Chapter 2203: Love Trapped in the Fate Cycle 02

In the sixth-floor corridor, the incandescent bulb emitted a faint buzzing, the light harsh white and glaring.

Shao Huai stood at the stairwell entrance, looked up at the tube, frowned and said, "Hey, the lights upstairs aren't voice-activated, are they?"

Xie Guan was observing the stairwell's trash can, without looking up he replied, "The first to third floors have voice-activated lights; from the fourth floor up they're all these incandescent bulbs—the property management just can't be bothered to change them."

He lifted the trash can lid, and a stench of rot hit him in the face.

Shao Huai instinctively covered his nose, but Jin Chen had already moved in, squinting to examine what was inside.

At the bottom of the trash can lay a curled-up corpse, a savage stab wound on the chest, the bloodstain already congealed into dark brown.

The corpse's hands hung at its sides, with no signs of struggle, as if it had been killed in one blow while completely defenseless.

Jin Chen crouched, examined the wound closely, his brow slightly furrowed: "Last night I couldn't see clearly and thought the killer used a dagger, but now it looks more like a blunt instrument."

He traced the shape of the wound with his finger in the air.

"And it would take considerable force to thrust it in."

Xie Guan stood beside him, staring at the corpse's face, voice calm: "The maintenance worker from Room 607—I don't know his name, he often carries a toolbox."

His voice rang especially clear in the empty corridor, carrying a hint of chill.

Shao Huai glanced at him again.

Jin Chen suddenly lifted his head, curled his lips at Xie Guan, and said, "Are you scared?"

Xie Guan lowered his head to tidy his cuffs; hearing that, he lifted his eyes to look at him, his gaze dark and lingering.

"Aren't you afraid I might be the killer?" His voice was low, tinged with a faint mockery.

Shao Huai fell silent for a moment, instinctively wanting to retort, but the words died on his lips.

Indeed, Xie Guan's suspicion could not be completely ruled out; he could only prove to Jin Chen that he wasn't the killer.

Jin Chen, however, burst out laughing, his tone teasing: "Scared—what should we do, Xie Guan-gege, let me off?"

Shao Huai:???

He stared at Jin Chen with a bewildered face, obviously unable to keep up with this bizarre conversational rhythm.

Xie Guan: "……"

He gave Jin Chen a cold glance, his voice undisguisedly contemptuous.

"In your past life you must have died from being annoyingly flirtatious."

Jin Chen shrugged indifferently, stood up, and brushed off the dust on his pants.

"That's not certain—maybe I died from being too handsome."

Shao Huai decided to look for clues at the scene.

At the end of the corridor, the anti-theft door was ajar by a slim gap, its chain glinting coldly in the dim light.

Xie Guan glanced sideways and met the pair of timid eyes in the crack; the girl immediately shrank back, a faint sound of fearful crying drifting out.

"Don't scare the little kid." Jin Chen pressed his hand on Xie Guan's shoulder, his breath blowing cool mint-scented air behind Xie Guan's ear as he lowered his voice to ask.

"Room 603… does this household have any connection to the victim?"

Xie Guan stepped back two steps, expressionless, frowned, and said, "Probably not."

But other things are clearly not appropriate to discuss here.

"Holy shit, someone's coming." Shao Huai actually found a few tools in the corridor—similar to wrenches—wrapped them in his jacket, hid them on the upstairs stairs, and hurriedly warned.

Heavy, shuffling footsteps came from downstairs.

"It's Old Man Chen." Xie Guan quickly whispered, recalling: "He lives… on the fourth floor, sort of a half-time cleaner."

Jin Chen hummed in acknowledgment and unintentionally stepped half a pace forward.

Chen Bo shuffled up the stairs, still holding a bunch of keys that jingled loudly in the quiet corridor.

He saw the corpse on the ground, his brow didn't even twitch, his tone calm as if such sights were ordinary.

"Have you called the police?"

Shao Huai froze, not expecting that reaction, and instinctively shook his head: "No signal, can't get through."

"Yeah, the signal often drops here."

Chen Bo nodded, sighed again, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Then let me first tidy up the corpse."

Shao Huai's eyes widened; he almost dropped his phone to the ground.

So calm!

He turned his head to look at Jin Chen, lowered his voice, and said, "I think we two brothers have been set up."

Jin Chen was leaning against the stairwell, his fingers playing with a coin inside his windbreaker pocket; hearing that, he raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze to Xie Guan.

"I think we three brothers have been set up."

Xie Guan: "……"

"I'm not really keen on joining in, thanks."

Chen Bo's gaze swept over the three of them, finally resting on Jin Chen and Shao Huai, his tone probing.

"These two youths are unfamiliar faces—what are you…?"

Just as Shao Huai was about to speak, Jin Chen smiled and interjected, "We're both college students, with a side gig in boxing and sanda."

After saying that, he deliberately slapped Shao Huai on the shoulder hard enough to almost knock him off balance.

Shao Huai quickly nodded, "Yeah, I live nearby because it's close to the boxing gym, makes things convenient."

Chen Bo's gaze fell again on Jin Chen, carrying a hint of scrutiny.

Jin Chen remained unhurried, reached out, and directly placed his hand on Xie Guan's shoulder, his tone light and airy.

"Just visiting relatives."

Xie Guan stayed silent for two seconds, then shrugged his shoulder and shook off Jin Chen's hand.

"No, I don't know him; I suspect he's the killer."

Chen Bo was stunned, "... ah?"

Jin Chen wasn't annoyed either, took out a photo from his wallet and handed it to Chen Bo, saying, "Look, it's really a family visit."

The photo shows Jin Chen, Shao Huai, and Xie Guan together; the background is a school playground.

Xie Guan and Shao Huai's expressions simultaneously became complex, especially Xie Guan, whose eyes hinted at something subtle and impatient.

Jin Chen, however, acted as if he hadn't noticed, continuing with his chatter: "Xiao Guan and I had an argument; well, I'm just trying to smooth things over."

Chen Bo: "......"

Shao Huai couldn't help but interject, "Chenzi, I think you've been given a—"

Xie Guan frowned, turned to Shao Huai: "Given what?"

Shao Huai scratched his head, at a loss for words: "Give... give money!"

After saying that, he directly pulled two hundred yuan from Jin Chen's wallet and stuffed it into Xie Guan's hand: "The oden and instant noodles earlier are on me. Brothers settle accounts clearly!"

Xie Guan glanced down at the money in his hand, smoothly pocketed it, and told Chen Bo: "They are people I used to know... they live on the third floor."

Chen Bo's face was a bit numb.

He didn't seem particularly interested in whether the young guys knew each other, but he was forced to listen to it all.

Chen Bo stuffed the corpse back into the trash can, intending to take it away.

Jin Chen had already squatted beside the corpse; his movements seemed casual, yet he precisely observed the last details.

"Let us lend you a hand with this work, college students that we are—we just love to help others."

Shao Huai brushed off the dust on his hands, gave an innocent smile: "Yeah, Chen Bo, you see this corpse is pretty heavy; we young folks have lots of strength, let us help you carry it down."

As he said that, he had already reached out to support the corpse's shoulder, but forgot to disguise himself; his movements of carrying a person were somewhat practiced.

Chen Bo's eyes flickered; his cloudy gaze lingered on Shao Huai's face for a few seconds, then he nodded: "Then I'll trouble you."

His voice was hoarse, as if rubbed with sandpaper, carrying an indescribable chill.

Jin Chen still wore that nonchalant smile at the corner of his mouth, observing Chen Bo's method of handling the corpse, then suddenly said: "Chen Bo, your technique looks just like on TV—quite professional!"

"I once spent three months with a corpse-recovery team during a flood." Chen Bo answered without thinking.

Chen Bo's attitude was unusually firm; he simply wouldn't let them touch it, moved the entire corpse into the trash can and pushed it downstairs.

The bloody smell in the hallway grew stronger, mixed with the dampness brought by the downpour; the air was filled with a nauseatingly sweet stench.