"I didn't really know them," Huang Jinghe said. "If you had to say we had any interaction at all, it'd be yesterday morning when we were lining up for supplies. That woman was standing ahead of me and Sister Lan. Sister Lan is the older girl from the 32nd floor. While we were waiting, the woman kept asking about whether our families had food, and what we'd been eating lately."
"Sister Lan was really cautious," he continued. "She told her we didn't have any food. But after we went back upstairs, Sister Lan was still worried. She told me that if anyone knocked asking to borrow food, I shouldn't open the door. She said things were different now, and even if we had food, we had to keep it for ourselves. No point feeding others just to starve ourselves. I thought she was joking. But who knew, that same afternoon the woman came to my door—with the man."
One of the officers asked, "If you didn't open the door, how do you know it was them?"
Huang Jinghe pointed at the peephole. "I looked through that. We all live in the same building, so I'd seen them before in the elevator. I didn't know their names, but I knew their faces. That guy has a mole on his face. You can't miss it."
The officer nodded. "So you remembered what Sister Lan said and didn't open the door. Then what? They just left?"
"Not right away," Huang Jinghe explained. "They stood outside cursing for a while, said they'd come back next time. Then they left. But after they left, they went downstairs. That's when Sister Lan opened her door."
"Wait," one officer said, frowning. "Sister Lan told you not to open your door, but she opened hers?"
"I asked her about that," Huang Jinghe said, pulling out his phone. "She told me those two knocked very politely, and it felt wrong for both of us to just ignore them. But after she opened the door and they said nothing, she slammed it shut."
He handed over the chat history. The officers scrolled through everything from yesterday to today, reading all the exchanges—including the message where Lan Jin told him to tell the truth. Huang Jinghe remembered he had said some things that maybe didn't sound great, and when one of the officers looked up at him, he gave a sheepish smile.
Embarrassed or not, he had at least provided them with new leads and helpful information.
"So how long have you known Sister Lan?" one of them asked. "You two don't even live on the same floor, but you seem pretty close."
Huang Jinghe scratched his head. "Not long. We met during the lockdown, when the community asked us to seal up our windows. We happened to be sealing the stairwell windows at the same time. After that, when we were leaving, I got worried she might not have enough food, so I asked. She didn't take anything, though. I told my mom about it, and she said I was just being kind. She figured Sister Lan was giving me advice because I'm young."
"Anything else you want to tell us?"
Huang Jinghe shook his head. "No, that's all."
With the statement complete, the group moved on.
Unit 3202, Lan Jin's apartment.
Just like before, the community staff knocked first. After checking their credentials, Lan Jin let them in.
But as soon as the strangers stepped inside, Nana, the little guard dog, growled low and bared her teeth. Her stance was stiff, eyes locked on the unfamiliar faces. One bark and she looked ready to charge. If anyone moved wrong, she'd likely start barking her head off.
Lan Jin chuckled. "Nana, they're not bad people. No need to be so tense."
At the sound of her voice, Nana turned toward her. With another quiet confirmation from Lan Jin, the pup relaxed a little and stepped aside, settling at Qiao Qiao's feet. Even at just three months old, the protective instinct of a guard dog was clear as day.
The officers glanced down at the puppy, clearly impressed. "He's still really young, isn't he? But so alert."
"Yeah, he's only three months old. But Rottweilers are natural guard dogs. Guess it just comes with the breed."
Still, they weren't here to talk about dogs.
After inviting them to sit on the couch, Lan Jin asked, "So, what brings you here?"
"You saw the group chat, right? We're here about that. Do you recognize these two?"
The officer placed a photo of the deceased man and woman in front of her. Their skin was swollen and peeling from a night in the poisonous fog, the sight unsettling. But their faces were still recognizable.
Lan Jin nodded. "I know them. They came yesterday asking to borrow food. Funny, huh? We had just gotten supplies in the morning, and by the afternoon they were already out trying to borrow more."
The officers asked a few more questions. Lan Jin didn't hide anything. She told them everything—except the part where she had physically pushed the man away. That part stayed secret.
While questioning her, the officers also looked around the apartment. One of them asked curiously, "You have a child at home, but no surveillance? That's just unusual. We've visited a few places with kids, and all of them had cameras."
"I was planning to install some," Lan Jin said. "But we only moved in after the new year. It's been just two months. And we've been locked inside for half of that. A lot of stores were still closed because of the holiday. Time just slipped by, and I haven't gotten around to it yet."
"Why are you living here alone with your child? Where's the father?"
"I divorced my ex-husband back in January. He cheated on me—with a coworker. I used to live across the street. But after the divorce, he rented a place with the mistress right across from my building. Just seeing them every day made me sick, so I moved here.
This place was already renovated, but it had been empty for about a year. The air had already cleared of formaldehyde, so I figured it'd be safer for a child. It's close to where I lived before, just in a different complex."
The group understood. It didn't seem connected to the case, so they didn't press further.
"There's one thing we're curious about," one officer said. "Why did you warn Huang Jinghe not to open his door?"
Lan Jin smiled faintly. "That boy tried to bring me food twice. I didn't take it, but he's clearly kind-hearted. What if someone tricked him? He's young, and his parents aren't around. I didn't do much, just gave him a heads-up.
If nothing happened, then great. But if something did, at least he'd be careful. We're all stuck in the same building. Food's limited. I'm not saying everyone's bad, but it only takes one or two people to make trouble. Someone even tried to pick my lock last night."