The next morning, Chen Jing’an was too tired to get up and see Wei Chengying off to work.

By the time she woke well into the day, she was the only one left at home.

After a quick wash-up, Chen Jing’an grabbed her little cloth bag and headed to the nearby market to buy groceries.

Now she wasn’t living alone anymore; every night she had to prep the dishes she would cook that evening in advance. As for breakfast and lunch, she just threw something together to fill her stomach.

Chen Jing’an took her keys and went out, only to find the neighbor next door standing by the elevator with bags and bundles.

“Are you going on a long trip?”

Chen Jing’an sized up the scene — it was over the top; they’d even packed up pots and pans. Could they be moving out?

Apartment 1302 is occupied by a middle-aged couple. The man looks honest and steady, the woman has a simple, wholesome air—you can tell at a glance they’re decent folk.

As soon as Chen Jing’an finished asking, the man lowered his voice and said, “Someone died here. That kind of death. No matter how good the feng shui, it’s ruined now. You and Xiao Wei should hurry and find somewhere else to move—this place can’t be lived in anymore!”

Chen Jing’an forced an awkward smile and said nothing.

“Ding—”

Elevator 1 arrived, and when the doors opened, Chen Jing’an stood there dumbfounded.

There weren’t many people inside—just two men and two women—but there wasn’t an extra inch of space to stand because heaps of large luggage and a variety of bags were piled around the four of them.

One of the four, a tall, skinny man, gave them an apologetic nod and said, “Sorry, the neighboring elevator’s coming right behind this one. Could you wait a moment?”

After saying that, he pressed the close-door button.

The No.1 elevator descended like that, and Chen Jing’an heard the couple beside her whispering:

“You see, I was right—everyone in this building has to move out. Who would dare live here now?”

“Hey, why do you think that woman killed herself? So young, not unattractive—what made her so hopeless?”

After hearing a few lines, Chen Jing’an couldn’t help but join them.

“You say she committed suicide?”

The woman nodded and told her the gossip she’d heard that morning: “The case was solved last night. The woman wrote a suicide note saying she had severe depression, felt life was meaningless, and hanged herself.”

Was the suicide note written by her? Was the handwriting verified?

Chen Jing’an was writing a similar suspense novel, so she asked in detail. The woman looked at her strangely: “How should I know? Since the police closed the case, it means she wrote the suicide note herself. Who else would have written it beforehand and left it in her house? Young lady, don’t pry into this matter. It’s bad luck. You should leave this place quickly. People who commit suicide wearing red become very vengeful after death.” “

As they were talking, Elevator No. 2 arrived, and this time it was empty.

The man dragged a box of pots, bowls, and pans inside; the woman went in too, leaving Chen Jing’an standing alone outside the elevator, dazed.

“Hey, girl, are you coming in? If you don’t come in I’m going to close the door.”

The man shouted once.

Chen Jing’an snapped back to her senses and hurried into the elevator.

With her vivid imagination, she could already envision a plot where murder was disguised as suicide. While perfectly acceptable in fiction, such a scenario would be terrifying if it played out in real life.

Chen Jing’an was lost in thought and didn’t notice the elevator had stopped on the eighth floor. A young woman in a cartoon nightgown stepped in, her hair in a messy bun, carrying two bags of household trash—one in each hand.

“Wow, you guys are moving too? My next-door place is completely emptied out — what on earth is going on?”

The voice with a slight accent caught Chen Jing’an’s attention.

The man enthusiastically recounted last night’s murder case. The young woman listened without a hint of fear, snorting derisively: “That woman on the fourth floor is mentally unstable. I saw her dragging the guy from the tenth floor into her place in the elevator earlier, claiming they were watching a movie together. Later I found out—she’s got a messy private life, throwing herself at every man she meets. Who knows how many people in this apartment building have been her bedmates?”

The man immediately felt the death stare his wife shot him and hurriedly clarified, “I don’t know her at all — I’m not involved in any of this.”

The young woman chuckled softly, “Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t have the chance — she’s already dead.”

“You seem to know the deceased well? What was your relationship with her?”

Chen Jing’an spoke up abruptly.

The young woman turned her head to look at her; her bare face made her appear only around twenty, her features delicate and spirited—an unmistakable beauty in the making.

She scanned Chen Jing’an up and down, and instead of answering asked, “You look unfamiliar — newly moved in? Which floor do you live on?”

Chen Jing’an answered, “The 13th floor.”

The young woman let out a long “oh” sound. At that moment the first floor was reached; when the elevator doors opened, the middle-aged couple hurriedly began taking out their luggage.

Chen Jing’an and the young woman walked down to the first-floor lobby and saw that many people had gathered there.

I asked around and found out they were all residents of this apartment building.

Chen Jing’an stood in the corner listening for a while; the conversation was mostly about the murder on the fourth floor.

“These people all paid top dollar for their apartments, and now there’s been a death — and such a weird one at that. They’ve all lost everything.”

The young woman tossed out the trash and walked over to Chen Jing’an’s side to watch the commotion together.

Chen Jing’an glanced at her: “Aren’t you at a loss?”

If someone dies in the apartment building, property values will plummet and everyone living here will lose money.

The young woman yawned and said indifferently, “They’re at a loss because they’re too scared to live here. If I live here until I’m old, I won’t lose any money.”

Chen Jing’an thought what she said actually made a lot of sense.

“And you? Will you move out with your boyfriend?”

The young woman automatically reached for her pocket, found she hadn’t brought any cigarettes, and frowned.

Chen Jing’an saw through her relationship with Wei Chengying at a glance and was slightly surprised.

“We’ll keep living here.”

“I guess so too.” The young woman had no cigarette to smoke, so she suppressed the craving and stared at the increasingly agitated people as if watching a show.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

Chen Jing’an reminded her.

The young woman sighed. “Alright, I like you, so it’s fine to tell you. The woman who died on the fourth floor seduced my ex. I saw their chat logs — they were filthier than you can imagine. I flew into a rage and went to confront her, slapped her across the face. My ex wanted to break up with me for her; fine, let him leave. I’m not going to die without him.”

“So, you two are rivals in love?”

Chen Jing’an delivered the concluding remarks.

That was a long time ago. Let me make this clear: her death had nothing to do with me. I’m not about to let some jerk ruin my life.

The young woman, tired of talking, yawned and prepared to go upstairs to sleep.

Before leaving, she patted Chen Jing’an’s shoulder. “My name’s Mo Qianqian. I’m a beauty vlogger on the Cheese live-streaming platform. I go live at 8 PM—if you’re interested, remember to tune in and show some support, okay?”

Moxi Xi was exhausted and, before Chen Jing’an could reply, took the elevator up.

Chen Jing’an didn’t linger either, but before she could step out of the apartment building, a man in a yellow Taoist robe came rushing straight at her.

Chen Jing’an instinctively turned her body, but still bumped shoulders with the other person.

“Sorry, I didn’t hit you hard, did I?”

The Taoist priest glanced up, and upon seeing Chen Jing’an’s face, blurted out, “Ah—your forehead is darkened between the brows; today you’ll have a bloody disaster.”