章 2: Under Arrest

He Juan's mind blanked and for a few seconds, he could only stare dumbly at the photograph. "My name…" The first thought that popped up in his mind was: so she was listening when He Juan introduced himself last time before slamming the door on him. Second, why, of all people, did she write his name as her dying message?

"Right, it's your name." Captain Li responded dryly. "Care to tell us why did she write your name when she was — possibly — on the brink of death?"

"I—" He Juan lifted his eyes and stared at the three people who looked back at him with a similarly scrutinizing gaze. He couldn't help but laugh because the situation was just so ironic. "You're suspecting me. That's right, if I were you, I would doubt myself too." He reached for the last untouched juice — because there was no sign that Mu Yuze wanted it — and gulped it down to moisten his dry throat. "Feel free to search my house, officers. I can say with a clear conscience that I have nothing to be afraid of. As for why she wrote my name, I apologize but… I can't think of any reason why."

Captain Li nodded to the two others who started to move. He Juan was hit with another wave of helplessness when Mu Yuze marched straight into his bedroom. Goodness, now he's going to know how much of a mess He Juan was. His attention was drawn back to Captain Li when the man pulled out a notebook and pen, then placed a recorder atop of the table. "You don't mind that I am recording this conversation, do you?"

He Juan made a gesture of 'go ahead'.

Captain Li nodded and flipped through his thick notebook. "First, where were you from 12 pm to 3 am last night?"

"I was here, in my house."

"Can anyone prove your claim?"

He Juan blinked and told himself that this was all procedure, that the officer was just doing his job. Still, it was quite unpleasant to be doubted as such. "No," he said with a tight smile on his lips. "But you can check from the CCTV that I never went out— oh wait," He Juan's heart sank as he guessed tentatively, "...Don't tell me that it is broken."

"It's indeed broken." Captain Li said in a matter-of-fact tone. "If only it wasn't, we would have found the culprit by now, Mr. He."

"You're right." He Juan heaved a forlorn sigh. Old apartment problems. Yesterday the elevator malfunctioned and now it's the CCTV.

He Juan was starting to wonder whether he had to move out again but on second thought, he had already paid the lease for a full year. This was, afterall, the first house he had truly owned for himself after seven years and it had the best condition out of the apartments he had viewed around the high school he taught at. He Juan sighed. Moving out wasn't an option then.

"According to Mrs. Hong, the fourth floor tenant who reported the incident, the noises started from around 1.45 AM which lasted for almost half an hour. At that time, what were you doing?"

He Juan recalled the empty bottle of wine in his trash bin and felt a surge of inexplicable guilt on the pit of his stomach. The fourth floor tenant had heard his neighbor's scream; in hindsight, He Juan should have heard it better since their room was practically side by side.

If… If he hadn't gotten so wasted, would he have heard her? Colors drained from He Juan's face when he abruptly recalled something. Last night, his sleep had been plagued with the usual nightmares; the cacophony of shrill cries, an ear-deafening tire screech followed by a massive crash.

Goodness, don't tell him… what if it wasn't a dream afterall? Had his neighbor, Miss Zhao, pounded on his door and begged him to help her? On the other hand he… he thought that everything was merely a dream…

He Juan stood up abruptly, taking Captain Li off guard as he dashed toward the common bathroom, almost knocking Kang Guanyu on his way. "M—Mr. He, what happened?!"

But He Juan couldn't answer him. His head was ringing and bile was rising on his throat. Bending over the sink, He Juan vomited so hard that he almost puked his guts out. The pungent wine and stomach acid burned his throat and tears gathered in his eyes as a result. The pain on the base of his skull returned, this time stronger and sharper. After washing his mouth, He Juan fumbled to get the medicine in his cabinet and swallowed it.

He closed his eyes and regulated his breath, waiting until the pain subsided before opening them again.

Mu Yuze's dark eyes were staring right at him through the mirror.

He Juan startled lightly. However, before he could say anything, Mu Yuze had already turned around without a word and disappeared from sight, leaving a speechless He Juan behind.

…What had he done to make this officer dislike him so much?

"Mr. He, are you okay?!" Kang Guanyu hovered around him when he returned to the living room. "Do you need something? Oh my God, your face is so pale!"

"No. I'm sorry, it's just that I…" He Juan inhaled deeply, fists clenched by his side. Clearly enunciating each word to let them know how much he regretted his act last night. "It's my fault. Last night, I drank quite a lot and got myself intoxicated. I thought I heard something but I'm not so sure… I'm really sorry that I can't be of help."

"Hmm…" Captain Li jotted something down in his notebook. For a few seconds, the atmosphere was tense as he waited for the officer's next question. Somehow, He Juan could even hear Kang Guanyu holding his breath beside him. "So you're telling me that you don't have an alibi."

He Juan grimaced. That was true, but still…

Captain Li added. "Don't get me wrong, Mr. He. I doubt you the same as I doubt everyone else. Truth to be told, the other tenants on this floor were coincidentally out last night. It means that you and Miss Zhao are the only ones left on the fifth floor and from the CCTV on the fourth floor, we found no one heading down. The blood trail is only on this floor so we suspect that Miss Zhao's body is still somewhere around." He stood up and shoved his notebook to his back pocket. "I'll be honest with you. We came to you after we interrogated everyone else in this apartment building and — I can't divulge who it is — when asked whom they thought the culprit might be, three of them gave your name."

He Juan could feel himself gawking. What… did he just hear? Three people thought he… he was the one who had harmed Miss Zhao?!

Not to mention the fact that he had just moved in less than a week, he hadn't even had the chance to meet the people in this apartment properly! On what basis did they accuse him…?

Chills permeated He Juan's body but in spite of that, he found himself calming down, it was as if his soul had detached from his body and he was seeing everything from the third's perspective. When you had no memory of your life except for the past seven years and had gone through numerous peculiar accidents due to it, you would find yourself adapting to any bizarre situation quickly.

"I'm sorry but," Captain Li finished the sentence. "Mr. He, you're under arrest on suspicion of the murder of Miss Zhao Xinya. Please follow us back to the station."

"I…" He Juan swallowed thickly. "I know it's inappropriate when we're dealing with someone's life here but can I call my workplace and tell them I won't be in? Sorry, it's my first day yesterday and I don't wish to get fired."