She did compensate her with a phone—but now Meng Ying was left without one herself. To make matters worse, it had been a brand-new phone. Her heart ached just thinking about it.
But no one else cared. If she hadn't thrown it in the first place, she wouldn't be stuck without a phone now.
Still, not having a phone wasn't an option. She needed to keep up with the group chat and stay in contact with the outside world.
While she was pacing in frustration, a man from a neighboring unit knocked on her door and said, "I've got an old phone I just replaced. It's still usable, just low on storage and the battery doesn't last. I'll trade it for two packs of instant noodles. Interested?"
Meng Ying didn't want it. But she had no choice. Her pockets were empty, not even an old backup phone to fall back on. Gritting her teeth, she handed over two packs of noodles in exchange for the phone.
Even though the phone was outdated, it still had all the basic functions. Unfortunately, the man hadn't exaggerated about the battery. It really was awful. The phone barely held a charge for two hours even when idle. While in use, it could shut off at any moment. She had just finished charging it fully, scrolled through the group chat for less than thirty minutes, and it powered off by itself.
Meng Ying rolled her eyes so hard they nearly got stuck. Still, a bad phone was better than none at all. She took a deep breath and forced herself to swallow her anger. Once the stores reopened, this trashy phone would be the first thing she'd replace.
That is, if she even got the chance. It all depended on whether she could come up with anything to trade. For now, buying a new one was out of the question.
Because the address Meng Ying received was so far away and she had no transportation, it was impossible for her to get there. After discussing it with Ren's mother, they decided the only option was to report it to the police.
Since Ren Xing had gone missing in their area, Meng Ying had to go and file the report herself. And somehow, this ended up tying back to Lan Jin.
Although Lan Jin and Meng Ying lived in different neighborhoods, both neighborhoods fell under the same police precinct. So, when the officers heard Lan Jin's name, every single one of them paused what they were doing. It was one of those names that stood out. The surname Lan was rare to begin with, and there had already been two suspicious deaths connected to Building 12—both vaguely related to Lan Jin.
So when Meng Ying mentioned her name, the officers didn't just take note. They got serious.
After recording Meng Ying's statement, they told her, "Alright. We'll go check it out. You head home and wait for further news."
With no choice, Meng Ying went back. Not long after, the officers knocked on Lan Jin's door.
When the front door opened and she saw the familiar faces, Lan Jin was a little surprised. She opened the door wider and asked, "Officers, hello. You're here again. Is there something I need to assist with?"
From her calm and composed demeanor, the officers couldn't detect anything suspicious at all.
After they sat down on the couch, one of them said casually, "Just here for a follow-up. Also wanted to ask if you know someone named Ren Xing?"
Lan Jin was in the middle of pouring water for them. Earlier, during the water and power restrictions, she hadn't served anything, but now that things were back to normal, not offering even a glass of water would seem impolite.
Seeing her busying around, the officers quickly said, "You really don't need to go to the trouble. We won't stay long."
Lan Jin had taken the water straight from the fridge. She brought it over and set it down as she replied, "I do know him. He's my ex-husband. But how do you know about Ren Xing? I don't recall mentioning his name before."
Then she paused, as if suddenly remembering something. "Ah, actually, my former mother-in-law called me yesterday, asking if Ren Xing had come to see me. Is something wrong with him? Don't tell me she couldn't reach him and now thinks I'm hiding him. He's a grown man. Where would I even hide him?"
The officers didn't respond directly. Instead, they continued, "So, has Ren Xing come to see you recently?"
"No. And when I moved, I didn't tell him where I was going. How would he find me? I've blocked both him and that mistress of his on everything. They can't even call me." Lan Jin had mentioned her situation with Ren Xing to the police before. They'd even felt sympathy for her back then, so when she brought it up now, the officers remembered.
Her ex-husband had deliberately rented the unit across from hers and moved in with his mistress. Anyone in that situation would've quietly moved away. Who would voluntarily leave behind an address for those two?
One of the officers thought for a moment and asked, "Do either of them know the address of this apartment?"
Lan Jin answered, "Ren Xing definitely does. I bought this place, but I was working full time then, so he supervised the renovation. After it was finished, I even asked him to help rent it out. But because the location was weird, no one wanted it, so we gave up. Whether he told Meng Ying or not, I honestly don't know."
When Meng Ying had filed the report, she had listed three different addresses tied to her or Ren Xing, but this one wasn't among them. It seemed she really didn't know about it.
But just because Lan Jin said Ren Xing hadn't come over, didn't mean anyone could prove it.
The officers remembered Lan Jin had a child. "Don't keep the kid shut in a room. Let her come out. Being alone like that, she might be scared."
Lan Jin nearly twitched at the corners of her mouth. The last time the officers came to take her statement, she'd also kept Ren Siqiao in her room, and not one of them had said anything about the child possibly being frightened. Now, they were clearly just trying to talk to her.
But Ren Siqiao had always been tight-lipped. She wouldn't say anything she wasn't supposed to. So Lan Jin went to bring her out.
When Ren Siqiao came out, she looked a little confused, but she was never shy with strangers. As soon as she saw the familiar-unfamiliar officers, she cheerfully greeted them, "Hello, Brother, Sister!"
"Hello, little one," one officer replied. Then, glancing at Lan Jin, he crouched slightly and asked her, "Qiao Qiao, you live with Mama, right? Do you miss your dad?"
Qiao Qiao blinked, looked at Lan Jin, then replied, "No."
"Why not? He's your daddy. Have you seen him lately?"
Qiao Qiao raised her head, glanced at the officer, then shook her head. "No. Daddy hit me. I don't like her. Auntie don't like her too. Auntie scold me."
The officers straightened up, taking her words seriously. One of them asked, "Qiao Qiao, just to be clear, you mean you haven't seen your daddy recently, right?"