Chapter 37: Luo Xi

The underground garage at Jiang Fei’s death scene had blind spots in the surveillance. Jiang Xiaoyu watched the footage back and forth hundreds of times but still couldn’t figure out how the other party had entered the garage.

“Why did he park the car so far away?” Jiang Xiaoyu stood in front of Jiang Fei’s car, mentally mapping out the possible routes the guy might have taken after parking.

Zhang Pangpang slurped on an ice pop, mumbling unclearly, “Guilty conscience? After all, he stabbed someone and ran. Maybe he was avoiding cameras himself to prevent leaving any traces.”

It made some sense, but Jiang Xiaoyu still had doubts. Luo Xi’s injury wasn’t serious; after timely medical treatment, he was discharged from the hospital not long after. If Jiang Fei had sent him to the hospital back then and offered compensation afterward, he might not have even been charged with a criminal offense. Why panic like that?

Though, with so much blood flowing, Jiang Fei might have panicked and thought he’d killed someone…

The investigation of this case was handled by Jiang Xiaoyu and Zhang Pangpang. From Criminal Technology, it was Chen Siming, a colleague from another department—a middle-aged man.

“Officer Jiang, take a look at this.” Chen Siming handed a stack of photos to Jiang Xiaoyu.

Jiang Xiaoyu took the photos, which captured a series of actions of Jiang Fei as he exited Luo Xi Neighborhood on camera.

“What’s special about this?” Zhang Pangpang leaned over, puzzled. Jiang Fei had blood on his head, but hadn’t they previously ruled it as just a superficial injury from impact and set it aside?

“His left hand never came up.” Jiang Xiaoyu flipped through the photos. The footage was mirrored, but it was clear that only his right hand was steering.

Chen Siming lit a cigarette. “According to driving habits in Ginkgo Country, even when driving one-handed, people usually use the left more. Combined with the obvious phalange fracture on the left hand discovered during the autopsy…”

“The injury on his finger happened at this time.” That’s why it stayed down due to pain, Jiang Xiaoyu speculated. “Could it have been caused by getting caught in the car door?”

“The wounds don’t match. Transverse fracture at the phalange, with concentrated pressure at the break and clear U-shaped impressions on the skin surface. A car door pinch usually leaves even parallel impressions at the pressure point, but the shape here looks more like it was caused by non-parallel, concentrated, and intense vertical pressure.” Chen Siming paused, then added, “Moreover, aside from the handle area, no other fingerprints were collected from the car door, so a pinch injury can basically be ruled out.”

Zhang Pangpang opened his mouth: “Could it be—” Before he finished, Chen Siming cut him off: “No. The deceased did have multiple abrasions and bruises, and head impact marks, but only the phalange fracture, and the characteristics don’t match traumatic fractures. Typically, fractures from falls are more complex and irregular.”

Jiang Xiaoyu lowered his gaze slightly and said softly, “It looks more like an injury caused by applying immense localized pressure on the finger.”

Chen Siming was somewhat surprised by his sharpness. Wasn’t Jiang Xiaoyu supposed to be a total slacker? He paused briefly before continuing, “Exactly. Neither simple stomping nor pinching could cause this kind of injury.”

Criminal Technology had already done several rounds of sampling at the scene, with detailed data compiled. Chen Siming stubbed out his cigarette and said, “Do you have an investigation direction yet?”

Jiang Xiaoyu nodded. “I’m handling clue collection on Luo Xi’s side, and Zhang Pangpang’s on Yang Guo’s.”

—

Jiang Xiaoyu arrived at the neighborhood where Luo Xi lived and asked the security guard on duty that day, “How often is the surveillance here maintained?”

It was the security guard’s first time being questioned by police, and he seemed nervous. “Feels like it’s been a long time. This is the first maintenance since I started.” He paused and quickly added, “I’ve been here over a year.”

Jiang Xiaoyu frowned slightly. Over a year without maintenance, and it happens for half an hour on the day Jiang Fei died?

“When was the maintenance notice issued?”

“That was announced a while ago, around the 3rd of this month. The property management head said they’d do the maintenance then.” He handed the maintenance notice to Jiang Xiaoyu.

In black and white. Jiang Xiaoyu unfolded it and checked carefully. Sure enough, as the guard said, the decision was made a week before Jiang Fei’s death. So it wasn’t exactly sudden or coincidental.

Seeing he couldn’t get more out of the guard, he headed toward the building where Luo Xi lived.

The building wasn’t tall, only 7 floors, but it had an elevator—pretty rare in such an old neighborhood. Jiang Xiaoyu went up the stairs, carefully inspecting each step for any lingering clues. But the stairs were clean, and with days passed, if there had been anything, the cleaners probably swept it away. Besides, Criminal Technology had already combed the place multiple times after the incident; if there was anything to find, it would have been found.

And Luo Xi gave him a good impression… Jiang Xiaoyu shook his head. Can’t think like that. The last case proved his intuition wasn’t reliable—Ji Wangan had seemed fine at first. Though in a way, Ji Wangan did have love; his affection for Cotton was real.

He stopped in front of Luo Xi’s door and knocked.

First, a barking came from inside, then Luo Xi’s voice: “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Jiang Xiaoyu.”

“Officer Jiang? Just a moment.” He could vaguely hear the surprise in Luo Xi’s tone, followed by the Labrador’s excited panting. Before Luo Xi even approached, it opened the door on its own.

“Cat Officer! Why are you here!” Abu reared up and pounced on Jiang Xiaoyu. Jiang Xiaoyu rubbed its head. “I’m here to check on you guys.”

Luo Xi leaned on the entryway, his unfocused eyes toward the door, his features delicate like a painting, face fair and refined. He was quite tall, his voice a bit weak-sounding but pleasant. “Come in and sit. Abu, get Officer Jiang some slippers.”

The Labrador barked once and wagged its tail as it pulled open the shoe cabinet with its mouth.

After Jiang Xiaoyu sat down, Luo Xi fumbled to pour him water. Jiang Xiaoyu quickly stood and helped him to the sofa. “No need, I’m not thirsty.”

Seeing he really wouldn’t drink, Luo Xi hugged the Labrador and sat quietly to the side. Perhaps because of his blindness, he was very still. When silent, he looked just like someone from a painting—refined and melancholic. Only when the Labrador whined and snuggled enthusiastically did he curve his lips slightly in a smile, a bit of color returning to his pale face.

“You’re here about Jiang Fei’s case, right, Officer Jiang?” His intuition was sharp; Jiang Xiaoyu had noticed it back at the hospital.

“Yes.” Jiang Xiaoyu nodded.

Luo Xi furrowed his brows slightly, as if puzzled. “Police already came and took my statement before.”

“Mm, that was a colleague before. I’m taking over now, so I wanted to go over things again.”

“Alright, ask away. I’ll cooperate.”

Jiang Xiaoyu observed him. He seemed very relaxed, no sign of tension, one hand even petting snacks from the coffee table to feed the dog.

“How did you and Jiang Fei meet?”

Luo Xi seemed a bit embarrassed and patted the Labrador’s head. “We met at a bar.”

Jiang Xiaoyu was slightly surprised; it was hard to associate the person before him with a bar.

“That day, Abu and I had a fight, so I went to a bar not far downstairs in a huff.” He smiled shyly. “You might find it hard to understand—how can someone argue with a dog? But I was really mad at him that day… And it’s a quiet bar downstairs, so I went in alone, ordered a drink, and just like that met Jiang Fei drinking nearby.”

“After chatting, he learned I’m a composer. We got along for a while after, and started dating.”

“What was the reason for the breakup?”

“The main reason was a contract dispute. He promised to produce an album for me but turned around and gave my songs to Yang Guo. Secondary reason…” He paused, as if hard to say. “He always liked to get handsy. I’m traditional; I didn’t want sex before marriage. He kept arguing about it, and I got fed up, so I broke up.”

Jiang Xiaoyu felt a bit awkward hearing this. He himself was a total newbie with no experience, really had nothing to say… On the other hand, the Labrador, who had a aggrieved look earlier, barked angrily: “Shameless stinky scumbag! With that sorry look, he still wanted to touch the master!”

The words were a bit biased; from the deceased’s appearance, he was somewhat presentable. But seeing Abu so indignant, he didn’t say it and asked instead, “Was your contract completely ended?”

Luo Xi nodded. “It’s been over for a while. And with Yang Guo’s new album coming out soon, that’s probably why he came looking for me so urgently.”

“Did he ever mention having beef with anyone while you were together?”

Luo Xi thought for a moment. “Not particularly…” As if weighing it, after a while he said, “If anything, he mentioned some work dispute with Zhao Peng. But he only brought it up once; didn’t tell me details.”

Seeing he couldn’t get more, Jiang Xiaoyu turned off the recorder. He meant to leave directly, but seeing the Labrador’s expectant gaze, he felt bad and asked, “How’s your health? You still look pretty weak.”

Luo Xi’s lips curved faintly. “Thanks for the concern. Much better; the doctor said I’m recovering well.”

Jiang Xiaoyu wasn’t much of a talker, but under the other’s lead, he ended up saying quite a bit. Getting along with Luo Xi was easygoing; he was mild-mannered and non-aggressive. Plus with the excited Labrador beside them, the atmosphere was great for a while.

Unable to resist the enthusiasm of one person and one dog, Jiang Xiaoyu ended up staying for dinner. Only then did he learn that blind people had special kitchen tools that allowed them to cook without any obstacles. After the meal, he helped with cleaning. Not knowing how to use the dishwasher, he stared at it for a good while before finally pressing the button. As he stood up, he accidentally bumped the cutting board on the counter, causing the knife on it to nearly fall—only for Luo Xi to catch it with a quick reach.

“I bought some water peaches this morning. Does Officer Jiang want to take some back?” He groped around, carefully inserting the knife back into the knife block.

Jiang Xiaoyu shook his head. “No need.” He gave the pouncing Labrador another hug, promising to come visit it more often, then waved goodbye to them and gently closed the front door.

As he turned away, he inexplicably felt pretty good. After all, this kind of experience had never happened to him in his previous twenty-plus years—something so ordinary and mundane, just like having a meal at a friend’s house.

This feeling was different from the warmth Ye Lian gave him, but it similarly brought a smile to Jiang Xiaoyu’s lips that he couldn’t hide. Too lazy to wait for the elevator, he pushed open the fire escape door to head downstairs. When he reached the stairs, he noticed that there was an upward staircase at the seventh-floor landing—not too long, about half a floor high, leading to the rooftop.

Jiang Xiaoyu went up. The rooftop door wasn’t locked. The platform was filled with old-fashioned solar water heaters and laundry drying from the residents—a common sight in old neighborhoods, carrying a bit of that lifestyle flavor rarely seen in modern society anymore.

He closed the door behind him and headed back down the stairs.

—

It wasn’t until Saturday that Jiang Xiaoyu found no useful clues at Luo Xi’s place, but there was news from Zhang Pangpang’s side.

The Little Black Cat lay on the sofa, listening to the Orange Cat on the other end of the phone say, “This Yang Guo guy’s not a great person.”

“How so?”

“His family has a Ragdoll Cat. I chatted it up and asked around—it says its owner sometimes takes out his anger on it.”

Jiang Xiaoyu frowned slightly. He remembered Yang Guo mentioning at Ye Lian’s house that he also kept a cat. “How could he do that?”

“Right? And when he saw me, his expression was pretty annoyed—doesn’t match the persona he puts on in those variety shows at all.”

“Any other suspicious behavior?”

“Not really. I’m planning to sneak into his place again and chat more with the Ragdoll, but that cat’s not too bright. Feels like its brain’s not all there; it won’t even run when it gets hit.”

Jiang Xiaoyu hadn’t had much contact with the Ragdoll breed. He comforted, “It’s a cat after all—being able to say a few clear things is already pretty impressive.”

“That’s true.”

The two cats gossiped a bit more about the case. Jiang Xiaoyu heard the doorbell ring, told Zhang Pangpang they’d talk later, then shifted back to human form, grabbed the clothes nearby, put them on, and went to open the door.

It was Yan Feilang, holding the Husky’s leash with a cigarette in his mouth. He lifted the stuff in his hand and said, “Aunt Qing asked me to bring you some food.”

Jiang Xiaoyu took it, a bit embarrassed. “Sorry to trouble you guys.” Almost every day, Jiang Xiaoyu received deliveries from Qing Auntie via Yan Feilang—different foods each time, all perfectly to his taste.

“No trouble. I was taking the Husky for a walk anyway.” Yan Feilang stubbed out his cigarette. Seeing the Husky straining to rush into the yard, he turned and asked, “Can I come in?”

Jiang Xiaoyu nodded quickly. “Of course, come on in.” He jogged back inside to put the food away. Yan Feilang unclipped the Husky’s leash, and the silly dog let out a woof and charged straight into the pack of Little Strays, causing a chaos of cats scattering and dogs jumping.

“These wooden planks in your yard for building something?” Yan Feilang kicked one of the scattered pieces.

“Yeah.” Jiang Xiaoyu moved a half-finished wooden shelf to the side. “I want to make a whole row—food and dog beds on the bottom, cat beds on top—so every little guy has their own spot.”

“Your stuff’s way too rough.” Yan Feilang squatted down, picked up what Jiang Xiaoyu had made, and inspected it. “Edges aren’t even sanded, and you’re using mortise-and-tenon joints? Saves space over nails too.”

Jiang Xiaoyu didn’t really get it and mumbled, “I was just fumbling around on my own.” His old place had been fixed up by Jiang Xiaoyu himself too—the yard had ended up like a chicken coop, only meant for shelter, zero aesthetics. If the current house wasn’t so nice and clashed too hard with a chicken coop, he’d have just gone for that to save effort…

Yan Feilang tsked, pulled out another cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and tossed the lighter to Jiang Xiaoyu to light it for him. “Dog bro here happens to have time—let me help you out.”

…Who calls themselves Dog Bro? Jiang Xiaoyu was a bit stunned. He wanted to thank “Dog Bro” along with his words but felt it was impolite, so after struggling, he just said softly, “Thanks.”

“No need to be polite. We’re all…” He almost said “family,” but remembered he couldn’t get too chummy yet, so he switched to, “buddies.”

Jiang Xiaoyu was used to Yan Feilang’s habit of switching tracks mid-sentence. He stood up and said, “I bought watermelon. Want some?”

“Cut me a big piece.”

Yan Feilang had dark skin and a sturdy build—clearly used to manual labor. His movements were deft, and with the cigarette in his mouth, his voice was rough: “By the way, planning to plant flowers in your yard?”

Jiang Xiaoyu thought of the stunning little garden at the Ye Residence and figured it looked nice. He hesitated. “Isn’t that expensive?”

“Not really. Plant some common climbing rose varieties—pretty and keeps the cats from jumping the walls.”

That got Jiang Xiaoyu tempted. Just as he was about to agree, he heard the other say, “I know a pretty famous gardener—Ye Qingxu. He just got back to the country to develop his career and owes me a favor. I’ll have him come plan it out for you.”

Ye Qingxu? Seemed like he’d heard that name somewhere. Jiang Xiaoyu blanked for a second, then remembered—the first time he met Yan Feilang, those were the exact words the guy had blurted out at him.