49 Red Roses

Fang Chengjin and Da Huang returned to the police station from the Gu family villa, just as Zhou Yun and the others returned from outside.

After getting out of the car, Zhou Yun walked quickly over, looking travel-worn, and the scent of her lily perfume immediately wafted over.

Fang Cheng cautiously said, "Let's talk inside."

The group walked from the door into the conference room. After the door closed, Zhou Yun clicked on the computer screen and uploaded a video.

“We’ve compared the two women and confirmed that the woman who bought the flour is Xiaoman, who works at the bar. Xiaoman has had a rather bumpy life. According to the manager, she was destitute in Hong Kong and had illegally immigrated from the mainland to work. The bar manager saw that she was pretty and articulate, so he hired her as a saleswoman for the bar.”

Zhou Yun continued, "Shen Jun and Xiao Man met because a year ago, Shen Jun saved Xiao Man at a bar. At the time, Xiao Man was selling drinks to a table when one of the men started groping her. Xiao Man refused to give in, which angered the man, and he tried to hit her. Shen Jun was sitting nearby, and he saved Xiao Man at that moment. He even bought her drinks that night so she could meet her sales target."

In the scene, under the dim light, Shen Jun did indeed help Xiao Man.

“Look at the timestamp.” She tapped the progress bar with her fingertips. “Since July 14 last year, Shen Jun has visited a total of 23 times.”

Lin Long added coldly, "What's even stranger is that she submitted her resignation three months ago, citing the reason as going back to her hometown for a blind date. But her entry and exit records are zero."

Fang Cheng stared intently at the screen, then suddenly leaned down, his nose only ten centimeters from the image, as if he were smelling a frozen frame of light.

Lin Long added, "We checked, and Xiaoman has never left Hong Kong Island. She is currently living in a rented room in Kowloon City, which is a village house."

Fang Chengjin suddenly looked up, his voice chillingly cold: "Coordinates of the village house."

**

At midday, the sun shone brightly, and the warmth and chill of autumn swept in at the same time. When Zhou Yun got out of the car, a somber atmosphere enveloped her.

The village house is hidden in a messy residential area in Kowloon Harbour District. It has six floors and is considered a decent old neighborhood in the area.

After closing the door, Lin Long stroked his chin and said doubtfully, "The rent in this area isn't expensive, but it's not cheap either. Xiao Man works as a saleswoman at a bar. Considering the salary level of waiters in Hong Kong, she probably wouldn't choose to live here."

Zhou Yun looked around and said, "We'll know once we go in."

Several people arrived at the entrance of the residential area. Lin Long stepped forward to explain the situation to the gatekeeper, Zhou Yun observed the surrounding crowd from the side, and Fang Chengjin was smelling the surrounding scents.

Two police officers accompanied him, with Da Huang guarding Lin Long's side.

Soon, guided by the property management, the group arrived at the fifth floor where Xiaoman lived.

There are four businesses on one floor, and two elevators.

After a while, a sound came from the door.

Who are you?

It was obvious that the person inside peered out through the peephole and realized it wasn't someone they knew.

"Yau Ma Tei Police Station officers, please open the door," Big Wong said politely as he stepped forward. According to regulations, the door cannot be opened forcibly unless the person is identified as a suspect.

After a long while, the door finally opened slowly.

When they saw who came out of the door, everyone's eyes showed surprise.

The moment Fang Cheng saw this woman, these scents instantly filled his nostrils.

He stared at the woman's face, his gaze like a pair of scissors, capable of cutting through the bandages covering her face, leaving her nowhere to hide.

"What do you want from me?" Xiaoman's voice was low and hoarse, with no trace of her original vocal characteristics.

At this moment, Xiaoman was dressed in simple home clothes, her face was wrapped in white bandages, only her two black eyes and one mouth were visible.

Lam Long showed his police badge. "We are from Yau Ma Tei Police Station. There was a murder three days ago, and we suspect it's related to Shen Jun. We found out that Shen Jun helped you at a bar before. Have you been in contact with him? And what happened to your face?"

Xiaoman remained calm and said, "Please come in and let's talk."

At this moment, some unsuspecting neighbors had already poked their heads out to watch the commotion.

Zhou Yun, Lin Long, and Fang Cheng entered to inquire, while Da Huang and one of his colleagues remained outside.

The three entered the house, and Xiaoman asked them to sit on the sofa while she went to get some water.

Lin Long spoke up: "No need to be so polite, Miss Lu. We hope you can answer our questions as soon as possible."

Lu Xiaoman then stopped and turned around to look at the three of them.

“I don’t know anyone named Shen Jun,” she said firmly.

Lin Long held up his phone. "Ms. Lu, I hope you will answer truthfully. Shen Jun helped you a year ago. Don't you have any recollection of the man in the picture?"

Xiaoman glanced at the screen and exclaimed in surprise, "So you're talking about him. I'm sorry, I really don't know this man. I used to work at a bar, and I was often harassed. People would come to my aid from time to time. He's a kind person."

Lin Long and Zhou Yun exchanged a glance; the unspoken understanding between the detectives was self-evident.

Lin Long put his phone away, and Zhou Yun asked, "Miss Lu, what happened to your face?"

Lu Xiaoman sighed, "I accidentally fell in the stairwell a while ago and injured my face, which is kind of disfiguring. I later went to a plastic surgery hospital for surgery, but my face has not fully recovered yet. I'm really sorry."

Zhou Yun continued, "Then what about your voice?"

Lu Xiaoman paused for a moment: "I had a cold a few days ago and my voice is a little hoarse. This is my cold medicine. I was just about to take it when you arrived."

On the sofa table, there was a box of cold medicine, a fruit plate, and a fruit knife stuck in an apple.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yun and Lin Long remained silent for a moment, searching for any flaws in the argument.

The woman's answer was impeccable.

"What exactly happened a while ago?" Lin Long continued to ask.

"Hmm... Let me think... My memory hasn't been very good lately. It was probably about a week ago... If you don't believe me, go look in the hallway. There's still trace of my blood. It's really damn bad. I don't know who turned off the lights that night. It was pitch black..."

As Lu Xiaoman was about to start cursing, her voice became hoarse, and she coughed a few times. When her gaze swept over the two people, she suddenly noticed the sharp-eyed man staring at the table.

Lu Xiaoman quickly looked over and found that he was looking at the fruit bowl on the table, which contained several apples.

"Officer, do you want to eat an apple?" Lu Xiaoman suddenly asked Fang Chengjin.

Fang Chengjin shifted his gaze from the apple to Lu Xiaoman's face, and the sharp look in his eyes almost frightened Lu Xiaoman.

"No need," Fang Cheng simply said.

Zhou Yun looked around at the interior decoration and appliances and couldn't help but ask, "Does Miss Lu usually bake bread?"

Lu Xiaoman nodded, "You bake it occasionally, and sometimes you buy it from outside? What's wrong? Baking bread should be a very normal thing."

Zhou Yun smiled and said, "I was just asking about Miss Lu's hobbies."

Lu Xiaoman's dark eyes revealed great confusion, but she didn't say anything.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Lin Long realized that Lu Xiaoman's answer was watertight, and even if he wanted to investigate further, there was no way to do so. Without evidence, it was impossible to search the house.

"Alright, Ms. Lu, thank you for your cooperation. Our work is finished here. If you have any further clues about Shen Jun, please let us know," Lin Long said.

Lu Xiaoman nodded calmly, as if she really didn't know Shen Jun.

**

As Lin Long stepped out of the room and went down the stairs, he noticed a stain at the corner of the stairs and pointed at it, saying, "Go, get the forensic team to check if it's her blood."

Big Yellow nodded vigorously and noted it down.

"This woman speaks so shrewdly, Lao Fang, what do you think?" Lin Long asked Fang Chengjin, who was standing in front of him.

The residential area here only has stairs, so five people can only go downstairs one after the other, and there is no room for a second person to walk side by side.

“There’s something wrong with her,” Fang Cheng simply uttered.

Upon hearing this, Lin Long's eyes lit up. After the group exited the narrow stairwell, Lin Long leaped to Fang Chengjin's side. "What? Did you smell something?"

Fang Cheng smiled slightly, "No rush, there's one more thing I need to confirm."

Lin Long raised an eyebrow and listened intently.

Fang Chengjin suddenly whispered a few words in Lin Long's ear. Lin Long's eyes lit up, and he told Da Huang to leave immediately, leaving a police car for Zhou Yun and Fang Chengjin to use.

"Get in the car, we're going back to the police station first," Fang Chengjin said to Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun nodded, and took the first step to close the car door in advance.

"Watch out!" Fang Chengjin reacted quickly and rushed over to grab Zhou Yun. The two rolled to the ground to the side, and the truck sped past in the next second.

A sharp pain shot through her wrist from the abrasion, and Zhou Yun also felt a chafing on her shoulder, making her hiss.

The familiar scent of bitter almonds and lily perfume still wafted from my nose.

Fang Chengjin pulled Zhou Yun up, saying, "Your heart is racing. You need to watch where you're going next time."

Zhou Yun's ears turned slightly red. She looked angrily at the departing truck, when suddenly something flashed through her mind.

“Professor Fang, I suddenly remembered. When I got out of the car, I saw this truck parked on the side of the road. Logically speaking, it's impossible for it to crash directly into us. Could it be waiting for us to pass by?” Zhou Yun’s expression suddenly became serious.

Fang Chengjin glanced sideways at the truck that had long since disappeared.

He would never forget the fragrance of photinia that wafted towards him as he rushed over.

This time, is the person behind it trying to hit him, or Zhou Yun?