Rebirth: Once Again With You

Li Caiyi wanted to make sure whether that person really had left or not, but her foot was rooted in its place, refusing to move. She was too scared to find out.

What if that person was still outside the room, waiting for their chance?

Her heart almost leapt out of her ribcage when her phone rang, followed by a knocking on the door. Unlike the last time, the knocks weren't aggressive, but they made her body tense with apprehension.

"Excuse me? Is there anyone inside?"

That familiar voice belonged to the security guard she had met a few times before. Li Caiyi was so relieved her legs almost gave up on her. She gingerly approached the door while answering the phone.

"Yes? I'm inside, but I'm too scared to check outside."

"Young miss, no one is outside except me, so you can rest assured."

"That's a relief. Can you please check on the CCTV for me after this?"

"Yes, I will check it for you. Do you want me to call the police?" He asked worriedly.

"No, it's okay. Please tell me if you find anything."

"Yes. Please call me when this happens again."

Li Caiyi hung up the call and paced around her room, waiting for further reports from security. She wanted to make sure of something before contacting Detective Tang about this.

After fifteen minutes, the security called her again.

"Young Miss, I'm sorry, but we can't find anything from the security footage."

Li Caiyi took a deep breath. She didn't expect they would go this far. There was no further explanation needed. She had a faint idea of what the culprit was thinking from that bit of information.

"I see. Sir, do you happen to remember what kind of person came in and out of the apartment today?"

"I'm not sure. There were many people apart from the residents here. I can't possibly remember each one of them."

She was a tad disappointed but kind of expected that response, so she quickly cut the conversation short and hung up the call. Next, she called Detective Tang immediately.

This time, he picked up the call after only a few rings. "Yes? Did something happen?"

Li Caiyi hadn't said anything yet, but he seemed to know what she wanted to say. His sharpness calmed her down a lot.

"Detective Tang, that person was here just now."

***

"I see," Detective Tang said in a grim tone after she finished explaining everything. "The culprit prepared everything well this time."

"Detective Tang, do you think they had predicted everything from the beginning?"

"I think so. If you opened the door recklessly, there was no telling what they could do to you. They knew you had been on guard and used that to their advantage. They used you to lure the security to leave his seat for a while. Their purpose was to erase the security footage from the start."

"But that's strange. If they were so afraid of getting caught from the start, why only now did they do it?"

"They must have other reasons to do that. Either way, there is one thing for sure. The culprit had an accomplice."

"I think so too. One person diverted our attention, and when we were distracted, their accomplice went and erased the security footage."

Li Caiyi's mind couldn't help but think about 'Hu Jian' again. There was a possibility that person was the mastermind's accomplice all this time. He became their hands and did the dirty work while the real culprit waited from the safe place and watched her suffer.

Li Caiyi hated to admit it, but their plan went well. She felt like her heart would retire early if this went on.

"Detective Tang, have you found something about this matter? This situation began to get out of hand. I can't even sleep peacefully at night like this."

"The last time I checked, the person who sent that box in front of your apartment room was only a regular person who got paid for doing his job. Nothing suspicious of him, which is good and bat at the same time, because we lost the only lead we have.

I thought of checking the security footage, but my request was denied since I wasn't a resident of your place."

Detective Tang sighed, "Sometimes, becoming a policeman hinders your movement, but without it, there is only so much you can do."

"Don't bother. I have watched it, and I didn't find anything that can be used to investigate."

"If you said so, then it must be true. You have a keen judgement that I sometimes forget you are only a little girl sometimes. But still, this is really dangerous for you. Do you still want to live there?"

"Yes. If I move, it's like indirectly admitting that I'm scared of them, and I don't want that." Li Caiyi clenched her hand into a fist before remembering something. "Oh yeah, is there a possibility that the culprit probably planted some kind of bug inside my room?"

"Hmm, it's not impossible, but less likely. You said that you barely left your house these past few days. Unless they were a professional or someone you invited yourself to, it was almost impossible to do that without leaving a trace. They knew you contacted the security because they had an accomplice watching the situation."

The only people who ever entered her room were Dai Zhiqiang and her friends. They couldn't possibly be the culprit, so Li Caiyi's shoulders loosened a little, knowing her apartment room was safe.

"You are right. I got scared and became too paranoid, apparently." Li Caiyi rubbed her temple with a tired sigh.

"I bet you are. It would be weird if you didn't feel bothered about this. But still, today's incident must have scared you a lot. How about you invite someone to stay over at your place for tonight?"

For some reason, Dai Zhiqiang's face automatically appeared in her mind when thinking about someone she wished to accompany her. How nice would it be if he could be with her all the time, but she knew it was impossible, so she scratched that idea.

"That's a good idea. I'll think of someone to invite tonight. Please tell me if you find something else."

"Yes. Please rest for today."

Li Caiyi was so exhausted after the call. She wasn't in the mood to do her homework anymore.

"So, who should I call here?"