Chapter Thirty-Two: Old Neighbors

After discussing with the woman, Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan drove the mother and her child to the police station’s guesthouse, stopping along the way to buy some medicine.

On the road, the woman finally relaxed a bit, no longer as fearful, and introduced herself to Ning Shuyi and the others. Ning learned her name was Wang Hongzhen, thirty-four years old, and that she had lived there with her husband since their marriage, making her a long-time resident of over ten years.

The police guesthouse rarely had visitors; it was mainly used by officers from other cities passing through on business, so there was no worry about room availability.

Soon, the mother and child were settled into a standard room. Huo Yan went out to buy some food, drinks, and basic necessities. Wang Hongzhen, with one swollen eye, shed tears of gratitude for a long while.

Only after the frightened child had eaten something and fallen asleep did Wang Hongzhen’s emotions finally calm down somewhat.

“Officer Ning, you mentioned earlier that you came here to inquire about an old neighbor from our area? I’m sorry for causing trouble with our situation and delaying your real work,” Wang Hongzhen said, a little embarrassed. “I don’t know who you’re looking for, so I’m not sure if I know them. If I do, and I can help you in any way, it would ease my heart as well. Otherwise, I’d feel so bad.”

“Don’t say that. If you happen to know the person we’re trying to find, that’s even better. If not, there’s no need to feel sorry. When we stumble upon something like this, how can we just ignore it?” Ning Shuyi smiled and waved her hand. “We’re looking for a family that used to rent in your building — the father’s name is Chang Rong, the mother Deng Qingrong, and their son Chang Junchao. They moved away about seven years ago. It’s been a while, so if you don’t recognize the names or can’t recall, that’s okay.”

“Chang Junchao?” Wang Hongzhen froze for a moment upon hearing the name. “I know him! He used to live just below my apartment! After his father passed away, the two of them moved away, and we never saw them again. If you want to ask about their family, I really can help you a bit!”

“What’s your impression of their family?” Ning Shuyi asked directly. It was getting late, and Wang Hongzhen was bruised and still unsettled; Ning didn’t want to keep her long.

Wang Hongzhen hesitated slightly, then shook her head. “It’s hard to say. I didn’t really have much contact with Chang Junchao’s father. He seemed to be busy working outside all year round, leaving early and returning late, so I rarely saw him. I’m a bit closer to Chang Junchao himself. As for his mother… well, since you just did me such a huge favor—saving my life, really—I won’t beat around the bush. I didn’t get along well with that old lady. Actually, I quite disliked her.”

Ning Shuyi was slightly surprised. She noticed a pattern: the last person who had a poor impression of Deng Qingrong was also a young woman. It seemed Deng Qingrong was truly disliked by younger women.

“Officer Ning, may I ask why you’re specifically looking into their family?” Wang Hongzhen asked cautiously, worried her question might be inappropriate but unable to suppress her curiosity. She spoke carefully, afraid of upsetting them.

Before Ning Shuyi could respond, Wang hurriedly added, “Actually, I shouldn’t be asking about your work. Just pretend you didn’t hear me, and don’t mind me. If you have any questions for me, just ask! I was being thoughtless just now.”

“That’s not about being thoughtful or not. If you want to ask, ask away. If it’s something we can share, we will; if not, we’ll tell you,” Ning Shuyi replied. Wang Hongzhen’s cautious demeanor made Ning want to sigh. If she hadn’t lived in an environment where any misstep could lead to violence or scolding, who would be so guarded, so attentive to others’ expressions and moods, so afraid of provoking displeasure?

Ning also noticed that although Huo Yan had just stepped in to help Wang Hongzhen, and Wang felt guilty because her abusive husband had punched Huo Yan, she barely dared to speak to him or even look in his direction, focusing solely on Ning Shuyi.

“Chang Junchao and his mother ran into some trouble,” Huo Yan finally answered Wang’s question.

Wang quickly glanced at him and nodded, acknowledging that she heard, but did not dare meet his gaze again.

“Chang Junchao is a really good person. Honest and kind, very filial to his parents,” Wang Hongzhen said carefully, not prying into what trouble they’d faced but sharing what she knew. “I had just gotten married and moved there around that time.

“I barely saw his father, Chang Rong. He was rarely home, mostly busy working away from home, leaving early and coming back late. He seemed shy and didn’t like to talk much. When neighbors passed by upstairs or downstairs and greeted him, he rarely responded and would quickly walk away, as if afraid of being engaged in conversation. So over time, neighbors just accepted that was his nature and stopped talking to him.

“But Chang Junchao had a good personality. Not like his father, he was polite, though not very talkative. He would greet neighbors and help out if someone was carrying something heavy or moving large items.”

“From what you say, Chang Junchao seems like a decent person,” Ning Shuyi took over and asked further, “Besides Chang Rong being busy working outside and reluctant to socialize, what about Chang Junchao and his mother, Deng Qingrong? Did they avoid interacting with others? Was there anything unusual about their family?”

“Unusual…” Wang Hongzhen thought for a moment. “If I have to say, it would be Chang Junchao’s mother—she was unusually irritating.”

Wang gave the impression of a timid, fearful person, like a frightened rabbit, but strangely, when speaking of Deng Qingrong, Ning Shuyi sensed a sharp, unmistakable anger, even a hint of gritted teeth.

“Did you… have some unpleasant history with Deng Qingrong?” Ning Shuyi couldn’t help but ask.

It seemed the list of people who had been helped and the gratitude expressed had grown significantly; she would have to sort through it later. Cough, cough.