Chapter 101 Going to the Countryside
Chi Xia was very well behaved during the rest of the journey. He didn't say a word along the way and pretended to sleep until he really fell asleep.
Luo Xun's car stopped near Pei Xinlu's house. He got out of the car first and waited for two minutes before knocking on Chi Xia's window.
Chi Xia quickly came to his senses, tidied his hair and came down. The two of them stood at the door of Pei's house and looked around.
Pei Xinlu's parents lived in the countryside, and Luo Xun had observed them as the car drove all the way here.
The doors of most houses in the village were open, except for Pei's, whose doors were closed.
While he was talking to Chi Xia about this, he knocked on Pei's door.
There was no movement inside for a while. Luo Xun glanced at Chi Xia and said, "If the door is to be locked, it should be locked from the outside. Now the door is not locked, so either he didn't hear it, or he went out to visit someone."
As he spoke, he knocked harder on the door.
The noise was quite loud, and although the people inside didn't come out, it did attract two neighbors across the street.
"Oh, they won't come out if you knock like that."
The auntie opposite the door fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan: "Just go in and call out at the second door. She doesn't have a dog at home, so don't be afraid of being bitten."
The aunt next to them also agreed: "Really? Go in and shout. They won't come out if you shout here. The Pei family is very prestigious. If they don't come out despite such a commotion, they must look down on you."
Chi Xia understood some of the meaning behind these words. She and Luo Xun exchanged glances. Luo Xun pushed the door open and went in, while she stayed outside.
"Two sisters."
Chi Xia walked up to the two women with a smile: "We are friends of Pei's daughter-in-law. We couldn't contact her recently, so we came here to try our luck. You'll see her every now and then. Have you seen her? And the child? Hey... We haven't seen the child for a long time, and we miss him a lot."
"Pei family's daughter-in-law?"
The two women exchanged glances with an inexplicable look. They pulled Chi Xia inside and one of them lowered her voice: "You don't know yet?"
Chi Xia looked bewildered: " Know what?"
Another auntie frowned and came over: "You don't know, the Pei family's grandson is gone..."
Hearing this, Chi Xia's heart skipped a beat. The child was gone after all.
She felt sorry in her heart, but her face showed shock: "Gone... Gone? What happened? How could the child... be gone?"
The two aunts sighed, looked regretful, and pointed at the gate of the Pei family.
"No! The Pei family was renovating their house at that time, and Xinlu brought the child over. I don't know if he didn't keep an eye on it or what, but the child climbed up by himself, and fell down in the middle of the night. Can you imagine what was placed underneath the house being built? Sigh..."
"Why……"
Another aunt also sighed: "Although the old couple of the Pei family are not good people, the child is really lovable. He calls everyone he sees. Fortunately, his mother taught him well. If he was taught by these two, who knows what he would become..."
"Then...Wanrou wasn't there at the time? How could she let the child go to such a dangerous place? She always watched the child very carefully. No...it didn't seem like something like this would happen..."
Chi Xia looked sad as she observed their expressions.
One of the ladies shook her head and threw her arms in anger: "It's because she's not here! How can a mother not take care of her own child!"
"You didn't see it. When she came here, she almost lost contact with the child. Her clothes and shoes were all mixed up! She made a big scene. After that, I never saw her come here again. See..."
The aunt glanced at the front door of the Pei family. "Xinlu's parents used to be so prosperous. Their son worked hard and they looked down on everyone. But after that incident, they dare not even go out. But I heard that they will move to the city soon. I feel sorry for the child and his mother. They have never had a bad life."
"This couple is committing a sin..."
The aunt waved mysteriously, and the three people hid inside again. Chi Xia heard her say, "We are not sure about this, but we just said it, and you guys just listen to it and forget it."
"What are you doing sobbing? Why don't you just say something?" Auntie No. 2 frowned in disdain: "Hey... what you want to say, isn't it..."
The two exchanged glances, and everything was said without words; Chi Xia was excluded.
In order to obtain more information, she urged, "Sisters, please don't hide it from me. Tell me, Xixi, that child, was Wanrou's life. How could she be gone for no reason!"
The two aunts talked to each other, sighed, and waved at her. Chi Xia immediately moved over again.
Three heads gathered together, and the auntie put her hand to her mouth: "Someone said that Xixi didn't fall down by herself!"
Chi Xia's eyes tightened.
Then they said, "Someone saw it. Xinlu pushed the child down!"
After each of them finished speaking, they shook their heads and said, "I think this is just a lie. How can a father harm his own son?"
Chi Xia didn't think so. She asked, "Who said that?"
The aunties stopped talking and shook their heads: "I'm not sure about this. I can't say who spread it as a joke, haha..."
Luo Xun sent a message to Chi Xia asking her to come in. Chi Xia looked at it and thanked the two aunts again: "Sister, thank you so much. By the way, Xixi lost her time. Was it... was it half a year ago ?"
"Well, we are just talking nonsense."
The two aunties waved their hands: "As for the time...it was only half a year ago!"
Chi Xia exchanged a few more pleasantries with them, added their contact information, and earnestly requested them to tell her if they had any further news.
She especially reminded that as Zhou Wanrou's friend, she must seek justice for the child.
In order to show his sincerity, Chi Xia sent a red envelope as soon as the contact information was added.
The two aunts were filled with righteous indignation: "We held that child in our arms too. If he really died unjustly, we will help you no matter what!"
Chi Xia thanked them and entered the Pei family.
It seemed that the construction of the four-story building in the Pei family yard was stopped after it was only half built.
Chi Xia speculated that the construction was stopped when Pei Xi passed away.
As she walked in, she felt that what the two aunts said was probably right. The yard was not tidied up, and it seemed that Pei Xinlu's parents were indeed preparing to move.
She followed the sound of voices and lifted the curtain of a house . As soon as she entered, she saw Pei Xinlu's mother crying.
Luo Xun should have told them the news of Pei Xinlu's death. The woman was crying breathlessly, but the man was still somewhat calm. However, Chi Xia noticed that one of his hands was trembling slightly.
"When Pei Xi died, Pei Xinlu signed them up for a tour to Sanya, but they were not at home at the time."
Luo Xun said this and waved at her. When she came over, he stuffed a fruit into her hand.
Chi Xia quietly put it in his pocket.
"According to the time calculation, it was during the Chinese New Year. No one was home. What was Pei Xinlu doing back home?"
Chi Xia frowned and deliberately said, "Did Zhou Wanrou come with you?"
Before the old man could speak, she shook her head again: "Zhou Wanrou must not have come, otherwise the child would not have been in trouble."
Luo Xun hummed, and then asked Pei Xinlu's parents: "Before he died, Pei Xinlu left a suicide note, which said that he killed Zhou Wanrou. What do you think about this?"
The old man's hands were shaking even more severely. Luo Xun and Chi Xia both knew that the old man was both sad and angry.
He pursed his lips tightly, and wanted to say something, but swallowed it back. He lit a cigarette tremblingly, took a deep puff, and choked himself again.
"I, Xinlu, will not kill anyone! He was wrongly accused, he must have been wrongly accused!"
Pei Xinlu's mother finally stopped crying and defended her son: "He and Wanrou had such a good relationship. Even if...even if there was a rift because of the child, but...but...but, why would he kill someone?"
She glanced at her husband anxiously, and when he didn't say anything, she suddenly stood up and stamped her feet in anger: "Even if she wanted to kill, it was my daughter-in-law who killed my Xinlu. How could Xinlu kill anyone!"
She actually thought it through. Just as Chi Xia was about to speak, the phone in her pocket vibrated.
She thought it was a message from Lin Wenjue, but when she took it out to see, she found that the person who sent the message was actually Auntie No. 1 whose contact information she had just added.
The message from the aunt is: [Girl, I have something to tell you, but you must not say that I said it.]
Chi Xia replied: [Sister, I promise you. ]
The other party was typing and the message came over soon.
[We were not just talking nonsense. Someone in the village really saw Xinlu push the child down! It was the Sandanzi family next door to the Pei family!]
Another message came.
[The three prodigals said it themselves! ]
