Todesanzeige 2 Schicksal

Kapitel 20

So what was the reason for the resentment in its original form? And what connection did that destroyed human face have with the vengeful spirit and the deceased Director Wang? What did the pity, pain, and resentment in Director Wang's eyes as he looked at that human face before he died signify?

Zheng Qi spent the whole day at home racking his brains, but he couldn't figure it out. The more he thought about it, the more chaotic his mind became, and he couldn't make sense of it at all. In the end, he decided to go back to the newspaper office the next day to see if there were any other changes before making any further plans.

In the morning, as Zheng Qigang stepped into the newspaper office, he thought everyone would be surprised by his appearance, and he would inevitably be surrounded by a lot of polite, but annoying, remarks. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel secretly worried. Suddenly, after a while, there was no sound. He saw Sister Zheng and Chen Qing huddled together, whispering. When they saw someone come in, they were initially startled, but upon turning around and seeing it was Zheng Qigang, they visibly relaxed, nodded slightly to him, and then turned back to their hushed conversation.

This left Zheng Qi completely baffled. He was too far away to hear what they were talking about, and he wondered if they were discussing Director Wang. But it didn't seem like their business, and they certainly weren't talking about him either; otherwise, they would have scattered long ago. Thinking this, and seeing their complete lack of reaction to his arrival, he felt a pang of disappointment. The polite words he had carefully prepared were now useless, and he couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

Just as Zheng Qi was making wild guesses, Meng Ping suddenly pulled him to his seat and whispered something in his ear.

"Two strange and significant things happened at the newspaper office yesterday."

"What major event has occurred?"

Zheng Qi asked with a belly full of suspicion, but in fact he had already vaguely guessed something.

"The first big thing is that Director Wang's office was burgled the night before last. Don't look at me like that. I know you'll think I'm making a fuss. Our office was burgled not long ago, wasn't it? But guess what happened to his office this time? To this day, the police still can't figure out why the director's office of a small newspaper would suffer such severe damage from a burglary."

"Oh, how badly damaged?"

Zheng Qi understood, but he pretended not to know and asked curiously.

"Alas, you didn't see what was inside!"

Meng Ping sighed regretfully.

"It didn't feel like a theft; it felt like Osama bin Laden and his henchmen had been here. Everything inside was reduced to ashes, as if some massive explosion had occurred. But Old Li, the gatekeeper downstairs, insisted there wasn't a sound that night. I guess he's just too old and hard of hearing. But then again, apart from Director Wang's office, the entire office building was completely intact. Isn't that a really damn strange thing? Oh, and by the way, Director Wang's wife reported him missing! I bet that weird old man was taken by a ghost, haha."

After hearing Meng Ping's account of the strange events, Zheng Qi couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He thought to himself that if he and Mo Han hadn't set up a protective barrier around the office last night before entering, the very existence of this office building would be questionable. If that had happened, people might have thought that 9/11 had been repeated in China.

"Hey, by the way, Brother Meng, didn't you say there were two strange things? What's the second one?"

"The second thing is even stranger. I don't know what's wrong with our newspaper lately. All sorts of strange things have been happening. Can you guess what it is? Haha, I know you'll never guess. Our beautiful Luo Min has become a different person."

After Meng Ping finished speaking, he winked mysteriously at Zheng Qi, who looked completely bewildered.

"Changed into a different person? What kind of person? Became ugly? Or turned into a man? Or became an old woman or an old man?"

Honestly, Zheng Qi really couldn't understand what Luo Min would look like after she changed. Could it be that she had nothing better to do than get plastic surgery?

"Pshaw, I'm not talking about her appearance changing, I'm talking about her personality changing a lot!"

"character?"

Now, Zheng Qi was even more suspicious. They say that it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. Could she, a cold and aloof beauty from the snowy mountains, suddenly turn into a passionate and alluring woman who has just returned from Hawaii?

"Yes, it's her personality..."

Just as Meng Ping was about to continue speaking, she suddenly heard the sound of high heels clicking on the floor at the door. She quickly stopped talking and looked towards the door with a mixture of nervousness and excitement in her eyes.

Seeing this, Zheng Qi curiously followed Meng Ping's gaze toward the door. Suddenly, he noticed that not only Meng Ping, but even Old Dong and Sister Zheng had stopped talking, their eyes filled with curiosity and inexplicable excitement as they peered toward the door.

"Hi everyone, good morning! Looks like I'm the last one here again today. I went clubbing with my friends last night, and I'm exhausted, so I overslept today."

Suddenly, a sweet, coquettish voice rang out from the doorway.

Immediately afterwards, a tall, fair-skinned, sexy, and stylish urban woman with heavy makeup appeared before the crowd.

The young woman stood at the door for a moment, struck a beautiful pose, and then walked in gracefully and charmingly, slowly heading towards Zheng Qi.

The curious and excited gazes of everyone followed the girl as she walked toward Zheng Qi.

"Your name is Zheng Qi, right? My name is Luo Min! Hello!"

With a charming smile, Luo Min slowly extended her delicate hand. A rich scent of perfume wafted towards her.

Zheng Qi stared at Luo Min in disbelief.

Luo Min pursed her lips, smiled, and gazed at Zheng Qi with what seemed like tender affection.

Seeing Zheng Qi's silly look, Meng Ping couldn't help but chuckle and quickly nudged him.

Zheng Qimeng suddenly snapped out of his daze.

"Oh, hello!"

Zheng Qi blushed, a stiff smile on his face, and slowly stretched out his hand.

Luo Min gently took Zheng Qi's hand and gave him another charming smile. Zheng Qi's face turned even redder, and the people around couldn't help but chuckle to themselves.

Within a few days, Luo Min had become a well-known socialite in the entire office building. Her fame and beauty were in no way inferior to those of the stars in various entertainment magazines. The newspaper office also changed from its previous deserted state. People were sending flowers and gifts, and Old Li from the gatehouse was so busy that he had to run to the newspaper office with something every five minutes, which almost broke his old bones.

Zheng Jie and Zheng Qi, among others in the office, also benefited greatly from Luo Min's fame. Every day, Luo Min distributed all the gifts sent by her admirers to every colleague at the newspaper. Meng Ping and Zheng Qi were overjoyed, constantly receiving gifts and treats, their faces beaming with happiness.

Director Wang was ultimately declared missing, even though Zheng Qi knew perfectly well what had happened.

Director Wang's wife came to the newspaper office crying several times, and Sister Zheng and the others offered a few lukewarm words of comfort. To be honest, Sister Zheng and the others didn't really like this director, and now that he's disappeared, they're somewhat relieved. They don't have to see that weird, sullen face anymore!

A few days later, the higher-ups appointed Elder Dong to temporarily replace Director Wang. Sister Zheng and the others had no objections. As for whether Elder Dong would eventually be able to replace Director Wang and become the official director, that would have to wait and see.

Zheng Qi was truly puzzled by Luo Min's change. He couldn't figure out if she was possessed by an evil spirit or a vengeful ghost. But when he used the spirit-testing talisman, everything was fine. Zheng Qi really couldn't understand it, and Mo Han was also completely baffled.

One month later, one morning passed, and Meng Ping still hadn't come to work. They tried calling his home, but surprisingly, the call wouldn't go through. That afternoon, two policemen came to the newspaper office with bad news for Zheng Qi and his colleagues: Meng Ping was dead!

"How did he die?"

Zheng Qi was the first to ask, which was actually the question everyone wanted to know the most.

"He was drugged with sleeping pills, and while in a semi-conscious state, he was strangled to death with a rope!"

A policeman slowly spoke to Zheng Qi and the others.

"Who, who would kill him? Meng Ping doesn't have any enemies! He usually seems so carefree, but he's actually a pretty good person."

Old Dong pushed up his reading glasses and said slowly.

Sister Zheng, standing to the side, kept her head down and remained silent. Her face was a little pale, her lips kept moving, and her body trembled slightly. She seemed to want to say something, but after seeing Zheng Qi's serious expression, she finally decided not to say anything.

At this moment, Zheng Qi frowned as he pondered who had killed Meng Ping.

"Senior brother, you said someone wanted to kill Meng Ping. Was it a vengeful spirit that possessed the murderer and killed Meng Ping?"

As soon as Zheng Qi got home, he told his senior brother Mo Han about it and then asked him a question.

“I feel that Meng Ping’s death was not caused by a vengeful spirit. Think about it, the previous deaths of the people at the newspaper were not caused by ordinary means. Why would they use such a method to kill Meng Ping this time?”

"Could it be that the vengeful spirit wants to frame someone and implicate the so-called murderer? So it uses this method to achieve its goal."

Mo Han shook his head and said,