(2) Hiding

After being brought to the police station, He Qing seemed to feel very unlucky.

She kept a gloomy expression the entire time, even when facing Tao Jiang.

After being questioned for an hour, He Qing didn’t admit to anything and instead cursed Zhang Yingming, saying, “He causes trouble even when alive, and even in death, he won’t rest. If you’re going to die, die far away, dead man.”

Unfortunately, the people she had hired had already served their sentences, and there was no evidence to arrest her, so they could only release He Qing for now.

Zhou Jianguo’s attitude was better than He Qing’s, but he also denied having any intention to kill Zhang Yingming. He even said that, if he were to kill Zhang Yingming, he would never involve Fang Qinghua.

The deceased’s relationships were too complicated, making the investigation more difficult.

At seven o’clock in the evening, Tao Jiang allowed some of the team to go home.

Although Shen Wanwan really wanted to stay and keep working, she had not had a good night’s sleep in several days and was suffering from a headache due to exhaustion, so she decided to leave work.

Xiang Dong, as usual, put in extra effort and worked with great enthusiasm.

Even Tao Jiang praised him, saying, “Good energy.”

Zou Guodong commented, “Xiang Dong is a good kid. When he worked with me monitoring Yang Chunling for those two days, he never complained. He was much more energetic than me, and his mind worked quickly.”

The others chimed in with a few words.

Xiang Dong smiled humbly, feeling quite pleased.

When he turned his head, he saw Shen Wanwan, who had decided to go home, and he didn’t find her as unpleasant as before. He kindly reminded her, “We just got here, we should work more.”

Shen Wanwan yawned. “I’m really too tired today.”

Feeling exhausted, she was going to go home and rest, which made Xiang Dong stand even straighter.

Shen Wanwan was tired—weren’t the others tired too? He wasn’t just focused on himself.

Xiang Dong said, “With everyone praising me like this, I feel a bit embarrassed.”

“It’s deserved,” Shen Wanwan said nonchalantly. “I also think you’ve worked hard. Isn’t it only right to be praised? Anyway, I’m really tired. I’m heading home to eat and sleep.”

Xiang Dong: “…”

Wasn’t she going to compare with him??

The Shen family’s home was far away, and Shen Wanwan had been out in the wind for too long, which made her a bit more awake.

When she got home, Lin Yuying came out to heat up her food. Shen Wanwan repeatedly declined, but couldn’t resist her mother’s enthusiasm.

This was probably the reason the original owner couldn’t leave the Shen family—no matter what, they loved the original owner.

Shen Wanwan thought for a while and then tentatively asked, “Mom, do we have a lot of savings?”

Lin Yuying brought in the egg custard and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Hearing Shen Wanwan’s question, she nervously asked, “Is something wrong? Do you need money?”

“No, I… I have a classmate whose family runs a shop. Her parents work together selling noodles, and their business is really good. You’re so good at cooking, if you opened a shop, you’d definitely make money.”

Lin Yuying sighed in relief, put the dishes down, wiped her hands with her apron, and sat down next to Shen Wanwan. “That’s something only capable people can do. We don’t have that ability.”

The answer was what Shen Wanwan had expected.

She didn’t have money, and she couldn’t really let her parents invest their savings into something with uncertain returns, so she didn’t push further.

Lin Yuying took her words as a small conversation, and with a bright smile, she began chatting with Shen Wanwan about everyday life. “Your younger brother is probably really scared. These past two days, he’s been doing his homework as soon as he gets home, saying he’s about to have an exam. He wants to be in the middle of his class. If he can keep it up, it’ll be good.”

Shen Wanwan wasn’t sure if Shen Zhuo was really scared or just acting on impulse. “Let’s see how long he can stick with it. If he’s really willing to study, I’d be happy to teach him when I have time.”

Hearing this, Lin Yuying finally relaxed. “I told you, you two are siblings, and you should support and help each other. You…”

Shen Wanwan looked at Lin Yuying, her expression calm. “Mom, I have no problem with helping each other, as long as it’s not just me helping him alone.”

Lin Yuying froze for a moment.

Shen Wanwan didn’t say anything else, yet it felt like she had said everything.

She murmured, “Everyone goes through this…”

Lin Yuying had more siblings than Shen Wanwan—an older sister and three younger brothers.

Her family was poor, and her brothers didn’t have decent jobs, making it difficult for them to find wives. The three younger brothers were able to marry only because of the dowries from Lin Yuying and her sister, and as the older sister, Lin Yuying had to take care of her brothers.

That’s how each generation lived.

Shen Wanwan asked Lin Yuying one question, “What have the uncles given you over the years?”

Lin Yuying froze again.

Their lives were just as tough as Lin Yuying’s, so what could they have given her?

Shen Wanwan had finished eating and stood up, carrying her dishes to the kitchen. “That’s not mutual help, that’s one-sided poverty alleviation.”

—

At nine o’clock in the evening, Shen Wanwan cleaned up the kitchen and tidied her room.

She climbed into bed early, both worried that she might have another strange experience that would disrupt her sleep and hoping to hear new clues from the suspects. She felt very conflicted.

But despite the conflict, Shen Wanwan was exhausted after several days of work, and as soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep within minutes.

When she woke up, Shen Wanwan opened her eyes and saw a sea of white.

It wasn’t completely white, it had a grayish tint and was uneven.

Shen Wanwan felt dizzy and stared at the scene in confusion for a while before she heard voices coming from below.

…Below.

Shen Wanwan looked down.

The enormous He Qing was sitting on the sofa, with two bottles of foreign liquor placed on the coffee table. However, He Qing was holding a large cup meant for white wine.

Two young men stood beside her, their hands behind their backs, showing great respect towards He Qing.

He Qing was lecturing them. “The situation is tense lately. I’ve already told you to keep a close eye on the people. How are you handling things, and yet you still managed to lose one?!”

The two men, likely He Qing’s subordinates, didn’t dare to speak.

Shen Wanwan tried to understand what He Qing was saying, but as soon as her mind moved, her head began to spin.

Not only was her head spinning, but her whole body felt uncomfortable, especially her legs, which were sore and numb.

She lifted one leg and shook it.

Then she lifted the other leg and shook it.

Then again, she lifted another leg and shook it.

And then another…

Wait, where did all these legs come from?!

It was then that Shen Wanwan noticed she was covered in darkness.

Dark, with many legs, and she was on the ceiling.

Shen Wanwan almost fainted. She had turned into a spider?!

In her hometown, spiders were called “^[1]“喜蛛蛛” (xǐ zhū zhū) is a colloquial or folk term used in some parts of China. 喜 (xǐ) = happiness, good fortune 蛛蛛 (zhū zhū) = a cutesy or affectionate way to say “spider” … Continue readingxi zhuzhu” (喜蛛蛛), not referring to the species but as a good omen, because when a spider entered the house, it was considered a good sign, so Shen Wanwan would release spiders back outside.

But that didn’t mean she wanted to become one!

Was she supposed to cling to the ceiling tonight and not even rest?

Shen Wanwan wanted to get down.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her body instinctively let out some threads and slowly descended.

She could come down!

Shen Wanwan didn’t have time to feel happy before she saw He Qing beside her.

He Qing looked terrible. “Where did this spider come from?”

The young man quickly said, “I’ll handle it, I’ll handle it.”

Shen Wanwan: “……”

She quickly climbed back up.

Although clinging to the ceiling was uncomfortable, it was a matter of survival.

He Qing was clearly not in the mood to deal with the spider, and her lecture continued. “I was called in for questioning by the police today. Although it wasn’t about this matter, they’ll definitely be keeping an eye on me in the coming days. I can’t show myself. You must catch the one who escaped. Also, the others must be watched closely. If another one runs, I’ll skin you alive. Understand?”

Shen Wanwan’s small brain started working.

Had He Qing kidnapped a few people and asked her subordinates to keep an eye on them?

What was she planning to do with these people?

He Qing quickly cleared up Shen Wanwan’s confusion. “The girl who ran away has a boss who likes her, and she’s being sent over next week. You need to find her quickly. Also, Jinling Community is too crowded and noticeable, so I rented a warehouse in the suburbs. There’s no one living nearby. From now on, keep people there.”

Shen Wanwan quickly sorted out the key information—Jinling Community, human trafficking.

If it’s a boss who likes her, more accurately, it should be forced selling/abuse.

No wonder He Qing’s business was thriving.

Once she finished giving orders, He Qing sent the two men away, telling them to avoid the police.

They were supposed to move the person out of Jinling Community tomorrow. For the first time, Shen Wanwan desperately wanted to turn back into a human.

But no matter how badly she wanted to, she could only wait helplessly. She couldn’t climb all the way to the police station with her short little spider legs, could she? Besides, even if she were incredibly lucky and didn’t get stepped on or eaten by wild dogs on the way, if she made it to the police station, she’d still get slapped to death by Brother Zou.

Brother Zou didn’t care whether a spider was a good omen.

Shen Wanwan tried to coordinate her eight legs to crawl down.

She crawled a bit, and her feet got stepped on.

Crawled again, and got stepped on again.

Shen Wanwan couldn’t even tell which leg stepped on which, but after a few steps, all eight of them hurt.

She gritted her teeth and slowly crawled down from the wall.

It felt much better on the ground, at least her head wasn’t spinning.

But there was a downside: He Qing kept walking around, washing her face and changing clothes, never stopping. Shen Wanwan was forced to crawl into a crack in the wall to hide.

Fortunately, she was just a harmless little spider. If she were a big one, she wouldn’t have fit in there.

Shen Wanwan stayed hidden in the crack until dawn.

She fell asleep a few times in between, but she was always scared of being stepped on or squashed by He Qing. She could never sleep soundly. She had even started to feel sorry for the spiders at home.

Next time she chases a spider out of her house, she would definitely make a wish for its safe journey and a smooth life ahead.

It wasn’t until after five o’clock that Shen Wanwan returned to her own body.

Having two legs again felt so wonderful.

She was still very tired, but now she didn’t have time to sleep. She had to go to Jinling Community.

In the team, it was Xiang Dong’s turn to be on duty. Shen Wanwan ran two kilometers before finding a public telephone booth and calling him to relay the information. However, Xiang Dong completely didn’t believe her words and even thought she was just having a nightmare and talking nonsense.

Shen Wanwan had no choice but to set a time and tell him that if she didn’t contact him by that time, he must go to Jinling Community.

—

Jinling Community was built in the 1980s, and the buildings were over a decade old, giving them a somewhat worn-out appearance.

But despite their age, there were more than ten buildings, each with five entrances, and who knew how many households.

It was unrealistic to search house by house, so Shen Wanwan had to ask around.

Since it was still early, there were only a few elderly people in the community practicing Tai Chi. Shen Wanwan asked them, but no one had seen the girls living together.

She ran two laps around the community and then cursed in frustration.

The people were locked up, and even if they were moved, it would be done secretly at night. How could ordinary people possibly notice?

Shen Wanwan thought for a moment and then went to the entrance of the community, eyeing the breakfast vendors.

There were three small stalls nearby—one selling green onion pancakes, one selling noodles, and another selling steamed buns.

Shen Wanwan asked each of them if they had ever seen anyone frequently buying large amounts of breakfast, enough for several people.

The owners of all three stalls did indeed have a memory of such customers.

Two young men often came to buy breakfast, always ordering several servings at a time. They were their regular customers, and they all remembered them.

Moreover, this had been going on for a long time—about a year.

The number of servings varied, sometimes five servings, sometimes ten.

This meant that the number of people being confined had changed, and Shen Wanwan couldn’t bear to think about why the number would change.

She then found the local police officer in charge of the area and the neighborhood committee. She also asked the steamed bun vendor for help in identifying the individuals. He had seen them the most.

The building managers from various buildings also came. They were more familiar with who lived in each building.

They were shown photos of He Qing’s subordinates, all of whom had criminal records and were known to the police.

After nearly an hour of investigation, one of the building managers recognized one of them. “It’s this young man. He has a bad temper and speaks rudely. He lives in 302.”