Chapter 12: Did You Murder My Lingling?
The villa housekeeper was a woman with her hair tied in a low ponytail. She stood waiting at the entrance of Villa No. 6. When she saw Jiang Yuan and Fu Xiaoxiao get out of the car, she was about to go greet them when she saw the two of them run off after getting out.
She curiously chased after them, “Are you Miss Fu and Miss Jiang? I am Liu Fang, the villa housekeeper.”
Fu Xiaoxiao turned back and asked, “Housekeeper Liu, are there any cats or dogs here?”
Liu Fang nodded, “Yes, we provide pet services here. Please, ladies, come into the villa first. I’ll make a phone call to have them brought over.”
The villa had two floors. The courtyard on the first floor was decorated very distinctively, with a hot spring area shaped like flowers, a path paved with pebbles, a few rocking chairs on the leisure terrace, and a small creative water feature beside it.
Entering the villa hall, Fu Xiaoxiao sat down next to Jiang Yuan.
“Please, Miss Fu and Miss Jiang, have a seat for a moment.” Liu Fang poured them tea and took out her phone to contact a colleague.
After hanging up the phone, she handed them a tablet computer and explained with a smile, “Villa No. 8 is the gourmet buffet area. If you two don’t want to go there, you can also place an order on the tablet, and a dedicated person will deliver the meal.”
Fu Xiaoxiao’s mind, however, was not on gourmet food. She was eager to see Jiang Yuan demonstrate her superpower of communicating with animals.
Ten minutes later, a staff member led a cat and a dog into Villa No. 6.
“They’re here, they’re here!” Fu Xiaoxiao was very excited. “Yuan Yuan, make them do somersaults!”
Jiang Yuan found it both funny and helpless, “Only if they know how to do somersaults.”
The cat and the dog stood obediently beside Liu Fang. The cat was a Silver Chinchilla, and the dog was a Bichon Frise.
They both wore collars with their introductions written on them.
The Silver Chinchilla was named Little Tree, and the Bichon Frise was named Tangyuan. Both were female, and they were chatting.
“It smells bad here, can you smell it, Sister Tangyuan?”
“Woof, I smell it too. Why does it smell bad?”
“I don’t know.”
“…”
Fu Xiaoxiao heard Little Tree’s meow and Tangyuan’s bark, and turned her head to stare curiously at Jiang Yuan, “Yuan Bao, what are they saying?”
Jiang Yuan frowned, “They say it smells a bit here.”
“Huh?” Fu Xiaoxiao looked incredulous. “How could it smell?”
Liu Fang assumed Jiang Yuan was joking, but she still explained, “When Miss Fu booked the villa the day before yesterday, I immediately had someone come over to clean. You can absolutely rest assured about the hygiene.”
As the words fell, a woman with messy hair and a haggard face rushed in, wailing, “Give me back my daughter! My Lingling!”
Liu Fang’s expression changed, and she stepped forward to block the woman, “I’ve already told you, your daughter’s disappearance has nothing to do with our resort!”
The woman cried hoarsely, “How can it not be related? I haven’t heard from my daughter for three days! The last time she contacted me, she said she was soaking in the hot springs here! Hurry up and give me back my daughter!”
“What’s going on?” Fu Xiaoxiao whispered.
Jiang Yuan pursed her lips and also said softly, “Let’s watch for now.”
“If you have something to say, say it outside. Don’t disturb our guests here!” Liu Fang forcefully pulled at the woman.
“I won’t say it outside!” The middle-aged woman resisted desperately and turned to shout at Jiang Yuan and the other woman, “Young ladies, please judge this for me. My Lingling disappeared here. Who else should I go to if not them?”
“I said don’t disturb our guests!” Liu Fang was full of anger and forcefully grabbed the middle-aged woman’s hand, “Get out!”
“Wait a moment,” Jiang Yuan suddenly spoke, “Housekeeper Liu, let go first.”
Liu Fang disagreed, “Miss Jiang, she’s a crazy woman. It wouldn’t be good if she accidentally hurt you.”
“Calm down first,” Jiang Yuan looked at the agitated middle-aged woman, “Take your time and tell me.”
“Misses, please help me, okay?” The middle-aged woman’s eyes were red, and she pleaded with a choked voice.
Jiang Yuan gave her a comforting look, “Please sit down first.”
Liu Fang frowned, “Miss Jiang, why waste your time? She’s just a crazy…”
“Stop talking,” Fu Xiaoxiao interrupted her, displeased, “Just listen to what my Yuan Yuan says.”
Although she didn’t know why Jiang Yuan was doing this, Fu Xiaoxiao felt there must be a reason.
Liu Fang: “…”
Jiang Yuan handed the middle-aged woman a cup of tea and said lightly, “Drink this, and then tell us the whole story in detail.”
The middle-aged woman was Li Ailan. She was a single mother, and her daughter was Gu Lingling, 20 years old. Gu Lingling had arranged to come to the Hot Spring Villa with friends on December 29th.
However, on the 30th, Li Ailan started losing contact with Gu Lingling.
There was still no news until today, the 3rd.
Fu Xiaoxiao asked, “Did you report it to the police?”
Li Ailan nodded forcefully, “I went to the police that night on the 30th. After the police investigated, they said they found no record of Lingling coming here, nor did the surveillance footage show her appearing.”
Liu Fang was dissatisfied, “We’ve told you your daughter didn’t come here! Why do you insist on making a scene!”
“Impossible!” Li Ailan’s tone was full of certainty. “Lingling sent me a video that day, and she was playing in this Villa No. 6!”
Jiang Yuan asked, “Who did Lingling come here with?”
“I didn’t ask,” Li Ailan burst into tears. “Lingling didn’t like it when I asked about these things.”
Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and looked at Liu Fang, “Housekeeper Liu, who were the guests staying in Villa No. 6 on the 29th?”
“Miss Jiang, this involves guest privacy, so I’m not at liberty to disclose it,” Liu Fang looked troubled. “Besides, the police have already investigated and found no record of her daughter coming here. Her daughter’s disappearance really has nothing to do with us.”
Fu Xiaoxiao was just about to use her financial power to get Liu Fang to reveal some information when Li Ailan’s sharp voice suddenly rang out, “You’re lying! Did you kill my Lingling?”
Liu Fang rolled her eyes, “If you have a problem with your brain, go see a doctor.”
“The cat remembers!” Little Tree, who had been lying on the floor gossiping, suddenly turned to Tangyuan and said, “My Loli sister was working at Villa No. 6 the day before yesterday. After she went back, she got sick, saying she was scared by a guest. Someone was crying horribly in the middle of the night!”
Tangyuan widened his dog eyes, “She got scared sick?”
Jiang Yuan heard the cat’s words and fell into contemplation.
If Gu Lingling had really been here, why couldn’t it be found?
She thought for a moment and said, “Ms. Li, I know a police officer. I can tell him about your situation and ask him to help investigate again.”
This was naturally referring to Si Heng.
With his high efficiency on the Old Wang’s Fried Food Shop case, he should be very capable.
“Really?” Li Ailan sobbed, “Thank you, thank you!”
Jiang Yuan, “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not sure if he’s willing to help. Please send me the video Lingling sent.”
After Li Ailan left, Liu Fang looked at Jiang Yuan, her words laced with displeasure, “Miss Jiang, why would you get involved in this mess?”
Before Jiang Yuan could respond, Fu Xiaoxiao glared at Liu Fang, “You don’t need to butt in.”
Liu Fang: “…”
The more Fu Xiaoxiao looked at her, the more displeased she became, “Why are you still here?”
