Chapter 158 The Music Box

Chapter 158 The Music Box

"Did they have any conflicts with people around here?"

"Or was there anyone who disliked them or held a grudge against them?"

Aunt Li replied, "Not that I can think of."

After thinking carefully, she confirmed, "No, definitely not. From what I remember, no one had issues with them. They both worked and were always busy—aside from a few neighbors on our floor, they rarely interacted with others in the building. They were good, polite people—never heard of anyone having issues with them."

Shen Qingye paused before asking, "What about their relationship with their families?"

"It was okay, I guess?" Aunt Li said. "Xiao Zhou’s parents came by a lot—clearly cared about her. Xiao Ge wasn’t local, so his folks hardly ever visited. But when Xiao Zhou got pregnant, his mom visited and was over the moon."

Hmm...

Shen Qingye nodded and said to Aunt Li, "Okay, that gives us a rough picture."

Meanwhile, Yue Lingchuan glanced around and asked, "Is it just you here?"

Aunt Li replied, "No, my husband lives here too. But he’s slammed at work these days—pulling overtime every night. If things pile up, he crashes at the company dorm."

Yue Lingchuan asked, "He didn’t come home yesterday either?"

Aunt Li shook her head. "No."

Yue Lingchuan studied her expression carefully, but finding nothing unusual, he withdrew his gaze.

"Did the couple next door have any close friends?"

Aunt Li said, "Xiao Ge kept to himself—didn’t have many people over. But Xiao Zhou had quite a few friends. A few girls her age would swing by sometimes."

"Got it." Yue Lingchuan pressed further, "Are you absolutely sure you didn’t hear any noises last night? Even something like knocking?"

Aunt Li replied, "Officer, why would I lie to you? I really didn’t hear anything."

She pointed toward the bedroom. "Our bedroom’s right next to theirs, so maybe some noise got through. But my room’s by Old Sun’s—I really wouldn’t have heard a thing."

They shared a look, clearly disappointed. Shen Qingye said, "Okay, we understand."

She stood up and added, "Thanks for your help. If anything else comes to mind, give us a call."

"Of course, of course." Aunt Li sighed and walked them to the door. "Even if we weren’t close, I’d want this solved fast."

Shen Qingye looked at her, and Aunt Li forced a bitter smile. "Truth is, this whole thing... it’s scary. If you don’t solve this fast, I don’t know if I can stay here..."

A random murder—and she’s the one who found them. Aunt Li still hadn’t recovered from the shock.

Shen Qingye said solemnly, "Don’t worry, we’re on it."

"That’s good, that’s good..." Aunt Li glanced to the side, her expression pained. "Such a shame..."

...

After leaving Aunt Li’s place, they ran into Wei Zhengyi and his partner in the hallway.

They had questioned the other households on the floor, but the answers were much the same as Aunt Li’s.

Zhou Qiming summarized, "Based on the information we have so far, Zhou Xiangyun and Ge Weiqing didn’t have any known enemies. Their marriage seemed stable, and there were no obvious red flags in their daily lives."

Wei Zhengyi also said, "It was quite late yesterday, around eleven o'clock. Everyone was already in bed, and no one heard any commotion outside."

For now, this lead is a dead end.

The group collectively heaved a heavy sigh before turning back to the crime scene.

Xu Yanting from the Trace Examination Unit was leading his team in examining the scene. When he saw them, he stood up and said with a grave expression, "There was a cup near the victim, located in the threshold area between the living room and the kitchen. There was also a spill of water on the floor. Our preliminary assessment suggests that she was stabbed straight through the chest by the assailant the moment she turned around after pouring water in the kitchen."

"I've already arranged for the cup to be sent for testing, but the chances of extracting any useful information about the perpetrator from it are slim."

Yue Lingchuan asked, "What about the rest of the house? Did you find anything useful?"

Xu Yanting shook his head, "We haven't located the murder weapon yet—it was probably taken away by the killer. I've also instructed further examination of the sofa, table, even the door to see if we can find any relevant fingerprints."

But since the killer dared to commit such a brazen act, they must have prepared in advance, meaning they would've covered their tracks.

Shen Qingye's brow furrowed deeply.

The body had already been taken away by the Forensic Team, leaving only a white outline as a marker.

She scanned the room, feigning nonchalance as she walked around as if searching for clues, but in reality, her gaze was fixed on the various decorations in the house.

Coffee table, chairs, sofa...

The apartment was a two-bedroom unit with a spacious living room. The sofa faced the TV, which was encased by a cabinet surrounding the television.

The cabinet was divided into small compartments, each holding different knickknacks and everyday items. Shen Qingye's gaze swept across all the compartments before finally settling on one at chest height.

Inside was an exquisitely beautiful music box.

A thought struck her—it was her.

She glanced sideways, seeing Yue Lingchuan and the others still discussing the case with Xu Yanting. Feeling reassured for the moment, Shen Qingye lowered her gaze to the music box and asked softly, "What did you see?"

The music box remained silent for a beat. Shen Qingye wasn’t impatient and asked again, "Don't you want justice for your owner?"

"What did you see?"

After another pause, a timid, girlish voice finally sounded in her ear, "Y-you... you're talking to me?"

Shen Qingye replied, "Yes."

The voice instantly became excited, "You can hear me? You can really hear me?"

"Waaah—"

The music box suddenly burst into uncontrollable sobs, not stopping to question how Shen Qingye could hear it. All its emotions erupted at once, "Yunyun died so brutally, she died so brutally! That woman's a monster—Yunyun was so kind, why would she do this? Why?"

After listening to its tearful, jumbled account, Shen Qingye calmly asked, "So you saw it, didn’t you?"

"I saw it, I saw it!" The music box’s voice trembled with sobs. "I saw everything!"

"Then tell me everything you saw, from beginning to end, okay?" Shen Qingye gently touched the music box, her voice low and soothing. "Right now, only you know who really killed Zhou Xiangyun."

The music box seemed to collect itself, and after a long pause, finally calmed down. "I don’t really know what happened either. I just remember that Yunyun was in bed by nine."

"But then, a little after ten, her phone suddenly rang, and she answered it. I was in the living room, so I couldn’t make out her words. All I know is that half an hour later, the phone rang again. Yunyun heard it and came out of the bedroom to open the door."

"Standing outside was a woman who looked to be Yunyun's age. Yunyun asked why she hadn’t knocked, and the woman said it was so late that she didn't want to wake anyone."

"Yunyun didn't give it a second thought and let her in."