CHAPTER 189: CHAPTER 189: I WAS JUST THINKING THE SAME

When Lin Ruixian came out of 2701, nearly an hour had already passed.

Gu Ningyue was killing time playing Tetris on her phone, completely unaware of everything that had happened inside.

"You’ve got quite the relaxed vibe going on!" Lin Ruixian said.

Gu Ningyue didn’t even lift her head, her fingers swiping across the screen quickly, "What did Mr. Cheng say?"

Lin Ruixian glanced back over his shoulder, "Let’s head back first! We can talk on the way."

Gu Ningyue nodded, "Just a moment, let me finish this game!"

Lin Ruixian stood patiently watching until ’GAME OVER’ appeared on the phone screen before saying leisurely, "Alright, let’s go!"

They hit the elevator button, and as if fated, when descending to the twenty-sixth floor, they encountered the girl in the white dress they had seen on the plane.

Gu Ningyue pinched Lin Ruixian’s back discreetly, the amusement in her eyes unmistakable.

Considering this coincidence, Gu Ningyue felt it would be a shame not to say a few words to the young girl.

"What a coincidence." Gu Ningyue looked at the girl in the white dress and asked, "Do you live around here?"

The girl in the white dress nodded, "Yes! Are you leaving?"

Gu Ningyue nodded, "Yes, what’s your surname?"

The girl in the white dress said, "Just call me Xiao You. And you are?"

Of course, Gu Ningyue used a fake name, and Lin Ruixian chimed in from beside her, "My surname is Lin, just call me Mr. Lin."

Gu Ningyue rolled her eyes internally; such an aloof title, truly a cold man.

"Did you see the man in black on the twenty-seventh floor when you went up?" Xiao You asked, looking at the two of them, "I’ve heard..."

Xiao You hesitated, which piqued Gu Ningyue’s curiosity: "We’re just exploring Y city and will leave tomorrow; it’s fine to tell us. What’s peculiar about that man?"

Hearing that they were leaving Y city in a couple of days, Xiao You couldn’t help but take a closer look at Lin Ruixian, "A man who moved in not long ago often lingers on the twenty-seventh floor. I once accidentally stayed on the elevator too long and saw him once. The air-conditioning was broken that day, yet he still wore a thick mask. The look in his eyes was terrifying, like a demon crawling up from Hell..."

As she spoke, Xiao You shivered while hugging her arms.

The scene from that day seemed vivid in her memory, invoking fear once more.

Gu Ningyue and Lin Ruixian exchanged a glance, suddenly with serious expressions, and looked at Xiao You, "How long has that man been there?"

Xiao You thought for a moment, "It seems he moved in last month, around the same time as the people in 2701. The renovation noise was so loud then, so I remember it clearly."

While speaking, the elevator stopped on the fifteenth floor, and two aunts with permed hair entered, carrying vegetable baskets.

"Gosh, how unlucky, I just saw that man again..."

"You saw him too, I thought I was the only one! It’s so eerie. Thank goodness it’s daytime, or what would happen in the evening?"

"You’re lucky you’re on the fifteenth floor; I’m on the twenty-seventh and see him every day. Frightening!"

"Wearing all black in such hot weather, wrapping himself up so tightly, maybe he’s sick!"

"Who knows! He seems crazy, better to keep a distance. These days, you never know what kind of freaks are out there!"

"Yeah, like the Song family’s daughter. She seemed perfectly normal, but ended up stabbing someone over a petty argument. Turned out she had intermittent mental illness when it went to court..."

Gu Ningyue didn’t expect to hear such gossip in the elevator, casting a helpless glance at Lin Ruixian.

Lin Ruixian shrugged, indicating he was also powerless.

Once they reached the first floor, Xiao You pulled out sunglasses from her bag and asked, "I’m heading that way, where are you two going?"

Gu Ningyue said, "We’re just going to wander around, we haven’t really explored yet!"

Xiao You mentioned a couple of scenic spots with decent views, waved, and bid them farewell.

Watching Xiao You’s graceful departure, something flashed unexpectedly in Gu Ningyue’s mind, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.

"Did you notice, Xiao You claims to be from this neighborhood, but those two aunts didn’t say a word to her?"

Gu Ningyue paused mid-step, that’s right! That was the issue.

One aunt was from the fifteenth floor, the other from the twenty-seventh.

Unless they knew each other before, they would have only become familiar by riding the elevator together daily, hence walking together.

But why did these two ignore Xiao You?

Even their glances at her were as if she were a stranger, just like they looked at us.

Thinking of this, Gu Ningyue asked, "Do you suspect there’s something wrong with Xiao You?"

"Yes, but I’m not entirely sure yet." Lin Ruixian shielded his eyes from the sunlight, "This neighborhood frequently has vacant apartments for rent. Those two aunts most likely thought we were potential tenants, which is why they didn’t speak to us."

After all, at that age, aunts typically exchange a few words with everyone.

Gu Ningyue nodded, "True, but that man in black, sounds a bit like..."

"—Tan E." Lin Ruixian voiced the name.

"Exactly." Gu Ningyue said, "He’s in Y city, could he be targeting Cheng Yihan too?"

Lin Ruixian shook his head, "Hard to say. Tan E has never shown any interest in jade. In the past, when he was in the organization, he was assigned by the boss to find Mr. Cheng. Apparently, Tan E mistakenly thought a jade pendant Mr. Cheng was carrying was ordinary and broke it, which earned him a scolding from Mr. Cheng."

"Yes, I’ve heard about that too." Gu Ningyue said, "But before that, they rarely crossed paths, shouldn’t have any grudges, right? Even if they do, the organization would know."

Especially my mentor, who would never sit by if there were any grudges.

As a leader figure in the organization, Gu Ningyue’s mentor highly valued ’unity.’

Especially when organization members worked external jobs, being very cautious.

Lin Ruixian hailed a cab, "Let’s come back and check it out tomorrow!"

This place really does make one uneasy.

Gu Ningyue nodded, "Yes, I’m thinking the same."

Having Tan E, someone expelled from the organization, around was already unsettling, and now there’s also Xiao You.

Come to think of it, the frequent chatting on the plane didn’t seem all that normal.

"By the way, what did you talk about in there today?" Gu Ningyue turned her head, looking at Lin Ruixian sitting next to her, "I almost thought you got abducted..."