(a)

As usual, Anne sat at her computer desk sorting out the materials for tomorrow's meeting. The people in the office seem to be busy. After a weekend, Monday tends to be a bit more loaded than usual. It was already afternoon, and Anne had piled up a bunch of materials that she hadn't finished.

Anne was busy when the phone on the table vibrated with a "whin".

She picked up her phone and looked, an unfamiliar number.

She complained to Linglong next to her: "Who, it's so annoying, call in at this time, it's busy!" With that, she picked up her phone and pressed the "refuse" button.

After a while, the phone started vibrating again.

Anne picked it up and looked at it, and it seemed to be the same number just now.

"Who?" Linglong asked.

"I don't know, an unfamiliar number."

"Go pick it up, I've called it twice, what if something happens!" Linglong said.

"Okay, I'll go out and answer the phone." Anne whispered to Linglong.

Linglong understood what Anne meant, that is, let her help cover up. If her boss finds out that she is not at work, he will say that she went to the bathroom, and so on. Because, in order to prevent employees from being lazy, the company has come up with the latest rules, no mobile phones can be played during working hours, no small talk, and even a monitor is installed in the café next to it. Now, if you want to answer a phone, you can only do it secretly.

Anne walked out of the office with her phone. She went to the bathroom and found the innermost compartment.

"Hey, hello!" Anne picked up the phone.

"Hello, excuse me, are you Annie?" A serious-sounding male voice came from the other side.

"I am, who are you?"

"My name is Zhao Gang, and I am a police officer from the Qinghe Public Security Bureau."

Anne was stunned for a moment, "Oh, hello comrade policeman, is there anything wrong with me?" ”

"We've found a murder and want to ask for your help in the investigation."

"Murder?" Anne's voice was low and surprised, sounding as if she was particularly surprised by what the police were saying about the murder, "What murder?" ”

"Preliminary suspicion, it's the girl who rented the house with you before."

"She killed someone?" Anne thought the policeman's words were incredible.

"No, she could be a victim."

"You mean—she's dead?"

"Not sure yet. There are many things that we still need to know more about and confirm, so I would like to ask you to assist in the investigation. ”

"Oh, I didn't expect that." Anne's voice sounded full of pity, "Whatever needs to be done, I will definitely cooperate fully." ”

"Okay, are you at work now?"

"Yes."

"If that's convenient, let's meet when you get off work, and please tell me your end time and your company's address. I'll be waiting for you on time. This policeman named Zhao Gang spoke very politely, but he exuded an irresistible majesty.

"Oh, yes. The location was the Anjing Building, and I got off work at six o'clock. Anne sensed from his strong tone that today's meeting could not be shirked. And they told him the time and place.

Before Anne stepped out of the door downstairs of the company, she saw the man in a brown cotton jacket outside the door, he looked to be in his forties, but his very ordinary appearance revealed a chilling majesty, so that Anne recognized him in the crowd at a glance. This is probably an innate so-called 'temperament' thing, Anne thought, this must be the police officer Zhao Gang. Beside him, there is also a man who is younger than him, and it seems that the two should be colleagues.

Anne walked out the door of the office, and she looked down and straightened her clothes. She thought that although she felt a little inexplicable pressure from dealing with the police soon, as a woman, it was better to pay more attention to her image in front of men.

Just as she looked up, the police officer named Zhao Gang and the young man were already standing in front of her. She was startled.

"Hello, Miss Anne, I'm Zhao Gang. I made an appointment with you in the afternoon. Zhao Gang went straight to the point from the beginning.

"Oh, I am, how do you know I'm Anne?" Anne felt that she was so ordinary and insignificant in the crowd of people who got off work, how did this policeman recognize me as soon as I went out?

"This is not surprising, as a police officer, I still have this bit of vision."

"Awesome." Anne didn't know what to say, but whispered these two words out of her mouth.

Anne looked at Zhao Gang, and then at the man next to him. Zhao Gang hurriedly introduced: "This is my colleague, his name is Qin Tian." Together, we are in charge of this case. ”

Then, Zhao Gang said: "We have some questions we want to know from you. Then he pointed to a tea bar diagonally across the street and said, "Let's go there and sit and talk." "It seems that he has already stepped on it before, so he chose this tea bar.

"Oh, okay." Anne had no reason to refuse.

The three of them came to the tea bar, which was very deserted and had few guests, perhaps because of the geographical location, it was in a corner, and it was really not a very good port. Zhao Gang picked the innermost table in the tea bar and sat down, which was a separate booth in the corner, very quiet, and there was no one around. Then, he ordered three cups of vegetarian tea.

Anne, who was questioned by the police for the first time, seemed a little overwhelmed, she sat in a chair, but felt that there was nowhere to put her hands. Before the waiter could bring the tea, she stood up and said, "Excuse me, I'll go to the bathroom." ”

Zhao Gang was playing with the ashtray on the tea table, and he didn't even look up at her, only said "um".

Anne, who was in the bathroom, was filled with an inexplicable feeling in her heart. She didn't know if this feeling was so-called fear. But she kept telling herself, "The police just know the situation, don't be afraid." ”

Qin Tian looked at Zhao Gang and said, "Boss, this girl seems to be very afraid of you." ”

"Really? Am I that scary? Zhao Gang smiled.

"But she looks like a weak woman, it is estimated that she is being questioned by the police for the first time, and it can be seen that she is very nervous!"

"Really?" Zhao Gang said disdainfully, "But sometimes, don't pay too much attention to people's external image. Some people, natural actors, are much stronger on the inside than on the outside. ”

"Really?"

"You've been a police officer for so long, don't you even have this awareness?" He looked at Qin Tian, "Don't look at a weak woman, just give birth to instinctive pity." ”

"I'm not like you, you look cold, and young girls are scared when they see you. In any case, don't be too scared, because it's not easy to gain the trust of others. ”

"You're very researched!"

"No, I just don't want people to be scared when they see me."

As the two were talking, Anne came back from the bathroom. She still looked nervous.

"Don't be nervous, don't be afraid, we're just learning something from you, just tell the truth what you know." Officer Zhao Gang seemed to be relieving her nervousness.

"Well, it's okay, I'm fine, just ask if you have anything to ask, and I will cooperate with you."

"Well, okay, then, let's get started!"

"Can you tell me what happened?" Anne asked.

Officer Zhao Gang said unhurriedly: "This afternoon, we received a report. The person who reported the crime was your previous landlord. Your contact details are what he gave us. ”

"Oh......" Anne asked again, "is that murder really the girl I shared with you?" ”

"I'm sorry, we can't reveal much about the case."

"Oh," said Anne, as she seemed thoughtful, "if it were really her, it would be a shame that she was so young. Anne's words revealed a kind of desolation.

"Excuse me, when did you rent this house, when did you move out, and what happened to the girl you shared the house, please tell us all these questions in detail." Zhao Gang looked into Anne's eyes and said. This made Anne very uncomfortable.

"Is it from beginning to end?" Annino asked.

"Yes, try to be as complete and clear as possible."

"Complete and clear...... What is the meaning? Anne didn't seem to understand what the officer meant.

"It's about getting things straight. When it comes to facts, time, and place, try to be as accurate as possible. The policeman named Qin Tian next to him said to Anne.

"Okay, I'll try." Anne said. I don't know if it's because of nervousness, she picked up the teacup and took a few big sips in one go.

Then Anne began to recount: "I rented that house this time last year, for a year, and it expired yesterday. Since the house was a two-bedroom apartment, I sublet one of the rooms to save some money on rent. However, after renting the house for only three months, I changed to a new job. The place of work is the building you just saw when I came out of work. Because this place is so far away from the apartment I rented before, it was inconvenient for me to commute to work, so I moved to this neighborhood three months ago and shared a room with a colleague. ”

"Are you saying that you moved out three months ago, which means that the girl has lived alone ever since?"

"Yes. I told her when I moved. As for whether she lived alone after I moved out, I don't know. ”

"Do you know what happened to that house?"

"I don't know. I almost forgot about it, if it wasn't for the landlord calling me. ”

"When did the landlord call you? What was said? ”

"I was called a month ago and he asked me if I wanted to renew my lease. I told him not to rent anymore and told him to take possession of the house when it expired. Then it was two days ago, after the house expired, he called me and said that he was going to take possession of the house. ”

"And then?"

"I think the landlord must have told you all about what I said. Later, when he went to collect the house, he found that the girl's things had not been moved, so the landlord called me again and asked me to contact the girl to go back and move things. However, I didn't have the girl's contact information, and I didn't know where she was, so I negotiated with the landlord to let him put away all her things for the time being, and let her move out by herself if she went back one day, and if she didn't come back to move her things until the landlord's house was rented out again, I would go and help her get her things back. ”

Anne seemed to suddenly remember something again, and said, "It was all yesterday!" At that time, I also asked him when he would refund my deposit, and he said that he would return the deposit to me after checking the house without problems. However, yesterday I waited for a day and he didn't return the money to me, I don't know what's going on, so I just want to wait until today to see, if he doesn't return the money to me today, then I will call him. ”

Then Anne tentatively asked, "May I ask how she died?" ”

"I'm sorry, we can't tell you about the case."

"Okay, it's just that you said that it was the landlord who reported the case, and he only reported the case today, but he already went to collect the house yesterday!" Anne was puzzled.

"Are you suspicious of the landlord?" Officer Zhao Gang asked.

"No, how is it possible, I didn't mean it in the slightest, I just thought it was weird."

"The landlord didn't go to collect the house yesterday because of something delayed, and he only went today. Then, the body was found in the rental house. So, I called the police. ”

"Oh, that's right!"

Anne seemed to be much more relaxed than she had been at the beginning, and she picked up the teacup in front of her and took a sip of tea, but her movements were noticeably less unnatural than before.

Officer Zhao Gang started a new question again: "What is the name of the girl who shares the house with you?" ”

"I don't know what her real name is, she only told me that her name is Xiaomei."

"Xiaomei...... Do you have her contact details? ”

"I think, this problem, the landlord has already told you before, I don't have her contact information now, if there is, I would have asked her to go back and move." Anne seemed to think that the policeman's question was a bit redundant.

"When you sublet the house to her, didn't you leave your contact information?" The police seem to have doubts about this.

"I posted the rental information on the rental website at the time, and she contacted me to see the property in a private message online, and I remember that we seemed to have agreed at that time that she would come to see the house the next day. At that time, more than one person contacted me every day to look at the property, so I can't remember the specifics. I only remember that after looking at the house, she asked the price, and it was set at that time, and she gave me a year's rent directly, or cash, so I remember it very clearly. I thought she was very crisp. ”

"Do you have a lease or something? Or write what agreement? ”

"No, I proposed at the time, I said I was going to get a rental contract. However, she said no, she said that she didn't talk about those procedures, and I also felt that since she had already paid, I had nothing to worry about, so I didn't take this matter to heart. ”

"Didn't you leave a single contact information?"

"Later, I asked her for it, and I said to leave a phone number, in case there is anything to contact in the future. She gave me a phone number, and I wrote it down, but I never called, because I didn't have anything to call her. Until a month ago, the landlord called me and asked me if I wanted to renew the lease, and at that time I thought that the house was still a month away, and I should remind her so that she would not forget. But I called the phone number she had left for me, and it was empty. ”

"That is, you have never called, and the only time you called her did you find out that the number was empty?"

"Yes."

"You don't have any other connections?"

"Nope." Anne replied dryly.

"That is, you don't know her real name, and you don't have her contact information." The police confirmed again.

"Yes."

"And can you think of any other way to reach her? For example, does she have any friends or something? ”

"Nope. I don't know anything about her, so to speak. I only know that her name is Xiaomei. ”

"Alright then, let's move on to the next question. Do you know where she's from? Or, listening to the accent she usually speaks, is it possible to tell where she is from? ”

"I don't know. She speaks Mandarin with no accent. Moreover, you may not believe it, but what I said to her did not add up to ten sentences in total. ”

"You've lived under the same roof for so long, and you haven't had ten words?" Both officers were taken aback by her words.

"It's hard to believe, but it's true. We spend very little time in person at home, and we basically live independently. ”

"Rarely seen up? I can understand that it is because your working hours are staggered, so you don't have the opportunity to meet? ”

"You can say that, so to speak!"

"Do you know what she does?"

"I don't know what she does. However, she usually leaves late and returns early. ”

"Is it 'late and early home'?" Zhao Gang checked again, he wanted to make sure she didn't say the wrong word.

"Yes, it's late and early, not early and late. She usually leaves when I get home from work and then comes back in the morning. ”

"You mean, the work she does is the work she does at night?"

"I guess so! I've seen her go out a few times, and she's wearing pretty good makeup and dressing sexy. The bathroom at home is often filled with the smell of alcohol by her. ”

They all understood what Anne meant. This is called Xiaomei, and she may be engaged in a less glamorous industry.

"Do you have a picture of her?" Zhao Gang asked again.

"Nope."

"Can you tell us what she looks like?"

"Didn't you find a body?" Anne looked at Zhao Gang with puzzled eyes.

"We're just confirming." Zhao Gang looked at Anne as if to say - this is just a very simple question.

Anne looked away, and she seemed to be caught in a momentary thought.

"Why, is this question difficult to answer?" Zhao Gang seemed to notice that Anne seemed to be avoiding something.

"No, I'm just thinking about what she looks like, after all, I don't have much time to see her...... And I've moved away for so long, and the way she looks in my mind is already very vague. Anne said.

"Yes, then please remember it and describe it to us as 'accurately' as possible."

Zhao Gang deliberately put the word 'accurate' very seriously, which gave Anne an invisible pressure.

"I don't remember very well, but I can only give you a rough idea. She generally feels quite beautiful, and her figure is also very good, with long hair, hot big waves, and very feminine. The face shape is also a melon seed face, and the eyes are quite large, similar to the average beauty. ”

"What does she usually wear when you see her?"

"She wears makeup almost every time I see her, because it's usually when she's ready to go out, and she's wearing a pretty sexy dress, a dress, heels or something."

"yes, okay." Zhao Gang thought for a moment, and then asked, "Did you live there alone before?" I mean, do you have a boyfriend living with or something? He doesn't think it's a hard thing to talk about.

Anne didn't seem to know how to answer the question. She hesitated for a moment and said, "I have a boyfriend." But he lives in the company's dormitory and rarely comes to me. ”

"How many keys do you have to your house?"

"The landlord gave me a handful, and later I gave Xiaomei another handful."

"What about your boyfriend, does he have the key?"

"No, if he wants to go to me, we'll make an appointment in advance."

After saying that, Anne lowered her head, looked at her watch, then picked up the teacup in her hand and took a sip.

"You're looking at your watch, are you in a hurry?" Officer Zhao Gang asked.

"Oh, actually, it's nothing, it's just, it's Monday, we usually have more work on Monday, I still have some work to do during the day, and I have to work overtime when I go back at night." Anne said this, but anyone could hear what she meant.

Zhao Gang also looked down at his watch, and before he knew it, an hour had passed, he looked out the window, the sky was dark, and although the streets were brightly illuminated by neon lights, there were no pedestrians, and it seemed deserted.

He said to Anne, "I didn't expect it to be so late, I'm really sorry, I'll treat you to a light meal!" ”

Anne never thought that the police would invite her to dinner, and she politely refused: "No, I'll just go back and eat whatever I want." I have a lot to do in the evening. And I'm not comfortable eating with you. Anne looked at them and said embarrassedly.

"Okay then, then don't eat, where do you live, let's send you back!" Zhao Gang thought, no matter what, it is still a little unsafe for a girl to go home alone at night.

"No, my house is very close, I'll just walk back by myself." Anne didn't expect him to make a new request and quickly refused.

"It's okay, since it's very close, it's okay to send you, you're a girl, we don't worry. You don't have to say no. With that, Zhao Gang had already gotten up, and he decided to send this girl back.

Anne couldn't find any reason to refuse them again, so they sent her to the gate of the community.

They watched as Anne swiped her card into the neighborhood. Zhao Gang remembered the name of the community. This is a well-known upscale neighborhood in the neighborhood.

(b)

"Wang Kai, what are you doing...... Hurry up...... Rush forward......" Zhang Bing was sitting in front of the computer, tapping on the keyboard excitedly.

"No, I'm going to be trapped,...... Suffered...... Equipment, equipment! …… I'm trapped, come and save me......" Wang Kai shouted, he kept tapping on the keyboard and shouting loudly.

"You're too vegetable...... Wait a minute...... I'll come back right away to save you......" Zhang Bing shouted at him.

"No...... The other party is too strong...... Fuck ...... me It's dead again......" Wang Kai angrily hammered the keyboard.

"Damn, we lost this game again......" Zhang Bing complained, "You were too weak just now......"

At the same time, Wang Kai's mobile phone next to the computer was constantly playing the ringtone of the incoming call over and over again.

"Hurry up, it's noisy, and you can't calm down when you play games." Zhang Bing saw that Wang Kai's mobile phone kept ringing, and Wang Kai had no intention of answering.

This is the dormitory for the employees assigned to them by the company. Ensuite, one room per person. Zhang Bing is Wang Kai's colleague, roommate, and buddy.

Wang Kai picked up the phone and glanced at it, then hung up and said, "That woman is calling again." ”

The name shown on the phone is "Annie".

Wang Kai has been becoming more and more perfunctory about Anne's calls recently, answering when he wants to answer and not answering when he doesn't want to.

"What's the matter, you don't want to answer her call?" Zhang Bing teased.

"I've been annoying more and more lately, anyway...... I just don't want to answer her calls. Wang Kai can't say why, I don't know why, the relationship between the two is becoming more and more estranged.

"You can be content, these days, it's hard to find a girlfriend." Zhang Bing doesn't know much about the relationship between Wang Kai and Anne. For Anne, Zhang Bing has only met once. It was after Anne changed to a new job that the three of them had a meal together, which was a celebration of Anne getting a good job.

Zhang Bing and Wang Kai are good brothers. In addition to work, the two usually sit in the dormitory and play games. Zhang Bing doesn't have a girlfriend, so naturally he can't go out on dates often. And since Anne changed jobs, going out early and returning late every day, or working overtime, Wang Kai has less time to meet her. Now that Anne has moved to a new residence, she is completely separated from them, and Anne and Wang Kai are dating less and less. However, Zhang Bing and Wang Kai have been spending more and more time playing games together.

"Do you want another one?" Zhang Bing sat down at the computer desk again.

"Come on, why don't you come!" Wang Kai sat down on the chair and was ready to do it again.

At this time, Wang Kai's mobile phone rang again. It was Anne who called.

"Forget it, don't call today, you can answer the phone! I'm hungry, so I'll go downstairs and have some supper, and I'll bring you some later. After saying that, Zhang Bing put on his coat and walked out, and by the way, he closed the door of the apartment.

Wang Kai picked up the phone and pressed the "Answer" button.

"Do you know this is the first call I've made?" Anne's calm voice came from the other end of the phone. She didn't seem angry. Or rather, she's used to it.

"Oh, I was busy with things just now, making a document, and the company will use it tomorrow." Wang Kai's tone was also very calm. Perhaps, such conversations, between them, are already commonplace.

"You're so busy!" Anne spoke sarcastically.

"Each other, but not as busy as you." Wang Kai is not to be outdone.

Anne knew what Wang Kai was talking about. Since changing to this new job, she does care a lot less about Wang Kai. Many times she is too tired to go home from work, and she always refuses Wang Kai's request for a date again and again. Sometimes, even if the two sleep in the same bed, she will still refuse Wang Kai's affection on the grounds that she is too tired from work. Wang Kai has complained countless times, saying that she can't get the dignity that a man deserves.

Wang Kai asked coldly: "What are you looking for me?" ”

"Can't we make a phone call if there's nothing between us?"

"No, it's just that everyone is busy!"

"I know you're talking about me." Anne paused, not knowing if she should continue.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Wang Kai actually felt that there was nothing to say, "If it's okay, I'll hang up!" ”

"Today the police came to me and told me that Xiaomei died." Anne said.

Wang Kai was stunned for a moment and didn't speak for a long time. After a while, he asked, "Which little beauty?" ”

"You know who I'm talking about." Annie's tone was frighteningly sensible.

"Why did you tell me."

"I just wanted you to know about it."

After a second of silence, Anne continued: "When the police came to me today, they asked me some things about our previous rented house and Xiaomei, and I answered them truthfully. Just ......" At this point, Anne paused.

"Just what?" Wang Kai wanted to know what Anne hadn't said.

"It's just that the police finally asked me a question, asking me if I had a boyfriend and if we lived together."

"How did you answer?"

"I said I had a boyfriend, but he rarely came to me." Anne thought for a moment and said, "I think they're going to come to you for a question, so I think it's better to tell you." ”

"Okay, I got it." Wang Kai replied.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Wang Kai asked again.

"No more. When are you free, I want to see you. Anne was telling the truth, but the tone was so bland that there was no trace of warmth, and one could not help but wonder about the veracity of what she said.

"You shouldn't ask me when I'm free, you should ask when you're free." Wang Kai didn't know if he was too dismissive of this, or if he understood Anne's mind but wanted to say it on purpose. In short, this sentence made Anne uncomfortable to hear.

"Tomorrow night, you come to the company to pick me up, and we will eat your favorite grilled fish." Anne said.

"It's up to you to eat, I'll do whatever I want. You've decided on a place to inform me, and I'll go straight to it. I'm not going to pick you up, let's meet at the place where we eat. ”

"Okay, we'll talk about it tomorrow." With that, Anne hung up.

I don't know when Wang Kai became this cold appearance to himself again. This made Anne feel very uncomfortable.

She remembered that dark night a few months ago, and that nightmarish experience came to her mind in the middle of the night, and she suffered every dark night.