Street Hustler and His Policewoman Wife

Chen Xiao arrived at Qin Fei’s parents’ place.

The elderly couple was quite surprised to see him.

"Mr. Chen, what brings you here?"

Qin Fei’s parents were as polite as ever when facing Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao brought in the fruits and supplements he was carrying and smiled:

"Uncle, Auntie, I’m troubling you again."

"Not at all! We heard you found Nianying, Mr. Chen? My spouse and I were just planning to visit her later!"

Mother Qin said, and Father Qin nodded in agreement.

It was evident that both genuinely missed Zhu Nianying, their former tenant.

"Yes, we’ve found her. She’s likely resting well under Captain Qin’s arrangements now."

"Resting is good. No one probably expected she’d still be alive; it’s like a blessing from heaven."

The couple sighed with emotion.

But soon, Father Qin asked:

"By the way, Mr. Chen, you must have something you need our help with, right?"

"Yes, Uncle Qin, I need your help to find a room. Preferably on the sixth floor in an old building with stairs. Oh, and it should have only one window facing south, and also have surveillance."

Father Qin was taken aback for a moment and mumbled, "An old house, with surveillance... this..."

"Mr. Chen, are you planning to live there? If so, we have some vacant rooms that aren’t rented out, you can move in directly without any costs!"

"No, Auntie, I just want to experience something, um... it’s related to a serious matter."

"I see, then sit at home for a bit. I’ll go ask around to see if anyone has such a vacant room." Mother Qin replied.

Chen Xiao nodded, knowing that he could only impose on the elderly couple for help right now.

After Mother Qin left, Chen Xiao and Qin Fei’s father had tea and played chess while waiting at home.

Over an hour passed, and they played several rounds of chess before Mother Qin finally returned.

She brought another elderly lady with her when she came back.

"Mr. Chen, this is my good friend, Auntie Cai. She has a house that matches your description, do you want to check it out?"

"Thank you, Auntie, I’ll go check it out with Auntie Cai. Sorry for the trouble."

Mother Qin shook her head: "There’s no trouble, really. If you like it, rent it; if it’s not to your liking, no problem. I’ve been friends with Old Cai for decades."

"Alright, Auntie, I’ll go with Auntie Cai now then."

Chen Xiao wasted no time.

After leaving the Qin family, he drove with Auntie Cai to the rental place.

Chen Xiao was pleasantly surprised when he arrived.

The style of Auntie Cai’s house was remarkably similar to Yuan Keyu’s residence.

This prompted Chen Xiao to ask:

"Auntie Cai, have you ever been to Xiaozhuang South Town in Zhushan City?"

Auntie Cai shook her head and smiled, "I’ve never heard of Xiaozhuang South Town, but I’m from Fengshan County in Zhushan City."

"What a coincidence! The house I’m looking for is in that architectural style. I must be lucky to meet you today."

Auntie Cai couldn’t stop smiling either.

"Is that so? I moved to Shencheng from Zhushan when I got married. You know, houses look different in each place, and every family builds them that way. Back when I built this house, I didn’t want it to be like everyone else’s. But I didn’t expect that now it’s hard to rent out, no one likes it."

"My husband often scolds me for being unconventional because of it."

"I think the house is beautiful, very unique, and I really like it!" Chen Xiao couldn’t help but praise it.

Of course, he wasn’t genuinely fond of the house’s style.

And he wasn’t really here just to rent a house.

However, he also knew that he had to show at least some interest in the house to avoid taking advantage of others for nothing.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiao smiled and asked, "Auntie Cai, did Auntie Qin tell you I’m not from Shencheng?"

"Yes, she said you’re here for work in Shencheng for a while, so you’re looking for a short lease, right?"

"Exactly, just a short lease."

"Are you thinking of renting for six months, three months, or one month?"

"One month, but how much is the rent?"

"Old Tan introduced you, so don’t worry about the rent for a month. But if someone else wants to rent during that time, then I might have to rent it out."

Auntie Cai was very generous, and Chen Xiao didn’t want to take advantage.

He had some understanding of the rental information nearby, so he immediately took out a month’s rent and handed it to Auntie Cai.

Although she tried to refuse, Chen Xiao insisted.

He understood that, while Auntie Cai and Mother Qin might not be short of money, the older generation was used to being frugal.

They valued money and cherished every penny of income.

Even now, and even in the bustling cities decades into the future, you can still see elderly people gathering empty bottles for recycling.

And those elderly folks could very well be the parents of some wealthy business owner.

Soon, Chen Xiao followed Auntie Cai to the room on the sixth floor with a south-facing window.

Upon entering, although the furnishing was slightly different from the Yuan Keyu case’s crime scene, the size and layout of the room were very similar.

Auntie Cai saw the genuine appreciation in Chen Xiao’s eyes and stopped insisting on the rent issue.

Shortly after, Auntie Cai received a phone call and handed the key to Chen Xiao before leaving.

Chen Xiao closed the door and stood by the south-facing window, starting to recall the details in the case file.

The locked room flaying case hadn’t made any breakthroughs because of the surveillance in the corridor outside the room.

The surveillance clearly captured images of Yuan Keyu going back and forth to his room several times.

But during the time Yuan Keyu was inside and later found, the surveillance didn’t show anyone entering from outside, nor did Yuan Keyu leave the room.

No one entered the room, and the door was locked from inside without any signs of forced entry.

This resulted in a semi-locked room murder phenomenon.

Why a semi-locked room?

Because the room had a window.

However, that south-facing window was tightly sealed.

Those who have lived in low-rent apartments or subdivided houses are familiar with rooms lacking windows or where windows are purely decorative.

The conditions were harsh, but the rent was cheap.

Yuan Keyu rented a low-rent room similar to the one Chen Xiao was in now.

Unfortunately, this room didn’t have curtains, while Yuan Keyu’s did.

Additionally, this room’s window could be opened, unlike Yuan Keyu’s, which couldn’t.

After standing by the window for a while, Chen Xiao sat in the position corresponding to where Yuan Keyu was killed at the crime scene.

Silently closing his eyes, Chen Xiao immersed himself into the case descriptions.

Quickly, using his Resonance Ability with the case, Chen Xiao placed himself in Yuan Keyu’s shoes in no time.

As soon as he did, the first question arose:

Why would Yuan Keyu, a distinguished top scholar with excellent financial conditions, choose to rent such a poorly conditioned low-rent apartment?!