Fang Rui and Zhang arrived at the edge of the square early in the morning.
There were quite a few elderly people doing their morning exercises, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere. However, Fang Rui immediately spotted Mu Mian among the crowd.
She was still wearing a thick scarf, her entire body huddled within it, staring blankly at the trees in the flower bed.
Zhang followed Fang Rui's gaze and also saw Mu Mian.
"Dr. Mu, what are you doing standing here? Morning exercises?" Zhang was a bit surprised, as Mu Mian didn't seem like someone who enjoyed physical activity.
"I'm waiting for a car."
"They don't allow parking here. How could you possibly be waiting for a car here? You should be standing by the roadside to wait."
Mu Mian glanced at Fang Rui, then averted her gaze. "I've found it now."
Zhang felt puzzled, "Where's the car? I don't see any."
"You can wait for us in the car," Fang Rui handed Mu Mian the keys, "Zhang and I still have a task to complete."
Zhang suddenly understood. So Mu Mian wanted to hitch a ride with them. But how did she know they would be coming here this morning? No, wait, how did the boss know she was waiting for them?
Zhang felt like he was being left out!
Mu Mian didn't take the keys. "I'll go investigate with you. I'm very familiar with this area. When I first moved here, I would patrol the surroundings of the neighborhood every day. Although I've reduced it to once a week now, it shouldn't affect anything."
Zhang listened in astonishment. Was Mu Mian a former secret agent? Or had she offended someone? Why on earth would she need to patrol her living environment every day?
Fang Rui had recently been studying up on autism, and he knew that many individuals with autism are very averse to unfamiliar environments. They need to familiarize themselves with their surroundings repeatedly to adapt. So he wasn't surprised by Mu Mian's behavior.
"Do you know who might be knowledgeable about the stray cats around here?"
"Her," Mu Mian pointed to a girl crouching at the edge of the lawn, "According to my statistics, she feeds the stray cats here most frequently."
The girl was young, with sweet features, and several skinny kittens were clustered around her feet.
"Hello, I'm Zhang Qiang from the City Police Bureau. We'd like your cooperation in our investigation," Zhang showed his badge. "Have you seen this cat before?" He showed the photo to the girl.
The girl's name was Bai Jing, a recent college graduate who worked as a social worker in the neighborhood. She first looked at Mu Mian with a slightly surprised expression, then took the photo. After examining it carefully for a moment, she said, "Yes, I know this cat. I used to feed it."
Bai Jing pointed at the photo, "Look at its ear, there's a small piece missing. I used to feed it sausages often. But I haven't seen it much lately."
"How long has it been since you last saw it?"
"About four or five days."
"Are there many people who feed cats around here?"
"Quite a few. There's a university town nearby, and many students come here to feed cats. Many people in our neighborhood occasionally feed them too."
"Do you all know each other?"
"Most of the regular cat feeders know each other. We have a group chat with many cat-loving friends like me."
"Can you add us to this group?"
"Sure." Bai Jing opened her phone and added Fang Rui and Zhang to the group. "This group is mainly for discussing cat care tips, nothing special."
"Among the people who feed cats with you, has anyone been behaving unusually lately?"
"I don't think so. We only chat briefly when feeding cats, so we don't really know each other that well. Oh, I just remembered, there's someone in our neighborhood who comes to feed cats every morning, and he uses really expensive cat food. That's why I remember him so clearly. I think his name is Zhu..."
Bai Jing seemed to have trouble recalling, but she quickly called out to a passing delivery man, "Chen Hui, come here for a second."
The delivery man named Chen Hui stopped his scooter. He was tall, slightly chubby, with fair skin, wearing a pair of stiff black-framed glasses, but had a smile on his face.
"Bai Jing, what's up?"
"That guy who used to feed cats with us, the one who liked to feed imported cat food, what's his name? The one surnamed Zhu, who always wore blue shirts?"
"Zhu Yaming," Chen Hui immediately said the man's name.
Zhang quickly jotted down the name.
Fang Rui then asked if they knew Li Yan.
Upon hearing this name, both Bai Jing and Chen Hui showed expressions of disgust. Bai Jing angrily said, "She's a crazy woman, always losing her mind and causing trouble for anyone she encounters!"
She pointed to a nearby bush, "Right there, she almost kicked a stray cat to death, just because the cat rubbed against her. Such an evil woman, she'll surely get her comeuppance."
"What happened to the little cat?"
"A kind person took it to the vet and got it treated, and then adopted it. Oh, I think that person was Zhu Yaming."
Fang Rui asked, "Do many people know about this incident?"
"Quite a few. It happened on a weekend, and many people saw her abusing the cat. Someone even uploaded a video of it online."
"Alright, thank you for your cooperation." After finishing the questions, Fang Rui was about to leave when he noticed Mu Mian staring intently at the delivery man, Chen Hui.
Chen Hui also felt Mu Mian's gaze and scratched his head awkwardly, "Miss Mu, there's still no international package from your sister today. If there is one, I'll contact you immediately."
Mu Mian's expression became a bit dejected, "She used to send me the medical journal I needed on time. She wouldn't forget."
Zhang said, "Why don't you give your sister a call and ask?"
Mu Mian lowered her head and remained silent.
Chen Hui helped explain, "Miss Mu had a falling out with her sister, so she refuses to contact her sister proactively."
Fang Rui was a bit surprised; this delivery man named Chen Hui seemed to know quite a bit about Mu Mian.
Once they got in the car, Fang Rui indulged in some rare gossip: "Are you close with that Chen Hui?"
"Not really. He's a good person because he was the first one to respond to my smile after I moved here."
"Is he your friend?"
"No, I don't have friends," Mu Mian was still in low spirits, "I'm very troublesome, no one wants to be my friend."
Her sister was her therapist, one of the few people who could accept her unconditionally, but now it seemed even her sister had abandoned her.
Mu Mian felt a bit defeated and somewhat regretted arguing with her sister.
Back at the bureau, Fang Rui immediately asked Zhang and his team to investigate Zhu Yaming.
In less than half a day, Zhang had uncovered Zhu Yaming's situation: "Boss, this Zhu Yaming works at a foreign trade company. His financial situation used to be quite good, but he lost a lot of money in the stock market in recent years. His wife divorced him, and he had to sell his house, so he had to move back in with his parents. He's known to be petty, and his reputation in the neighborhood isn't great, but he hasn't done anything particularly bad or has any criminal record. His neighbors mentioned that he seems to have come into some money recently and has become quite lavish."
Zhang paused, then continued, "Oh, and he's also a pet blogger. He was the one who uploaded the video of Li Yan abusing the cat online, which made him briefly famous."
"Let's go talk to him," Fang Rui said.
Fang Rui and Zhang arrived at Zhu Yaming's home. When his parents saw the police at their door, they immediately became nervous. Zhu's father asked in a low voice, "Officers, are you here because our Xiao Ming has done something illegal?"
Zhang reassured them, "Uncle, Auntie, don't be nervous. We're just here to gather some information. Please just answer our questions truthfully."
"I... we'll certainly cooperate fully. Please, have a seat," Zhu's father exchanged a glance with his wife, then said urgently, "You old woman, why aren't you making tea? Quick, go to Yaming's room and bring out that imported red tea he brought back to serve the officers."
Zhang quickly waved his hand, "Uncle, there's no need to be so formal. We don't need tea. We just want to ask Zhu Yaming a few questions. At this time, he should be getting off work soon, right?"
Zhu's mother stood frozen, unsure whether to go or stay, looking extremely awkward.
Seeing this, Zhu's father started berating her, "You useless old woman, you can't even make tea properly! You stay here and entertain the officers, I'll go find the tea! Useless old thing!" With that, he strode into the room on the left.
Fang Rui and Zhang exchanged glances, both noticing that the behavior of the elderly couple seemed rather peculiar.
Fang Rui smiled and, pretending to make a casual joke, said, "I've only heard that foreign coffee tastes good. I wonder if foreign tea might also be better than what we have here?"
The mother, who was arranging a fruit platter, suddenly changed her expression upon hearing this and dropped the plate she was holding onto the floor.
Sensing that something was amiss, Fang Rui and Zhang immediately rushed into the room, only to find the father pouring water over a laptop.
As a bottle of mineral water was emptied onto it, the laptop was effectively ruined.
At that moment, the mother outside the room suddenly shouted, "Yaming, run! There are police in the house!"
Fang Rui and Zhang immediately gave chase, quickly apprehending a middle-aged man at the stairwell. He was wearing a shirt and glasses, looking rather scholarly and refined.
