"...How many times have I told you not to touch my things!"
Zhang Shuo's voice was low, but his anger was clearly audible.
"I'm just helping you organize your wardrobe..." Feng Yulan defended timidly.
"Organizing?" Zhang Shuo sneered, "What are you doing in my drawers? What are you looking for? Tell me!"
Then there was a dull thud, like the sound of a body hitting a wall. Zhang Shumin frowned—her son had hit his daughter-in-law again. Normally, she would have pretended not to hear, but tonight, the scene made her particularly uneasy.
She deliberately jingled her keys, then coughed loudly as she pushed the door open. The quarreling in the room immediately stopped, leaving only the ticking of the wall clock.
"Mom?" Zhang Shuo poked his head out of the bedroom, his face still brimming with anger. "So early?"
"Can't sleep? Go out for a walk." Zhang Shumin said calmly, her eyes sweeping over her son's disheveled collar and red knuckles. "What are you arguing about?"
"Nothing," Zhang Shuo forced a smile. "Yulan ruined my clothes again."
Feng Yulan stood at the bedroom door, with a noticeable red mark on her left cheek, her eyes lowered, not daring to look at anyone.
Zhang Shumin hummed and walked straight to her room. Before closing the door, she noticed her son staring at the convenience store bag in her hand with a flickering look in his eyes.
After the door closed, Zhang Shumin immediately took the tie and memory card out of the sanitary napkin package. She opened the secret compartment in the bedside table—where she hid her private money, even her son didn't know—and carefully placed the evidence inside.
Lying on the bed, she stared at the ceiling in a daze. The sky outside the window had begun to turn white, but her thoughts were even more confused than the night.
Whose bloody tie is that? Who is Jason? Why did someone want to kill him? What role does his son Zhang Shuo play in this? What's on the memory card?
More importantly, what should she do?
Zhang Shumin rolled over and pulled out an old shoebox from under her bed. Inside was a collection of treasures she'd found over the years—designer ties, silk scarves, gold-plated lighters... On top was the Kiton tie box she'd found last week.
She picked up the tie box and examined it carefully. The inscription "To my beloved Jason" was clearly visible in the morning light. If this Jason had been murdered, then the bloody tie was likely discarded evidence by the murderer.
And her son is likely related to this.
Zhang Shumin suddenly remembered a rainy night three months ago when Zhang Shuo came home at three in the morning. He smelled strange—not the chemical smell he smelled today, but something fishier and more disgusting. At the time, she'd thought it was the stench of the garbage room, but now...
"No, it's impossible." She shook her head, trying to get rid of the horrible association. Her son looked so cowardly, it was impossible for him to kill someone.
But what about the "Old Jin" mentioned by the man with the gold watch? What about the phone call Feng Yulan overheard? And what about Zhang Shuo's recent frequent nighttime outings?
Too many coincidences.
Zhang Shumin decided to check the memory card first. She didn't understand these high-tech things, but she could trust Xiao Liu, the mobile phone repair shop at the entrance of the community. He had helped her fix elderly phones several times and never asked any questions.
It was already dawn, and she heard her son and daughter-in-law getting up. Zhang Shuo would be going to work today, and Feng Yulan would be going to the supermarket. Once they were out, she could go find Xiao Liu.
At the breakfast table, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead. Zhang Shuo wolfed down his fried eggs, his eyes glued to his phone. Feng Yulan, like a frightened rabbit, moved cautiously, afraid to make even the slightest sound.
"Mom, where are you going today?" Zhang Shuo suddenly asked, but his eyes did not leave the phone screen.
Zhang Shumin paused with her chopsticks. "Where else can we go? The vegetable market."
"Really?" Zhang Shuo raised his head, his eyes as sharp as a knife. "I got up last night and saw you weren't home."
Zhang Shumin's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't show it on her face: "I can't sleep at my age, so I went downstairs for a walk."
"Three in the morning?"
"What do you care what time it is?" Zhang Shumin slammed her chopsticks on the table. "I'm your mother, not your prisoner!"
Zhang Shuo narrowed his eyes, as if trying to judge the truth of her words. Finally, he nodded and continued to eat breakfast, but Zhang Shumin could feel that his doubts had not dissipated.
Feng Yulan hunched her shoulders, not daring to breathe. Zhang Shumin noticed a bruise on her daughter-in-law's left wrist, as if from a strong grip.
After breakfast, Zhang Shuo went out to "work," and Feng Yulan hurried to the supermarket. Zhang Shumin waited a moment, making sure they were all gone, before removing the memory card from the secret compartment and carefully hiding it in the small cloth bag she kept for change.
The cell phone repair shop at the entrance to the residential complex had just opened, and Xiao Liu was wiping the counter. Seeing Zhang Shumin come in, he greeted her warmly: "Auntie Zhang, so early? Is your phone broken again?"
"Xiao Liu," Zhang Shumin lowered her voice, "help me take a look at this." She took out a memory card and asked, "Can you read the contents?"
Xiao Liu took the memory card and frowned slightly. "This is a microSD card. I need a card reader. What's inside?"
"I don't know either," Zhang Shumin pretended to be confused. "I picked it up and wanted to see if it was useful."
Xiao Liu was skeptical, but he still inserted the card into the computer. A few seconds later, his expression suddenly changed: "Auntie, this... this doesn't seem right..."
Zhang Shumin leaned over and saw a folder on the screen containing several video files and documents.
Xiao Liu clicked on one of the videos, which showed a man with blood all over his face tied to a chair, with the background looking like a warehouse.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
