Chapter 4 Silent Witness

Yu Hao stood in front of the door of Room 201 and knocked three times. The light coming through the crack in the door flickered with the sound of footsteps, like a vigilant eye spying. The door opened a crack, revealing a dark face. "Sun Yong?" Yu Hao showed his ID, "Yu Hao from the Criminal Police Team, I want to know something." Sun Yong's eyes flashed, and he silently opened the door. The warm air in the house hit him. The living room was tidier than expected. However, a shabby wardrobe that looked exactly like the one in Wang Shun's house stood against the east wall, which caught Yu Hao's attention. The wardrobe door was slightly open, revealing the old quilts stacked inside. "Sit down." Sun Yong said in a hoarse voice, pointing to the sofa. He was tall, with dark skin, thick knuckles, and calluses on his palms. The cuffs of his cotton coat were worn to a shine, and grayish-white cotton wool was visible from a few unraveling threads. Yu Hao and Lu Chao sat down on the sofa. Their eyes swept over the desk by the window—piled with books like "Advanced Sudoku," "Logic Mazes," "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," and "The Complete Novels of Agatha Christie," all with their spines curled. Lu Chao raised an eyebrow. "Do you like reasoning?" Yu Hao asked casually. "To kill time." Sun Yong poured two cups of tea from the kettle. The water was cloudy, with a few broken tea leaves floating in it. Yu Hao took the cups and took a sip. The tea tasted slightly bitter. "You're not setting up your stall today?" Sun Yong shook his head. "Only the night stall on weekends, not breakfast. No customers." "Oh," Yu Hao nodded. He'd heard about this man's routine. Rising at three in the morning to knead dough, setting up his stall to sell breakfast at five, catching up on sleep in the afternoon, and setting up his stall at night. How long had this life lasted? Five years? Ten years? "You know about Wang Shun next door, right?" Yu Hao cut to the chase. Sun Yong's Adam's apple rolled. "I know." For the first time, his eyes met Yu Hao's. There was no evasion, but also no warmth. "Do you know each other well?" "No," Sun Yong shook his head. "I'm out early and back late setting up the stall, and he seems to be working at the construction site too. We just nod when we meet." Yu Hao stared into his eyes. "So... have you ever noticed him bringing anyone back? Like... women?" "No," Sun Yong didn't look away. "I don't mind my own business." Yu Hao looked at him, a look of such determination rarely seen. Lu Chao suddenly interrupted, "Where were you between seven and eight last night?" Sun Yong's brows suddenly furrowed into a furrow, and he replied impatiently, "Playing cards at the village entrance." "Where exactly?" Lu Chao put down his pen and looked up...

Yu Hao stood in front of the door of Room 201 and raised his hand and knocked three times.

The light coming through the crack in the door flickered with the sound of footsteps, like a vigilant eye spying.

The door opened a crack, revealing a dark face.

"Sun Yong?" Yu Hao showed his ID. "Yu Hao from the Criminal Investigation Team, I'd like to know something."

Sun Yong's eyes flickered, and he silently opened the door. The warm air from the house rushed towards him.

The living room was neater than expected. However, a shabby wardrobe, identical to the one in Wang Shun's house, stood against the east wall, catching Yu Hao's eye. The door was slightly ajar, revealing a pile of old quilts inside.

"Please sit down." Sun Yong said in a hoarse voice, pointing to the sofa.

He was tall, with dark skin, thick knuckles, and calloused palms. The cuffs of his cotton coat were worn to a shine, and grayish-white cotton wool was visible through the frayed threads in a few places.

Yu Hao and Lu Chao sat down on the sofa.

The two of them glanced at the desk by the window - it was piled with various detective novels such as "Advanced Sudoku", "Logic Mazes", "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", "The Complete Novels of Agatha Christie", etc., and the spines of the books were all curled up.

Lu Chao raised his eyebrows.

"Do you like reasoning?" Yu Hao asked casually.

"To kill time." Sun Yong poured two cups of tea from the kettle. The tea was turbid with a few broken tea leaves floating on it.

Yu Hao took the teacup and took a sip. The tea tasted slightly bitter. "You're not setting up a stall today?"

Sun Yong shook his head. "We only run a night stall on weekends. We don't serve breakfast. There are no customers."

"Oh." Yu Hao nodded.

He had heard of this man's daily routine: getting up at three in the morning to knead dough, setting up shop to sell breakfast at five, catching up on sleep in the afternoon, and setting up shop at night.

How long did this life last? Five years? Ten years?

"You know about Wang Shun next door, right?" Yu Hao got to the point.

Sun Yong's Adam's apple rolled: "I know." For the first time, he looked directly at Yu Hao. There was no evasion in his eyes, but there was no warmth either.

"Are you familiar with each other?"

"Not familiar with him." Sun Yong shook his head. "I go out early and come back late to set up the stall. He seems to be working at the construction site as well. We just nod when we meet."

Yu Hao stared into his eyes: "Then... have you ever noticed that he brought anyone back? For example... a woman?"

"I didn't notice." Sun Yong didn't avoid looking at her. "I don't mind my own business."

Yu Hao looked at him, rarely seeing such a determined look in his eyes.

Lu Chao suddenly interrupted: "Where were you between seven and eight last night?"

Sun Yong's brows suddenly knitted into a ravine, and he replied impatiently, "Playing cards at the village entrance."

"Where exactly is it?" Lu Chao put down the pen in his hand and raised his head.

"Lao Zhang's chess and card room." Sun Yong's tone suddenly became urgent. "If you don't believe it, you can go check it out. Liu Bing, Xiao Fang, and Uncle Zhang can testify."

"Okay, we understand." Yu Hao explained, "These are just routine inquiries. I hope you don't mind."

Sun Yong didn't say anything else and lowered his head to drink tea.

Yu Hao stood up and casually looked around the living room. He glanced meaningfully at the old wardrobe and asked, "Did the landlord force this thing in?"

"Also?" Sun Yong was a little puzzled.

"Oh, I saw an identical one at Wang Shun's house." Yu Hao said casually.

"I didn't know that. The landlord put it here." Sun Yong sighed, somewhat helplessly. "I said no, but Sun Zhong insisted it was a good place to put my belongings and even reduced my rent by 200 yuan."

"Oh, so that's it." Yu Hao couldn't understand why Sun Zhong did this. It was obviously just a broken cabinet.

Yu Hao brought the topic back to the case, "Where's your son? Was he at home last night?"

"At that time, Lei Zi is usually doing homework or watching TV."

"Then can we ask him a few questions?" Yu Hao asked.

The bedroom door suddenly creaked. Yu Hao turned around and saw a thin figure walking out carrying some wood.

Yu Hao wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or if the little boy had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

The boy wasn't surprised to see the policeman, but quietly sat down beside his father, his knife still scraping lightly at the wood, sending sawdust rustling down.

Only then did Yu Hao see his appearance clearly. He was thin, with dark skin, deep eyes, and an indescribable alertness between his eyebrows.

"My son, Sun Lei," Sun Yong introduced.

Yu Hao squatted down and looked him in the eye: "Little friend, what grade are you in?"

"I'm not a kid. My name is Sun Lei." Sun Lei's voice was soft, but as sharp as a blade. "I'm twelve years old, in the sixth grade."

As he spoke, his carving knife didn't even stop, and wood chips flew between his fingers.

Yu Hao had not expected the boy's reaction. He smiled slightly and apologized, "I'm sorry."

Seeing that the boy didn't speak, Yu Hao continued to ask, "Sun Lei, where do you go to school?"

Sun Lei did not answer, as if he had not heard it.

Seeing this, Sun Yong gently touched his son with his arm and said, "I'm talking to you!"

"Yucai Primary School." The boy rolled his eyes at Yu Hao, then quickly lowered his head to busy himself with the carpentry in his hands, as if he was worried that talking would delay the progress of the project.

But when he heard Yucai Xiao's name, Yu Hao's heart still moved.

Luo Xue also studied there. The tuition fee of this private school was not cheap.

A thought flashed through his mind, "Can I take a look?" Yu Hao pointed to the wood carving in the boy's hand.

Sun Lei hesitated for a moment and handed over a wooden block that was roughly in the shape of a human.

Obviously it was not the same piece from yesterday. At this moment, the wood grain flowed along the direction of the muscles, as if it had already taken shape of life.

"Your craftsmanship is really good." Yu Hao praised sincerely. He noticed that there were tiny scars on the boy's fingertips.

Sun Lei did not respond, but just reached out to take the wood carving back.

Yu Hao got to the point, "Were you at home between seven and eight last night?"

"At home." Sun Lei's voice was soft but extremely clear.

"What are you doing?"

"After finishing my homework, I'm reading Animal World," Sun Lei explained. "It's about Arctic foxes."

"Did you hear any strange noises next door? Like quarreling?" Lu Chao asked.

The carving knife paused for a moment. "The bottle fell over," Sun Lei said, then added, "Twice."

"Any other sounds?" Yu Hao wanted to pat his shoulder, but the boy shrank back like a frightened snail.

At that moment, Yu Hao seemed to see his childhood self - the little boy who curled up in the corner and rejected the whole world.

The boy shook his head and said nothing more, but just kept carving the piece of wood in his hand.

"Did you notice anyone on the hillside last night?" Yu Hao asked a different question in a gentle voice.

"Yes." The boy's face still had no expression and he answered simply and concisely.

The room suddenly became quiet.

"Yes?" Yu Hao, Lu Chao, and Sun Yong all looked at the boy in disbelief. Lu Chao even stood up in excitement.

He,...actually saw the murderer.

"A man."

"Then can you describe what he looks like?" Yu Hao clenched his fists unconsciously, and even his tone of voice was a little excited.

"You've seen it too." The boy raised his head and looked directly at Yu Hao, with a sinister look in his eyes.

"Me?" Yu Hao looked at the boy in disbelief, choking a little. "What do you mean?"

The boy lowered his head again and said calmly, "Yesterday, at the wonton shop."

"What?" Yu Hao's heart tightened. "Are you talking about the man who bumped into you?"

"It has happened in the past few days." Sun Lei said quietly, as if telling a story that had nothing to do with him.

Yu Hao was a little annoyed. He only saw the back of the man yesterday. He was about 1.75 meters tall, with short hair, a medium build, and wearing a black sportswear.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see what that man looked like. Can you describe him?"

"I can't say." Sun Lei lowered his head, and sawdust fell at his feet like snowflakes.

"How can I not tell? Are the eyes big or small, the hair long or short, the face long or round?" Lu Chao, standing aside, could no longer contain his excitement, and his voice became a little louder.

Sun Lei seemed not to hear him and ignored him.

"You...?" Before Lu Chao could finish his words, Sun Yong suddenly stopped him, then stood up, walked towards the door, and motioned for them to follow him.

Yu Hao and Lu Chao didn't know what he meant, so they just followed him. Looking back at Sun Lei, he just lowered his head and didn't react.

The three of them walked outside. Sun Yong gently closed the wooden door, sighed, and said, "You can see that Lei Zi is a little different from other children."

Yu Hao had noticed this when he first started talking to him.

"What's wrong?" Lu Chao was puzzled.

Sun Yong looked back at the closed door and said in a low voice, "Asperger's."

"Ah?" Yu Hao and Lu Chao looked at each other, "What disease?"

"Asperger's. It's been many years." Sun Yong shook his head and looked forward.

"Sorry." Yu Hao felt a little guilty after hearing the result.

"It's okay." Sun Yong turned around. "So, that's all we can say. If there are no other questions, I'll go back."

"Um..." Lu Chao wanted to ask something but was stopped by Yu Hao. He turned to Sun Yong and said, "If you remember anything, you can contact me anytime. We won't bother you any more." After that, he handed him a business card.

Sun Yong took the business card, nodded, returned to the room, and closed the door gently.

"Captain Yu, this is an important breakthrough. We must get that boy to draw a portrait of the murderer. I'll go get Zhang Min. She's an expert in sketching." On the way back to the police car, Lu Chao suggested to Yu Hao somewhat unwillingly.

"Forget it. Continuing to pester him might only have the opposite effect. Let's first use other clues to find the suspect, and then come back to confirm with him using the photo. That would be more appropriate."

The two men went downstairs. Yu Hao opened the door of the police car and sat in the passenger seat. At this time, Lu Chao had already started the engine. The car was pressed on the snow, making a squeaking sound.

"But, Captain Yu, this is a shortcut." Lu Chao was a little unwilling.

"Many roads may seem like shortcuts, but they're actually blocked. Just do it down to earth." Yu Hao sighed, "We'll talk about it when we get back to the bureau."

Yu Hao glanced at the window again.

Sun Lei was still standing there, holding an unfinished wooden sculpture in his hand, a human-shaped wooden sculpture that was being carved.