Chapter Forty: The Local

After watching from inside the car for a while, Ning Shuyi noticed Huo Yan and the elderly man rise from the small stone table. They walked toward the car while conversing. Upon reaching the vehicle, Huo Yan opened the rear door for the man, who climbed in with a cheerful smile.

"Awake?" Huo Yan asked, glancing at Ning Shuyi. Seeing her sitting upright in the passenger seat, looking fully alert, he gave her a slight nod.

The man, likely having spent a considerable amount of time chatting with Huo Yan, was in high spirits. Gone was the timid, shrinking demeanor he had displayed in front of his wife at the entrance of the crime scene; he now appeared remarkably relaxed.

"My, it’s not easy for a young girl to be a police officer, running around through wind and rain! It must be exhausting!" He even patted the back of Ning Shuyi’s seat, offering his praise. "Young people today rarely have the grit to endure hardship. People like you are truly good kids!"

Ning Shuyi offered the man a polite smile. Not knowing the extent of their conversation outside, she could not find an opening to interject.

Huo Yan, seemingly sensing Ning Shuyi’s confusion, did not linger on the pleasantries. "The gentleman and I played a few games of chess and had a chat. It’s getting dark and chilly out there, so I suggested we continue in the car. He mentioned that a while before the incident, he saw a woman, around thirty years old, visit the home of Deng Qingrong and her son, Chang Junchao. It seems there was a heated argument once she arrived—the voices were quite loud. The gentleman lives in the unit across from them, so he could hear it clearly."

"That’s right," the man chimed in from the back seat, eagerly corroborating Huo Yan’s account. "This building is just too old; the soundproofing is abysmal. Forget about loud arguments—if the neighbors are snoring too loudly, we can hear it clear as day!"

"When the woman left Deng Qingrong’s apartment, she made some threatening remarks," Huo Yan added.

The man nodded vigorously. "Exactly! I just told this young man—she was shouting so loudly in the corridor! She said if that young Deng and her son kept pestering her and interfering with her life, then no one should expect to keep living—they could all just die together! My goodness, that was a heavy thing to say. My wife is a very timid person; she’s always terrified of trouble. We were eating dinner in the living room right by the door and heard every word. It scared her half to death. She kept asking me why someone would say something so terrifying and warned me not to let any trouble start."

He sighed, continuing, "I told her, it’s nothing! People talk tough all the time, gritting their teeth and making death threats, but how many actually go through with it? It’s just anger talking! It’ll be fine. And for a while, everything was quiet, so we forgot all about it. We never imagined that after a while, when that odor started coming from their unit, the police would be called, and it would turn out to be real! I went upstairs that day to see what was going on, but my wife was too scared to get involved, so she called me back. Then you officers started clearing the area, and I went home. I never thought you’d notice me!" He chuckled. "The younger generation is truly impressive! With police like you, we common folks can finally rest easy, knowing the community is in good hands."

Ning Shuyi had assumed that the elderly man, who had seemed so afraid of trouble earlier, would be difficult to cooperate with. She wondered what exactly had transpired during their chess game to make him so forthcoming.

"Sir, did you get a good look at the woman who was arguing with Deng Qingrong?" Since he was being so cooperative, she didn't hesitate to ask.

"I did! I saw her from my window upstairs!" The man gestured toward the window, trying to point out his apartment. "How else would I know how old she looked? That woman must have been out of her mind with rage; she kept cursing and swearing as she walked, even turning back to yell a few more times. But I have to say, she seemed like a relatively well-bred person—she was just so furious she couldn't stop. Even then, all she could come up with were words like 'shameless,' 'unworthy,' and 'trash.' No real profanities."

"Sir, her appearance..." Ning Shuyi reminded him with a suppressed smile that he had veered off track.

The man slapped his forehead. "Right! Look at me—I was just thinking about telling you how she looked, and then I drifted off! That woman looked just like Deng Qingrong, who lived upstairs! I’m not the only one who saw the resemblance; my wife did too. We were guessing they must be close relatives—they couldn't look that much alike otherwise! But if they were close, it must have been a serious matter for them to have such a falling out."

"Did she arrive and leave alone? Was there anyone with her?" Huo Yan asked.

"She came alone! I didn't see anyone with her," the man replied, clearly having a vivid memory of the event. "She drove a car, which she parked downstairs. My wife and I watched from the window as she marched to the car, still cursing, and drove off. It was definitely just her."

"What kind of accent did she have?"

"I didn't hear any accent," the man shook his head.

Ning Shuyi wrote "local accent" in her notebook.

"What brand was the car? Do you remember any of the license plate numbers?" she asked.

"I recognize the brand, but I can't name it! It was a light gray SUV, quite large. It looked like an American brand—the logo looked a bit like a shield with a grid inside. It’s nothing special now, but back in the day, only the wealthy could afford such things!"

Based on his description, Ning Shuyi had a rough idea of the car brand. "Was it a local license plate?"

"Yes! It was a local plate!" the man replied with certainty. "I didn't get the whole number. I couldn't see the plate from my window while it was parked, and she drove away too fast. I just remember the end of it seemed to have a '1' and that little circle symbol you see on playing cards."