Chapter 2204 Love Trapped in the Cycle of Fate 02
In the corridor on the sixth floor, the incandescent lamps made a slight hum, and the light was pale and dazzling.
Shao Huai stood at the stairs, looked up at the light tube, frowned and said, "Hey, this upstairs light is not voice-controlled."
Xie Guanzheng observed the trash can in the stairwell and replied without looking up: "The first to third floors have voice-activated lights, and the fourth floor and above are all incandescent lights like this. The property management is too lazy to change them."
He lifted the lid of the trash can and a rotten smell hit him in the face.
Shao Huai subconsciously covered his nose, but Jin Chen had already moved closer, squinting his eyes to look at the things inside.
A body was curled up at the bottom of the trash can, with a hideous stab wound on the chest and the blood had solidified into a dark brown color.
The corpse's hands hung at its sides with no signs of struggle, as if it had been killed by a single blow while completely defenseless.
Jin Chen squatted down and carefully examined the wound, frowning slightly: "I couldn't see clearly last night, and I thought the murderer used a dagger, but now it seems like a blunt weapon."
He traced the shape of the wound with his finger.
“And it takes a lot of force to get it in.”
Xie Guan stood nearby, staring at the corpse's face, and said calmly, "The maintenance worker who lives in Room 607, I don't know his name, he always carries a toolbox on his back."
His voice sounded particularly clear in the empty corridor, with a hint of coldness.
Shao Huai glanced at him again.
Jin Chen suddenly looked up and raised the corner of his mouth towards Xie Guan, "Are you scared?"
Xie Guan lowered his head to adjust his cuffs, then looked up at him upon hearing his words, and stared back at him with a gloomy look.
"Aren't you afraid that I'm the murderer?" His voice was low, with a hint of sarcasm.
Shao Huai was silent for a moment, and instinctively wanted to refute, but swallowed the words back.
Indeed, Xie Guan’s suspicion could not be completely ruled out, and he and Jinchen could only prove to each other that they were not the murderer.
Jin Chen laughed, and said jokingly, "I'm scared. What should I do? Brother Xie Guan, let me go?"
Shao Huai: ???
He looked at Jinchen blankly, obviously not keeping up with the rhythm of this weird conversation.
Xie Guan: “…”
He glanced at Jinchen coldly, his tone full of undisguised disdain.
"You must have been a slut in your previous life."
Jinchen shrugged nonchalantly, stood up and brushed the dust off his pants.
"That's not necessarily the case. Maybe he's just so handsome that he's dead."
Shao Huai decided to look for clues at the scene.
The security door at the end of the corridor was opened a tiny crack, and the door chain glowed coldly in the dim light.
Xie Guan glanced sideways and met the timid eyes through the crack in the door. The girl immediately shrank back, and a faint cry of fear could be heard.
"Don't scare the kids." Jinchen held his shoulders, his breath sprayed behind Xie Guan's ears, with the coolness of mint candy, and asked in a low voice.
"603... Is this resident related to the deceased?"
Xie Guan took two steps back expressionlessly and frowned, "Probably not."
But it is obviously inappropriate to say anything else here.
"Shit, someone's coming." Shao Huai actually found a few tools in the corridor, such as wrenches, and rolled them up in his coat and hid them on the stairs above, and hurriedly reminded them.
Heavy, dragging footsteps came from downstairs.
"It's Uncle Chen." Xie Guan recalled quickly and quietly, "He lives on... the fourth floor and is considered a half-cleaner."
Jinchen hummed and casually took half a step forward.
Uncle Chen climbed up the stairs slowly, holding a bunch of keys in his hand. The jingling sound was particularly clear in the quiet corridor.
When he saw the corpse on the ground, he didn't even frown and his tone was calm, as if he was used to it.
"Did you call the police?"
Shao Huai was stunned. He didn't expect him to react like this. He shook his head subconsciously: "No signal, can't get through."
"Yeah, there's often no signal here."
Uncle Chen nodded, sighed, and rolled up his sleeves, "Then let me clean up the body first."
Shao Huai's eyes widened and he almost dropped his phone on the ground.
Are you so calm?
He turned to look at Jinchen and lowered his voice: "I think our brothers have been set up."
Jinchen was leaning against the stairs, playing with coins with his fingers in his jacket pocket. He raised his eyebrows when he heard the words and turned his gaze to Xie Guan.
"I feel like the three of us brothers have been set up."
Xie Guan: “…”
"Not really interested in participating, thank you."
Uncle Chen's eyes swept between the three people, finally stopping on Jinchen and Shao Huai, his tone was tentative.
"You two guys are strangers. Who are you...?"
Shao Huai was about to speak when Jin Chen smiled and said, "We are all college students, doing some boxing and fighting as a side job."
After he finished speaking, he deliberately patted Shao Huai's shoulder with such force that Shao Huai almost lost his balance.
Shao Huai nodded quickly, "Yes, I live here close to the boxing gym, so it's convenient."
Uncle Chen's gaze fell on Jinchen again, with a bit of scrutiny.
Jinchen was not in a hurry. He stretched out his hand and put it directly on Xie Guan's shoulder, speaking in a light tone.
"Visiting relatives."
Xie Guan was silent for two seconds, then he shook his shoulders and shook off Jinchen's hand.
"No, I don't know him. I suspect he is the murderer."
Uncle Chen was stunned. "…Ah?"
Jinchen was not annoyed. He took out a photo from his wallet and handed it to Uncle Chen. "Look, it's really a family visit."
The photo shows Jinchen, Shao Huai and Xie Guan, with the background being a school playground.
Xie Guan and Shao Huai's expressions became complicated at the same time, especially Xie Guan, whose eyes showed a hint of subtlety and impatience.
Jinchen, however, acted as if he hadn't seen it and continued to talk nonsense: "Xiaoguan and I had a quarrel, and now I'm trying to comfort him."
Uncle Chen: "..."
Shao Huai couldn't help but interrupt, "Chen Zi, I think you've been given a face."
Xie Guan frowned and turned to look at Shao Huai: "Give what?"
Shao Huai scratched his head, speechless for a moment: "Give... give money!"
After he finished speaking, he took out two hundred yuan from Jinchen's wallet and stuffed it into Xie Guan's hand. "The oden and instant noodles just now are mine. Brothers should settle accounts clearly!"
Xie Guan looked down at the money in his hand, put it neatly into his pocket, and said to Uncle Chen: "They are people I used to... know. They live on the third floor."
Uncle Chen looked a little numb.
He didn't seem to care whether the young man knew him or not, but he was forced to listen.
Uncle Chen stuffed the body back into the trash can and wanted to take it away.
Jinchen was already squatting beside the corpse. His movements seemed casual, but he observed every last detail accurately.
"Let us help you with this job. College students love to help others."
Shao Huai patted the dust off his hands and smiled harmlessly: "Yes, Uncle Chen, you see this body is quite heavy. We young people are strong, let us help you carry it down."
As he spoke, he reached out to hold the corpse's shoulders, but he forgot to pretend, and his movements of carrying the person were quite skillful.
Uncle Chen's eyes flickered, and his cloudy eyes stayed on Shao Huai's face for a few seconds, then he nodded: "Then thank you for your help."
His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded, and carried an indescribable coldness.
Jin Chen still had that nonchalant smile on his lips as he observed Uncle Chen's method of handling the corpse. He suddenly smiled and said, "Uncle Chen, your method looks the same as on TV. It's quite professional."
"When there was a flood before, the corpse recovery team stayed there for three months." Uncle Chen answered without thinking.
Uncle Chen's attitude was extremely tough. He refused to let them touch the bodies. He moved all the bodies into the trash can and pushed them downstairs.
The smell of blood in the corridor became stronger and stronger, mixed with the dampness brought by the rainstorm, and a sickening fishy-sweet smell filled the air.
