Hurriedly getting dressed, Zhu Wenjing and I rushed out of the ward.
Because it was late at night, the commotion we made was heard by Camel.
Camel suddenly poked his head out from another ward and asked us, "What's going on?"
"Cheng Minglang is missing!"
After saying that, I quickened my pace towards the clinic's exit.
Seeing this, Camel followed without hesitation.
This scene warmed my heart, but now was not the time for pleasantries or favors.
And so, Zhu Wenjing, Camel, and I rushed towards the clinic's secret door.
Unexpectedly, as we burst out of the secret door, we ran right into the missing Cheng Minglang!
Seeing our hurried demeanor, Cheng Minglang asked, "What's wrong with you guys? Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"
Before I could speak, Zhu Wenjing on the side interjected, "Where have you been? Running around at a time like this, do you know how worried we were?"
Cheng Minglang could retort to heaven, earth, and air, but he dared not retort to Zhu Wenjing, whom he had fallen deeply in love with. He lowered his head and remained silent.
Under the dim streetlights, I noticed that although Cheng Minglang's clothes were neatly put on, the cuff of the sleeve tucked into his right waist seemed to have specks of blood.
Seeing this, my brow immediately furrowed.
However, I chose not to question him directly but instead asked him casually where he had been.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Minglang feigned a sneeze and replied, tightening his clothes, "I haven't been anywhere!"
"I got up to pee and was so hungry, I thought I'd look for some late-night snacks outside, but I couldn't find any after searching everywhere!"
"Hungry and want late-night snacks?" Zhu Wenjing asked, looking at Cheng Minglang with suspicion.
Seeing this, Cheng Minglang quickly laughed awkwardly and said, "I actually wanted to ask you to come out with me to look for late-night snacks, but you were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to wake you."
"Alright, alright, I'm back now, everyone can rest assured and go back to sleep."
After speaking, Cheng Minglang took the opportunity to put his arm around Zhu Wenjing, naturally turning his right side away to avoid direct eye contact with me.
I didn't expose his action on the spot. Instead, after he hugged Zhu Wenjing and walked into the secret door, I immediately took out my phone and dialed Su Liuli's number.
Late at night, the call to Su Liuli rang for a long time before she answered.
As soon as the call connected, I got straight to the point and said, "Boss Su, please help me inquire if anything suddenly broke out at Tianci Tower tonight..."
Hearing me say this, Su Liuli on the other end of the phone instinctively replied, "Something did happen, and it was very sudden and explosive!"
"But that matter is very secretive, and not many people know about it yet. I only found out by accident."
Gulp!
Swallowing involuntarily, I softly asked, "Can you tell me if this has anything to do with Xiao Tianyu?"
"How did you know?" Su Liuli on the other end of the phone suddenly said in an excited tone, "Given our past good cooperation, I'll tell you a piece of great news!"
"Longxi... is going to have a major earthquake this time!"
Even though I already had a judgment in my mind, I still asked with a glimmer of hope, "Boss Su, can you be clearer?"
"You're not calling me to verify some half-baked news, are you?"
"I won't play guessing games with you anymore. To put it bluntly, Xiao Tianyu was stabbed to death at Tianci Tower tonight!"
"I heard he was stabbed three times in the chest and died on the spot!"
"What!?"
Hearing this news, I was startled.
Seemingly sensing my shock, Su Liuli on the other end of the phone chuckled, "Don't doubt it! This news is absolutely true!"
"It was a customer of my establishment who witnessed it firsthand at Tianci Tower tonight!"
"My customer said that as soon as Xiao Tianyu appeared, the killer sprang out from the crowd and stabbed him three times in the heart!"
"Every stab drew blood!"
"Oh, right, last night I heard Qingmei say that Xiao Tianyu had caused trouble for you guys. Jinlun was so scared that he called Qingmei for help overnight."
"You can tell Jinlun that he no longer needs to call his sister for help in the middle of the night, because Xiao Tianyu is dead!"
"However, you'd better not be too ostentatious in the next few days."
"Although the mad dog Xiao Tianyu is dead, Xiao Tianci is still alive!"
"It's true that he's gone legitimate, but after all..."
I had no interest in listening to what Su Liuli said afterward.
At this moment, my mind was filled with the extremely jarring phrases "stabbed three times" and "every stab drew blood."
After hanging up the phone, it took me a whole cigarette to digest this explosive news.
Seeing my troubled expression, Camel asked, "What's wrong, boss? Did something happen?"
Shaking my head numbly, I turned and walked towards the secret door without a word...
Before returning to the ward, I stood by the trash can in the corridor, lit a cigarette with a heavy heart.
Late at night, it was dark both inside and out, so quiet that not even a dog barked.
After finishing my cigarette, I entered the ward.
Without a word, I directly woke Cheng Minglang from the chair where he was slumped and dragged him out of the ward door.
Seeing this, the confused Zhu Wenjing followed me and Cheng Minglang to the ward door but was blocked inside by me.
Bang, bang, bang...
"What's wrong, Brother Xiang? Did Minglang do something wrong?" Zhu Wenjing asked from behind the door.
"It's nothing! I couldn't sleep and wanted to chat with Minglang," I replied with a well-intentioned lie.
Seemingly sensing my unusual mood, Cheng Minglang chimed in, "Wenjing, I'm fine. You should go back to sleep. You've been woken up several times tonight!"
After about two or three minutes.
After confirming through the door and window that Zhu Wenjing was no longer standing at the ward door, I pulled Cheng Minglang to the trash can at the end of the corridor and asked him with a solemn tone, "I have a question to ask you, and you must answer me honestly!"
Hearing this, Cheng Minglang remained silent.
I handed him a cigarette and lit it for him, then asked, "You went out earlier to find Xiao Tianyu at Tianci Tower for revenge, didn't you?"
Hearing my sudden question, Cheng Minglang, wrapped in his clothes, froze on the spot.
I thought he would deny it in the end.
Unexpectedly, after coming to his senses, Cheng Minglang nodded without hesitation and replied, "Yes, that's right! I deliberately chose tonight, a time of low vigilance, to lie in wait at Tianci Tower and stab him three times as soon as he appeared!"