Xing Hechou walked into the house and casually closed the door behind him.

Inside, the residence still looked the way it did when Li Ang and the others first entered: the living room lights were on, a few pairs of shoes were arranged at the entrance, and all doors and windows remained closed.

The interior, previously turned upside down by the players, had been restored to its original state, with no visible signs of being ransacked.

A deathly silence slowly settled, leaving only the sound of Xing Hechou's boots tapping on the floor.

"Strange..."

Li Ang's voice echoed in his mind.

"Hmm?" Xing Hechou asked, "Did you find something?"

"The house is too stuffy and hot."

Li Ang replied, "On our way here, by checking calendars for sale in convenience stores and electronic clocks, we determined it was around six in the evening on Saturday, May 11th, Reiwa Gannen Year.

If we assume that this place reflects the real world, then the weather in the Japan Islands at this time in 2019 should be quite hot and humid.

In the same alley as the Fushen residence, other homes either had their external air conditioning units running or their doors and windows open.

However, only the Fushen residence had its doors and windows closed, with no sign of the air conditioner being used.

This was the case whether it was our first or second time entering the house.

The open state of shops and houses along the way is enough evidence that the alley isn't experiencing typhoon weather, so there's no need to keep doors and windows tightly shut."

Xing Hechou paid closer attention and indeed felt it was somewhat stuffy inside.

Previously, when he had kicked open the door, it allowed the interior to air out, which felt better.

But now, with the door closed, it did feel stuffy and hot.

"Isn't that normal?"

Wanli Fengdao asked dubiously, "Maybe the entire Fushen family is out on errands or went out to have fun because it's Saturday?"

"Not likely."

Li Ang said, "Pay attention to the arrangement of shoes at the entrance.

To the left of the entrance is an almost full, three-tiered old wooden shoe cabinet; on the right is a bamboo umbrella stand. The floor is tiled with three-colored tiles, with a circle of smooth pebbles laid along the edge.

Close to the inner side of the entrance were two rows of shoes, mostly belonging to adult men or middle-aged and older men and women. All had their toes pointing outward, ready for daily use.

They likely belonged to the family's great-grandmother Fushen Miyoshi, the parents Fushen Pingyuan and his wife, and their youngest son Fushen Boji—the shoes of these four individuals.

On the side farther from the interior of the entrance, there was a pair of women's high heels and a pair of children's shoes.

These most likely belonged to the eldest daughter, Weimen Xingzi, who was already married, and her daughter, the great-granddaughter Weimen Ziyuan."

Wanli Fengdao was even more confused. "Wait, what does the arrangement of shoes in the entrance have to do with their family going out to have fun?"

Liu Wu Dai said, "The term 'genkan,' or entrance, was originally used in Taoism and Zen Buddhism, denoting 'the gateway to the most profound and wonderful mysteries.'

This concept was extended into ancient East Asian architecture, signifying a private space separating the inside of a house from the outside.

Traditional Chinese architecture uses screens, inner doors, or chairs as dividers.

In the Japan Islands, however, the entrance floor is lowered, imitating the raised platform style of Zen Buddhism, to create this separation.

A Japanese-style entrance helps keep out moisture and dust. Visitors are expected to remove their coats and hats upon arrival, straighten their clothing before stepping into the entrance proper, and place their shoes with the toes pointing towards the doorway, neatly to one side.

Weimen Xingzi's and Weimen Ziyuan's shoes were placed on the outer left side. Since they don't live in this house regularly, we can presume that Weimen Xingzi was visiting her parents, grandmother, and younger brother with her daughter.

And since her shoes are still at the entrance,

it means she hasn't left this house."

"Uh..."

Xing Hechou stared blankly for a few seconds, thought carefully, and asked, "Is it possible that Weimen Xingzi often brings her daughter back to her parents' home, and it's inconvenient for them to change shoes each time? So, could it be that the Fushen Pingyuan couple specially prepared spare shoes for their daughter and granddaughter at the entrance?"

"Not very likely."

Li Ang said, "The first two rows of shoes are regularly used by the permanent residents of this household. Even if the Fushen Pingyuan couple wanted to prepare spare shoes for their daughter and granddaughter, they should have placed them in the shoe cabinet or closer to the inner side of the entrance, so they wouldn't be in the way during daily use."

Liu Wu Dai added, "Moreover, the Fushen family's entrance is quite small, with no benches for sitting.

This means the family members probably sit on the raised edge of the entrance to change their shoes.

The pair of children's shoes for the eight-year-old Weimen Ziyuan was placed at the outermost edge of the entrance—a little girl of her height couldn't sit on the raised edge and change those shoes directly without stepping on others' shoes.

This further proves that Weimen Xingzi and her daughter were just visiting temporarily and haven't left yet."

"..."

Xing Hechou nodded silently. "Alright, that is indeed strange. The daughter is visiting, yet the doors and windows are tightly closed, and the air conditioning isn't on."

"There's something even stranger,"

Li Ang said, "Brother Xing, would you mind going to the living room and taking a look at the windows there?"

"Okay."

Xing Hechou didn't dally. He promptly left the entrance, walked into the living room, and opened the sealed window. "Is there a problem with this window?"

Li Ang said, "Take a good look. This is a casement window with a plastic-steel frame and rubber strips all around. The glass used is double-layered, hollow, and laminated."

Xing Hechou frowned. "Laminated glass?"

Li Ang replied, "Yes. Notice the other residences in this alley are all fitted with single-pane sliding windows, uniformly installed at the time of construction.

Only the Fushen residence has these double-layered, hollow, laminated glass windows with plastic-steel frames.

The soundproofing quality of a window depends on the seal of the entire unit.

Casement windows, due to their rubber seals, offer better sound insulation than sliding windows.

And plastic-steel frames, with their heat-welded corners, are superior to aluminum frames that are merely pieced together.

Double-layered, hollow, laminated glass consists of two layers of glass bonded together.

It looks almost identical to ordinary single-pane glass on the surface, but its sound and thermal insulation are far superior.

In other words, the windows in the Fushen residence are custom-made, specialized soundproof windows.

In such a secluded and quiet alley, isn't it odd to use specialized soundproof windows?

After all, the neighboring houses have laundry drying in their courtyards; they don't seem to be occupied by people who play rock music or are noisy itinerant musicians."

"..."

Xing Hechou took a deep breath. "Brother Li, where did you learn all this?

Don't tell me you're also a renovation enthusiast."

"Haha, I just know a little, just a little,"

Li Ang laughed.

Only Miss Chai, hiding inside him, knew why he understood renovations. Long ago, Li Ang had secretly made a series of soundproofing modifications to his room without his landlady's knowledge. Outwardly, these changes were undetectable, but the soundproofing was incredibly effective—so much so that he could sing karaoke in his room without neighbors complaining about the noise.

Heaven knows why Li Ang needed such strong soundproofing....

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