Chapter Fifty-Nine: Hidden Within the City

When the words "introverted personality" came from the mouth of the fisherman hat, the two police officers were somewhat surprised. To be on the safe side, An Changpu found a reason to show Lumin's artistic photo to the two elderly people. Both of them confirmed without hesitation that the person in the photo was indeed Xie Leming's "girlfriend."

Thus, the "woman" who had been introduced to Xie Leming and who had even stayed at his home for a while was confirmed to be Lumin herself. As for why someone who had previously been so high-profile and flamboyant suddenly became reserved and low-key during her time with Xie Leming, the reason could only be inferred from her past experiences.

The events of coming to T County for a matchmaking meeting and encountering Xie Leming all happened after her dealings with Liu Yuxiang. During her interactions with Liu Yuxiang, her identity was nearly exposed, almost causing trouble, and she was even scolded by her elder brother Lu Jun. Perhaps that episode prompted her to change her behavior, adopting a safer and more discreet approach.

In addition, during their casual conversation with the two elderly people, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan learned that Xie Leming used to be a factory worker in the county. When the factory's performance declined, he retired early. Even now, his health is excellent, robust compared to others his age. Aside from his fondness for alcohol, he had no other unhealthy habits.

Even though they had Xie Leming’s son’s phone number, Qin Ruonan felt that calling him directly might not be wise; if the other party intended to hide something, it would put them at a disadvantage.

Therefore, they first went to the local police station to check the household registration issue regarding Xie Leming’s son. An Changpu was somewhat worried that if the son’s registration had never been transferred and was still tied to his hometown, the matter would be difficult to handle. Fortunately, things were not so thorny. Xie Leming’s son had transferred his registration to City C more than two years ago.

This made things much easier and facilitated their investigation. Since the registration was now in City C, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan were back within their jurisdiction. They drove back to City C, phoning ahead to ask someone in the Major Crimes Unit with free time to investigate precisely where Xie Leming’s son’s registration had landed.

The results soon came in. Tian Yang, who helped track down the address, relayed the current street location over the phone. Once they reached City C, they went straight to the local police station in the relevant district and effortlessly obtained the specific address from the community officer.

“You know, Xie Leming’s old house was easy to find in the countryside. But now that he’s moved in with his son, it’s not so simple. Ordinary people would have trouble locating him, and even we, without the benefit of his son’s household registration in City C, would have had to work much harder,” An Changpu remarked, feeling a bit sentimental about the circuitous path they’d taken to find his current address.

Qin Ruonan understood and nodded in agreement. “That’s why people say: ‘The recluse hides in the wild, but the true recluse hides in the city.’”

Xie Leming’s son lived in a residential complex built two or three years ago. From the outside, the complex looked impressive. Its retro architectural style gave the stairways a slightly dim hue, but the tall buildings stood out distinctly among the surrounding neighborhoods, easily recognizable from afar.

Xie Leming’s son’s apartment was in one of the high-rises near the central landscape area of the complex, located on the top floor. When Qin Ruonan and An Changpu arrived, someone happened to exit the entrance, letting them skip the doorbell routine and head straight up in the elevator to the top floor.

After knocking for a while, there was no response. Qin Ruonan glanced at An Changpu, worried they might have come for nothing. An Changpu signaled her with his eyes to be patient and wait a little longer.

Sure enough, after another two minutes of soft and hard knocking, faint shuffling footsteps began to echo from inside, slippers dragging from afar toward the door. The light behind the peephole dimmed suddenly, and through the door, one could hear the sound of someone breathing.

“Who are you looking for?” A strong, yet slightly aged voice came from behind the door, muffled, as if the person was leaning against it.

“Is this the Xie residence?” An Changpu asked.

“Yes, it is. Who are you looking for?”

Qin Ruonan took out her police badge and held the insignia up to the peephole for the person inside to see. “Are you Xie Leming? We’re officers from the Major Crimes Unit of City C Public Security Bureau. We’d like to speak with you.”

The inside of the door fell silent. For so long that Qin Ruonan almost knocked again, the coffee-colored security door finally clicked open from within. The door swung slowly, widening from a narrow slit. The floor inside was covered in dark red boards. A tall, silver-haired elder with a ruddy face stood at the threshold, silently watching the two outside without saying a word. There was no one else in the house.

“You are Xie Leming, correct?” Despite the scene making his identity almost certain, Qin Ruonan still confirmed it before entering at the host’s invitation.

Xie Leming nodded quietly, stepped aside, and gestured toward the interior, “Come in, please.”

An Changpu and Qin Ruonan changed their shoes and put on the slippers Xie Leming handed them. Once inside, they saw that the top-floor apartment, as with many modern developments, came with a flat-roof attic. A spiral staircase led straight upstairs. The lower floor was arranged as a one-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom, and one-kitchen layout, with a long decorative chandelier hanging from the attic ceiling down the center of the spiral staircase.

While Qin Ruonan and her companion scanned the décor, Xie Leming did not invite them into the living room. He stared at them, lost in thought, then asked uncertainly, “You’re here to see me?”

“Yes,” An Changpu nodded.

“Then…why don’t you come upstairs and sit?” Xie Leming hesitated, motioned toward the attic, and slowly led the way up.

Following him, they found the upstairs environment quite different from below—less stylish, more gentle and warm, somewhat messy but clearly the living space of an elderly person.

The attic had two rooms and a bathroom. At the top of the stairs, a short corridor led to a small door opening onto the rooftop terrace. Pausing by the door, Qin Ruonan glanced outside and saw the terrace was covered with an awning and dotted with many flower pots of varying sizes. Some pots contained only black soil, others held tiny seedlings, and still others were mature potted plants.

Along the terrace’s edge, a sturdy railing more than half a person's height had been welded in place.

“The terrace is really nicely done!” Qin Ruonan exclaimed sincerely. The modest rooftop filled her with delight. Imagining herself basking in sunshine, lazily watching clouds drift by, she felt a longing for such a peaceful retreat.

Xie Leming glanced at the terrace, a trace of joy brightening his ruddy face, though it was subtle. “My son arranged it for me! He said he was worried I’d be bored, so he bought all sorts of flowers and seeds for me to tend to when I had nothing else to do.”

“Grandpa Xie, do you usually live upstairs by yourself?” An Changpu followed Xie Leming into one of the rooms used as a sitting area, noting the sofa, television, and other essentials.

There were also some distinctly old items: a pair of steel fitness balls polished to a sheen from years of handling, a dark rubber hand-grip so aged its original color was unrecognizable, a yellowed paper fan, an enamel cup with a chipped rim, and so on.

Xie Leming invited them to sit on the sofa, while he remained standing nearby. On hearing An Changpu’s question, he snapped back to awareness and replied quickly, “Yes, yes. I’m getting on in years, and upstairs is quiet. My son is young, he lives downstairs, goes to work, comes home, or has friends over—it doesn’t bother me.”

He had barely finished speaking when his gaze began to drift, standing before the sofa absent-mindedly, lost in thought, his large, rough hands unconsciously rubbing the sides of his jacket.

Xie Leming was a simple-looking man, thick eyebrows, single-lidded eyes that drooped slightly with age, his face lined with deep and shallow wrinkles. His complexion showed robust health.

Yet, in front of An Changpu and Qin Ruonan, his frequent and rapid lapses in attention made it difficult not to believe he was troubled and restless.

“Grandpa Xie, is something on your mind?” Qin Ruonan tried probing gently.

At first, Xie Leming did not react. A couple of seconds later, realizing she was speaking to him, he shook his head vigorously. “No, nothing! I’m not worried about anything.”

His response, however, only made his anxiety more obvious. Even if Qin Ruonan’s question had been casual, his reply confirmed her suspicions.

“Grandpa Xie, please sit down!” Knowing he was troubled, An Changpu didn’t press him, but helped Xie Leming, who stood stiffly, to sit. Then he paced over to the wall, which was covered with photographs. “Wow! So many pictures! Were they all taken back in your hometown?”

[Thanks to Gialluo Xue’er for the pink vote! If any friends have pink votes for February, Xiao Mo is making a reservation in advance. Many thanks, mwah!]