Chapter 100 Buying a House
Lin Xili sat in the passenger seat, holding a stack of property brochures.
"How is it?" Huo Nanchen asked.
"I'm thinking about how to furnish the study if I buy this house."
It was a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment in the Lvjing Community. Lin Xili learned from her colleagues in the forensic department that the community had a good environment, was close to the river, had good property management, and was conveniently located near the Bureau of Justice.
Huo Nanchen's get off work hours in the endocrinology department are relatively fixed, and he commutes by car. Lin Xili's job requires her to be on call at any time, so buying a house near the Bureau of Justice is the most convenient option.
It's fully furnished and aired out for six months; you can basically move in with just your belongings.
"We can choose a south-facing room as a study. It has good lighting and can accommodate two desks." After Huo Nanchen finished speaking, he turned the steering wheel, and the car turned into a tree-lined road.
Lin Xili's lips curled up slightly. The two of them worked and studied at their respective desks, occasionally looking up at each other or discussing a hot news topic or a difficult problem.
That's part of her ideal married life now—independent yet interdependent.
Upon arriving at the sales office, they were greeted by a young woman surnamed Chen, who served as their sales consultant.
Upon seeing Huo Nanchen and Lin Xili walk in, the couple, with their outstanding demeanor, were clearly high-quality clients.
"Mr. Huo, Ms. Lin, welcome, welcome." Consultant Chen greeted them warmly. "The house is ready. Let me show you both up."
The apartment is on the 12th floor. The elevator ascends smoothly, and through the glass curtain wall, you can see the night view of Hong Kong.
The lights of boats on the river, the neon lights of high-rise buildings on the opposite bank, and the car lights flowing on the bridge across the river in the distance.
The door opened, revealing a spacious entryway and a living room with a minimalist modern style. Large floor-to-ceiling windows offered an unobstructed view of the river.
The dining room is connected to a living room, and the open kitchen is fully equipped.
The three bedrooms are arranged in a row, and there is also a small study. The master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom, and the other two rooms are of moderate size.
"The interior decoration uses all environmentally friendly materials, and it has been ventilated for six months. The test report is here." Consultant Chen handed over a document.
"The community has excellent amenities, including a gym, swimming pool, and children's play area. It also has a comprehensive security system with security guards patrolling 24 hours a day."
Huo Nanchen took the test report and carefully read through it, while Lin Xili went into the room, touched the wall with his hand, opened the cabinet door to check, and tested the water pressure of the faucet.
Her movements were as professional as if she were inspecting a crime scene. After the inspection, she came out and said to Huo Nanchen, "There are no cracks in the walls, the water and electricity pipes are laid out reasonably, and the decoration quality is good."
Huo Nanchen nodded. He walked to the window, looked at the river view outside, and imagined a future morning when they would sit here with Lin Xili, drinking tea and reading.
"Do you like it?" he asked Lin Xili, turning his head to look at her.
Lin Xili stood in the center of the living room, looking around. The sunlight, layout, decoration, and view were indeed impeccable.
She thought of the small apartment in the Justice Bureau dormitory, and also of the warm but ultimately only temporary two-story building in the town.
This place may become their first real home.
“If you like it, we can turn another living room into a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf as a study. That way, we can move the books from the second floor of the town here, and leave that small study for when you need it.”
Huo Nanchen nodded, then turned to Consultant Chen and said, "This is the one. How do we complete the formalities?"
Consultant Chen's smile grew even warmer, and he quickly produced the contract. "Mr. Huo, Ms. Lin, this apartment is 120 square meters, and the lowest price is 58,000 yuan per square meter. If you're buying your first home in full, the total price including taxes is 7.06 million yuan. If you use a housing provident fund loan, the down payment is 30%, and the interest rate will be very favorable. If we can finalize the deal tonight, I can apply for an additional discount..."
Just then, Lin Xili's phone rang.
Lin Xili glanced at the caller ID—it was the emergency contact number for the Forensic Department.
"Excuse me, I need to take this call." She went to the balcony and answered the phone.
Li Ge's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Xi Li, emergency! There's been a knife attack at Jinxiu Garden residential complex in the west of the city. The victim is a minor girl, and she's seriously injured. Captain Wei has already taken his team there; we need to get to the scene immediately!"
"Give me your location, I'll be right there." Lin Xili hung up the phone and turned to walk into the living room.
Huo Nanchen had already read the situation from her expression.
"It's an emergency case; we need to get to the scene immediately," Lin Xili said quickly. "I have to go back to the station to get my investigation kit."
Huo Nanchen nodded and said to Consultant Chen, "I'll take her home first and then come back to find you."
"Okay, okay, you two go ahead with your work. I'll be waiting for you here."
The two hurriedly left the sales office and arrived at the entrance of the Justice Bureau.
"Be careful." Huo Nanchen's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Once the case is over, no matter how late it is, send me a message."
"Okay," Lin Xili replied, pushing open the car door and running into the entrance of the Justice Bureau.
After she disappeared from sight, Huo Nanchen continued driving back to the sales office.
Police tape has been put up in front of Building 21 of Jinxiu Garden residential complex.
The flashing police lights bathed the neighborhood in a red and blue glow at night.
The crowd of onlookers was kept outside the cordon, and whispers rose and fell like waves.
As Lin Xili carried the investigation kit out of the elevator, Captain Wei Dongyang was questioning a middle-aged couple. The two were crying their hearts out, and the woman could barely stand, needing her husband's support to stay upright.
"When we got home from get off work, we found Qianqian lying at the door... covered in blood..."
The woman's words were incoherent and broken, "She's only fourteen years old, who could be so cruel..."
The man's eyes were bloodshot, and his finger trembled as he pointed to the door of room 501 across the street. "It must be their son. My Qianqian said that the boy always looks at her with strange eyes. They are classmates, but they never speak to each other."
The door to room 501 was open, and a woman in her forties stood in the doorway, pale-faced and looking nervous.
Standing next to her was a tall, thin boy, his head down and his hands clenched into fists.
"He's not my son!" the woman shouted shrilly. "What proof do you have?"
Wei Dongyang frowned and turned to Lin Xili, Brother Wang, Brother Li and the others who had just arrived.
“You’ve arrived. The situation is complicated. The girl in room 508 was stabbed and taken to the hospital. These are the girl’s parents, and her grandparents are at the hospital taking care of her.”
“The parents of 501 denied it, but the girl’s parents identified their son as the culprit.”
"The most crucial point is that the community's surveillance cameras are under maintenance this week and there is no footage. We have no evidence to take the person away, so we need your evidence collection."
Lin Xili's gaze lingered for a moment on the mother and child at the entrance of 501.
The mother's protective attitude was obvious, but the boy's body language was full of contradictions.
He had his head down and his shoulders tense, but it wasn't fear; it was more like a kind of suppressed anger.
"Seal off the scene and begin the investigation," Lin Xili said to Wei Dongyang, putting on gloves.
Brother Li was responsible for tracing the traces from the doorway to the living room, Brother Wang was responsible for tracing the traces from the living room to the bedroom, and Lin Xili focused on investigating the bloodstains at the doorway and possible hiding places for the murder weapon.
He quickly got to work. Inside the cordon, the door to room 508 was wide open, and there was a large pool of blood on the floor tiles at the entrance, which was not completely dry and was splattered.
Lin Xili squatted down and used a scale and signs to locate and photograph the bloodstains.
Judging from the direction and shape of the splatter, the victim was stabbed near the doorway, and blood spurted out from the wound, forming specific patterns on the walls and floor.
She carefully collected the blood sample and placed it in the evidence bag.
"There are signs of a struggle at the entrance," Brother Li pointed to a scratch on the wall, "but it's not obvious, it looks like it was caused by pushing and shoving."
The investigation lasted for two hours. Apart from the bloodstains and signs of a struggle at the entrance, the rest of the house was basically clean and showed no signs of disturbance.
This suggests that the motive for the crime was likely not robbery, but rather targeting the victim personally.
Just as they were about to finish work and go back for testing, the hospital called to say that the girl had been saved and was temporarily out of danger.
Lin Xili: "We're going to the hospital to check on the wound."
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