For years, the 46-year-old had lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Hongkou, a residential neighbourhood that sits along the Huangpu River. Neighbours described her as quiet. She rarely chats with people. We only see her when she goes to and from work, and occasionally when she comes out to pick up takeout, said a local resident interviewed by a Chinese reporter.
"It had been beautifully rehabbed, retrofitted, and restored from the nondescript, bog-standard, acoustic-drop-ceiling-tiled office space into the beautiful, sunny, fresh-walled jewel box full of opportunity I saw during the apartment tour."