Chapter 46
When the two of them came out of the residential complex, Lin Sheng turned to Xu Guannan and asked in confusion,
"A month ago? Li Ke just disappeared yesterday. Judging by the time, it couldn't have been Li Ke. Why did the clue disappear again?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Guannan's phone suddenly made a message alert sound. The two of them were immediately attracted to the phone. Their eyes were focused on the phone, and Lin Sheng looked at Xu Guannan with confusion.
Picking up the phone, Xu Guannan glanced at the chat box. It was a message from Tang Ziyan. His expression suddenly changed, and he spoke directly to Lin Sheng.
"I found the address of Li Ke's parents."
The weather was slightly sunny, and a gentle breeze blew across the windowsill and brushed the gray curtains on the wall. The woman in the room had a few white hairs on her temples. She stared at the wall clock in the living room with anticipation between her brows, and her eyes occasionally glanced at the door, as if she was waiting for someone.
The door suddenly opened. The woman was about to stand up to greet him, but saw a man about her age walk in. He was carrying a large bag of vegetables in one hand and a large bag of fruit in the other. There were a lot of white hairs in his hair, and his eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Li Ke.
Seeing the man come in, the joy in the woman's eyes dimmed instantly, but she still stood up to greet him, and couldn't help nagging,
"Why did you come back so late? I thought it was Coco who came back."
Li Jin's face was a little surprised, and his brows were slightly furrowed.
"Keke hasn't come back yet? It's almost twelve o'clock. Is she not coming back today?"
Qin Shuzhen took the bag of vegetables from Li Jin's hand and complained.
"If you say you won't come back, then don't come back. Can't you just call? With technology being so advanced nowadays, how many minutes can a phone call take?"
Li Ke hasn't been home for three months. As usual, Li Ke would go home to see his parents on this day every month, but Li Ke was too busy in the first two months and had no time to go home. Today is exactly three months.
Knowing that Qin Shuzhen was angry, Li Jin did not dare to speak for Li Ke. He put the fruit on the table and quickly agreed.
"Don't worry, it's not even twelve o'clock yet. I'll give her a call and ask."
*
When Lu Yu entered the room, he didn't hear any movement from the people in the house. His heart tightened. He glanced around the living room but didn't see Li Ke. Without putting down the things in his hands, he rushed straight to the bedroom, shouting anxiously,
"Coco? Coco?"
As soon as he opened the bedroom door, Lu Yu saw the quilt bulging on the bed. The person on the bed made a sleepy sound of dissatisfaction, which immediately made him feel relieved. He put down his things, walked to the bed quietly, pulled down the quilt, and said,
"Don't bury your head in the quilt. It's hard to breathe. I bought some fruit and snacks. Would you like to eat something to fill you up? I ordered your favorite crayfish for takeout. It will be here soon."
Li Ke's mind cleared up a little. He raised his hand to rub his eyes, then opened them with difficulty. His voice was hoarse.
"Okay, let me take a nap for a while, I'll be there soon."
After saying that, Li Ke turned over, turned his back to Lu Yu, and continued to sleep.
When he heard the sound of Lu Yu closing the door, Li Ke opened his eyes instantly and looked at the ceiling in shock, his heart still beating fast. Fortunately, before Lu Yu entered the room, Li Ke had a premonition that something was wrong, so he quickly lay on the bed and pretended to be asleep, thus escaping the disaster by luck.
Li Ke calmed down, got up from the bed, washed up, and just walked out of the bathroom when he heard Lu Yu's voice.
"Hello, Auntie, Coco is here. She just got up. We've been traveling recently and are still out of town."
"I'll let Coco answer the phone."
As soon as Lu Yu finished speaking, he handed the phone to Li Ke. Li Ke's familiar voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Keke? Xiao Lu said you were traveling? Why didn't you call us in advance to tell us?"
Li Ke was stunned, not knowing how to answer.
Afraid that the other party would be suspicious, Lu Yu signaled her with his eyes to respond.
"Mom...Ayu and I are going on a trip. Don't worry. I...will not be going back today."
A glimmer of hope flashed in Li Ke's eyes. She begged her parents to notice that something was wrong with her, but Lu Yu kept staring at her. Li Ke couldn't send any signal for help. She could only watch her parents hang up the phone, and the last bit of hope in her heart was dashed.
Seeing the light in Li Ke's eyes dimming, Lu Yu quietly took the phone, hugged Li Ke, and comforted her verbally.
"After these few days, I'll let you go home, okay?"
At this point, Li Ke could only agree without hesitation and didn't dare to say a single word of "no".
At this time, Li Jin had no suspicion at all. After hanging up the phone, he untied the apron on Qin Shuzhen from behind and said happily,
"Keke and Xiao Lu are out traveling. No need to wait. I'll cook. You can go and rest."
Qin Shuzhen's eyebrows showed displeasure, and she threw the vegetables in her hand directly into the basket, her face full of resentment.
"You didn't even tell us in advance, you just went there without even discussing it with us? You might be sold out without even knowing it, and you're still stupidly counting money for others."
Li Jin pushed Qin Shuzhen out of the kitchen and explained to Lu Yu,
"Xiao Lu really likes Keke, and they'll handle things between them. We don't need to worry too much. Just sit back and wait for me to call you for dinner."
As soon as the words fell, the doorbell suddenly rang. Qin Shuzhen looked at Li Jin in confusion.
"Is anyone coming at this hour?"
Li Jin smiled and couldn't help joking.
"Maybe it's Coco. I said that on purpose because I wanted to give you a surprise. Go open the door and take a look."
Qin Shuzhen couldn't suppress a smile on her face, and her pace quickened unconsciously. She was filled with joy and opened the door with a smile on her face.
"Keke you..."
Before he could finish his words, everything came to an abrupt halt.
Qin Shuzhen looked at the two people who appeared at the door, feeling confused, and looked at them with a hint of suspicion.
"Who are you?"
Xu Guannan showed his ID and said calmly,
"Investigating the case, I want to find out more about you."
Qin Shuzhen was confused and hadn't figured out the situation yet, but she made way.
"Come in and talk."
Lin Sheng didn't bother to be polite with her and went straight in.
When Li Jin heard the noise at the door, he thought that Li Ke had brought Lu Yu to the door. Before he saw the person, he went out with a fruit plate and shouted towards the living room,
"Is Xiao Lu here too? Eat some fruit first, then..."
When he raised his eyes, he saw two unfamiliar faces. Li Jin looked at Qin Shuzhen with a puzzled look.
Lin Sheng spoke at the right time.
"Hello uncle, we are here to look for Li Ke. Do you know where she is now?"
Qin Shuzhen panicked and asked Lin Sheng anxiously,
"Officer, has my Coco done something wrong?"
Lin Sheng said in a gentle and comforting tone,
"Auntie, no, we are just making routine inquiries. How could Li Ke do something illegal? We just want to know her whereabouts. She is somehow related to the case we are investigating."
Qin Shuzhen felt relieved after hearing this, but she still refused to be at ease. She shook her head helplessly and replied,
"Keke and Lu Yu went on a trip, and we don't know where she is now. The child is older, and she doesn't discuss things with us."
"travel?"
Lin Sheng looked at Qin Shuzhen doubtfully and asked,
"When did she tell you about this? She didn't even tell you where to go? Didn't you feel something was wrong?"
Li Jin was the first to notice the signs and looked a little nervous.
"Is Coco missing? Officer, please tell us the truth."
Qin Shuzhen's face changed drastically and she almost fainted. Fortunately, Li Jin supported her in time.
The rage in her heart surged up, and Qin Shuzhen pushed Li Jin's hand away, speaking in a tone full of blame.
"It's all your fault. I guessed Lu Yu had bad intentions and kidnapped my Coco. He was the one who answered the phone just now, and I felt something was wrong. He never dared to say a word to us before, for fear of making me angry. Now, he has even lost his daughter. Are you satisfied?"
Li Jin was in the wrong and was willing to endure Qin Shuzhen's scolding without saying anything back.
Lin Sheng quickly grabbed Qin Shuzhen's hand and began to persuade her.
"Auntie, don't worry. The most urgent thing is to find Li Ke. Does Li Ke have one or two good friends? Maybe they know Li Ke's whereabouts."
Qin Shuzhen calmed down and tried to calm down. A name popped up in her mind.
"Looking for Xiaoyu. Yes, Li Ke has a good friend named Xia Yu. He was a guest at our house before. They talked about everything. Xiaoyu must know."
Unit 13, Shengxia Community, District 9, Beijie.
Lin Sheng and Xu Guannan rang the doorbell of Xia Yu's house, but the door did not open and there was no movement in the house.
The aunt next door was taking a nap and was annoyed by the ringing of the bell. She immediately became angry and opened the door in a hurry and yelled at Lin Sheng and Xu Guannan,
"Why are you ringing the doorbell? It's so noisy! The little girl hasn't been home for over a month. She must have died outside. How can I sleep in the middle of the day?"
Lin Sheng frowned slightly, and was about to retort, but then he caught a clue and quickly changed his expression, saying,
"This is a police investigation. I don't mean to interrupt. You just said she hasn't been home for over a month? Do you know where she went?"
Taking into consideration the two men's police identities, the aunt's arrogant and dissatisfied temper mostly disappeared. She suppressed her inner dissatisfaction and softened her tone.
"This place hasn't opened its doors for over a month. Who knows what might have happened and why they ran away? The property management even came to ask for rent several times, but they still didn't open the door."
After saying that, the aunt glanced at the two of them. Seeing that they were both preoccupied and distracted, she quickly hid in the house and slammed the door shut, leaving Lin Sheng and Xu Guannan standing there looking at each other.
Lin Sheng was about to continue knocking on the door when Xu Guannan held her back.
"No need to knock. She's told us everything she can know. Let's go inside and take a look."
Xu Guannan glanced at the information posted on the wall, took out his cell phone and was about to call the property management, when he heard a "click" sound behind him. He turned around and met Lin Sheng's very natural eyes, and then heard her say,
"Let's go, what are you waiting for?"
Lin Sheng had one hand on the door handle and was holding a linear hairpin in the other. At this time, Xia Yu's door was wide open. Lin Sheng greeted Xu Guannan and walked in without waiting.
Although it was not the first time he saw it, Xu Guannan was still dumbfounded. After hesitating for a second, he followed him in.
Lin Sheng glanced at the living room. There was a thin layer of dust on the floor, reflecting the footsteps of the two people. All the windows were closed. It had been closed for more than a month, but there was no odor in the room. It was obvious that the owner of the house was a person who loved to clean.
There was a thin layer of dust on the small table in the living room cabinet, and the items placed on it showed no signs of having been moved.
"It seems Xia Yu never came back during her stay. The room was tidy and the furniture wasn't covered with any tarpaulins. It's obvious that she planned to leave suddenly, leaving even the property management staff with no time to make arrangements. Why did Xia Yu suddenly disappear?"
Suddenly, there was a rapid knock on the door, which instantly broke the silence in the room. Lin Sheng and Xu Guannan's hearts were suddenly lifted up and their hearts were beating in their throats.
Lin Sheng couldn't help but feel a shock all over his body, and cold sweat broke out on his back.
Xu Guannan noticed that something was wrong with her, and a hint of alertness suddenly appeared in his eyes. He looked towards the door and strode forward. The moment his hand was on the doorknob, the knocking stopped abruptly. It was so quiet outside the door, as if nothing had happened.
The two became suspicious and did not open the door immediately. The noise outside the door stopped and they could only hear the two people's breathing quietly.
"Open the door! Open the door quickly!"
A strange and powerful male voice suddenly sounded outside the door, and the sound echoed throughout the entire corridor, much louder than the knocks of the two people just now.
Xu Guannan hesitated for a while and did not open the door. The noises of the people outside the door became louder and louder. Not wanting to disturb other neighbors, Xu Guannan opened the door and said in a deep voice to the people outside the door,
"What's up?"
"Is there something wrong? You still dare to ask, is this your home? How dare you enter? Be careful or I will call the police to arrest you..."
Xu Guannan immediately showed his police ID, and the man outside the door was speechless, swallowing the words on his lips. He only heard the man outside the door say awkwardly,
"You're a police officer, right? It's alright, I'm in the property management here. I just checked the surveillance footage and saw something was amiss... I won't bother you anymore, just keep going."
The property manager said this as he closed the door honestly.
Lin Sheng and Xu Guannan looked at each other, and a thought suddenly flashed through their minds.
"No! He's not human! Chase him!"
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