The more Ming Yuqian analyzed, the more he felt that Jia Shenli was likely behind this.
"It's only a suspicion for now, but at least we have a lead," Ming Yutong said, deep in thought. "Can you find someone to keep an eye on Jia Shenli and also investigate his recent activities?"
The Ming family, being a legitimate business family and having just returned to the country, didn't have the resources like Fu Yinxiu, who could afford bodyguards and investigators.
"Sure, I'll get right on it," Ming Yuqian said without hesitation.
Fortunately, he knew many people, including a few trusted friends who could help.
"Let's go," Ming Yutong said, glancing back at her home.
"First, let's stop by the security room and check the surveillance footage to see who came to your house," Ming Yutong's brother suggested.
Ming Yutong agreed, and they stopped by the security room on their way out. When they arrived, the security guard seemed to already know why they were there.
"Miss Ming, are you here to check the surveillance footage?" the guard asked.
Ming Yutong was surprised that the guard was aware of her purpose.
"Someone else came to check it earlier," the guard explained as he pulled up the footage. "Since it was recently viewed, it should be easy to find."
The footage was quickly retrieved. Ming Yutong and her brother set aside their curiosity about who else had viewed the footage and focused on reviewing it.
The guard added, "I know when the suspicious person entered. Do you want me to jump directly to that time?"
Ming Yutong considered it and then shook her head, "Let's start from the beginning. We might discover something else."
The guard then remained silent.
Ming Yutong and her brother watched carefully. Since they didn't know the exact time, they used fast-forward and only returned to normal speed when someone appeared.
Most of the time, there was no activity, so they could fast-forward quickly.
Finally, at 4:12 p.m., a stranger appeared in the footage.
To avoid drawing attention, the man wore a baseball cap but no mask, as that would be too conspicuous.
However, he kept his head down throughout.
Ming Yuqian paused the footage. The guard said, "This is where we stopped when we checked the footage earlier."
Ming Yutong calculated the time. She arrived at the building around seven, so this man's arrival time matched.
Since the man was facing away from the camera, even when paused, his face was not clearly visible.
After the man entered, the security guard switched to the internal surveillance footage.
The man kept his hat pulled low, only showing his chin.
Once he entered the elevator, the camera there also showed him with his head down, making it impossible to see anything.
The guard then switched to the hallway footage.
Ming Yutong recognized this as the area outside her door. The man placed a small metal piece on her lock and then fiddled with something the size of a mobile phone. After a moment, the lock clicked open with a beep.
The man entered Ming Yutong's home and didn't come out until 5:03 p.m., nearly an hour later.
As he walked towards the elevator, his face was briefly visible.
It was such a fleeting glimpse that if Ming Yutong hadn't been staring intently, she would have missed it.
It happened so fast that even pausing the footage was difficult.
Ming Yutong quickly told her brother, "Rewind a bit."
He did as instructed, and they played the footage again.
Ming Yutong kept her finger on the spacebar, ready to pause at the right moment.
When it approached the critical moment, she paused the footage.
The screen showed a blurry but recognizable part of the man's face. "This is him."
"You have a great eye," Ming Yuqian said, smiling as he took a screenshot and sent it to his phone to enlarge on his computer.
They continued watching as the man left the building and drove away without further delays.
No one else appeared on the footage until a quarter of an hour later, when Jiang Lulian arrived, entered the building, and reappeared outside just two minutes later.
Jiang Lulian clearly did not have the time to commit the crime.
Afterward, Ming Yutong returned home.
Therefore, the intruder was indeed the stranger wearing the baseball cap.
Ming Yutong turned to the security guard and asked, "You mentioned that someone else came to review the footage?"
"Yes, two men in black suits, looking very serious, almost like robots," the guard described.
Ming Yutong's first reaction was that they might be from Alpha Guards.
Did Fu Yinxiu also come to investigate?
Was it because he felt wronged after being accused, and now he wanted to check things out?
"Sis, let's talk at home," Ming Yuqian said.
She agreed, and they got back in the car.
On the way, Ming Yutong made calls to investigate Jia Shenli's recent activities.
After everything was arranged, Ming Yuqian turned serious and said, "Sister, no matter what, you cannot marry anyone just because of this. Even if it affects Fu Jingshi, it's not acceptable! I won't let you do this. If you really want to go through with it, I'll lock you in the house. I'd rather you hate me for it than let you jump into a fire pit."