"A secret rendezvous?"

Qiao Jiali smiled helplessly. "Yes, those were the aunties' exact words. They reportedly even saw Zhang Hui give the man some money."

"Are the aunties certain it wasn't Xu Jiaguang?"

"That much seems certain. They said the man was short and thin, much shorter than Xu Jiaguang, so they wouldn't mistake the two."

Qiao Jiali omitted the aunties' exact phrasing, which was: *That night, Zhang Hui met up with some short, scrawny stray man, acted all flirtatious with him, and even gave him money. If you ask me, she most likely ran off with that guy.*

Zhou Yi couldn't help frowning. Why did another stray man suddenly pop up?

The two quickly located the apartment number and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, a man's voice came from inside: "Coming."

As the door opened, Xu Jiaguang immediately recognized Zhou Yi. He froze for a moment, then stammered, "Off... Officer, why are you here?"

Zhou Yi calmly smiled and said, "Xu Jiaguang, the case of your wife Zhang Hui's disappearance has been transferred from the Qingshan Road Police Station to the Municipal Bureau's Criminal Investigation Detachment."

Hearing this, Xu Jiaguang immediately asked with intense anxiety, "Have... have you found my wife?"

"Not yet, so we've come to ask you about a few things."

Zhou Yi looked Xu Jiaguang up and down and found it rather strange. The man was actually wearing a raincoat and rainboots inside his home, and his hair was sopping wet.

"You don't mind us coming in, do you?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Please, come in, please come in." Xu Jiaguang hurriedly let the two inside. Before closing the door, he glanced twice toward the corner of the hallway.

Zhou Yi and Qiao Jiali quickly scanned the interior. It was a modest two-bedroom apartment with simple, aged decor, typical of 1980s interior design. It was filled with the aura of daily life, with nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

The kitchen door and both bedroom doors were wide open, offering a clear view of their contents. The smaller bedroom featured decorations and a layout clearly suited to a young girl's preferences.

Only the bathroom door was shut, and a faint, foul odor drifted out from within.

Zhou Yi instantly became alert. Looking back at Xu Jiaguang's bizarre attire, a thought flashed through his mind in a split second.

He lunged toward the bathroom door and reached out to twist the doorknob.

Xu Jiaguang's expression changed drastically, and he shouted, "Officer, don't..."