The door to Unit 205 creaked open. And a middle-aged woman peered out.
Chen Lin stepped forward, flashing her badge. "We're with the police. We'd like to ask you a few questions about the residents of Unit 204."
The woman gave them a once-over and replied, "You've got the wrong person. Sure, we share a wall, but I've never spoken to them. Not even a hello in the hallway."
Furina studied the woman's expression. She didn't seem to be lying.
Or maybe… Furina just couldn't read microexpressions at all.
She cut straight to the point. "Did you hear anything unusual from next door last night?"
The woman paused to think. "Around midnight, I'd just finished helping my son with his homework and was about to make myself a late-night snack. That's when I heard a scream from next door. Just one. Then… silence."
"I'm pretty sure it was the girl who died. I've heard her voice before—I'd recognize it."
"But I didn't think much of it at the time. Figured she saw a cockroach or something."
"Scream?" Furina frowned, deep in thought.
"Could she really have been scared to death?"
"What could terrify someone so badly they'd pass out… and then be murdered?"
She shelved the thought for now.
"What about the relationship between the two girls next door? Do you know anything?"
The woman hesitated. "I've heard them argue a few times while hanging laundry on the balcony. Well… not really arguments. It was mostly the roommate yelling at the one who died."
"I don't know why. I didn't want to get involved. But the things she said were nasty—like they were enemies."
Furina and Chen Lin exchanged a glance.
Li Yue had claimed they were close. So why the frequent fights?
Was she hiding something?
The woman also confirmed she hadn't seen anyone climbing the drainpipe outside the balcony that night.
With that, Furina and Chen Lin thanked her and returned to Unit 204.
Inside, Li Yue was still curled up on the couch. The forensic team continued combing through the bedroom.
Furina approached, her expression stern.
"Tell me—why did you lie about your relationship with the victim?"
"W-what? I didn't lie!" Li Yue looked stunned, her voice trembling with confusion and fear.
Furina planted one foot on the couch, leaning in close. Her waterdrop-blue eyes locked onto Li Yue's.
"Still denying it? Want me to drag you back and sentence you to death right now?"
Though small in stature, Furina radiated an overwhelming aura of authority. Li Yue flinched.
"I swear, we got along fine! We really didn't have any serious problems!"
Tears welled in her eyes. She was already shaken by the murder—and now this cosplaying girl was terrifying her even more.
Furina stepped back, arms crossed, towering over her.
"Funny. Our neighbor says otherwise. Says you two fought often."
"That's because… sigh." Li Yue exhaled, defeated. "I have severe OCD."
"Xiaoyan looked glamorous on the outside, but she was a total slob. She'd leave her dirty clothes everywhere, never cleaned up her takeout trash… I'd get mad and yell at her."
"But she always apologized afterward. I forgave her."
"Takeout?" Furina's mind snagged on the unfamiliar term again.
"I really need to study this world more. How am I supposed to solve crimes when I don't even understand what people are saying?"
She eyed Li Yue with suspicion.
Without her profiling ability, she couldn't read microexpressions. But Li Yue's tone didn't sound dishonest.
Then—
"Wait…" Li Yue's eyes widened. "There's someone else. Someone who definitely had a motive."
Her voice trembled with anger. She clenched her fists, eyes reddening.
Furina and Chen Lin leaned in. "Who?"
"There was this guy. He used to harass Xiaoyan every day—sending disgusting messages. A total creep. Wouldn't leave her alone."
"We even went to the police, but they said since he hadn't physically harmed her and they couldn't catch him in the act, there was nothing they could do."
"So it just… went nowhere."
"Even after she blocked him, he kept making new accounts to message her. Eventually, she stopped blocking him—figured she'd save the messages as evidence in case something worse happened."
"You can check her phone. The messages should still be there."
Chen Lin's face darkened. "Which precinct told you that? That's outrageous."
"Do you know who he is?" she asked.
Li Yue shook her head. "No. We never saw him. He always hid in the shadows."