Chapter 45 Roommate

“Don’t send me into Room 13, don’t… don’t!!!”

Yan Yu jolted awake, only to find Master Cao pressed down on top of him, panic written all over his face.

Both of them were lying in bed.

“Honey? What are you…” Yan Yu turned his head sharply, and saw Zhao Qingqing floating just outside the bedroom door, staring at him in astonishment.

“I…”

“No wonder you’re not interested in me. Turns out you like men—and this kind of thing…” Zhao Qingqing spoke with a strange expression.

“No, let me explain…” Yan Yu looked back at Master Cao, who was still on top of him, and snapped angrily, “Get off me, now!”

Master Cao scrambled off, bewildered. “Master, who are you talking to?”

“My wife,” Yan Yu said as he got up.

“Where? I don’t see anyone.” Master Cao glanced around, looking for any sign of her.

Suddenly, a pale face appeared right in front of him, eyes as wide as bronze bells and nearly popping out of their sockets. Master Cao was so terrified he rolled across the floor, pressed his back against the wall, and screamed, “Ghost!!!”

“Old Cao is getting on in years, don’t frighten him to death,” Yan Yu reminded calmly.

A moment earlier, Zhao Qingqing’s face had been twisted and menacing, but now she returned to her usual appearance—just a bit paler and with more prominent eyes than an ordinary person.

She stuck her tongue out playfully at Yan Yu. “He wanted to see me.”

Master Cao trembled. “Ma-ma-master, your wife is a ghost?”

“Her name is Zhao Qingqing. She hanged herself, but don’t worry, she’s harmless,” Yan Yu helped Master Cao to his feet and asked, “What were you doing on top of me just now?”

If he didn’t explain this properly, his future married life with Zhao Qingqing would be ruined.

Master Cao replied, aggrieved, “I was eating takeout in the living room when you suddenly started shouting like you were having a seizure. I rushed over to hold you down, and just as I got you onto the bed, you woke up…”

“I remember now.”

With Master Cao’s reminder, memories of Feng Liang began to clarify in Yan Yu’s mind.

Even with sunlight streaming in and Master Cao and Zhao Qingqing by his side, Yan Yu couldn’t help but shiver.

“It’s terrifying…” Yan Yu took a deep breath.

“Master, what happened to you?”

Yan Yu said nothing. He quietly walked over to the ghost with an intellectual disability standing by the window and asked, “Your name is Feng Liang, right?”

The ghost nodded.

“How many times did Yang Yongsheng use the electric shock on you?”

Deep terror flashed in the ghost’s eyes. “I lived in the institute for two years… once a day… sometimes twice, three times…”

Yan Yu had endured the electric shock therapy once, and never wanted to go through it again. But Feng Liang had suffered it for two whole years.

It was unimaginable what kind of life Feng Liang had endured during those years.

Yan Yu’s questions seemed to trigger painful memories; the ghost’s aura of gloom became so dense it spilled onto the floor.

“Is it true, the electric shock therapy at the Internet Addiction Center?” Master Cao was astonished.

Yan Yu nodded, unwilling to recall more.

“He has a heavy aura of resentment and gloom, but it’s scattered and doesn’t form an obsession.”

Just then, Su Han entered the bedroom with a briefcase. Yan Yu wasn’t surprised by her arrival; if Zhao Qingqing was here, Su Han would be too.

Yan Yu sighed deeply. “Feng Liang was tormented for two years at the Internet Addiction Center, to the point of nearly losing his sense of self. Now he’s just a soulless shell in ghost form—he’s afraid to love, afraid to hate, and doesn’t even dare resent the people who tortured him to death.”

Hearing Yan Yu’s words, everyone fell silent. Zhao Qingqing floated over to Feng Liang, gently touched his head, and said sympathetically, “Poor child…”

“He pinned all his hopes on his parents, but it was his own parents who sent him into hell. Such parents don’t deserve to be called human.”

Yan Yu stood up, gently patted Feng Liang’s shoulder, and left the bedroom.

Master Cao and the others followed. Su Han couldn’t help but ask, “This child is so pitiful—are we just going to send him to the City God Temple? The Internet Addiction Center, Yang Yongsheng, and his parents—shouldn’t they bear some responsibility?”

Yan Yu was silent for a moment before turning to Master Cao. “Old Cao, you’re familiar with Chen Chuandong at the police station, right?”

“Uh… fairly familiar.” Master Cao was a regular at the Plum Blossom Police Station.

“Call him for me and ask if there’s any news about Feng Liang’s death. If not, tell him about the Internet Addiction Center and have him investigate. If there is, ask about the details of the case.”

Hearing Yan Yu say this, Su Han smiled, knowing Yan Yu was going to get involved in Feng Liang’s case.

Master Cao went outside to make the call, while Su Han placed her briefcase on the table and took out a thick stack of folders.

“All the information you wanted is here. Eighteen years ago, computers weren’t widely used, so there are no electronic files.”

Yan Yu took the thick stack of folders, opened them, and began reading quietly.

Feng Liang’s case infuriated him, but right now, he was equally concerned about his mother.

If he wanted Zhao Qingqing to remember the events surrounding his mother, he needed to investigate Zhao Qingqing’s cause of death and resolve her resentment. So Yan Yu planned to start with the people around Zhao Qingqing.

But as soon as he opened the first file, his eyes fell on a certain name and couldn’t look away.

“My mother… was Zhao Qingqing’s roommate?!”

Su Han and Zhao Qingqing hurried over to look. Inside the file, Tang Naixin’s name was right next to Zhao Qingqing’s.

Zhao Qingqing frowned. “I can’t remember anything.”

“At least we know you had a connection with my mother. This will save us a lot of trouble,” Yan Yu said patiently.

Grandma was right—Zhao Qingqing was the key to uncovering the truth about Yan Yu’s mother’s death. Having found her, clues would emerge, and following them would lead to the answers.

“There should be more records about your mother at the school. I’ll go get them!” said Su Han.

“I’ll go with you.” Yan Yu thought it would be better to handle it himself rather than make another trip later.

Master Cao had just walked back in as the others were preparing to leave. He asked, “If you all go, what about Feng Liang?”

Yan Yu replied, “You and Blackie stay here and watch him.”

“Me?” Master Cao shivered. “I can’t—at my age, if Feng Liang goes crazy, we won’t be able to stop him!”

“Don’t worry, Blackie can keep him in check. Your job is to make sure Blackie doesn’t pee in the room…”