Kaifeng Cuisine started offering takeout relatively early.
There are two stores in the city center, and the one closer to the office buildings and residential areas has more takeout orders, so the delivery staff usually stay at that store.
However, if someone orders takeout from this location, they will come here to pick up the food.
Especially today, the volume of takeout orders is quite high, and the delivery staff have come several times.
Qi Min is busy running around, also preparing desserts. It’s the weekend, and many families come to the store for fast food.
With the figure he saw at the back door on his mind, and being caught up in work, Qi Min forgot to ask Zhang Dingwen about it.
It wasn’t until shift change time that he remembered, but Zhang Dingwen had already slipped away without a trace, so he had to give up.
When he got off work, the schedule for the next week was also out.
Qi Min glanced at it on the way, and the day after tomorrow, he would be on the day shift with Zhang Dingwen.
At that time, he could take the opportunity during their break to ask him about Feng Xiaoyun.
Aside from that, for the remaining two days, there’s one night shift and one day shift, with no night shifts.
Then it would be time off.
According to Zhang Dingwen, Miao Lijun is closer to Feng Xiaoyun and should know more about her.
He might know if there was anything unusual during the time around Feng Xiaoyun’s resignation.
Qi Min originally wanted to ask Miao Lijun about this, but looking at the schedule now, there was basically no time for them to meet.
“What bad luck.”
Qi Min mumbled as he opened the door to his room, locked it, and threw his backpack on the bed, lying down.
He opened his phone and continued to look at the wanted notices from all over the country from yesterday.
Halfway through his sleep, his stomach suddenly started to hurt. Frowning, he closed his eyes and tried to endure it.
But the stomach didn’t understand, and the pain came in waves, stronger each time.
With a groan, Qi Min opened his eyes.
The light in the room was on, and the air conditioner was blowing “whoosh.”
After being bitten by mosquitoes for two nights, he finally remembered to turn on the air conditioner before bed today.
But he didn’t cover his belly button, caught a chill, and started having stomach issues again in the middle of the night.
If he had known, he wouldn’t have turned on the air conditioner… Being bitten by mosquitoes would have been fine; he could have saved on the electricity bill!
Holding his stomach, Qi Min got up and realized he was lying on the bed with his upper body on it and his lower body hanging off the side.
Ah, he fell asleep like this again.
Isn’t this going to cause problems for his spine?
After sitting up, the pain in his stomach eased.
Since there were no windows, he didn’t know the time. Qi Min picked up his phone, which had fallen beside his face, and turned it on to check.
It was 2:03 AM.
First, he turned off the air conditioner, then Qi Min hunched over and ran to the bathroom.
After relieving himself, his stomach finally felt better. After flushing the toilet and washing his hands, he opened the bathroom door and returned to his room.
With no windows, the room not only lacked light but also ventilation; after using the bathroom, the room was filled with odors.
Standing in the center of the room, Qi Min had a sudden idea.
Since it was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep with no one in the hallway, why not open the door to let in some fresh air?
Deciding to do it, Qi Min walked to the door, unlocked it, and pulled it open.
The door opened about ten centimeters, and Qi Min felt something was off.
He looked up and saw a pair of eyes through the narrow gap of the door.
The other person was startled too, probably not expecting Qi Min to suddenly open the door at two or three in the morning.
“…”
The two silently stared at each other through the door gap for several seconds.
Qi Min calmly took a step back.
He closed the door again and locked it.
Sorry for the interruption.
Standing back in the center of the room, Qi Min fell into deep thought.
He checked his phone again; yes, it was indeed 2 AM.
Just now when he opened the door, the outside was pitch black.
If the person hadn’t been standing right in the light from the room, Qi Min probably wouldn’t have seen them at all and would have opened the door directly.
Standing outside Qi Min’s door was none other than the Neighbor of Room 209.
Qi Min wasn’t curious about what this person was doing lurking outside at such an hour.
They had followed him to work, and now they couldn’t sleep and were standing at the neighbor’s door… it didn’t seem like much.
What he was curious about was how long this behavior had been going on?
Could it be that since the day he moved in, this person had been standing outside his door?
In the dead of night, with everything silent, he was sleeping soundly just a door away from this suspected criminal, completely unaware.
This was too passive!
Why should it be him watching me!
Is this just for show!?
I don’t care; I want to look back!
Deciding to act, Qi Min… stuck his butt out and leaned against the peephole to look outside!
There was no other way; it wasn’t that he was cowardly.
At two or three in the morning, people are in deep sleep, and everyone in the apartment is having sweet dreams, with no one in the hallway.
At this time, even if something happened, it would be completely unnoticed.
If he accidentally left any clues, he would have plenty of time to deal with them before dawn.
Now, with the situation unclear, going out to confront a suspect would be like delivering himself to the enemy!
It must be said, choosing to sneak around at this hour was quite clever.
The facilities at Fumin Apartment weren’t great; there was no elevator, and the hallways and corridors had no lights.
If someone were drunk and didn’t use a flashlight to walk up, one misstep could lead to a serious fall.
Now, the only light in the hallway came from the faint glow of the streetlight through the stairwell window and the light seeping from the gap under his room door.
Using this little bit of light, Qi Min could vaguely see a blurry figure through the peephole.
The person was still standing at the door, motionless.
Very stubborn!
Qi Min observed the person for an hour, during which they remained standing there.
If it weren’t for the occasional rise and fall of their breath, Qi Min would have almost suspected they were a statue.
Several times Qi Min wanted to open the door and go out, but he held back, thinking about calling the police, but the person hadn’t done anything.
If he were in their shoes, he could easily explain that he was sleepwalking.
If he called the police, the person might not get caught, and instead, it would alert them.
As the saying goes, if you don’t kill the snake, it will come back to bite you!
With no clues at all, calling the police now would just waste their resources and wouldn’t be a wise choice.
So, they continued to stare each other down until three in the morning, when Qi Min couldn’t take it anymore.
The other person didn’t have to work, but he still had to go to his job!
Lack of sleep would lead to mistakes when counting money, and that would mean a pay cut.
Stepping back from the peephole, Qi Min stood still for a moment, then tiptoed to his desk and opened the top book, “Introduction to Pharmacy.”
Trying to make as little noise as possible, Qi Min tore out a piece of paper the size of a ping pong ball from the inner pages.
Using the same method, he opened the drawer and took out the tape stored inside.
On tiptoe, he walked back to the door, placed the paper over the peephole, and pressed a layer of tape on top.
Not turning off the light, Qi Min quietly took off his shoes and crawled back into bed.
He reset his alarm and fell asleep just like that.
You keep watch; I’m going to sleep.
He slept soundly.
The next day at nine, he got up early.
After getting bitten by mosquitoes again in the middle of the night, Qi Min went to “Sister Chen’s Hand-Pulled Rice” for breakfast, then took a bus to a supermarket.
While browsing the kitchen supplies section, he found a kitchen knife next to the shelf where frying pans were displayed.
To prevent accidental injury, the blade of the knife was wrapped in cardboard, leaving only the handle exposed.
No matter how skilled you are, you still fear a kitchen knife!
Qi Min picked up the knife and waved it a couple of times.
Not to mention, it felt quite comfortable.
Just as he was getting into it, he turned his gaze and noticed an older woman looking at him with a strange expression.
Clearing his throat, he quickly put the knife away and hurried to the counter to check out.
The older woman stood at a distance, pretending to shop, occasionally glancing over this way.
Thinking she was being discreet.
Qi Min’s eyelid twitched a couple of times.
It wasn’t until Qi Min finished checking out that she finally walked away.
That older woman was really vigilant!
Qi Min sighed.
Not to mention, many criminals are caught because the public reports them.
So, the eyes of the people are indeed sharp.
You might fool the police for a moment, but once they ask around, if something seems off, you’ll be exposed.
No one can hide forever.
Whatever you do, it will always leave traces.
With these philosophical thoughts, Qi Min returned to the apartment.
After shopping at the supermarket and wandering around the commercial center, he ended up not buying anything except the kitchen knife because he was broke.
Qi Min returned empty-handed.
Checking the time, it was already one in the afternoon, so he decided to grab lunch at a rundown restaurant in a half-finished building before heading back to the apartment.
Just as he reached the second-floor hallway, he saw someone crouched at the door of his rental unit, peering through the peephole.
Qi Min’s eyelid started twitching again.
Damn it, didn’t he get enough of watching last night?
In broad daylight, he’s back!?
Qi Min took out the kitchen knife from his backpack and strode toward the door with a fierce demeanor.
However, the closer he got, the more something felt off.
The person crouched at the door was small in stature; even though they were half-squatting, it was clear they weren’t very tall.
After a night, how could they have shrunk? Is staying up late that harmful?
He hadn’t figured out the connection between staying up late and height yet.
Maybe hearing the footsteps behind him, the person at the door turned around, revealing a familiar face.
“Zhang Dingwen? What are you doing here?”
The person at the door was wearing a striped shirt, glasses, and had a worn-out expression.
It was none other than Qi Min’s colleague from Kaifeng Cuisine, Zhang Dingwen.
Zhang Dingwen was surprised to see him, then his face turned tense.
“W-What do you want?!”
He stood up and took two steps back.
Qi Min followed his gaze down and saw the kitchen knife in his hand.
Quickly putting it away behind his back, he explained, “Oh, it’s a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding…”
But halfway through, he felt something was off and pulled it out again.
“I’m just… trying to eat healthier instead of eating out, planning to cook for myself?”
As he spoke, he made a chopping motion.
When he looked up, the other person had moved even further away: “Does this apartment even have a kitchen?” with a face full of suspicion.
Tsk, that backfired.
But speaking of which…
“How do you know this apartment doesn’t have a kitchen?”
Qi Min squinted at him.
Zhang Dingwen stammered, unable to answer.
Qi Min was no stranger to lying; he could tell something was off.
Looking around, there wasn’t a soul in sight.
But Qi Min didn’t want to continue pressing him in the hallway, so he took out his keys and opened the door: “Since you’re here, why not come in and sit? I happen to have something to ask you; let’s have a good chat.”
However, turning around, Zhang Dingwen looked even more surprised: “Y-You… you live here!?”
His words came out so fast that Qi Min was afraid he would bite his tongue.
