"That household?"
The old woman shook her head. "Two young women rented the place."
"They're still at work right now."
"You can knock, but no one will answer."
"But even if you asked them, I don't think they'd be able to tell you anything."
"They've hardly ever seen Xiao Li."
"Their schedules never seem to line up."
"Oh, right."
The old woman looked as if she'd just remembered something. "They don't know."
She nodded firmly.
"Funny thing is..."
"I saw them just yesterday and chatted with them for a bit."
"Thinking about how that child was looking for Xiao Li, I casually asked if they'd seen him."
"At first, they didn't even know who I was talking about."
The old woman shook her head. "It was only when I said he was someone who lived here that they realized."
"But they both said they hadn't seen him."
"I see..."
The older officer murmured under his breath.
Then he looked up. "Thank you for telling us all this, ma'am."
"Don't mention it, don't mention it."
The old woman waved her hand. "I didn't really help you with anything."
"Why don't you come back later?"
The old woman suggested, "Though I don't know why I haven't heard anything going on by the door these past few days."
"Maybe he's been especially busy at work lately?"
She offered her guess. "So he's been leaving early and coming home late, and no one's run into him."
"If only you knew where he worked..."
The old woman sounded regretful.
"I'm his coworker."
Hearing this, the young man couldn't help cutting in, looking rather rueful.
"Huh?"
The old woman was surprised. "You work with Xiao Li?"
"Yes."
The young man nodded.
"Then..."
If Xiao Li's coworker had come here, that meant...
Though she was old, the