《Once Upon a Time in a Foreign Land》Chapter 019 : Zhonghang Qiuzhen
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Qiuzhen, then together with Hanrong, walked towards the elevator. Arriving in front of elevator number three, they went straight into the elevator. After descending to the eighth floor, there was indeed a banging sound. If Qiuzhen, who was in elevator number three, could hear the banging sound clearly, then the people trapped in elevator number four must have used metal tools to hit the elevator walls. The banging sound is also not only coming from one source. Qiuzhen believed that at least two people were trapped in elevator number four, which was stuck on the eighth floor. When the elevator doors they were in finally opened, Qiuzhen held back Hanrong, who was about to step out. Qiuzhen then pressed the button to close the elevator doors again. Hanrong looked at Qiuzhen with an astonished look.
"We don't know who was inside the elevator," Qiuzhen said.
"That's right Sir, we don't know."
"All the doors are locked, so the person trapped inside the elevator must have entered yesterday."
Hanrong nodded. His face looked even more astonished.
"The people who entered this building yesterday were you, me, those unknown people and, of course, Mr. Duanmu."
"Right Sir! I have also told you that yesterday Mr. Duanmu was here."
"You didn't see him leave here. So it's possible that Mr. Duanmu is still here."
"Yes Sir! I agree with you."
"Since we can't find him, then he must be in a hidden place."
"Right Sir!"
"A stuck elevator is a hidden place."
"Yes, Sir!"
"It means that the most likely person trapped in the elevator is Mr. Duanmu."
"Right Sir! Well then, now we have to get him out of the elevator next door. Let's not delay any longer."
"Just a moment." Qiuzhen grabbed Hanrong's shoulder. He stared at the young man. "Do you think he would be happy to see you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You left this building without locking the door. As a result, a bunch of unknown people could barge in. What if it turned out that they intended to do evil to Mr. Duanmu? So, to avoid them, Mr. Duanmu had to hide by trapping himself in the elevator?"
Hanrong, who was a bit stupid indeed, was dumbfounded at Qiuzhen's words. "But Sir,…." Hanrong then fell silent. He didn't continue. It was evident that the young man didn't even know what he wanted to say.
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"You left the building unattended, then someone came in. Then you come back again. The people came out of the building. Then you didn't check if Mr. Duanmu was okay. You even went home. Do you think he would be happy if he saw your face right now?"
Hanrong's brow furrowed. Qiuzhen didn't know Hanrong was really thinking or just imitating someone who was thinking.
"Then what should I do, Sir?"
"Later, you just tell him you went out for a while to do something. You didn't lock the door because you thought it was only a matter of minutes. Turned out, for some reason, your business took a long time. No need to say that you met your friend at the stall near the crossroads. Don't tell him you chatted with your friends there. Mr. Duanmu will be even more angry if he finds out. What if later he complained to your employer? I think it will be difficult for you to be able to keep this job of yours."
"Okay, Sir!"
Hanrong was a bit of an idiot. In fact, he could have argued with Qiuzhen. After he came home, the one who wandered inside this building was Qiuzhen. So if Shanquan was trapped for hours inside the elevator, it was because Qiuzhen failed to realize that Shanquan was trapped there.
"Now, please get out of this elevator. I'll go downstairs. You don't start to open elevator number four before I get to the ground floor. Do you understand?"
"Where are you going? Aren't we going to help Mr. Duanmu together?"
Qiuzhen could tell that Hanrong was afraid that he would have to face Shanquan alone. He must have hoped for Qiuzhen's help in persuading Shanquan not to scold him.
"Mr. Duanmu can not see me here. He can not know that I've been in this building since yesterday."
"Why Sir?" Hanrong's eyes widened. His mouth opened slightly.
"All night I was here, but I didn't look for him. Why didn't I look for him? That's because you told me that Mr. Duanmu had most likely left this building. Wouldn't he be even angrier if he realized these things? The main thing that will anger him is the fact that last night, without first trying to find him, you told me he was most likely not inside this building."
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Hanrong gaped at Qiuzhen's explanation. His face was exactly like that of an elementary school student who had just found out that he had scored zero on the exam.
"So if I'm not here, then your error is reduced by one. That's why he doesn't need to know that I was here from last night."
Hanrong nodded. Qiuzhen hoped that the young man would blame himself.
After opening the elevator door, you immediately direct him to go down directly to the ground floor. Invite him to your office. Talk to him there. You can not take him up to the tenth floor. My backpack is still there. If Mr. Duanmu sees the bag, how are you going to explain to him about its whereabouts? The point is that he shouldn't know that I was in this building last night."
Hanrong listened to Qiuzhen's words with reverence.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir!"
Qiuzhen wasn't sure that Hanrong had understood everything Qiuzhen said. But Qiuzhen was satisfied if Hanrong understood at least seventy percent of what he said.
"But Sir!"
"What else?" Qiuzhen started to worry. Hanrong might have forgotten the things he explained.
"What if the person inside the elevator isn't Mr. Duanmu?"
I am almost one hundred percent sure that the person inside the elevator was Beaushu. But he is not alone. The question is, who is the person stuck with him?
"If that person isn't Mr. Duanmu, it wouldn't be a problem. You just have to ask him why he got stuck in the elevator. Then you take note of the important things he said. After that, you apologize. He's been stuck there all night, so he'll definitely want to go home soon. After that, you just let the guy go home. I'm sure there won't be any problems in the future."
If that's the case, you better get ready to look for another job.
"All right, Sir! I will do as you say."
"Is there any more?"
"No Sir! I understand." Hanrong nodded vigorously.
"Then you can get out of the elevator now. Now I will go to the stall near the intersection for breakfast. Do you want me to buy you some breakfast?"
"No, Sir! Thank you. I ate at home early this morning."
"Okay! I'll be back later to hear your story about what really happened."
Then Hanrong got out of the elevator. Qiuzhen hoped Hanrong would do everything according to his instructions, which was to start opening elevator number four, only after elevator number three that brought Qiuzhen down reached the ground floor.
At this moment, Qiuzhen felt he should not meet Shanquan. The first reason, of course, was that he felt guilty for keeping Shanquan cooped up for hours in the elevator. Although he didn't know that Shanquan was in the elevator, he should have looked for Shanquan after hearing Hanrong's statement that Shanquan was in this building.
The second was that he could not explain his presence in this building. He should have told Shanquan and the others that he arrived in this city yesterday and stopped by Dafeisy Tower to pick up Songfei's belongings. But he didn't do that. If he told it now, then they would surely wonder why he had to keep it a secret before? Qiuzhen didn't think that way at first. At first, he would only take Songfei's things and store them somewhere. In accordance with Songfei's message, not to tell anyone. Qiuzhen's original plan was that after placing Songfei's belongings in a safe place, only then would he meet his friends without having to say anything about it.
The third, of course, was regarding Songfei's message itself. He ordered Qiuzhen not to tell anyone that he asked Qiuzhen to take and store his things for a while. Since Songfei didn't explain who he meant, Qiuzhen assumed that, in principle, what Songfei meant by 'anyone' was everyone, including Qiuzhen's close friends. The proof was that even Songfei didn't trust his friends from the detective and mystery club. If it were to be discussed further, it would probably be very complicated. Maybe Songfei suspected everyone. Perhaps he had some reason not to let everyone know. If his friends find out about it and want to know Songfei's reasoning, let Songfei himself explain it later. That's none of Qiuzhen's business.
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