The truck braked suddenly and stopped just a few centimeters away from Mai Xiaoshu.
The driver leaned out of the car window in a panic, and was relieved to see that nothing serious had happened. He yelled at the culprit, "You're crazy! You're running around like that, are you trying to save your life?"
The rush hour for getting off work had just passed and the streets were a little empty, with only a few passers-by besides the drivers.
Mai Xiaoshu put down her hand and looked up at the driver. From the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of the old man standing in the dark, staring at , like a ferocious beast staring at its prey, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"Hey, if you have nothing to do, just get out of the way. I'm in a hurry to deliver the goods!" Seeing her standing there stupidly, the driver couldn't help but honk his horn with an unhappy tone.
The piercing sound suddenly brought Mai Xiaoshu back to consciousness from her fear. Now, the only one who could help her was the truck driver!
Without hesitation, she rushed to the car, quickly opened the door and jumped in.
The driver obviously did not expect the girl's inexplicable behavior. He looked at her in surprise and was speechless.
"Take me to the police station! Someone is chasing me!" Mai Xiaoshu sat down in his seat, fastened his seat belt at lightning speed, and said excitedly.
The driver was stunned for a long while, not knowing whether to believe her. However, the girl looked pale and her eyes were filled with deep fear, and she didn't look like she was lying...
"Please, uncle, drive!"
Could there really be a murder? After thinking for a while, the driver hurriedly said "Oh" and stepped on the accelerator.
Mai Xiaoshu watched the old man's figure getting farther and farther away through the rearview mirror and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The truck driver dropped her off at the police station and left. Mai Xiaoshu quickly called the police and, under the guidance of a police officer, returned to the scene.
“Ding Ling Ling——”
The doorbell rang for a while, and soon someone answered and opened the door. It was the old man.
At this moment, he was completely different from his previous ferocious look. He had put on a kind expression to welcome their arrival.
"Two police officers, is there anything wrong?" The old man had already changed his blood-stained clothes, and there was just the right amount of confusion on his face, as if he was surprised by the arrival of the police.
"Sir, someone reported you for slaughtering small animals in the backyard. Here is my ID, just a routine check. Please stand here and don't move." The policeman took out his police ID to identify himself.
"Ah?" The old man looked puzzled. "Mr. Police, are you sure you are right? What animal did I kill?"
The police had seen too many suspects who delayed their actions, so they rushed in without saying anything to the old man. Mai Xiaoshu followed the two policemen closely. She did not dare to make eye contact with the old man, but even so, she could still feel his burning gaze behind her.
The decoration in the room was not much different from that of an ordinary home, but what Mai Xiaoshu couldn't believe was that there were all kinds of cute photos of small animals hanging on the walls. On the surface, the owner seemed to love small animals very much. Realizing the perverted hobby behind the old man's hypocritical face, Mai Xiaoshu couldn't help but shudder.
"Where is the massacre scene you mentioned? Take us there!" said one of the police officers named Li.
"Go forward." Mai Xiaoshu led them around the living room and walked towards the backyard. When she passed the old man, she saw a sly smile flash across his face.
Mai Xiaoshu suddenly felt a little uneasy. She quickly turned her head away, trying not to think about that weird smile. She quickened her pace and rushed to the scene with the two policemen.
"By the pond in the back garden."
As the three of them stood in the yard, Mai Xiaoshu pointed firmly at the pool of blood next to the garden. Although a lot of it had been cleaned up, some traces still remained.
After the two policemen lowered their heads to check the bloodstains, their expressions immediately became serious.
"What's going on? Tell the truth, where are the animals you killed?" Officer Li questioned the old man seriously.
"What...what animal?" The old man pretended to be confused.
"Tell the truth, what's with the blood on the ground?" The police pulled the old man to the bloodstain.
"Oh... maybe that was left when I killed the fish just now..."
"What? Killing fish!" the policeman and Mai Xiaoshu said in unison.
"Wait a moment." Soon, the old man brought out a pot of slaughtered fish from the kitchen, and a fish with a breath of life still jumped up in the basin.
The police looked at the basin of fish in confusion.
"How can killing fish leave the ground covered with blood? We have recently received several cases of missing animals, all of which happened near your house. And this little girl said she saw you killing animals in the backyard. We have reason to believe that you hid the animal carcasses. Let's inspect your house now. Do you have any objections?" From their expressions, Mai Xiaoshu guessed that although they were a little shaken, they did not completely believe what the old man said, and he felt relieved instantly.
After the police told the old man that they wanted to check the house, the old man's calm expression showed a hint of anger. He slowly approached Mai Xiaoshu and pushed her to the corner step by step: "Little girl, how did I offend you? I don't know you and I haven't seen you before. How can you frame me?"
"We'll know soon whether it's a false accusation or not," Mai Xiaoshu said bravely.
"Calm down, everyone!" Two policemen stepped forward to stop them.
"What? Are you scared?" Officer Li looked at the old man whose mood was beginning to become abnormal with some confusion.
Seeing Officer Li raising his eyebrows and asking, the old man stopped talking and obediently handed over all the keys to the house: "You can look around and check anything you want. Kids nowadays can make up any lies. Police comrade, if it is proved that she lied, you must help me get justice." As he said that, the old man pressed the keys into the police's hands.
Just at this moment, Andy flew over, and Mai Xiaoshu quickly signaled it with his eyes to look around to see if there was anything wrong.
Afterwards, Mai Xiaoshu followed the two policemen to check the five rooms on the two floors. Not only were there no animal carcasses, but even no animal hair was found. Every room was spotlessly clean, as if no one had lived there.
When she saw the two policemen whispering to each other, Mai Xiaoshu realized that the police were suspicious of her.
"Little girl, do you know that you will go to jail if you make a false report? You made us waste a whole night and disturbed the old man's rest! Now come back to the police station with us to take a statement and tell us why you lied!" Another policeman named Wang suddenly lectured her with a stern face.
It is hard to imagine how the old man cleaned up all the animal carcasses in such a short time. Now there is insufficient evidence and she has no way to defend herself. Mai Xiaoshu doesn’t know what to do. The police will not believe her.
After she bowed and apologized to the old man against her will, it was half an hour later when the police took her back to the police station.
Both officers felt that they were tricked by the girl. On the way back, they were no longer friendly to her. Officer Li even said sternly: "I felt that she was lying from the beginning!"
"I really didn't lie, I really saw it!" Mai Xiaoshu said a little aggrievedly, "You can look for nearby surveillance cameras, maybe there is video evidence?"
"That house is so remote, where would the surveillance come from? Come on, don't explain. I can't expect you to tell the truth. Where are your family? Ask them to come over and bail you out, otherwise you'll have to spend the night here." Officer Li added, shaking his head in disappointment.
Even though Mai Xiaoshu's eyes were clear and she looked calm and fearless, the two of them only believed the "facts" they had just seen with their own eyes. She had to forcefully suppress the anger and unwillingness in her heart and reluctantly dialed Song Feifei's number.
However, there was only a "beep, beep, beep" sound from the other end of the phone.
"What's going on? Did Feifei fall asleep? But it's still so early, that's impossible!" Mai Xiaoshu couldn't help but mutter.
Five minutes later, the call still didn't go through. Mai Xiaoshu sighed: "Comrade police, my parents disappeared in a plane accident five years ago, and my good friend's phone number is not with me. I really didn't lie. Please let me go home first."
"Are you serious? You lied and accused an old man of hunting you down, and now you're saying your parents are missing and your friends won't answer their calls?" Police Officer Li, who had been working an all-night shift with Mai Xiaoshu, was so upset that he slammed the table and stood up angrily, "Try to lie again, believe it or not, I'll lock you up for ten days or half a month!" Mai Xiaoshu hadn't expected the situation to become so serious. He had to hold back the tears in his eyes.
Today was her first day back at school and she was only doing a scholarship application interview. She hadn't had time to . If the zoo director was called over, she would definitely believe the police and think she was lying, and she would probably lose her job.
As the dark clouds gathered, the evening news on the police station screen was reporting the news that An Chengye had won the award. She suddenly remembered Jian Jun, who had handed her his business card that day and told her that she could ask him for help with anything.
"Don't you have any other friends?" Officer Wang kindly reminded.
"There's one more person! Let me try!"
With the last bit of hope, Mai Xiaoshu took out his business card and dialed the number.