Grocery Store No.514

On February 25, 3021, in the interrogation room of the Criminal Investigation Team, Jiang Chengyan and Yao Min entered one after another.  After taking their seats, Jiang Chengyan looked at Sun Ting. Her expression was calm and neatly dressed. There was no fear or nervousness like the other suspects in the detention center.

Jiang Chengyan suddenly asked, “Sun Ting, did you sleep well last night?”

Sun Ting was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, “It’s good. I have said everything that was in my heart. I feel more relaxed, my heart is very calm, and I can sleep naturally.”

Jiang Chengyan nodded indifferently and said, “Where did Gao Ying work after she came to Huacheng? What hobbies does she usually have? Who does she have a good relationship with?”

Sun Ting tucked her hair and said, “Gao Ying is aloof. She is not good at socializing with people. After coming to Huacheng, she has never been able to find a suitable job because of her personality. It was Wang Ran and me who gave her money, and she usually does housework at home, so she has no friends. Wang Ran and I are the closest.”

“But you said yesterday that Gao Ying had the idea. She is the one who finds the master to invoke a ghost, and she who planned the murder. It doesn’t seem like a lonely person can do it.”

“To be honest with Captain Jiang, I’m surprised that Gao Ying can do this, but it was really what she did. Maybe Wang Ran’s death changed her. After all, her relationship with Wang Ran is better than mine.” Sun Ting answered slowly.

“Have you been to Wang Ran and Gao Ying’s residence?”

“I’ve been there, but rarely. Usually, they come to my house.”

“Has Gao Ying been living with you after Wang Ran’s death?”

“Yes, because we should be ready to switch according to her plan.”

“Where does she often go besides your house?”

“I don’t know about this. I usually have to go to work, and we don’t live together. Actually, I don’t know much about her.”

Jiang Chengyan nodded and said, “Okay, that’s it for today. If there are any problems, we will look for you again.”

Inside the conference room, Yao Min looked at Jiang Chengyan curiously and asked, “Captain, why do I feel that your attitude towards Sun Ting is slightly off?”

Jiang Chengyan opened his laptop, opened the surveillance video from yesterday’s taxi, pointed to the picture on it, and said, “Today I re-watched the surveillance video and found that something was wrong with the person in black clothes I chased yesterday. He is a man.”

Yao Min said in surprise, “there’s really an adam apple. So he is not Gao Ying, then Sun Ting… No, yesterday Sun Ting also seems to have not admitted that is Gao Ying.”

“When I asked her, she neither admitted nor denied. She gave us the illusion that it was Gao Ying.”

Liu Ran asked curiously, “Then why did she do that?”

“She gave us the illusion that Gao Ying had escaped diverting our attention.”

Li Tong added, “does that mean that Gao Ying is still in Huacheng, right under our noses?”

Jiang Chengyan nodded and said, “It’s possible. There is also another possibility. I don’t know if you guys have noticed, but all our information about Gao Ying comes from Sun Ting’s mouth.”

“In other words, if she lies, she will mislead our judgment.”

“So, if we want to know about Gao Ying, we must first understand Sun Ting. Don’t forget that they are identical twins. The only difference is their fingerprints. Whether it is Wang Ran and Gao Ying’s residence, or Gao Mingqiang’s rental house, we still haven’t found any fingerprints of Gao Ying, which is very strange.” Jiang Chengyan paused, then continued, “Now, I will assign the next task. Li Tong, Zhang Liang, you are responsible for checking the surveillance video of Sun Ting’s community to see if you can find the picture of the two of them appearing at the same time and also confirm the existence of Gao Ying.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Liu Ran, you and Wang Bin go to Bincheng. Revisit Sun Ting’s adoptive parents’ house and Gao Ying’s adoptive parents’ house to find out more about their life and hobbies. Also, find if other characteristics can quickly determine the two people besides their fingerprints.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Guo Hai and Chen Miao, you are responsible for visiting Sun Ting’s neighbors to see if you can find proof that the two appear at the same time.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Yao Min and me, go to Hailan to trade. Are the tasks clear?”

“Clear.”

“Then everyone, the meeting is dismissed.”

Translated by Cafe No. 20 – cafeno20.wordpress.com

***

Another three days have passed, Ling Hua’an’s wounds are healing well. Now, he can move around freely. He insisted that Yan Yu return home and only asked him to deliver lunch at noon. Initially, he disagreed, but then his phone rang. Ling Hua’an asked him what happened and only said that the company was recently busy with a contract. He doesn’t understand business matters, so he didn’t ask further.

Lu Hao hasn’t returned since he was taken away by Ling Ling that day, but he sends a voice message to Ling Hua’an every day. He said that Ling Ling watches him every day and doesn’t let him go out.

Although Ling Hua’an was not feeling good about it, he was not as sad as before.

.

.

To say where the heaviest Yin energy is, it has to be the hospital. Ghosts who have just died can be seen everywhere, even in the VIP ward where Ling Hua’an stayed. They basically die naturally, have no resentment on their bodies, and will soon be taken away by the underworld’s messenger.

Ling Hua’an was taking a nap when he suddenly felt a grievance approaching rapidly. He was suddenly alerted and hastily took out the Soul Regent Bell from under the pillow. He recited the incantation then the golden shield rose. The grievance collided with it, making a ‘Zhi Zhi’ sound.

Ling Hua’an sat up. In the center of the ward, a female ghost was standing there, her long black hair covering half of her face. Her face was pale with purple lips, and her scarlet eyes stared at Ling Hua’an blankly.

Ling Hua’an frowned slightly and asked bluntly, “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“Mr. Ling, I’m Gao Ying.” The ghost’s faint voice rang out.

“Gao Ying?” Ling Hua’an’s frown tightened, although he was blind, this voice was still familiar to him, and it was indeed the woman who tried to kill him that day. Ling Hua’an looked at Gao Ying carefully and asked, “Did you die of poisoning?”

“Yes, Sun Ting put potassium cyanide in my juice.” Gao Ying’s face flashed mixed emotions, but in the end, only resentment was in her scarlet eyes.

“Why did you come to see me?”

“I know you have psychic powers, so I wanted to ask you to help me.”

Ling Hua’an said in disbelief, “You have already harmed someone’s life. That’s why you recovered your memory so quickly. If you want to take revenge, just go directly to Sun Ting. Why do you want me to help you?”

“You can get revenge by killing her, but the truth will be buried forever. Although she is dead, her reputation is still good, but I have become a murderer.  I am not willing.” Gao Ying’s eyes became more and more scarlet as if tears of blood would flow out at any moment.

Ling Hua’an looked at Gao Ying lightly and said, “Why should I help you? You almost killed me before.”

 “I know you have a relationship with the captain of the criminal investigation team. You  also want to help him to solve the case, don’t you?” Gao Ying looked at Ling Hua’an with certainty.

“You are wrong about this. He has his work discipline, and I have my rules. Anyone who asks me for help must be paid enough. Otherwise, I will not interfere.”

Gao Ying was silent for a while and said, “I don’t have any money. When I came to Huacheng, Sun Ting asked me to be her stand-in.  Not only to go to work for her but also to take care of her diet and daily life while she just had to dress up and go on a date.”

“Why are you willing to be her substitute?” Ling Hua’an was very puzzled.

A complicated look appeared on Gao Ying’s face, and she said quietly, “Because she has something about me in her hand.”

“What is it?”

“I was adopted when I was five years old, and my adoptive father treated me so well that I almost thought he was my biological father. But because of this, my adoptive mother hated me so much. As long as he was not around, she would beat or scold me and threaten me not to tell my father. As the days went on, even if I kept it to myself, my adoptive father found out. He repeatedly warned my adoptive mother not to abuse me anymore, but instead of listening, she made it worse.”

Translated by Cafe No. 20 – cafeno20.wordpress.com

The emotions on Gao Ying’s face kept changing, obviously immersed in memories.

“I remember very clearly that when I was eight years old, my adoptive mother punched and kicked me because I broke a bowl until I fainted. If my adoptive father had not returned in time, I might have died at that point. He carried me to the hospital and stayed at my bedside. When I woke up from the coma, the first thing I saw was him, and I didn’t feel any pain from the wound back then.”

Ling Hua’an listened with a slight frown, looked at Gao Ying’s expression, and had a vague suspicion.

“Not long after I was discharged from the hospital, my adoptive father filed for divorce from my adoptive mother. She refused, but my adoptive father told the court that she had abused me. Then the divorce went smoothly. After then, it was only us in that small house.”

Ling Hua asked calmly, “are you in love with your adoptive father?”

Gao Ying took a deep breath and nodded frankly. Her eyes were a little sour, and this was the first time she had been honest about her feelings in front of others.

“I’m very dependent on him, and even have a strong possessiveness towards him. As long as someone of the opposite sex expresses a good impression of him, I will try my best to make them leave. I had fallen in love with him a long time ago.”

“Did you tell him?”

“Yes. On my 18th birthday, I confessed to him, but he thought I was fooling around and slowly started to distance himself from me. To discourage me from doing so, he went on blind dates, even going so far as to marry an older woman he’d only met twice.”

“Then? Did you drive that woman away?”

“Yes, I originally just wanted to pretend to be a ghost to scare her and make her leave. But I didn’t expect her to be so timid. She didn’t stand still and then fell to the ground. She knocked her head on the corner of the table and died at the scene. The blood flowed down the corner of the table and spread over the entire floor; her eyes looked straight. I…me, I …… I was so scared, I couldn’t move at all. Fortunately, he came in time. He still cared about me. I begged him not to call the police, and he helped me dispose of the body. I thought he loved me too, but our relationship has become more and more distant since then.”

“How did Sun Ting know about this?”

“When I was 23 years old, a woman who looked exactly like me approached me and said she was my sister. Because I was introverted and had almost no playmates, I suddenly had two sisters. Although I didn’t say it, I was thrilled. In the Winter of that year, he went out for a few days and did not return. I was very worried, and searched many places but did not find him, just when I was desperate, he came back. We had a fierce quarrel and accidentally mentioned that incident which was to be heard by Sun Ting, who came to find me.”

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