Coincidence

Qin Luming went to check on his Golden Bullet Tree. The indoor air felt a little dry, so he touched the leaves and misted them with water. His Golden Bullet Tree was exceptionally beautiful, with lush branches and leaves. From the front, its trunk looked like a cloud dragon rolling through the sky; from the side, it resembled a mountain looming over an abyss... If properly cared for, it could easily become a family heirloom. Trees like this could live for centuries without any trouble.

That was assuming Zuozuo and Caicai did not destroy it. Qin Luming was already considering whether to move it away from the living room. After all, next to the cabinet holding the bonsai stood the sofa and carpet, which were also Zuozuo and Caicai's main battlefield whenever they fought.

By then, the two little girls had finished cleaning the kitchen and come out. Zuozuo hugged a large bottle of cola and plopped down onto the carpet to watch TV, only to reach behind herself and let out a startled cry.

"Hey, there's a dog tooth on the carpet." Caicai shoved Zuozuo aside, hurriedly dropped to the carpet, and found the culprit that had made Zuozuo yelp. It was the tooth Zuozuo had shed!

Qin Luming shook his head and returned to the study. He had made up his mind that he absolutely had to write ten thousand words today.

Ten thousand words, ten thousand words—thirty thousand words a day, three updates!

Humming the tune from a movie, Qin Luming resolved that even if he had to stay up all night, he would finish at least ten thousand words.

If he could get a contract, his update schedule would definitely become even more proactive. His head could be cut off, his blood could flow, but his updates could not stop!

Sitting before his computer, Qin Luming first checked the messages on his own phone, then picked up the phone he had found.

It had charged a little. He pressed the power button, and after a while it entered the lock screen. All he could see were notifications for unread messages and numerous missed calls.

Only two numbers appeared in the missed-call list. One was named "Gu Shuiyun," while the other was labeled "Aunt Chen."

Those two were clearly close to the phone's owner. They had called many times, probably continuing until the phone ran out of battery and shut down automatically.

Just then, "Gu Shuiyun" called again.

Qin Luming answered.

"It connected... it connected! Yunyun, hurry..." A woman with a somewhat mature-sounding voice spoke from nearby.

"Ah... Brother, is that you? Brother..." The young woman's voice probably belonged to Gu Shuiyun.

"Hello, I found this phone. I charged it and turned it on because I hoped to contact its owner or the owner's family," Qin Luming said. By now, he could already guess part of what had happened. The owner had lost their phone, and apparently the owner himself had gone missing too.

The owner's phone had been left at the Zinc Factory, and the person had disappeared as well... Qin Luming could not help feeling some sympathy. If this person had vanished because he encountered Zhou Nan, then things were probably grim.

"Ah..." The mature woman let out a long sigh.

"I see. Thank you. Would it be convenient for us to come pick up the phone now?" The young woman, who was likely Gu Shuiyun, sounded fairly calm, though there was a trace of urgency in her voice.

Someone's family member had gone missing, so Qin Luming could only put off his writing for a while. He agreed and gave them his home address.

"Alright, please wait a moment. Thank you." There was a pause of several seconds before the young woman replied hesitantly.

Qin Luming did not think much of it. He quickly opened a Word document, hoping to write a few more words while he had the chance. If their family member had been missing for a long time, the police might come to question him and take a statement.

One... ten thousand... ten thousand words, one day... one update...

On the other end of the call stood a young woman with long hair draped over her shoulders. Her bangs had been trimmed perfectly straight, yet did not make her look stiff. Everything about her conveyed meticulous refinement, as though her eyes and brows, the line of her lips, the shape of her nose, and even her immaculate, crisp uniform had all been carved and polished into neat perfection.

A faint worry lay in Gu Shuiyun's eyes. Her black-stockinged feet rested in high heels, and one heel tapped anxiously a few times before she looked toward the woman beside her, who retained a touch of allure even in her concern.

The woman's name was Chen Kou'er. The name seemed a little too youthful and maidenly, but she had been called that as a girl. There was no reason to make her change it just because she was now in her thirties, was there?

Gu Shuiyun and Chen Kou'er exchanged looks, each seeing a trace of worry and suspicion in the other's eyes.

The person who had found the phone actually lived in the same residential complex as them. They lived in one of the complex's only six villas, while he lived in an apartment building.

That was quite a coincidence.

"Officer Zhang, we got through to the phone. The person who answered said he found my brother's phone. His address is on the twenty-sixth floor of Apartment Building One in our complex," Gu Shuiyun said to Officer Zhang.

"That is rather coincidental." Officer Zhao and Officer Zhang exchanged a glance.

"Could he be connected to Yunyun's brother's disappearance?" Chen Kou'er asked bluntly, her gaze shifting between Officer Zhao and Officer Zhang as though hoping for their agreement.

"That is hard to say." Officer Zhang shook his head.

"I saw a news report once. A criminal went back to the scene of his crime to watch the police investigate and collect evidence. Some criminals even call the police to boast about their methods. Maybe he just wants to see whether we're taking any action? I say we arrest him first and ask questions later," Chen Kou'er said in a lowered voice.

"Mrs. Chen, that is possible." Officer Zhao smiled. "There is some suspicion around him, but we cannot just arrest people. There is no evidence at all... How about this? Mrs. Chen, stay home and wait in case any calls with relevant clues come in. Miss Gu will come with us to this person's home."

"I'll go too," Chen Kou'er said eagerly.

"Aunt Chen, stay home. We'll be back soon." Gu Shuiyun's voice was gentle, but her tone left no room for argument. Chen Kou'er hesitated for a moment and said nothing more.

Gu Shuiyun and the two police officers drove toward Building One.

"Miss Gu, the apartments here aren't cheap either, are they?" Officer Zhang asked.

"Yes... Mainly because his twenty-sixth floor is the top floor. The entire floor has only Units One and Two, and each unit comes with a sky pool. They are the two most expensive units in the whole building. Their prices are actually not much different from our villas." Gu Shuiyun explained that when they had bought a home here, they had considered the top-floor apartments as well, but ultimately gave up on them because they would have needed to take the elevator every time they came and went.

Officer Zhang and Officer Zhao merely exchanged another glance without speaking. It was not as though discovering that someone was wealthy meant they assumed he could not commit a crime or kidnap someone for ransom. They would not make wild guesses like Chen Kou'er. Based on experience, they simply believed it was more likely that he had found the phone by coincidence.