Chapter 619: Girlfriend, Falling from the Sky

Chen Shi called Lin Dongxue, preparing to visit the scene again. The investigation was ongoing, and the identities of the two deceased had been confirmed. They had spent some time at a nearby underground bar the previous night, and the bar owner was the last person to see them.

The nearby surveillance was also being checked, and one camera had captured an image of the killer. He was a tall man wearing a gray trench coat, and in the blurry footage, his hands were wrapped in bandages, holding a sledgehammer.

Chen Shi told Zhou Xiao to get in the car first and said to Lin Dongxue, “I think the killer might live nearby. Zhou Xiao might know him, or to be precise, another personality of Zhou Xiao might know him!”

“Could it be that after he lost his memory last night, he went home with the killer? Should we bring more people?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Let’s call Xiaodong. You two bring guns and handcuffs,” Chen Shi instructed.

The four of them arrived at the neighborhood, entering the third unit. Chen Shi asked Zhou Xiao, “Do you remember which door it is?”

Zhou Xiao shook his head, “I have no impression at all, but I often wake up on the stairs between the third and second floors, usually in the middle of the night. Mr. Chen, you said my brain would fill in the memory gaps on its own, and it seems to be true. At first, I would wake up in strange places and think I was out buying cigarettes. It sounds ridiculous, but that’s what I thought. Later, this ‘self-deception’ didn’t work anymore, and I believed I had sleepwalking… I still hope it’s just sleepwalking!”

Xu Xiaodong commented, “Human memory is the most unreliable thing. My grandpa always tells a story about a friend who carried a Japanese soldier for three villages during the Anti-Japanese War. Later, my dad told me that my grandpa was confused. The truth was his friend didn’t join the army at all. When the Japanese came, he carried a cabinet and ran away. My grandpa mixed up the memories and turned it into ‘carrying a Japanese soldier for three villages.’ He tells it so confidently every time, and he gets upset when my dad corrects him, insisting his memory is accurate.”

Lin Dongxue laughed, “I guess that’s how many legendary stories come about!”

Chen Shi said, “Let’s cut the chatter. We’ll start from the third floor and ask around.”

The four of them knocked on doors, but since it was daytime, many people were at work. They were a bit nervous, fearing the killer might suddenly appear.

When they reached the sixth floor, a girl opened the door. She glanced at Zhou Xiao in surprise and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

“We’re the police, investigating a case.”

“Oh, oh, oh, it’s about the murder on the commercial street, right? The whole neighborhood is talking about it, but I didn’t see anything.”

“We’re not looking for eyewitnesses, just asking if you’ve seen him.” Chen Shi pointed to Zhou Xiao.

The girl stared at Zhou Xiao for a while and said, “Zhou Xiao…”

“How do you know my name?” Zhou Xiao was shocked.

“Don’t be too surprised. I’m your girlfriend. We’ve been dating for almost a year.”

“What!!!” Zhou Xiao was utterly astonished.

Five minutes later, the four of them were sitting in the girl’s home. There was tea on the coffee table. The girl’s name was Wang Ying, and she began to explain how she and Zhou Xiao met…

“One night when I was coming home from work, two shady men approached me, asking if I wanted to go singing. I refused, and they kept pestering me. Then you…” Wang Ying pointed at Zhou Xiao, “appeared!”

“Wow, a hero saving a damsel in distress?” someone commented.

“Not exactly. Those two guys yelled at you, ‘What are you looking at?’ You apologized and ran away.”

Zhou Xiao buried his face in his hands, looking utterly ashamed, “I vaguely remember that!”

“But a minute later, you came back with a folding stool, probably from a nearby food stall. You slicked your hair back and said, ‘Let her go. If you’re a man, come at me. What’s the point of harassing a woman?’ The thugs got mad, knocked you down, and beat you with the stool. You kept talking tough while getting beaten up. It was oddly charming!”

“How is that charming?” Zhou Xiao asked, feeling humiliated.

“To me, it was. It was the first time someone stood up for me, even if he was no match for the thugs. That was true heroism. I was very moved!” Wang Ying recalled, her eyes sparkling like a lovesick girl. “After the thugs left, I thanked you. You looked at me, kissed me without saying a word, and walked away. I stood there, my heart racing! For the next few days, I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. I was alone in this city, with no friends or family. I really wanted to see you again… It’s embarrassing to admit this!”

Wang Ying laughed shyly and continued, “Later, I discovered you lived in this neighborhood. One day, you walked in with a supermarket bag. I was too shy to greet you, so I bumped into you. You looked at me, said nothing, and acted like you didn’t know me! I was so disappointed. I saw you several times after that, but you still didn’t recognize me. Just when I was about to give up, you came looking for me. I don’t know how you found out where I lived. It was late at night. You knocked on my door urgently. When I opened it, you were leaning against the doorframe with a rose in your mouth and a gift in your hand. You handed me the slobbered rose. I asked, ‘What do you want?’ You said, ‘Let’s talk!’ I said, ‘Talk about what? It’s the middle of the night. Go away, or I’ll call the police!’ You said, ‘I want to talk about love. What’s your name?'”

Zhou Xiao, engrossed in the story, asked, “Did you agree?”

“Agree? Are you kidding? It was the middle of the night, and I’m a girl! I slammed the door shut. The next morning, I opened the door and found a heart made of petals on the ground. I heard someone had picked all the roses in the neighborhood. That was you, wasn’t it?”

“I… When did I become so bold?”

“You had so many tricks. You kept trying to court me in all sorts of ways, even bothering the neighbors. I was puzzled why you pretended not to know me during the day but came to see me at night. You seemed like two different people! Until one day, you somehow got a harmonica and played it at my door at eleven at night. You played terribly, and the neighbor’s dog kept barking. I was both angry and amused, so I let you in… That night was very sweet. You left before dawn, saying your ‘landlord’ was troublesome and you couldn’t be found out. You said you’d visit me secretly and I shouldn’t come looking for you.

“We maintained this strange relationship for half a year. I didn’t know your name until then. Honestly, I often wondered what kind of relationship this was. Were you seeing other girls, or were you married? I worked ten hours a day, came home too tired to eat, and often cried alone. Having someone come to keep me company at night, tell jokes, and cheer me up made me very happy. Like you said, we were two lonely souls finding comfort in each other in this city. That moved me deeply. Despite your mystery, I accepted you.”

Wang Ying looked at Zhou Xiao with eyes full of love, while Zhou Xiao appeared overwhelmed, as if a girlfriend had fallen from the sky.