Translator: CinderTL
"Did something happen?" Lin Wan'er asked, her voice pleasant to the ear.
It seemed that after being alone for so long, the elderly man, having spoken a few more sentences, couldn't help but continue to talk.
The old man's hair was graying, and his eyes were no longer bright, but when he spoke of this matter, his expression couldn't help but change slightly.
Worried about other disturbances, Jiang Cheng pushed the old man to a quieter spot by the roadside.
This place must have once been a garden, but after a long time without care, it had long since become overgrown with weeds in the flower beds.
"Ah," the old man hesitated for a moment before speaking, "That incident happened almost 20 years ago. I was still repairing cars in front of the community back then, and now many people have forgotten about it."
Looking in the direction of the villa, the old man slowly said, "A family used to live there before. The man of the house was said to be in business, and the family's conditions were beyond reproach."
"Back then, unlike now, to be able to afford such a villa, it wasn't just about having money, but also connections."
"That woman..." The old man seemed to recall the past again, turning his head to look at Jiang Cheng sitting beside him, and after a pause, said, "It's not just this old man talking nonsense, that woman was beautiful, not inferior to your fiancée."
"Her looks, her figure, were impeccable."
"When they first moved in, many families were envious, and they treated their neighbors kindly."
"By the way," the old man said, "They also had a child."
"Boy or girl?" Jiang Cheng pressed.
"A boy, about one or two years old, very cute."
A flicker of something passed through Jiang Cheng's eyes, as if some speculation had fallen through.
From the old man's description, it should have been a very harmonious family, a successful man, a gentle woman, and a lovely child.
Jiang Cheng stared intently at the old man, waiting for what came next.
And the twist.
There must be a reason why the man and woman ended up like this.
"But later, people gradually noticed something was wrong," the old man shook his head, his tone changing, "They moved in during the winter, when people wore more clothes, so nothing was noticeable, but by the next spring and summer, it couldn't be hidden anymore."
"That woman's arms and legs were covered in scars," the old man lowered his voice, "Most of them were fresh wounds, looking very pitiful."
"Who would have thought that the man, who seemed like a decent person, could be so cruel behind the scenes."
"Later, neighbors nearby also said that in the dead of night, they could hear the sounds of beating, and the cries of the woman and the child."
At this point, the old man's face suddenly became angry, "What's even more outrageous is that he could even lay hands on his own child!"
"The child was also injured?" Jiang Cheng frowned and asked.
"Yes," the old man nodded, looking quite angry.
"Do you know why?"
"What else could it be? The woman was too beautiful, so there was a lot of gossip. The man suspected she was having an affair with someone else, and after drinking too much, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and he went back and beat her."
This reason was too simple and brutal, Jiang Cheng thought.
"Later, it was said that the man hired a nanny, supposedly to take care of the child at home, but in reality, it was to have someone watch the woman when he wasn't home, to see if she was doing anything to betray him," the old man continued.
"From that time on, the woman rarely left her home, and the man didn't allow it either. The neighbors couldn't see her anymore, but at night, they could still hear the sounds of beatings and the woman's cries."
"With things like this, didn't anyone help by calling the police?" Lin Wan'er's pleasant voice came through, but no matter how you listened, there was a chill mixed in.
The old man frowned uncomfortably, avoiding Lin Wan'er's gaze.
It was clear that the neighbors were just gossiping, and no one wanted to offend a wealthy and powerful man for the sake of an unfamiliar woman.
Lin Wan'er smiled but said nothing.
"What happened next?" Since the incident had already occurred, Jiang Cheng was more concerned with the truth.
"Later..." The old man swallowed hard, his voice dropping to a whisper, "Later, that boy... died."
"Died?"
"Yes," the old man said. "It was quite sudden. I was also shocked when I heard the news."
"How did he die?"
The old man shook his head. "I'm not sure about that, but not long after, the woman disappeared. Some people privately speculated that the man had sent her to a mental hospital."
"She probably couldn't bear such a blow and went mad," the old man sighed deeply, his tone filled with regret.
It seemed that this woman was the one from Ward 624.
From the old man's account, the woman's name was Xiang Nan.
The man's name was Yin Zhenliang.
The old man wasn't very clear about what happened afterward. He only heard that later, this man named Yin Zhenliang killed Xiang Nan.
As for how and where he killed her, he didn't know.
This was all gossip from neighbors in the same community.
After that, everyone avoided that villa, even speeding up when passing by, feeling it was unlucky.
Over time, the place became abandoned and fell into its current state.
After bidding farewell to the old man, Lin Wan'er seemed quite interested in the villa and had the intention to go inside and take a look, as there might be clues.
But Jiang Cheng vetoed the idea. The villa looked extremely eerie from the outside, and who knows what might happen if they really went in.
If it weren't Lin Wan'er by his side, Jiang Cheng might have given it a try.
On the way back, Jiang Cheng looked out the window at the receding scenery, connecting it to what Blind Zheng had mentioned. A hypothesis began to form in his mind.
After getting out of the car and returning to the hospital, he went upstairs.
Upon pushing open the door, Huai Yi and Cao Yang were already waiting in the room.
Judging from their expressions, they had also made significant discoveries.
Sitting down without further ado, Jiang Cheng began to share the clues he had gathered. Upon hearing about Xiang Nan's ordeal, the reactions of the women were intense.
"It seems this Yin Zhenliang is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He frequently beat Xiang Nan and even targeted the child!" Yu Yu clenched her fist.
In her eyes, this was utterly incomprehensible.
Compared to her reaction, Huai Yi's expression was slightly calmer. "I'm wondering, what was his purpose in doing this?"
"It doesn't feel like he was just venting his dissatisfaction," Huai Yi raised his head, his gaze turning to Jiang Cheng. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable trust in the latter.
Perhaps it was because Jiang Cheng had saved him before.
"I feel like it might have been a threat," Cao Yang scratched his head and chimed in. "Do you all remember what Blind Zheng said?"
"He said that the woman's husband had attached himself to a particularly influential woman, and the other party couldn't tolerate the woman, so they had someone issue a diagnosis, defining her as having mental issues."
"Could it be that Yin Zhenliang is beating her so severely, even targeting the child, to threaten Xiang Nan into leaving him?"
(End of the Chapter)
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