Free Web NovelChapter 224: Chapter 221 Did your eyes deceive you?_1
Before today, Zhou Ning had thought up many scenarios where he would encounter the man with the scarred eye again, either in the interrogation room or on the autopsy table, but he had never imagined this.
One day, the man would just appear before his eyes, so openly and unabashedly.
Moreover, this man had become a distinguished guest of the Xia family.
Zhou Ning felt icy all over, unable to control his hands and feet, inexplicably suffocating, even feeling the chill from his dreams at the soles of his feet.
At that moment, someone nudged his arm, and Zhou Ning snapped out of his daze.
Xia Momo was looking at him with concern, her hand on his forehead.
"I told you, you shouldn’t have let them force drinks on you."
Zhou Ning subtly dodged Xia Momo’s hand. Xia Momo thought he was just shy and didn’t pay much mind, as Mrs. Xia continued with her polite conversation.
"Momo, why are you spacing out? Hurry up and invite your friend inside."
Just as Xia Momo was about to speak, Zhou Ning took a small step back, handing over the remaining bag to Xia Momo with an apologetic bow.
"Auntie, I had a meal with people from the lab and our group today, and I drank quite a bit, so visiting for New Year’s might seem quite presumptuous. I will come over another time. Mr. Xia, I won’t be going up."
After speaking, he bowed slightly toward Mrs. Xia and then stepped back a few paces, heading straight for his own home.
Mrs. Xia didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. She peeked inside the bag at the delicate huamo, and the aroma from the other bag containing the stewed food was very appealing. Such sincere and thoughtful gifts truly satisfied her.
Patting Xia Momo, who was still watching Zhou Ning leave, she quickly said:
"Alright, stop looking. He’s had a drink and is a bit self-conscious about visiting; it’s only natural."
Xia Momo withdrew her gaze and smiled at her mother.
"Auntie is really nice to me."
Mrs. Xia gave Xia Momo a playful look and moved closer to her.
"You’re quite extroverted; I can tell just by looking at you. You like that boy, don’t you?"
Xia Momo nodded, her cheeks still flushed. Mr. Xia then walked over. Noticing that the handsome young man who had been speaking with him had disappeared, he asked with puzzlement:
"Where did he go?"
Mrs. Xia nudged Mr. Xia and coughed before speaking.
"Stop being nosy, help me carry this upstairs. You’ll get your chance to meet him later. The young man has been drinking and didn’t think it polite. Can’t you see that?"
Mr. Xia realized and, chuckling, picked up the things and helped his wife and daughter upstairs.
Zhou Ning stood inside the entrance, looking through the glass slit and watching the family of three. His fingers clenched tightly.
His gaze fell on a black sedan that had started up. He noted the license plate. He had heard about this car from Mr. Zhao, the two stacked Rs signifying it was a Rolls Royce Phantom.
The man with the scarred eye’s movements were akin to those of an entourage member of the portly man, but if he were merely an entourage, he wouldn’t have entered the room. So who was this man?
Today was the second day of the new year, and locally in Qindao, it was considered a day for paying respects to ancestors and the god of wealth. It was not common for non-relatives to make visits. So, what was the relationship between Xia Momo’s father and that portly man?
Relatives?
Zhou Ning instantly dismissed this answer.
No, if they were relatives, Xia Momo would have recognized him and greeted him, and Xia Momo’s parents would have introduced him, clearly showing they were not acquainted.
Who exactly were they?
This string of questions tortured Zhou Ning, leaving him restless and uneasy, when a voice called out from behind.
"Are you Doctor Zhou from apartment 301?"
Zhou Ning quickly turned around. An auntie was standing on the staircase, seeming to have realized her abruptness, she quickly followed up with a smile:
"I’m your neighbor across in 302. Is your heating working properly? These past few days, our place has been around fifteen or sixteen degrees, and I don’t know what’s wrong."’
Zhou Ning composed his expression and nodded slightly.
"Happy New Year, auntie. I haven’t been staying here recently, so I don’t know if it’s been warm."
"Happy New Year, I was just asking. You carry on with your business."
The auntie said, as she lifted a bag of trash. Zhou Ning stepped aside promptly. By the time he looked outside again, the area by building five was empty, and the black Rolls Royce had vanished without a trace.
Zhou Ning lowered his eyes slightly and hurried into his apartment. He paced back and forth in his room for a while before stopping.
He had overreacted earlier. That past event happened seventeen years ago.
Back then, he was just a child, but now he was an adult. He had passed by the man with the scarred eye, and the man hadn’t looked his way, and as soon as he left, he had put on his sunglasses hurriedly. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.
Zhou Ning calmed down, took out his phone, and dialed Mr. Qu’s number. Just as the call connected, he quickly hung up and punched his head in frustration. What was he thinking? Today was the second day of the new year; everyone was celebrating, and Mr. Qu wasn’t sober after drinking at the restaurant. He was being too impatient.
Thinking it over, Zhou Ning grabbed his coat, ready to put it on and visit the property management office to check the surveillance, but that shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Just as he was about to put on his coat, his phone rang. It was Mr. Qu calling.
"Does Doctor Zhou have a problem?"
After a brief hesitation, Zhou Ning still spoke up:
"I was just thinking of asking you to check something personal for me, but never mind, it isn’t really appropriate since it’s not about the lab."
Mr. Qu laughed.
"Let me tell you, don’t underestimate me. As long as I have a computer, I can search for anything. Just tell me what you want to check. Even though my home computer isn’t the most powerful, I can still do it, even if you want to search your office."
"Then... then I’ll trouble you to check something for me. Half an hour ago, from the surveillance camera behind building number five, I need to find a car, a black one with double R’s on the emblem, plate number is Ludong U22222. It would be best if you could capture a screenshot of the two people getting into the car, with a clear image."
Zhou Ning paused, then instructed:
"Please keep this confidential, don’t tell anyone, especially Mr. Xia, alright?"
"No problem, just give me a couple of minutes and it will be done."
Mr. Qu did not hesitate at all, and then the sound of rapid typing on a keyboard could be heard from the phone. Zhou Ning couldn’t make out the details. Moments later, his mobile phone beeped twice.
"Log into your email on a computer and see. I’ve extracted the relevant part of the surveillance footage, the selected time is a bit longer, from when this black car arrives until it leaves. As for the two people in the car, I’ve also taken screenshots and enhanced the clarity with our software, I think it’s pretty clear."
After thanking Mr. Qu, Zhou Ning rushed to his laptop, powered it on quickly, then logged into his email to download the email attachment.
The video wasn’t long. Mr. Qu had probably used video capturing technology and set the vehicle as the capture target. The video automatically located the relevant sections.
With a click to start playback, the surveillance footage began to play slowly.
14:11
The black car drove onto the road north of Zhou Ning’s home. The plate number was indeed Ludong U22222. The car moved slowly, not as if it were looking for a parking space. Zhou Ning leaned closer to the screen and carefully observed, noting that the driver’s side window was rolled down.
The man with the scar on his eye was sitting in the driver’s seat, poking his head out to look around before closing the window. He followed the portly man out of the car; the man with the scar then took a red gift box out of the trunk.
The box was labeled Laoshan Fine Tea, but it seemed to have some weight to it. The portly man, talking on his phone, entered unit two of building number five. freёwebnoѵel.com
14:23
Zhou Ning’s car appeared in the surveillance footage, and as they both got out of the car, the man with the scar and the portly man also came out. Zhou Ning clicked the video back and watched it seven or eight times to confirm.
When the man with the scar came out, he did not give Zhou Ning or Mr. Xia an extra glance. He simply looked around the vicinity of the car, and the two of them didn’t leave immediately upon getting in. They spoke for a moment one after the other before the car finally left the range of the surveillance camera.
Zhou Ning closed the video and opened the two screenshots that were sent next.
The photographs filled the screen, their clarity so sharp that Zhou Ning was taken aback.
Staring at the portly man, Zhou Ning felt he looked familiar, but after carefully searching his memory, he found no recognition of such a person.
Then he opened the photo of the man with the scar. This picture captured him turning his head to look at the car and was snapped at a moment when he was not wearing sunglasses—the angle and timing were exceptionally well chosen.
Zhou Ning stood up, took a couple of steps back, and lightly closed his eyes, recalling the scarred man’s face from his dreams. After all, he had been prompted by Doctor Shi to carefully remember it last time he visited, so the impression was very vivid.
Opening his eyes once more and looking back at the computer screen, he could see there were some differences; the man in the photo was a bit fatter and older than the one in his dream. As for the scar’s location and shape, it was almost entirely the same.
Zhou Ning was certain that he was not imagining it because the dreams had been recurring for half a year and hadn’t started only after seeing this man.
And after seventeen years, changes were to be expected—no one can resist the traces of time.
Zhou Ning hugged his arms tightly, controlling the chilly sensation coming from the soles of his feet.
He could affirm that he wasn’t seeing things; this was the man with the scar, the one who had killed his parents.
But who were they?
Why were they looking for Mr. Xia?
Could it be that he and Momo were about to be entangled in some melodramatic feud?
Zhou Ning shook his head, incapable of pondering further. Unwittingly, the sky outside had darkened.
Having sat in the same position for too long, Zhou Ning’s bottom was numb, but he had cooled down. He pushed away the ashtray filled with cigarette butts from the floor and stood up straight, rummaging in his briefcase for the police terminal Xu Da had given him.
Tapping to search the car number, after a brief moment, the vehicle information appeared on the screen.
The owner was named Ren Guangzhi, the vice president of Ludong Guanghai Pharmaceutical Group. After checking the identity information, this was the portly man.
This result startled Zhou Ning.
What did a pharmaceutical group have to do with Mr. Xia?
Casting aside the police terminal, Zhou Ning fired up his computer and logged onto Qindao University’s webpage. Then he searched for faculty information, remembering Momo had mentioned that her father was also a university lecturer, but he hadn’t learned what subject he taught.
After a round of searching the professors, he found no one with the surname Xia, so he clicked on the leadership section.
Upon looking, Zhou Ning was dumbfounded.
At the very top, the first picture was unmistakably that of Mr. Xia, followed by his personal profile.
Zhou Ning rubbed his eyes. Could he be mistaken?
