monitor
Letang has been having trouble sleeping lately.
After returning from the Fu family, I was trembling with fear for two days, but found that nothing had happened.
While feeling relieved, he was also worried about Zhou Jieyu. However, the mock exam was coming up soon, and he wanted to finish it first before helping Zhou Jieyu find other solutions. So, he had been studying late into the night for the past few days, not going to bed until the early hours of the morning.
Bai Ruicai seemed to have a difficult family situation, and he told him that he would not be back until next week. Letang sent him messages several times, but Bai Ruicai said it was nothing serious and not to worry.
It’s actually not a big deal to live alone at home, after all, the management of this community is very good.
But recently, Letang always felt that he was being followed, and he felt like he was being spied on even at home.
When I finish my homework and go to close the curtains in the middle of the night, I always feel like someone is looking at me from the window opposite.
But when he looked carefully again, he found nothing behind the opposite window. He also asked the property management and was told that the building opposite was empty and there were no residents.
He originally thought that he had stayed up late to do his homework, and lack of sleep caused his mind to become a little disordered, which led to the hallucinations.
But the things that happened one after another at home forced him to make sure that this was not his hallucination.
First, there are shoes placed at the door.
Bai Ruicai is responsible for taking care of all the chores on a daily basis. Every time he goes out or comes home, he will immediately put the shoes neatly in place at the entrance.
Letang is not so particular, he just kicks his shoes around and throws them around randomly.
But he clearly remembered that his slippers were facing outwards when he went out, but when he got home he found that the toes of his slippers were facing inwards.
Then there's his toothbrush.
Letang doesn’t like using ordinary adult toothbrushes. He always feels that they are too big and hard, and they always hurt his gums. So he likes to use a baby toothbrush. The bristles are only the size of the index finger nail, thin and soft, and very comfortable to use.
After use, place it in the toothbrush cup with a kitten pattern and habitually pour it on the right side.
But one morning, before brushing his teeth, he suddenly discovered that his toothbrush had fallen to the left.
What made him feel even colder was that a few pieces of clothing were inexplicably missing from his closet.
Especially his favorite bear striped underwear, he searched through all the boxes and drawers but couldn't find it.
Letang was convinced that there was a thief in the house and hurried to the property management to check the surveillance.
The uncle on duty at the property management saw that he was still a student and looked at him a few more times. He looked well-behaved and seemed different from the residents here, more like a child from an ordinary family.
Afraid that he was there to cause trouble, they asked him to show their rental contract before showing them the surveillance footage.
Letang was at a loss. Bai Ruicai was in charge of all the rent matters, and he had never asked about it. He hadn't even paid this quarter's rent yet.
But if he asked Bai Ruicai for the contract, Bai Ruicai would definitely ask him what happened. He didn't want Bai Ruicai to know about the burglary, for fear that Bai Ruicai would think he didn't take good care of the house.
But a thief breaking into the house is no small matter after all. What if Bai Ruicai’s things were also stolen? Wouldn’t that be even worse?
Just as I was hesitating whether to contact Bai Ruicai, a gentle voice came from behind me.
"Isn't this the younger brother downstairs?"
Turning back, I saw a man in light sportswear. He was wiping sweat with one hand and holding a sports bottle in the other, and it was obvious that he had just come out of the gym.
Letang was a little confused: "You are...?"
"I've seen you before. You're a student at the Peace Academy next door, right? I live upstairs from you and have run into you a few times on your way home from school. I wonder if you have any impression of me?"
Letang didn't know the man, but after hearing what he said, he did seem familiar.
"I used to be a student at Peace College, so I'm considered an alumnus. It's nice to meet you. My name is Li Zhongli."
He walked up to Letang and asked, "What happened? Why are you checking the surveillance?"
"I...my house seems to have been burglarized, so..."
"A thief broke in?" Li Zhongli glanced at the management. "This is no small matter. They won't even allow me to check the surveillance cameras for this?"
Upon hearing this, the property management immediately opened the surveillance records and retrieved all the videos in Letang's building within a week, focusing on the footage at the door of Letang's home.
But there was nothing.
Apart from Letang going in and out to and from school, no one else entered his house.
How could that be?
Could it be that all those things that seemed wrong were just his illusions?
No, it's impossible...
"Stop."
Li Zhongli suddenly spoke up, pointing at Letang and the man behind him in the elevator screen.
The man was wearing a baseball cap and a black windbreaker. His face was deeply hidden in the shadow cast by the brim of the hat, so his features could not be seen clearly. All that was known was that he was a very tall young man.
Judging from the surveillance footage, the man was very close to Letang, his chest almost touching his back, and he kept his head down. But from this angle, any man could guess where the man was staring at Letang.
Letang's face immediately turned red with embarrassment.
The property management and Li Zhongli didn’t know, but Letang knew that the man wearing the baseball cap was Kitano Ji.
The day before yesterday, Kitano Ji insisted on sending him home and even followed him into the elevator, wanting to enter his house.
Le Tang was so angry that he had to persuade Bei Ye Ji to send him upstairs and leave.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but now, looking from the third-person perspective of the surveillance camera, I can see that Kitano Ji was standing too close!
Although Letang in the picture was just standing there without any other movements, he allowed Kitano Ji to stick to him... Seeing the looks of the property manager and Li Zhongli, Letang even felt that he was a bad boy who was dissolute and dirty.
Li Zhongli continued his analysis seriously, "This person doesn't look like a resident. He followed you into the elevator, but returned to the first floor after you left. Do you know this person?"
Although he was reluctant to admit it, Letang could only bite the bullet and say, "I know him... He's my classmate."
Li Zhongli looked at him with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Letang was so shy that he couldn't even raise his head.
"Since he's your classmate, there's no problem." Li Zhongli coughed, seeming a little embarrassed. "But it seems that no one else has entered your house. Do you want to confirm it again?"
"No, no need!" Letang was too embarrassed to stay any longer. "I think I made a mistake. Sorry to bother you!"
But Li Zhongli caught up with him.
"Neighbor, wait for me."
He lived upstairs from Letang, and Letang had no way to escape for the time being, so he had no choice but to go with him.
"Is there something missing from your house?" After a long silence, Li Zhongli spoke first. "Otherwise, why would you think there was a thief?"
"Um……"
"What's missing?"
Letang was too embarrassed to say it was underwear, so he could only say, "Some old clothes..."
"Old clothes? That's interesting."
"What's so interesting about it?"
Letang was very unconvinced. It was meaningless! He was so scared that he almost didn't dare to go home!
"Ordinary thieves, after finally getting into someone's house, usually only steal two things. One is naturally something valuable. How much are those old clothes of yours worth? Are they branded goods?"
Letang shook his head.
"That's it. Just stealing some worthless things. Don't you think it's fun?"
Letang thought for a moment and asked, "So what do the second type of thieves you mentioned steal?"
Li Zhongli smiled slightly and winked at him cunningly: "Of course it's stealing."
"Stealing someone??"
Letang widened his eyes in surprise, and when he saw his meaningful smile, he immediately reacted and his face turned red in an instant.
"If you're worried, how about I go with you to your house first?"
This remark struck a chord with Letang. Ever since his things were tampered with, Letang felt apprehensive every time he opened the door, fearing that a stranger might suddenly burst out from a corner.
But today at home, everything is as usual.
Letang checked everywhere nervously but found nothing wrong. He looked at Li Zhongli embarrassedly.
"It seems to be okay, thank you for accompanying me..."
Li Zhongli was sitting on the edge of his bed playing with his teddy bear, staring thoughtfully into the toy-effect eyes.
Hearing this, he said indifferently: "It's just a small matter. I think it's normal for a student like you to be scared living in such a big house."
Li Zhongli had just seen himself being stuck to by a male classmate, and now he was too embarrassed to tell her that he was living with another male classmate. He was afraid that Li Zhongli would think too much, so he had to admit that he lived alone.
"How about this, next time you find any problems or feel scared, you can come to me."
"Don't bother, I'm so sorry..."
Li Zhongli interrupted him and said, "Don't say that. A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. When you are away from home, it is only natural for neighbors to help each other."
It was really hard for Letang to refuse, especially since Li Zhongli was humorous, sunny and friendly. He looked like a reliable big brother next door, which made Letang subconsciously trust and get close to him.
During the time that Bai Ruicai was away from home, he really needed help from others.
Just after seeing Li Zhongli off, Bai Ruicai's phone rang.
"Has anyone been to the house?"
His tone was a little different from usual, much colder and more harsh.
As soon as I opened my mouth, I felt like I was going to call a military officer to task.
Letang was stunned: "How did you know?"
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. After a long while, Bai Ruicai's voice sounded again. This time his tone was much softer: "What happened?"
Le Tang had been so frightened these past few days that his nerves had become fragile. When he first heard Bai Ruicai's gentle voice, his nose suddenly felt sore and his eyes felt hot.
"No...it's okay...When can you come back?"
"Things at home will take some time. That's it?"
Letang held the cell phone in one hand and twirled his clothes with the other, looking at the lonely teddy bear at the bedside, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Nothing, I'm just asking. If you're busy, I'll hang up first."
"Um."
In the empty room without a trace of light, Bai Rui hung up the phone, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window with the curtains drawn, and turned on the video recorder on the tripod.
There was no furniture in the entire room except for a simple folding chair.
He slowly reached out his hand and lifted the curtain a little, and a ray of light from the street lamp outside came in and shone on his face.
Looking out of this window, you can just see the room he and Letang shared.
He did not go home. The so-called being busy at home was just an excuse he made up.
He was playing with a small, thin piece of fabric in his hand, a bear pattern faintly visible between his fingers. As he played, he quietly watched Letang's thin figure cast in the window.
According to the pattern he found in the past few days, he would go to the bathroom after three minutes, then sit on the balcony for a while before returning to his desk to study.
He just wanted to punish Letang a little. Punish him for having an affair with another man behind his back.
Scare him. Only by leaving can he realize that he cannot leave him.
However, instead of admitting his mistake, he even brought home another strange man he had never met before while he was away.
Bad boy.
It should be punished.
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