Chapter 15: Robbery

Upon returning home, the first thing Luo Fei did was hand Wu Yan the 3,000 RMB he received from the office earlier that day. When Wu Yan heard it was a reward from the office, she happily accepted the money with a broad smile.

When it was almost time to inspect the house, Luo Fei and Wu Yan went to Hongtianba and met Zhang Haiyang’s wife’s classmate, Zhang Qian, a woman in her forties who still had some charm.

After getting acquainted, Zhang Qian led Luo Fei and Wu Yan to see the house.

The house was located in Hongtianba, not in the county town. According to Zhang Qian, the owners were an elderly couple who had originally bought the house for their son to live in when he returned. However, after graduating, their son found a job and got married outside the area, so the couple decided to rent out the house.

The house featured four bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. It was spacious and beautifully decorated, fully equipped with various appliances, making additional purchases unnecessary. Wu Yan was very pleased with the house, finding everything about it perfect except for the slightly high price.

Luo Fei also found the house to be quite good. Finding another place as suitable and affordable as this would not be easy, so he planned to rent it.

After discussing with Wu Yan and persuading her, Luo Fei negotiated with Zhang Qian. They finally agreed on a rental price of 1,150 RMB per month, with the condition of paying six months’ rent upfront. This was not an issue for Luo Fei and Wu Yan; in fact, they preferred a long-term lease to avoid the hassle of finding and moving to a new place again.

They signed the contract on the spot and paid six months’ rent. Zhang Qian then handed over the keys to Luo Fei, making the house officially theirs—it is only a matter of them moving in.

Coincidentally, it was Saturday the next day, and Luo Fei did not have to work. After discussing with Wu Yan, they decided to move on Saturday.

Originally, Luo Fei and Wu Yan planned to hire a moving company, but the quotes they received were too high. Unwilling to spend that much money, they decided to move by themselves. Luo Fei borrowed a pickup truck from Wu Wei, who, upon hearing about the move, eagerly offered to help. Their second aunt also took a day off to lend a hand.

So on Saturday, Luo Fei, Luo Hao, and Luo Xiaoxiao were responsible for moving, while Wu Yan and Second Aunt were in charge of organising. Wu Wei drove the pickup truck, and the lively moving operation began.

By the time they finished moving everything from the cement factory and tidied up the new house, it was already four o’clock in the afternoon.

To celebrate moving into their new home, they decided to have hotpot for dinner. The meal cost over 80 RMB per person, totalling more than 600 RMB. Wu Yan did not say much at the hotpot restaurant, but once they got home, she complained about the high prices and declared she would not go there again.

After moving into the new house and knowing they each had their own room, Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao were over the moon. They had been very enthusiastic and proactive during the move.

At 9 p.m., Luo Fei was lying on his bed, holding a book titled “Criminal Psychology”.

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was from his mentor, Zhang Haiyang.

Luo Fei was puzzled. Why would Menotr Zhang call me at this hour? Did something happen?

Sure enough, Zhang Haiyang called to inform Luo Fei that there had been a robbery case near Longxugou at Yizhong Middle School and asked him to rush there immediately.

Upon hearing this, Luo Fei quickly placed down his book, put on his shoes, and informed Wu Yan, who was still tidying up in the living room. He then went out and hailed a taxi to Longxugou.

When Luo Fei arrived, Zhang Haiyang, Chief Zhou, and Wu Wei were already at the scene, surrounded by a few onlookers.

Zhang Haiyang was questioning a woman in her twenties, stylishly dressed but with dishevelled hair. As expected, she was the robbery victim.

“Ms. Zhou, what was in your bag when it was stolen? Were there any valuable items?” Zhou Weimin asked while jotting down notes.

“1,000 RMB in cash, an iPhone, a lipstick, and a bottle of sunscreen spray,” the woman replied quite calmly.

“Ms. Zhou, if you were to see the two men who robbed you again, would you be able to recognise them?” Zhou Weimin asked the woman.

“They grabbed my bag and ran away immediately. Plus, it was very dark here, so I couldn’t see what they looked like,” she replied.

Hearing this, Zhou Weimin frowned.

Meanwhile, Luo Fei learned the details of the incident from Wu Wei. The woman, a teacher at Yizhong Middle School, was riding her electric bike back to the school around 8:40 p.m. after playing mahjong. As she reached this spot, a guy suddenly jumped out from around the corner, startling her. She immediately braked and was about to scold him when another guy sprang out from behind and snatched her bag, fleeing through a narrow path.

She wanted to chase after them, but seeing there were two of them, she did not dare. Within moments, the two men had disappeared, so she called the police.

After Chief Zhou and the others arrived, Liu Haiquan and Zhang Da immediately chased after the two men in the direction they had fled.

Luo Fei surveyed the area. The robbery took place at a bend—a blind spot. Although there were streetlights, they were dim, barely illuminating the path. It was impossible to see faces clearly unless the two people were very close to each other.

“What were they wearing at the time, and how tall were they approximately? Could you please provide more details?” Zhou Weimin continued questioning with a furrowed brow.

The female teacher thought for a moment and then said, “The guy who jumped out was wearing a white T-shirt, about 1.72 metres tall, roughly the same height as the officer next to you.” She pointed to Wu Wei.

“The other guy was wearing a yellow T-shirt, slightly shorter than the one in white but more muscular. It happened so suddenly; these are the only details I can remember.”

After gathering enough information, Zhou Weimin asked Wu Wei to escort the victim home.

“Haiyang, Luo Fei, let’s take a closer look at the scene to see if we can find any useful clues,” Zhou Weimin said before taking out a flashlight and carefully inspecting the area.

Since Luo Fei did not have a flashlight, he shared one with Zhang Haiyang.

“This is where the guy in the white T-shirt jumped out from,” Zhang Haiyang said, shining the flashlight at a poplar tree on the roadside, explaining to Luo Fei.

After looking around and finding nothing, the two moved to the spot where the guy in the yellow T-shirt hid. Unfortunately, they found nothing there either.

“Wait,” Luo Fei said, just when he was beginning to think they might come up empty-handed. Near the hiding spot of the guy in the yellow T-shirt, he noticed a small crumpled wad of tissue paper.

Luo Fei put on gloves and picked up the tissue. He saw that it was slightly damp with mucus. Looking again at the hiding spot of the guy in the yellow T-shirt, Luo Fei speculated that this tissue likely belonged to the guy in the yellow T-shirt who dropped it after wiping his nose.

(End of Chapter)