The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 254 Watermelon Red

In the sweltering heat of midsummer, the humidity was so high that the fog on the car windows just wouldn't clear. The clothing wholesale market of yesteryear was long gone, demolished and rebuilt into a commercial complex. If that clothing market still existed, it would be nothing more than the dilapidated scene of the old market next to the Aegean Bookstore in Baicheng.

With the rise of online shopping, most of the people who used to run clothing businesses here have changed careers. Now, only a few shops along the street next to the mall have moved out of the old market and continue to do small business.

“When I contacted those old merchants by phone before, this guy named Zhao Hongda was different from the others. He immediately asked if Li Yang'er was dead. I told him that it couldn't be confirmed yet, but he said very confidently that he knew something had happened to Li Yang'er. But he wouldn't say how he knew,” Wu Shanqiu said while looking for the house number. “Later I checked and found that he still runs a clothing store near the old market. It seems like I have to come and ask him in person. I don't know if I can get any valuable clues.”

As they were talking, she led Qi Fei and the others to a small doorway. A plastic mannequin with missing limbs was hastily hanging on the doorway, displaying women's clothing in the style of middle-aged and elderly women. A bald old man lay in the corner, playing a short video on his phone, without getting up. He casually asked, "What do you want to buy?"

Wu Shanqiu walked up to him and showed her identification: "Hello, police officer, we're looking for Zhao Hongda."

The recliner creaked as the man sat up, took off his reading glasses, and his relaxed demeanor vanished. He looked anxiously at the people who had appeared in the shop: "I am Zhao Hongda." Then, without much effort, he realized, "You're here to ask about Zhao Yang'er?"

“I was the one who inquired about the situation on the phone that day. You seem to know that Zhao Yang’er is dead. Can you tell us what you know?” Wu Shanqiu said bluntly.

Zhao Hongda forced a stiff smile: "Hey, about this, I was just saying it casually. I told you the other day that it was nothing, you didn't need to come all this way in this heat."

“We contacted other people in the market to find out what happened. Everyone who knew Li Yang’er except you thought she had gone abroad. Only you thought she was dead. You need to explain that to us.” Qi Fei’s tone was much harsher than Wu Shanqiu’s because he was anxious.

Zhao Hongda's eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "Is Li Yang'er really dead?"

“We’re from the Nancheng Criminal Investigation Brigade, what do you think?” Qi Fei retorted.

After hearing this, Zhao Hongda took a deep breath and muttered, "I knew she was being targeted. This woman is too bold..."

"Who's been watching us?" Qi Fei asked hastily, it seemed that Zhao Hongda had finally given in.

Zhao Hongda glanced at him and muttered, "It's been almost thirty years. I'm telling you, you shouldn't get arrested, right?"

Qi Fei and Wu Shanqiu exchanged glances, then pulled out their notebooks: "How is Li Yang'er's death related to you?"

Zhao Hongda vehemently denied it: "I didn't do anything! I just..." He lowered his head in shame as he spoke, "I had a bit of a crush on her back then, and I went back to the hotel with her..." His voice noticeably softened as he said the last few words.

"Huh? You two stayed at a hotel together?" Wu Shanqiu asked in surprise.

“No, no, I did ‘follow’ her…” He emphasized the word “follow”.

Wu Shanqiu suddenly realized: "Oh, so you followed Li Yang'er?"

"Ahem, yes, it's not illegal, is it? Back then, I was a hot-blooded young man. Li Yang'er was in foreign trade and dressed very fashionably. She liked to wear men's clothes, and the more androgynous she dressed, the more fascinated I became. Later, I couldn't resist and secretly followed her several times. I didn't have any bad intentions, so please don't misunderstand!" Li Hongda hurriedly tried to clear his name.

"Looks like you know you're not the only one eyeing Li Yang'er?" Wu Shanqiu said. "Yes, she stayed in Nancheng for several days that time. I knew which hotel she stayed at, and I even knew which room she was in..." He said, glancing at the expressions of the others from time to time, looking guilty. "The last time I followed Li Yang'er was the night she was following me. Li Yang'er is very disciplined with her schedule; she meets clients at roughly the same time every day, and she eats at roughly the same time every day."

I just wanted to stake out near her room and see what she looked like when she came home at night… I know this sounds creepy… but I swear I only secretly watched her, I didn’t do anything!”

“We’re not interested in your quirks. I just want to know how you found out that someone else was watching her?” Qi Fei said coldly.

"Because I happened to see someone sneak into her room that day."

There was a woman in the hallway, lingering near Li Yang'er's door. I thought she was one of Li Yang'er's friends, and afraid of being discovered, I quickly hid around the corner. A while later, when the cleaning lady opened the door, she followed her inside.

I still remember that the woman just walked in naturally, as if she lived in the room.

Sure enough, the cleaning staff didn't suspect anything, finished cleaning, and left.

At first, I believed it; I thought it was Li Yang'er who arranged to meet this woman at the hotel.

However, when I followed her before, Li Yang'er always went alone after finishing her business deals and never met with friends in private, which made me a little suspicious.

A short while later, the woman came out of Li Yang'er's room and didn't reappear until Li Yang'er returned.

"Such an important discovery, and you didn't tell Li Yang'er?!" Wu Shanqiu asked incredulously.

Zhao Hongda scratched his thinning hair: "If I told her, wouldn't that just expose the fact that I was following her? That woman might have just gone to the wrong room, and I could really be arrested as a hooligan!"

"Do you remember what that woman looked like?" Qi Fei asked, frowning.

Zhao Hongda looked up at the flickering fluorescent lights, his distant memories seemingly hard to recall: "If you're talking about her appearance, I really can't say. In my memory, she was a pretty, fair-skinned woman, about the same height as Li Yang'er, wearing a reddish sweater."

"A red sweater? What kind of red?" Qi Fei was inexplicably interested in this detail.

"Oh, we in the clothing industry call this kind of red watermelon red."

Qi Fei didn't ask any more questions. He only remembered that his mother, Xi Ziyun, had a sweater of the same color.

"Just because someone is watching her doesn't mean we can conclude that Li Yang'er is dead, does it?" Zhong Kui, who hadn't spoken the whole way, suddenly spoke up, her question sharp.

“Because… they all say Li Yang’er went abroad, but only I know she didn’t.” Zhao Hongda’s eyes darted around, but his tone was very certain. “Li Yang’er is a shrewd and capable woman. She has already paid deposits for several of our orders. There’s no way she wouldn’t come back to pick up the goods.”

"How do you know she didn't go abroad?" Zhong Kui immediately pressed.