Mingcheng Residential Complex was considered a new development since residents had only begun moving in about six years ago. There wasn’t a subway nearby, but eight different bus routes passed through the area, and schools, a market, and a shopping mall were all within walking distance. Just two stops away by bus, there was a park. The infrastructure was solid, and occupancy was high.
Only one thing dissatisfied the residents: the property management was notoriously slow at everything they did.
The elevator in Building 1, Unit 2, had broken down the previous afternoon and still hadn’t been repaired after an entire night. It wasn’t until after eight in the morning that two maintenance workers from Yuan’an Elevator Company arrived to fix it.
Auntie Li and Uncle Liu lived on the 15th floor of Building 1, Unit 2. They used to live in an old work-unit housing on the sixth floor, but the old place didn’t have an elevator. As they’d gotten older, with rheumatism setting into their legs, climbing stairs became nearly impossible. Their dutiful children had pooled their savings two years ago to buy them a two-bedroom apartment here, in a new building that had an elevator.
Back in the old neighborhood, they’d rarely gone out. One trip up and down the stairs meant resting for half a day, but since moving here, they went downstairs several times a day: for morning grocery runs, exercise, and even after-dinner walks.
Even though the elevator still wasn’t fixed that morning, they decided to head to the market anyway. When they returned and saw the Under Maintenance sign in front of the elevator, they figured they might as well wait downstairs until it was repaired instead of slowly climbing all fifteen floors.
The old couple wasn’t in any rush to get home, so they turned toward the small plaza in the complex, sat down, and started chatting while picking through vegetables. Their conversation easily turned to their baby grandson, who had come down with a fever two days ago, so they discussed going to their daughter’s place tomorrow to check on him.
It was that time of year again when the seasons changed, and elderly people and children tended to fall ill.
Nong Yu worked as a nurse in the emergency department of Lang City Children’s Hospital. She’d been on the night shift yesterday, so busy she barely had time to use the restroom, and her step count had been over twenty thousand every day for the past week. As if the exhaustion wasn’t enough, she also had to deal with angry parents. Last night, she’d been scolded twice: once because a child’s plump hands made the veins hard to find, and she’d missed the vein on her first try, and another time because a parent shouted for her to remove a needle while she was in the middle of treating another patient. She’d told the parent to turn off the IV drip first, but the parent had cursed her for “playing favorites.”
When that endless night shift finally ended, Nong Yu took a cab home, thinking only of collapsing into bed. But luck wasn’t on her side, and the elevator was still out of service. She was so exhausted she couldn’t even think about climbing ten floors, so she decided to wait until the repair was finished.
Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait too long.
By around ten o’clock in the morning, the property management posted in the residents’ group chat that the elevator had been repaired, and that the elevators in Units 1 and 3 had also been checked and serviced while they were at it.
Auntie Li and Uncle Liu also saw the message from property management. Quickly, they cleaned up the vegetable scraps they’d picked through, tossed the waste into a nearby trash bin, then carried their groceries and headed together toward their building entrance.
Just as they entered the unit, they ran into Xiao Ye from property management, and Auntie Li pulled an apple from her bag and pressed it into the young woman’s hand. Xiao Ye had been working for the residential management office for two years now, but she would never forget that morning.
She had gone over to inspect the public area in Building 1, and just as she was leaving through the unit entrance, she ran into Auntie Li and Uncle Liu.
Auntie Li insisted on giving her a big, round apple. Holding it in her hand, Xiao Ye suddenly remembered that her son had been begging for apples at the supermarket the night before. However, she hadn’t bought any since they were too expensive. That particular kind cost twelve yuan a jin, and each apple weighed nearly that much. Earning just a little over four thousand yuan a month, she’d steeled herself and said no.
She never expected Auntie Li to hand her one so generously. Xiao Ye thought she’d take it home for lunch and let her son have it as a treat, so she thanked the old lady and waved her goodbye.
However, not even a few minutes later, she was still imagining her son’s delighted expression when a loud bang suddenly rang out. Startled, she froze for a second before realizing the sound came from Unit 2. Xiao Ye started running in that direction, only to hear two more consecutive blows.
It was the weekend, so many residents were home. The noise made people flood the building’s group chat, asking what had happened, but no one knew. Then came the shrill cries of ambulance sirens, followed by the wails of fire trucks and police cars.
One of the residents, He Cong from the 11th floor, saw that someone had posted a short video in the chat. He tapped it open casually, and in the next second, dropped his phone in horror at the blood-soaked scene on the screen.
……………….
Inside the conference room, the only sound was the rustling of pages. When Han Huaixiao saw that everyone had finished reading through the case files, he spoke.
“The case was reported by the Xicheng Sub-Bureau. In the same building of the residential complex, three elevators, after undergoing maintenance and inspection, malfunctioned simultaneously, causing the deaths of five residents. The Xicheng Sub-Bureau conducted a preliminary investigation and confirmed that this was not an accident, but deliberate.The incident has already blown up online with rumors, conspiracy theories, and speculation. The public fallout is bad.”
Zhang Tianhua asked, “Something wrong with the two maintenance workers who went to fix the elevators that day?”
“Yuan’an sent two technicians to the Mingcheng Complex for the repair,” Han Huaixiao replied. “One was a senior employee named Zeng Guoyong, the other a newly hired rookie named Hou Xin. After the incident, it was discovered that only Hou Xin had gone to the site. Zeng Guoyong never showed up, couldn’t be contacted afterward, and was later found unconscious and tied up in his own home.”
With a frown, another member of the team, Kong Qinmao, asked, “Hou Xin never met Zeng Guoyong before? How could he not realize the man working with him wasn’t his coworker?”
“According to the investigation,” answered Han Huaixiao, “they’d never met. The repair assignment came in the night before. Hou Xin contacted Zeng Guoyong early the next morning and was told to meet at the entrance of Mingcheng Complex.”
“That’s too much of a coincidence,” Zhang Tianhua added. “Hou Xin just happens to be new and doesn’t know what Zeng Guoyong looks like. But how did the suspect even know Yuan’an was sending people to repair that building’s elevators that day? How did he know who was being sent? And not to mention, he also knew where Zeng Guoyong lived?! Could it be he staged the whole thing himself?”
“Or what if Hou Xin was an accomplice as well?” Ling Yue cut in.
“All these questions,” Han Huaixiao said evenly, “we’ll check them one by one.” He then began assigning tasks, his voice calm but brisk. “Wen Yu, work with Tech to look into connections between Zeng Guoyong, Hou Xin, the five victims, the Mingcheng complex developer, and the property management.”
Wen Yu nodded.
“Old He, have the forensics team speed up the autopsy. See if anything stands out. Hua-ge, when Sister Xia gets back, head to Yuan’an and investigate everyone involved in that elevator maintenance. Ling Yue, Qinmao, you two take a team to the old employee’s house. The rest will go to the scene. Anyone left without a task? Come with me.”
The room buzzed with movement as everyone dispersed, but a pale, slender hand rose at the back. Seeing the newrecruit was the only one left out, Wen Yu chuckled. “Brother Hang,” she teased, “rough start, eh? First day on the job and you’re already out in the field.”
However, Han Huaixiao waved her off with a curt: “Alright, meeting’s over. Report anything as soon as it comes up.”
“Want me to swap with you?” Ling Yue also sidled up to the rookie, but Xia Hang shook his head.
“No need. Thanks.”
“Then stay sharp,” Ling Yue warned. “Captain Han hates people who freeze up or wait for orders.”
Which, Xia Hang translated silently, meant he hated idiots. He nodded in acknowledgment.
“Ling Yue! Got a lot of free time, huh?” Han Huaixiao’s hurried voice cut through the conference room, looking like he’d already grabbed his car keys and was eager to go.
Ling Yue grinned at Xia Hang and hurried off.
Xia Hang wanted to go back to his office for his water bottle, but when he saw Han Huaixiao heading for the exit, he quickened his pace to follow. The forensics team’s car left first, then a black SUV blinked its lights next to the curb. By habit, Xia Hang reached for the passenger-side door.
Then it hit him.
Things were different now. Han Huaixiao wasn’t his boyfriend anymore, but his boss. So… Should he be the one driving instead?
Confused, he glanced over, only to see Han Huaixiao standing by the driver’s door, watching him with a half-smile.
“Seems like you had it pretty easy in your last unit, um?”
Caught off guard, Xia Hang tried to switch sides, but Han Huaixiao slid smoothly into the driver’s seat. For a second, he wondered: would sitting in the passenger seat make things worse?
…Should he take the back then?
“What are you waiting for?! Get in!”
But the sharp tone left no room for argument. Xia Hang climbed in, buckled up, and stared straight ahead. He braced for the usual biting remarks, but the driver stayed silent. At red lights, Han Huaixiao’s index finger tapped rhythmically against the steering wheel, deep in thought.
By the time they reached the Mingcheng complex, it was nearly six in the afternoon. Rush hour, yet the neighborhood was eerily quiet, still heavy with the shadow of the recent elevator deaths.
Han Huaixiao and Xia Hang descended to Level B2, where the two elderly victims had died instantly when the elevator shot to the eleventh floor, then plunged back down.
The Forensics team was already at work. Leading them was Liu Yan, a thirty-five-year-old woman. Serene and elegant, she was the kind you’d mistake for a university lecturer, if not for her reputation as one of the top trace experts in the field.
“Sister Yan,” Han Huaixiao greeted, “found anything?”
Liu Yan gestured with her gloved hand toward a row of evidence bags, saying, “Plenty of traces. But sorting them out will take time.”
“Do what you can. If you’re short on hands, I’ll send more.”
“Got it.” Liu Yan’s eyes flicked toward Xia Hang. “So this is the new handsome recruit?” she asked.
Xia Hang nodded politely. “Hello.”
“No wonder everyone in the city jokes the Major Crimes Unit hires by looks…” she smiled. “Two police beauties, Wen Yu and Xia Ling, and now the men are heartthrobs too.”
But Han Huaixiao didn’t even flinch, answering in a bored tone: “Good to know our reputation’s solid.”
Liu Yan just laughed and waved him off, turning back to her work.
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