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CHAPTER 11
PART 3
Last night, Su Xiaotong couldn't sleep well, being in a half-asleep state, constantly thinking about what Xia Qi had said and the matter concerning the culprit. At 8:30 in the morning, she woke up to a series of WeChat notification sounds. Obviously, those who hadn't seen Xia Qi's message last night woke up this morning to find her astonishing message and began responding.
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Li Xueli: @Xia Qi, what do you mean? Do you know who the culprit is?
Fan Lin: How did you find out? Tell us more.
Fan Lin: Wasn't she supposed to tell us today? @Is Xia Qi awake?
Han Lei: Xia Qi usually wakes up naturally. She probably hasn't woken up yet.
Fan Lin: It's a special situation now; can she still sleep so soundly?
Wang Xingxing: Yeah, I used to sleep until eleven or twelve, but these days I wake up at seven or eight, and can't sleep at all.
Shen Fengxia: I'll go wake up Xia Qi!
Gu Lei also woke up, picked up his phone, and told Su Xiaotong, "Shen Fengxia seems very eager, going straight to find Xia Qi."
"Isn't she solely focused on seeking revenge against Yuan Dong, eager to take down the culprit herself?"
"Would Xia Qi really tell her who the culprit is? If Shen Fengxia finds out, won't she immediately confront that person?"
"Did Xia Qi actually know who the culprit was, or was she saying something else? Didn't we analyze this last night?"
"That's right. Today, surely many people will ask her for clarity, especially the police. Let's see what she has to say."
While the two conversed, Shen Fengxia posted a photo in the WeChat group, accompanied by text: "What's going on?!"
Su Xiaotong and Gu Lei, upon seeing the photo, were both stunned. A cordon surrounded Apartment 902 on the ninth floor, with a sign in the middle indicating "Do Not Approach."
"902... isn't that Xia Qi's home? Why is there a cordon?" Gu Lei exclaimed in surprise.
"I've seen this on TV; usually, in such situations, it means something bad has happened. And typically... a homicide," Su Xiaotong said, locking eyes with Gu Lei. Both were filled with anxiety and apprehension.
After seeing the picture Shen Fengxia posted, the group erupted in a flurry of messages expressing surprise and inquiry. Wang Xingxing suggested they go and take a look too. Many others agreed.
"Should we also go and see what's happening?" Gu Lei asked Su Xiaotong.
"'The scene' should be Xia Qi's home, right? What could we ascertain from outside the door? But we should still go and hear what they have to say," Su Xiaotong replied.
"Okay."
The couple quickly got dressed. Their son, Gu Xiaoliang, was still fast asleep. After getting up, they briefly washed their faces in the bathroom, then left, taking the elevator to the ninth floor.
All the members of 'The Big Family' were gathered here—along with the neighbors from this floor. In the narrow corridor, more than a dozen people stood at the moment. Everyone was chattering. Su Xiaotong and Gu Lei approached and overheard everyone inquiring with an elderly lady from Apartment 901 about the news.
"I don't know what happened, but I saw several policemen enter the opposite apartment. They were inside for more than half an hour. Then, they carried out a stretcher. It should be the owner of that opposite apartment, the young girl," the elderly lady said.
"Is she... dead?" Li Xueli asked with a pale face.
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"I dare not speak recklessly; the police wouldn't let us get close. But I saw the person on the stretcher, their head covered with a white sheet..."
The situation was becoming clear. Everyone looked at each other, surrounded by a tense, fearful, and anxious atmosphere."
Just then, the property management of the neighborhood arrived and said, "Why are so many people gathered here? The police don't want unrelated individuals around; everyone disperse!"
"Has there been a homicide in this household?" Su Xiaotong asked the property manager.
The property manager, likely pre-instructed by the police to refrain from making any comments, replied noncommittally, "I don't know. This matter falls under the jurisdiction of the police, not us in property management. We're just following the police's orders, not allowing homeowners near this area. Please don't put us in a difficult situation; everyone, please go back. Whatever the situation is, the police will naturally notify us."
With such an incident occurring, naturally, the members of 'The Big Family' had a lot they wanted to say. They exchanged glances, seeing the desire for communication in each person. Li Xueli said, "How about coming to my place for a while?"
Everyone silently nodded and entered the elevator, arriving at the twelfth floor, Li Xueli's home.
What was usually the place for daily gatherings now felt somewhat unfamiliar. Everyone found their spots to sit, and Li Xueli didn't bother with serving tea or water. Sitting together with everyone in the living room, she sighed and said, "How could this happen?"
"Xia Qi must have been murdered, right?" Wang Xingxing said sorrowfully.
"Isn't the answer quite evident? Why else would the police cordon off her house?" Han Lei said somberly.
"Last night, she was messaging in the group, and this morning she was murdered... So, the culprit entered Xia Qi's home last night and killed her," Fan Lin said.
"This culprit is undoubtedly one of us," Shen Fengxia said coldly, scanning everyone present with an icy stare that sent chills down their spines. "Why beat around the bush? Let's speak plainly: it's someone among us who entered Xia Qi's home last night and killed her."
Though everyone knew it was the truth, hearing it spoken so bluntly by Shen Fengxia still made many uncomfortable. Several furrowed their brows, and the living room fell into a brief silence.
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"Whether it's the case or not, let's call Lao Tan and confirm," Gu Lei broke the silence, saying.
"In fact, Lao Tan indirectly confirmed it already," Su Xiaotong said.
"Huh?" Gu Lei was puzzled.
"Lao Tan is in the group. Even if he didn't see last night's messages, didn't he see this morning's messages? He hasn't said a word, which practically affirms the situation," Su Xiaotong said.
"That makes sense..."
"This morning, several policemen handling this case at Xia Qi's home definitely include Lao Tan. He should be at the Criminal Investigation Department now, discussing how to investigate this case with his colleagues. And the subjects of investigation, of course, are us. I think he'll come to question us soon before the police's arrival," Su Xiaotong said.
"So, before the police come to investigate, shall we do a 'self-check'?" Fan Lin suggested.
"How do we self-check?" Li Xueli asked.
"Last night, Xia Qi mentioned in the group that she seemed to know who the culprit was and was subsequently murdered. Therefore, the motive for the murderer to kill her is likely to silence her, to prevent Xia Qi from revealing certain crucial information to the police," Fan Lin said.
Everyone nodded in agreement, awaiting her further explanation.
"So, Xia Qi definitely had some 'crucial information' last night. And this information must have been acquired last night; otherwise, she wouldn't have said those words. But last night, she didn't have any direct contact with any of us," Wang Xingxing said, "Didn't everyone stay in their own homes?"
"There was no face-to-face contact, but she could have made phone calls or had private chats on WeChat," Fan Lin said.
"Last night, did Xia Qi have any private chats with any of you?" Wang Xingxing asked everyone.
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Fan Lin raised her hand. "I admit it, Xia Qi called me and we talked for about ten minutes. But I think she probably called more than just me, right?"
Su Xiaotong thought for a moment and felt there was no need to hide anything, as it might make her appear suspicious later during an investigation. So she admitted, "Yes, Xia Qi also called me and we spoke for about ten minutes."
"And me," Han Lei said. "But honestly, I had no idea she called anyone else. I thought it was just me she called."
"Anyone else?" Fan Lin asked.
"Me," Li Xueli said. "She called me too."
"What about others?" Fan Lin looked at Wang Xingxing, Shen Fengxia, and Gu Lei.
"No, Xia Qi didn't call me. You can check my phone records if you don't believe me," Wang Xingxing said, but then realized that phone records could be deleted. "If Xia Qi's phone is still available, you can check the records there."
"She didn't call me either," Shen Fengxia said.
"As for me, it's even more impossible. Xiaotong and I are family, if she called Xiaotong, there's no reason for her to call me again," Gu Lei said.
"This is strange. I guess when Xia Qi called us, it wasn't just idle chat. Because after chatting with us, she sent a message in the group, saying, 'Tonight, after thinking for a long time, it seems like I know who the culprit is.' So obviously, after talking to us four, she must have discovered something suspicious or a flaw in one of us to say something like that. But why would she narrow it down to the four of us? Are Wang Xingxing, Gu Lei, and Shen Fengxia absolute angels in her mind?" Fan Lin said.
"Is that possible? Among us, who looks like a good person or a bad person, is that so obvious? I don't think Xia Qi has any way to make that kind of judgment," Li Xueli said.
"Could it be that she intended to call each of us for a test, but by the time she reached the fourth person, she already knew who the culprit was, so there was no need to call the remaining three," Su Xiaotong speculated.
"That's possible," Fan Lin nodded in summary. "So, the highly probable culprit is likely one of the four of us: me, Su Xiaotong, Han Lei, or Li Xueli. And whoever was the fourth person to receive the call last night is currently the prime suspect."
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