Chapter 26: Seeking Help

Ning Shuyi shared her thoughts with Huo Yan.

After listening, Huo Yan remained silent for a moment before raising his own doubts. "Given the living conditions of Deng Qingrong and her son Chang Junchao, how would outsiders even know that they might have half a million in cash hidden at home? Why did Deng Qingrong withdraw that money from the bank back then and even close the account? Half a million is not a small sum; is it really safer to keep it on hand than to leave it in the bank?"

"Exactly, I find it quite puzzling myself," Ning Shuyi nodded. "The late Chang Rong only had one salary card, and it was the same for Chang Junchao. Deng Qingrong even closed the only account she used to receive the compensation shortly after. It feels like this family was extremely sensitive about bank accounts, as if they were intentionally trying to hide something. Moreover, given that Chang Junchao already had an account for his salary, the fact that Deng Qingrong chose to open a separate account to receive the compensation and then close it later—going through so much trouble—must have had a reason."

"These answers can always be dug up," Huo Yan replied with conviction.

The two arrived at the residential area where the family of three had lived for several years. The area was even more densely populated than the crime scene, though as dusk fell, there were few people active outside. Huo Yan parked the car in a roadside spot, and they decided to walk the rest of the way. As soon as they stepped out of the car, Ning Shuyi saw an eight or nine-year-old boy running toward them, his young face filled with anxiety and urgency.

"Are you police officers?" Before a puzzled Ning Shuyi could ask the boy's intent, he spoke up, his tone desperate as he glanced at the vehicle beside them.

Ning Shuyi glanced back at their car. For today's trip, Huo Yan had taken one of the team's marked police vehicles. Since they were visiting the old factory and the hospital to speak with Dr. Xiao, there was no need to hide their movements, so they hadn't bothered to switch to an unmarked car. The child had clearly spotted the police markings and rushed over to them.

"Yes, we are police. Are you in some kind of trouble?" Ning Shuyi nodded patiently, asking about his situation.

The boy gave her a quick look, then grabbed Huo Yan, who was standing next to her. "Officer! Please, come with me!"

He turned and started running, pulling Huo Yan along. Huo Yan was taken aback; had he not wanted to move, an eight-year-old boy would never have been able to budge him. However, the sheer panic and fear in the child's eyes made him unable to stop and interrogate him; instead, he followed the boy’s pace. Ning Shuyi was surprised, but she quickly realized that the boy had chosen to pull the man rather than her because he was in a situation that required a police presence—and in a child's eyes, a harmless-looking female officer was clearly insufficient to handle the trouble. He needed someone tall and imposing, like Huo Yan.

She didn't know what the boy had encountered, but the instinctive, desperate way he clung to them like a life raft was not something a child could feign. Ning Shuyi quickened her pace to keep up. The three of them jogged until they reached an apartment building.

At the entrance, the boy’s hurried pace slowed down. When they reached the unit door, he stopped, still clutching Huo Yan’s hand tightly, his expression shifting from anxiety to hesitation. Ning Shuyi stopped as well. The weather was not yet warm enough for everyone to keep their windows wide open, but standing downstairs, she could faintly hear a man’s angry shouting coming from one of the windows above. The cursing was punctuated by the sound of breaking objects and the muffled, stifled sobs of a woman.

The boy heard these sounds too. He instinctively gripped Huo Yan tighter, biting his lip, his face full of inner conflict.

Huo Yan listened for a moment, then crouched down, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. He asked in a low voice, "On the third floor—is your father hitting your mother?"

The boy nodded frantically, tears streaming down his face.

"Did your mother tell you not to seek help, or was it your father?" Huo Yan asked again.

"It was my father..." The boy shuddered at the mention of the person he feared. "Mom told me to go play outside and not stay home. My dad said if I dared to go out and blabber... he would make sure I wouldn't have a mother anymore..."

The child was still struggling to suppress his terror. Clearly, his father’s threats had worked. He had summoned the courage to seek help upon seeing the police car, but now that he was at the door, he faltered, terrified that his actions would only bring more trouble upon his mother.

Huo Yan frowned. He stood back up and placed the boy’s hand into Ning Shuyi’s. "Stay here with this lady. I’m going up to take a look."

The boy looked at Ning Shuyi, who nodded at him. "Don't worry, we’re just going up to see what’s happening. We won't cause your mother any trouble."

She then stopped Huo Yan, who was about to head up alone. "Wait with the boy on the landing between the second and third floors. I’ll go knock on the door and see what the situation is inside. If you go up and knock directly, first, we don't know if his father will open the door, and second, we don't know what’s happening inside—if we accidentally provoke him, that wouldn't be good."

Huo Yan considered this and agreed. They climbed two flights of stairs, and he pulled the boy to the landing, signaling him to stay quiet and listen from a spot where they couldn't be seen from the third floor.

Ning Shuyi reached the door. Through the relatively thin panel, the man's shouting sounded even clearer, mixed with the woman's crying—a sound so suppressed it seemed she didn't dare to let out a sob. Even without knowing exactly what was happening inside, the man's rage-filled roars made her heart race with a sense of intense unease.

Ning Shuyi took a deep breath, balled her fist, and pounded hard on the door. She knew the "conflict" inside was likely quite intense; if she didn't knock with force, no one would be able to hear her.