Don't touch my man

Chapter 2

"Do I know you?" It was the same question again. Because so much had happened today, I was on edge, so I simply closed QQ and focused on making the graphic.

"Finally finished, I can hand it in tomorrow..." I stretched, glanced at the time on my computer—2:35 AM. Five hours to rest. Time to hurry, I thought, as I opened the door to the bathroom to take care of some personal business. While washing my hands, that feeling returned; I felt like someone was watching me from behind. I whirled around, but there was nothing there. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Although I'm easily frightened, I don't believe in ghosts, but after today's series of events, I couldn't help but feel a little scared. After washing my hands, I ran back to my room as fast as I could, pulled the covers over myself, and wrapped myself tightly in them. Only then did I feel a little safer.

I was woken up by a delicious aroma this morning. I slept very well last night, and perhaps it was a good day to shake off yesterday's gloom. After getting up, I saw that Luo Fei had already placed a delicious breakfast on the table. When she saw me come out, she gave me a lovely smile: "Mi'er, did you sleep well last night?"

"Mmm, this is wonderful! I'm starving!" she said, sitting down and wolfing down her food. Luo Fei laughed and said, "If you keep doing this, no one will want you in the future."

"Bullshit! I'm so gentle, cute, beautiful, generous, and talented, I have a long line of people waiting for me..."

"Haha..." Before I could finish speaking, Luo Fei burst out laughing. I rolled my eyes at her, snorted, finished the last sip of milk, grabbed my bag, and ran out. "I'm leaving now, don't forget to lock the door when you leave."

"It's still early, why the rush?" Luo Fei's voice disappeared as the door closed.

Southern summers are always so hot you just want to strip naked. The subway was packed, and the air was thick with an unpleasant smell. After getting off the subway, I walked towards the exit when I saw a familiar figure ahead, but I couldn't quite place her. A white dress accentuated her graceful figure. She must be a colleague from work, since Luo Fei and I have no friends or family in this city. I quickly ran over and walked alongside her. I turned my head and saw her profile. "Meizi, hehe~ I was wondering why her back looked so familiar!" She's a PR person in our company's public relations department. She's beautiful and highly educated, so our boss usually takes her along when he talks business. There's nothing she can't get done.

"You're up so early?" Meizi's voice usually sounds like heavenly music, but today it was cold and emotionless. And she spoke without any expression.

"Yes, I got up early today. The boss asked me to give him the design plan for a villa in Zicheng Garden this morning. I came early so I would have time to prepare. Why are you up so early too?"

She didn't answer, I just smiled, but her smile looked very sinister, a cold smile, a kind of creepy feeling. I shook my head and shook off that thought, cursing myself for being a "pervert".

No one spoke the whole way, which was a bit strange. Meizi and I are considered good friends at the company because she's quite outgoing like me. So even though we're not in the same department, it hasn't stopped us from being friends. But today, she seemed like a completely different person. She rarely, almost never, spoke. And when I spoke, she remained expressionless, sometimes letting out a strange laugh. Eventually, I got bored too. But what puzzled me even more was that it seemed like everyone was staring at us as we walked. I looked down at my clothes and they were fine, not inside out. I took out a mirror and looked at myself; everything looked good. Then I looked at Meizi, who was just as beautiful. I couldn't understand what they were looking at.

Since our offices weren't on the same floor, I got off the elevator before her. As soon as I entered the studio, I heard them talking amongst themselves:

"I heard that the case was also unsolved last year because the head was never found."

"That shows those police officers are incompetent."

"Really? I heard that Xiao Lin is a detective who has solved a lot of big cases."

"What happened?"

"Well, I've said it before: this building has been around for so many years, and people die here every year. It's not clean! I guess there's some resentment in the building."

"Hey, hey, hey, are you old women? What are you gossiping about?" I hate gossipy people the most. They saw me and greeted me. Ouyang came over and said, "Xiao Zi, you haven't been here long. You might not believe it, but it's true. Every year, a few girls die in our company. They're all pretty and capable. Look at Mei Yu, who died this time. She was so pretty and capable. It's really weird."

"What? The deceased was Meizi?? Impossible! I was just..."

"What else?" Ouyang stared at me.

"No, it's nothing." I didn't say it because I was worried they would be scared, and I myself was terrified right now.

"Xiao Zi, are you alright? You look very pale." I shook my head, my mind completely blank.

Just then, the phone rang suddenly, pulling me back from my reverie. But after what happened yesterday, I hesitated about whether to answer the phone, but in the end, I picked it up anyway.

"Hello, are you Ms. Zi?"

"Yes, may I ask who you are?"

"I am Xiao Lin."

"Captain Xiao, hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh, there's something I'd like to trouble you with, could you come to the police station?"

"Why?"

"Because our investigation revealed that you were the last person to contact the deceased, we would like to ask you for some information."

"You suspect me? Meizi and I have never had any conflict, so I have no reason to kill her. Don't arrest people just because you can't solve the case." I became more and more agitated as I spoke, and in the end I almost shouted it out.

"Calm down, Ms. Zi. We just need your assistance with our investigation."

"Okay, I'll go over after I finish things here." We poor folks can't afford to mess with the police.

I hung up the phone, my mind a jumble. No, no, it's so frustrating. Everything is making my atheism waver, because I clearly saw Meizi just now, and the person who died was indeed Meizi. So I really did see... I dare not think any further.

The phone rang urgently. "Hello, who is this?"

"Zimi, is your plan ready?"

"Mr. Wang, it's ready. I'll deliver it to you right away."

After hanging up the phone, she said, "Sister Huo, I'll go and take the drawing to the boss."

"Is it done?"

"Okay, it's done."

"The boss seems to value you a lot. He never lets any designer submit a design directly to him, but you're an exception."

Although she kept smiling as she spoke to me, it sent a chill down my spine. No wonder, since the boss contacted me directly for this project without going through her, the design department manager, I must have felt uncomfortable.

Thinking about it, I touched my messy curly hair, gave an awkward laugh, and turned to walk towards the elevator. The boss's office was on the thirteenth floor, above our studio. A blast of cold air hit me as I stepped out of the elevator. Damn, the boss has it so easy! In this sweltering heat, everyone else on the other floors is just enduring it, but the boss has air conditioning even in the hallway. Damn, pure exploitation! But the temperature was way too low; it was actually a bit chilly.

"Sigh~~~~~~~~" Who sighed softly?

I looked around, but no one was there. This floor only has the administration department and the boss's office, and I was the only one in the hallway. So who sighed? A chill ran down my spine…

"Xiao Zi, did you come up to see me?" The sudden voice startled me so much I almost jumped. "Hey, why are you acting like a ghost? You walk so quietly!" Lu Jiaming shrugged. "What were you thinking about that made you so lost in thought? And you're blaming me? Come sit in our room for a while."

"I'm not going. I've already sent the design proposal to the boss. Your floors are nice, there's even air conditioning in the hallways?"

"What air conditioner? We'd like one, but we don't have one."

"No? Your hallway must be so cool, haha~"

"I'm wondering too, it's so cool today, or rather, chilly. Maybe Mei's ghost has come back." He finished speaking and gave an exaggerated shiver. He chuckled, but I couldn't laugh, because I really did come to the company with Mei today. Maybe she really is on this floor right now!

"Hey, Xiao Zi, what's wrong? Why are you spacing out?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I'll go now." After saying that, I walked past Xiao Lu and left, while Xiao Lu looked at me blankly behind me.

"Mr. Wang, here are the drawings you requested." I plugged the USB drive into the port and explained my design concept. Mr. Wang nodded. "Alright, put the drive here and go about your business."

"Mr. Wang, I think I need to go to the police station."

"To the police station?"

“Yes, about Meizi’s case. The police said I was the last person to contact her, so…” I shrugged helplessly.

"Meizi..." A hint of sadness flashed across the boss's handsome face, but it disappeared in an instant, though I still noticed it. The boss is only 30 years old, yet he has achieved so much; sometimes I can't help but admire him, especially since he's a highly eligible bachelor. Luo Fei and I share a dream of playing the modern-day Cinderella. Lost in thought while looking at the boss's face, I completely forgot about Meizi.

"Zimi, Zimi..."

"Huh??? Oh, sorry, I was daydreaming."

"Hehe, it's nothing, go ahead. Meizi is my capable assistant. I'm a little sad. When the police station called yesterday, I really couldn't believe it. I didn't expect it to be her. She even asked for leave from get off work the day before yesterday to go to the hospital for a check-up. I didn't expect... sigh!" I don't know if the boss was talking to himself, but he said so much to himself.

"Oh, if there's nothing else, Mr. Wang, I'll head out now."

Seeing the boss nod, I left. I headed straight for the police station.

Chapter Four

When I arrived at the police station, I waited for a while before Xiao Lin came over and nodded to me as a greeting. I returned his smile and said, "Please come with me."

I followed him into the same small hut we'd been to before. "Name"

"Zimi"

"age"

"23 years old? Are you kidding me? I told you I didn't kill anyone, why are you interrogating me like this? My colleague died, and instead of catching the murderer, you're asking me all this? No wonder last year's case remains unsolved; I don't believe incompetent people like you can solve it..."

“Miss Zi, this is our duty. Please cooperate with us. We also want to solve the case, but how can we find clues if you don't cooperate? People around you are dead, and everyone is a suspect.” Xiao Lin seemed angry, and his serious expression was frightening.

"Alright, then please ask some specific questions, okay? Don't waste your time on trivial things. I think you've already investigated everything about me, so there's no need for me to repeat myself, is there?"

"Okay, may I ask what your relationship is with the deceased?"

"Colleagues can also be friends."

"Do you know who she usually associates with?"

"I'm not sure. We've only known each other for two months. We have similar personalities, so we get along relatively well, but I don't know much about her social circle."

When was the last time you spoke to each other?

"August 12th, in the evening, I forgot what time it was."

"So what did you talk about?"

"It's nothing, we just chatted casually. She said her boyfriend didn't come over tonight, and she was a little scared being alone. She kept getting calls from unknown numbers, but the callers didn't say anything..." I paused here because I had also been getting calls from unknown numbers yesterday. Is there any connection between these two?

"Miss Zi? Is there a problem?"

"Huh? It's nothing." I wasn't sure whether I should tell them this, so I didn't say anything.

"Then please continue."

"Then I comforted her for a couple of minutes and then hung up the phone."

"Did you know she was pregnant?"

"I know, it's been more than two months, hasn't it?"

"Who is the child's father? Has she told you?"

"No, I asked her too, but she just wouldn't say, but it seems like that man is very rich."

Did she have any enemies before she died?

"I don't know, I think it's unlikely. Meizi is a very popular girl, so it's not very possible. The most likely scenario is that Meizi's boyfriend is married, and she was discovered by his wife and then killed."

"Hehe, Miss Zi, you have a great imagination, but I can tell you it's impossible. Our forensic autopsy report says that the deceased did not struggle before death, but her muscles were contracting, which shows that she encountered something terrible and that her head was cut off after she died."

"What? After he died? So you mean his head was cut off after he was scared to death?"

Xiao Lin nodded. Could it be related to a strange phone call? Thinking this, I told Xiao Lin about receiving the call. Xiao Lin fell into deep thought, and after a while, he said, "Last year's victim also received a similar call before his death, but we checked the phone records and there was no record of that number. In fact, the phone records show that no call was made, so we have no clue where to start. Since you also received a similar call, could it be…?"

"So, Captain Xiao means I might end up like Mei Zi?" A chill ran down my spine, and I broke out in a cold sweat. "Still can't find the number? Is something really fishy? Otherwise, why can't their phone numbers be displayed?"

"Miss Zi is also a highly educated person, how could she have such thoughts?"

I gave an awkward laugh. Xiao Lin handed me a cigarette, which I accepted with a thank you. "Judging from this situation, Miss Zi must have encountered the same thing as the deceased. Think about whether you two have done anything together that is hard to understand recently, or whether you have been in contact with any people at the same time?"

"No, we only meet at the company and occasionally go out to eat together. The people we both interact with are all from our company."

"Alright then, let's leave it at that for now. If you think of anything, feel free to call me anytime." He handed her a business card. "And if you get another call, remember to call me. Don't be afraid, I'll always be there to protect you."

I said thank you, but I felt a little flustered by Xiao Lin's words. Although it was professional language, I still... I looked at Xiao Lin and chuckled awkwardly. "If Captain Xiao has nothing else, may I go now?"