《Dangerous Personality》


 CH 1

    He''s...very mysophobic.


    Rumble¡ª


    The storm was pouring down in a torrent, raindrops pounding against the glass of the car windows and filling the dusk sky with moisture. The people walking along the road held umbrellas and rushed to and fro, the sound of the rain was mixed with the unending honks of car horns. It was admisdt this sound of honking that the vehicle slowly started to move.


    A radio station reported on the weather: ¡°The thunderstorm began last night and has continued until the present. The average rainfall for this month has surpassed the historical record. As there is a flooding situation with the roads, citizens are advised to exercise caution when going out.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s an accident up ahead,¡± the driver fixed his gaze on the windshield wipers swaying back and forth in front of him, remarking with impatience after listening to the report, ¡°How long is it going to rain for? Of course this road is jammed¡ª¡±


    Upon reaching that point, he tilted his head towards the back, directing his speech towards the silhouette sitting in the backseat, ¡°You¡¯re going to¡­¡­the police station?¡±


    Heavy clouds covered the sky, the lighting inside the car was dim.


    The silhouette sitting there moved a bit, dropping his head and lacing his hands together, resting them on top of a crossed leg. His legs were wrapped in black denim, and his feet were wearing a pair of leather boots. The custom, simple leather military boots bore some water droplets from the rain.


    Since getting into the car, the man had not made any sound. His destination was displayed on the ride-sharing app¡¯s purchase interface.


    He had slept for a short while after getting into the car, and had just now woken up. The scattered hair over his forehead blocked his eyes. Sitting there he seemed to be swallowed up by the darkness, half of his body and the dusky light melding together into one. The driver could only see part of a pale and gaunt jaw in the rear view mirror.


    After a few seconds, a merciless sentence emanated from the back seat.


    ¡°Drive your car.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    During the conversation, the traffic hadn¡¯t made the slightest improvement.


    The driver realized that this passenger was not so easy to get along with. Compared to casual conversation, he was clearly much more interested in continuing to sleep. He didn¡¯t try to make any more conversation with his passenger, only thinking furtively to himself, ¡°Running off to the police station at this time of day, hmph, did he commit a crime?¡±


    At the same time, Southern China¡¯s Yong¡¯an-Division Police Station.


    Inside, the wall displayed the motto, ¡°Strict Enforcement, Passionate Service,¡± with the national emblem arranged in the center. However, even this type of imposing display couldn¡¯t control the chaos going on inside the station at that moment¡ªa man who looked to be in his forties with a police officer on each side, being dragged by the arms into the workspace.


    A police officer, ¡°Behave!¡±


    The man didn¡¯t cooperate, struggling aimlessly. After his struggling had no effect, he started to death grip the door handle, unwilling to relinquish his grip. Even though the top half of his body had already been pulled inside the door by the police officers, his legs were still standing like a stone obelisk in their original place. He shouted with a ghastly wail, ¡°You guys can¡¯t just arrest me without any evidence! ¡ªIs this how you handle cases? Let me go, I¡¯m gonna go file a complaint!¡±


    The man was wearing gray cargo and the pockets looked like two pasted on pieces of square fabric. On the contrary, the gym shoes on his feet looked extremely new. The muddy brown of his eyes revealed the air of a common man.


    The newly instated police officer Ji Mingrui came in from behind. As he came through the door, he stretched out a hand in passing and pulled the man inside, ¡°No evidence!?¡± He dragged over a chair, waiting until the man had been pushed down by the shoulder and was sitting obediently on the chair, before taking a transparent evidence bag and slamming it onto the table.


    A silver, old-fashioned cell phone rested inside the evidence bag.


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°When you were robbing somebody''s home you left your cell phone behind in the living room, and you dare to say there¡¯s no evidence!?¡±


    The sound of the man¡¯s ghastly wailing came to an abrupt stop, ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°Or are you trying to say this cell phone isn¡¯t yours? That there¡¯s somebody else in this world who has your wife¡¯s cell phone number saved as a contact, and also calls your wife ¡®wife¡¯?¡±


    The man was completely silent, ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui continued with his questions, ¡°Where did you hide the stuff you stole?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Half an hour later.


    A female police officer came out from the adjacent room ¡°The situation over here is also a complete mess. The neighbor Wang-a¡¯po keeps on crying and crying, saying that¡¯s the wood carving their family has passed down for generations, that it''s especially important to her, that she wants us to hurry up and find it for her.¡±


    (t/n: °¢ÆÅ(a1po2)/a¡¯po means ¡®granny.¡¯)


    ¡°He¡¯s still refusing to explain himself?¡±


    Ji Mingrui was very tall, and his entire being looked quite sturdy, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He had just graduated from the police academy that year, becoming a police officer and being thrown into the neighborhood¡¯s various disagreements and quarrels. After graduating he had discovered that work in the police station was not really about investigating whatever cases, but rather was more like acting as a mediator for disputes.


    Today these people are quarreling about divorce, tomorrow another person has beat up a mistress due to an affair¡­¡­


    Ji Mingrui sucked in a deep breath, nobody could have thought that a wood carving could cause torment for so long, ¡°Nope. He just keeps on stalling and saying he forgot. Forgot where he himself hid the thing!? I had plans to have dinner with a friend tonight, but looking at how this is going when he gets here I¡¯ll only be able to treat him to instant noodles. And with his bad attitude, I don¡¯t know whether or not he¡¯ll take the instant noodles and pour them over my head.¡±


    The female officer turned her head and looked at the storm through the window, thinking to herself that making dinner plans with the weather like this was already strange enough.


    The interrogation was still ongoing.


    Partway through, Wang-a¡¯po really couldn¡¯t wait anymore. She pushed open the door and rushed into the battlefield, and the situation inside the office became even more chaotic.


    In a fight of curses and insults an old person cannot lose to a young person. Their movements may be trembling and unsteady, but the anger in their words is extreme.


    The quarrel caused the mediator Ji Mingrui to feel like his head was going to split in two. As soon as he pacified Wang-a¡¯po, somebody knocked twice on the glass door of the office, ¡°Mingrui, someone¡¯s looking for you. Says he¡¯s your friend.¡± The messenger ended up adding another sentence, ¡°Name¡¯s Chi Qing.¡±


    Ji Mingrui was up to his ears in work and replied without even turning his head, ¡°Yeah that¡¯s my friend. Let him come straight in.¡±


    Because the scene was truly too chaotic, nobody was paying attention when a person holding an umbrella passed through the hallway a few minutes later. The tip of the clear, long-handled umbrella was pointing downwards, the raindrops on the man¡¯s leather boots had already been wiped off because of his mysophobia. Soon afterwards, a hand wearing a black glove pushed the door open.


    The black gloves securely wrapped around his fingers, making them appear particularly long and slender.


    ¡ªIf the scene inside the police station had been a bit more calm, it would have been difficult to overlook this hand, so much so that it ought to have had an extremely high rate of causing heads to turn. This was because in daily life it was perhaps uncommon to see somebody specially put on gloves when leaving the house.


    Chi Qing was stuck in traffic for over half an hour. He pushed open the door just as Wang-a¡¯po was using the local language to spew enthusiastic insults.


    ¡°Ù¯ÔÓС³àÀСª!¡±


    (t/n: I left this because it¡¯s supposed to be a different language/dialect. I don¡¯t know how this is read in the local language, but in Mandarin it¡¯s read ¡°nong2 za2 xiao3 chi4lao3¡± and it means something like ¡°you scoundrel.¡±)


    The man in the cargo bit back, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t understand just because I''m not a local, you¡¯re cursing me!?¡±


    Ji Mingrui said, ¡°You have no room to talk, do you have no shame? Huh? Are you not aware of just how vile this matter is? How could you steal the wood carving that¡¯s been passed down in your neighbor¡¯s family? Are you not aware that that wood carving¡ª¡± Because the mediator Ji Mingrui wanted to placate the victim, he shot some criticisms at the man. Upon reaching that point, he turned to Wang-a¡¯po again, ¡°What type of wood is that carving made out of?¡±


    Ji Mingrui thought to himself that it ought to be a bit valuable, and that he could use it to scare the man.


    The neighbor Wang-a¡¯po hastily replied, ¡°Wood that was cut down from the mountains by my great-grandfather. Aiyoh, it¡¯s already been passed down for three generations.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Hmph¡­¡­are you listening? Wood that¡¯s been passed down for three generations,¡± Ji Mingrui tapped the tabletop with his fingers, ¡°The value isn¡¯t something that can¡¯t be measured with money, where the hell did you hide it!?¡±


    While several people were still having an unending argument over that wood carving, only the female police officer who had walked off to the side in the middle to get Wang-a¡¯po some water finally noticed that ¡°friend.¡± He was minding his own business and sleeping on the sofa in the corner, his silhouette lying sideways on the couch, his long legs curled up.


    Because the angle of her view was limited, she couldn¡¯t tell what he looked like. She could only take note that the man¡¯s wrist was half hanging down.


    ¡­¡­Lucky for him to be able to sleep through so much noise.


    For an extremely simple dispute, a wood carving, Ji Mingrui employed the various interrogation techniques he had learned the past few years at the police academy. But it was to no avail. The man in the cargo across from him was unyieldingly stubborn, and Ji Mingrui didn¡¯t know why he was holding on so relentlessly, ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything. When I went out to buy things earlier I put it outside. I threw it¡ªI¡¯m not exactly sure where I threw it either, if you guys go digging around in the trash bin I couldn¡¯t say for sure that you¡¯d find it. That piece of wood, couldn¡¯t I just pay some money to make up for it?¡±


    Ji Mingrui cursed to himself.


    The clock read past eleven.


    Outside, the rain was still coming down.


    The man in the cargo saw that he¡¯d gained some footing, and his eyes flitted around in thought, ¡°Is there anything else? Since we¡¯ve finished discussing this, can you let me go?¡±


    For a moment, nobody knew what to say.


    Just as they had reached a deadlock, a voice drifted over and broke the silence, ¡°It¡¯s been raining for two days straight.¡±


    Everyone heard the voice and looked over towards it, and saw Chi Qing talking as he sat up on the sofa. Because there were incandescent lights overheard, he lifted a hand to half-block his eyes, pausing for a moment before continuing, ¡°You went out to buy some things, but no silt has seeped into your shoes. If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t have used such a flimsy excuse.¡±


    He actually hadn''t fallen asleep just then, it was too loud inside the office. In his half-asleep half-awake state he pretty much heard the details of this neighborhood dispute.


    The man in the cargo subconsciously withdrew backwards a few steps.


    He hadn¡¯t really gone out.


    Like a clap of thunder, this sentence jumped simultaneously into everybody''s mind.


    Ji Mingrui was stupefied, ¡°If he didn¡¯t go out, then the item must be at his house.¡±


    Chi Qing stood up, looking like he hadn¡¯t fully woken up. With his eyes half-open, he gave off the feeling that he was losing patience.


    He stretched a hand out into the air and pointed at the evidence bag, ¡°Can I see it.¡±


    Everyone immediately noticed the black glove on his hand¡ªthe cellphone was the type with a touchscreen, and because he needed to ¡®slide to unlock,¡¯ Chi Qing had nonchalantly taken off his right glove before taking the phone. It exposed a hand which seemed to not have seen the sun for many years, and which could be called deathly pale. His fingers were delicate and long, the skin so white you could almost see the faint blue of the veins residing below the surface.


    The time during which that hand held the phone was not more than ten seconds; he very quickly put it down.


    What captured people¡¯s attention was not only that hand. Other than Ji Mingrui, who had seen Chi Qing¡¯s face for many years and already registered it as a non-occurrence, it was difficult for everyone else to digest the force of that face¡¯s gaze.


    The female office who was very close to Chi Qing suddenly snapped out of her stupor and realized she had already been staring blankly at him for quite a while, and with the late realization her face burned red.


    His was an extremely beautiful face, but one that also revealed a hint of dispirit. Maybe it was because the hair over his forehead was overly long, or maybe it was because his skin was too white, but his lips looked like they were coated in blood. Although the man¡¯s features were beautiful, it was just that he had a fed-up expression, and that his body carried an extravagant air of dejection.


    It seemed like Chi Qing was accustomed to this type of scrutiny, and he only threw out a few words, ¡°Rather than asking him where he hid it, it¡¯d be better to call his son over for questioning.¡±


    Ji Mingrui was stupefied, His son?


    Why are you bringing up his son?


    What does this have to do with his son?


    Hold on, how did Chi Qing know he had a son?


    But after his son was brought up, the man started to become agitated. It was different from the agitation due to endless pestering from earlier. This time his eyes opened wide, he stood up with a ¡®scrape,¡¯ posturing like he was going to steal back the phone, ¡°If you guys wanna interrogate me that¡¯s fine, but what are you bringing up my son for!¡±


    Ji Mingrui raised an eyebrow, realizing that things weren¡¯t quite right, ¡°Sit down!¡±


    ¡°My son has nothing to do with this!¡±


    When the man in the cargo grabbed the phone, in a moment of desperation he bumped into the hand Chi Qing hadn¡¯t yet fully retracted.


    At the exact instant they made contact, Chi Qing¡¯s ears were filled with another layer of sound. This layer of sound seemed to be separated by a film, and was transmitted into his ears with a bit of distortion. It was like two of the man in the cargo were talking in his ears at the same time, but the distorted words and what was coming out of his mouth were completely opposite to each other:


    [I can¡¯t let them know that my son stole the stuff. If anyone finds out about this, how would they look at my xiao-Kang? His neighbors and classmates would all make comments about him¡­¡­]


    (t/n: С(xiao3)/xiao - a term of endearment added before names, literally meaning ¡®small¡¯ or ¡®little.¡¯)


    In the end he still wasn¡¯t able to snatch the phone. Ji Mingrui got control of the phone, and unlocked it again according to the sequence Chi Qing had used to open it before.


    In the browser app, the web searches from within the month were displayed, and they were all the titles of some children¡¯s donghua. In the phone records, the past six months barely had anything in the call history. The phone completely lacked the traces of life and work communications. As for the photo album, there weren¡¯t too many pictures. For the most part, they were all old pictures from the past, with very few new pictures. However, the most recent picture was taken just today. It was a black and white image of something flashing by, extremely unclear, seeming like it was taken by mistake.


    ¡ªThis is an exchanged old cell phone, the man obviously wasn¡¯t using it anymore.


    Then who was using it?


    ¡°In a general situation, how would someone handle exchanging an old phone?¡± Ji Mingrui seemed like he was asking a question, but actually he gave himself the answer, ¡°They might give it to someone else in their family to use. If this family has a kid¡ªmost people would give it to their kid to play with. Do you want to return the item to Wang-a¡¯po yourself, or do you want us to personally go find your son and ask?¡±


    The man lowered his head, knowing the matter could no longer be concealed.


    As Ji Mingrui was continuing to inquire after the details and particulars, the female officer at his side pointed to the glass door, ¡°Your friend left.¡±


    Ji Mingrui only took a brief glance, ¡°He went to wash his hands.¡±


    The female officer, ¡°Huh?¡±


    Ji Mingrui was extremely familiar with Chi Qing¡¯s ¡°eccentric¡± terrible ailment. As he lowered his head and notated the case details on paper, he spoke, ¡°He¡¯s¡­very mysophobic. Being touched by someone will make him have to wash his hands three times. Did you not see how he was always wearing gloves since coming in here a minute ago?¡±


    ¡°How severe is the mysophobia?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more than severe,¡± Ji Mingrui stopped writing, using the tip of his pen to point at the trashcan, ¡°Around the time I met him in high school, I wanted to help him take out the trash, and I carelessly bumped his hand. He immediately took the trash can and poured it over my head. I almost failed at becoming his friend, the mysophobia is that terrible.¡±


    ¡°If you two are so close, then it can¡¯t still be that way right?¡± the female officer thought the eccentricity was very interesting, and spoke with a smile.


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°I¡¯ve asked him that too, he said that in order to give respect to a friend, he¡¯d tolerate it for three seconds, and when he couldn¡¯t tolerate it anymore, I¡¯d get the can again.¡±


    ¡°Did he also go to the police academy? Where¡¯s he working now?¡±


    The female officer asked the question everyone had wanted to ask earlier.


    ¡°Nah, he studied film, completely unrelated,¡± Ji Mingrui knew where her surprise was coming from, ¡°It¡¯s a pity, but that friend of mine really didn¡¯t throw himself into police work¡ªdon¡¯t you think he¡¯s amazing? It¡¯s practically like he has mind reading powers.¡±


    The female officer nodded her head.


    ¡°......Before when we were still in school he was like that too. It¡¯s like he always knows what other people are thinking,¡± Ji Mingrui gestured with his hands again after he finished speaking, ¡°That¡¯s a joke. How could there really be something in this world like mind reading powers¡ª¡±


    At the end of the hallway, in the bathroom.


    Chi Qing stood in front of the mirror, his hands dripping with water, drenching his fingers just as if they had no warmth.


    He silently looked face to face with the him in the mirror.


    By means of the surface, the same scene re-appeared across from him in the mirror, reflecting into an image, the world seeming as if it was being split into two.


    Only he himself knew, in the instant just earlier what he heard really wasn¡¯t a hallucination. The distorted sound really did crawl slowly upwards from the depths of that mind, slyly muttering: [I can¡¯t let them know that my son stole the stuff¡­¡­]


    Chi Qing lowered his eyes, finally wiping his hands dry as if nothing had happened.


    ________


    ľ¹Ï»Æ¡¯s author¡¯s note:


    I said something wasn¡¯t right! Before I fell asleep I suddenly realized I forgot the author¡¯s note!


    Brothers, you¡¯ve waited for a long time.


    This book is a new challenge, will I put in a great effort??(??¦Ø??)??


    Translator notes:


    This is my first time translating a full novel, so please be nice about any mistakes ^^;


    I just finished this book a few weeks ago, and it¡¯s one of my favorites! I thought it was a shame the English speaking fandom couldn¡¯t read it, since it hadn¡¯t been fully translated yet! I saw that Sleepy Translations had done the first 3 chapters, but since they hadn¡¯t updated in ~4 months I thought it would be okay to pick it up. I decided to start from the beginning because I think it¡¯s easier, and also because I don¡¯t want to poach anybody¡¯s work. Like I said, I haven¡¯t done a translation before, so do let me know if I¡¯ve made a misstep with etiquette!


    I think I¡¯ll make a character guide eventually, but for now here are the main characters who have been introduced so far, because it seems like lots of people like to see name meanings in other books :)


    Chi Qing (³ØÇà, chi2 qing1):


    ³Ø - a surname meaning ¡®a pool (of water)¡¯ or ¡®a pond¡¯


    Çà - most commonly used to mean ¡®green¡¯ or ¡®blue,¡¯ it can also mean ¡®youth/young¡¯ and sometimes ¡®dark/black¡¯


    Ji Mingrui (¼¾ÃùÈñ, ji4 ming2rui4):


    ¼¾ - a surname meaning ¡®season (of the year)¡¯


    Ãù - used to describe various sounds (such as the chirping of birds and other animal calls, the sound of thunder), or to voice/express one¡¯s feelings


    Èñ - meaning ¡®sharp,¡¯ ¡®keen,¡¯ ¡®quick,¡¯ ¡®acute¡¯...

 CH 2

    At first I thought he was some big star.


    The hallway the bathroom exited into was very long, and a bench was arranged against the wall.


    The weather was poor, and the people inside the police station were few.


    Often, the family members of police officers would pick up their children at some point and have them wait there until their parents got off work.


    When Chi Qing exited the bathroom, there was a little girl sitting outside. She pulled her stationary and practice book out of her small backpack with a skilled motion and sat on the bench, her legs not even close to the floor.


    Looking at her age, she was most likely still in primary school.


    As Chi Qing passed by the little girl¡¯s side, the hand he hadn¡¯t yet had time to pull the glove back onto was lightly tugged on by someone, ¡°......Gege.¡±


    (t/n: as seasoned readers of c-novels most likely already know, ¸ç¸ç(ge1ge)/gege literally means ¡®older brother,¡¯ but it is also used to address young men who are older than you, but are not necessarily your actual older brother. Usually it is used with someone you are close to/familiar with, and it can be flirty (but not always, and hopefully it''s clear from context that it''s not flirty here haha¡­). Anyway, since this girl is very young, it¡¯s more just a polite way to call an man, like ¡®mister,¡¯ not a sign of any familiarity)


    The little girl¡¯s hand was plump and soft, her voice was sweet and childish, and even the distorted voice appearing by his ears became cute: [I can¡¯t solve this question. Baba taught me how just yesterday, if I go and ask him again, he¡¯ll think I¡¯m stupid for sure QAQ.]


    (t/n: °Ö°Ö(ba4ba)/baba means ¡®dad¡¯ or ¡®daddy¡¯)


    ¡°Can you¡­¡­¡±


    Before the little girl had finished speaking, Chi Qing fixed his gaze on those two plump fingers, then looked again at the little girl who was embarrassed and hesitant and said without mercy, ¡°You are stupid.¡±


    The little girl¡¯s childlike voice choked, in a split second suffering a massive blow and completely forgetting to consider how this gege had known what she was thinking.


    Actually, she was a bit afraid of this gege and wanted to release her grip right then, but then she saw him sitting down by her side and pulling the practice book from her hand.


    ¡°Which question is giving you trouble?¡±


    The girl, ¡°The blank one.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°You left a lot of questions blank.¡±


    The girl, ¡°......¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°After I teach you, can you guarantee that you won¡¯t forget tomorrow. I don¡¯t want to be like your baba, spending time doing useless work.¡±


    The girl, ¡°............¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°It seems not.¡±


    Chi Qing¡¯s statement hit the nail on the head, but he still explained the blank arithmetic problems to her, despite the fact that by the time he¡¯d explained to the end, the little girl¡¯s thoughts were not at all on that subject.


    ¡°Gege, how did you know I pulled on you because I wanted you to help me with the questions?¡±


    The girl¡¯s eyes were big, the pure and innocent kind, bearing bewilderment, ¡°I didn¡¯t finish talking earlier.¡±


    Chi Qing capped the pen, ¡°I heard it, you said it in your mind.¡±


    The girl blinked her eyes, ¡°Like mind reading powers?¡±


    ¡°You could say so.¡±


    ¡°With just a touch, you can hear thoughts?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s about right.¡±


    The girl swished the ponytail at the back of her head, a little envious, ¡°If I also had mind reading powers, I¡¯d be able to know where my dad hid my candy jar. I¡¯ve been looking secretly for two days, and I still haven¡¯t found it.¡±


    Chi Qing gave the practice book back to her, his words surpassing the little girl¡¯s scope of understanding, ¡°Kid, in the adult world, there are no candy jars to be found.¡±


    The little girl clearly didn¡¯t understand, ¡°Why? You guys don¡¯t like candy?¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t answer her. He pulled his gloves back on again. Before entering the office, he lifted up a single finger and rested it in front of his bottom lip. Contrasted with the black of his glove, the color of his lips was exceptionally strong. Only, the words he spoke were cold, ¡°What I told you today is a secret.¡±


    The girl, ¡°But you still told me.¡±


    Chi Qing pushed the door open, ¡°Because you¡¯re too little. Even if you were to say it, no one would believe you.¡±


    The girl, ¡°......¡±


    Inside the office, the wood carving dispute was at long last nearing its end.


    ¡°I won¡¯t pursue this matter anymore,¡± upon hearing that the man¡¯s son xiao-Kang stole the item, Wang-a¡¯po couldn¡¯t bear to keep investigating a kid¡¯s mistake. She just said, ¡°Go home and teach your kid properly, that he can¡¯t just take people¡¯s things willy-nilly because he wants to have fun¡­¡­¡±


    When Chi Qing came back from washing his hands, both parties had already reached a settlement for this matter.


    The man wearing cargo repeatedly nodded his head, following behind Wang-a¡¯po as she left, ¡°I¡¯ll teach him well for sure.¡±


    Wang-a¡¯po made it half-way, then stopped walking again. Wanting to turn around and come back, she said nervously, ¡°Police officer comrades, recently in this neighborhood we¡¯ve had a lot of disappearance cases, I want to seek your assistance.¡±


    Ji Mingrui was no longer the simple mediator who¡¯d hurriedly dispatched police officers because he¡¯d been fooled by Wang-a¡¯po saying ¡°a priceless family treasure¡± over the phone, ¡°If it¡¯s no trouble, could you please be a bit more specific?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the stray cats in our neighborhood¡ª¡±


    ¡°......¡± Sure enough.


    ¡°The past few days the cat food I prepared for them hasn¡¯t been eaten, this type of thing has never happened before.¡±


    Wang-a¡¯po had a cat of her own, and her inclination towards them was always a bit soft. She¡¯d often prepare some cat food for the strays that snuck into her courtyard.


    ¡°A¡¯po,¡± Ji Mingrui said, ¡°These can¡¯t be defined as ¡®disappearance cases,¡¯ and we also have no way of sending the police force to a neighborhood to catch cats. Stray cats don¡¯t have a concrete home, they, um, maybe they just went somewhere else, and they¡¯ll probably come back real soon.¡±


    As Ji Mingrui was sending off Wang-a¡¯po, he saw that Chi Qing had returned. Like showing filial respect for an older brother, he offered him a cup of tea, ¡°Do you want some water? Are you thirsty? Look at you, coming here was already enough. And you helped me meditate along the way too.¡±


    Chi Qing received a glass of water, ¡°At first I didn¡¯t want to.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°Then afterwards it was because¡­?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°You guys were too inefficient, I was afraid if I waited any longer, I¡¯d be able to go straight to tomorrow¡¯s breakfast.¡±


    After he finished, he added another sentence, ¡°Can you get off work now, when can we eat.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Of course, it was only because you were hungry that you sat up on the sofa.


    Ji Mingrui glanced outside the window at the rainstorm that had no sign of stopping, then looked at the time again, then finally looked over the surrounding police officers who had accompanied him in working over time, ¡°At this time of night, there probably aren¡¯t many restaurants that are still open. There¡¯s a food stall nearby that¡¯s pretty good, it¡¯s open until two in the morning.¡±


    The rain seemed to let up a little. Although the food stall was still doing business, it didn¡¯t have many customers. A table of prices with a red background and yellow characters was hung up on the wall. The smell of smoke and oil emanated directly from the kitchen in the back, accompanying the sound of kitchenware knocking together.


    No less than eight people sat at their table. The shopkeeper gave them two extra stools, and they effortfully crammed into one table.


    Ji Mingrui rubbed his nose and explained, ¡°What¡¯s this, it¡¯s this late and everyone is gathered together to have a meal! We all put in a lot of hard work.¡± Ji Mingrui slapped his head, ¡°Ah, I forgot to introduce you. We all graduated from the same group, just started working this year.¡±


    He gave a simple introduction starting from the female officer directly across from him, Su Xiaolan. The latter gave a bright smile, ¡°It was originally your guys¡¯ dinner plans, I really feel bad about squeezing in so many extra people, it¡¯s a lot of trouble for you two.¡±


    Although Chi Qing didn¡¯t say anything, Su Xiaolan could clearly read one sentence from his expression: It is indeed troublesome.


    ¡­¡­


    After Chi Qing finished washing his utensils, he glanced at the gloves on his hands. In order to avoid accidentally bumping into someone over the table while eating, he couldn¡¯t take off those gloves.


    Su Xiaolan waited and waited. When he still hadn¡¯t taken off his gloves, she finally couldn¡¯t help but to ask, ¡°You also¡­¡­wear them while you eat?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°I pay particular attention to hygiene.¡±


    Su Xiaolan, ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother with him,¡± Ji Mingrui was well adapted, and he took the lead in picking some food up with his chopsticks, ¡°He¡¯s just like this. His mysophobia has already reached the degree where he¡¯s not even willing to touch the dust in the air. In the past, people gave him the nickname Chi ¡®Don¡¯t Touch¡¯.¡±


    (t/n: Unless I¡¯m missing something, ³Ø±ðÅö/Chi ¡®Don¡¯t Touch¡¯ is not a particular pun on his name or anything, it literally just means Chi ¡®don¡¯t touch.¡¯)


    ¡°¡®Don¡¯t Touch¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he doesn¡¯t allow people to touch him.¡±


    Chi Qing admonished him, ¡°How do you have so much to say while eating.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......¡±


    Outside, the rain was pitter pattering.


    During the meal, Su Xiaolan thought of something else, ¡°Mr. Chi, you must be really busy with work.¡±


    From her understanding, when planning to have a meal with friends, it was a must to pick a day with decent weather. To choose such a stormy, out-of-luck day, it must have been that he was so busy with work he wasn¡¯t able to be picky.


    When picking up food, Chi Qing avoided the areas where other people had taken from before. After eating a few chopstick-fulls, he picked up his water and took an unhurried sip. His eyes were fixed on the window, the tone of his voice was relaxed, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m busy.¡±


    After he put his cup back down, he added another comment, ¡°The weather is nice today.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    Ji Mingrui gave an explanation on behalf of his friend with the abnormal disposition, ¡°He likes rainy days.¡±


    The main reason the two of them had planned to get dinner was actually to celebrate his smooth entrance into the Yong¡¯an-district police station. However, Ji Mingrui had almost been working for two months already, and the meal had only just been planned.


    Ji Mingrui recalled the bumpy road towards making the plans. First, Chi Qing had expressed, ¡°I know. I¡¯ll pick a good day and then notify you.¡± Ji Mingrui waited and waited, waited until the weather forecast predicted that in two days time there would be two days in a row of stormy weather, and only then did he receive Chi Qing¡¯s notification.


    Chi Qing: The weather for the day after tomorrow looks good, what time do you get off work.


    Ji Mingrui: ¡­¡­Did you see the weather forecast?


    Chi Qing: What the hell are you asking.


    According to an ordinary person¡¯s line of thinking, ¡°the weather looks good¡± would undoubtedly refer to a day with clear skies, warm sunshine, and a gentle breeze.


    But Ji Mingrui had already become well adapted to this, primarily because with Chi Qing, no matter where you looked he wasn¡¯t quite like an ordinary person. This special liking for rain wasn¡¯t surprising in the slightest.


    Off to the side, someone chuckled to ease the tension, ¡°This preference¡­it¡¯s really special.¡±


    After that male officer finished easing the tension, he wanted to take a look at the time. But as soon as he touched his pocket he felt that it was empty, ¡°Ai, my phone¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°What happened? Lost your phone?¡±


    His movement gave rise to a little bit of a stir. Everyone shifted their chairs and dishes, trying to see if it had been left anywhere on the table.


    Chi Qing¡¯s gaze was still on the rain outside the window, as if he was appreciating the rain. As he unhurriedly retracted his gaze, he made a passing comment, ¡°Since coming inside, you¡¯ve taken your phone out twice. The first time was just after you came in the door; the second was five minutes ago, when you took your phone to the bathroom with you.¡±


    The table of people was completely silent. Following the man¡¯s utterance, the movement of everyone else shifting places simultaneously stilled.


    The male police officer gave his head a slap, ¡°I remembered, it¡¯s in the bathroom.¡±


    This was a very small interlude.


    Su Xiaolan sensed that something wasn¡¯t quite right with her co-worker¡¯s friend.


    He was too perceptive. Although, that likely wasn¡¯t his original intention, because his comment was just as casual as if he were discussing the weather outside. She then thought back on what had happened an hour earlier; all Chi Qing did was enter the office, and he noticed the shoes of the man wearing cargo.


    Chi Qing was sitting in the corner with his back leaning up against the wall, and at that moment he sensed her gaze and looked back at her. The air conditioning was on inside the restaurant, and he¡¯d already taken his jacket off a while earlier. On the inside, he was wearing only a simple, dark-colored tailored sweater. The hair falling over his forehead was somewhat long, covering his eyes a bit in a gloomy manner, but you could still peer past it to see the color of his irises¡ªthe color of his eyes and his hair were almost identical, so deep you couldn¡¯t see the bottom.


    Perhaps it was because he had just drunk hot water, but his lips were even more red. The contrast between the strong black and the color of his lips was a ghastly sight to see.


    Su Xiaolan recalled how Ji Mingrui had introduced his friend: ¡­¡­he studied film, completely unrelated.


    At that time it went in one ear and out the other. She had her hands full with other things, and wasn¡¯t totally paying attention.


    But thinking back on it now¡­¡­


    Film school? Then what the hell does he do for work?


    Additionally, Su Xiaolan had thought that he looked a bit familiar. But that thought was like a string she couldn¡¯t quite catch hold of.


    Their meal lasted for quite a long time, and the things Chi Qing said were also few and far between. Most of the time, he was maintaining that vaguely gloomy appearance, sitting there and watching the rain.


    When the meal was over, he and Ji Mingrui bid their farewells to everyone together, lifting up the transparent umbrella he had when he arrived as he pushed open the door and exited.


    Ji Mingrui followed behind him, ¡°I¡¯m taking this one home¡­¡­you guys better go home soon too, there¡¯s still more work to be done tomorrow.¡±


    After the two of them left, the male officer who had gone to the bathroom to look for his phone earlier also started packing his things, preparing to hurry home. Before he left, he mentioned, ¡°Earlier, when that Mr. Chi was walking towards the police station but was still a ways away, a took a glance at him and at first thought some big star was coming to our little station to deal with something¡ª¡±


    Although that was just something the male officer had mentioned in passing, Su Xiaolan suddenly caught onto that string of thought.


    Su Xiaolan had a very good memory, and occasionally she would watch television programs with her family when she had free time. Due to the habit of her profession, sometimes she would look a few extra times at the supporting actors who only appeared once or twice¡­¡­she thought she¡¯d probably seen Chi Qing on TV.


    But obviously, there was a considerable amount of distance between him and the title ¡°big star.¡±


    That name had the feeling of being almost non-existent in the show business; nobody had heard it before. And not only had nobody heard of him before, but almost nobody had seen him on a big television station or a small entertainment publication either. He was just like the thousands and thousands of actors who can¡¯t get an appearance anywhere, who¡¯s name never gets called when walking down the road.


    And it was precisely because of this that he could eat at a food stall with people coming and going all around without being recognized by a single person.


    Su Xiaolan took this vague impression of him and glanced outside of the restaurant. She saw Chi Qing carrying his umbrella and standing by the side of the road as he waited for Ji Mingrui to drive his car over. Separated by black fabric, his fingers rested on the silver handle of the umbrella, making that pair of gloves appear both icy cold and majestic.


    Then, he once more walked towards the depths of the road, quickly vanishing under the downpour of heavy rain into the boundless night.


    Translator notes:


    I think that for terms of address, I¡¯m going to leave the familial terms like gege, a¡¯po, baba, ect untranslated (for the feel, but also because some of them get used in ways they don¡¯t in English), but translate things like ¡®Mr.,¡¯ ¡®Doctor,¡¯ ¡®Officer,¡¯ ect. However, there are some teachers in this book later, and I haven¡¯t decided yet if I¡¯m going to go with ¡®Mrs. Last Name¡¯ or ¡®Last Name-laoshi.¡¯ But that¡¯s much much later, so I have time ^^;


    Su Xiaolan (ËÕÏþÀ¼, su1 xiao3lan2):


    ËÕ - a surname referring to a type of Chinese basil, or meaning ¡®to revive¡¯ (I had to look these meanings up haha, because I¡¯ve mostly just seen ËÕ used in proper nouns)


    Ïþ - ¡®dawn/daybreak¡¯ (as a noun), or ¡®to know¡¯ (as a verb)


    À¼ - ¡®orchid¡¯


    Side note: I think this name is really pretty

 CH 3

    "Don''t freak out."


    Beep!


    Beep beep¡ª!


    The rain still hadn¡¯t stopped; the road was just as congested as before.


    After getting inside, there was only Chi Qing and Ji Mingrui in the car, and Chi Qing had clearly relaxed some. His gloves had gotten wet from the rain and felt quite uncomfortable, and it was only because of this that he took them off.


    Ji Mingrui had a good attitude, and even with the road congested like this he didn¡¯t utter a complaint. He glanced at Chi Qing¡¯s gloves, ¡°You finally took those things off.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Do you have disinfectant.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Alcohol wipes would be fine too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have those either,¡± Ji Mingrui said, ¡°I¡¯m a frickin¡¯ man, it¡¯s good if I even have a box of tissues.¡±


    As Ji Mingrui spoke, he passed over the box of tissues.


    The split second he passed it over, a distorted voice bemoaned: [This guy Chi Qing is such a pain, waiting on him is like waiting on a prince.]


    Chi Qing, ¡°......¡±


    Right then, a traffic light flickered past. Across the intersection was the neighborhood of the object of that day¡¯s dispute, Wang-a¡¯po. The entrance to the ¡°Haimao neighborhood¡± was closed securely, and the security guard in charge of controlling the passage of cars was sitting in the security booth nodding off.


    Outside, thunder and lightning mingled together. A crack of lightning split the sky, illuminating the pitch black night for an instant, brightening even the alcoves that ordinarily went unseen. The powerful light shone across a pool of scarlet blood. The blood was being diluted by the, running along the street and flowing gradually into the sewers, the scarlet blood snaking along.


    A dead cat that¡¯d had its chest and belly cleaved open laid still in the shrubbery¡ªit¡¯s eyes were wide open, all of its fur was soaked through. Mixed with the mud and fresh blood, each piece of fur pierced outwards like a hedgehog¡¯s spines.


    Inside the car:


    Ji Mingrui heard the rumble of thunder in his ears and said, ¡°How does this rain keep coming down harder¡­¡­¡±


    He turned and spoke again, ¡°Oh yeah, are you free tomorrow? My ma said it¡¯d been a long time since she¡¯s seen you. And it¡¯s the weekend tomorrow¡ªshe made dumplings and called you over for a meal.¡±


    Chi Qing passed back the box of tissues, ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡±


    Ji Mingrui took it, ¡°You have work?¡±


    [What work could he possibly have? I¡¯ve barely seen him in any movies, I can¡¯t even find this guy on Baidu Baike. I really don¡¯t get it, back then he scored so well on the Gaokao¡ªhe could¡¯ve gone to any school he wanted to, what the hell¡¯d he insist on going to film school for? It¡¯d be one thing if he really liked it, but it doesn¡¯t seem like this guy even likes acting.]


    (t/n: Baidu Baike is Baidu¡¯s online encyclopedia, similar to Wikipedia. The Gaokao is China¡¯s college entrance exam, taken by students in their final year of high school)


    This continued to be one of the ten great mysteries of Ji Mingrui¡¯s life.


    He thought that Chi Qing could¡¯ve succeeded at literally anything else; his Gaokao score was breathtakingly high¡ªbut he unfortunately chose to slowly sink in the showbiz, not even making a splash at all, truly bewildering everyone.


    ¡­¡­


    Chi Qing heard the question in Ji Mingrui¡¯s inner thoughts, but he had no way of answering it.


    Ji Mingrui wasn¡¯t the little girl sitting on the bench doing homework, where it was enough to rely on youth and a naive belief that mind reading powers could exist in this world.


    Patter¡ª


    Rain pounded against the windows, the light from red tail-lights of the vehicle in front of them shone directly over, scattered by the expanse of rain droplets and muddling their field of view.


    ¡ª¡±You¡¯re very resistant to touch.¡±


    ¡ª¡±You have no way of perceiving emotions like a normal person.¡±


    ¡ª¡±It¡¯s very difficult for you to feel compassion, fear, joy, or sorrow.¡±


    ¡ª¡±I don¡¯t know what the cause of your condition is, and I can¡¯t come up with a solution either¡­¡­The only suggestion I can give is that I hope you¡¯ll try and go perceive more emotions. Even if you¡¯re just studying them and acting them out. You¡¯re in high school, yeah? If you have extra time outside of your studies, you can get involved in some acting courses.¡±


    That was the first psychologist Chi Qing saw, a kindly middle-aged man. In truth, Chi Qing had long forgotten what he looked like. But he could still remember the thick southern accent of that voice.


    Ji Mingrui waited for a while, but didn¡¯t receive a response. He extended a hand and waved it in front of Chi Qing¡¯s face, ¡°Hey, what¡¯re you thinking about?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°I was thinking about whether or not you set me up earlier.¡±


    ¡°Am I that kind of person?¡± Ji Mingrui guiltily rubbed his nose, changing the subject, ¡°......So then, what are you busy with tomorrow?¡±


    Chi Qing came back to himself, fixing his gaze on the windshield wipers waving back and forth in front of him, ¡°I have to take a trip to the hospital.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°Are you sick?¡±


    Chi Qing hummed in approval, ¡°It¡¯s to treat my mysophobia.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°?¡±


    It was the first time he¡¯d heard of this. His mysophobia is still treatable?


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°There really have been a lot of advancements in medicine¡­¡­it¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure a case with an extent like yours can still be saved¡­¡±


    The next day, the storm that had lasted for two straight days finally let up, leaving behind only a wet road and the slight chill of early winter. At the end of the long street, a private psychology clinic had long since been open for business. This clinic¡¯s rate was quite high, and looking in from the outside, it seemed to be well worth the one thousand yuan per session.


    The exceedingly high-end decorum made the entire interior carry a bit of an icy coldness. Even if there had been a few adorable plushies arranged in the waiting room, it wouldn¡¯t change the icy cold nature.


    It was Chi Qing¡¯s first time coming to this clinic.


    He¡¯d gone through a multitude of different psychologists. He¡¯d seen the previous one for over a year, and when his final therapy session concluded, the psychologist had told him in exasperation, ¡°Mr. Chi, I don¡¯t think I can help you. How about you try another clinic? Maybe a different doctor would be more helpful for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been over a year, and I¡¯ve been completely unable to find the source of your illness,¡± the doctor chuckled bitterly, ¡°¡ªSo much so that you couldn¡¯t even call you and I familiar. Look, to this day you¡¯re still sitting in front of me with your gloves on, you haven¡¯t taken them off even once. You don¡¯t trust me at all.¡±


    ¡°Hello,¡± the receptionist from the new clinic wore a mechanical smile as she spoke. Only once she had taken a clear look at the person¡¯s appearance did that smile become wholeheartedly sincere, ¡°Sir, may I ask if you have an appointment?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t raining that day so Chi Qing wasn¡¯t wearing a jacket, instead wearing only a thin black sweater. His apathetic countenance as well as his flat tone of voice made it a bit hard for the receptionist to keep smiling, ¡°10am, Doctor Wu.¡±


    After retrieving the information from the computer, the receptionist said, ¡°Chi Qing, Mr. Chi? May I ask you to wait in the waiting room for a short while, Doctor Wu¡¯s previous appointment is still in progress. We¡¯ll let you know once their session has concluded.¡±


    Along with some cats, two women also sat in the waiting room. It seemed like one was accompanying the other, as one was crying and the other was comforting her without pause, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so upset, look at this cat, it¡¯s so cute¡ª¡±


    As if the cat curled up on the same sofa as them could understand what she was saying, it placed one of its little paws on the hand of the sobbing woman, letting out a soft meow.


    The woman¡¯s sobs gradually stopped. She stretched out a hand, gently petting the cat¡¯s head.


    Other than the long sofa the two of them were sitting on, there was only a single open seat left across from them. Another cat was lying on top of that open seat.


    The sound of the woman¡¯s sobs had just dropped, but she still saw the man who had just walked into the waiting room pause in front of that open seat, then stretch out a black-gloved hand with a blank expression and lift up the cat occupying the empty seat. That cat was lifted into the air in an instant, it¡¯s four limbs flailing about. In a puff of fur, it exclaimed, ¡°¡ªmeow!?¡±


    They were both cats, but the two of them were receiving completely different treatment.


    Chi Qing lifted that cat as if it were an inanimate object, asking the worker standing off to the side, ¡°Can you take this thing away.¡±


    At that moment, the clinic worker was pouring him a glass of water, ¡°Ah, hello. Is there¡­¡­a problem with this cat?¡±


    The cats kept by their clinic were carefully selected. These kinds of furry and cute little animals could easily lighten someone¡¯s mood, playing a particular role in healing and promoting psychological health.


    Chi Qing let go and the cat fell directly into the worker¡¯s arms, ¡°It has no use, it¡¯s a hindrance.¡±


    The worker, ¡°......¡±


    The women off to the side, ¡°......¡±


    The shunned cat, ¡°............¡±


    The worker held the soft cat in his arms, truly unable to understand how there could be someone in the world who didn¡¯t like cats. All he could do was tell himself, This is a psychology clinic, the people who come here all have some extent of psychological issues.


    There weren¡¯t many people who had come for consultations before noon, and after they finished checking people in the receptionists started chatting amongst themselves.


    It was only as they discussed a particular ¡°consultee¡± that their voices began to liven up, ¡°......Earlier, Mr. Xie complimented the outfit I¡¯m wearing today.¡±


    ¡°Complimenting your outfit is just that, he didn¡¯t say you were beautiful,¡± another replied, ¡°He heard me cough and told me to take care of my health. He was concerned about me.¡±


    Once she said that, the two of them simultaneously sighed, ¡°How could this type of person have psychological issues?¡±


    ¡°............¡±


    The third receptionist was a bit older, and she glanced at the other two, ¡°If you two are that interested in Mr. Xie, when he comes out of Doctor Wu¡¯s office in a bit, I can help you two test out the waters?¡±


    When Chi Qing had been waiting in the waiting room for almost ten minutes, those receptionists finally stopped discussing the topic of ¡°Mr. Xie¡± and called his name, ¡°Mr. Chi, you can go in now¡ªDoctor Wu¡¯s office is the last door on the left of the hallway.¡±


    Doctor Wu had a good reputation in his field. Though he was young he¡¯d already achieved many successes, and was said to be refined and cultured, and to make people feel like they were in good hands.


    But Chi Qing wasn¡¯t concerned with that at all. The reason why he had picked Doctor Wu was entirely because of a single line in his brief introduction: Has had success treating patients with emotionlessness disorders.


    (t/n: I believe the term Çé¸ÐÕÏ°­ refers to mood/affective disorders (when I search it, most of the results are for bipolar disorder). However, based on Chi Qing and the narrative of this book, I think it¡¯s meant a little bit more literally here - Çé¸Ð (feelings/emotions) ÕÏ°­ (used to mean ¡®disorder¡¯ in various mental illnesses, but literally means ¡®a block or hindrance¡¯), so something more like an emotional block, or a disorder that has to do with difficulty feeling emotions. Because of this, I went with ¡®emotionlessness disorders¡¯ instead of ¡®mood disorders,¡¯ even though it¡¯s not an actual medical term.)


    Chi Qing walked over to the door of the office, knocking on it twice with a curled finger.


    The door wasn¡¯t locked.


    He pushed open the door a crack. The sound of an extremely casual voice came out from inside, sounding as if the person had just woken up, drawing out the final syllable with half-open eyes, ¡°¡ªCome in.¡±


    Altogether, there were two seats inside the consultation room. A desk chair that was set up in the space a bit further away, and a cream colored sofa-style chair that had an aromatherapy diffuser arranged carefully next to it.


    The person who had just spoken was sitting on the office chair, and was indeed sleeping. His whole body was leaning back, his legs were crossed with one of them resting errantly on the table, his face was covered by a book with the six words The Study of Personality in Psychology printed on the cover. In this position, the man¡¯s neck was stretched out. By comparison, the thing that was the most attention catching was the collar of his shirt. The buttons had not been fastened properly, and when he moved it exposed the vast expanse of his bony clavicle.


    Moreover, that brand of shirt was quite expensive.


    Upon hearing someone enter, he finally moved the five fingers pressing against the cover of the book, removing the book from his face¡ªthis person was just like his improperly fastened shirt collar, with a face that could be called ¡®distinguished yet unconstrained.¡¯


    The corners of the man¡¯s eyes lifted slightly. During the instant he sent over a sideways glance, one would think he was looking at an old lover.


    In sum, Marina¡¯s Trench separated him and the words ¡°cultured and elegant¡±


    That person took his leg down, picking up a glass and pouring Chi Qing hot tea. The words that came out of his mouth were also like catching up with a friend, bearing a rare intimacy that didn¡¯t spark distaste, ¡°Two days of rain and you¡¯re wearing so little, aren¡¯t you cold?¡±


    Chi Qing wanted to say what does that have to do with you.


    But he¡¯d come for a consultation; he ought to cooperate with the doctor, despite the fact that this ¡°Doctor Wu¡± didn¡¯t seem to look quite the same as the one in the introduction.


    Chi Qing endured, pushing back the cup of tea and saying, ¡°I¡¯m not cold. I¡¯m not thirsty either, I don¡¯t need tea.¡±


    The person across from him didn¡¯t take offense, lazily leaning back again and lightly tapping a finger on the table. He wore a delicate ring on his right hand. However, it wasn¡¯t feminine at all, instead just making people feel as though this person was of the affectionate type.


    That person said, ¡°It¡¯s good if you¡¯re not cold, I was afraid you might catch a cold later. Are you here for a consultation?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°......¡± He let out a laugh, ¡°You have quite the attitude.¡±


    Chi Qing cut short this useless, idle chatter, ¡°Can we start.¡±


    The incorrect-model ¡°Doctor Wu¡± across from him made no comment, instead stretching out a hand to move The Study of Personality in Psychology book from earlier, revealing the chart underneath.


    It was Chi Qing¡¯s first visit, so the chart had very few comments written on it. These few comments were the consultation booking, a few online communications between Doctor Wu and the consultee, and the preliminary assessment.


    The psychologist filled in a few extremely conservative words in the ¡®condition¡¯ space: This client¡¯s¡­¡­personality is relatively aloof.


    ¡°An aloof personality. And not just that. You have mysophobia, and since coming in and sitting down you¡¯ve had a guarded posture. There are cats all over the waiting room, but there isn¡¯t any cat fur stuck to you. Other than mysophobia, you must not like being near pets very much,¡± that person ran a finger down the page. Perhaps it was because of his face, but the motion of him turning the pages seemed flippant, ¡°......What¡¯s the severity of this mysophobia of yours?


    Chi Qing was used to relying on cold hard evidence when assessing someone, and this ¡°doctor¡± across from him had raised his suspicions from the start. According to reason, even though this was a high-end clinic, the clinician shouldn¡¯t be able to afford such an extravagant shirt. But as soon as the man opened his mouth, it dispelled Chi Qing¡¯s hesitations.


    Chi Qing, ¡°Very severe¡±


    That person¡¯s gaze hung on Chi Qing¡¯s gloves for a second, ¡°Does ¡®very severe¡¯ point to avoiding touch, or is a person even being nearby too much for you?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Why don¡¯t you test it out.¡±


    He thought anyone with ears would have been able to hear the true meaning behind the words ¡°test it out.¡±


    However, it seemed like the person across from him didn¡¯t get it. He stood up and got closer to Chi Qing, and after he passed over the desk the distance between the two of them quickly shortened.


    Only once he stood up did Chi Qing realize he was actually quite tall.


    When there were only two paces of space left between Chi Qing and the desk, without waiting for his response, the clavicle he¡¯d inadvertently caught a glimpse of earlier appeared before his eyes in a magnified way¡ªthe pits of the man¡¯s collar bones were deep, a certain suggestiveness emanating from his bones.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said with a smirk, ¡°I¡¯ll test it out.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Fuck.


    If this were a method of treatment, Chi Qing would think his own emotionlessness disorder had indeed resolved to a certain degree, because at that moment he felt quite agitated.


    Chi Qing released the hands that had been laced together on top of his leg the entire time, but the person across from him had predicted this movement. He restrained Chi Qing¡¯s wrist with a single hand and said, ¡°Don''t freak out.¡±


    After he finished speaking, that person¡¯s fingers slowly crept up Chi Qing¡¯s wrist. The pad of his fingers rested at the edge of a black glove, wanting to pull off that glove without a sound of warning, ¡°Mr. Chi, that¡¯s not how consultations are done¡­¡­Take it easy, if you keep wearing these gloves, just sitting in the consultation room for three hours would be useless.¡±


    ________


    ľ¹Ï»Æ¡¯s author¡¯s note:


    Xiao-Xie, you¡¯re here to see the doctor too, take it easy alright?


    -


    Stepping into the New Year!~~Hello 2021~


    Translator notes:


    Xie Lin (½âÁÙ, xie4 lin2):


    ½â: as a surname, this character is pronounced as xie4 and doesn¡¯t have a particular meaning that I know of. However, when it¡¯s used as a word (or component of a word) it¡¯s pronounced jie3, and it has many possible meanings, including ¡®to explain,¡¯ ¡®to understand,¡¯ ¡®to untie (literally and figuratively),¡¯ ¡®to divide,¡¯ ect


    ÁÙ: ¡®to face,¡¯ ¡®to overlook,¡¯ ¡®to be on the brink of/just before,¡¯ ect

 CH 4

    I ran into a nutcase.


    Chi Qing had seen many psychologists, but this was still the first one who¡¯d come over and gotten physical with him.


    The man grasped the black glove in his hand. It was clearly no more than a simple motion, entirely without other intentions, but when he did it, it seemed improper somehow.


    That person, ¡°Stay still. I¡¯m not going to eat you, what¡¯re you nervous for.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Get the hell off of me.¡±


    That person, ¡°If you continue like this, how long will it be until your mysophobia is cured? When you come to a clinic for treatment the first thing you need to do is straighten out your attitude. Push through it.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°......¡±


    That person had pulled his gloves up to the knuckles. Those hands had barely had any contact with the sun, appearing with an almost sickly pallor and thin fingers, inviting that person¡¯s gaze to linger.


    Chi Qing silently recited the words ¡°murder is illegal¡± in his mind. Enduring the discomfort, Chi Qing lifted his eyes to look at him.


    The long-ish hair over his forehead blocked his eyes, his pupils were such a deep black you couldn¡¯t see the bottom. The weather that day was actually good, but the sunlight shining on his body through the window couldn¡¯t dispel the dispirited feeling of never ending rain, and even the light in the room seemed to darken a few degrees.


    The person across from him sensed his line of sight, not realizing until two seconds later that this was him waiting for feedback.


    That person grabbed his hand and examined it, saying, ¡°En¡­¡­your hand looks nice.¡±


    The corner of Chi Qing¡¯s eye twitched.


    This was light years away from the feedback he¡¯d imagined.


    That person was still talking, ¡°Pale; your ring finger has a light brown mole at the second joint.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Your fingers are very slender, they can¡¯t be more than fifty-six millimeters around. Has anyone ever told you you have long fingers?¡±


    (t/n: He doesn¡¯t actually specify the units, but I made an educated guess based on what made physical sense.)


    ¡°Told me¡± my ass.


    This guy¡¯s a fucking nutcase.


    ¡°No,¡± the joints of Chi Qing¡¯s fingers were just as tense as always, ¡°There are not many nutcases in this world, after all.¡±


    That person wasn¡¯t offended, and even smiled after hearing that, ¡°Are you mad?¡±


    ¡°If you can¡¯t tell,¡± Chi Qing moved the joint of his finger, ¡°I can express it a bit more clearly.¡±


    But as soon as his finger moved like that, it was restrained by someone. His tone of voice was undoubtedly ordinary, but sounded as if he were sweet talking, ¡°Alright, don¡¯t be mad, I¡¯m letting go.¡±


    That person seemed to be very good at testing out other people¡¯s psychological boundaries, treading over Chi Qing¡¯s line, then slowly retreating at the last second.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been in here for almost five minutes and there¡¯s finally some expression on your face,¡± following this he extended two fingers, pointing towards the left as if he knew what Chi Qing had to go and do, ¡°The bathroom is out the door to the left, keep walking and you¡¯ll be there.¡±


    Chi Qing washed his hands twice.


    He turned off the faucet and the sound of water rushing in his ears stopped. Chi Qing thought, that guy really doesn¡¯t seem like a doctor.


    That shirt, that ¡®incorrect-model¡¯ personality, and his unorthodox methods.


    The doubt in the bottom of his heart hadn¡¯t ceased, and a few clues pointed in the same direction, but they were all blocked by the man¡¯s exceedingly natural disposition and the way he clearly understood psychology very well.


    A few minutes later, the two people returned to sitting face-to-face with each other.


    ¡°These symptoms of yours, about when did they start?¡±


    ¡°Ten years ago.¡±


    ¡°Did anything in particular happen ten years ago? Of course, it¡¯s perfectly fine if it¡¯s not easy to talk about.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t hesitate at all, ¡°It¡¯s not¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    That person¡¯s fingers rested on top of the page, the corners of his eyes lifted slightly. When looking at other people, his gaze carried an indescribable emotion, as if he were indulging the other person¡¯s bad attitude, ¡°Alright, if you don¡¯t want to talk about it then don¡¯t.¡±


    He didn¡¯t cling to that question, switching to a different one, ¡°How about I put on some music?¡±


    A soothing piano melody slowly flowed through the consultation room.


    The aromatherapy diffuser emitted a light fragrance.


    ¡°It is universally known in the study of psychology that music has uses in alleviating the state of mind. Music is another type of language, and it can give the spirit a feeling of peace,¡± that person¡¯s finger tapped a few times in time with the beat, ¡°Close your eyes and try it out.¡±


    Chi Qing wanted to say that he actually didn¡¯t have any interest in music.


    During the time Chi Qing was taking classes at film school, his advisor had tried to use this type of strategy.


    The image of his acting advisor from back then earnestly urging him to change his major seemed to appear before Chi Qing¡¯s eyes: ¡°We don¡¯t want to waste your time either, you¡¯re really just not suited for acting. When we had you act in a scene of a father and son meeting again after many years, you went and stood over there like you came to carry out a vendetta. A few other teachers and I have discussed it, and none of us know how to teach you¡­¡­¡¯The sky¡¯s the limit¡¯ as they say; why do you need to keep clinging to our tiny acting department?¡±


    Just as Chi Qing wanted to shut his eyes, he caught sight of a picture frame with half a corner exposed resting on the desktop.


    It was a picture of a little girl blowing out the candles on a cake; the bottom right corner of the photograph showed that it had been taken on the 25th the previous year.


    He glanced a few times at the picture, then swept his gaze over the other furnishings on the desk once again. A box of goji berries that had just been opened was arranged in the corner of the table; none of the other items on the table were valuables. A calendar was standing next to the computer with the 25th this year specially circled in pen.


    Chi Qing rubbed the pad of a finger over a black glove, asking calmly, ¡°Let me ask you a question, when is our next appointment.¡±


    The man replied without much care, ¡°Anytime, the most important thing is when you¡¯re available.¡±


    ¡°The 25th.¡± Chi Qing said.


    ¡°I¡¯m only free on the 25th.¡± He repeated once again.


    The man across from him took the time to show concern, ¡°It seems like you¡¯re typically very busy with work.¡±


    He had no response at all to the day of the 25th.


    Chi Qing looked at him. His heart had it¡¯s answer, and he wanted to say you aren¡¯t this clinic¡¯s doctor.


    Before he had the chance to speak, the door to the consultation room was quietly pushed open by someone.


    A man wearing a white woolen sweater and carrying a thermos in his hand stood in the doorway. The man wore a badge on his chest; Chi Qing¡¯s gaze swept over the words on the badge from afar¡ª¡±Jiakang Psychology Clinic, Doctor Jingyu Wu.¡±


    (t/n: the name of the clinic is ¼Ñ¿µ, which is a combination of ¼Ñ(jia1) meaning ¡®fine¡¯ or ¡®beautiful¡¯ and ¿µ(kang1) meaning ¡®health¡¯)


    The real Doctor Wu was exactly like the one he¡¯d heard about. Hot steam rose up from the thermos, making him look even more gentle at that moment. Even if he was puzzled by the situation inside the consultation room, he still spoke gently in a soft voice, ¡°Excuse me, what¡­¡­are you guys doing?¡±


    He had only left for a second between appointments, taking a trip to the bathroom and getting a cup of hot water to steep some goji berries along the way.


    (t/n: Goji berries are said to have certain medicinal properties according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. My knowledge about TCM is limited and it¡¯s not important to the story anyway, so if you want to know more you can google ¡®goji berries tcm¡¯ and there should be lots of resources you can look at! Pretty much all I know is that my grandma scolded me for eating too many due to the excess fire when I was younger haha)


    But upon coming back he didn¡¯t totally understand the situation going on inside his own office.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Doctor Wu,¡± the receptionist heard the activity and rushed over to check, apologizing without pause, ¡°It was my mistake, I thought your appointment with Mr. Xie had already finished, so I let Mr. Chi come in.¡±


    As it turns out, it was the consultee who had stirred the receptionists¡¯ amorous affections, ¡°Mr. Xie.¡±


    The consultation room was incredibly quiet for a moment.


    Doctor Wu was a textbook southerner, and with a bit of the local accent he very slowly inquired, ¡°Mr. Xie, just a minute ago I said I was stepping out for a moment, and you said, ¡®That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll sit here and read in the meantime.¡¯ How did¡­¡­¡±


    How did it develop into this.


    The guy with the surname Xie used a finger to prod at the cover of that book The Study of Personality in Psychology, explaining, ¡°I was reading, but I was uncomfortable sitting in the chair over there, so I borrowed yours to sit for a while. If you don¡¯t believe me, ask him.¡±


    (t/n: ÐÕ½âµÄ - loosely, ¡°the guy with the surname Xie.¡± A rude way to address someone)


    Right.


    If covering his face with a book counted as ¡°reading.¡±


    Moreover, the way he was sitting was still extremely arrogant.


    Chi Qing suspected that he hadn¡¯t checked his own fortune before coming out today. He guessed correctly that this person was not the doctor, but he hadn¡¯t thought that he was also here to see the doctor, ¡°You have an illness yourself, and you¡¯re still seeing patients?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve misunderstood,¡± the guy with the surname Xie truly seemed like that wasn¡¯t his intention, ¡°I never said I was the doctor.¡±


    ¡°Then you talked a lot of nonsense.¡±


    The guy with the surname Xie¡¯s brow twitched, ¡°You suddenly pushed open the door and came in. Doctor Wu wasn¡¯t here so I could only extend some courtesy and entertain his guest. I thought we were having a friendly exchange.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Fuck your ¡®friendly exchange.¡¯


    This mishap cleared up quickly, which was specifically related to the guy with the surname Xie dealing with himself. He first said, ¡°Apologies, I¡¯ve offended you, it was me who didn¡¯t clarify¡± and in doing so reassured the receptionist that it wasn¡¯t her fault. As he left he even pressed a mint into Doctor Wu¡¯s palm, ¡°Doctor Wu, just now I heard your voice was a bit hoarse, take care of your throat.¡± He even considerately helped close the door.


    Doctor Wu stood awkwardly in the same place for a spell, ¡°My apologies, Mr. Chi, can you give me a few minutes to prepare? Then our session will begin right away.¡±


    To tell the truth, he didn¡¯t really want to keep being in this clinic.


    Chi Qing pulled off a glove which he sat waiting off to the side, clicking open his phone to check the time.


    In the end the first thing he saw when he opened his phone wasn¡¯t the time, but instead a string of messages sent by Ji Mingrui.


    Ji Mingrui was on duty that day, but he kept thinking about how Chi Qing said he was going to the hospital, and couldn¡¯t help but announce his opinion.


    - Did you see the doctor?


    - What did the doctor say?


    - After I got back home yesterday I thought carefully for a while, and I think that mysophobia of yours, it¡¯s hard to cure.


    The next string of words was longer.


    - Do you still remember the time around when we first met? That whole first year of high school, the whole entire year, I never saw what your hands looked like. Back then everyone in our class thought it might be that you had some kind of unmentionable disease, like you were missing a finger or something like that.


    Chi Qing replied: It¡¯s you who has a fucking unmentionable disease.


    After a while, he added on another few words.


    - I ran into a nutcase.


    The actual consultation progressed smoothly; the ¡®genuine model¡¯ Doctor Wu could indeed be said to make people feel like they were in good hands.


    Before the consultation started, Doctor Wu put down his thermos and flipped through the chart again.


    Another chart was stacked on top of Chi Qing¡¯s chart. He unintentionally caught a glimpse of someone else¡¯s chart, but that chart flashing by was difficult to ignore¡ªit was a completely blank record form.


    Psychologists would go through each and every discussion they had with the consultee and record the diagnosis and assessments.


    However, not a single sentence was written on this record form, the entire paper was completely blank, without any traces of handwriting except for where the space at the very top for the name was filled in with two characters: Xie Lin.


    Outside the office in the hallway:


    Xie Lin followed the receptionist out. When the receptionist made it back to her post, she repeatedly sighed once again, ¡°This Mr. Xie, what kind of problem does he actually have?¡±


    ¡°Last time, I heard Doctor Wu talking on the phone,¡± the other receptionist lowered her voice and said, ¡°saying that since entering the field ten years ago he¡¯d never run into this type of situation before¡ªwhere there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything wrong with the patient, as if there really wasn¡¯t any kind of issue, but having to come for an appointment every week anyway.¡±


    At that moment, the person at the center of their discussion was sitting on the sofa in the waiting room waiting for a car.


    Just then, a cat laying nearby happened to wake up, sticking out its tongue with sleep-hazy eyes to lap at its paw.


    Xie Lin glanced at it, stretching out a hand with the intention of stroking its head.


    The man sat there wearing a wide smile, the kind that would easily give people a favorable impression. However, that cat seemed like its entire body had been shocked by electricity. Xie Lin¡¯s hand was still hovering in mid-air; that cat instantly puffed up its fur, darting away like a wisp of smoke.


    The consultation was an hour long in total, and consisted entirely of unremarkable conversation. It was nothing more than words taken from one psychologist''s mouth and put into another¡¯s, repeated once again.


    Doctor Wu also didn¡¯t know if his consultation had produced any effect. The gentleman with the surname Chi sat across from him throughout the entire appointment without any hint of an expression on his face.


    ¡°Our time is up,¡± customarily, Doctor Wu stood up and shook hands with his client to say goodbye, ¡°I hope this consultation was helpful for you. I have a lot of faith in you, and I hope you can have ample faith in yourself as well.¡±


    Chi Qing planned to call a car from his phone, so he¡¯d just pulled off one of his gloves.


    Thus, he very clearly heard the heave of a sigh in Doctor Wu¡¯s inner thoughts: [Ai, actually I don¡¯t have all that much faith¡­¡­but offering encouragement can never hurt.]


    After Doctor Wu finished speaking, he realized the face of gentleman with the surname Chi finally had a bit of a change.


    Doctor Wu, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, is there anything else?¡±


    Chi Qing slowly extracted his hand, ¡°No, I need to go wash my hands.¡±


    Doctor Wu, ¡°......¡±


    Doctor Wu was quickly thought of something else, ¡°I heard you wanted to set our next appointment for the 25th of this month, that¡¯s, I¡¯m sorry, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Chi Qing pushed open the door and walked out, ¡°Your daughter¡¯s birthday is on the 25th, you¡¯re not available.¡±


    Doctor Wu was flabbergasted, ¡°¡ªHow did you know?¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t have the patience to resolve his doubts, ¡°Let¡¯s plan for a different day, I¡¯ll notify you about the specific timing.¡±


    It was exactly noon when Chi Qing left, and the majority of the rainwater left on the road had already evaporated.


    Online, Ji Mingrui was still waiting for his response.


    - What nutcase?


    - My friend, you went to the psychiatrist for your mysophobia right?


    - So what did the doctor end up saying?


    Chi Qing got into the car. As he looked at the chatbox, he thought of what Doctor Wu said, the buzz of that distorted voice in his ear echoing endlessly. Amidst the buzzing, he suddenly pulled off a glove and looked over his own hand.


    At the second joint of his right ring finger, there indeed was a mole he himself had never discovered before. That mole was quite small; if it wasn¡¯t for his skin being excessively pale, it would¡¯ve been difficult for someone to notice.


    ¡ª¡±Your hand looks nice.¡±


    ¡ª¡±Has anyone ever told you you have long fingers?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Chi Qing stared at that light brown mole, trying to recall if he had heard anything other than the complete garbage coming out of his mouth when the guy with the surname Xie grabbed his hand earlier.


    The scenery outside the window slowly passed by.


    Only after watching it for a while did Chi Qing have a response. That nutcase touched his hand earlier, but he didn¡¯t mind-read anything at all.


    ________


    ľ¹Ï»Æ¡¯s author¡¯s note:


    Although the two of them are extremely dangerous, they¡¯re both good, law-abiding citizens ha!

 CH 5

    The Criminal Investigation Unit''s former consultant, Xie Lin.


    Every person¡¯s mind harbors secrets.


    Chi Qing got out of the car. The guard responsible for the entrance to the xiaoqu had a kindly face and wore an army-green overcoat, opening the access restrictions for the residents with a smile on his face, ¡°Hello, be careful on the road, drive safely.¡±


    He was on extraordinarily good terms with the majority of the residents, ¡°¡ªwalking the dog again? Wangcai looks like he has a lot more spirit than he¡¯s had the past few days.¡±


    Everyone praised him as an exceptionally optimistic person who was always looking to improve himself.


    Only Chi Qing knew that actually, he was suffering from severe depression. The smile he wore on his face was nothing but a mask, and when he went to bed he would spend the entire night with his eyes wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling: [What the hell am I doing every day¡­¡­what the hell am I still living for?]


    Beep¡ªhe was granted access.


    Chi Qing lifted his eyes slightly, the guard was wearing that same familiar smile on his face.


    The road inside the xiaoqu was wide, the buildings stood like a forest.


    As Chi Qing walked inward from the entrance, a cleaner wearing a wind-blocking hat was passing by with his cart. The cleaner¡¯s waist was stooped over; excessive hard work made him appear much older than he actually was. Several different tools were arranged in the cleaning cart, along with a full trash container.


    His wife had just passed the previous month.


    Well-meaning residents would collect empty plastic bottles for him, uttering a soft, ¡°my condolences,¡± before they left.


    He did indeed appear sorrowful; his eyes had been red for the whole entire month.


    Until one time when Chi Qing was not careful when throwing out his trash and accidentally touched his hand, discovering that he was like a drowning person gasping for breath when they made it to shore, concealing delight in his heart: [Who has that much money to take her to the doctor? So many years of having to both work and take care of her, she finally let me go¡­¡­]


    Chi Qing lived in building 16.


    After brushing shoulders with the cleaner, he pushed open the door to the building and entered.


    The elevator displayed an ¡°8,¡± at that moment it was coming down from the eighth floor.


    Ding.


    Just as the elevator doors had opened a crack, and before he had seen anybody, he heard the lively voice of a little girl.


    A girl with pigtails was holding an adult¡¯s hand, lifting her head to ask, ¡°Mama, is baba coming home tonight?¡±


    The woman holding her hand was wearing a beige sweater, and she replied tenderly, ¡°Baba is working overtime today¡­¡­okay, we¡¯re here, watch where you''re stepping, don¡¯t fall again.¡±


    They were residents of this building, a family with three people. The husband and wife were well-known in the xiaoqu to be a model husband and wife.


    A few years ago, on the first day Chi Qing moved into this building, the woman came up and gifted him a box of cookies she had baked herself, ¡°I heard you just moved in, and I just so happened to have baked some cookies. You can have them if you want.¡±


    The woman smiled bashfully again, ¡°I don¡¯t know whether or not they¡¯re to your liking, but my husband really loves them.¡±


    [......He still thinks the kid is really his.


    If it wasn¡¯t for him being well-off, there¡¯s this apartment in the area¡­¡­]


    The woman came out from the elevator, glancing at Chi Qing.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t respond, pressing the button for his floor. He watched the bouncing image of the little girl from behind, innocently urging, ¡°Mama, hurry up!¡±


    The doors to the elevator gradually closed.


    Every person¡¯s mind harbors secrets.


    He¡¯d never met anyone whose mind he couldn¡¯t read.


    Many people hold thoughts in their hearts that are hard to let out into the light, or deeply hidden guilt that nobody knows about, or desires that are impossible to speak aloud. These things were like a massive abyss, a dark and deep cave that was almost enough to swallow everything up.


    The elevator rose rapidly through the pitch black shaft.


    As Chi Qing was experiencing the slight weightless feeling of rising, he recalled the way that nutcase sat in the office chair and took the book off of his face, suspecting that the instant where he didn¡¯t mind-read anything earlier might have just been a coincidence.


    The curtains in the apartment were tightly shut, completely blocking out the sunlight from outside. The lights weren¡¯t on either, but Chi Qing was well adapted to the darkness.


    He didn¡¯t like environments that were too bright.


    Ji Mingrui¡¯s video call came through just as he was crossing one leg over the other, shrinking into the sofa and flipping through TV channels. The television emitted cold blue fluorescent light, sending a serene blue cast over his body, accentuating the contours of his features.


    Ji Mingrui used this light to effortfully make out half of his face, ¡°......Da-ge, are you the reincarnation of a vampire? It¡¯s pitch black over there.¡±


    Chi Qing used concrete action to express that he really didn¡¯t want to play along, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m hanging up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so impatient. I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s bad for your vision¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± Ji Mingrui¡¯s side was exceptionally bright and clear. The two video boxes on the phone seemed like day and night; they were clearly in the same time zone, but somehow gave the feeling of having jet lag, ¡°You still haven¡¯t replied to my question, what did the doctor say?¡±


    Chi Qing changed the channel and the cold blue cast over his body flickered, ¡°The doctor said he didn¡¯t have a lot of confidence.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°That may be the truth, but doctors nowadays are really too blunt, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Ji Mingrui continued, ¡°And what nutcase did you run into?¡±


    Upon bringing up the ¡°nutcase,¡± Ji Mingrui suddenly felt like Chi Qing''s face was contoured even more coldly by the cold blue light.


    Chi Qing, ¡°He¡¯s sick, there¡¯s nothing to say.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui wanted to say actually, you¡¯re not so ordinary yourself.


    But he didn¡¯t dare.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, as long as nothing¡¯s up with you that¡¯s good,¡± as he was speaking, Ji Mingrui lifted up his phone and got in the car, starting up the engine as he said, ¡°I have to respond to a dispatch, we can talk more later.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t care. That last meal had given him a deep understanding of the nature of Ji Mingrui¡¯s work. He put down the remote and the TV channel finally stopped on some romance type show, ¡°Which couple is squabbling about divorce this time?¡±


    Ji Mingrui listened to the scripted lines coming through from Chi Qing¡¯s TV, ¡°Even though there¡¯s a thirty year difference between us, I truly love him. I love how mature he is, I love how the years have carved wrinkles onto his face.¡± His temples pulsed fiercely; he didn¡¯t know all the stuff Chi Qing usually watched was this trashy.


    He spoke earnestly and seriously, ¡°You seem to have some kind of misunderstanding about my work. It isn¡¯t a small-scale problem this time, Comrade Chi Qing.¡± He emphasized, ¡°This time it¡¯s a murder case, the kind with a river of bloodshed.¡±


    Chi Qing tore some of his attention away from the television program, glancing at him through the cell phone screen and signaling for him to continue.


    ¡°In one night, they killed seven¡ª¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°seven people?¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......seven cats.¡±


    Chi Qing looked away without a hint of mercy, ¡°Oh.¡±


    Ji Mingrui knew that Chi Qing didn¡¯t particularly like those kinds of furry little animals.


    Rather than saying that he didn¡¯t like them, it would be better to say that had barely any feelings towards pets.


    Back when they were students, one of the female students brought back a stray cat from the small forest by their school, secretly keeping it in the classroom. Every day after school, the whole class would gather around to look at the cat, except for Chi Qing who wouldn¡¯t move at all.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to look?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there interesting to look at?¡±


    The Ji Mingrui of back then was much shorter than the current one, and every day he would secretly wear height-raising shoes to increase his imposingness and confidence in running for the position of PE class representative, ¡°I-it¡¯s cute. You don¡¯t think so?¡±


    On the other hand, the Chi QIng of back then was about the same, beautiful yet gloomy. He used a pen to point at the blackboard, ¡°Are you finished talking, get out of the way, you¡¯re blocking my note taking.¡±


    Ji Mingrui shook his head. Before hanging up the video call, he spoke one sentence with a constricted voice, ¡°Kitties are so cute, how could someone not like kitties.¡±


    As it turned out, reduplication truly had a lot of destructive power. This time, Chi QIng didn¡¯t even say the three words ¡°I¡¯m hanging up,¡± cutting off the video in a straightforward manner.


    Haimao xiaoqu was located in the Old City District. The buildings within the district had white walls and dark roofs, the alleyways were long and narrow, the fleeting sound of bicycles and cars rolling along traveled everywhere throughout the district, a pair of elementary and middle school school districts formed a complete set nearby. It was a place with a dense flavor of life.


    Ji Mingrui parked his car. Before he could even walk into the xiaoqu, he saw a group of people crowding around the entrance.


    Although the accumulation of rainwater had evaporated, the vast stretch of blood that had been scattered by the rain still stained the street, striking and unsightly under the sunlight. The bloodstains were flowing from the lawn. A single cat dying was perhaps not a rare occurrence¡ªbut the shrubbery was filled with seven, densely packed cat corpses.


    Someone had used a blade to split open the chest of each cat. The internal organs had been forcefully pulled out, chaotically and ruthlessly mixing together in a wretched state of death. Every single one had it¡¯s eyes wide open, and half of each one¡¯s head was exposed from the black plastic bag it was wrapped in.


    Someone was covering their children¡¯s eyes, quickly traversing through the crowd, ¡°......How sinful¡­ÄÇÄØÞÎÀ±ÊÖµÄÀ² (How could they be so heartless).¡±


    (t/n: Here¡¯s some more dialect/local language. This time ľ¹Ï»Æ provided a translation, so I kept her formatting with the dialect text, then the translation in parentheses. This sounds like ¡®na4 ne ga4 la4 shou3 de la¡¯ if you read the characters in Mandarin, but I don¡¯t know how it sounds in the dialect. Iirc, there are a few more instances like this in this book, so that¡¯s what¡¯s happening if you see something like this again!)


    From within the clamorous crowd, Ji Mingrui heard a familiar anguished wail, ¡°My Nannan!¡ª¡±


    (t/n: àïàï(nan1nan1) means something like ¡®little darling¡¯ or ¡®sweet baby,¡¯ and it¡¯s an informal, close way to call a little girl. However, it¡¯s this cat¡¯s name, so I¡¯ve chosen to leave it as is)


    It was Wang-a¡¯po¡¯s voice.


    It was only then that Ji Mingrui was able to barely distinguish the single ear with a black splotch on it of a silver Scottish Fold from amongst the muddled flesh. He¡¯d seen this cat before.


    (t/n: Sorry about all the notes, but just wanted to say that, although I did some searching, I¡¯m not 100% on that cat breed as I know very little about cats beyond them being cute. If anyone can confirm what breed Òø°×¸ßµØ is, I would appreciate it haha)


    Last time when they¡¯d gone to Wang-a¡¯po¡¯s home to investigate the wood carving case, that cat had been laying on the balcony stealthily watching them.


    Su Xiaolan and another male coworker had arrived at the scene beforehand. When she was finished recording the situation, she took her record book and retreated out of the shrubbery, saying with a lowered voice, ¡°That one is Wang-a¡¯po¡¯s family cat, her daughter raised it before she passed. It¡¯s accompanied her for so many years¡­¡­She changed the cat¡¯s name, using her daughter¡¯s childhood nickname to address it. It¡¯s called Nannan.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°Did you guys find anything anywhere else? Is it all here?¡±


    Su Xiaolan, ¡°It¡¯s all here. The residents told us there have been fewer and fewer stray cats in the xiaoqu this past while. Up until yesterday, when even the last stray cat was nowhere to be found. They¡¯d been thinking it was because the weather got colder and the stray cats found other places to live.¡±


    Ji Mingrui looked at the shrubbery, unable to keep from pursing his brow.


    The sadistic killing of animals like what happened in the xiaoqu was something that sometimes occured, but in the vast majority of cases ¡°poisoning¡± and ¡°beating to death¡± were the most likely. The former stemmed from neighborhood disputes, or hating the noise the animales made. The latter stemmed from needing to vent one¡¯s feelings, and therefore abusing weaker beings.


    Cutting cats open while they were still alive¡­¡­really wasn¡¯t seen often.


    Su Xiaolan spoke again, ¡°Bin-ge said he¡¯d come over to look soon. Looking at the time, he¡¯s probably almost here.¡±


    ¡°Bin-ge¡± wasn¡¯t at all some young chap. Rather, he was an old police detective who¡¯d stepped down from above. When he was young he¡¯d been involved in many serious cases, but two years ago he¡¯d been injured while out on assignment. Adding on the fact that he was getting older, he¡¯d finally stepped down to minding newcomers like them.


    Ordinarily, as soon as it was time for a meal they liked to circle around Bin-ge and listen to him talk about cases. Bin-ge would take the opportunity to reminisce on former years, ¡°Back then when I caught the offender¡ª¡±


    After Ji Mingrui had reassured Wang-a¡¯po, who was crying so hard she could barely stand, he had sat down on the masonry of a flower bed off to the side to recuperate his state of mind. Just as he was going to stand back up, he saw a black Maybach slowly approaching from the other end of the road. The car parked neither too near nor too far in the vicinity of the crowd.


    Their ¡°Bin-ge¡± got out from the passenger¡¯s seat. Bin-ge¡¯s full name was Wu Zhibin, and his hair was shaved into a pristine crew cut. Because his stride was unsteady he needed a cane, and when he got out of the car his black cane hit the ground first, ¡°What¡¯s going on, there¡¯s such a racket.¡±


    However, through the crack in the door during that instant, the person sitting in the driver¡¯s seat caught Ji Mingrui¡¯s attention.


    That man¡¯s face was extremely good looking. He seemed to glance in Ji Mingrui¡¯s direction, and his eyes were exceptionally ¡®distinguished yet unconstrained.¡¯ His hand rested on the steering wheel, and he wore a single delicate ring on his finger.


    ¡°Bin-ge.¡±


    Even with the cane, Wu Zhibin still walked like he had the wind under his feet, ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±


    Ji Mingrui moved off to the side, making it easier for him to get a clear look at the situation in the shrubbery, ¡°Seven dead cats, exactly the same sadistic method. It¡¯s most likely the work of the same person. But because of the rain, a lot of the evidence was washed away with the rainwater¡­¡­the surveillance cameras over here have been broken for over a month already, and the other cameras in the xiaoqu are undergoing adjustments.¡±


    Wu Zhibin, ¡°All of that information is useless, you¡¯d be better off saying that you guys surveilled the crime scene for this long and didn¡¯t find anything.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......¡±


    Wu Zhibin leaned on his cane, effortfully crouching down to look at the seven cat corpses for a while, then suddenly asked another question, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Ji Mingrui and Su Xiaolan were standing behind him, for a moment not understanding what he meant.


    Ji Mingrui glanced at Su Xiaolan, silently asking: I finished my report already, is he talking to you?


    Su Xiaolan replied with a meaningful look of innocence.


    Just as Su Xiaolan opened her mouth intending to come up with some more information to continue reporting, she heard someone behind her say, ¡°From the footprints, the suspect appears to be an adult male, but his body condition is probably pretty poor; he¡¯s not very strong.¡±


    She turned her head around and was faced with a pair of slightly lifted eyes.


    They had been examining the scene for over half an hour, and had only found some superficial information.


    But as soon as this person opened his mouth, he able to start outline the suspect¡¯s distinguishing features, even if it was just a small ¡°his body condition is poor¡±¡ªduring many criminal investigations, it was often exactly this type of minor distinguishing feature that would end up exposing the murderer.


    Disregarding the fact that the two of them were not acquainted at all, Su Xiaolan asked, ¡°Where¡¯d you see that from?¡±


    The man wasn¡¯t offended at all, and pointed at the ground, ¡°Plastic bags.¡±


    ¡°The bottom of the plastic bags have severe abrasion marks, telling me they were dragged against the ground for a period of time.¡±


    After he finished speaking, he followed procedure and grabbed the rubber gloves Su Xiaolan had placed near the shrubbery previously.


    The chests of these cat corpses all carried the traces of being stabbed, each and every bloody hole was horrifyingly aligned in a long line.


    ¡°The cross-section of the wounds isn¡¯t level; they have the traces of a sawing motion,¡± the man¡¯s hand gently propped up the cat¡¯s body. After he inspected it, his hand paused at the cat¡¯s eyes. With another gentle motion, he covered the cat¡¯s wide-open eyes, shutting them and making it appear as if it had gone a bit more peacefully, ¡°They¡¯re most likely from a small saw.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s he? Someone from headquarters?¡± Ji Mingrui asked in a whisper.


    Su Xiaolan, ¡°I dunno. I heard Bin-ge call him ¡®brat¡¯ earlier.¡±


    At that moment another male officer who had kept quiet through the whole exchange finally opened his mouth in befuddlement, questioning, ¡°Are you guys actually in this profession or not?¡±


    Ji Mingrui and Su Xiaolan, ¡°?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the Criminal Investigation Unit¡¯s former consultant, Xie Lin.¡±


    After the male officer finished speaking, he ceremoniously added on two more words, ¡°......My idol.¡±


    ________


    ľ¹Ï»Æ¡¯s author¡¯s note:


    (£¾ÈË£¼£») Arrived late

 CH 6

    A pretty gege with gloves on.


    T/N: I changed my mind about the chapter title after submitting this chapter to NU, so this chapter is listed as ''6. Cutting Tools'' in the sidebar so the link over there doesn''t break. Rest assured, this is indeed chapter 6


    Ji Mingrui was shaken by the three words ¡°Criminal Investigation Unit.¡±


    It went without saying what those three words meant.


    Although Ji Mingrui was still a low-ranking officer who had just taken up his post, struggling to ascend through the path of fighting monsters and catching criminals, becoming a detective had always been his ultimate goal. Despite this, he didn¡¯t dare to hold the pipe dream of making it into the Criminal Investigation Unit.


    The male officer was a qualified fan, and he knew his idol¡¯s accomplishments like the back of his hand, ¡°He was involved in Southern China¡¯s 7/19 Family Extermination Case, 9/02 Serial Murder Case, 3/10 Poisoning Case¡­¡­¡±


    These criminal case names and dates were incredibly infamous.


    Not a single once hadn¡¯t caused a commotion in the province when it happened; they were all cases that left an extremely vile impression.


    Ji Mingrui listened and listened. He came back to himself from the sighing feeling of being ¡°wow that¡¯s impressive¡±, noticing the common thread between those cases, ¡°Hold on, those cases all happened at least ten years ago!¡±


    All of the ones he¡¯d mentioned were old cases that happened ten or more years previous.


    Ji Mingrui glanced at Xie Lin¡¯s back. The man was still rummaging around in that lump of muddled flesh Su Xiaolan wouldn¡¯t dare touch. His movements were actually quite gentle, as if he was afraid of disturbing the cats. Bloodstained fingers caressed the skin and flesh, following slowly along the knife marks with his strokes. Because the crime scene was excessively bloody, this action would make the hair of anyone who saw it stand on end.


    Ji Mingrui¡¯s expression was difficult to read, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought someone who looks as young as he does would turn out to be that old already.¡±


    Su Xiaolan nodded along, ¡°Yeah, I thought he was only about 25 or so.¡±


    The male officer, ¡°?¡±


    I¡¯m afraid these two might both be idiots.


    The male officer looked at them the way he¡¯d look at a fool.


    ¡°He¡¯s really not that old.¡±


    The male officer seemed to suspect this sentence was not direct enough, and he added on another, ¡°He¡¯s the younger brother of the Criminal Investigation Unit¡¯s Unit Chief from back then, Xie Feng. The first time he assisted with a case, he was still in his first year of high school.¡±


    Su Xiaolan wondered whether or not she¡¯d heard him incorrectly.


    Ji Mingrui thought back on the him from his first year of high school, who was still secretly wearing height-raising shoe inserts to run for the position of PE class representative, ¡°......!?¡±


    Could the degree of differences between members of the same species really be that large?


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°But I have a question. I know that he¡¯s really awesome, but a consultant is a consultant, why does it also have a ¡®former¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Xiao-Jiang, come over here¡ª¡±


    Just as the male officer was about to open his mouth, Wu Zhibin waved his hand and shouted for him to come over.


    Jiang Yu sorted out his riled up state of mind, taking his notebook and jogging over, ¡°Bin-ge.¡±


    Wu Zhibin put a lot of thought into minding the newcomers, giving them the opportunity one by one to answer, ¡°Now tell me, what did you guys see.¡±


    Jiang Yu tried really hard to focus his gaze on the crime scene, but it was truly difficult to accomplish.


    The angle of the cane in Wu Zhibin¡¯s hand changed, suddenly landing a hit on his calf, ¡°I told you to look at the crime scene, what¡¯re you staring at other people for!¡±


    Jiang Yu, ¡°......Sorry Bin-ge.¡±


    Finally, Jiang Yu glanced at Xie Lin.


    From the man¡¯s slightly crooked fingers, it seemed like he could see a scene from many years earlier. The image of a mere teenaged youth sitting in the conference room at the head of the long table, his fingers lightly tapping on the surface.


    The reason why Jiang Yu knew this information like the back of his hand was because his father had worked in the headquarters for many years. When he was very young, he was accustomed to going there every Friday after school and finding an open spot to do his homework, waiting for his father to get off work.


    The people who worked in the headquarters were always very busy, were always running around like the wind, bodies never touching home.


    The young him would often sneakily look into the conference room through the glass door after he finished his homework, wanting to see what his own father was like when he was working. Although, most of the time he didn¡¯t need to look in order to know; his father would surely be staring at the crime scene photos up on the screen with a deeply furrowed brow.


    The Criminal Investigation Unit Unit Chief from back then, Xie Feng, was an open-hearted and honest top-notch character; his treatment of others was warm and courteous, and he rose to the position of Unit Chief when he was still quite young. He was an outstanding representative of a young person, with a resume and reputation that were both as brilliant as a textbook.


    But compared to his halo, Jiang Yu¡¯s deepest impression of him was of his younger brother.


    That year when the ¡°Southern China 7/19 Family Extermination Case¡± stirred up the entire city, the murder leaving behind no clues of any kind, the media was everywhere and the pressure to break the case rose steadily by the day. The male officer looked in through the glass window to look, and saw his father¡¯s brow that had been tightly furrowed without release for days on end.


    Up until ten days after the crime happened¡ªwhen someone had a breakthrough.


    His father hadn''t returned home for ten days already. He sneakily peeped into the conference room from outside, watching his father pull open the door and run hurriedly out of the conference room with a few other detectives.


    When they got back, someone else was with them.


    A young man wearing a school uniform walked at the very end of the procession. He must¡¯ve just gotten out of school; the blue uniform was still hanging loosely on his body. He had the face of a kid who often received love letters in school.


    After he entered, the arrangement of seats in the conference room changed.


    The young man was invited to sit at the head of the table.


    The long table in the conference room had ten or so seats in total. He was sitting at the furthest spot, but at that moment he happened to be facing the projector screen they hadn¡¯t yet had time to turn off.


    Crime scene photos of the Family Extermination case¡ªdisplayed on the screen, the fluorescent light of the slides was flickering endlessly in the room.


    Jiang Yu looked in through the cracks between the blinds. He saw the young man¡¯s laced-together hands resting on the table. The rows of detectives on either side of him were all in uniform, a quietly fierce style, bearing a silver insignia on the shoulders. In that conference room, his high school uniform stuck out like a sore thumb.


    Only later did he find out that the young man was called Xie Lin.


    That he was the Unit Chief¡¯s younger brother.


    ¡ª¡±a consultant is a consultant, why does it also have a ¡®former¡¯?


    The situation surrounding the last time he saw that young man flashed through Jiang Yu¡¯s mind.


    His father showed a rare agitation, ¡°I disagree¡ªhe¡¯s too dangerous! Did you guys see his psych report¡ªyou¡¯re right, I don¡¯t know what happened during the kidnapping case. I just know that before we still had Xie Feng, and now Xie Feng isn¡¯t here and there¡¯s no one who can keep him in check. If we invite him in, could you control him? Who¡¯s capable of controlling him!?¡±


    -


    Xie Lin was completely unaware there was also an ¡°old friend¡± at the scene; at that moment, his attention was captured by the thin paper caught in that silver Scottish Fold¡¯s claws.


    He pulled off that half-piece of thin paper, bringing it closer to take a look, discovering that it was a price tag from a kiosk shop with a white background and red border. It was already crinkled beyond recognition, and after it had been soaked in blood you could only vaguely see a ¡°person¡± radical.


    (t/n: the ¡°person¡± radical is the one that looks like this ÈË or this Øé. It¡¯s super common, so basically, on its own the writing on this tag is not very helpful)


    -


    ¡°Are there really people who can break cases at fifteen?¡±


    ¡°Does that type of person really exist? Apart from the Detective Conan anime¡ªI still find it hard to believe.¡±


    When Ji Mingrui got off work, he drove directly to Chi Qing¡¯s apartment. His main reason for going to Lord Chi¡¯s home was because it was on the way; Chi Qing¡¯s apartment was not even two kilometers away from the Haimao xiaoqu. As soon as he got in the door he collapsed onto the sofa, lying there and questioning his life.


    Ji Mingrui flipped himself over on the sofa, lying sprawled out on his back.


    Ji Mingrui continued to lament, ¡°It''s so over the top, what was I doing when I was fifteen!¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Buying height-raising shoe inserts. Begging me to let you copy my homework.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......¡±


    Chi Qing continued, ¡°Chasing after the girl in the class next to ours, and when you failed you cried for an entire hour, and then you wanted to wipe your tears on my shirt, so after you finally managed to stop crying, getting beat up by me made you start up again.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°............¡±


    Chi QIng, ¡°Do you still want me to help you remember.¡±


    Ji Mingrui instantly sobered up, ¡°There¡¯s no need, thank you.¡±


    Right as Chi Qing was speaking, he was slicing some bread. The open-style kitchen was icy cold without any smoke from cooking. There wasn''t that much kitchenware in his home, although there was an abundance of knives.


    Ji Mingrui realized the light inside the room was poor, standing up to turn on the lights, ¡°What kind of nocturnal animals are you, not even afraid of cutting your hand in the pitch darkness.¡±


    The room that was dimly lit before was filled with brightness in an instant.


    Chi Qing was startled by the flash of light, and the hand that was holding a knife to slice bread suddenly paused.


    The shimmering silver blade deviated from its course, piercing directly into his finger.


    Chi Qing, ¡°......Do you have a death wish today.¡±


    As Ji Mingrui apologized, he went to look for the first-aid kit, ¡°It was my mistake.¡±


    But before he had found the first-aid kit, he saw Chi Qing looking at the blood seeping out of his finger without any kind of a reaction, only dully bringing his finger up to his mouth, the blood instantly melting at his lips.


    Ji Mingrui wanted to say you really are the reincarnation of a vampire, but his gaze unintentionally drifted over to the knife in Chi Qing¡¯s hand.


    It was a serrated knife. The tip of the knife was long and thin, the blade arced in a curve. The teeth were like a row of sharp canines, sparking with piercing cold rays of light.


    ¡ª¡±The cross-section of the wounds aren''t level; they have the traces of a sawing motion.¡±


    ¡ª¡±They¡¯re most likely from a serrated knife.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°What¡¯re you looking at?¡±


    Ji Mingrui locked his gaze on the knife in Chi Qing¡¯s hand, ¡°When did you buy that knife, where did you buy it, can you let me see it?¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t ask why. He flipped the knife around so that the tip was pointing at himself, and offered the handle to him.


    And it was precisely the motion that caused Chi QIng to realize there was still a price tag he hadn¡¯t had the chance to tear off stuck to the handle. He tore off the tag in passing and said, ¡°Roughly last week, by the street.¡±


    The xiaoqu Chi Qing lived in wasn¡¯t far from Haimao; a lot of the large-scale supports were shared within the district. Ji Mingrui received the knife, looking and looking again, ¡°You still remember which store?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Bianmin Grocery.¡±


    A rainbow fart came out when Ji Mingrui opened his mouth, ¡°Sometimes I really admire that outstanding memory of yours¡­¡­¡±


    (t/n: ²Êºçƨ/ ¡®rainbow fart¡¯ - simply too great of a phrase to not translate directly lmao. Refers to a fan offering fancy flatteries/praises to their idol)


    Chi Qing took the tag he¡¯d just torn off and stuck it to the back of his hand. Ji Mingrui lowered his head to glance at it, and saw the grocery¡¯s name ¡°Bianmin¡± printed on it with a white background and red border, ¡°......¡±


    (t/n: the name of the store is written ±ãÃñ. The first character ±ã has the ¡®person¡¯ radical on the left Øé)


    -


    Ding-a-ling¡ª


    The doorbell of an ordinary grocery five hundred or so meters away from Haimao rang.


    Xie Lin glanced around the shop. It was narrow and small, and from inside to out the decorations were all out-dated; all the furnishings were in the style from ten or so ago. Even the price tags stuck to the products persisted with that old-fashioned type of habit from then until now.


    Within a radius of two kilometers, the only shop that stuck such labels to their products was this grocery.


    The door of the grocery entered into the snack area; the price stuck to the bags of potato chips was£¤6.


    This convenience store¡¯s name was printed on a rectangular tag using characters with a blue background.


    The section for kitchen supplies was further inside; Xie Lin grabbed a few bags of snacks as he walked in that direction. On the inside, a dazzling line-up of kitchenware was arranged.


    A few types of paring knives were arranged on the second layer of the shelf.


    Because there were fewer uses for serrated knives, they couldn¡¯t compare to the flat and smooth edge of the best-selling paring knife. Thus, they were put in the innermost position, and there were still four left.


    The owner of the grocery wasn¡¯t present; the front counter only had a young boy resting his upper body on the counter doing homework. He seemed to be accustomed to helping his family watch the store; when he saw that somebody wanted to check out, he put down his pen and started calculating the bill with a practiced motion.


    A hand tapped on his homework book, ¡°Kiddo, you picked the wrong answer for question three.¡±


    The young boy glanced at the visitor.


    Xie Lin picked up a pencil from off to the side and wrote down a simple formula on the draft. After he finished writing, he spoke again, ¡°Can you answer this question for gege¡ªhas anyone come to buy this type of knife recently?¡±


    The boy took the snacks, looking at the serrated knife that was being bought and thinking for a moment, then saying, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°A pretty gege with gloves on.¡±


    ________


    ľ¹Ï»Æ¡¯s author¡¯s note:


    Chi Qing: ?


    Thrilled to receive a suspect


    Translator notes:


    Jiang Yu (½ªÓî, jiang1 yu3):


    ½ª: a surname. Shares the same character as ¡®ginger¡¯ in simplified Chinese, but I believe is just a surname in traditional


    Óî: ¡®the universe¡¯


    Xie Feng (½â·ç, xie4 feng1):


    ½â: the same Xie as Xie Lin (unsurprisingly haha)


    ·ç: ¡®wind¡¯

 CH 7

    We meet again, Mr. Chi.


    A pretty. Gege. With gloves on.


    Xie Lin¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly.


    In an instant, he remembered how a certain someone looked when he pushed open the door to the psychology consultation room.


    Maybe it was because he had a slight figure, but his body still unconsciously let off the energy of a teenager. He was indeed pretty, bearing an exquisite countenance. The look in his eyes was deeply melancholy, the inky black colliding with the color of his lips, and black gloves encased his slender fingers as he sat across from him.


    ¡°Was he about this tall?¡± Xie Lin lifted a hand and gestured around his own forehead. As he spoke, he didn¡¯t sound like he was questioning a suspect, instead sounding as though he was searching for a lover who had been missing for many years, ¡°He is indeed very pretty. His skin¡¯s very pale, wears black gloves, doesn¡¯t really like to speak, and also doesn¡¯t really like being touched.¡±


    The young boy nodded.


    Xie Lin, ¡°His hair¡¯s kinda long, roughly to about here, covering his eyes. His whole body is pale from top to bottom, except for his lips which look like they have lipstick on them.¡±


    Xie Lin went into too much detail: from this description, the young boy seemed to be seeing that pretty gege who¡¯d come to buy a knife for a second time.


    The young boy nodded his head exactly like the sticker ¡®nodding like pounding garlic,¡¯ ¡°That gege looked kinda scary. I went to help him bag his stuff, but he wouldn¡¯t let me.¡±


    (t/n: you can see the sticker at the bottom of this chapter (I couldn''t add a gif here haha))


    Xie Lin rather agreed, ¡°His temperment¡¯s not the best.¡±


    The young boy, ¡°You¡¯re looking for him? Do you guys know each other?¡±


    Xie Lin left the snacks he¡¯d paid for on the counter, only taking that serrated knife. Without a thread of awareness that some things aren¡¯t suitable for children, he muttered to himself, ¡°You could say we know each other, I¡¯ve groped his hand before.¡±


    The young boy, ¡°?¡±


    ¡°The snacks are for you, keep doing your homework, okay kiddo?¡± Xie Lin didn¡¯t say much more. Before he left, he lifted a hand and gave the boy a pat on the head, ¡°Study hard.¡±


    Xie Lin pushed open the door and left. It was already completely dark outside and the air felt a bit heavy, seemling like it was going to rain again.


    At the same time, Ji Mingrui was still holding the serrated knife Chi Qing had been using to slice bread, turning it back and forth in his hand and inspecting it carefully. He recalled the corpses they¡¯re discovered at the crime scene today, attempting to use Chi Qing¡¯s bread to stand in for a corpse, imagining a recreation of the scene, ¡°The murder¡¯s weapon was a serratted knife just like this one. He must¡¯ve come from here, like this, cutting open the cat¡¯s throat with the swift motion of his knife¡ª¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui lifted his head, asking Chi Qing rhetorically, ¡°Right, it must¡¯ve been like that for sure. What do you think?¡±


    Chi Qing was heating up milk in the microwave, waiting on the microwave¡¯s countdown, ¡°I think it¡¯s probably a good idea for me to exchange you for a friend whose intelligence is more robust.¡±


    Ji Mingrui was immersed in the case, and a good few seconds passed before he responded.


    When he finally responded, Chi Qing had already taken the milk and was returned to the living room to continue watching that inexplicable romance-type TV program.


    The next few days, Ji Mingrui jumped head-first into neverending work, so busy he didn¡¯t even have spare time to check his phone. Wang-a¡¯po insisted upon sitting in the office of the police station every day calling for Nannan, ¡°For every day the murder isn¡¯t caught, I¡¯ll wait here one day without leaving. Oh, my poor Nannan¡ª¡±


    Other than continuing to search for the murderer, there were also all kinds of calls to the police that had to be dealt with.


    ¡°Hello? Is this 110? I want to break up with my girlfriend, but she¡¯s threatening me with suicide. What do I do?¡±


    (t/n: 110 is the emergency line for police in China)


    ¡°......¡± Ji Mingrui felt like his head was going to split in two, ¡°That girl¡¯s fine, just wanted to threaten her man, that¡¯s all. On the way back I stopped at Haimao for a bit. The surveillance footage has all been watched, but it didn¡¯t catch anything. I also went to the convenience store to ask some questions. So many people live in that xiaoqu, and yet there¡¯s still not enough information or evidence. There¡¯s absolutely no way of locking on to the perpetrator. And it rained again too¡­¡­¡±


    The fact that it had rained was an extremely unfavorable factor.


    In the past when Ji Mingrui thought about becoming a detective, everything he imagined was of a mighty and all-powerful awe-inspiring authority. This was his first time getting a glimpse of the cruelty of this profession; a murder case was clearly happening before his eyes, but he was helpless to do anything about it.


    He and Su Xiaolan had worked together to bury the corpses of the stray cats nobody had a claim to in the woods of the xiaoqu. They chose a spot where as long as there was sun, sunlight would shine on the grass.


    They had no clues, no way to lock onto the suspect, nothing at all, but the vivid lives that had left this world one after the other¡­¡­The cat corpses were just a microcosm; there were likely even more horribly cruel cases that to this day were just like the silently rotting corpses of the cats buried in the depths of the woods. Unable to wait for the dawn to come, unable to wait for the truth to be uncovered.


    These past few days, Su Xiaolan had clearly been more quiet and withdrawn.


    Their little group of three newcomers was responsible for the Cat Killing Case, but only Jiang Yu was sifting through the crime scene photos as he ate instant noodles. His fingers were drawing slowly over the tabletop, though it was unclear what exactly he was drawing.


    As Ji Mingrui passed behind him, he used a file folder to give him a slap, ¡°What¡¯re you drawing, I''ve been seeing you drawing for so long.¡±


    Jiang Yu sucked the rest of the noodles into his mouth, ¡°I¡¯m looking at the cuts.¡±


    Ji Mingrui couldn¡¯t understand, ¡°Have you not looked enough over the past few days? Did you find anything?¡±


    Jiang Yu shook his head honestly, ¡°No.¡±


    After he shook his head, he spoke again, ¡°I just think it¡¯s strange. That day, when my idol carefully examined every cat corpse, his finger was drawing along the cuts like this¡­¡­,¡± as he spoke, he demonstrated for Ji Mingrui, ¡°Just like this.¡±


    Jiang Yu used the tip of his finger to follow the path of the cuts, just like Xie Lin had done that day.


    Ji Mingrui and them had probably overlooked these types of small details, but Jiang Yu carried an excessive interest in his idol, keenly detecting these types of tiny actions.


    Jiang Yu scratched the back of his head, ¡°It seemed like he cared a lot about these cuts¡­¡­What was he looking at?¡±


    Ji Mingrui followed him in contemplation, then finally said frankly, ¡°I dunno what goes on in geniuses¡¯ heads. I mean, when I was fifteen I was still weeping bitterly because I failed at getting the girl in the class next to mine.¡±


    Jiang Yu, ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui went back to his desk. As he was waiting for his instant noodles to cook, he finally had a few minutes free to check his phone.


    He set his a message to his good friend, looking to be comforted: I¡¯ve been so busy recently.


    His good friend gave him a reality check that sobered him up.


    Chi Qing: If you¡¯re busy then don¡¯t message me.


    Ji Mingrui: ¡­¡­Listen to yourself, are you even human?


    Ji Mingrui sent two messages in a row: What¡¯re you doing today?


    After a moment, the other side gifted him with three sparing words.


    Chi Qing: Follow-up appointment.


    Ji Mingrui looked at those three words as he took the lid off his steaming cup of instant noodles, thinking to himself that his friend was truly putting in a lot of effort into curing his mysophobia.


    Today, the psychology clinic was open for business as usual. This was Chi Qing¡¯s second time treading foot in this place.


    ¡°Welcome¡ªHello, Mr. Chi.¡± The receptionist already remembered Chi Qing¡¯s name. She paused at the work she was doing, a smile showing on her face, ¡°May I ask you to first wait in the waiting room for a moment, I¡¯ll let Doctor Wu know you¡¯re here.¡±


    Chi Qing pinches the joints of his fingers through his gloves, frowning as he glanced at the waiting room that had cats everywhere.


    He didn¡¯t really want to be in the same place as that group of furry things.


    The waiting room was the same as always.


    A few seats, a few cats sleeping on their bellies. One cat seemed to recognize him, sending a meow meow in his direction.


    Chi Qing¡¯s line of sight shifted to the side a few degrees, and only then did he realize that compared to the group of furry things, something even more annoying was sitting in the waiting room.


    Xie Lin was sitting on the right side of the sofa flipping through a magazine, seeming like he¡¯d already been sitting there for quite a while. When he lifted his gaze and saw Chi Qing, he gave off the illusion of ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±


    He close the magazine, smiling, ¡°We meet again, Mr. Chi.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°......¡±


    Why is this nutcase here too.


    Did I forget to check my fortune before leaving again.


    Chi Qing passed him over, finding the furthest available seat. They sat on opposite sides, with more than half of the waiting room between them.


    Xie Lin was the type of person who could immediately parse out an implicit meaning no matter how deeply it was hidden, but at this moment he seemed not to understand Chi Qing¡¯s intention. He leaned over and put the magazine back on the coffee table, naturally moving seats, pulling in the distance between them, ¡°I never thought you¡¯d also have an appointment for today. It seems like fate is bringing us together.¡±


    Chi Qing said, ¡°We seem to have different understandings of fate.¡±


    Xie Lin rarely met a target that bit back. He poured Chi Qing a customary glass of water, ¡°You seem to have a strong opinion about me.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t deny it, ¡°You can have more self-confidence than that.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± He pulled out the end of the syllable into a bit of a suggestive lilt.


    ¡°Get rid of the ¡®you seem to.¡¯¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Xie Lin wasn¡¯t mad, slowly pushing forward the glass of water resting on the table with that same smile on his face.


    Although his features were elegant and refined, the outline of his face was quite severe, the ends of his eyes were long and thin; if it wasn¡¯t for the expression in his eyes diluting that feeling of distance, this would make people overlook the fact that he actually looked rather unapproachable.


    A sleeping cat was lying near the seat Chi Qing was sitting in. In the haze of sleep, that cat wanted to shift its position and continue sleeping; however, before its paws had even gotten close to the sofa armrest next to Chi Qing, Chi Qing admonished it from a distance, ¡°Don¡¯t come over.¡±


    The cat, ¡°Meow?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Don¡¯t sleep here.¡±


    The cat, ¡°Meow meow?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Even if you come over, I¡¯ll throw you back.¡±


    The cat, ¡°......¡±


    One person and one cat had a miraculous exchange that transcended species.


    That cat finally gave up the idea of moving, and ran away with a waving tail.


    Xie Lin was leaning somewhere off to the side and watching the fun from the sidelines, ¡°You don¡¯t like cats?¡±


    He recalled the first time they¡¯d met. Chi Qing¡¯s body was free of cat hair, and at that time he¡¯d thrown out the comment ¡°you most likely dislike cats.¡± Chi Qing hadn¡¯t protested at all.


    Meeting this time, he had confirmed this guess without a doubt.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t want to hear any arguments like ¡®but kitties are so cute, why don¡¯t you like kitties?¡¯, ¡°I don¡¯t like cats, and I especially don¡¯t like exchanging nonsense with people I don¡¯t really know.¡±


    After Chi Qing said this, he noticed the glass of water in Xie Lin¡¯s hand. Just as he was about to say ¡°you don¡¯t need to pour water for me,¡± he saw the trajectory of that cup change at the last moment. The water in the cup splashed exactly onto his gloves, ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± the culprit pulled out a few tissues and passed them over, ¡°I didn¡¯t hold it steadily, let¡¯s dry it off?¡±


    Chi Qing tried to bear it, but in the end he couldn¡¯t. His mysophobia flared up and he could only pull off his gloves. He didn¡¯t take the tissues Xie Lin passed over, but when he was drying his hands he realized that the person next to him seemed to be staring at his hands.


    The last time Xie Lin only pulled off one of his gloves, and now he was finally seeing the other¡ªthere was an obvious cut on the man¡¯s thin, delicate finger. His skin was so pale that even an unremarkable mole was extremely easy to see, not to mention a cut that was a centimeter or so long.


    The knife had clearly sliced his finger on accident. The wound was clearly much rougher than a typical cut; it wasn¡¯t from a normal paring knife.


    Xie Lin pointed at that cut, ¡°Did you cut yourself when you were chopping stuff, how were you so careless?¡±


    As Chi Qing was drying his hands, he was earnestly thinking something over.


    Even if Doctor Wu¡¯s skill was this exquisite, and no matter how many successful cases he¡¯d had, he ought to consider changing clinics.


    ________


    ľ¹Ï»Æ¡¯s author¡¯s note:


    ?(?¦Ø?)? uwu

 CH 8

    There''s a......person who''s caught my interest.


    As Xie Lin spoke his gaze was still fixed on Chi Qing¡¯s hands, not moving for quite a while.


    After Chi Qing finished drying his hands, he could still feel the man¡¯s gaze moving inch by inch from his wrist to his fingers, not leaving out a single spot. Finally, the type of gaze that makes one¡¯s imagination roam stopped at the cut on his finger.


    Chi Qing spoke coldly, ¡°Are you done.¡±


    Xie Lin thought for a moment, then fired back, ¡°If I say no, will you let me keep looking for a while?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°......¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Has Doctor Wu ever said something to you.¡±


    Xie Lin, ¡°What?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°That your illness is indeed quite severe.¡±


    The receptionist who was completely unaware of the situation in the waiting room called out a notification from not far away, ¡°¡ªMr. Chi, you can come in now.¡±


    Chi Qing carried his wet gloves in his hand as he stood up, not wanting to say another word to that person.


    Xie Lin was just as smiley as he always was. Today, he was wearing a long, black windbreaker. The legs of his western-style pants were fitted, and he was sitting on the sofa with a relaxed posture. He withdrew his gaze, pinching that delicate ring between his fingers and rotating it twice. Suspecting that what he¡¯d just said wasn¡¯t irritating enough, he added, ¡°Be careful next time you pick up a knife. With hands as beautiful as yours, you don¡¯t want to injure them again.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    As soon as Chi Qing came in the door, Doctor Wu sensed that his client was in a bit of a mood today, ¡°What happened today? You don¡¯t look too happy.¡±


    Chi Qing placed his half-soaked gloves off to the side, cutting off the discussion about his unfortunate relationship with a certain nutcase, ¡°Nothing, a mysophobia flare-up.¡±


    The two of them quickly entered into the usual flow of an appointment.


    Doctor Wu flipped through the paperwork Chi Qing had filled out last time, speaking as if this were small-talk, ¡°You were¡­¡­an acting student?¡±


    ¡°I also love watching TV often.¡±


    Doctor Wu extremely discreetly swallowed the words ¡®but I¡¯ve never seen you on the TV before,¡¯ then spoke again, ¡°Acting is a really interesting career choice.¡±


    During the appointment that dragged on for an hour, the man sitting across from Doctor Wu was just as reactionless as ever, having no interest at all in this type of small-talk that was meant to bring people closer together. His bearing very quickly made Doctor Wu feel like what he himself was saying was pure nonsense.


    Looking his expression over the course of the appointment, only when he had first come in the door did Mr. Chi have a bit of a moodiness that made him look a bit more alive¡ªalthough, it seemed to have just been because his gloves were wet.


    The client hadn¡¯t even been under his care for a week, and Doctor Wu had already started to feel helpless.


    At the end of the consultation, it was second nature for Doctor Wu to close his files as he stood up from his chair, unconsciously shaking hands with his client to bid them goodbye; this all happened as fast as a conditioned reflex. Chi Qing didn¡¯t have time to stop him.


    Thus, Chi Qing heard the distorted voice using Doctor Wu¡¯s characteristic mild and slow intonation to spit ridicule for the second time: [This is the second time in my career that I¡¯ve met this type of bottleneck¡­How about I advise him to find another clinic¡­¡­]


    ¡°......¡±


    Just as he wanted to pull back his hand, he heard that slow voice speak again: [......The first one is still Xie Lin.]


    Chi Qing¡¯s hand froze.


    [That kid Xie Lin, he¡¯s been coming here for so many years that his knowledge of psychology is quickly becoming more professional than mine. I conduct consultations day in and day out, but to this day I still don¡¯t know what on Earth is wrong with him.]


    Chi Qing thought:


    He¡¯s illness has gotten this severe.


    Is it so hard to see that?


    Today, the weather outside the office was humid and cold. A gust of heavy wind would occasionally blow by, and the barometric pressure had dropped. The south was often like this, raining one day and then continuing on for a few more without end. This burst of bright sunny days probably wouldn¡¯t even last for a few days before quickly returning the southern people to the vexing ¡®unable to dry underlayers in the sun¡¯ weather.


    This was the second time Chi Qing had been forced to take off his gloves, and after he came out of the psychology clinic he was still felt just as indisposed.


    The light chill of the wind, even rays of light that shined wantonly on the backs of his hands. All of these sensations were unfamiliar.


    Just as he was preparing to call a car, a black Maybach that was parked by the road seemed like it knew what he was looking to do, and turned around and came over from the other end of the road, stopping not too close nor too far in front of him. The car window slowly rolled down, exposing the owner¡¯s face that was even more eye-catching than his luxury car.


    Xie Lin rested one arm on the car window, leaning over to greet him, ¡°Where¡¯re you heading, how ¡®bout I give you a ride?¡±


    Chi Qing pointed at an old person leaning on a cane across the street, ¡°Do you see that person.¡±


    Xie Lin followed his finger and looked.


    The street was full of people coming and going; that old person was walking especially slowly amidst the stream of people.


    Chi Qing, ¡°If you have nothing better to do, you can give him a ride.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m that idle?¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to give strangers rides home.¡±


    Chi Qing reminded him, ¡°You and I aren¡¯t familiar.¡±


    The way Xie Lin found an excuse was quite practiced, ¡°You are different from other people. I don¡¯t feel bad for splashing water on other people¡¯s hands. Take it as my apology, let me take you home.¡±


    ¡°If you really care that much about this,¡± Chi Qing glanced at the time, ¡°the car I called won¡¯t be here for another three minutes. You have three minutes to go to the convenience store over there and buy a bottle of water.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind splashing you back.¡±


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t continue to insist, retracting the arm that was resting on the car window.


    And it was precisely because of this movement that Chi Qing saw the plastic bag Xie Lin had put on the passenger¡¯s seat through the wide open window.


    The plastic bag held a newly-bought serrated knife.


    It was exactly the same as the one he had at home.


    At the moment he remembered this, he also remembered what Ji Mingrui had said yesterday as he was holding the knife and blabbering like an idiot.


    ¡ª¡±The murderer used a knife just like this one.¡±


    All of the sudden, Chi Qing continued the topic of discussion he¡¯d cut short just a minute ago, ¡°I¡¯m probably not on your way.¡±


    After Xie Lin heard this, his fingers tapped on the steering wheel, acting casual as he tried to feeling things out, ¡°I live near Haimao, do you think you''re on my way?¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t reply to this question.


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t know that when his words hit Chi Qing¡¯s ears, they carried a different meaning.


    Has a knife. And lives near Haimao.


    Two keywords came together by chance.


    The two of them, one standing in the clinic entrance with a cold face and the other sitting in his car with a smile, looked at each other, each harboring their own trains of thought.


    The sun was blocked by the expanse of cumulus clouds, a mass of dark clouds rushed forth from the horizon. It seemed like it was going to rain again.


    ¡°The weather report said it¡¯s gonna rain today,¡± in the Yong¡¯an-district police station, Ji Mingrui looked out the window and saw the rolling black clouds. He said, ¡°It looks like we won¡¯t be escaping this rain. I don¡¯t think I brought an umbrella¡ªJiang Yu, did you have two umbrellas?¡±


    No one answered him, ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Jiang Yu?¡±


    Still, no one answered.


    Ji Mingrui turned his head around and saw his coworker¡¯s bright red ears, as well as his unnatural and vague expression.


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡±


    Jiang Yu kept up with that off expression, his pair of hands tapping out an extremely fluent sequence of nonsense characters, speaking at the same time, ¡°My idol is here, be quiet.¡±


    Just as Ji Mingrui lifted his head, he was met with the black windbreaker Xie Lin was wearing; the way he was wearing the calf-length windbreaker was just like a famous model walking down the runway. He stood in the doorway to Bin-ge¡¯s office, handing over a boxed lunch from outside the cafeteria that was wrapped with care in a bag.


    Wu Zhibin took the food, ¡°What¡¯re you doing here, kid.¡±


    ¡°Bringing you something warm,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°I guessed you almost certainly hadn¡¯t eaten yet, and I picked up something as I was passing by just now.¡±


    Wu Zhibin stepped off to the side and let him in, ¡°......Missing a meal here and there doesn¡¯t really matter.¡±


    Xie Lin took away the cup of instant noodles on the table he hadn¡¯t had time to cook yet, ¡°¡®Here and there,¡¯ huh? Wait until your stomach issues flare up and then you¡¯ll know whether or not it matters.¡±


    Wu Zhibin wasn¡¯t that particular. When he used to go out on missions, coming back alive wasn¡¯t a sure thing. Paying attention to a meal or two¡­no matter how much it hurt, he regarded it as a small affliction.


    He sat on one side and ate his food, and Xie Lin sat on the other casually flipping through photos.


    Just after Wu Zhibin had broken apart his chopsticks, he saw that Xie Lin was looking at the crime scene photos of the cat corpses from that day. With an unchanged expression, he flicked some rice into his mouth, ¡°You seem to have a special interest in this case.¡±


    To other people it might not be obvious, but to Wu Zhibin it couldn¡¯t be more clear. Xie Lin had been officially invited into the Criminal Investigation Unit as a consultant when he was fifteen, but even earlier than that¡ªthe Unit Chief Xie Feng¡¯s bookshelf was packed to the brim with specialized books and the case records from all kinds of cases from inside and outside the country. Xie Lin had looked through all of them.


    To say that this naturally extremely gifted kid had grown up on those kinds of crime records would not be an exaggeration.


    There was no case he hadn¡¯t seen before, why would he be this interested in an ordinary-level case of killed cats?


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t deny it. He glanced at the corpses of those cats again, saying only, ¡°There¡¯s a¡­¡­person who¡¯s caught my interest.¡±


    ¡°A suspect?¡± Wu Zhibin asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°Actually, there are a couple of things about him that are inconsistent with the idea, but he is indeed suspicious.¡±


    Xie Lin finished looking through that pile of information, discovering that the situation was basically the same as when he had gone to the crime scene originally, ¡°There¡¯s still only this? No progress has been made at all?¡±


    He was fine before this was brought up, but as soon Xie Lin mentioned it Wu Zhibin was about to blow a fuse. He lay down his chopsticks on the table and picked up his cane from off to the side, walking over to the door. He used his cane to point from afar, speaking with an imposing air to the couple of newbies who had been sneakily watching the situation inside the office, ¡°You, you, and you. You three, get the hell in here.¡±


    After ten seconds, Ji Mingrui, Su Xiaolan, and Jiang Yu stood blod upright and formed a line.


    Wu Zhibin finally settled the score, ¡°What the hell have you guys been doing, it¡¯s been five entire days, and you haven¡¯t made any progress at all? Sometimes, I really admire just how capable you guys are.¡±


    No one dared to speak, but then Xie Lin stood in to help alleviate their embarrassment, ¡°What¡¯re you being so harsh for? Can¡¯t you be a bit nicer to the newbies.¡±


    Wu Zhibin tapped his cane on the floor, ¡°Every year I¡¯m older than the last, and I can¡¯t take being aggravated. Actually, I hope they can also have mercy on me, and not aggravate me all the time.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......¡±


    Su Xiaolan, ¡°......¡±


    Jiang Yu who was blushing because his idol had looked at him, ¡°......¡±


    Finally it was still Ji Mingrui who bravely stood up against the danger threatening his life, ¡°Uh, it really is because, it rained¡­¡­¡±


    Everyone tactically agreed that ¡®the rain¡¯ was an extremely unfavorable factor.


    But Xie Lin looked at those pictures for another while and said, ¡°The rain might be a valuable clue.¡±


    Everyone simultaneously turned to look at him.


    Xie Lin spoke again, ¡°Why was it a rainy day?¡±


    ¡°From examining the footprints, the dump site doesn¡¯t have the traces of someone having stayed there for a long time to commit the crime. So, that isn¡¯t the first crime scene. Someone who clearly isn¡¯t very strong, but still specially moved the bodies. This indicates that there must be something particular about the first crime scene that made him move the bodies¡ªFor some reason, he couldn¡¯t keep hiding the bodies there.¡±


    ¡°There are no more clues at the dump site, but there must be more to be found at the first crime scene.¡±


    ¡°House cats are more docile, it doesn¡¯t take much strength to capture one,¡± Xie Lin¡¯s gaze passed over that silver Scottish Fold, the only cat with an owner, and hovered on the bodies of the remaining six strays, ¡°But stray cats are different, and it¡¯s also winter right now; where could someone catch this many stray cats without expending a lot of strength?¡±


    At that moment, muffled thunder echoed in from outside with a rumble. Immediately after, the pitter patter of raindrops started pounding on the windows.


    Sure enough, just before nightfall it started raining again.


    It was already dark out, and even though it was raining it was coming down quietly. At the same time, Chi Qing was at home holding a glass of water and looking at his coffee table, seeing the stack of case photos Ji Mingrui had left behind at his house when he left. Because the lights in his apartment weren¡¯t on, those pictures at first glance looked indistinct, as if they were from a black and white silent film.


    Chi Qing drank his hot water exasperatingly slowly, and at the same time picked up that pile of photographs, using the weak light from the television next to him to inspect them.


    Only after the light from the television changed colors was that photograph illuminated a bit.


    Chi Qing looked for a long time before finally putting that picture down. He continued to hold his cup and look at the television screen. Even when the program finished and the television started playing ads, he still didn¡¯t react at all.


    After a long while, and the ads finished, he finally started to move. He felt for his phone, then tapped open his contacts and found the contact labeled ¡°Ji Mingrui.¡±


    However, the person on the other side, Ji Mingrui, was still in a state of questioning his life and himself, ¡°......¡±


    Xie Lin had left already, but Ji Mingrui kept thinking: I am an idiot.


    How the hell did he deduce that much stuff?


    ¡­¡­


    Finally, he attacked his own soul:


    Don¡¯t tell me that I really am a retard!?


    (t/n: word kept for adherence to the original text)


    Ji Mingrui hadn¡¯t recovered an ounce of his strength, and missed the message Chi Qing sent.


    - Aside from the dump site, did you guys survey the first scene.


    Chi Qing continued to type.


    - The place where the murderer committed the crime is likely somewhere where stray cats gather in the winter. The defining characteristics of that place are that the entrance is narrow, or you could say that it¡¯s disadvantageous for fleeing.


    After sending that message, Chi Qing didn¡¯t wait for the other side¡¯s reply.


    He glanced at the rain out the window.


    In general, his mood was quite good on rainy days, and today was no exception.


    With a rarely seen good mood, he thought of Ji Mingrui who had been wailing in anguish for many days because of those seven cat corpses. Chi Qing thought that if that person continued wailing like that, he wouldn¡¯t be aware of the case being broken or not; he¡¯d only be aware that the speed at which he could be annoyed to death was definitely faster than the speed at which Ji Mingrui could break cases.


    Thus, Chi Qing put on his gloves, picked up an umbrella, and left the house.


    The Haimao xiaoqu was not even three intersections away from the xiaoqu he lived in. Few people were walking down the street in the depth of the night, and the whole time Chi Qing was walking he didn¡¯t run into anyone.


    The lawn that had been stained with blood by the entrance to the Haimao xiaoqu had already been cleaned up by someone. Chi Qing tried hard to remember the composition of this street, and simultaneously realized that the places that satisfied all of the necessary requirements were quite few. He walked past a few places where it would be easy for stray cats to gather, but didn¡¯t find any kind of traces at any of them.


    Chi Qing carried his umbrella and couched there to look. The ground was completely clean, only having a few shabby cat bowls packed with leftover food.


    Then there was only one final place remaining¡ªNot too far from Haimao, there was a small abandoned factory. That factory had already been left unused for a long time. Only, recently there had been vague rumors going around that it was going to be refurbished soon.


    Rumble¡ª


    The rain came down harder and harder.


    Chi Qing carried his umbrella, his fingers resting on the handle, and walked towards the factory.


    This factory really didn¡¯t take up much space, and most of it was used to pile up abandoned machinery. The pipes and doors had long rusted over, and the weeds by the door had already grown quite high. However, the space around the entrance was still flat.


    Somebody had been entering through here often.


    And what¡¯s more important; somebody was inside the factory.


    Chi Qing saw a person¡¯s figure in the darkness. That person was crouching down at that moment, holding a bloody serrated knife in their hand. The color of ground below his feet was much deeper than the surrounding darkness; it was most likely a bloodstain that had been there for a long time already.


    That person heard a sound and inclined his head slightly. And thus, Chi Qing stood across from a face he had just seen during the day, one that could immediately shatter his good mood.


    ________


    ľ¹Ï»Æ¡¯s author¡¯s note:


    Xie Lin: You¡¯re very dangerous


    Chi Qing: You¡¯re not so bad yourself


    ¨C


    Sorry, the word count got away from me, I¡¯m arriving late, you don¡¯t need to meticulously wait

 CH 9

    The silvery gray tie wrapped many, many times around Chi Qing''s wrist.


    The two of them weren''t standing more than half a foot apart. Even though it was very dark, this distance was enough for them to see each other clearly.


    Xie Lin was crouching down at that moment, and actually hadn¡¯t seen Chi Qing¡¯s face fully. From this angle, he could only see half of a deathly pale, bony wrist sticking out of the sweater of the person who had entered, and those familiar black gloves a bit further up. Because he was holding an umbrella, and the umbrella happened to be covering up half his face, Xie Lin could only see his chin and a flash of his bright red lips.


    Bought a knife, doesn¡¯t like cats, has a cut on his finger.


    If these key factors could only be called ¡®suspicious,¡¯ then adding on the ironclad evidence of coming to the first crime scene carrying an umbrella at this sensitive moment, this gentleman with the surname Chi might have been more than simply suspicious.


    Plop.


    At that moment, the rainwater that had gathered together along the eaves of the roof dropped, crashing heavily over his umbrella.


    Xie Lin had thought there was a certain probability of the murderer reoffending on a rainy day, but he never thought it would be this much of a coincidence. He slowly let go of the serrated knife that the murderer had left behind at the scene, taking the lead in breaking the silence, ¡°We meet again.¡±


    Even in this kind of a situation, he didn¡¯t look nervous in the slightest, and when he spoke he was even still wearing that smile. It was just that those pair of eyes that usually smiled year round were at that moment filled only with coldness ¡°I¡¯ve run into you this many times within a single day, and you still think it isn¡¯t fate?¡±


    Chi Qing¡¯s gaze lingered on that knife he¡¯d put down.


    The knife was stained with blood.


    Because it needed to cut open flesh, and possibly to the corpse¡¯s bones, the body of the knife had obvious abrasion marks on it.


    The saw teeth were different from the flat and smooth edge of a normal knife; the zigzagging teeth were rugged and staggered, they even still had some ground viscera caught in them from when they were used to cut open flesh. Because of the filthy surroundings, those bits that looked like ground meat caught between teeth had long since become dark black ¡°grime.¡±


    The image of Xie Lin sitting in the car with the same type of knife earlier that day flashed before Chi Qing¡¯s eyes.


    ¡ª¡±I live near Haimao, do you think you¡¯re on my way?¡±


    Chi Qing blinked his eyes extremely slowly. He took the umbrella that he¡¯d been holding low and lifted it up, revealing the remaining half of his face. This time, he didn¡¯t deny it, ¡°It is indeed fate.¡±


    Just after Chi Qing¡¯s voice had dropped off, Xie Lin made the first move¡ªhe raised a hand and pulled the necktie from around his neck off a bit.


    Xie Ling tried to bind his hands and take him prisoner, giving up the unnecessary resistance, ¡°If you¡¯re good, then I¡¯ll be gentler when I make my move¡­¡­so as to avoid that pale white skin of yours being covered in marks when that moment comes.¡±


    However, when those words reached Chi Qing¡¯s ears, they sounded like a threat.


    It was common for criminal suspects to want to silence whoever discovered them when caught at the scene of the murder¡ªAlthough, not so much for one to go to such great lengths over a couple of cat corpses.


    But the other party was sick, so it was hard to say.


    The area surrounding the factory was completely void of human presence. This was originally just some place that had been abandoned close to the rear gate of the Haimao xiaoqu. Even during the day people rarely came here, not to mention the depths of the night in the rain.


    Ordinary people might be afraid, but Chi Qing had reached this age without any idea of what kind of a feeling fear was.


    But what he didn¡¯t realize was that it was exactly his indifference to the crime scene that made seem even more suspicious in that moment.


    Chi Qing returned the compliment, ¡°Why don¡¯t you worry about yourself.¡±


    ¡°Seeing that we haven¡¯t come to an agreement,¡± Xie Lin had already walked over to the door during their conversation, and as he spoke the second half of his sentence, his entire body pressed forward at a swift speed, ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for disregarding courtesy.¡±


    The instant Xie Lin made his move, Chi Qing retreated back a step.


    Just as the two of them were almost touching each other, the fingers Chi Qing had been resting on his umbrella the whole time shifted upward a few inches, finding the switch to retract the umbrella; that transparent umbrella with the long handle abruptly closed. He exchanged the position of the tip, the sharp point of the umbrella stabbing directly forward!


    Xie Lin tilted his head, using his elbow to block it, forcing the trajectory of the umbrella to change course, evading the umbrella tip striking towards him in the rain.


    Despite this, the side of Xie Lin¡¯s neck was still scratched by Chi Qing¡¯s attack.


    ¡°Very clever,¡± Xie Lin grabbed the umbrella with one hand, using the pad of a finger from his other hand to rub that long, thin scratch, ¡°you even know to use your umbrella.¡±


    The man¡¯s collar was wide open, the shirt on his body was gradually getting soaked by the rain. His physical appearance often let off a type of natural suggestiveness, and the scratch from the umbrella looked like a cat scratch.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t say anything. He carried his umbrella in hand, the tip still looking like a silver needle, pointing directly at him.


    Ji Mingrui was completely unaware what his own good friend was going through at that moment.


    He finished writing the reports he needed to do, and only then pressed at the vertebrae in his neck, lifting his head to glance at his phone.


    After he finished checking his unread messages, he received the second critical hit of the day, ¡°......¡±


    - Thank you guys.


    - It¡¯s exactly because this world has you guys that I doubt everyday whether or not I exist purely to lower the average IQ of humankind.


    - But I have a question.


    - How the hell did you both arrive at the same conclusion?


    Although Xie Lin had left right after saying all of that, and they had intended to follow after him, Bin-ge addressed them only, ¡°You guys aren¡¯t going, finish the reports that need to get done today and then we¡¯ll see. He won¡¯t have any kind of problems on his own.¡±


    Standing before a genius, they were indeed superfluous.


    Ji Mingrui could almost imagine what it would look like if both Chi Qing and Xie Lin were pushing forward the same idea.


    He let out a deep sigh, then sent one final message:


    - When we get a chance, there¡¯s someone I¡¯ve really got to introduce you to. You two are on the same wavelength for sure.


    However, at that moment the two people who were ¡®on the same wavelength¡¯ were still exchanging blows. Chi Qing¡¯s phone has long since fallen during the fight. It had fallen into the grass and was touching the mud, and after it had slid for some distance it was completely discarded.


    Xie Lin had been worried about the umbrella in his hand from the start, and slowed down the tempo. That umbrella was a double edged sword; when it was stabbing towards him, it was also likely to accidentally injure the person using it.


    Thus, as Xie Lin fought, he also warned the person with whom he was exchanging blows, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    That person clearly didn¡¯t want to talk to him.


    The body of the umbrella swung a crisp arc through the air. Before it¡¯s afterimage had disappeared, it swung directly at his exposed weak point¡ª


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t dodge it.


    Chi Qing¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t that he actually wanted to stab him, he just wanted to use it to shorten the distance between the two of them.


    But Xie Lin received the blow, instead letting him get the upper hand at the key moment. He tenaciously restrained that umbrella, ¡°I told you to be careful, put down the umbrella.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Chi Qing was actually not an expert in close-combat fighting, due to his mysophobia.


    Xie Lin also quickly remembered this special characteristic of his, and used the opportunity to press the man onto the ground.


    This was his second time touching that pair of black-gloved hands. Because of the rain, both of their bodies were soaked beyond recognition. The excessively long bangs over Chi Qing¡¯s forehead were already drenched by the rain, that pair of inky black eyes were much deeper than the surrounding night.


    Xie Lin pressed him beneath his body, one hand restraining him, and the other reaching up to his own neck to untie the loose tie around his neck, tearing it off in one motion.


    Chi Qing was vaguely aware that something wasn¡¯t right, ¡°What¡¯re you doing.¡±


    Xie Lin pulled off his tie and went to bind Chi Qing¡¯s hands, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t behave.¡±


    That obviously expensive necktie was used as a piece of rope. The silvery gray necktie wrapped around Chi Qing¡¯s wrists many, many times. Xie Lin hadn¡¯t realized Chi Qing¡¯s wrists were this thin; even after wrapping many times around, a good amount of length was left over.


    Then, Chi Qing watched with wide eyes as the nutcase took the remaining half and wrapped it around his own wrist, binding their two hands together, then finally tying a tight, secure knot, ¡°......¡±


    This was determination to not let him run.


    ¡°Get up,¡± Xie Lin said.


    Xie Lin pressed him in through the door on the same side of the car, then started the engine, and before starting to go, used the windshield wipers to brush away the rainwater that had collected on the windshield.


    Chi Qing deeply thought he really is sick, he spends this much energy just getting in the car, ¡°Where¡¯re we going?¡±


    Xie Lin asked back, ¡°Are you dumb, where else would we be going?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°......¡±


    Every person who sadistically kills animals has a certain latent criminal potential.


    Chi Qing stared at those windshield wipers. Through the windshield, he tried to search for where Xie Lin might be taking him.


    ¡­¡­


    If they drove five kilometers straight ahead, they would reach the outskirts of the city.


    Within three kilometers there was a mountain. It would be easy to make his move in one of those two places, and easy to hide a body too.


    Or maybe this nutcase would bring him to his own home. The home is the place a person is most familiar with, and also the place that makes them feel the most safe. Many murderers would choose to commit their first crime within the area where they felt most at ease.


    The car drove slowly along.


    Chi Qing lowered his eyes, starting to silently calculate the route in his head.


    If they were driving to the outskirts, how many traffic lights were along the way? How many service stations?


    The roads were easily congested on rainy days. If he took advantage of the time stuck in traffic or at a traffic light, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for him to escape.


    Xie Lin was completely unaware of what Chi Qing was thinking. If he knew, he¡¯d probably want to bash open his head and take a look at what was going on inside.


    The car drove on the road for about ten minutes.


    The road conditions were about the same as what Chi Qing had expected. Before they¡¯d even gotten off the highway, the speed of traffic on this road heading to the outskirts of the city slowed before his eyes, quickly merging into the road he¡¯d been stuck in traffic for ages on the last time he went to the police station.


    If he wanted to escape, this was undoubtedly the best time to do it.


    Three minutes later, a black Maybach hadn¡¯t been off the highway for long¡ªthe body of the car suddenly swerved left and right. The width of the swerving wasn¡¯t large, but it was enough to attract the attention of the driver in the lane next to it; after all, the two cars had almost scraped against each other without warning.


    This suddenly scared the driver from the other lane into almost slamming on the brakes.


    ¡°Shit,¡± a cigarette hung from the driver¡¯s mouth, and he cursed as he glanced out the window, ¡°Can you fucking drive¡ª¡±


    With this glance he saw the car in the lane next to him; the two people inside were awfully close together.


    At the start, he thought this was some kind of scene that wasn¡¯t suitable for children, and he wanted to curse the modern young people for being so insane. But then he took a closer look, realizing that the man in the passenger¡¯s seat wearing a black sweater had suddenly shot up from his seat. He was holding onto the grab handle above the door, his whole body almost suspended in the air¡ªlike something out of an action film.


    ¡°......,¡± this scene almost scared the driver into letting the cigarette in his mouth fall onto his crotch.


    (t/n: if you look at the raws now, you¡¯ll only see the boxes of doom (¡õ¡õ) in place of ¡®crotch,¡¯ but I promise I have a screenshot of how it used to say that haha. Fortunately, not that many words in this series got boxed, but I¡¯ll point the boxed words when they happen)


    What are they playing at.


    The Fast and the Furious?


    Not only had the driver from the adjacent lane not imagined it, Xie Lin also hadn¡¯t imagined that Chi Qing would suddenly throw himself over to try and get control of the steering wheel. When he couldn¡¯t get control, he immediately tried to use all his strength to kick him. If the car doors hadn¡¯t been locked, there was no doubt in his mind that Chi Qing would have kicked himself out of the car.


    At the same time as he was stabilizing the steering wheel and trying to avoid the cars in the lane to the left, he was using the hand bound with Chi Qing¡¯s to very effortfully press him back into his seat, ¡°Are you insane¡ª!?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Let me out of the car.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again,¡± Chi Qing spoke coldly, ¡°Let me out of the car.¡±


    As the two people inside the car were fighting, the car had already continued for over a kilometer.


    If they drove forward another kilometer, they¡¯d reach the police department.


    Xie Lin immediately accelerated, and as they got closer to his destination, Chi Qing gradually realized that the route was not exactly the same as the one he¡¯d predicted.


    Xie Lin suddenly engaged the emergency break, stopping at the entrance to the police station.


    Xie Lin, ¡°Get out.¡±


    Chi Qing sat in the car, facing the huge two characters ¡°Public Security¡± on the doors to the Yong¡¯an-Division Police Station, his train of thought immediately breaking, ¡°......?¡±


    ________

 CH 10

    Do you think you looked so normal yourself?


    Tick tock.


    The hour hand completed a revolution, pointing to 11.


    The Yong¡¯an-Division Police Station that was normally always bustling with activity was eerily quiet.


    It was as if someone had pressed the mute key in that instant; everyone was frozen where they stood, momentarily forgetting what they were supposed to be doing.


    Ji Mingrui was holding a cup of hot water he¡¯d just gotten, in the middle of pulling out his chair, maintaining a half-sitting half-not position, ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui didn¡¯t know what to think of the two ¡°drowned rats¡± who were sitting in their office at that very moment.


    Xie Lin and Chi Qing were both soaked from head to toe, as if they had just been dredged up out of the water. From this scene alone, nobody in the office could imagine what on earth they¡¯d gone through before arriving.


    There were two solid wooden chairs in the area for visitors, and the two of them happened to take up exactly two seats.


    Both of them were tall and long-legged, and the image of them both sitting there was actually quite cohesive.


    It was just that, upon looking at them, the relationship between them was far from harmonious. The visual effects were all an illusion, especially his friend Chi Qing, who¡¯s expression had been cold since he¡¯d been dragged inside by the arm.


    ¡­¡­


    After quite a while, the three people in their team finally recovered their ability to organize speech.


    Su Xiaolan, ¡°Um.¡±


    Jiang Yu, ¡°This is¡­¡­¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°You guys¡­¡­¡±


    The two of them appearing here in such an unexpected way really wasn¡¯t the most shocking thing; the most shocking thing was instead a different detail. Everyone in their team of three¡¯s line of sight simultaneously fell on the two people¡¯s hands that had been bound together since they came in the door.


    This necktie, they¡¯d seen it before.


    It was exactly the same tie Xie Lin had been wearing when he came to bring Bin-ge food earlier that day.


    But the problem was¡­¡­


    How did¡­this necktie¡­end up wrapping around these two people¡¯s wrists.


    ¡°You guys¡­¡­what¡¯s going on?¡±


    After this many years, Ji Mingrui was all too aware of Chi Qing¡¯s temperament.


    Not even mentioning binding his hands with a tie; ordinarily, if you even stood half a meter away from him he would despise how close you were standing, and how it was affecting his breathing.


    ¡°Can someone clue me in to what happened?¡±


    Ji Mingrui stared at Chi Qing, ¡°Especially you, Comrade Chi Qing, what are you doing showing up here at this time.¡±


    ¡°And soaking wet too,¡± Ji Mingrui was baffled no matter how much he thought about it, ¡°......Is your mysophobia really cured? Which hospital is that amazing? One of these days I should send them a silk banner, with the words ¡®resurrected from the dead, Hua Tuo incarnate¡¯ written on it.¡±


    (t/n: a silk banner is a flag given as an award for outstanding work, usually for some type of service that you¡¯d be grateful for, like a teacher or a doctor or a service worker. In terms of a doctor, ÆðËÀ»ØÉú (resurrected/brought back from the dead) is a way to praise impressive/miraculous work, and Hua Tuo is a famous doctor from the Han dynasty, so Hua Tuo incarnate/reborn is a phrase used to praise a doctor for outstanding work)


    A circle of people had been watching Chi Qing since he came in the door, and his patience had reached its extreme limit, ¡°Ask him.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°He knows best what he himself has done.¡±


    Xie Lin, ¡°......¡±


    Actually, since he finished saying ¡°get out¡± and saw Chi Qing¡¯s expression, he had vaguely started to feel like this might be a misunderstanding, since Chi Qing really didn¡¯t look like someone who was ¡®resisting arrest.¡¯ On the contrary, he clearly had no idea their destination might be the police station.


    After coming in and seeing that he and that guy with the surname Li knew each other, he had confirmed this guess.


    Xie Lin said, ¡°There¡¯s been a bit of a misunderstanding.¡±


    Afterwards, Xie Lin asked, ¡°Anyone have a dry towel?¡±


    Su Xiaolan had an unopened package in her desk drawer. After she gave it to Xie Lin, Xie Lin immediately placed a towel on Chi Qing¡¯s head, then without waiting for Chi Qing¡¯s response, went to untie the necktie on their wrists.


    According to habit, Chi Qing wanted to pull back his hand, but was restrained by Xie Lin¡¯s grip, ¡°I know you have mysophobia. If you don¡¯t want to untie it, that''s okay too, I don¡¯t mind staying tied to you like this.¡±


    Thus, Chi Qing¡¯s response changed from direct resistance into patient resistance.


    This knot was really tied very tight; the main reason it was so tight was because when the two of them were in the car acting out The Fast and the Furious, the knot was pulled tighter by the force, becoming seamlessly fitted¡ªyou couldn¡¯t find a seam to untie it from.


    Chi Qing, ¡°Can you hurry up.¡±


    Xie Lin¡¯s fingers rested on top of the tie. He lifted his eyes and said, ¡°You wanna try?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    According to his mysophobia, being asked to choose between touching someone and being touched by someone was a double bind.


    Chi Qing was silent for a few seconds, then turned to look at Ji Mingrui, ¡°Give me a pair of scissors.¡±


    Xie Lin, ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui thought that his friend¡¯s mysophobia didn¡¯t seem to have gotten any better.


    In fact, it seemed to have gotten even more severe.


    After Xie Lin finished untying the tie, but before he could answer everyone¡¯s questions, Wu Zhibin called him into his office.


    The team of three could only cast their curious eyes at Chi Qing instead.


    Chi Qing was still using a wet paper towel to carefully wipe his hands.


    Up until the present, he hadn¡¯t asked about Xie Lin¡¯s identity. For one, he didn¡¯t care. For two, it was very easy to guess.


    Xie Lin was the same.


    The only ones who were completely puzzled were Ji Mingrui and the others. Ji Mingrui waited for a moment, but before Chi Qing could explain, he made the mental connection that he¡¯d messaged Chi Qing around nightfall but hadn¡¯t received any messages back. A frightening conjecture gradually took shape in his mind, ¡°¡ªIt can¡¯t be that you two both went to look for the first crime scene, and then at the first crime scene ran into each other!?¡±


    What kind of a scene is this???


    Chi Qing finished wiping his hands, ¡°You¡¯re not too stupid after all.¡±


    -


    Inside the office:


    Wu Zhibin wasn¡¯t concerned about this mishap; he was only concerned about one thing, ¡°You really care about this case.¡±


    The last time they were in this exact position, that sentence was phrased as a question. But this time, it was an affirmation.


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t care, you wouldn¡¯t have gone to search for the suspect.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me why now?'''' separated by the desk, Wu Zhibin looked at Xie Lin. Out of some kind of sharp intuition, he pressed, ¡°......Why do you care so much about this case? That day at the crime scene, what on earth did you see?¡±


    After getting wet, Xie Lin¡¯s shirt appeared deeper in color, looking almost black. When he wasn¡¯t smiling the severity of his features shone through, making him look much less ¡°friendly¡± than he normally did.


    Xie Lin twisted that ring on his finger, ¡°It¡¯s possible he wants to kill someone.¡±


    The statement was like a sudden lightning strike on level land. Wu Zhibin abruptly shot to his feet, ¡°What did you say!?¡±


    Xie Lin stretched out a hand and once again took the photographs out of the case file one by one, arranging them into a line. The cat corpses reappeared before their eyes one by one.


    As Xie Lin was arranging the photographs, he seemed to be arranging them according to a certain pattern. Wu Zhibin looked a few times before realizing that Xie Lin was lining them up according to how level their wounds were¡ªfrom left to right, the wounds became more and more rough; also signifing the murderer¡¯s technique getting more and more cruel.


    This was a very commonly seen phenomenon.


    When the perpetrator was using a violent attack to achieve some kind of cathartic release, he would be unable to control himself during the course of the attack. This was also why many murderers would choose to continue tyrranizing the corpse afterwards.


    But Xie Lin pointed in the opposite direction, ¡°Look from right to left.¡±


    Wu Zhibin looked, and his pupils dilated unconsciously.


    ¡°These cats died too close together, there¡¯s no way to differentiate them. But today when I was at the first crime scene I discovered another cat corpse. When I got there, that cat¡¯s body hadn¡¯t stiffened yet, and that corpse let me confirm the sequence,¡± Xie Lin paused here, then spoke again, ¡°Have the officers you dispatched gotten there yet?¡±


    As soon as Xie Lin found the crime scene, he had sent Wu Zhibin a message. Wu Zhibin said, ¡°Yeah, the crime scene¡¯s already sealed. The physical evidence has been collected as well, it¡¯s being sent for inspection now. Continue.¡±


    Xie Lin¡¯s hand slowly stroked the cut marks in the picture.


    ¡°Compared to other types of knives, there¡¯s an obvious sawing feeling when using a serrated knife, meaning you can clearly sense the feeling of cutting open flesh¡ªHave you used a knife to cut meat before? That feeling of resistance and progress can sometimes be addicting for people.¡±


    Wu Zhibin pinched his brows together as he listened.


    ¡°Sharp knives are most often used for quick kills. Only those driven by revenge or hatred slowly relish in the pain.¡±


    ¡°The cut marks on the first cat are very rough; he cut all the way from the throat to the abdomen, and even stopped a couple of times in the middle. But look at the last cat. The killer even started chasing after the smoothness of the wounds. When he came down with his knife he went slower and slower each time. He was cool-headed¡­¡­to the point that¡­it¡¯s very possible he¡¯s practicing for something.¡±


    ¡°All of that¡¯s just a guess,¡± Wu Zhibin said.


    ¡°And the most important point,¡± Xie Lin pointed at the knife wound on the cat¡¯s chest. It was in a slightly off-center spot, and every cat¡¯s chest had a knife wound in a similar position; they had been directly impaled by someone with a knife, ¡°The placement of this wound is special. Generally, a cat¡¯s heart is between the fifth and eighth ribs.¡±


    Xie Lin used a very ordinary tone of voice to say the most terrifying conjecture, ¡°Only human hearts are positioned between the second and fifth ribs.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Of course, these things could be nothing more than coincidences. I can only say that my gut is telling me the killer might have another objective.¡±


    Wu Zhibin thought back on the day the crime scene was uncovered. He called Xie Lin to come over and look, and at that time Xie Lin had also been examining the knife marks like this¡ªSince this kid was very young, he¡¯d always been very good at seeing things from the perpetrator¡¯s perspective.


    He seemed to know how the killer had broken open the flesh, how he¡¯d followed the edge of the knife moving down little by little. He knew what the killer was thinking at that moment, he knew why the murder chose this type of serrated knife, and why not a more convenient, flatter and smoother one.


    The air conditioning was on in the office. He looked at Xie Lin¡¯s profile, dimly seeing an image of ten years before, of that teenager sitting in the conference room at headquarters wearing his school uniform.


    -


    At the same time, Bianmin Grocery was open until 11:30 and was just about to close for the night.


    Somebody pushed open the door to the grocery.


    Ding-a-ling, the sound of the doorbell echoed.


    The little boy had finished his homework. He was actually already quite sleepy, and he yawned as he repacked his pencil case.


    The sound of rain outside was loud.


    It almost masked the sound of the doorbell.


    -


    11:35, inside the Yong¡¯an-Division Police Station:


    ¡°Put down whatever you¡¯re doing, early tomorrow morning you¡¯re going back to Haimao to keep investigating. Don¡¯t let a single security camera near the first crime scene slip past.¡±


    Ji Mingrui didn¡¯t totally understand why after Bin-ge had come out of his office, his expression had become so serious, ¡°Okay, Bin-ge.¡±


    He was just preparing to take his good friend¡¯s statement.


    No matter how you looked at it, Chi Qing was someone who had appeared at the crime scene. The necessary procedures still had to be conducted.


    Ji Mingrui scribbled in his notebook, raising his head again, ¡°That¡ª¡± He momentarily didn¡¯t know how to reference the person he wanted to talk about, so he paused for two seconds before continuing, ¡°Mr. Xie? Come over here too.¡±


    He pointed at the empty seat next to Chi Qing, ¡°Sit here, it¡¯s a good time for you two to give your statements.¡±


    Chi Qing glanced at him briefly.


    Ji Mingrui immediately knew what he wanted to say, ¡°Da-ge, I know, these two seats are too close together. But I¡¯m taking statements here. I can¡¯t have you sit here and make Mr. Xie go sit over by the door to the office.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°He can sit here, I¡¯ll go over by the door.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......¡±


    Ge, not likely.


    Ji Mingrui decided to skip over this topic, directly starting to ask his questions, ¡°You start, why did you come out at this time tonight?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Because the weather is good.¡±


    Xie Lin listened to the sound of rain from outside, ¡°You think the weather is good tonight?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui realized that Chi Qing¡¯s temper was exceptionally intense towards Xie Lin, ¡°Stop it, stop it. We¡¯re just taking statements, don¡¯t fight.¡±


    Ji Mingrui cleared his throat and continued, ¡°Out of the two of you, who made the first move?¡±


    Xie Lin, ¡°Me.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Him.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°We can figure this out. Even if you ran into each other at the crime scene, you can still calmly sit here and talk.¡±


    Xie Lin, ¡°It was my fault, he bought a knife¡­¡­and then happened to appear at the crime scene. He seemed suspicious. I was afraid he¡¯d run away.¡±


    Chi Qing glanced at him, ¡°You were holding a knife. Do you think you looked so normal yourself?¡±


    Ji Mingrui¡¯s state of mind was extremely complicated while taking the statements.


    He wanted to say actually, both of you are extremely abnormal, so don¡¯t be a pot calling the kettle black, alright?


    ________


    ľ¹Ï»Æ¡¯s author¡¯s note:


    Sorry, I¡¯m kneeling down ORZ

 CH 11

    It seems like your wrist is all red from being bound.


    Thus, the statement-taking progressed, turning into the two ¡°suspects¡± accusing each other.


    Xie Lin, ¡°Your finger also coincidentally has a cut on it.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°Mr. Xie brought up the cut on your finger that has a high degree of similarity¡ªComrade Chi Qing, can you please explain.¡±


    Chi Qing lifted that finger that was red from being repeatedly wiped clean, ¡°I cut it when I was slicing bread.¡±


    Ji Mingrui looked at that familiar cut, promptly realizing what cut it was. He raised a hand and said, ¡°Ah, this cut, I can testify on behalf of it, I was there too. That night he was using a serrated knife to cut bread. The knife was still new, he hadn¡¯t even taken off the tag. I can act as a witness.¡±


    Xie Lin obviously didn¡¯t expect this wound to be of such origin.


    Xie Lin, ¡°Be more careful next time you¡¯re cutting bread.¡±


    Chi Qing ignored him.


    Chi Qing accused him again, ¡°Aside from holding that knife at the crime scene, he ought to have another knife on his person.¡±


    ¡°I saw it in his car, it¡¯s in a plastic bag.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......?¡±


    Ji Mingrui was doing a truly magical job of taking these statements.


    Ji Mingrui turned back to Xie Lin, ¡°Alright, now Comrade Chi has brought up a new point of doubt. Mr. Xie, may I ask¡ªwhat is the deal with that knife?¡±


    ¡°I was investigating a lead, so I went to the store to ask some questions,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°and bought it while I was there.¡±


    Oh boy.


    Before, Ji Mingrui had only supposed that these two people had gone to feel out the first crime scene at the same time, and then had coincidentally run into each other and nothing more.


    He hadn¡¯t imagined that they had already crossed hands a couple of times, and that they had each discovered this many concerning points that lined up with the case about each other.


    He looked at the final statement that was taking shape, sighing deeply to himself, ¡°......I really can¡¯t blame you two for having a catfight and dragging each other in here.¡±


    Chi Qing & Xie Lin, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    Ji Mingrui didn¡¯t dare utter a word, ¡°N-nothing.¡±


    The team of three had an arduous task the following day. Their Bin-ge had been provoked by who knows what, and was suddenly attaching importance to the Cat Killing Case. Generally speaking, although this type of case left a vile impression, it wasn¡¯t necessary to watch it that closely. Especially when the police station still had a lot of other unfinished work.


    ¡°Hello? Is this the police? My girlfriend is threatening me with jumping off a building again. This time she seems serious!¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......¡±


    How have you guys not broken up already.


    Ji Mingrui had only just come back from visiting Haimao that morning when Wu Zhibin passed by and assigned them another new task, ¡°Transfer this phone call to another team. Go to Bianmin and look around and re-question them. This time, make your investigation a bit more detailed.¡±


    Ji Mingrui transferred over the call, ¡°We already went there last time, you want me to go again?¡±


    Wu Zhibin muttered, ¡°Go again, there might be a problem with this case.¡±


    ¡°......a problem?¡±


    Jiang Yu¡¯s desk was next to Ji Mingrui¡¯s. The top right corner of his computer had a picture of a cat corpse taped to it. He¡¯d glance at it every day when he was eating; according to him, it was because he wanted to be able to keep up with his idol¡¯s patterns of thinking as soon as possible.


    Wu Zhibin stretched out a hand and pulled off that picture. His fingers tapped on the wound on the cat¡¯s chest, ¡°What do you think of this wound?¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°A knife pierced directly into its internal organs; the killer clearly wanted to stab the cat to death? Although, I don¡¯t know why he chose to stab above the heart, wouldn¡¯t it die faster if he stabbed directly into the heart¡ª¡±


    The words ¡°it could be because going a bit higher is more convenient¡± didn¡¯t make it out of his mouth before Wu Zhibin said in a serious tone of voice he¡¯d never heard him use before, ¡°Then have you thought that this stab wound happens to be in the position of the human heart?¡±


    Upon hearing this, not only was Ji Mingrui shocked, but Su Xiaolan and Jiang Yu were both simultaneously struck dumb as well.


    ¡°That¡­¡­could also just be a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. But the person who brought up this coincidence was able to figure out what the perpetrator of the Family Extermination Massacre ten years ago was thinking during the time of the crime based only on a few crime scene photographs. He overthrew everyone¡¯s certainty that it was a ¡®revenge¡¯ killing. And before the killer was brought to justice, everyone thought his inferences were likely nothing more than coincidences.¡±


    The person he was talking about was Xie Lin.


    Ji Mingrui walked forward towards Bianmin Grocery.


    That tiny, easily overlooked grocery had civilian police officers coming and going in succession.


    Today, the parents weren¡¯t around; Ji Mingrui only saw a kid. He pulled out his credentials, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m with the police.¡±


    The little boy glanced at him, not letting his guard down at all, ¡°Mama said our store abides by the law, we don¡¯t sell expired goods.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°I¡¯m not here about a problem with the store. I want to take a look at your sales records for the past month.¡±


    Ji Mingrui pulled out the form and discovered that in the sales records for the past month, the serrated knife only appeared twice.


    He examined the shelves again; only two knives of the same model were left on the shelf.


    Ji Mingrui bent over so that his line of sight was level with the boy¡¯s, then asked, ¡°Two people came to buy this kind of knife, do you still remember who they were?¡±


    The little boy thought about it, then said, ¡°Two gege¡¯s who were really good looking.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......¡±


    It can¡¯t fucking be the two I¡¯m thinking of, right?


    ¡°We couldn¡¯t get any fingerprints from any of the physical evidence brought back from the crime scene,¡± that afternoon, Su Xiaolan brought the analysis report back to the office and said, ¡°But saying it like that isn¡¯t completely accurate. If I have to report about the fingerprints, there¡¯s also¡­¡­anyway, they¡¯re all from when your idol touched the handle of the knife.¡±


    As she said this, her gaze was directed at Jiang Yu.


    Jiang Yu, ¡°Well it definitely can¡¯t be my idol!¡±


    Through the process of this affair, Su Xiaolan¡¯s understanding of Chi Qing and Xie Lin had grown somewhat deeper, ¡°I know, and I saw the statements too. If I hadn¡¯t known them before all this, all of their various actions would be more than enough to confirm the identity of the suspect.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, who was back from Bianmin, mentally exhaustedly followed with, ¡°And what¡¯s more, they seem far more like suspects than actual suspects do.¡±


    Su Xiaolan, also mentally exhausted, expressed, ¡°......I can only endorse that conclusion.¡±


    As they were talking, one of the two suspects passed through the hallway of the police station, pushing open the door and appearing in the doorway to the office. This suspect stood in the doorway and swept his eyes around the room, passing over Jiang Yu, who suddenly sat up straight and lowered his head to furiously type nonsense. He relaxedly walked over and stopped in front of Ji Mingrui, ¡°Officer Ji, are you free right now?¡±


    ¡°I caused trouble for you guys yesterday, so I wanted to invite you all to a meal tonight,¡± Xie Lin took a look at the time; it was two hours past the normal time to get off work, ¡°I guessed that you guys would be working overtime tonight. Me coming at this time, it¡¯s not too early is it?¡±


    He was wearing more casual clothes today, and with a sweater on he looked even more friendly. It was just that the clavicle showing through his collar was just as intriguing as always. The scrape from the umbrella on the side of his neck had gone through a night of fermentation, and had become especially eye-catching; the thin mark that looked like a cat scratch extended directly to the area around his collar bone.


    Ji Mingrui was astonished to be this friendly with him. Off to the side, Jiang Yu blinked his eyes with all his strength, replying knowingly, ¡°It was no trouble, um, right now¡¯s perfect.¡±


    After he spoke, he couldn¡¯t help but take another glance at Xie Lin.


    Actually, when Jiang Yu had been introduced to Xie Lin previously, he didn¡¯t have too intense of a feeling.


    It wasn¡¯t until Wu Zhibin said a few words at around noon earlier that day, that he seemed to genuinely see through that man¡¯s carefree appearance and get a glimpse of the man underneath.


    Xie Lin¡¯s approach to making the dinner plans was very gradual, so when he segued into asking about Chi Qing near the end, it seemed extremely natural, not seeming like an overstep at all, ¡°That friend of yours¡­¡­is he free?¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°Friend? You mean Chi Qing?¡±


    After he spoke, Ji Mingrui fell silent.


    To be honest, he thought that according to Chi Qing¡¯s temperament, it was unlikely that he¡¯d come out.


    Xie Lin was also clearly aware of this, and made it a point to add, ¡°Don¡¯t mention me, I fear he won¡¯t come if you do.¡±


    Chi Qing was just about to prepare for bed when he received the call, and he had a blanket pulled over himself. He¡¯d been soaked in the rain the day before and his forehead was a bit hot, so his naturally cold tone of voice was even colder, ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°......is that how you treat your friends?¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Is something up with you.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°No, nothing, I just wanted to have dinner with you.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°......¡±


    Ji Mingrui took hold of Chi Qing¡¯s momentary silence, stepping up his offensive, ¡°I¡¯ve been under so much pressure at work lately, you know, every night whether my eyes are open or closed all I see are those cats. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll be until they¡¯ll get their vindication, I don¡¯t know when the killer will be brought to justice¡ª¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°The pressure on my shoulders is that huge, and right now all I want to do is eat a meal together with you, and you can¡¯t even fulfill this tiny, tiny request of mine?¡±


    The call disconnected.


    Chi Qing immediately hung up the phone.


    Ten seconds later, Chi Qing messaged over one word.


    - Address.


    They called it dinner, but it would be more fitting to call this meal a midnight snack.


    The place they were eating at wasn¡¯t far from Chi Qing¡¯s apartment. Most of the people in the restaurant were groups of night shift workers who¡¯d come to eat together after work, and the smell of cigarettes and alcohol was thick. The private room Xie Lin had reserved was on the second floor, and just as the first half of the food had been delivered, Chi Qing half-heartedly arrived.


    The concrete manifestation of his half-heartedness was¡ªhe hadn¡¯t even put on his gloves.


    Usually, if he was going to some place that wasn¡¯t crowded, and he was seeing people knew well, he actually wouldn¡¯t wear his gloves every single time when they were in private.


    Especially around Ji Mingrui.


    He knew Ji Mingrui too well, and this person¡¯s pattern of thinking was very simple; he didn¡¯t need to read his mind, he could tell what Ji MIngrui was thinking from just a glance.


    Chi Qing had stuck his hands in the pockets of his coat, and his face wore a half-hearted expression that said ¡®my intentions are to come see what¡¯s going on, sit for a short time, and then leave.¡¯ It was only once the waiter had led him to the doorway of the room that he clearly saw a group of people sitting inside, ¡°......¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°Explain.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°I¡­just hadn¡¯t imagined that everyone would be free tonight, and we just happened to come together at this table?¡±


    Chi Qing completely mercilessly wanted to turn back around, ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°You just got here and you want to leave already,¡± before Chi Qing could turn around, he was blocked by someone from behind. That person rested a hand on his shoulder, and the sound of his voice echoed from behind and above him, ¡°I was me who told him not to tell you, because if he told you, you wouldn¡¯t have come. I wanted to invite you to a meal as an apology, grant me some face here?¡±


    Those first two sentences were unexpectedly quite normal.


    But after Xie Lin released his shoulder, his gaze lingered on Chi Qing¡¯s wrist, and the words that came out of his mouth weren¡¯t so proper, ¡°......I was a bit heavy-handed yesterday, it seems like your wrist is all red from being bound.¡±


    The team of three looked over upon hearing this.


    The night before, after Chi Qing had finished wiping his hands he had pulled his gloves back on because there were too many people in the office. You couldn¡¯t see anything through the gloves, so they didn¡¯t notice until today that there were faint marks on his wrists. The binding marks from the necktie intermittently wrapped half-way around his wrist, wrapping from the thin carpal bone to the inside.


    Chi Qing, ¡°......¡±


    He was unaware if his wrist was red or not.


    But anyway, his fists were hard.


    ________

 CH 12

    Everyone else had already taken their seats; the only vacant spots left were the two by the door.


    As long as Chi Qing had a choice, he would never sit with this nutcase.


    Chi Qing lifted his chin slightly, directing his words at Ji Mingrui, ¡°You, get up.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re switching seats.¡±


    Ji Mingrui had tricked Chi Qing into coming and, fearing retribution, hastily said, ¡°It¡¯d be a pain for me to get up out of here.¡±


    ¡°Look, there are people on both sides of me,¡± Ji Mingrui said, ¡°and Jiang Yu and Su Xiaolan would be really sad to see me go.¡±


    Jiang Yu, ¡°......¡±


    Su Xiaolan, ¡°......¡±


    Isn''t it just a seat? We¡¯re just having a meal, it¡¯s eating no matter where you sit. Nobody would be sad to see you go.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t have a choice. After they sat down, Xie Lin actually didn¡¯t say anything more, just calmly taking away the cup filled with lemonade from in front of him.


    Chi Qing lifted his eyes and looked at him.


    Xie Lin explained, ¡°It¡¯s cold.¡±


    Chi Qing retracted his gaze again.


    Xie Lin was like a spirit lingering around after death; not even twenty seconds passed before he reappeared within Chi Qing¡¯s line of sight. The man¡¯s hand was holding a glass in his hand, placing the steaming cup in front of him¡ªhe had refilled his own empty glass with tea and passed it over to him, ¡°Just now when you were standing in the doorway and talking, I could hear you have a bit of a cold. Have you checked your temperature?¡±


    Chi Qing thought that Xie Lin acting like a normal person couldn¡¯t last for more than two sentences, and he''d probably say ¡®sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have held you down on the ground the other day¡¯ and so on next.


    Thus, he took the opportunity to cut off the line of discussion, ¡°Thank you, you didn¡¯t need to bother.¡±


    Su Xiaolan rarely saw Chi Qing without his gloves on, and people would always be filled with curiosity when laying eyes upon something they rarely saw. She was sitting directly across from Chi Qing, and couldn¡¯t help but take a couple of extra looks at his hands.


    The bones were long and thin, and dazzlingly white under the incandescent lights.


    Chi Qing was actually looking down at his own hands too. First, because he felt uneasy without his gloves on; although the temperature of the cup was clearly controlled well, he still felt like his hands were burning. Second, because Xie Lin was sitting next to him, and that made him think of something he wasn¡¯t sure was a coincidence or not.


    At that moment, Xie Lin¡¯s hand was resting nearby. The joints of the man¡¯s hands were distinct, his wrists were thin, his fingers were tapping absent-mindedly on the tabletop.


    He had that same posture as always, and was listening to Ji Mingrui and the others chat.


    Ji Mingrui was sharing his experiences investigating earlier that day, ¡°I went to Bianmin, and that kid said there were exactly two people who had come to buy knives¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing moved his fingers, shifting them away from the walls of the glass, thinking to himself, Last time when I couldn¡¯t read his mind, was it just a coincidence?


    Perhaps it was just that he happened not to have been thinking about anything at that moment.


    But how could a person have no inner voice?


    In fact, Chi Qing wanted to test if last time was actually a coincidence or not.


    But just as his finger started to angle over, and was a millimeter away, it quickly stuck back to the wall of the cup.


    Obviously, his mysophobia wouldn¡¯t allow it.


    ¡­¡­


    To touch or not to touch, it was truly a difficult choice to make.


    There were watchful gazes all around, that many pairs of eyes around the table, invisibly making the psychological burden heavier.


    While Chi Qing was dawdling around, Xie Lin¡¯s hand was the first to make a move.


    He swiped open his phone and took a look at the time, and after his arm hand fell by his side instead of going back to resting on the tabletop.


    Xie Lin¡¯s hand was near the many folds of the tablecloth; it was in a hidden position, no one would notice movements happening beneath the table.


    For the first time in his life, Chi Qing¡¯s curiosity about someone gradually masked the discomfort his mysophobia brought along.


    Thus, a few minutes later, Chi Qing reluctantly released his grip with a complicated state of mind. He calmly lowered his hand, lowered his hand to just about where Xie Lin¡¯s was, the backs of their two hands just about to touch. Then, Chi Qing steeled himself, extending out a single finger to touch the back of Xie Lin¡¯s hand.


    Rather than calling it a ¡°touch,¡± the word ¡°poke¡± would be a much more accurate descriptor.


    After Chi Qing finished poking, he waited for a few seconds, but the distorted voice never came.


    The sound in his ears was still Ji Mingrui prattling on.


    ¡°You two are really amazing, our only two suspects are still the two of you¡ªWhen I came out of Bianmin I felt like an idiot¡­¡­¡±


    At the same time, Chi Qing endured the discomfort and poked.


    After a while, he poked a second time.


    Because he could only rely on feeling, this time his fingertip angled downwards a little, happening to land on the man¡¯s finger with the ring on it. The thin silver ring let off a slight chill. Chi Qing brushed his finger downward, and only then ran into that bit of warmth.


    According to his mysophobia, he wasn¡¯t at all someone who could become familiar with someone just after meeting them.


    Chi Qing pushed through the impulse to clean his hands, and waited for another moment.


    But as before, nothing happened at all.


    Ji Mingrui was still talking, ¡°......Don¡¯t tell me you two caught each other. I also want to drag you both back and report mission completed.¡±


    The sound of Ji Mingrui¡¯s voice was genuine. It was mixed with the sound of dishes bumping against each other as the waiter cleared the plates, and he could even hear the faint chirps of car horns from outside the window.


    But other than that, there was nothing.


    Chi Qing¡¯s mind flashed completely blank.


    ¡ªHe really couldn¡¯t read Xie Lin¡¯s mind.


    Even though Chi Qing had already been careful to make the area of contact as small as possible, he¡¯d already reached his limit poking those two times.


    Moreover, after he finished poking, he thought that he must be crazy to have done something like that.


    Right after he finished his test, he was preparing to use a wet paper towel to clean his hands when he lifted his eyes and saw Xie Lin¡¯s slightly inclined head.


    Xie Lin had clearly been watching him for a while, just like some kind of animal letting its prey wantonly wander around right next to it. He saw how Chi Qing had poked the back of his hand despite the unwillingness to touch him written all over his face, and waited for Chi Qing to retract his hand before asking, ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Chi Qing fell silent for a moment.


    ¡°The tablecloth was crooked.¡±


    Xie Lin emphasized, ¡°You touched my hand, not the tablecloth.¡±


    Chi Qing, ¡°I bumped into it on accident.¡±


    Xie Lin let out an entirely insincere ¡°oh.¡± He dragged his voice out, as if he were saying ¡®okay, whatever you say, it¡¯s already done anyways.¡¯


    Chi QIng, ¡°......¡±


    ¡°But there really aren¡¯t very many people buying those knives. Who knows how long it¡¯ll be until the two left on the shelf are sold,¡± Ji Mingrui finished expressing his thoughts on his visit to Bianmin. After he finished narrating his final conclusion, he finally took notice of what was happening across the table from him, ¡°¡ªWhat¡¯re you two talking about?¡±


    But Xie Lin didn¡¯t respond to him like he usually would, and didn¡¯t continue squabbling with Chi Qing either, asking all of the sudden, ¡°How many knives did you say were left on the shelf?¡±


    ¡°Um, two.¡±


    After Ji Mingrui spoke, he realized that Chi Qing had also turned to him all of the sudden.


    He vaguely sensed that something was wrong, ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    The two ¡°suspects¡± who had bought knives glanced at each other.


    The suspect with the surname Xie asked, ¡°When you went to buy your knife, how many were left on the shelf?¡±


    Suspect Chi answered, ¡°Five. After I bought mine four were left.¡±


    Xie Lin, ¡°Then I bought one, and only the two me and him bought were in the sales records, so there should be three of those knives left.¡±


    That night past eleven, when a crowd of people rushed into Bianmin Grocery, the little boy was already accustomed to answering their questions.


    So much so that he didn¡¯t even wait for Ji Mingrui to open his mouth, just said very skilfully, ¡°Policeman-shushu, nobody¡¯s bought a knife today.¡±


    (t/n: ÊåÊå/shu1shu1 means ¡®uncle.¡¯ It specifically refers to your father¡¯s younger brother, but it¡¯s also kind of a generic way to refer to a man who¡¯s older than you)


    Ten minutes earlier, after Ji MIngrui had finished listening to Xie Lin and Chi Qing, he threw down his balled-up napkin even though the rest of their food had just arrived, picking up his coat and running out.


    ¡°Think carefully, who else came by that day when it was raining.¡±


    After the police had sealed the crime scene, the murder didn¡¯t have a weapon, so he had come here.


    It was really late that night, and raining again; there couldn¡¯t have been many customers coming and going.


    ¡°Count the people you know too, and he wasn¡¯t necessarily here to buy anything. Think carefully. Can you think of anyone?¡±


    The little boy paused at correcting his homework, and said, ¡°Li-shushu.¡±


    ¡°Li-shushu?¡±


    The boy, ¡°He¡¯s xiao-Kang¡¯s dad.¡±


    The little boy fished out his phone, searched for a long time in the out-dated phone, then finally found a group photo. The photo was clearly taken when two families took their kids out to play, and the little boy pointed to a man wearing cargo amongst them, ¡°That¡¯s Li-shushu.¡±


    The man was wearing gray cargo, his eyes were brown, and somewhat muddy.


    Ji Mingrui stared at that photograph, his memory pulling him back to that day when Wang-a¡¯po suffered the loss of the wood carving passed down in her family for generations, ¡°How could it be him?¡±


    ¡°This ¡®Li-shushu¡¯s full name is Li Guangfu. He came to Southern China to work as a laborer during his early years; his undertaking is clearing the waterways, but he does administrative work¡ªhis main responsibility is allocation of staff. He has two sons, the younger one was just born this year, he¡¯s not even one yet.¡± Su Xiaolan got back to the police station first, and as soon as she got there she pulled up Li Guangfu¡¯s personal information.


    Cargo-man sat in the police station for the second time.


    He never in a million years thought he¡¯d end up scoring a second time, ¡°What is it this time? Yeah, I went there that night. I took a trip to the store on a rainy day, is that a crime?¡±


    Ji Mingrui, ¡°What did you go to the store to buy?¡±


    ¡°I called off and wasn¡¯t working that day. An appliance broke at home, so I went to the store to buy a screwdriver.¡±


    ¡°You only bought a screwdriver?¡±


    ¡°And a pack of cigarettes. What is this about, I still need to rush home.¡±


    A screwdriver and cigarettes.


    It fit with the sales records, he really wasn¡¯t lying.


    On the other side, Chi Qing and Xie Lin, who had been forcibly roped in to ¡°assist¡± with the investigation because they held important information in hand, sat side by side.


    Xie Lin flipped open the case files once again, ¡°There¡¯s only one, do you wanna look together?¡±


    Compared to the case, Chi Qing was actually more interested in this nucase whose mind he repeatedly hadn¡¯t been able to read. He, intentionally or otherwise, looked over at Xie Lin¡¯s hand.


    Although Xie Lin always had a carefree appearance, his power of observation was abnormally sharp. His gaze was clearly still fixed on the case file, but he lifted a hand and waved it in front of Chi Qing¡¯s eyes.


    Xie Lin offered his hand in Chi Qing¡¯s direction, sticking that skinny hand in front of his face.


    Chi Qing, ¡°The hell are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Giving you my hand,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°It seems like those two pokes while we were eating weren¡¯t enough for you.¡±


    ¡°......¡±

 CH 13

    Chi Qing could definitely confirm one thing.


    That was¡ª one hour ago, he really was insane enough to touch Xie Lin¡¯s hand under the dining table.


    ¡°Just kidding,¡± Xie Lin saw the eagerness to leave the police station right then in his expression, taking his hand back, opening the information packet with the other hand in front of him, ¡°I won¡¯t tease you, take a look at the information?¡±


    Chi Qing hadn¡¯t in fact seen all of the on-site information. The number of photos of the scene Ji Mingrui left at his home was limited. He had only seen a few scattered photos, the stray cats in the photos nearly identical in death.


    Su Xiaolan was in charge of recording notes. Ji Mingrui¡¯s interrogation of Li Guangfu had reached a stalemate, so she also had nothing to do.


    So her attention was quickly attracted by the two people who were ¡°gathered together¡± on the opposite side looking through the materials.


    To say that they were gathered together was not quite appropriate, since even though they were looking at the same document together, there was a substantially safe distance between the two people. The creator of this distance, this Mr. Chi Qing, had his hands in his jacket pockets. The mild cold made him seem sluggish, his eyelids drooping, yet even so, he did his best to draw a 38th parallel with the person next to him.


    Xie Lin: ¡°You¡¯re sitting so far away, can you see clearly?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°My eyesight is good.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Only when the two were discussing the case did they show that rare harmony.


    The topic was approached gradually, sounding like they were in agreement¡­¡­ but the contents of the conversation weren¡¯t quite right.


    Xie Lin: ¡°Serrated knives are actually very good for dismembering corpses.¡±


    Chi Qing agreed, lightly saying: ¡°If you want to dispose of a corpse and wipe away any trace of a crime, dismembering the corpse is a much better method than leaving it in the garden.¡±


    Xie Lin placed his fingers on the paper: ¡°It just takes a bit of effort.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°It also gets your hands dirty easily.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°If it were you, where would you choose to leave them?¡±


    ¡°A nearby raw meat shop,¡± Chi Qing said without hesitating, ¡°In a raw meat shop, animal carcasses attract a lot less attention.¡±


    Su Xiaolan: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­What did she hear.


    Su Xiaolan¡¯s current mood was hard to express. Clearly Li Guangfu was the suspect according to the clues, but she strangely felt that compared to Xie Lin and Chi Qing, suspect Li Guangfu seemed more like an innocent civilian.


    Xie Lin: ¡°Exactly, so the murderer chose to leave them in the garden, thus giving the notion that they wanted people to notice. They want to kill people but don¡¯t care to, forced to find satisfaction through other methods¡ª such as the crowd¡¯s panic, the speculation of the people around them.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t assess the murderer¡¯s thought process, because it¡¯s difficult for him to understand what other people are thinking, along with what they¡¯re feeling.


    But Xie Lin seemed to be very good at this.


    The information was quickly flipped through. On the last page were several newly added shoe print pictures, the blood-stained shoe prints discovered by technicians at the initial crime scene a few days ago. The size of the shoe was approximated using methods of measurement. It was a pair of 42 size shoes, consistent with the size of the shoes at the corpse dumping site.


    Once Su Xiaolan felt that their topic had been pulled back from ¡°crime,¡± she noticed that Xie Lin suddenly stopped talking, his eyes lingering on the shoe print for a while, frowning suddenly.


    And Chi Qing, who rarely took his hand out from his coat pocket, pulled out a photo of the scene from the file with his pale thin fingers.


    The photo was of the silver-white Highland Scottish Fold from Grandma Wang¡¯s home. The photographer purposefully focused on the cat¡¯s feature when taking it, the lens focused on the unique black spot on the cat¡¯s ear.


    Xie Lin: ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Cat ear.¡±


    Ji Mingrui repeatedly confirmed the key information, asking Li Guangfu ¡°did you really not steal that knife.¡± Before Li Guangfu could answer, he heard Xie Lin, who had walked up to him at some unknown time, speak: ¡°He most likely isn¡¯t a suspect.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°There¡¯s an issue with the shoe print.¡±


    It was too dark that night, he didn¡¯t notice shoe prints on the ground at the scene, finding that there was something wrong after looking at the information.


    ¡°The crime scene had been washed over by rain, so there¡¯s no way to tell, but the heel of the shoe prints left accidentally at the initial scene had a heavy heel, clearly the shoe that the murderer wore wasn¡¯t their own. If this is the case, then the conclusion that ¡®his body is weak¡¯ is justified, ¡®he¡¯ is very likely not a man, the possibility of it being a woman is higher¡­¡­ Indeed, it may even just be an underaged child.¡±


    Guessing that it¡¯s a woman is fine, but¡­¡­


    ¡°¡­¡­Child?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s a child, he should be between 12 to 15 years old,¡± Xie Lin propped his hands on the table while speaking, leaning toward Li Guangfu who was sitting very naturally on the opposite side for an interrogation, his eyes clearly smiling, yet there was a natural oppressive nature behind his words, ¡°Mr. Li, you said that your machine at home broke, did you go to buy the screwdriver on your own?¡±


    Li Guangfu didn¡¯t speak.


    Following Xie Lin¡¯s line of questioning, his memory drifted back to that rainy night.


    He left at 11:18, it was raining very heavily outside. The road was muddy, making it difficult to walk, his feet covered in mud.


    He rubbed his arms, braving the cold and wet weather, gripping an umbrella in his hand, picking up his pace, hoping to buy everything and go home quickly.


    11:30.


    Bianmin Groceries was about to close.


    Li Guangfu was about to push open the door of the grocery store with his frozen hands.


    ¡°Ding dong¡ª¡± The doorbell rang.


    The young boy was packing away his pencil case. He lifted his head, calling out crisply: ¡°Uncle Li.¡±


    Li Guangfu smiled at him, however didn¡¯t put away the umbrella, instead urging his son behind him to quickly enter: ¡°Xiao Kang, hurry up, don¡¯t get drenched.¡±


    After he finished speaking, the person outside the door slowly walked in.


    The boy was much taller than his peers, his entire body wrapped in a thick school uniform jacket.


    ¡°Did you go out buy the screwdriver on your own?¡± Xie Lin asked again.


    ¡°I¡­¡­¡± Li Guangfu actually didn¡¯t fully understand what just happened, but under Xie Lin¡¯s gaze, he muttered, ¡°I¡­¡­ I was alone¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°You should know, with a single phone call to Bianmin to ask clearly, we can quickly find out whether you were alone or with another person.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you need me to ask one last time.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­My son was there,¡± Li Guangfu said, ¡°I went with my son.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you guys are investigating, but it definitely has nothing to do with my son.¡±


    Ji Mingrui also really wanted to say: What does this have to do with his son?


    Just because the murderer wore shoes that were too big for his feet, there can¡¯t be a way to confirm that his son is a suspect. Moreover he¡¯s a child, they previously speculated that it¡¯s possible that killing the cats was for practice, who would he want to kill?


    Although his son is suspected of stealing a knife, snuck into Grandma Wang¡¯s house¡­¡­ Wait!


    Ji Mingrui seemed to have caught a thread.


    This thread started that night of continuous heavy rain, starting from that small, unremarkable wood carving. He grasped one end of the thread, but couldn¡¯t find the other end for a while. Until Xie Lin brought up the wood carving case: ¡°You found an old phone at Grandma Wang¡¯s house at that time, is that phone still there?¡±


    ¡°The two parties successfully reconciled, it was returned a while ago.¡±


    Ji Mingrui asked: ¡°Is there an issue with the phone?¡±


    Xie Lin only said two words: ¡°Photo album.¡±


    Ji Mingrui was the one who looked through the photo album on the phone, he had followed Chi Qing¡¯s trail of browsing at the time, looking at everything Chi Qing opened. Since it was an old phone, there weren¡¯t a lot of photos left in the photo album. There were some old photos taken by Li Guangfu while traveling, not so many new photos¡­¡­ But he recalled one of the latest photos.


    The time it was taken was the same day as the wood carving case. The photo was very blurry, a mix of black and white, like a black and white thing flashed in front of the camera lens. The photo didn¡¯t look like a regular photo, seeming like it was taken by accident when the wrong button was pressed.


    Thinking back on it carefully, the thing seemed to be a little fluffy.


    ¡­¡­


    Xie Lin asked: ¡°The first photo in the album, did it look like the ear of the silver-white highland cat?¡±


    ¡°It did,¡± Ji Mingrui almost immediately figured out the logic behind this, the two of them already moving away from the other party while talking, walking to the corridor, ¡°So Li Guangfu¡¯s son might not have gone to steal the woodcarving that day, but actually to kidnap the cat. That would also explain why the phone fell on the ground, and why such a picture was taken. When Grandma Wang came back, he had no time to pick up his phone, so he had to think fast and grab something random¡­¡­ But how did you know?¡±


    Xie Lin pointed through the glass door.


    His fingertip pointed directly towards Chi Qing, who was sitting there reluctantly.


    Chi Qing waited impatiently, sitting on the couch, looking a bit sleepy, glancing at the clock on the wall from time to time, calculating how much unnecessary time he was wasting by sitting there.


    Ten minutes earlier.


    After Chi Qing replied with the two words ¡°cat ear,¡± he looked at the photo in his hand for a long time: ¡°¡­¡­This black spot, I seem to have seen it somewhere before.¡±


    After experiencing the incident in which his friend and Xie Lin sent each other to the police station, Ji Mingrui was amazed that the two had the ability to calmly sit together and reason through the case.


    Ji Mingrui said to himself: ¡°Is this the legendary two negatives make a positive rule.¡±


    Ji Mingrui recalled the most important thing, also the thing that everyone was currently the most worried about: ¡°If this Xiao Kang really is a suspect, what motive does he have for killing?¡±


    In other words, who might be the victim?


    ¡°I have to go, Xiao Kang and Mingming are still waiting for me at home¡­¡­¡± Li Guangfu suddenly stood up, trying to go out despite Jiang Yu blocking him, ¡°What are you doing?! This matter has nothing to do with me or Xiao Kang, I don¡¯t know what you guys want to investigate. You guys, one, have no evidence and, two, have no right. For what reason should you detain me here?!¡±


    After Ji Mingrui went into the corridor, Jiang Yu took over Ji Mingrui¡¯s position. Since he was sitting, it wasn¡¯t easy to use his strength, so he couldn¡¯t grab him the first time.


    Li Guangfu walked in a hurry. Seeing two people standing at the door, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to leave, so before rushing out, he looked around for something to defend himself with, so he can easily block when someone came to arrest him¡ª


    He picked the chair that Xie Lin had been sitting on earlier. When he picked it up, he disturbed the man next to it who was already not in a good mood.


    Chi Qing¡¯s sleepy eyelids, which were almost closed, opened a little once again: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Li Guangfu approached suddenly, and since the corner of the chair could easily stab someone, Chi Qing lifted his hand to block the foot of the chair. This one move, the back of his hand coincidentally touched the back of Li Guangfu¡¯s waving right hand.


    [I need to hurry back, I don¡¯t know if Xiao Kang is still angry at me. My temper, I shouldn¡¯t have scolded him.]


    [After his mother died, he couldn¡¯t accept that I would marry again, and he didn¡¯t want another half-brother. But I really didn¡¯t expect that he would actually say¡­¡­]


    All sounds disappeared in that instant.


    The sound of Jiang Yu¡¯s voice stopping Li Guangfu, the chatter in the office, the sound of Ji Mingrui¡¯s scolding¡ª all of these were far away in an instant.


    Only the distorted voice continued to grow louder in his ear, as if someone was whispering in his ear.


    [He would actually say¡­¡­ If he didn¡¯t have a younger brother, it would be better.]


    The voice lingered by his ear and emphasized: [¡­¡­ If he didn¡¯t have a younger brother, it would be better.]


    ¡­¡­


    However the distorted voice suddenly stopped.


    Chi Qing blinked slowly, realizing half a beat later that Xie Lin pulled Li Guangfu¡¯s hand away in the midst of the clamor.


    But the reason the sound stopped abruptly was obviously not just because Li Guangfu had been torn away by another person, it was also because the person with one hand on Li Guangfu¡¯s hand was also holding his hand with the other.


    Chi Qing lowered his gaze, seeing how his knuckles were resting gently on Xie Lin¡¯s palm at the moment.


    ¡°This Mr. Li,¡± Xie Lin looked at Li Guangfu as he spoke, ¡°Speak nicely if you have something to say, don¡¯t randomly touch if there¡¯s nothing.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    I¡¯ll do it myself


    I really am just a waste!


    Reflect, me!

 CH 14

    Warning: description of child harm, there¡¯s mentions of blood but nothing too explicit.


    Li Guangfu hadn¡¯t even realized what he touched when he saw Xie Lin come over to protect him. By the time he was pushed down by Ji Mingrui who rushed over, he finally caught a glimpse of the man with slightly long hair covering his forehead sitting to the side.


    They met last time in the police station.


    Li Guangfu remembered clearly, last time it was this person who figured out that the phone was an old phone that was given to Xiao Kang after he used it.


    He actually couldn¡¯t read the man¡¯s eyes clearly. Through those pitless black eyes, it was hard to guess at what the man was thinking. He could only see his slightly pursed bright red lips.


    Ji Mingrui pressed Li Guangfu against the table, Li Guangfu¡¯s upper body pressed against the desk. The documents on the table were scattered across the floor. Although Ji Mingrui reacted slower, his physique was extraordinary, leaving no room for resistance under the pressure: ¡°Last time we didn¡¯t look for your son¡­¡­ I¡¯m afraid we have to thoroughly interrogate your son this time.¡±


    He raised his voice again: ¡°Jiang Yu, call his home first, ask around.¡±


    The other party was still a child. Without any definite evidence, following the usual interrogation method, asking him whether or not he stole from the convenience store and whether or not the cats were killed by him, might have a negative impact on the child¡¯s mindset.


    So they usually took some tactful measures first.


    Jiang Yu understood: ¡°I¡¯ll go right away.¡±


    Xie Lin noticed that Chi Qing was still staring at his hand, so he let go of Chi Qing¡¯s hand: ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t thinking too much, you¡¯re fine right.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t scold him this time as he used to: You also know not to randomly touch things, so what did you randomly touch.


    Because regardless of how he rejected him, he couldn¡¯t deny one thing¡ª Xie Lin had actually helped him just now.


    The moment the man appeared, the distorted voice stopped.


    Li Guangfu¡¯s low, eerie, nightmarish voice, which still carried the local accent despite being distorted, disappeared from his ears, as if someone had pulled him out of another world and back to reality.


    He had never thought that Xie Lin¡¯s unreadable characteristic could play such a role.


    Seeing that he didn¡¯t say anything, Xie Lin wasn¡¯t used to it: ¡°You don¡¯t have to bear with it, if you want to wash your hands just go, if not for the fact that I didn¡¯t say anything before touching your hand just now¡­¡­¡±


    Before Xie Lin finished speaking, he heard Chi Qing say ¡°thank you¡± before washing his hands.


    Xie Lin: ¡°What?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°I said thank you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, I actually heard it,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°I just wanted to hear you say it again.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that someone like you could speak reasonably.¡± Xie Lin then said.


    Chi Qing: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Some people just can¡¯t leave things be, they just have to make unneeded comments.


    By the time Chi Qing came back after washing his hands, Jiang Yu had also just hung up.


    ¡°I said I was the property owner. What happened earlier definitely had an impact on the residents, he shouldn¡¯t be afraid, just let us know if there are any clues¡­¡­ But he reacted calmly. He said he didn¡¯t have any clues.¡±


    After Jiang Yu hung up, he recalled the reaction of the boy named ¡°Xiao Kang¡± over the phone. The husky voice unique to boys during puberty was flat, with virtually no ups or downs.


    ¡°It sounded a little weird, he seemed to be in a hurry to hang up.¡±


    At the time, Jiang Yu didn¡¯t think too much of it, but through the receiver, he could hear the sound of a baby crying. The crying sounded weak and distant, as if it came from a half closed door.


    Jiang Yu asked: ¡°Is someone crying?¡±


    The boy¡¯s husky voice calmly said: ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s too noisy upstairs¡­¡­ So my brother is crying.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­He only said that it was too noisy upstairs so his brother was crying.¡±


    Based off the information he had so far, Jiang Yu didn¡¯t think that there was any other meaning behind those words, but he saw Chi Qing and Xie Lin¡¯s expressions suddenly change¡ª


    Jiang Yu felt as if there may have been some unexpected changes in the situations, causing him to feel flustered: ¡°Is there something wrong with that statement?¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Give me his address.¡±


    Jiang Yu: ¡°Building 12, 5¡­¡­506.¡±


    After Jiang Yu gave Li Guangfu¡¯s address, he watched as Chi Qing and Xie Lin, both of whom clearly didn¡¯t communicate anything, did the same thing at the same time. They followed after each other, pushing open the door and rushing outside.


    On the highway.


    Xie Lin drove very quickly; he didn¡¯t seem to think about speeding fines or any penalties.


    Chi Qing sat in the passenger¡¯s seat of the car for the second time, although he and Xie Lin have changed drastically from opponents to ¡°teammates.¡±


    He originally wanted to use other methods to knock Ji Mingrui onto this path, such as asking him to investigate Li Guangfu¡¯s familial relationships more. There isn¡¯t substantial evidence for the others, so it¡¯s hard to tell. However, what the boy said on the phone and the sound of the baby crying couldn¡¯t help but make him think more.


    Although he didn¡¯t know why Xie Lin came out with him.


    The driver in the next lane saw a black Maybach constantly overtaking him, complaining ¡°this is a highway, what kind of car is so violent, doesn¡¯t want to live anymore.¡± After complaining, he lifted his eyes up and couldn¡¯t even see the car exhaust.


    The night scenery on both sides of the road flashed by, the rows of afterimages of street lights rushing past at an alarming speed.


    Xie Lin rushed down from the highway, so he was forced to slow down a little, speaking while turning the corner: ¡°When looking for a ¡®substitute¡¯ to practice with, the key point to consider is the characteristics, rather than the availability of the ¡®substitute.¡¯ In other words, there must be some kind of similarity between the cats and the person he actually wants to murder. It¡¯s the same as how the victims of many serial killer cases have something in common. The common trait of the victims of the 809 serial killer case was that they¡¯re ¡®beautiful,¡¯ and it was later proven that the murderer did have a complex about beautiful women because of someone.¡±


    As Xie Lin spoke, the taillights of the car in front of them illuminated his face through the windshield, the strong light casted a shadow on his face, covering his light brown, perpetually smiling eyes.


    He continued to speak: ¡°I think our thoughts are roughly the same. Do you also think¡­¡­ The size of a cat is similar to that of a baby?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Now Chi Qing knew why he rushed out with him.


    Compared to his surprise at Xie Lin¡¯s keenness, Chi Qing was even more surprised by his line of thinking. If not for him accidentally touching Li Guangfu¡¯s hand, he would have never connected the cats to the baby no matter what.


    People who can come up with this idea are no less dangerous than the event itself.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t have time to dwell on this fact.


    Haimao was just across the next street, what to do in a moment was the most important thing right now.


    ¡°You can¡¯t enter before figuring out what the situation is inside,¡± Xie Lin connected all the pieces together in a short amount of time, suddenly saying: ¡°Do you know how to pretend to be the property owner.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°?¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°You can just say ¡®Hello, I¡¯m the property owner, I called you just now,¡¯ say it once to try.¡±


    ¡°Hello,¡± Chi Qing shoved his hands in his coat pockets, not even lifting his eyelids, showing off his acting skills that were slowly sinking in the entertainment circle, and said flatly, ¡°I¡¯m the property owner.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin was speechless.


    Chi Qing: ¡°Is there an issue?¡±


    ¡°Nevermind, those who don¡¯t know would think you¡¯re his father,¡± Xie Lin commented fittingly, ¡°Leave this job to me. Stand on the side later, just don¡¯t let him notice you.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Haimao Community.


    Building 12, Floor 5.


    The brick-red door was shut tightly, with old couplets pasted on the sides of the door. Since many years had passed, all four corners of the couplets had rolled up.


    The furniture in the house had been arranged a few years ago, with obvious traces of life in the room.


    There were two bedrooms and one living room in the house. The living room was not only a place for activity, but also a study room for the children to do their homework.


    One room was manually divided by a screen, where a baby who was only half a year old was lying. At the moment, the baby was crying loudly. He seemed to sense that there was danger approaching him. His entire body was red from crying, his little hands clenched into fists as they waved wildly in the air.


    ¡°Wahhhhh¡ª¡±


    The baby cried for a while.


    But the boy standing next to the crib watching silently had no reaction.


    The boy was still wearing the uniform of a nearby junior high school. Although the crib hid what was below his waist, a silver light could be seen vaguely through the few wooden railings.


    In the boy¡¯s hand, he held a new serrated knife tightly.


    He stared at the baby¡¯s delicate neck, his gaze slowly drifting lower, finally landing on the baby¡¯s heaving chest, between the 2nd and 5th ribs.


    As he lifted his wrist, slicing open his younger brother¡¯s soft and delicate flesh bit by bit, the blood slowly gushed out, staining the sharp, interlaced knife teeth.


    Through the distinctive feeling, the boy could feel that this wasn¡¯t a cat, but human flesh. His wrist trembled with excitement, but just as the knife cut through skin, the doorbell suddenly rang.


    He waited for a moment, but the people outside the door seemed to know that he was home, and the doorbell rang for a while without stopping.


    ¡°Hello?¡± He walked to the door with the knife.


    ¡°Property owner,¡± the man outside the door¡¯s voice sounded rather carefree, ¡°I received a complaint, you guys think it¡¯s too noisy upstairs.¡±


    The boy opened the door a crack, meeting a pair of smiling eyes.


    The man continued: ¡°I just spoke with the residents upstairs. They said it might be a sound insulation problem, they¡¯ll pay attention to it in the future¡­¡­¡± The man paused once he said this, ¡°Is your brother still crying?¡±


    The sound of the baby crying was very clear.


    The boy slowly clenched the knife behind his back. After the phone call just now, there was no doubt, he anxiously wanted to close the door: ¡°He might be hungry.¡±


    Just as the door was about to close, Xie Lin¡¯s hand reached into the gap between the door and the door frame, his fingers suddenly tightening, pressed against the gap firmly.


    While he was pushing through the gap, Chi Qing, who could only stand on the side because he wasn¡¯t qualified to act as the property owner, simply lifted his foot and kicked the door open¡ª when he kicked open the door, his hands were still in his pockets and the expression on his face didn¡¯t change at all.


    Chi Qing looked like someone who had come to the door with a younger brother to pick a fight, urging a cold tone after kicking the door: ¡°Hurry up.¡±


    Because of Chi Qing¡¯s one move, Xie Lin had room to move around, immediately entering the room.


    Compared with a grown man, a twelve or thirteen year old boy did not have the advantage of strength.


    It took the boy a few seconds to realize that he still had a knife in his hand after he was thrown to the ground, but by the time he realized, his wrist had been held down firmly by Xie Lin.


    Xie Lin took the blood-stained knife out of the boy¡¯s hand, and after confirming the baby¡¯s injuries, he finally had time to respond to Chi Qing¡¯s urging: ¡°¡­¡­What I just said was not precise enough. You¡¯re not like his father, you¡¯re like a debt collector.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    ¡­¡­Yesterday¡¯s reflection wasn¡¯t deep enough.


    I will continue to reflect ORZ

 CH 15

    ¡°The knife was stolen by me.¡±


    The boy¡¯s full name was Li Kang. He sat on the opposite chair in the interrogation room, wrapped up in an oversized school uniform. There was a dark spot on the cuff, from the blood that accidentally stained it just now.


    ¡°The previous one was too. Xiao Liang (the young boy in the convenience store) and I are friends, I often go over to play with him. I know there are no surveillance monitors in the grocery store, so I stole a knife, and he wouldn¡¯t notice.¡± He also knew the importance of not leaving behind clues, ¡°If I left behind a purchase record, you guys would easily find me.¡±


    ¡°Maybe because too many were killed, stray cats don¡¯t gather in the factory anymore recently. That day I was going home from the factory empty-handed, the window of Grandma Wang¡¯s house wasn¡¯t closed, her cat lying on the windowsill. While catching the cat, my phone dropped and I didn¡¯t have time to pick it up.¡±


    ¡°I knew that if the phone was left at the crime scene, you guys would definitely find me, and I couldn¡¯t have no reason for showing up at her house, so I took the wood carving on the cabinet.¡±


    ¡°Why pick a cat? ¡­¡­Because the cat and my brother are the same size.¡±


    Li Kang didn¡¯t seem to be scared of getting caught, not seeming nervous either. Since he was at the age of puberty, he had acne on his face, a very ordinary face, looking no different from the countless students sitting in a classroom. Li Guangfu, who had been shouting the words ¡®it can¡¯t be my son, there must be a misunderstanding¡¯ through the glass, gradually fell silent.


    Li Kang¡¯s stepmother was a workshop worker. Originally she was working the evening shift today, rushing over as soon as she received the news, crying and cursing through the glass.


    And Li Kang raised his head slightly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips: ¡°I already knew that he and that woman were together secretly before my mother died. Once my mother died, he couldn¡¯t wait to remarry. Since the day he was born, I¡¯ve wanted to kill him.¡±


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    The woman banged on the glass window with her fist several times.


    The room¡¯s soundproofing was very good, making it so that what the woman was shouting couldn¡¯t be heard, only able to vaguely make out the second half of the sentence by reading her lips: ¡®¡­¡­you bastard.¡¯


    Only then did Li Kang¡¯s plain features shift. He ignored the woman shouting outside the door, saying: ¡°The knife shouldn¡¯t have slit his arm just now, I should have slit open his throat first.¡±


    In the interrogation room, Ji Mingrui sat across from the boy, shocked speechless by the child¡¯s undisguised malice.


    After Li Kang was led out, the woman rushed forward regardless of anything blocking her: ¡°He¡¯s your younger brother¡ª he¡¯s not even a year old¡ª¡±


    During the tussle, the school uniform collar shifted slightly, revealing a very ordinary silver necklace on Li Kang¡¯s neck. Based on the shape of the corners revealed, the pendant is likely a cross.


    The three members of the team had just entered the office, typically spending their days on trivial matters in the neighborhood, coming face to face with a case for the first time.


    Before the very ordinary cats who died, Li Guangfu, Li Kang, and the woman who entered their family later lived in the Haimao community. They typically appeared to be an ordinary family, no one thought that there would be such a ¡°secret¡± hidden within such an ordinary family.


    Ji Mingrui scribbled a few words of conclusion in the interrogation book; when Wu Zhibin arrived overnight, he handed the remaining parts of the process over to the more experienced Bin-ge.


    He closed the book and left, moving a chair and sitting outside.


    Across from him sat the two other participants of the case. It was already late at night and, of the two, one couldn¡¯t hold on. The participant surnamed Chi skillfully found a place to sleep on the sofa. He likely thought it was too noisy, a wrist pressed against his ear. Due to his mysophobia, the fact that he felt unsafe was clear, both of his hands completely hidden in the wide sleeves.


    The other participant was sitting next to him flipping through a magazine, even greeting him upon seeing him come out: ¡°Officer Ji.¡±


    Xie Lin pressed his finger against his lips, adding another sentence: ¡°He¡¯s asleep.¡±


    This situation was familiar; it had been Ji Mingrui writing their notes not so long ago.


    Only at the time the two people had been referring to each other as suspects, and now the real culprit had been arrested, confessing to his crimes in the interrogation room.


    Ji Mingrui began to take notes: ¡°How were you guys able to tell that there was a problem with the phone call?¡±


    Regardless of how much of a smooth talker Xie Lin was, it was hard to explain the reasoning behind this. It was as if he figured out that someone was thirsty and needed to drink water; there was nothing much to say about things such as eating and drinking water.


    ¡°Intuition, I guess.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    After this incident, Ji Mingrui faintly felt that although it was said to be intuition, it was more like a dangerous talent.


    Ji Mingrui then asked: ¡°Who kicked the door?¡±


    ¡°Him,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°I originally asked him to pretend to be the property owner with me, but he really didn¡¯t seem like one.¡±


    Ji Mingrui agreed wholeheartedly: ¡°Yes, his acting skills are quite bad, otherwise I also wouldn¡¯t¡­¡­¡± I also wouldn¡¯t be unable to find any information on him after graduating from the Film Academy.


    Before Ji Mingrui had the chance to finish speaking, Chi Qing had always been a light sleeper, the hand covering his ear moved, half-opening his eyes.


    Ji Mingrui¡¯s words took a 180 degree turn: ¡°¡­¡­But in fact he also has his remarkable parts. Although he can¡¯t play the role of a normal person, he really comes to life when he plays the role of a villain.¡±


    Chi Qing sat up and said: ¡°Did you think I didn¡¯t hear what you said before.¡±


    In fact, counting the few roles Chi Qing had successfully auditioned for, there really weren¡¯t many of which were good people.


    In the early years, in order to improve his good friend¡¯s broadcast volume, Ji Mingrui watched every single episode. Figuring out where his good friend is in most of the scenes that have nothing to Chi Qing could also be considered the fun of binge watching.


    Most of them are gloomy behind-the-scenes villains, the characters seeming like they¡¯re very important, but actually having very little scenes.


    Xie Lin caught the key word: ¡°Act?¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°You might not believe it, but he¡¯s a graduate of the Film Academy for Acting. All in all, he studied acting for four years.¡±


    Xie Lin thought back to the car, the phrase ¡®I¡¯m the property owner¡¯ that was unacceptable in demeanor and tone, and laughed: ¡°It¡¯s really hard to believe.¡±


    Chi Qing ignored them: ¡°Can I go.¡±


    Ji Mingrui handed the pen to Xie Lin: ¡°Sign here, then both of you can go back.¡±


    Chi Qing had his hands tucked in his sleeves the whole time. When Xie Lin finished signing, he stretched out his hand slightly, skillfully taking a tissue from the side, and took the pen that Xie Lin handed over through the tissue.


    ¡°No need to be this disgusted,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°Are all mysophobic people like you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that mine is more severe,¡± Chi Qing admitted frankly, putting the pen back in his hand after signing, balling the tissue up as he said, ¡°¡­¡­So regardless of when, stay away from me.¡±


    And so the two of them finished cooperating, returning to their previous states.


    As if Xie Lin couldn¡¯t understand the four words ¡®stay away from me¡¯: ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll drive you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with your expression, it¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t just ride it.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice then.¡±


    When Wu Zhibin left the interrogation room, he heard this conversation. Before he even entered, he bumped into Chi Qing who had pushed the door open to walk out.


    Xie Lin called out before behind him: ¡°You probably won¡¯t be able to get a taxi at this time. I¡¯m only driving you back, your eyes are bloodshot from tiredness.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Since you like to drive people home so much, why don¡¯t you change jobs and become a driver.¡±


    Chi Qing had just slept for those ten minutes just now, and was more tired after getting up, his eyes bloodshot. His looks were easily recognized, black hair covering the eyes in a somewhat wanton manner, red lips, hands in pockets, eyelids drooping lifelessly, seeming as if he was ignoring everyone.


    Xie Lin instead greeted Wu Zhibin: ¡°I¡¯m going first.¡±


    Wu Zhibin paused with his cane, however he wasn¡¯t looking at Xie Lin but Chi Qing.


    Behind Wu Zhibin, Su Xiaolin was still talking to Jiang Yu with a notebook in her arms: ¡°He¡¯s still a kid, how could he have this kind of idea?¡±


    Even after Chi Qing left, Wu Zhibin stood still in the doorway, only coming back to his senses after Ji Mingrui called out a singular ¡®Bin-ge¡¯: ¡°That was your friend?¡±


    ¡°Ever since the first meeting, I¡¯ve felt that this kid looked familiar.¡±


    Ji Mingrui was a bit surprised: ¡°Have you seen him on TV? Although he¡¯s not famous at all, he still has several works.¡± He spoke familiarly about it: ¡°He played the suspect who appeared for three seconds in the beginning of Pursuit, and also the villain of the third story of The Legend of Xiuxian. Uh, after all they¡¯re not any good roles¡­¡­¡±


    Wu Zhibin typically didn¡¯t watch dramas at all.


    He had seen all kinds of criminals and major cases over so many years.


    He didn¡¯t pay much attention to Chi Qing the last time they met, only listening to Xie Lin¡¯s analysis then hurrying to order Ji Mingrui and the others to investigate Haimao, not feeling that he was familiar until today.


    Exactly where did he see him¡­¡­


    Wu Zhibin asked: ¡°What¡¯s this friend of yours¡¯ name?¡±


    Ji Mingrui thought that after Chi Qing searched for so many years, he finally found a fan of his dramas, enthusiastically introducing him: ¡°Chi as in error, Qing as in dark blue, Chi Qing.¡±


    Wu Zhibin returned to the office with the material in hand; after sorting through the materials, he suddenly remembered Su Xiaolan saying ¡®he¡¯s still a kid.¡¯


    Kid.


    Wu Zhibin chewed on that word, carefully thinking back on Chi Qing¡¯s features. After a while, he suddenly grabbed his car keys and got up, driving all the way to headquarters. There were still a lot of people in the General Bureau at the time, working overtime on cases. When he was seen by someone, the word at hand was put down and he was greeted: ¡°Bin-ge.¡±


    Wu Zhibin tapped his cane on the ground, nodding his head at them.


    He hadn¡¯t returned to the headquarters for some time; he greeted them briefly, walking toward the headquarters¡¯ archives room.


    All past cases were sealed up in the headquarters¡¯ archives room. The archives room had encryption permission; as he walked over, he took out his identification card and scanned it, the electronic door automatically opening after reviewing the visitor¡¯s information.


    He walked to the last door, indicating that the case files stored here were highly encrypted.


    Wu Zhibin rummaged through the rack of case files, finally finding a stack of yellowed files in the corner.


    On the cover was written: 2.18 Child Kidnapping Case.


    This was 10 years ago. Winter of 2011.


    Wu Zhibin stood in the archives room and fell silent briefly. Then he turned the pages one by one, stopping when he turned to the second to last page. In the column of survivors, he found two words: Chi Qing.


    A slightly yellowed page was attached to the side.


    The features of the teenager in the photo were not fully grown up, but he could still make out the remarkable appearance in the outline, delicate eyebrows, and extremely dark pupils. That face gradually overlapped with the face he saw just now.


    The file read: After being sent to the doctor, the victim was found to have symptoms of deafness and auditory hallucinations. After eliminating other possible causes, it is suspected to be a psychological reaction. The suspected psychological reason stems from the body¡¯s excessive stress response after being subjected to a huge shock.


    The person recording was clearly keeping up with the situation, the next line written with a different technical pen: The auditory hallucinations disappeared after three months; he has been cured and discharged from the hospital.


    The last portion of the file was the psychological evaluation column.


    In the psychological evaluation column, there was a very ambiguous sentence written: Although there are no abnormalities, long-term follow-ups are still recommended.


    The author has something to say:


    Sorry, sorry, sorry, Thomas slide kneeling.


    Let¡¯s take a look at the plot behind everything, it¡¯s overdue!

 CH 16

    Chi Qing didn¡¯t notice the few glances that Wu Zhibin gave him; he was so sleepy that he only wanted to go home and sleep, but someone just had to bump into him.


    ¡°Get in the car.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t even lift his eyelids: ¡°You¡¯re really annoying.¡±


    The temperature was lower at night; Xie Lin had a black coat draped over his shoulders, one arm propped on the car window. Although it was almost one o¡¯clock at night, the man was indescribably exquisite from the strands of his hair to his fingers, sweeping his gaze over with slightly raised eyes: ¡°If you let me send you home, I won¡¯t annoy you.¡±


    Chi Qing called a car on an app on his own.


    There really weren¡¯t many cars available; it took approximately two and a half minutes before a private car driver accepted the order, however the information page showed that this was a novice driver, the current number of orders received being 0.


    And as soon as this novice driver took the order, it showed that ¡®the vehicle has arrived.¡¯


    All of the information linked together, it was clear who the car owner was, no need to compare the license plate number.


    Chi Qing finally lifted his eyes to look at him: ¡°¡­¡­You took the order?¡±


    Xie Lin stretched out the hand that was resting on the car window, grabbed the phone, turned the screen of the phone to face him, responding to his previous ¡®Since you like to drive people home so much, why don¡¯t you change jobs and become a driver¡¯: ¡°What you said was reasonable, so I changed jobs and became a driver, now can I drive you?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Canceling the order is also useless; as long as you ask for a car, I can accept it right now.¡±


    Chi Qing exited the car calling page, and after searching in the settings, he found that the car calling app didn¡¯t have a function for blacklisting drivers.


    If he walked from here, by the time he got home it might already be light out.


    Chi Qing could only grant this novice driver his first order.


    Xie Lin closed the notification that someone nearby had called a car on the car calling app, speaking like a normal person: ¡°Dear passenger, please fasten your seat belt.¡±


    The road was unobstructed at night, Xie Lin also actually drove steadily, so there were practically no bumps or sudden speeding up along the way.


    Chi Qing could be considered satisfied with the driver¡¯s skills, but there was one thing, the driver spoke too much.


    Xie Lin: ¡°You don¡¯t usually drive?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Troublesome.¡±


    Not only was driving troublesome, but getting a driver¡¯s license is also troublesome.


    Avoiding places with lots of people was self cultivation for those with mysophobia.


    ¡°Officer Ji said just now that you¡¯ve studied acting for four years,¡± Xie Lin asked while waiting for the traffic light, ¡°Your disorder, are you able to have a partner next to you when you¡¯re acting.¡± Afraid that if there was even the slightest touch, this scene wouldn¡¯t be able to be filmed.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t shy away from it; not only did he not care about being spot on when talking to other people, but he was also the same when it came to himself: ¡°So I haven¡¯t made any progress on this track at all.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing exhausted his last bit of patience: ¡°Are there any more questions, concentrate on driving after asking.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still one.¡±


    As they passed the traffic light, Xie Lin spoke: ¡°In the psychiatric clinic from before, you mentioned ten years ago.¡± He didn¡¯t know why Xie Lin was sensitive towards the phrase ¡°ten years,¡± a casual remark, yet he remembered it until now.


    When Xie Lin said this, his fingers rested on the steering wheel, yet in the end he still didn¡¯t ask: ¡°¡­¡­Nothing, go to sleep.¡±


    Chi Qing was actually already very sleepy. He fell into a half-dreaming, half-awake state after replying to Xie Lin. After closing his eyes, a pit of darkness appeared in his vision,  the words ¡°ten years ago¡± suddenly resonating in his ears. He didn¡¯t open his eyes, but his crow feather-like eyelashes twitched.


    ¡°Bin-ge, you went to headquarters just now?¡±


    On the other side, Wu Zhibin went out in a hurry, meeting the curious gaze of the three-member team when he came back.


    Wu Zhibin made an ¡°en¡± and said: ¡°Went to the General Administration to check a file.¡±


    Ji Mingrui took charge in reporting the Li family¡¯s situation: ¡°All reports regarding Li Kang have been submitted; the case has been handed over to other departments already. It¡¯s just that Li Kang¡¯s father is still trying to claim that this was just an accidental injury; he¡¯s unwilling to hand his son over.¡± After Ji Mingrui quickly finished the report, he then asked, ¡°What file did you go to the General Administration to check, is there some major case lately?¡±


    Without waiting for Wu Zhibin to speak, Jiang Yu and Su Xiaolan already pulled a chair up for him.


    Wu Zhibin didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry: ¡°Usually when I ask you guys to do something I¡¯ve never seen you guys be as active as when you¡¯re listening to a case.¡±


    Looking at them, Wu Zhibin often thought of himself when he first became a policeman, which was also why he insisted on being transferred down to lead this group of newcomers. He couldn¡¯t beat them, his voice seeming to pass through the cruel and old years as he spoke: ¡°I just thought of¡­¡­ a case from ten years ago.¡±


    ¡°The facts about the case, you guys have probably heard it all.¡±


    Wu Zhibin wasn¡¯t sure how much Ji Mingrui knew about Chi Qing; since it was in the archives, the encryption level was still at the highest level, and the victim¡¯s information had to be kept strictly confidential. He omitted the key figures, just roughly saying: ¡°The serial kidnapping case from that year caused a sensation throughout the entire city. The victims were all children between ages 10 to 15, the children continuously disappearing.¡±


    ¡°I know this case,¡± Su Xiaolan said, ¡°My mother even specially bought me a watch with a tracker for me to wear to school, not even letting me go out to play with classmates on weekends.¡±


    Ji Mingrui said sadly: ¡°As someone of the same age, I also wore that kind of watch, even if it was ugly, I wouldn¡¯t take it off.¡±


    Jiang Yu: ¡°Me too¡­¡­¡±


    Due to the kidnapping case, digital watches with tracking were extremely popular for a brief period. During that time, there might have been some people who didn¡¯t wear school uniforms at school, but absolutely no one would forget to wear a watch.


    This also reflected from an outside perspective how impactful the case was.


    Su Xiaolan: ¡°The police later seemed to find a connection between the kidnapped children; they were mostly children with good grades, who participated in competitions and won prizes. In short, their names appeared in newspapers and magazines after they won the prizes.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°That I have an impression of; when I failed a test that time, my mom didn¡¯t scold me for the first time. She even patted my head and said ¡®looks like being dumb has its benefits.¡¯¡±


    Jiang Yu, who had been a good student since he was young, had an entirely different experience: ¡°I¡­¡­ won the model student award that year. My mom almost went crazy, unable to sleep every night. She thought that the next one might be me. She woke up in the middle of the night and told me she figured it out, telling me not to compete for the model student award next year. Saying all these things was just for show anyway.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    However the three of them were only teenageres at the time, their only impressions of the case being the digital watch they had to wear and the panicked and out of control public opinion. They vaguely remember that the case was solved, the culprit arrested, then along with the long time and countless trivial things about growing up, the events were sealed in their memories.


    Ji Mingrui had no clue that his good friend was the survivor of that case, asking: ¡°Did something happen with the case?¡±


    ¡°The case was very strange,¡± Wu Zhibin fell silent for two seconds, then revealed, ¡°No one knows thus far how the person kidnapped these children, what happened to those children during the kidnapping, and why only two children survived in the end. And regarding all these unsolved things, the higher-up didn¡¯t let people continue to investigate, so the case was closed like this.¡±


    ¡°The strangest thing is what the culprit said at the trial; he said ¡®you can¡¯t kill or catch me.¡¯ The day he was executed, he died smiling.¡±


    ¡°Because that sentence at the trial was heard, it aroused a lot of public opinion. Some people questioned whether the police had arrested the wrong person, and there were some people who suspected there were more than one culprit¡­¡­ But no more victims appeared half a year later, the public opinion gradually subsided. Up till now, ten years have passed, and there is still a small group of people who believe that the real culprit has not been caught.¡±


    The previous information about the case was familiar to the general public, having been what Ji Mingrui and the others personally experienced when they were students, but it was, in fact, the first time they heard the ¡°internal¡± information that followed.


    Ji Mingrui seemed to envision that strange scene with those words.


    ¡ª ¡°You can¡¯t kill or catch me.¡±


    Chi Qing had a dream in the car.


    He was sitting at the trial in the dream. The man¡¯s voice was low and hoarse, causing infinite reverie upon uttering a terrifying sentence. As soon as the words were spoken, everyone was shocked, an outburst of violent discussions erupting around him.


    The scene changed suddenly, changing into the hospital room.


    He awoke in the hospital room, opening his eyes with a splitting headache.


    The whole world was filled with strange voices. He watched the surrounding medical staff rushing around in and outside of the room. The nurses approached him, opening and closing their mouths. Everyone was talking, but the voices that he heard didn¡¯t seem to come from reality.


    He could make out the nurse saying, ¡°You¡¯re awake? How do you feel?¡±


    However the only sound that appeared in his ears was ringing; accompanying the continuous ringing, there was a distorted voice saying: [The old man in the ward just now was really annoying, ringing the bell eight hundred times a night, annoying me to death.]


    Doctor: ¡°Can you hear me talking? Can you hear me?¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t know what the doctor was saying, he could only hear one thing: [Don¡¯t let there be a condition following a previous disease¡­¡­ Dr. Wu should do this himself, what if I¡¯m blamed for this, I can¡¯t explain it clearly.]


    [¡­¡­]


    Countless distorted voices continuously poured into his ears.


    Finally, the doctor wrote on paper: You have symptoms of temporary deafness, but tit should be temporary. Don¡¯t worry. You said before that you heard a weird sound, it might be an auditory hallucination. You should theoretically not hear any sound right now.


    During the three months when he was deaf, Chi Qing could read the thoughts of others without relying on touch¡ª as long as they were within a certain range, as long as that person was opening their mouth to speak at the moment, he would be able to hear it.


    At first, he wasn¡¯t sure if it was really someone else¡¯s thoughts or his own imagination.


    In the world narrated by the distorted voice, happiness could be fake, sadness could be fake, even love could be fake.


    Three months later, the hearing loss disappeared.


    The distorted voice also disappeared with it. Chi Qing thought that his illness was all but cured, until he accidentally touched the nurse¡¯s hand the day he was discharged.


    [I¡¯m so busy to the point that I didn¡¯t even have time to eat, that old man rang the bell again¡­¡­]


    Chi Qing saw himself talking to the nurse in the dream.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he heard himself say, ¡°Are you free right now, I¡¯ll treat you to lunch.¡±


    The nurse smiled: ¡°I really haven¡¯t eaten yet, thank you, but I still have work, I have to go take a look at the room next door.¡±


    Chi Qing dreamt this intermittently.


    Overwhelming voices, secrets in the heart, unspeakable desires, the truth hidden under the surface. He told himself, he has to wake up.


    Not long after this thought appeared, Chi Qing felt something delicate touch his face.


    Chi Qing was woken up by this; when he opened his eyes, he could see Xie Lin¡¯s impeccable face even if it was enlarged. The car was dark, with only half of the man¡¯s face illuminated by the faint street lights outside and the light projected by the electronic display inside the car.


    Xie Lin stood outside the car door, leaned over, extremely close to him: ¡°Just about to call you.¡±


    Only then did Chi Qing realize what had fallen on his face just now was Xie Lin¡¯s hair hanging down.


    ¡°Dear passenger,¡± Xie Lin smiled, his nose bridge very high, his eyelashes unfairly long, and the voices from Chi Qing¡¯s dream faded away, ¡°we¡¯ve arrived.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    At this rate I might be able to make a time loop


    This way I can go back to the day when I was able to ensure ten and contend eight¡­¡­

 CH 17

    Chi Qing rarely dreamt of the past.


    He was stunned for a moment, immediately forgetting that he and Xie Lin were too close together; since the dream was suddenly interrupted, his mysophobia didn¡¯t flare up immediately. He got out of the car, saying ¡°thank you¡± to Xie Lin for the second time.


    Xie Lin: ¡°Really want to thank me? Saying thank you is quite useless.¡±


    Chi Qing instinctively felt that the next few words might not be anything good.


    Sure enough, Xie Lin readily accepted his feelings and took out his phone, clicking on a small WeChat program: ¡°Give me your WeChat, I¡¯ll add you, consider adding me as a friend as thanking me.¡±


    Even if Xie Lin was taking the initiative to ask someone for their number, it still didn¡¯t seem like he was striking up a conversation with someone on the side of the street. The main reason being that he had the appearance of someone being approached.


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m taking the initiative to ask someone for their number,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°It¡¯ll be too embarrassing if I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    The electronic door made a faint sound: ¡°Drip.¡±


    Chi Qing opened the door when he got home, the light at the entrance not turned on. He leaned against the door, lowering his head to look at the small red dot on the phone screen.


    [You1 have a new notice]


    [Accept friend request? Accept OR Decline.]


    There weren¡¯t many active friends on Chi Qing¡¯s WeChat.


    People like him, with a face that offends people easily without saying anything, offend people even more easily when speaking. Most of the people who knew him when he was studying acting didn¡¯t care to chat with him. After that incident, everyone¡¯s evaluation of him had gradually changed from someone else¡¯s child to ¡®looks pretty, but it¡¯s just that his personality seems a bit gloomy.¡¯


    He actually doesn¡¯t like to chat much, the only one chatting usually being Ji Mingrui.


    Ji Mingrui had been full of a sense of justice since he was in junior high school, the specific phrase being that he likes to look for trouble. He always felt that he had an obligation to take care of the gloomy and taciturn person in the desk behind him.


    Through years of incessant efforts, with amazing perseverance, he managed to just barely change from ¡°an ordinary classmate whose name he doesn¡¯t remember¡± to ¡°a classmate with a name¡± in Chi Qing¡¯s eyes when he graduated from high school.


    Chi Qing pushed aside the uncomfortable feeling, pressing accept.


    Xie Lin was likely still driving, so there was nothing for the time being.


    He thought about it, then sent one thing in advance: Don¡¯t send me messages if there¡¯s nothing.


    After Chi Qing sent that, he felt that the message didn¡¯t fully convey his thoughts, so he added another message: Don¡¯t even if there¡¯s anything.


    When he exited the chat, Ji Mingrui coincidentally sent a few messages.


    ¨C Have you gotten home yet?


    ¨C I just heard an awesome old case, it¡¯ll scare you to death when said, it¡¯s a shadow of my childhood.


    Ji Mingrui thought about it as it came out, the topics coming up one after another, and he started a new topic every few minutes before he got a reply.


    ¨C I¡¯m off tomorrow, everyone is ready for team building. Jiang Yu that brat has never been to a bar at his age, if you have nothing to do then wanna come with?


    Ji Mingrui then sent another message.


    ¨C Ah talking about bars, I suddenly thought of something, ever since I met you¡­¡­ it seems I¡¯ve never seen you drink.


    The room was as dark as usual, Chi Qing turned on the TV in advance, the only light in the living room being the TV, the pair of fallen black gloves placed on the coffee table.


    Chi Qing sat on the sofa drinking from a glass of water in his hands after washing up, looking at the pair of black gloves, and thought of the events after that he hadn¡¯t dreamt of just now.


    During those three months in the hospital, he also couldn¡¯t believe in this supernatural ability.


    When the symptoms of deafness disappeared, he thought he was cured.


    All of this could have really just been an auditory hallucination, so all the swarming voices weren¡¯t real. He¡¯d finally returned to the real world.


    However on the day he was discharged, he found that the ability to read minds did not disappear with the symptoms of deafness. It was just that unlike the three months of deafness, it was no longer a condition that was triggered within a certain range, but there was an additional condition¡ª he had to touch the other party with his hand.


    But this condition wasn¡¯t completely absolute, there was one thing that could break this shackle.


    [¡­¡­it seems I¡¯ve never seen you drink.]


    Chi Qing¡¯s gaze fell on a certain word in the chat.


    If he drank, the mind reading would get out of control.


    To be precise, he would return to the state when he was deaf, when he could hear the voices within a certain range. Within this certain range, as long as the other party was talking at the present moment, he would be able to hear it.


    As if the entire world was whispering strangely into his ears.


    ¨C


    ¡°Are the lives of you model students so boring?¡± The next day, Ji Mingrui sat in the dimly lit bar, pushing the drink that the bartender just mixed towards Jiang Yu, ¡°You can¡¯t have also not drank before.¡±


    Jiang Yu took it, speaking somewhat uncomfortably: ¡°Does beer count, I¡¯ve drank my dad¡¯s cold beer a couple of times during meals in the summer.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Ji Mingrui didn¡¯t know what to say about him: ¡°Look at Lan-jie next to you, she¡¯s even more daring than you, not even blinking when she drinks whiskey.¡±


    Su Xiaolan had a short, neat haircut that reached her ears, dressed smartly despite taking off the police uniform. Those who didn¡¯t know would think she was here for some plainclothes missions, which didn¡¯t match her gentle looks at all.


    Jiang Yu: ¡°Xiaolan-jie, why don¡¯t you wear a skirt, do you not like it.¡±


    Su Xiaolan glanced at him, saying the harshest words with a gentle voice: ¡°Inconvenient, skirts affect the speed of my kicks.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°We¡¯re here to relax.¡±


    Su Xiaolan: ¡°What if something suddenly happens in the bar and the civilians need us?¡±


    Ji Mingrui cupped his fist with his hand: ¡°That¡¯s reasonable, it¡¯s me who didn¡¯t think carefully.¡±


    A case that was neither big nor small was over. The three members of the team of newcomers felt as if they had a taste of reality after joining the force. The occupational disease also emerged at this historic moment, unable to relax. They habitually studied the bar¡¯s facilities, to see whether there are any violations, whether the qualifications are sufficient, whether there is a shortage of business licenses or not, and whether there are private transactions or illegal industrial chains in the store.


    The bartender in front of them was stunned by the three of them.


    But no matter how they looked to him, the most eye-catching person in the entire bar was an acquaintance.


    The man was sitting alone on the sofa in the seating area, sitting lazily, shirt cuffs rolled up, the fingers resting on his knees occasionally tapping along with the music. There was no one sitting next to him, but the people around him who leaned over either intentionally or unintentionally weren¡¯t few.


    ¡°Can I¡­¡­ sit here?¡± Finally there was someone who couldn¡¯t hold back and asked.


    ¡°My apologies,¡± Xie Lin wasn¡¯t as easy to talk to as he usually was, although his eyes still held a smile: ¡°The seat is taken.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very good looking,¡± Xie Lin lifted his finger, signaling for the waiter next to him to give her the wine he just brought over, ¡°¡­¡­Although the seat is taken, I¡¯m not sure if I can treat you to a glass of wine, wishing you a good time tonight.¡±


    Ji Mingrui had never witnessed this kind of brave advancement, dumbfounded by the sight.


    ¡°¡­¡­Everyone in this entire venue has passed by.¡±


    Jiang Yu: ¡°My idol, being attractive is not very common.¡±


    As a woman, Su Xiaolan couldn¡¯t not admit this: ¡°But he didn¡¯t accept a single one, not fitting his looks.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Probably has an appointment.¡±


    Right as Ji Mingrui finished speaking, he saw another eye-catching person walking down from the upstairs box to the sofa area. This person was mainly eye-catching because he looked very flamboyant, a typical trendy rich second generation, a few strands of yellow dyed hair. He looked around anxiously, finally walking towards Xie Lin.


    ¡°Lin-ge!¡±


    Yellow hair sat down, took a sip of wine, slapped his thigh as he spoke: ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to seeing you.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Speak, what is it.¡±


    Yellow hair¡¯s full name is Wu Zhi, a well-known playboy in Huanan City. He lives up to his name, becoming an aspiring young man with no other ideals in his heart besides picking up girls in the end. It¡¯s just that although this person¡¯s entire body was covered in gold, his emotional intelligence is really not high, so he has repeatedly fought and repeatedly failed in the battle of picking up girls.


    The Xie family was also in the business industry in the early years, later producing someone on the level of captain of the Criminal Police Corps like Xie Feng, so they still had a good relationship with the children of these aristocratic families.


    Before Wu Zhi said anything, he respectfully picked up a glass of wine, toasted while skillfully saying a single: ¡°Dad!¡±


    Xie Lin tilted his head and smiled, took the wine, leaning against the back of the sofa as he looked at him: ¡°I don¡¯t have a son as stupid as you, don¡¯t mess around, speak if there¡¯s something to say.¡±


    Wu Zhi: ¡°It¡¯s just, there¡¯s a lady who caught my interest recently, I don¡¯t know what to say in passing, give me some advice?¡±


    Xie Lin glanced askance at him: ¡°The amount of ladies who catch your interest in a month is a bit much.¡±


    Wu Zhi protested: ¡°But every time I¡¯m interested, it¡¯s sincere!¡±


    Wu Zhi¡¯s policy was like this: although he himself cannot.


    But he can seek advice from those who can.


    The facts proved that Xie Lin is indeed his parent reincarnated. It didn¡¯t mean that Xie Lin¡¯s methods were excellent; it¡¯s just that he is very capable of understanding the other party¡¯s mind. This ability convinced Wu Zhi.


    Xie Lin pinched the wine glass with his fingers, the ambiguous lights in the bar illuminating him: ¡°Which one.¡±


    Wu Zhi: ¡°The one on the floor, both gentle and sassy, as soon as she entered the bar today, she attacked my heart.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Your ¡®recent¡¯ really is recent.¡±


    Wu Zhi: ¡°It¡¯s just the last ten minutes, love is something that comes suddenly.¡±


    Xie Lin looked in the direction that he was pointing at, paused in shock, then said: ¡°I¡¯m afraid you have to switch.¡±


    Wu Zhi: ¡°?¡±


    ¡°Officer Su,¡± Xie Lin walked over with wine in hand, greeting Su Xiaolan and the others, ¡°Off duty today?¡±


    Wu Zhi was sluggish: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Officer?


    Su Xiaolan didn¡¯t know what had happened; she clinked glasses with Xie Lin: ¡°I came here for a drink or two on this rare day off, didn¡¯t expect to meet you here. I haven¡¯t gotten the chance to thank you properly for what happened last time.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°I didn¡¯t do much, if you¡¯re giving your thanks, isn¡¯t there someone missing.¡±


    Su Xiaolan realized that he was talking about Chi Qing.


    Ji Mingrui explained from the side: ¡°I asked, he¡¯s unwilling to come out, nothing will make him willing. I¡¯ll send a long paragraph, and he¡¯ll reply to me with three words and a punctuation mark.¡±


    Xie Lin could roughly guess which three words those were.


    Xie Lin: ¡°Noisy, comma, many people.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°???¡±


    Did this person take a peek at their chat.


    Xie Lin placed the wine glass on the bar, took out his phone, searching for a newly added person: ¡°I¡¯ll try asking him out.¡±


    Xie Lin opened the chat with Chi Qing, turning a blind eye to the two ¡°greetings¡± sent by Chi Qing.


    ¨C I drank too much.


    ¨C If no one picks me up, I might be thrown on the streets.


    Wu Zhi, who had ended his brief ten-minute crush, caught a glimpse, praised ¡°master¡± internally, and planned to write down these two sentences as study material.


    However he never imagined that the level of recklessness of the person opposite him was almost equal to that of Lin-ge.


    Chi Qing: Since you can still type, you can also take a taxi home by yourself.


    Xie Lin: ¡­¡­


    1 The formal ¡°you¡±

 CH 18

    Xie Lin did not give up.


    ¨C So heartless?


    ¨C Messaging you and hailing a taxi aren¡¯t the same.


    Wu Zhi¡¯s curiosity was completely peaked, unable to stop himself from continuously peeking at his Lin-ge¡¯s phone screen.


    The stubborn and boring person replied: Not the same.


    ¨C A taxi would take you home, but I would let you stay on the streets overnight.


    Wu Zhi: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    How inhumane.


    He¡¯d followed his Lin-ge for so many years; despite the fact that he had never been seductive himself, he had helped him succeed with ideas from afar many times, yet there was also a day he failed.


    Wu Zhi whispered internally, realizing that his Lin-ge was surprisingly not angry, continuing to send messages to the other person at the side of the bar, seemingly happy.


    However before the series of messages could be typed and sent, the other side acted quicker. Upon seeing the ¡°typing¡± displayed on the top, he didn¡¯t bother and directly sent two messages.


    ¨C Hurry up and scram to find a good spot on the streets.


    ¨C Send another message to get blocked.


    Wu Zhi was in awe.


    Ji Mingrui comforted: ¡°It¡¯s okay, being unable to ask this uncle surnamed Chi out is normal. Unless it rains suddenly, making his mood tonight better, then we can talk about it.¡±


    On the other side, the uncle surnamed Chi placed his phone aside after sending the message, ready to lie down and sleep.


    But his eyes hadn¡¯t closed for more than ten minutes, right when he was about to fall asleep, his phone started vibrating again.


    After he warned about ¡°sending another message to get blocked,¡± Xie Lin really didn¡¯t send any messages, directly sending him a voice call.


    [Your good friend ¡®Xie Lin¡¯ invites you to a voice chat.]


    Chi Qing: ¡°¡­¡­¡± How endless.


    Chi Qing picked up the call: ¡°You better¡­¡­¡± You better have something.


    A ¡°bang¡± came from the other side of the phone, followed by the sound of Xie Lin¡¯s voice speeding up, also sounding rather helpless: ¡°Those few words before were to tease you, this time there really is something.¡±


    Sometimes life is just this rapidly changing.


    But in just ten minutes, an accident occurred in the bar, the originally orderly environment becoming a mess within seconds. The ¡°bang¡± just now was the sound of a beer bottle breaking.


    The bartender was just mixing drinks. A woman rushed in without regard for the security guards. She looked around twice, then put her bag down, picked up a bottle on the bar, and smashed it on the bartender¡¯s head: ¡°You scumbag!¡±


    The smash caused the music in the bar to stop.


    Some people looked over at them: ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    As a policeman for the people, Ji Mingrui¡¯s body reacted faster than his brain, striding across the seats and rushing over right before the woman was about to hit him a second time: ¡°What are you doing! Put the bottle down!¡±


    In the end the bottle was put down, but the beer was also spilled all over Ji Mingrui.


    After Xie Lin finished summarizing the situation, he added: ¡°He wants you to help buy some clothes for him to wear.¡±


    Wu Zhi: ¡°Didn¡¯t he say bringing some clothes over is enough? Why even buy it?¡±


    Xie Lin glanced at him, motioning for him to shut up: ¡°The address was sent to you, it¡¯s not far. It¡¯s quite easy to get here, I wouldn¡¯t have called you if it were far away.¡±


    The person that Chi Qing wanted to kill changed to Ji Mingrui.


    After a while, he raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and said: ¡°Let him wait.¡±


    The bar was indeed not far away, the only place that was busier at night was in the old town. Without Xie Lin even saying it, Chi Qing would not have given the clothes that he¡¯s worn to Ji Mingrui. For those with mysophobia, no one is allowed to touch their clothes, not even their best friend.


    By the time Chi Qing entered the bar wearing black gloves and carrying a bag, the farce was over.


    The small group of newcomers¡¯ team building plan had failed completely, they were currently surrounding a woman at the bar while mediating: ¡°We¡¯re police, don¡¯t worry, you can tell us if there¡¯s anything, don¡¯t get into fights. We¡¯re a civilized society, we have to be civilized.¡±


    The woman was very young, in her early twenties, stylish and pretty.


    Wearing a very delicate bracelet on her wrist, the star-shaped pendant swinging nonstop as she spoke, showing how she was still trying to suppress her emotions: ¡°For him, I gave up my job in my hometown, specially coming all the way here from Xiacheng¡­¡­ but him, he had been with my best friend behind my back.¡±


    The bartender averted his eyes.


    After the woman got extremely worked up, she calmed down, loosening her tightly clenched fists: ¡°It¡¯s also me who is stupid. I should have figured it out earlier. He refused to let me live with him before I came, saying some stuff like even if two people are dating, they need their own space. I think they just wanted me to give them room to fool around.¡±


    Ji Mingrui and the others proficiently did their mediation.


    Su Xiaolan, as a woman, had the most to say: ¡°It¡¯s not hard to find a man with two legs, there are a lot of men with two legs.¡±1


    Woman: ¡°But I really liked him.¡±


    Su Xiaolan: ¡°I understand you, it¡¯s okay, miss, your life is still very long, so just treat this relationship as a short-lived scenic spot, just remembering the beauty of your love in the beginning is enough. Perhaps when you get out of the car, you guys aren¡¯t very happy, but you can¡¯t let the ending affect the process.¡±


    Su Xiaolan knew that his words should not be too harsh at this time, slowing her voice down as she spoke: ¡°When he loved you in the beginning, it must have been real, but the him now is not the same as the him before.¡±


    The woman couldn¡¯t stop the tears from falling from her eyes.


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t say much; he listened quietly, handing the woman a tissue at the right time: ¡°Don¡¯t cry.¡± His knuckles were bent slightly, a hint of unintentional tenderness shown when he handed the tissues, ¡°You¡¯re such a pretty woman, tears don¡¯t suit you, neither does that person.¡±


    Xie Lin¡¯s consolation was very effective, but it was easy to make people overthink, always feeling as if there should be this additional sentence due to the subtext: ¡°He doesn¡¯t suit you, what do you think of me, why don¡¯t you come home with me.¡±


    But he withdrew his hand after speaking, retreating to a safe distance, then raised his eyes to see a certain no nonsense person.


    Chi Qing held the bag containing the clothes: ¡°Your clothes, next time you just run naked.¡±


    Ji Mingrui¡¯s body was sticky, having been waiting for his clothes for a long time, so he was ready to go to the bathroom as soon as he took the bag: ¡°Thank you brother, you¡¯ve worked hard to come here, I¡¯ll go change clothes, you can sit for a while? Help comfort this woman in the meantime.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Why should I help.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°¡­¡­You¡¯re already here.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t pay even the littlest bit of attention to the crying woman, unable to empathize with her at the moment.


    After Ji Mingrui left, Xie Lin took advantage of the situation and sat beside Chi Qing: ¡°You¡¯re here, what do you want to drink?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Water.¡±


    Chi Qing then added another sentence: ¡°Mineral water or lemonade are fine.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°You come to a bar to only drink water?¡±


    Chi Qing was too lazy to explain why he doesn¡¯t drink, just saying: ¡°Allergic to alcohol.¡±


    ¡°Mysophobic, allergic to people, also allergic to alcohol,¡± Xie Lin asked the waiter to prepare a glass of lemonade for him, ¡°You¡¯re quite difficult to serve.¡±


    Wu Zhi tapped Xie Lin¡¯s shoulder, asking quietly: ¡°Is this the stubborn one from just now?¡±


    Wu Zhi had been on the sidelines for a long time amidst the crowd of onlookers, finally seeing the actual person.


    He had seen it ever since Chi Qing walked it. Black gloves, beautiful but rather worn, still rather eye-catching even in the dark crowd of people in the bar.


    The woman cried and cried, her eyes eventually also drifting toward Chi Qing.


    Chi Qing endured it for a bit, his conscience deciding to help his friend once.


    He took the glass of water handed over by the waiter, black gloves covering up the glass, and coldly said one word: ¡°Congratulations.¡±


    Woman: ¡°?¡±


    ¡°Breaking now isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. If you broke up after getting married,¡± Chi Qing paused, then said, ¡°Then everyone will be troubled.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Although the words were the truth, they¡¯re cold and harsh but reasonable.


    But few women wanted to hear those words when breaking up, they wanted to be comforted more.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t understand at all: ¡°Why is she crying again.¡±


    Su Xiaolan didn¡¯t know what to say; she wanted to ask, how did you manage to make the person I painstakingly managed to coax cry again within seconds.


    Xie Lin pressed a hand to his forehead: ¡°¡­¡­Although what you said was very logical, she can¡¯t digest it at the moment, forget it, you should just drink water.¡±


    Chi Qing also didn¡¯t care; in essence, this woman was heartbroken and had nothing to do with him. Plus he didn¡¯t understand why people would be heartbroken, or what kind of feeling it was.


    So he lowered his head and took a sip of water.


    Xie Lin watched him: ¡°When you said you were going to block me if I sent another message, were you serious.¡±


    Chi Qing also glanced at him: ¡°If you can¡¯t wait, now is a good time.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    After making such a mess, the bartender immediately left work; he didn¡¯t dare to confront the woman at all, so he went to the bathroom, hurriedly slipping away through the back door.


    Chi Qing¡¯s lemonade was drunk halfway, the glass placed casually on the bar; Ji Mingrui coincidentally just changed his clothes and came back, dumbfounded: ¡°How come she¡¯s crying even more?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave first if there¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Ji Mingrui hurriedly said: ¡°Wait a bit, we¡¯re almost done too, let¡¯s go together.¡± He then said, ¡°Xiao Lan, you should send the woman back.¡±


    Chi Qing reached for his original glass of water as he waited. Xie Lin also coincidentally reached out to take a glass. With this one move, he almost touched Xie Lin¡¯s hands¡ª even with gloves on, Chi Qing was extremely cautious. He quickly reacted, stopping in his movements.


    ¡°So careful even when wearing gloves,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°¡­¡­Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t touch you.¡±


    Xie Lin spoke while holding a glass.


    However, as soon as he placed the glass in front of his lips, he paused.


    Before that one sip could be swallowed completely, the liquid in the glass staining his lips, he tasted a bit of lemonade. Very light. It was almost like pure water, carrying a faint lemon flavor.


    The glasses in the bar all looked pretty similar. Depending on the drink, they would be poured in different glasses.


    His and Chi Qing¡¯s glasses were both the same; both were rectangular straight cups.


    Xie Lin¡¯s glass of alcohol was colorless, and for decoration, there were also a few slices of lemon in the glass.


    Xie Lin noticed the cloth in the bartender¡¯s hand, realizing that when the bartender wiped the bartop just now, he might have shifted the position of the cups.


    Right as he wanted to say something, he realized that Chi Qing had already taken a sip.


    1 A sexual innuendo of sorts; usually it¡¯s said that men have three legs, implying that their third leg is a certain organ between their actual legs, and by saying that men have two legs, the implication is that their third leg is useless¨C tldr: SXL is trying to comfort the woman by saying he¡¯s useless in bed

 CH 19

    Bars always get livelier as it gets later; the singer dressed in a ripped shirt on the stage sang the chorus of the song hoarsely. As soon as Chi Qing took that sip, his fingers on the glass froze. The taste of alcohol spread through his mouth bit by bit.


    The drink Xie Lin ordered was light in color, but not low in alcohol content, leaving a burning sensation in the throat.


    Chi Qing felt as if not only was his throat burning, but his hearing suddenly sharpened as well; the alcohol spread through his limbs, melting even his brain.


    Actually, under normal lighting, it¡¯s possible to see that the contents of the two glasses are different; after all, regardless of how light alcohol is in color, it would never be as clear as pure water. However, these subtle differences couldn¡¯t be seen under the constantly changing lights in the bar.


    Upon seeing their reactions, the waiter realized something, explaining: ¡°My apologies, I wasn¡¯t paying too much attention when I cleaned the table just now, switching the placements¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t hear those words at all; he didn¡¯t even bother with the fact that he drank from the same glass as Xie Lin, the sound in his ears entirely different.


    [Wanna get off work quickly, I¡¯ve been working for two weeks straight. My girlfriend also accused me of not being caring enough, how could I have time. She even asked me yesterday if I¡¯ve ever thought about getting married, but right now I don¡¯t have money or a house¡­¡­ and there are those seven paternal aunts and eight maternal aunts¡­¡­]


    The little waiter worked to the point of boredom, thinking about trivial things every once in a while.


    It wasn¡¯t only this little waiter, but the countless voices of the people within the bar attacked him as soon as he took a sip of a drink.


    Not far from the bar, a middle-aged man was seated, the woman next to the man was rather young, and well-dressed. The two seemed to be talking and laughing, as if there was no difference.


    However, among the countless voices, there was a distorted middle-aged man¡¯s voice saying: [¡­¡­I lied to her that I would divorce my wife, how could that be possible; she wants money and I want her youth, a relationship with a clearly marked price, what kind of love is that.]


    [¡­¡­]


    There were too many voices like that, reality intertwined with the other ¡°truth¡± buried within the heart.


    The two types of voices mixed together, giving him a headache.


    When drinking, the expression on everyone¡¯s faces turn deceptive under the lights. Laughter and sadness are both hidden behind an indistinct filter, leaving only countless voices whispering.


    The last voice that was very close to him sounded clearly.


    ¡°Be more attentive when working,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°How can something like a glass be misplaced, who will take care of it if someone can¡¯t drink?¡±


    When faced with the customer who had been smiling all this time, the waiter found it difficult to speak.


    He put away the cloth in his hand, wiping it helplessly on the apron: ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡­ Let me pour you two new glasses.¡±


    Xie Lin glanced past him: ¡°No need.¡±


    Xie Lin went to look at the person on the side who was allergic to alcohol. It was too noisy in the bar; he had to get as close to the other party¡¯s ear as possible to communicate. Because of how close he was, his voice overwhelmed the other voices for a moment.


    Chi Qing heard him ask: ¡°How much did you drink, the alcohol content isn¡¯t low; I didn¡¯t realize just now, so I didn¡¯t have time to stop you.¡±


    Xie Lin took advantage of the light occasionally sweeping over, leaning closer to see how his allergies were and whether or not there was a rash on his neck. In the end, his eyes fell on Chi Qing¡¯s neck, realizing that he was wearing the sweater from the day the two of them met in the clinic for the first time today, half of his collarbone could be faintly seen.


    Even in a chaotic place like this, it could be seen that he was several shades paler than others, his collarbone sunken, casting a small shadow.


    Xie Lin suddenly averted his eyes, not looking any more.


    He found that although Chi Qing didn¡¯t have any rashes, there seemed to be something strange about him. This strangeness stemmed from the fact that the person who should have told him not to get so close initially did not speak.


    Chi Qing only lowered his eyes, put the glass back, and didn¡¯t respond to him.


    Distorted voices continued to filter in through the surroundings.


    Chi Qing couldn¡¯t respond.


    The woman who just had her heart broken stopped crying, chatting with Su Xiaolan, and a distorted voice similar to the woman¡¯s said:


    [Fuck it, laoniang1 will find someone better than him in the future!]


    [¡­¡­]


    ¡°Where does it feel uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Talk,¡± Xie Lin asked again, ¡°Where does it feel uncomfortable.¡±


    Noisy.


    Too noisy.


    Chi Qing thought.


    The first time he touched alcohol was the first time he filmed a movie.


    At the dinner party, the producer didn¡¯t order any soft drinks, instead pouring red wine for the entire table of people. Chi Qing, as a supporting villain with only two or three scenes, was also invited.


    After drinking that glass of red wine, he also returned to the state when he was deaf just like now.


    At the time, that state lasted for over half a month; he tried it again afterwards, finding that alcohol really did affect it.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t answer; Xie Lin turned his head to ask Ji Mingrui who was busy helping the lovelorn woman up at the side: ¡°What are the usual symptoms of his allergies?¡±


    Ji Mingrui was shocked: ¡°He drank?¡±


    Ji Mingrui carefully searched for information about Chi Qing and wine in his brain: ¡°He doesn¡¯t drink alcohol; As for allergies, I¡¯m also not too familiar. But he seems to have said before that after drinking¡­¡­ he feels that it¡¯s very noisy.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Noisy?¡±


    Ji Mingrui also didn¡¯t quite understand what the word ¡°noisy¡± meant: ¡°Maybe it¡¯s tinnitus? Some people tend to hear ringing in their head after drinking.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°How long until you¡¯re done.¡±


    Ji Mingrui was about to say ¡®I¡¯ll be done soon.¡¯


    However, Xie Lin didn¡¯t intend to give him any room to answer when saying that; he grabbed the coat on the side, then said: ¡°Seems like you¡¯re pretty busy, I¡¯ll take care of him. After all it was my drink he drank, so I¡¯ll send him back.¡±


    There were less people outside of the bar, and less people were hanging out on the streets at this time.


    However, where there are roads, there are cars, and where there are cars, there are people. If he immediately went to a place where there would be no one within a ten li radius, then those voices in his ears could be stopped.


    Xie Lin took care of the ¡°patient¡± who was allergic to alcohol all the way into the car; Although the patient¡¯s current symptom was just an unwillingness to talk to people, seeming less like an allergy to alcohol, and more like an allergy to people, he still asked the driver to slow down.


    He had also drank alcohol tonight, unable to drive.


    It was rare for the two of them to sit in the back seat together; Xie Lin sent a message to Wu Zhi, letting him know he was leaving first, and Wu Zhi replied: Okayyy, let¡¯s meet up another day, I have a feeling that my love will return soon.


    Xie Lin turned off the phone, asking Chi Qing: ¡°Is it still noisy.¡±


    Chi Qing¡¯s eyes were half closed: ¡°A little.¡±


    If the substitute driver hadn¡¯t been thinking about how to not follow the proper route while driving, then he would be a bit purer right now.


    Substitute driver: ¡°Please fasten your seat belts, I will most definitely send you home as fast as possible.¡±


    [I¡¯ll stop following the route and turn onto Yan¡¯an Road later.]


    [If I can not go on the highway then I won¡¯t go on the highway; if I¡¯m found out, I¡¯ll say I misread, this is my first time driving along this road so I¡¯m not very familiar with it.]


    [¡­¡­]


    [It¡¯s not easy to earn money, I¡¯m also fighting for my life.]


    Xie Lin was already used to getting shunned, so used to it that it became natural, and besides him and the driver speaking in the car, there were practically no other sounds, so he took the initiative to speak: ¡°Your next sentence should be telling me to shut up.¡±


    But he guessed wrong this time; among all the voices, his voice was considered pleasing to the ear.


    ¡­¡­Because he couldn¡¯t hear the distorted voice in Xie Lin¡¯s heart.


    Everyone else¡¯s voices had two types, mixing together and giving him a headache, and only when he speaks is it always clear.


    Chi Qing still said: ¡°As long as you know.¡±


    Driver: ¡°It¡¯s also my first time driving along this road¡­¡­¡±


    [I made a mistake, Yan¡¯an Road isn¡¯t far enough, there are roads further away, how come I didn¡¯t find out earlier¡­¡­]


    Chi Qing couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, his fingers curling inward in black gloves, half of his body hidden in the shadows, and coldly said: ¡°Why don¡¯t you circle Hunan City from south to north, so you can drive until it¡¯s light out.¡±


    [¡­¡­]


    The substitute driver almost stepped on the brakes instead of the accelerator when he heard this, losing his inner train of thought.


    Xie Lin: ¡°You¡¯re quite familiar with this area.¡±


    Chi Qing felt Xie Lin looking at him: ¡°The navigator changed routes three times, I¡¯m also not blind.¡±


    Not even a few minutes after Chi Qing¡¯s peace and quiet, because the driver cleverly calculated the traffic jam time into the detour, he purposefully chose a road that had traffic all year round; their car, without any accidents, was also stuck on the road.


    There were more and more cars around.


    Several sections of the road were filled with cars, the sound of car horns endless.


    Chi Qing wanted to applaud this substitute driver.


    Ever since they left the bar, Chi Qing has heard many voices, far exceeding his limit; he opened his eyes and looked at Xie Lin sitting by his side.


    Taking his physical condition into consideration, Xie Lin was very quiet this whole trip, not bothering him like he would before.


    Xie Lin¡¯s hand was placed on the side; Chi Qing suddenly recalled the peace and quiet from the last two times he accidentally touched Xie Lin¡¯s finger.


    If he touched his hand in this kind of situation, will it be the same as before?


    ¡­¡­


    Chi Qing suspected that Xie Lin was not only a lunatic, but also a sound blocker.


    He really wanted to test this theory, but was then faced with another dilemma: having to choose between ¡°a mysophobia fit¡± or ¡°be irritated to death by the noise.¡±


    Furthermore, these two options were hard to compare.


    In the end, Chi Qing mysteriously pulled off half of the glove.


    The second they touched, all the sounds faded away, as if the distorted voice never existed in the first place, leaving only the car horns and the scattered sound of laughter by his ears.


    ¡°Poking me again,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°Or is it that you like to poke people when you get drunk?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Although for those with mysophobia, things like touching other people are hard to accept no matter how many times it¡¯s done, but making excuses can be done rather familiarly.


    Chi Qing: ¡°There was something on your finger.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Where?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Saw wrong.¡±


    In the end, Chi Qing got out of the car after Xie Lin told him to ¡°contact me if there¡¯s anything.¡± He laid awake in the middle of the night and waited until almost everyone in the building was asleep to finally fall asleep; even so, it was also difficult to sleep for exactly eight hours.


    Because the uncle and aunt downstairs got up at five o¡¯clock in the morning.


    The uncle and aunt started making noise early in the morning: [I was also a flower in the factory back then, I had to have been blind to marry such a terrible old man like you!]


    After coming back from going to the supermarket, the topic changed again.


    There was never a shortage of things to talk about in the supermarket; what happened there, what happened to someone¡¯s family, all can be heard in this large exchange center.


    So Chi Qing heard the aunt sigh in her heart very clearly: [Someone died in the community next door, a woman, at such a young age, oh. I¡¯ve met her before too; she just arrived here not long ago, hasn¡¯t even settled down, looking everywhere for a place to live.]


    The author has something to say:


    It¡¯s here it¡¯s here [in a hurry]


    1 The same as ¡°laozi¡± but for women

 CH 20

    On Ji Mingrui¡¯s first day of work this week, Wu Zhibin called him into the office along with Jiang Yu and Su Xiaolan.


    Wu Zhibin was oddly silent; he had just received the information from the other teams, slowly speaking after a while: ¡°Around four o¡¯clock last night, there was a murder in Yuanyuan Community.¡±


    When Ji Mingrui heard the word ¡°homicide,¡± his ears perked up, his body straightening up involuntarily. Su Xiaolan and Jiang Yu did the same.


    They were still newcomers at the moment, the cases that they took having nothing to do with ¡°homicide¡±; even if they were exposed to such cases, once it is determined to be a criminal case, it would be transferred to other teams. So, the fact that Wu Zhibin was able to call them over and say this, was something they didn¡¯t expect.


    ¡°The deceased was 23 years old, female, her full name Yang Zhenzhen; she came to Huanan for her boyfriend, living in Yangyuan for a month,¡± Wu Zhibin said, ¡°The landlord knocked on the door this morning, opened the door to find her lying in bed, already dead.¡±


    Wu Zhibin said this while turning the computer monitor towards them.


    On the screen was a photo of the scene, a very simple small rental apartment with one bedroom and one living room; the woman clearly decorated it with care after renting it, a newly bought dressing table, a plush carpet, even the curtains were newly replaced white lace screen window, tied with tassel ties, except now the screen window was covered in blood, with even a terrifying bloody handprint¨C she struggled a lot before dying.


    The scene on the bed was even more horrifying to look at; the cream colored bed sheets were covered with large bloodstains.The woman was completely naked, her face covered tightly by a pillow, making it impossible to see her features, only the seaweed-like hair scattered all over the bed.


    A woman, living alone, intruded upon and killed.


    Ji Mingrui reviewed the many decorations, furniture, and details in the photos one by one, summing up the characteristics of the case; when he finally saw a specific place, his pupils suddenly dilated.


    He saw the woman¡¯s slender wrist hanging on the edge of the bed, a familiar bracelet on her wrist, with a star pendant hanging down the back of her hand.


    Jiang Yu: ¡°How can it be her?¡±


    Su Xiaolan obviously also noticed the bracelet, her entire body freezing: ¡°Yesterday, yesterday I sent her to the lobby of her apartment¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°The autopsy report hasn¡¯t come out yet, but there are obvious signs of violation on the body; the deceased¡¯s head and abdomen both were fatally wounded. The preliminary estimate is that the time of death is no more than six hours ago. We are currently investigating the deceased¡¯s interpersonal relationships, seeing whether or not she had any conflicts with others before.¡±


    ¡°You guys should have already guessed why you were called here; after investigating, you guys met her at the bar last night.¡±


    Su Xiaolan was in a trance, forgetting to respond to what Wu Zhibin said.


    It was close to two o¡¯clock in the morning then; she and the woman hugged, and before the woman left, she said ¡°thank you, if it weren¡¯t for you guys being there today, I might have been even more embarrassing; you¡¯re right, how can it be hard to find men with two legs.¡± Su Xiaolan watched her push open the lobby door and walk in, then the elevator doors closed slowly.


    Who would have thought, after sending her home, only two hours later, she would be brutally murdered, dying in the room she carefully decorated.


    There was only a two hour difference between the two events.


    Su Xiaolan knew that it was meaningless to think this way, but she still couldn¡¯t help thinking: if she had waited a little longer yesterday night, left a little later, or even escorted her upstairs, would the outcome be different?


    Chi Qing stayed at home, the room very clearly empty, but still filled with voices.


    Within all the voices he had heard this day, half of them were talking about ¡°the woman who was killed in the community next door.¡±


    [No wonder why, it¡¯s really not safe for a woman to live on her own outside.]


    There were even some people who outwardly said ¡°how pitiful, a good woman¡¯s family disappeared just like that, I met her last time, she was very lively,¡± but thinking in a secret corner of their heart: [That woman, it¡¯s a good thing a price hadn¡¯t been negotiated yet, and haven¡¯t rent the house out to her, who knows if she¡¯s wronged someone¡­¡­ If someone dies, I wouldn¡¯t be able to sell this apartment ever again in the future.]


    [¡­¡­]


    Not only that, but the model couple¡¯s family in the same building was going through disputes.


    Chi Qing was pouring hot water in the kitchen, having just picked up the glass, the water not yet poured in, when the omnipresent distorted voice suddenly said:


    [He drank too much yesterday, saying ¡°Do you think that Tongtong doesn¡¯t look like me¡± when he came back yesterday, what did he mean, did he discover something? What should I do if he wants to take Tongtong to do a paternity test?]


    The building that Chi Qing lived in currently, one elevator and four suites, had four households on one floor; the number of voices from upstairs and downstairs combined was no less than in a marketplace.


    This was only the first day.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t know how long he would survive in this kind of environment.


    Psychiatrist: ¡°Do you want to cancel this week¡¯s appointment?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The psychiatrist felt that something was not right when he heard the other party¡¯s voice on the phone; although Chi Qing spoke coldly before, he seemed unusually cold today, so he asked: ¡°Could I take the liberty to ask for the reason?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m busy,¡± Chi Qing pressed his ear, although it didn¡¯t help, ¡°¡­¡­it¡¯s inconvenient for me to go out.¡±


    The psychiatrist didn¡¯t know exactly what this something was, there have been consultations all the way until now, and he didn¡¯t quite understand much about this patient surnamed Chi.


    The psychiatrist asked: ¡°What about next week?¡±


    ¡°Not sure.¡±


    The psychiatrist reluctantly said: ¡°¡­¡­Alright, then let me know when you have time, we¡¯ll make an appointment then. If you experience any major emotional fluctuations during that time, you can always contact me, my advice to you is still to get in contact with more people.¡±


    The last thing Chi Qing wanted to get in contact with right now was people.


    After turning down all activities that required going outside, he began to look for houses on the internet.


    There were two reasons; one was that there were too many residents, very noisy, and the other was that the lease term of his current apartment was almost up.


    On the popular renting website ¡°Anjia,¡± there were many listings, but there weren¡¯t many listings that met Chi Qing¡¯s requirements. Chi Qing browsed for a while, got bored, clicking the consultation button at the side of the rental website instead, where the staff of Anjia contacted the customer directly.


    ¨C Hello, how can I help you?


    The profile picture of the customer service worker was wearing a blue shirt, with plain facial features, the corners of the mouth slightly raised, a not big but not small mole at the corner of the mouth, looking very reliable. His work number and name were displayed on the side: Anjia 11963085, Zhou Zhiyi.


    Chi Qing was very concise.


    ¨C Looking for a house.


    ¨C What requirements do you have? Such as location, room size, etcetera.


    Chi Qing¡¯s requirements were obviously different from everyone else¡¯s.


    ¨C Anywhere with less people is okay.


    ¨C ¡­¡­Ah?


    Chi Qing explained again:


    ¨C Less residents.


    The other party reacted quickly: So you like a quieter living environment, here are some places with one floors and two families that I recommend for you to take a look at. There are very few apartments at present with one floor per family, and the apartments are also too big¡­¡­ If you need, I can help you find more.


    The other party: What community do you live in currently? If you are more familiar with the environment near your current residential area, we can first check if there are any suitable places in its vicinity.


    Chi Qing: Nearby?


    The other party: Haimao, Tianrui, Yangyuan, and the likes.


    The other party: But you probably can¡¯t look at Yangyuan today, there was a homicide, the police are cordoning off the community.


    After Chi Qing made an appointment for the time and place to see a house with the agent, he withstood the voices and went out, running into Ji Mingrui at the entrance of the agreed upon community.


    There was only a narrow street between Tianrui community and Yangyuan; along both sides of the street were shops on the ground floor of their respective communities. The afternoon sun shone brightly, the rainy weather from before seemed to have used up all the rain, so these days have been sunny.


    The sun warmed the cool breeze in the air; Chi Qing only wore a light jacket when he went out.


    Ji Mingrui¡¯s car was parked at the south gate of Yangyuan; since their newcomer team had contact with the deceased, they were sent to Yangyuan to provide additional support in the investigation. The community was cordoned off, requiring strict records for personnel entering and leaving: ¡°Have you seen this person, did he appear around the community around four o¡¯clock last night?¡±


    Ji Mingrui held a photo in his hand; the person in the photo was the bartender who had gotten in a fight with the woman last night.


    The doorman looked at the photo carefully, shaking his head: ¡°I can¡¯t remember, at four o¡¯clock at night, he shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    Ji Mingrui put the photo away, putting it back in his breast pocket, then raised his eyes, seeing Chi Qing who was standing at the gate of the community next door.


    Ji Mingrui crossed the street in two to three steps, lifting his head to look at the community name: ¡°Tianrui community? Don¡¯t you live next door, how come you came here.¡±


    Chi Qing regretted it once he went out; his ears were filled with so many voices that they were about to explode, the sounds of police cars and interrogations were endless. The crowd at the entrance of the community kept coming and going, countless people speaking at the same time, the distorted voice also superimposing at the same time, making it hard to hear clearly.


    Ji Mingrui realized that Chi Qing didn¡¯t seem to have heard him, waving his hand in front of his face, shouting: ¡°Why are you in a daze.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°I can hear, no need to shout so loudly.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°I asked why you¡¯re here.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Looking at apartments.¡±


    After a busy day, Ji Mingrui stood next to Chi Qing, looking at the street in front of them, his gaze landing on the word ¡°Yangyuan¡± at the gate of the opposite community, and sighed: ¡°Did you know know what happened at Yangyuan, you know the deceased; we met her at the bar yesterday night.¡±


    Chi Qing lifted his eyes, the expression in his eyes finally changing a little.


    Ji Mingrui said: ¡°It was the heartbroken woman at the bar last night, her name is Yang Zhenzhen.¡±


    ¡°This case is a bit special; there are no signs of forced entry, the door and window not pried open. She most likely opened the door for the murderer herself. The preliminary suspects are people who know her and are close to her. She just moved to Huanan for her boyfriend, so there aren¡¯t many people she knows¡­¡­ of course, there are also service personnel, like delivery people and couriers, who gain the trust of residents relatively easily.¡±


    Chi Qing recalled that one sentence from the woman¡¯s heart last night: [Laoniang will find someone better than him in the future]


    When he first heard that sentence, he didn¡¯t realize that she would not have a ¡°future.¡± A few hours later, she closed her eyes forever.


    Ji Mingrui could only say this much; it was inconvenient to reveal more details. After taking a deep breath, he devoted himself to interrogations once again.


    Chi Qing stood in place for a while, the agent not having arrived, Xie Lin¡¯s WeChat messages arriving before that.


    ¨C I heard from Officer Ji that you¡¯re looking for a place.


    ¨C I have an empty one, the rent is negotiable, there¡¯s a free car service to see the place.


    ¨C Consider it?


    The author has something to say:


    It¡¯s! Here! I run like hell for my life!

 CH 21

    When Xie Lin sent the message to Chi Qing, he was sitting in Wu Zhibin¡¯s office.


    The two were sitting face to face, but it was Xie Lin sitting on Wu Zhibin¡¯s office chair. He leaned his entire body back in a relaxed position, scrolling through the crime scene pictures on the computer screen in front of him. He looked at the pictures, his expression not changing.


    He was usually like this, it gave people the feeling of being rather approachable.


    But what he was facing at the moment were pictures of the crime scene, sitting in the office chair as if he was just finding a place to take a lunch break.


    Xie Lin studied it for a while with the attitude and posture of being on a lunch break, speaking slowly: ¡°Is the autopsy report out yet.¡±


    Wu Zhibin: ¡°It¡¯s out; it¡¯s been confirmed that the deceased had been sexually assaulted and abused before death. There were traces of struggle in the room, but the murderer didn¡¯t leave behind DNA. We are currently investigating everyone with an interpersonal relationship with the deceased one by one. Other relevant reports are still being investigated, and the results of the fingerprint comparison are expected to be out tomorrow.¡±


    Wu Zhibin also said: ¡°She had a dispute with her boyfriend that night; when we went to look for her boyfriend today¡ª we found he had ran away overnight.¡±


    Her boyfriend was Zhou Bohao, who worked as a bartender in a bar; the two met while working in Kangyang City before. Zhou Bohao¡¯s rent still had two months left on it, yet he didn¡¯t even ask the landlord for a deposit, taking with him some clothes and documents of identification, unable to reach him using any of the contact information.


    Anyone who heard about this would think of the four words dreading punishment for crime.


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t rush to come to a conclusion.


    Wu Zhibin: ¡°Do you have any questions?¡±


    ¡°No questions,¡± Xie Lin¡¯s gaze fell on the woman¡¯s feet, moving away quickly, speaking as he stood up, ¡°There¡¯s just one thing I¡¯m more concerned about, why are her slippers placed so neatly by the bed? She doesn¡¯t seem like she was arguing with someone, it seems like she was killed¡­¡­ when embracing someone.¡±


    ¡°If it was the murderer¡­¡­¡± Wu Zhibin spoke up to the point, suddenly stopping.


    The scene was extremely messy; there was no reason for the murderer to deliberately place a pair of slippers.


    Xie Lin spoke: ¡°I finished looking at all the files, I still have something to do, so I have to go out.¡±


    Xie Lin, the ¡°behind-the-scenes consultant,¡± came over, yet no one realized that he was here to help analyze the case.


    Over the years, although Xie Lin already left the Criminal Police Corps, and wasn¡¯t serving as a consultant anymore, Wu Zhibin would still ask him for help with some cases.


    Wu Zhibin watched Xie Lin, seeing the young boy wearing a school uniform who was sitting in the conference room surrounded by people in his current appearance. The times have changed; he could only continue to participate in cases while in the dark.


    In the General Administration, many people respected him a lot, because, in the past ten years, he had repeatedly solved many troublesome big cases.


    Every time he heard such compliments, Wu Zhibin would think of the first time he approached Xie Lin for a case.


    The murder scene of the case was very familiar, making people think of the ¡°Miemen Case¡± from many years ago. Xie Lin had already entered college at that time, relying on that face of his to be an influential figure in school.


    They just finished English class at that time; Xie Lin was leaning against the wall in the corridor, surrounded by a crowd of girls.


    Wu Zhibin remembered that he was very keen, raising his eyes quickly while laughing and chatting, glancing at him from afar.


    ¡°Looking for me?¡± After the girls dispersed, Xie Lin walked over.


    ¡°There¡¯s a case¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already not a consultant,¡± Xie Lin interrupted, ¡°I will also never participate in the investigation of a case again.¡±


    ¡°In addition¡­¡­¡± Xie Lin pointed at himself, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what they said, I failed the psychological evaluation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a policeman, I judge cases based on evidence,¡± Wu Zhibin said, ¡°It¡¯s the same with people. If a person could be judged based on a singular evaluation, then I don¡¯t accept the results of this kind of evaluation.¡±


    Wu Zhibin came back to his senses, glancing at him: ¡°Whose reply are you waiting for, I saw you staring at your phone for a long time just now.¡±


    Xie Lin just happened to be looking at his phone; the stubborn and boring man didn¡¯t reply, but Ji Mingrui replied to him seriously: He¡¯s at the entrance of the Tianrui Community, waiting for an agent.


    So Xie Lin picked up his jacket and said: ¡°I still have something to do, I¡¯m leaving first.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    With the car keys hanging on his hand, Xie Lin opened the door and walked out: ¡°Going to steal a customer from a real estate agent, the customer might run away with someone else if I don¡¯t go now.¡±


    Half an hour later, Chi Qing stood in the living room of some rental apartment with a cold expression; the environment of Tianrui Community could be considered passable. The area of the rental apartment was about 100 square meters, the living room layout spacious. The agent had screened it strictly in accordance with his requirements, introducing: ¡°This building is quite nice, two households per floor. The landlord has rented it out a few times before, putting a lot of thought into it this time. The furniture in the living room and bedroom are all newly bought, and the rent is pretty reasonable too¡­¡­¡±


    His cold expression wasn¡¯t because of the agent, nor was it because there were any problems with the apartment.


    But because there was an extra person in the living room who was not supposed to be there.


    ¡°The furniture is newly bought,¡± Xie Lin took a few steps in the living room, as if he were the one wanting to rent a place, ¡°But there are scratches on the wall, there are also issues with the floor, so this rent can¡¯t be considered reasonable.¡±


    The agent: ¡°¡­¡­Uh, this, it¡¯s been rented out before, so it¡¯s inevitable that there are traces of use.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Mine doesn¡¯t.¡±


    When Xie Lin said this, the person he was looking at was Chi Qing: ¡°It¡¯s the first time being rented out, nevermind the furniture, even the floor is brand new, no one else has stepped on it aside from the decorators, so you can move in with your bags.¡±


    Chi Qing already had a headache from all the voices, but seeing him made his head hurt even more.


    ¡°Why did you come here.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°I¡¯m not here to steal people, just waiting for you to finish signing the contract with him.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    It was probably also the first time the agent came across this kind of situation; he stood in the living room at an obvious loss.


    Chi Qing met the agent for the first time at the entrance of the community, realizing that the face was different from the one on the ¡°Anjia¡± platform. Before he could ask, the agent took the initiative to say: ¡°Zhou Zhiyi¨C Zhou-dage has something to do, so he asked me to come over to take you to see the place; don¡¯t worry, this area is also my expertise.¡±


    Aside from that sentence, Chi Qing also heard another few sentences: [It¡¯s my first time coming to this place, I haven¡¯t memorized all the characteristics of the apartment Zhou-ge gave me; if you asked me what facilities are around later, I can¡¯t say anything, and how much is the rent, six thousand or seven thousand? I also don¡¯t know what exactly Zhou-ge has to do that¡¯s so important, does this count as mine or his if this turns out to be a success?]


    This little agent who had been pulled aside to take the customer to see the house had not expected to run into his own opponent.


    The little agent gritted his teeth: ¡°How about this, I¡¯ll help you negotiate with the landlord, there should be room for about five hundred in the bargaining.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°You can lower it by five hundred?¡±


    The agent said ¡°ah.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°I¡¯ll lower it by a thousand.¡±


    The agent: ¡°I¡­¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t lower it anymore; the landlord might come and hit him if the price was lowered anymore.


    The agent thought sadly, surely this can¡¯t just be fooling with him.


    Xie Lin stole the customer and won the initial victory, then went a step further, taking the initiative to introduce: ¡°The environment of mine is good; the most important thing is that it¡¯s quiet, there¡¯s an empty space downstairs where no one lives¡­¡­¡±


    Before whenever Xie Lin said anything, Chi Qing didn¡¯t pay attention to a single word spoken, but when he caught the word ¡°quiet¡± this time, his expression finally loosened up a bit.


    Chi Qing: ¡°Quiet?¡±


    Xie Lin realized that he finally spoke the keyword after speaking for almost half the day.


    Xie Lin¡¯s vacant apartment was approximately five or six kilometers from there. The distance of five or six kilometers crossed the old city, at a place with a good environment, very small population, and a big park around the community.


    The surrounding environment was indeed quieter than where Chi Qing originally lived; there were three communities crowded on one small block where he lived originally after all, the flow of people multiplied by three.


    There weren¡¯t any issues with the house, and as Xie Lin explained, the new house was quiet, and the distorted voice in his ears decreased in volume.


    Aside from the unsatisfactory landlord, there was no fault to be found with the house.


    Chi Qing made up his mind, beginning to make demands: ¡°First, the rent is based on the market price; there is no camaraderie between me and you, so there is no need for a friendship discount.¡±


    ¡°Second,¡± Chi Qing paused slightly when he said this, ¡°What¡¯s the situation with the neighbor.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t heard anything for the fifteen minutes since he entered; the neighbor seemed to probably not be there today.


    If there was a large family living there, his ears wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.


    ¡°The neighbor¡­¡­¡± Xie Lin pinched the ring between his fingers and turned it, saying, ¡°There¡¯s only one person living next door; he¡¯s quite a person of quality, a very nice person, and won¡¯t make any noise at all.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take much time to sign a lease contract, and it also only takes a day to find a moving company to pack up and move.


    Chi Qing stood by the door wearing black gloves, ready for the movers to finish moving everything, then spray disinfectant on everything that had been touched to sterilize them. Just as he was lowering his eyes and wondering if there using disinfectant spray was enough, the door lock on the neighboring door opened with a ¡°bang¡±¡ª


    The ¡°of quality and very nice¡± neighbor was wearing a sweater, leaning against the door while looking at him, the person¡¯s eyebrows and eyes slender, the tails of his eyes slightly raised; he seemed to have just woken up, his hair still a bit messy.


    Xie Lin: ¡°Morning.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing stared at this neighbor, then began to recall what was written in the lease cancellation clause of the lease contract.


    The author has something to say:


    Note! The next chapter will be V, please take a day off tomorrow to save the V chapter, update on the 21st, thank you for the support~


    Translator¡¯s Note: As per the author¡¯s note, the following chapters will be paid content. Please support the author by buying the chapters on JJWXC! I haven¡¯t determined what I will do in regards to the tls of the paid chapters but once I decide on it, I will let you all know~

 CH 22

    Warning: this chapter contains mention of rape.


    Ji Mingrui sent a message.


    ¨C How is it.


    Chi Qing replied: How is what.


    ¨C I¡¯m asking how the place is, you should have started moving already.


    ¨C Jiang Yu¡¯s idol said there¡¯s an empty place by his, worried that no one would rent it. As soon as I heard such a coincidence, I told him to hurry over, the two of you talk it over, isn¡¯t this just wonderful, you¡¯re renting a house and he¡¯s renting out a house.


    Although Chi Qing often had various reasons to stop being friends with Ji Mingrui, he¡¯s never been more serious about it than right now.


    He pulled off a glove, typing on the screen with his fingers: How many years have we known each other for.


    Ji Mingrui: It¡¯s been too long, ever since high school¡­¡­


    After the pale fingers paused for a moment, he continued to type: I think this friendship can end here.


    Ji Mingrui: ?


    At the same time, Xie Lin was still leaning on the doorframe watching him: ¡°Want help. I made an extra breakfast, come in and sit for a while?¡±


    Chi Qing put away his phone: ¡°You didn¡¯t say that the one living next door was you.¡±


    Xie Lin seemed to know what he would say, not awkward at all, frankly saying: ¡°If I said that, would you still rent it?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Won¡¯t.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Us business people,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°For the sake of a goal, will sometimes use the necessary means, not to mention that I didn¡¯t lie to you. The neighbor really is rather good; a faraway relative is no better than a close neighbor, there¡¯s usually support.¡±


    Chi Qing recalled that Ji Mingrui seemed to have mentioned that Xie Lin¡¯s family had a background in business, but he didn¡¯t seem interested in it. The family¡¯s business was taken care of by someone assigned to him; he usually drove around leisurely in a luxury car, occasionally going to see a psychiatrist, and likes to wander around murder scenes.


    The psychiatrist told him to come in contact with more people.


    But between a person and a lunatic, there¡¯s still a big difference.


    Lunatics don¡¯t count as people; for the sake of his disorder, he still better not get too close to a lunatic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t knock on my door, I don¡¯t need a neighbor; a good neighbor should be the same as dead,¡± although he could hear those distorted voices without touching anyone, out of habit, Chi Qing still put on the glove, ¡°I will seriously consider terminating the lease otherwise.¡±


    After the movers had just finished moving the last box, Chi Qing spoke before going in: ¡°Save the breakfast for yourself.¡±


    Chi Qing stared at the pile of home appliances that had been touched by others, and tossed around the moving van for a while, then took off the black gloves, putting on a pair of latex medical gloves with great care, taking out the disinfectant that was prepared earlier.


    However, there wasn¡¯t much disinfectant left in the bottle, Chi Qing shook the practically empty disinfectant bottle, having to search for the nearest store in the end.


    The community was indeed very quiet, but being quiet also means that the various stores around were a certain distance away from the community, and the few stores that had it didn¡¯t have disinfectant in their online delivery options.


    Chi Qing accepted his fate, having to go out.


    The phone navigation shows that the nearest big department store was within two kilometers, with a bathhouse next to the store.


    Ji Mingrui didn¡¯t know what the situation was like on Chi Qing¡¯s side; he had only been investigating Zhou Bohao¡¯s whereabouts recently. This was also the first time he was participating in this kind of murder case. Although it wasn¡¯t much participation, it still gave him 120,000 energy points.


    He put down the phone, picked up the instant noodles in his hand, sitting in the car and eating, looking at Zhou Bohao¡¯s personal information while eating: ¡°He¡¯s a local, when his new girlfriend was interrogated yesterday and said that he went to Xiamen yesterday, I felt that something was off.¡±


    That new girlfriend was also the woman¡¯s former best friend.


    Sitting in the interrogation room yesterday while hesitating for a long time, saying that she didn¡¯t know at first: ¡°We¡¯ve already broken up. Actually, when I was with him, I felt sorry towards Zhenzhen¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Feel sorry yet you still stole her boyfriend?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve also struggled for a long time,¡± she lowered her head as she spoke, ¡°When I first came to Huanan, I didn¡¯t know many people well, there was also a lot of pressure from work. He said since I was Zhenzhen¡¯s best friend, he¡¯d take care of me, it was me who didn¡¯t control myself.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know where he went, so the two of you sat in silence during the voice call at five a.m. last night?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°You were even silent for ten to fifteen minutes, quite able to enjoy it.¡±


    Looking out the car window, Ji Mingrui glanced at the endless stream of people and the crisscrossing intersections, and sighed: ¡°Then where would he go.¡±


    ¨C


    ¡°The suspect still hasn¡¯t been found.¡± Wu Zhibin stood by the window, talking on the phone with Xie Lin.


    Xie Lin stared at the two servings of breakfast alone, choosing one of them casually, and said to Wu Zhibin as if chatting with him: ¡°If a person runs away under these circumstances, they would usually pick a city that they are familiar with, or because the flight time is the closest to the time they ran away that day.¡±


    ¡°Yet he did neither, he doesn¡¯t know anyone in Xiamen, and also to get to Xiamen that day, he¡¯d have to wait four or five hours for the earliest bus.¡±


    Wu Zhibin: ¡°What¡¯s your point?¡±


    Xie Lin pulled apart the bread, saying his guess: ¡°Xiamen is probably the excuse that the two of them came up with last night, I don¡¯t think he left.¡±


    ¡°The more flustered people are, the less likely they are to leave their psychological safety zone, hiding in places they are familiar with in order to know in which stores they do not need to show their ID cards, in which places they can stay overnight for free. Hiding in an unfamiliar environment will also easily increase the difficulty, so if he didn¡¯t leave, he should appear in some places that ¡®don¡¯t reveal his identity¡¯ and are convenient for overnight stays.¡±


    ¡°Internet cafes, gambling rooms, hair salons,¡± Xie Lin walked to the balcony holding his breakfast; the weather today was quite good, the sun shone on him, coating him lightly, but the moment he put himself in the suspect¡¯s shoes, the sun shone from the side, creating half a shadow. He narrowed his eyes, saying, ¡°Or¡­¡­ a bathhouse.¡±


    ¡°Where would he go¡­¡­¡±


    Just as Ji Mingrui was thinking that, someone knocked on the car window from the outside.


    Su Xiaolan held the bread she just bought in one hand, the other hand still in the movement of stuffing her phone in her pocket. After Ji Mingrui rolled down the car window, she said: ¡°Bin-ge said, to narrow down the scope, we should check out nearby internet cafes and bathhouses. In short, we¡¯re looking for places where you can stay overnight without show your ID card.¡±


    ¨C


    The department store that Chi Qing went to was a medium-sized supermarket, the interior rather large, divided into several areas. Different from the department store with people coming and going, the bathhouse next door seemed rather deserted during the broad daylight; the rustic lights at the bathhouse entrance were dimmed, having very few visitors. It was very obviously currently not the main business hours of the bathhouse.


    There were a lot of people in the department store, the volume button on the sound by Chi Qing¡¯s ear seemed to have been pressed on suddenly, all kinds of monsters scrambling towards his ears.


    ¡°Aiyah, buy this one,¡± an elderly aunt said, ¡°Imported, the one I use at home is this.¡±


    ¡°Is this one good?¡± Another voice sounded.


    [Tch, showing off all day, always blabbing that you only use imported goods, thinking that no one knows that your family¡¯s lives are actually a mess.]


    A young couple stood by the shelf next to them, someone greeting them from afar: ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you two in so long. I¡¯m shopping with my wife. So jealous of you, being able to focus on work outside normally, your wife takes good care of the house.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re so jealous, why don¡¯t you quickly look for one.¡±


    [What is there to be jealous of, she doesn¡¯t dress up like she used to, all she talks about all day long are daily chores, if not that then the child. It¡¯s becoming more and more boring to spend my life with her.]


    [¡­¡­]


    Chi Qing pulled up the coat zipper that was stuck under the collarbone, acting as if he heard nothing, letting out a breath and continuing to walk forward.


    Those voices gradually weakened with the growing distance, and then new voices will sound.


    ¡°Mama, mama!¡± A crisp and raw voice.


    At the end of the shelf was a snack area; a little kid in ginger yellow clothing was jumping earnestly in front of the shelf, yet was still unable to reach jelly on the shelf.


    Her mother was talking to others, not paying attention to her: ¡°Play by yourself for a while, mama and your Auntie Wang have stuff to talk about.¡±


    [But I really want that strawberry flavored jelly¡­¡­]


    The little kid¡¯s voice was pitiful, carrying a sense of grievance despite being distorted, feeling as if she could start crying in the next second.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t glance at the girl at all, but still paused when passing the shelf, letting go of the coat zipper, lifting his hand to pick up that bag of pink jelly on the shelf, and placing it on a lower shelf.


    The girl was taken back, her chubby fingers were able to grab the bag of jelly that was level with her.


    She grabbed the jelly, only able to see the dark black hair on the forehead of that big gege, and the black gloves that flashed past her head just now.


    The girl hugged the jelly to her chest: ¡°Thank you gege.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me,¡± Chi Qing walked straight ahead, ¡°I only helped you get it because you¡¯re too noisy.¡±


    Chi Qing finally found the shelf where the disinfectant was placed amidst the chattering, taking two bottles, and then heard the rush of police sirens coming from far and near when he was at the checkout, a voice he was very familiar with sounding then:


    [This bathhouse doesn¡¯t require an ID card, go in and search, he¡¯s done for once I catch him. I, Ji Mingrui, will dig him out even if I have to dig three chi into the ground.]


    Chi Qing: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Ji Mingrui arrogantly closed the car door, turning his head to see the good friend who had just finished paying, appearing next to the bathhouse while holding a plastic bag: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Then a black car drove over diagonally from behind, its speed very slow, stopping next to his car. The window slowly rolled down; Xie Lin was wearing a pair of sunglasses today, greeting them from a distance: ¡°What a coincidence, all here? Everyone¡¯s in attendance.¡±


    Ji Mingrui also wanted to ask that question.


    He looked at Chi Qing, then looked at Xie Lin, internally saying why is it that we always meet you two in such suspicious places!


    Do you guys specialize in running around among the suspects!


    Do the two of you know that you two look more suspicious than the suspect.


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Did you guys¡­¡­ come to bathe together?¡±


    After Xie Lin parked the car, he laughed: ¡°I don¡¯t mind, you can ask him if he¡¯s willing.¡±


    Chi Qing raised the plastic bag in his hand: ¡°Do you think it¡¯s possible.¡±


    After he spoke, he asked: ¡°Why are you standing here and staring at me, not going to arrest the person?¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Arresting, that person will definitely be arrested.¡±


    Xie Lin followed him in, stopping for a while when passing by Chi Qing before going in. Without touching him, but reaching his hand out, he pulled on him by hooking the plastic bag in Chi Qing¡¯s hand: ¡°You¡¯re already here, come in and take a look, I still haven¡¯t taken you to visit the places around the community.¡±


    The man hooked two fingers on the bag, the gesture seeming a bit frivolous whenever he did it.


    The spot where Chi Qing was currently standing wasn¡¯t within the store, closer to the bathhouse. Some of the voices he heard just now slowly fades, some new sounds emerging in his ears.


    He originally wanted to leave immediately, but a panicked voice appeared within the crowd of voices:


    [Fuck, how come the police are here, I just wanted to break up with her, I didn¡¯t mean to kill her.]


    [¡­¡­]


    The woman in the bar¡¯s face appeared before Chi Qing¡¯s eyes, that ¡°later¡± that she will never have the chance to do anymore.


    He endured the endless voices in his ear in the end, not letting Xie Lin let go.


    The bathhouse was the same as other bathhouses that could be found everywhere on the streets; the interior was divided into upper and lower floors. The first floor was the reception hall and the bathing place, equipped with several sauna rooms, only that there was no one who came to bathe at this time. The bathhouse was empty, only the unscrewed faucets were dripping water, the tiles on the walls and floor had scratches from brooms because of their age.


    ¡°No one.¡± Ji Mingrui pushed aside the curtain, walking out.


    ¡°The women¡¯s bathroom is also empty.¡± Su Xiaolan said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go upstairs to check, you take the photo and ask around.¡±


    Su Xiaolan pulled out the photo, and without even saying anything, the bathhouse manager who had been eyeing them ever since they same in spoke: ¡°Our bathhouse operates completely legally, there are no issues.¡±


    Su Xiaolan: ¡°We¡¯re here to look for someone, has he appeared here these past few days, have you met him before.¡±


    The bathhouse manager quickly glanced at the photo: ¡°Never met, done asking, you guys should hurry and leave.¡±


    After searching the second floor and coming back down, Ji Mingrui shook his head at Su Xiaolan.


    Su Xiaolan got the signal, putting away the photo: ¡°We suspect that he¡¯s related to a case¡­¡­ If there¡¯s any news related to him, you can always contact us.¡±


    After Su Xiaolan finished speaking, she found that Xie Lin and Chi Qing were looking at a different place.


    Only the front door could be seen in the bathhouse, no back door had been seen, yet the further across the hall, the clearer the voice was:


    [I didn¡¯t purposefully kill her¡ª]


    [I didn¡¯t purposefully¡ª]


    Chi Qing suddenly asked: ¡°Is there another door here.¡±


    The bathhouse manager didn¡¯t meet Chi Qing¡¯s eyes; he was so nervous his mind went blank: ¡°There isn¡¯t, whether or not there¡¯s a door, didn¡¯t you see it all, there¡¯s only one door to our bathing place.¡±


    What Xie Lin was looking at was a small staff lounge on the side. There were two rows of lockers in the lounge, with a table in the middle, and a few plastic stools: ¡°The breakfast on the table is still hot, not a single bite taken, but there¡¯s no one. Could I ask where all those people went.¡±


    The bathhouse manager: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    It¡¯s rather normal to hire young and beautiful masseurs in these kinds of bathhouses, so the bathhouse manager wanted to send them away quickly. If the investigation continued, then things would become very troublesome.


    The bathhouse manager stood at the front desk, a piece of gold gilded velvet cloth hanging on the wall behind him, which seemed like a backdrop.


    His body moved slightly to the side as he spoke, as if trying to block: ¡°They probably went out, uh, they¡¯re all normal employees.¡±


    The bathhouse manager was so tense, Chi Qing didn¡¯t hear any voice angry at them at first, however, once he finished speaking, another voice finally sounded.


    [He couldn¡¯t have found out that the other door is behind my back right¡­¡­]


    ¡°This gentleman, please allow me,¡± Xie Lin also noticed that piece of cloth and said, ¡°Flip the cloth.¡±


    ¡°This is just a piece of decorative cloth. The style of decor in our store is like this, retro style. There¡¯s absolutely nothing behind it¡­¡­¡± Halfway through the manager¡¯s speech, Xie Lin had already lifted the cloth up, a hidden iron door appearing behind the cloth. The manager let out a ¡°Hey¡ª.¡±


    Xie Lin raised his eyebrow: ¡°Retro style?¡±


    The manager: ¡°If I said that this door, is actually because the feng shui consultant said that by installing a door at this place, it implies the awareness of guests coming to the door, and is a good omen, but it actually can¡¯t be opened at all, would you guys believe me.¡±


    Xie Lin spoke with a smile: ¡°It¡¯s hard to say whether or not we believe you until you open it, but that mouth of yours is quite unworthy of being a bathhouse manager¡¯s.¡±


    The secret door led to the back alley; a group of women wearing short skirts in winter were leaning against the rough limestone wall, either standing or squatting. They didn¡¯t know what the situation was inside. Seeing the door being opened by people, they were unprepared, only able to stand awkwardly.


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Was there or was there not a person who also ran out just now.¡±


    A woman nodded.


    ¡°In which direction did he go?¡±


    The woman extended her frozen finger, pointing at the alley entrance: ¡°Just left.¡±


    Chi Qing and Ji Mingrui were not at all familiar with the area, and Xie Lin, the only one in the group who had lived in the area for many years, was not at all in a hurry when he heard that the person had run away: ¡°There are only two ways out of the alley, he can¡¯t run far.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Okay, the four of us split up.¡±


    Zhou Bohao ran wildly on the street while wearing a bathing suit and disposable slippers, only wearing so little in the winter. The cold wind poured down from the wide neckline unimpeded. He thought that he hadn¡¯t left behind any personal identification evidence, the police wouldn¡¯t be able to find this place even after searching for a while, but he forgot that ¡°no personal identification evidence¡± was, unto itself, critical information.


    There were no shortage of stalls on both sides of the aley, like a small morning market.


    The crowd was bustling, the vendors shouting nonstop.


    If anything, the man rushing out from the corner of the street disrupted the original order of the street. He ignored the street vendors in front of him, busy with running away. With a ¡°crash,¡± several boxes of goods on the vendor¡¯s cart were hastily overturned.


    Ji Mingrui followed closely: ¡°Don¡¯t run¡ª¡±


    Zhou Bohao was only focused on running away, not paying any attention to the pedestrians on the street; he left the original road, switching to another one. Right as he was about to run into the corridor of the residential building on his right, he accidentally bumped into someone.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± He cursed.


    With his head down, he could only use a few rays of sunlight to get a glimpse of the person he bumped into.


    Xie Lin wasn¡¯t nervous at all about arresting people; he seemed more like he took a walk over here: ¡°Don¡¯t run, instead of wasting your efforts in vain, it¡¯s better to go back and chat, what exactly happened that night.¡±


    Zhou Bohao panted heavily, his entire body heating up after being frozen; he tried to take two steps back, but Ji Mingrui and Su Xiaolan were only one block away from him. He had been a mess for the past few days, the emotions accumulated over the past days exploding at this moment. Like a cornered beast, he clenched his fist with all five fingers, suppressing a roar in his throat, and rushed towards Chi Qing using the energy from his fist¡ª


    The main reason was because the place where Chi Qing was standing was easier to break through, just blocking the entrance of the corridor.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t even bat an eye, about to take the punch, but the punch was suddenly stopped mid-air.


    ¡°Just fight with me,¡± Xie Lin¡¯s palm rested on Zhou Bohao¡¯s wrist, still seeming very easy to talk to. He even smiled politely as he spoke, but the force behind his hand didn¡¯t ease up, ¡°Don¡¯t touch him.¡±


    Zhou Bohao tried to break free, but found that he was held in place and unable to move.


    Xie Lin: ¡°That great uncle has mysophobia, be careful of the patient.¡±


    Chi Qing wanted to refute, but found that he couldn¡¯t: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Mysophobics didn¡¯t really have an advantage when fighting.


    The situation settled down rather quickly. Ji Mingrui rushed over, pinning Zhou Bohao, who had been feeling for several days, against the wall within seconds, and handcuffed his hands from behind, the silver handcuffs locking with a ¡°click.¡±


    Ji Mingrui looked at Chi Qing: ¡°You¡¯re okay right.¡±


    The nearby residential buildings were noisy; amidst the murmurs, Chi Qing found that aside from getting a headache from the noise, there was also a bit of unease.


    This was a very strange emotion to him.


    He couldn¡¯t clearly say what it was; it might have been Xie Lin¡¯s ¡°Don¡¯t touch him¡± just now.


    Chi Qing finally said: ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡±


    ¡°That scared me,¡± on the way back, Ji Mingrui aired out Chi Qing¡¯s dirty laundry, ¡°I was scared that he¡¯d punch you just now, and you¡¯d feel that hitting back would dirty your hands.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t reply; Xie Lin took the opportunity to ask first: ¡°Has he ever fought before.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Yeah, before people thought that he didn¡¯t pay attention to any during school, super arrogant, and wanted to teach him a lesson, telling him not to leave after school.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Xie Lin motioned for him to continue talking.


    ¡°Then he left right after school.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t remember this at all: ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really, they rushed over angrily the next day and asked you what your meaning was, didn¡¯t they tell you not to leave after school.¡±


    Ji Mingrui imitated Chi Qing¡¯s tone of voice, coldly lifting his eyes: ¡°I¡¯m telling you to scram quickly now, are you going to scram.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Then when they waved their visits and rushed up, do you know what he said.¡± Ji Mingrui inhaled deeply when he spoke up to that point, and said after a very mysterious pause, ¡°He said ¡®Wait a minute, let me put on gloves.¡¯¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡±


    Inside Yongan Police Station.


    Jiang Yu didn¡¯t participate in the outing, left behind by Wu Zhibin to write a report. Upon hearing that the person was caught, he immediately put down his work and rushed to the interrogation room. However, he ran into Chi Qing and Xie Lin as soon as he went out, the two people who had nothing to do with the case, but were always able to participate in the case in various ways.


    ¡°Eh, you guys are here for the record again.¡±


    Familiar records, familiar scenes¡­¡­ familiar people.


    Jiang Yu opened the notebook, about to take down simple records for the two people.


    Unexpectedly, after Zhou Bohao was pushed in, they got a confession before they reached the interrogation room. He was dressed very carefully in the bar before, wearing a full set of earrings and necklaces; now he was wearing the clothes from the bathhouse, extremely different from his appearance in the bar.


    Zhou Bohao¡¯s nose and limbs were red from the cold, lowering his head as he spoke: ¡°Comrade police, I confess, I confess it all, I never expected to run away.¡±


    ¡°When I met Zhenzhen, I was sincere to her, but there was a distance between us. She was also often not by my side¡­¡­ This kind of thing would happen, it¡¯s not something I can control. I know that me being like this wasn¡¯t good¡­¡­ But I also only made a mistake that all the men in the world make.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Don¡¯t randomly represent us men, people like you belong in the trash, basically bidding farewell to the category of humans.¡±


    Zhou Bohao asked: ¡°Can you give me a cup of water.¡±


    Then he held the hot water, sniffling while saying: ¡°That night, Zhenzhen came to see me, making quite an ugly scene in the bar. There was already bad blood between me and the manager. The manager told me to just get lost. I lost my job. Although I felt a little guilty towards her, I also thought how could she come to my workplace and make a fuss?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t read that the person had any other hidden thoughts.


    Seems like everything that was said was the truth.


    Zhou Bohao continued: ¡°I really did blame her in my heart, and of course I also had a lot I wanted to say to her. I still have a conscience. I wanted to apologize to her.¡±


    ¡°You have a conscience?¡± Su Xiaolan said sarcastically, ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell.¡±


    Zhou Bohao raised his eyes quickly and glanced at her: ¡°I saw you sent her back, then I waited for your car to drive away and secretly followed her upstairs. Although she was rather angry when she opened the door, she still let me in. But we didn¡¯t have a proper talk. Her mood was very unstable, just throwing things at me, telling me to scram. She even said that it doesn¡¯t matter where I work in the future, she¡¯d come and make a fuss, so I can¡¯t muddle along.¡±


    The crime scene did show signs of struggle.


    But as Xie Lin listened, the expression on his face turned worse.


    ¡°What do you think,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°Under these circumstances, even if he has murderous intentions towards a woman who no longer loves but instead threatens to pester him, why choose to rape/kill?¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t know many details of the case, only knowing that the woman died: ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have any characteristics that make up this type of criminal. His girlfriend had not cheated on him. It¡¯s also not because he¡¯s been unsatisfied with his own masculine dignity for a long time. Of course, there are many other cases. The point is that he doesn¡¯t need to rely on this method of killing to seek some kind of pleasure. It¡¯s just a regular breakup dispute, at most it¡¯s an accidental murder, or a crime of passion¡­¡­¡± Xie Lin spoke up to here, glancing at him, ¡°You didn¡¯t know that the woman was raped before she died?¡±


    Chi Qing recalled the sentence that he heard multiple times in the bathhouse:


    [I didn¡¯t purposefully kill her.]


    Didn¡¯t, purposefully.


    If she was killed after being raped, why would he say that he didn¡¯t do it on purpose.


    The word purposefully, more like there was an accidental, uncontrollable accident.


    At the door of the office, Zhou Bohao strayed from the point midway: ¡°After I did something like this, I already don¡¯t have the face to see my family. I¡¯m frank and honest. I hope the law can see it on the basis of my proactive admission of wrongdoing¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Get to the point.¡± Su Xiaolan tapped the table with a pen.


    ¡°Of, I confess, my attitude then wasn¡¯t good either,¡± Zhou Bohao said, ¡°I was stunned. I originally really didn¡¯t mean to, I didn¡¯t want to fight her, but she kept on being aggressive, I¡­¡­¡±


    Su Xiaolan¡¯s eyes were very red, speaking word by word: ¡°So you raped and killed her.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Zhou Bohao dragged out that ¡°I¡± for a long time, then stopped abruptly, dumbfounded, ¡°Rape, what rape?¡±


    These past few days and nights, Zhou Bohao had been running around in disorder, exhausted. He¡¯d already been imagining how he should spend the rest of his life in prison after being shoved into the police car and taken to the police station, how to cry bitterly while facing his parents: ¡°I just shoved her, and her head hit the corner of the cabinet, fainting on the spot. I heard that she died the next day. What rape?¡±


    Zhou Bohao suddenly raised his voice, his eyes widening: ¡°¡­¡­I didn¡¯t rape her.¡±


    The small group of three people also froze.


    Su Xiaolan: ¡°?¡±


    Jiang Yu: ¡°Ah?¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Call his new girlfriend over again.¡±


    Half an hour later.


    A woman with long hair and a shawl sat in the seat she sat in last time once again.


    ¡°His voice was really flustered when he called me at night,¡± the woman said, ¡°He said he pushed Zhenzhen down. The community was cordoned off by the police the next day. Zhenzhen was already dead. He said he killed her by accident. He told me not to tell, asking me what to do.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    In accordance with Zhou Bohao¡¯s testimony, the autopsy department also issued a test report quickly: ¡°He was right. She had been hit on the head before she died, but it was not a fatal injury. The deceased should have regained consciousness after a while.¡±


    ¡°He thought he killed someone, so the murderer was not someone the deceased knew at all.¡± Ji Mingrui flipped through the information, ¡°But this is illogical, why are there no signs of forced entry? The deceased didn¡¯t order takeout, had no packages, and didn¡¯t know anyone else in the city. How did he get in.¡±


    At that moment, everyone realized that this seemingly simple breaking and entering homicide case suddenly changed.


    All of their original inferences were completely overturned.


    As a woman, Su Xiaolan thought about the scenario in which she lived alone, yet someone could appear in her room without a trace, and felt a chill down her spine.


    ¨C


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t think that he could spend a whole day buying two bottles of disinfectant.


    He walked to the intersection holding the plastic bag, and someone honked his horn twice. Having experienced the ¡°driver¡± incident last time, Chi Qing found that instead of spending time fending him off, it was better to follow along, saving time and effort.


    What¡¯s more, this time it¡¯s really on the way.


    Chi Qing was business-like: ¡°Take the order.¡±


    Xie Lin took out his phone, taking the second order of his driving career: ¡°¡­¡­Okay.¡±


    The two of them didn¡¯t say anything on the road this time. Chi Qing endured all kinds of voices, all the way to the community¡¯s underground parking lot.


    While waiting for the elevator after parking the car, Xie Lin suddenly spoke while watching the constantly changing floor numbers on the display screen, ¡°Just now at the entrance of the bathhouse, your friend didn¡¯t say that he was here to arrest people.¡±


    Chi Qing was originally leaning in the corridor of the elevator room, with his back against the wall, the hand holding the plastic bag hanging down. His pupils were dark in color, almost blending into the black hair on his forehead. Upon hearing this, he tilted his head.


    Chi Qing wondered, Ji Mingrui didn¡¯t say?


    He has heard too many voices recently; it was difficult for him to remember every sentence. Occasionally he would forget which sentence came from the real world, which sentence from the messy, distorted voices.


    ¡°Guessed.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t expect Xie Lin to notice these details; ever since the cat-killing case, he found that this person seemed to be smiling at people, but was actually the hardest to fool and said: ¡°I knew he was investigating a case, there are no other guesses besides arresting someone for why he¡¯d appear at that time.¡±


    The elevator descended from the upper floors one by one.


    ¡°You guessed pretty accurately,¡± Xie Lin¡¯s probing came and went quickly, changing the topic without any trace after he finished speaking. As if he didn¡¯t want to get any answers from Chi Qing, he said, ¡°The elevator is here.¡±


    ¡°Ding.¡±


    The elevator reached the designated floor, the doors slowly opening.


    Chi Qing returned to his newly rented apartment, disinfecting all the furniture.


    As usual, he didn¡¯t turn on the lights but turned on the TV; the entire living room was covered with a cool tone, the cool blue TV light flickering.


    Although he moved, he still felt that it was very noisy. It might have been that he heard too many voices during the day, those voices circling back and forth by his ears, giving him a headache from the noise.


    He¡¯s already had a headache for several days including today.


    Chi Qing took off the latex gloves after he finished disinfecting, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead in hindsight. Only then did he realize that he still hadn¡¯t healed completely from the intermittent cold from the rain that other time. In addition to being busy outside for a long time these past few days, he caught a cold again.


    Chi Qing dug out the medicine box from the glove box, facing the TV light to see the expiration date marked on the cold medicine.


    2020/6.


    It¡¯s long expired.


    Chi Qing eventually fell asleep on the sofa, woken up by his phone vibrating while half asleep.


    [Xie Lin requests a voice call with you].


    ¡°Officer Ji asked me to help return the clothes you lent him last time,¡± Once the call connected, Xie Lin¡¯s lingering voice seemed to be lower through the phone, dragging his words out slowly while speaking, ¡°I forgot when you got off the car just now, are you at home right now.¡±


    The man only said a few words, and the feeling of ¡°uneasy¡± came over him.


    It¡¯s just that Chi Qing was not in the mood to enjoy it.


    Being sick easily amplifies people¡¯s various senses. Although his consciousness had weakened in some respects, Chi Qing felt that the voices by his ears have not stopped since they started a few days ago, but became increasingly loud instead.


    Although there weren¡¯t many residents in the building, it wasn¡¯t empty.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t have the energy to figure out what those voices were saying, including the phone call next to his ear.


    Xie Lin spoke a few more words on the other end of the phone, finding that Chi Qing hadn¡¯t said anything in a long time.


    ¡°Can you hear, say something.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you drunk?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin finally went silent for ten seconds, and when he spoke again, he had already arrived at the door of Chi Qing¡¯s apartment: ¡°Open the door.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid something happened to you, come open the door, I¡¯m just coming to take a look, I¡¯ll leave after I give you the clothes.¡±


    Chi Qing wanted to say to just throw the clothes away.


    But once he thought that the other person would be reluctant if he said that, finally saying two words instead: ¡°A look?¡±


    When Xie Lin finally heard a sound from the other party, he sighed in relief: ¡°If you¡¯re willing, I can take a few more looks.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Then you can just not look.


    When Chi Qing opened the door, Xie Lin was still holding his phone. He changed into a thin sweater, very different from his outfit during the day. This person already had a face that could easily make people have a meltdown, giving off a rare homely feeling after changing clothes.


    As expected, Chi Qing only let him have a glance, about to close the door after taking the clothes through a crack.


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Xie Lin placed his hand on the door and didn¡¯t let him close it, ¡°Not feeling well?¡±


    [I wouldn¡¯t have married you if you weren¡¯t the boss¡¯s daughter¡­¡­ Otherwise with your arrogant temperament, who can stand you.]


    Not knowing which family in the building was frantically staging a family ethics drama internally, they made such a fuss that Chi Qing responded half a beat slower, waiting for him to process what Xie Lin said before replying to him: ¡°Noisy.¡±


    ¡°Noisy?¡±


    Xie Lin realized that he wasn¡¯t saying he was noisy.


    There were no other noises on the floor; the sound being someone moving things around upstairs if he listened closely, knocking things against the ceiling, barely considered noisy.


    For a second, Xie Lin forgot that Chi Qing was mysophobic. He released the hand on the door, very naturally placing his hand on Chi Qing¡¯s ear, palm facing inward, and covered it very lightly: ¡°The people upstairs are probably moving things around, if you don¡¯t like that it¡¯s noisy, I¡¯ll go up and take a look in a bit.¡±


    Chi Qing froze. He didn¡¯t wear gloves at home, habitually lifting his hand to pull Xie Lin¡¯s hand off, but the moment he touched it, the act of covering his ears produced a result.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The absurd unknown ethics drama in the building stopped, the words that had been piling up by his ears for several days also scattered along with it, all the distorted voices fading away.

 CH 23

    Xie Lin¡¯s actions only lasted for a while, he quickly realized that his action was inappropriate. The member on the receiving end who didn¡¯t particularly like to talk to him would probably tell him to scram in the next second.


    ¡°Sorry, I forgot about your mysophobia.¡± Xie Lin retracted his hand.


    The word ¡°mysophobia¡± also snapped Chi Qing awake.


    He suddenly realized that he didn¡¯t seem to have any reaction.


    He did want to pull away Xie Lin¡¯s hand, but it wasn¡¯t like before, where he felt uncomfortable because he was touched by someone. It didn¡¯t matter what kind of touch it was in the past, as long as someone got near, his entire body would freeze up, feeling an uncontrollable repulsion.


    Yet aside from thinking that it was sudden just now, he didn¡¯t have any other thoughts.


    When the noise by his ears quieted down, at that moment, he seemed to have found a little room to breathe.


    Xie Lin spotted the medicine box on the dining table from a distance: ¡°Have you taken medicine yet.¡±


    Chi Qing¡¯s thoughts were in disorder, giving a perfunctory ¡°mn.¡±


    ¡°Saying mn, you didn¡¯t pour water at all,¡± Xie Lin saw the untouched kitchen, finding no traces of boiling water, and there was no bottled water on the table. He walked to the table, flipping the medicine boxes over as he went, all of them new, ¡°The packaging hasn¡¯t even been opened, what kind of medicine are you taking?¡±


    Chi Qing managed to catch his breath after a while; reluctantly being in the mood to reply to Xie Lin¡¯s comment, he said indifferently: ¡°Expired.¡±


    Chi Qing had never been enthusiastic about taking medicine or seeing doctors.


    Ever since the accident, he didn¡¯t like to go to hospitals very much. He would never go to the hospital if he could get better by taking medicine, or sleep for a bit if he had no medicine.


    Xie Lin walked around his living room; the entire room was filled with the cold scent of disinfectant. He really wondered if Chi Qing was the reincarnation of the disinfectant spirit for a few seconds. The lights in the room weren¡¯t on either, so it took him a long time to look at the medicine box. There weren¡¯t many utensils in the kitchen, but there were many knives. A row of shining silver knives were neatly arranged from largest to smallest, the serrated knife that was used to cut bread previously was also present.


    Xie Lin said: ¡°Wait, don¡¯t close the door yet.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°?¡±


    Xie Lin glanced at him: ¡°Isn¡¯t the medicine expired, I¡¯ll go see if I have any.¡±


    There were all kinds of medicines in Xie Lin¡¯s medicine box; he took out all medicines related to colds one by one: ¡°This is old medicine, just take it according to the dosage instructions. I¡¯m worried you¡¯ll have other complications, I¡¯ll give you these other kinds as well. Just reach out if there¡¯s anything.¡±


    Xie Lin actually touched Chi Qing¡¯s hand when he gave him the medicine, brushing against his pinky lightly through the air.


    Right as Chi Qing was about to say ¡°How much is it, I¡¯ll transfer the money to you,¡± as if Xie Lin knew what he was going to say, he stopped him immediately.


    ¡°Those medicines of mine aren¡¯t cheap,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°I won¡¯t give it to you for free. Treat me to a meal some other day. You set the time, I¡¯ll always be available.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    After Xie Lin left, Chi Qing stood by the dining table with the box of medicine for a long time, then went to the water dispenser to pour water.


    He stared at the hand holding the glass of water while pouring water, his pinky slightly curled, as pale as usual.


    Chi Qing stared for a bit, then thought right as he swallowed the medicine: perhaps he really should see a doctor.


    ¡°You mean¡­¡­ there was a situation in which being touched by others wasn¡¯t as repulsive?¡±


    The next day, Dr. Wu gave Chi Qing an online session.


    Although the effects of a video call weren¡¯t as good as a face-to-face consultation, online and offline were both the same for Chi Qing. His attitude would not change because Dr. Wu himself was sitting in front of him at that very moment.


    On the contrary, he couldn¡¯t control his current situation. If Dr. Wu was really sitting across from him, how many people are in Dr. Wu¡¯s family, what had happened these past few days, what unexpected plot twists occurred, what secrets he hid in his heart, all this information would reach his ears within half an hour.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t deny it: ¡°That person came over to give me medicine yesterday, I found that he didn¡¯t seem to repulse me that much.¡±


    Dr. Wu¡¯s tone was excited; he felt that his treatment of this Mr. Chi had reached a milestone: ¡°Could it be that our treatment has achieved a certain effect? Could you tell me more about it.¡±


    Chi Qing also didn¡¯t know how to explain it, not talking about Xie Lin directly: ¡°He¡­¡­¡± Chi Qing lifted his head, changing to another pronoun, ¡°This person.¡±


    Dr. Wu caught onto the key phrase: ¡°This person, is this only a certain person?¡±


    Chi Qing fell silent.


    After a while, he said truthfully: ¡°Unconfirmed.¡±


    ¡°According to my observations during this period of time, I¡¯ve actually always had this thought,¡± Dr. Wu spoke as if to himself, ¡°I think perhaps the reason you reject others is not because someone gets close to you, being close might just be a kind of final trigger.¡±


    ¡°Of course, what the specific reason is, I¡¯m not sure of yet.¡±


    ¡°I had a client like you before. Her case was very interesting. It was very difficult for her to talk to people, and she was prone to shortness of breath when she talked too much. But it wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t like to talk to other people. It¡¯s just that when she talks, she thinks of how she used to be punished by her parents for saying the wrong things when she was a child. Since her parents always liked to let her speak in public as a child, hoping she could speak eloquently, be a good conversationalist at parties, but she had always been an introverted child, so she was very afraid of such situations.¡±


    Dr. Wu had been practicing for many years, having done a lot of research on ¡°emotional disorders¡±: ¡°So I guess, what you reject might not be the touch itself, but a certain negative impression associated with the touch.¡±


    Dr. Wu finally gave advice: ¡°You can look for other people around you to try with, see if you really don¡¯t reject it, or if it¡¯s just ¡®that person.¡¯¡±


    That afternoon, Chi Qing thought about what Dr. Wu said, hesitating about whether he should go out and find someone to try it with today.


    Before he could even put on gloves, Ji Mingrui sent a message.


    Ji Mingrui: Are you home.


    ¨C ?


    ¨C Don¡¯t leave if you are, my mom made some dumplings, told me to give them to you, and I happen to be doing stuff nearby.


    Chi Qing finished sweeping in a hurry, replying with a single sentence.


    ¨C Door¡¯s not closed, you can just come up.


    Ji Mingrui carried two boxes of dumplings, muttering as he got on the elevator: ¡°Why did he let me take the initiative to come up today, didn¡¯t it used to be that if there was nothing then I shouldn¡¯t go to his house¡­¡­¡±


    After Ji Mingrui went up, like an old lady, he helped Chi Qing stuff two boxes of dumplings into the refrigerator: ¡°It¡¯s been so many days since you¡¯ve moved here, I should have come to visit you earlier, but I¡¯ve been too busy lately.¡±


    Ji Mingrui typically talks a lot, but the amount of words Chi Qing heard doubled after he lost control: [The case hasn¡¯t made any progress after so long, and after all the original guesses were overthrown, ah, it¡¯s become a mystery.]


    ¡°When I¡¯m done with this case, I¡¯ll treat you to a meal to congratulate you on your move, throw a party,¡± Ji Mingrui closed the refrigerator door while talking, and once he turned around, he saw Chi Qing leaning against the kitchen door while looking at him. This good friend of his always looked gloomy, but he was staring right at him now, sending a chill down his back, feeling as if he were a fish on a chopping board: ¡°¡­¡­Why are you watching me.¡±


    ¡ª ¡°You can look for people around you to try with.¡±


    Chi Qing thought about what Dr. Wu said, then suddenly spoke: ¡°Come here.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°?¡±


    Chi Qing saw that there was a distance of more than two people between him and Ji Mingrui, falling silent for two seconds: ¡°Why are you standing so far away.¡±


    Ji Mingrui was completely confused: ¡°?¡±


    This distance of two people was a habit that Ji Mingrui had developed over the years.


    He didn¡¯t dare to get too close to Chi Qing even after so many years. Chi Qing was easily angered, while he was easily beaten up.


    Ji Mingrui took a step forward cautiously, and seeing that Chi Qing really didn¡¯t react, took another step forward: ¡°Da-ge, you¡¯re being a little weird today¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing wasn¡¯t wearing gloves, his hands tucked in his sleeves, only stretching his hands out a bit after mentally preparing himself: ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    Ji Mingrui¡¯s mind was filled with question marks.


    Then he watched Chi Qing stretch out his hand, touching his hand with disgust: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The distorted voice by Chi Qing¡¯s ear immediately overwhelmed the other voices, spitting out complaints: [Is this not something that can be explained with the word abnormal, I think he went insane today.]


    Chi Qing retracted his hand quickly after touching briefly.


    ¡°This was advice that the doctor gave,¡± Chi Qing explained, not wanting to be regarded as insane, ¡°¡­¡­A treatment plan.¡±


    Ji Mingrui had a sudden realization: ¡°Then how do you feel now? Was there any effect?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Feels a little disgusting.¡±


    Not just disgusting.


    He feels uncomfortable all over now.


    Chi Qing: ¡°You can leave now, thank auntie for me.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing ruthlessly changed his attitude after testing it out: ¡°I¡¯m going to wash my hands.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°?¡± There¡¯s no need to be this disgusted with it.


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°Good friend, it¡¯s a bit much to use the word disgusting.¡±


    There were actually a few parts of Chi Qing¡¯s hands that were prone to redness, caused by washing his hands too often all these years. His skin was thin, turning red once it¡¯s rubbed.


    He washed his hands twice after entering the bathroom, drying them as usual, knowing that this time he had to admit it: Xie Lin seemed to really be an exception.


    An exception that he can¡¯t hear the thoughts of, and perhaps because he couldn¡¯t hear his thoughts, one he gradually began to not reject the touch of.


    Just as Chi Qing finished washing his hands and opened the door to go out, Ji Mingrui¡¯s cell phone rang.


    While changing shoes at the entrance, he picked up the phone: ¡°Hello? Xiaolan? What¡¯s the matter.¡±


    Su Xiaolan was standing at the door of a certain building unit in the Tianrui community at the moment, an extremely eye-catching cordon tape behind her, the sign of blockading off the scene.


    Su Xiaolan spoke quickly: ¡°I¡¯m at Tianrui right now, something happened here.¡±


    There was only a street between Tianrui and Yangyuan, which had been blocked off and investigated not long ago. The two communities faced each other. The street was filled with people who had heard the news at the moment, a large number of people gathered in the narrow street. The residents discussed while peering into the community.


    ¡°There was a female corpse found in Tianrui, also a single room. The woman was living alone, approximately 23 years old.¡±


    Ji Mingrui paused while putting on shoes.


    ¡°Died yesterday night?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Su Xiaolan just left the scene. She clutched her chest, unable to help feeling sick when she thought of the scene she had just seen, and slowly said, ¡°Died a month ago, her body was frozen in the refrigerator. The landlord has been pressuring her to pay next month¡¯s rent since last month, but there was no response no matter how much he pressured her. He brought someone to the door to throw her things out today, so he could find another tenant. But as soon as he opened the refrigerator, he saw the woman¡¯s corpse.¡±

 CH 24

    In the rented apartment, the traces of the crime had been obviously cleaned up, leaving only the original appearance of the apartment at first glance. It was a small single room of approximately fifty square meters, with not much furniture; the original owner had the habit of ripping the calendar, but the date on the calendar on the desk was still last month¡¯s.


    There was even a third of a bowl of takeout left on a simple plastic foldable table.


    At the bottom of the chili oil soup was a layer of solidified fat, with a layer of mildew floating in it. The remaining bean sprouts and yuba in the soup were faintly visible. The chopsticks set aside; there were even balled up napkins scattered across the table, lipstick stains visible on them.


    The apartment was actually a bit messy. The deceased was probably not very good at tidying up; coats were piled up on the sofa, a lot of brightly colored coats thrown there.


    The ¡°refrigerator¡± Su Xiaolan mentioned was actually an old-fashioned freezer. It looked like it was brought over from a second-hand store, very similar to an ice cream freezer in a small shop. The freezer was square in shape, covered with a thermal insulation cloth.


    This was an ordinary apartment that couldn¡¯t get any more ordinary. Like thousands of women, the deceased lived alone in the apartment. Based on these traces of life, it was as if aside from coming home after work, the woman also ordered takeout for herself.


    ¡ª If the lid of the freezer wasn¡¯t opened, and the naked corpse curled up in it hadn¡¯t been seen.


    The woman¡¯s long brown hair was tucked in a shawl, her knees pressed against her chest. Her body was slender, only able to do this to make herself as small as possible. There were obvious pressure marks on the neck, chest, and thighs of the corpse; the severe ones were purple-brown, indicating that there was subcutaneous hemorrhage. There was a layer of frost on her eyelashes. She died with her eyes open, wide with pain, her eyeballs bulging.


    Everyone who saw her could feel the despair and panic she felt before dying.


    As the first person to discover the body, the landlord who was asking people to move things one second, was so frightened that she fell to the ground the next.


    It never occurred to her that the person she thought had disappeared had actually been quietly hidden in this old-fashioned freezer for a month.


    Half an hour later, in the interrogation room.


    Su Xiaolan wrote the two words ¡°Xue Mei¡± in the victim section.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t rent my place for many months, we signed the contract directly.¡±


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t an agency?¡±


    ¡°I did make a posting before, but after thinking about it, the fee for the agency is so expensive. It costs 50% of the first month¡¯s rent. The young woman also came here for work. We could save money by directly contacting each other.¡±


    ¡°So in your lease contract, there are only the two of you as Party A and Party B, no third party?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I saved the contract. If you want it, I will get someone to bring it over in a bit.¡±


    The landlord was approximately sixty years old, a local, with several houses in his name. In her everyday life, she just collects rent and gambles.


    ¡°Does she go around with anyone usually?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about this,¡± the landlord said, ¡°I think she worked at a cosmetics store, usually dressed up. She leaves early and comes back late every day. I only occasionally contacted her on WeChat. The water pipe broke last month, as she asked me to repair it once. We didn¡¯t talk much otherwise, so I can¡¯t talk about who she¡¯s familiar with.¡±


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s better to not be in too much contact with tenants. If she says that she¡¯s short of money one day, or that she¡¯s having a hard time or something, then should I press for the rent or not. I¡¯ve encountered this before, so I never talk to them much.¡±


    The topic of the discovery of a female corpse in Yangyuan a few days ago had not subsided, and another body was found in the community across the street immediately afterwards. The nature of the incident soared instantly, news outlets all over rushing to report: suspected serial case, female, living alone.


    These three facts inspired the unlimited imagination of the masses.


    The entirety of Huanan was in panic for a moment.


    Everyone began discussing the safety of women living alone.


    ¡ª I heard that there are no signs of forced entry, that¡¯s the scariest part.


    ¡ª You have to change the combination for your locks regularly!! If you find that there¡¯s someone near you when you enter your password, you must be vigilant!


    ¡ª Don¡¯t be lazy either if you lose your keys, change the lock, don¡¯t gamble with your own safety.


    ¡ª It¡¯s been so many days, there are too few clues released by the police, could it be that this case can¡¯t be solved.


    The brewing public opinion gradually placed more pressure on the police officers handling the case.


    Municipal Public Security Bureau.


    The meeting room was silent.


    A questioning voice broke through the silence: ¡°What do you mean the murderer didn¡¯t leave any clues?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    A second voice: ¡°Two cases, the crime scenes are so close to each other¡ª there can¡¯t be no connection between the location of the crime scene and where the murderer lives, you were told to investigate. What exactly have you investigated.¡±


    The speaker was surnamed Yuan; everyone usually called him Yuan Ju. Yuan Ju was getting older; even if he used black hair dye all year long, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to cover the strands of white hair growing. He was tall and thin, looking unnaturally tall and stiff sitting there. His upper body was as stiff as the police uniform he wore.


    Yuan Ju glanced around them, calling them out by name: ¡°Zhibin, the team that you¡¯re leading this time, this doesn¡¯t seem to be your style.¡±


    Both cases took place under the jurisdiction of the Yongan Police Station. As the veteran criminal policeman leading the team, Wu Zhibin was also in the meeting.


    Wu Zhibin sat in silence for a while, with the black crutch leaning against the side of the chair. When he spoke, he didn¡¯t mention any clues, any suspects, or even a proposal. What he said was: ¡°This time I¡¯m leading the team. I want to ask for someone, I hope that Director Yuan will approve.¡±


    Yuan Ju had been in office for over twenty years. All the cases that happened in Huanan in the past twenty years have passed through his hands. Although Wu Zhibin didn¡¯t mention a name, Yuan Ju came up with a certain name in his mind immediately.


    ¡°The situation is indeed more complicated than we imagined. The crime scene is too clean. It¡¯s very likely that this isn¡¯t the first time the murderer is committing a crime. We are currently investigating similar cases in other cities, there may be more than two victims.¡±


    Wu Zhibin lifted his eyes, looking at Yang Ju as he spoke: ¡°I want Xie Lin to come back.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The originally silent conference room fell even quieter after the two words ¡°Xie Lin¡± were spoken.


    The people sitting in the conference room had all been in office for more than ten years.


    No one had forgotten the case from that year.


    ¡°It¡¯s been ten years since the kidnapping,¡± Wu Zhibin said, ¡°Prisoners will be released one day, just based on a single psychological evaluation report¡­¡­ Is a ten year observation period not enough, no matter how dangerous he is, he hasn¡¯t done anything in these ten years.¡±


    After Wu Zhibin finished talking, Yuan Ju was the one who fell silent.


    The old file seemed to reappear before Yuan Ju¡¯s eyes.


    Every single word in the file was still vivid.


    He couldn¡¯t deny what Wu Zhibin said. It¡¯s been ten years. It was his decision to oppose Xie Lin¡¯s continued stay in the General Administration, but ten years had passed. His views on many things have changed now.


    Yuan Ju thought of Xie Feng once again: ¡°My brother¡­¡­ He does have an inexplicable sensitivity to crime. He sometimes surprises me with how well he understands criminals, but I have faith in him. I trust him, please also trust him.¡±


    Now that the times have changed, Xie Feng, who had a bright future and everyone had high hopes for, has also been buried in the Garden of Heroes for ten years.


    Yuan Ju¡¯s straight back bent slightly, making him appear older. There were many marks left on him as well by the ten years. He finally sat in his seat and exhaled deeply: ¡°If he is willing¡­¡­ Then let him come back.¡±


    Since the incident, the voices in Chi Qing¡¯s ears became disordered and frightened.


    [I lost my key once, I should change the lock.]


    Countless suspicions, delusions of being persecuted, everyone thought that the next ¡°accident¡± would likely happen to them. No one could guarantee that where they currently live was absolutely safe.


    The home was originally a private space, providing people with a sense of security, dispelling all the fatigue after a day.


    When the private space is at risk of being invaded¡ª many people became paranoid, just like every time after watching a horror movie, they felt that there might be someone in their home.


    [Changing the lock isn¡¯t enough, I have to buy a surveillance camera online¡­¡­ This is too scary.]


    [The surveillance camera has to be concealed, a miniature surveillance camera is best.]


    In the middle of the night, a woman¡¯s voice kept rambling in the building.


    She was very cautious, carefully selecting the surveillance camera, starting with the style and model.


    Chi Qing got in bed an hour ago.


    An hour later, he opened his eyes again.


    The minute hand on the clock on the wall had already made one round by this time.


    He stayed up for a while with his eyes open, and the woman who was picking the surveillance camera slowly stopped talking, seeming to have fallen asleep while on her phone.


    Chi Qing closed his eyes again.


    The minute hand turned half a circle. Right as he was about to fall asleep, someone else in the building woke up.


    [Coming home so late every day, are you really so busy at work, why are you busy when everyone else isn¡¯t?]


    [¡­¡­]


    Chi Qing opened his eyes.


    The sky outside the window was very dark, the hour hand pointing to ¡°3.¡±


    Chi Qing was usually a light sleeper, waking up easily at the slightest movement. It was really impossible to ignore the voices that appeared from time to time in the middle of the night.


    He had suffered from insomnia for nearly two weeks in a row. He could barely sleep for a few hours by taking some sleeping pills in the beginning, but starting the second week, unless the dosage of sleeping pills was increased, it was hard for him to fall asleep even using medication.


    Compared to that, what was more painful was that he didn¡¯t know how long this out-of-control state would last.


    After Chi Qing was woken up, he went to the kitchen to pour a glass of cold water, sitting on the sofa holding the glass.


    Due to lack of sleep, his overall mental state was extremely poor, his cold didn¡¯t get better, relapsing repeatedly.


    He originally gave off a gloomy feeling, but after suffering from dark circles under his eyes during this time, his eyes darkened, as if his eyelashes cast large shadows, his entire body becoming darker.


    The phone on the coffee table indicated that the battery was low.


    It made a ¡°beep.¡±


    In addition to the power notification sound, there were also vibrations from messages from time to time.


    [You have a new message].


    [¡­¡­]


    He didn¡¯t contact many people in the past few days, his head in so much pain that he didn¡¯t have the energy to check his phone.


    The one thing he did most often was curl up on the sofa. Sometimes when he wanted to get away from the voices, he¡¯d go to the bedroom, lock the door, sit on the floor, and lean against the door for a long time.


    During that long time, he would sometimes think of Xie Lin.


    Think of that moment of silence.


    Chi Qing¡¯s eyelashes trembled, and finally couldn¡¯t control himself, reaching out for the phone on the coffee table.


    He quickly glanced through his recent contacts list.


    Ji Mingrui: Remember to eat the dumplings, I recently¡­¡­


    Agent: There is a new script, do you want to take a look¡­¡­


    He skipped over the messages that weren¡¯t fully displayed in the list, his eyes falling on the two words ¡°Xie Lin.¡±


    Xie Lin: Is your cold better.


    Chi Qing stared at these words for a while, pressing his finger against the screen to type two words.


    ¨C Not yet.


    He paused, then typed again.


    ¨C Do you still have medicine.


    The author has something to say:


    (£¾ÈË£¼£») I¡¯m sorry I was half stuck yesterday

 CH 25

    It was already past three at night, the sky outside the window dark, and the entire building was silent. The bare winter tree tops and branches casted elongated and swaying shadows through the street lamps. There were a few cats meowing outside of the community occasionally.


    Xie Lin was sitting in the office flipping through a book at the moment, several rows of books sitting on the desk¡ª all left by Xie Feng before, books on topics spanning from ¡°Investigative Science,¡± to ¡°Clue Inspection,¡± to¡°Criminal Psychology¡± and many more.


    These books have been read carefully many times before, with annotations made by Xie Feng left on them.


    The first sentence of the book that Xie Lin held read: Little children shouldn¡¯t open things randomly.


    Even the traces of the man were gentle, but there was a bit of fortitude at the tip of the pen.


    That ¡°little child¡± was his younger brother, who was only as tall as his waist back then.


    Xie Feng had just entered the police academy at that time, working hard in every subject. He helped handle cases while in school, and when he occasionally came home for vacations, he would always shut himself in the study to read. Out of curiosity in the beginning, Xie Lin would secretly look through his pile of books, and was warned many times.


    But it didn¡¯t really work. Xie Lin still read what he wanted to read, from the professional courses in the police academy, to the summaries of serious and important cases in various countries. After Xie Feng officially got his job, even going all the way to the position of captain of the criminal police corps, he couldn¡¯t escape this younger brother of his.


    The screen of the phone he set aside was still on, and on it was a message.


    Wu Zhibin: Yuan Ju agreed. I still don¡¯t know what happened that year, but ten years have passed, everyone¡¯s thoughts have also changed¡­¡­ are you still willing to come back.


    Xie Lin had actually slept for a bit earlier that night.


    He fell asleep after receiving Wu Zhibin¡¯s message.


    He had an intermittent dream during that time.


    In the dream, he saw a small cubicle. A fifteen year old teen had his hands tied behind his back. There was the sound of gunshots in the dream, and the sound of sirens circling outside, followed by the sound of many people¡¯s footsteps pouring in: ¡°Found it¡ª there¡¯s people! There are two kids still here!¡±


    The black blindfold covering his eyes was gently pulled off by someone. Since it had been a long time since he saw the sunlight, the teen¡¯s vision turned back, unable to see anything. He could only hear Xie Feng calling his name.


    ¡°The rescue was successful,¡± When he could finally see a faint light, he heard someone say, ¡°But¡­¡­ There were only two children who survived. A total of twenty kidnapped children¡­¡­ Died mysteriously. Your brother was tied in a cubicle with another kid at the same time, and that child died, only he survived. We suspect¡­¡­¡±


    The sound of that person¡¯s voice was choppy.


    The rescue of the kidnapping case went smoothly at first, but it was unknown why an accident happened during the retreat.


    ¡°Captain Xie, the barrel is full of gasoline.¡±


    ¡°Not good! Retreat quickly¡ª!¡±


    The sound of explosions swept closer, like a vortex, and the innermost room exploded with a gust of wind. A series of rapid explosions instantly shattered the walls and the roof collapsed.


    In the rush, Xie Lin forgot everything, only remembering that Xie Feng pushed him from behind.


    The man pushed him out with firm force, but his voice was still warm, like a final order: ¡°You¡¯re good at crime, so some people will be scared of you. But remember this, you can help a lot of people.¡±


    Xie Feng¡¯s voice was very soft, drowned by the loud explosions: ¡°I have always believed in you.¡±


    The heat wave created by the explosion rushed in.


    ¡°Boom¡ª!¡±


    ¡°Hurry and run¡ª¡± He heard Xie Feng shout, ¡°Don¡¯t stop!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Xie Lin¡¯s fingertips rested on the two words ¡°little children,¡± the shadow from outside the window casting down on him, covering some of the light. He spoke to the empty study as he let his hand go: ¡°I¡¯m no longer a little child, ge.¡±


    Xie Lin closed the textbook, putting it back in its original place.


    The phone vibrated twice the next second.


    Two new messages covered the previous ones sent by Wu Zhibin.


    These two new messages came from a certain mysophobic man surnamed Chi who had disappeared for nearly a week. This mysophobic man¡¯s reflection arc may have circled the planet, taking a week before he remembered to reply to his message. And, at least he knew to ask for help when he was out of medicine.


    After Chi Qing sent those two messages, he suspected that he might have gone delirious in the middle of the night to send those two messages in reply.


    He thought about it for a while, Xie Lin should have already gone to sleep, so he pressed his finger against the chat bubble, about to tap ¡°Unsend,¡± when another line of words appeared in the chat.


    Xie Lin: Turns out you still remember there¡¯s me as your neighbor.


    Chi Qing: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin wanted to tease him again, then send him medicine, seeing what exactly was going on with him. His sickness had been recurring for so many days. If it was a fever, there was a high possibility of complications.


    However, as soon as he opened the study door, he heard the doorbell ring.


    Chi Qing wasn¡¯t wearing gloves, not used to it, and had his finger tucked in his sleeve as he pressed the doorbell.


    So Xie Lin opened the door to see Chi Qing standing at the door of his apartment. He was originally thin, but he seemed thinner after not seeing him for a week, the originally slightly loose black sweater seemed to become looser. The hair on his forehead was also longer, covering his eyes, melting into the dark shadow under his eyes.


    The lights in the corridor obviously shone down from above, the field of vision very bright, but Chi Qing seemed to bring his own shadow, suppressing the surrounding light with darkness.


    It was rare for Chi Qing to start the conversation. He looked away uncomfortably: ¡°I¡¯m here to get medicine.¡±


    Xie Lin moved closer slightly, asking: ¡°What happened to your eyes.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Just moved, couldn¡¯t sleep well.¡±


    Afraid that this explanation wasn¡¯t convincing enough, Chi Qing added five words: ¡°Getting used to the bed.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Xie Lin looked at the dark circles under his eyes, but could do nothing about this confession of getting used to the bed, ¡°As long as it¡¯s a problem that falls under ¡®difficult to serve,¡¯ you have it all.¡±


    Chi Qing was speechless, and could only admit it.


    Xie Lin turned to the side as he spoke, letting Chi Qing in: ¡°Did you finish the cold medicine I gave you late time?¡±


    Chi Qing replied with an ¡°en.¡±


    He actually didn¡¯t eat much at all.


    Almost killed by the noise, he didn¡¯t even think of taking medicine.


    Xie Lin spoke as he looked through the medicine box: ¡°You¡¯re still not better after taking medicine for so many days, there might be inflammation. You should go to the hospital.¡±


    Chi Qing and Xie Lin lived across from each other. The apartments were the same, the interior layout and facilities were more or less the same, but there was a big difference in the decor styles. Xie Lin seemed like a fancy person, but his apartment was decorated very simply. The furniture in the entire place was dominated by shades of gray, simple and transparent.


    The kitchens of both apartments were open. Chi Qing sat at the dining table, silently watching Xie Lin look through things.


    Xie Lin looked at Chi Qing¡¯s appearance, hesitating: ¡°¡­¡­You can¡¯t also not like going to the hospital, right.¡±


    As expected, the hard to serve person said: ¡°Won¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Too many people,¡± The hard to serve person then said, ¡°Noisy.¡±


    This was the second time Chi Qing mentioned the word ¡°noisy.¡±


    Xie Lin felt as if there might be a different meaning behind the word ¡°noisy.¡± After all, if you feel that it¡¯s noisy in a room, and also feel that it¡¯s noisy in a hospital, then there is nowhere to go that isn¡¯t noisy.


    But it was Chi Qing who said this, so it didn¡¯t seem unreasonable.


    After all, the mysophobic man surnamed Chi always wore an expression of ¡°don¡¯t bother him.¡±


    ¡°Making people shut up after only saying two words. It¡¯s noisy everywhere. Aside from the wilderness or uninhabited islands, it¡¯s hard for other places to meet your expectations,¡± Xie Lin found the remaining cold medicine, handing him the thermometer first, saying, ¡°I¡¯m really curious, is there anywhere in the world where you don¡¯t think is noisy?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    There is.


    Chi Qing lowered his eyes, looking at the hand Xie Lin extended to him through the stray strands of hair on his forehead.


    The ring on Xie Lin¡¯s hand had already been taken off. The joints of the man¡¯s fingers were distinct, his wrist tilted to the side, the tip of his thumb pressed against his index finger, holding the thermometer in front of him.


    [Saying that you¡¯re busy at work must be an excuse, otherwise why would you change your phone password.]


    [¡­¡­]


    It was nearly four o¡¯clock in the morning, that couple in the building started again.


    Chi Qing poked his finger out of the sleeve of his sweater slightly, reaching over to take the thermometer, and brushed over Xie Lin¡¯s knuckles either intentionally or unintentionally while doing so.


    [Not a single word a man says can¡ª]


    The words stopped abruptly.


    He was brought back to reality for a short time after a long while. Those indistinguishable, pervasive, and empty sounds were blocked out, leaving only some very peaceful voices, like the sound of tree branches outside brushing against the window, the sound of cars driving in from far away, a drop of water dripping from the kitchen faucet that wasn¡¯t closed tightly.


    ¡°Drip¡ª¡±


    Although Chi Qing didn¡¯t want to admit it.


    The place where he didn¡¯t think it was noisy, seems like it was only here.


    ¡°Giving you the thermometer,¡± Xie Lin said while looking at him, ¡°Why are you touching my hand.¡±


    Chi Qing¡¯s touch was actually not that noticeable, his hands were still tucked in his sleeves, only a bit of his fingertips had been exposed.


    Chi Qing lingered for a bit before letting go, his words and actions not the same: ¡°¡­¡­Who wants to touch your hand.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Debt repayment failed

 CH 26

    After Chi Qing took his temperature, he had a slight fever, but it wasn¡¯t that obvious, able to keep an eye on it for a few more days. Xie Lin didn¡¯t bring up going to the hospital for the time being: ¡°Take the medicine first. If you don¡¯t get better in a few days, then you¡¯re going to the hospital even if you don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Chi Qing had never been ordered around like this before. If he had lost control, he would have told Xie Lin to get lost the second he uttered the first word.But now it was clear that he himself had ulterior motives.


    So it was rare for him to let Xie Lin finish talking, and he didn¡¯t refute him in a face-saving way: ¡°Oh.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°That ¡®oh¡¯ of yours sounds reluctant.¡±


    Chi Qing admitted it: ¡°Just going along with you.¡±


    Xie Lin walked over to the water dispenser to get water while holding the empty glass of water.


    While just getting water, Chi Qing still felt restless.


    Xie Lin could tell that Chi Qing seemed to be constantly touching his hand, and his method of touching was very reserved. Chi Qing¡¯s fingers were thin, and because of the low fever, his fingertips were also a bit hot. Carrying some warmth, they brushed against his knuckles lightly, looking as if it was just an accidental touch.


    But the number of accidents were a bit much.


    By accident when taking the thermometer, and again by accident when taking the water.


    ¡­¡­


    Xie Lin could regard the first two times as accidents, but as he handed those few cold medicines over, Chi Qing accidentally brushed his palm while taking the medicine. He could be almost certain that it was not an accident.


    ¡°You¡¯re not wearing gloves today.¡± Xie Lin waited for him to swallow the medicine before suddenly speaking.


    Chi Qing had already prepared: ¡°I¡¯m sick.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Light headed.¡± Chi Qing said, ¡°Forgot to wear it when I went out.¡±


    Then he added, ¡°¡­¡­And even touched me three more times.¡±


    ¡°Once or twice can be described as an accident, but not more than thrice.¡±


    Xie Lin watched him as he spoke, no questioning in his tone; his voice made it hard for people to feel as if they were being interrogated: ¡°Mr. Chi, you¡¯ve touched me so many times, don¡¯t you owe me an explanation?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing swallowed the medicine, wrapping his hands around the glass cup, and thought about how he should reply.


    His thoughts were actually not very clear at the moment, having not slept for several nights, his mind working slower than usual.


    He couldn¡¯t exactly say that his mysophobia suddenly got better overnight.


    It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a walking medical miracle.


    Chi Qing put the glass cup down in the end, speaking frankly: ¡°There¡¯s no cure for the late stage of my mysophobia. Even if I¡¯m light headed, there would be no improvement even if I have a fever of 40 degrees.¡±


    Xie Lin gestured for him to continue.


    The hand was what caught Xie Lin off guard for what was said next.


    ¡°But touching you doesn¡¯t seem that uncomfortable.¡± Chi Qing said this sentence very slowly. He lifted his eyes, looking back at him, ¡°As for why, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    His ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± was not entirely a lie.


    Because he really did not know why he can¡¯t read Xie Lin¡¯s mind.


    In order to make those words sound more convincing, Chi Qing explained what he had done before right after: ¡°And when I poked you those times before, it wasn¡¯t because of the tablecloth, or because I was drunk, I just wanted to test it.¡±


    Chi Qing finally explained: ¡°I consulted Dr. Wu last week, he also couldn¡¯t find a reason.¡±


    This explanation barely convinced Xie Lin: ¡°Hold your hand out.¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°?¡±


    Although they¡¯ve touched a few times before, each of those times were under special circumstances, in a rush, not having the time to react until after their hands parted.


    Right as Chi Qing¡¯s hand moved from the glass cup, Xie Lin was worried that he wouldn¡¯t be used to it, only slightly touching the cold fingertips. Seeing that he really didn¡¯t have a reaction, he retracted his hand, pulling half of Chi Qing¡¯s fingers that were exposed outside of the sleeve into his palm.


    ¡°Any feeling?¡±


    Feels very quiet.


    But Chi Qing couldn¡¯t say that.


    In the end he only said: ¡°No feelings.¡±


    ¡°Not uncomfortable? Are you sure you don¡¯t want to punch me right now?¡±


    Chi Qing looked at him coldly, retorting: ¡°Do you want to be beaten up that badly?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­No,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°I¡¯m just making sure.¡±


    Ji Mingrui, whose touch was dismissed as ¡°feels disgusting¡± just last week, would probably vomit three liters of blood up on the spot if he saw this scene of differential treatment.


    After bringing up ¡°Dr. Wu,¡± Chi Qing found a perfectly legitimate reason for his behavior: he came as part of his treatment.


    This lunatic named Xie Lin seemed beneficial for his treatment.


    ¨C


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the next day, in the psychiatric clinic, Dr. Wu spoke to Xie Lin while looking through Chi Qing¡¯s patient files, ¡°He did mention that to me when we spoke on the phone last week.¡±


    ¡°His mysophobia is really hard to cure. I¡¯ve never encountered such a difficult case before. Other patients with similar symptoms were able to find some psychological causes through communication, but this Mr. Chi is just like you¡ª I don¡¯t know why he dislikes being touched by others, and I don¡¯t know what the origin of his mysophobia is. He seems to have a hard time trusting others. I originally didn¡¯t have any hope,¡± Dr. Wu smiled wryly, ¡°I¡¯m even introducing him to more experienced doctors.¡±


    The consultation room was the same, but the scene of the aroma diffuser had changed.


    Xie Lin disagreed with the phrase ¡®just like you¡¯: ¡°The topic is Mr. Mysophobic, why bring me up.¡±


    Dr. Wu: ¡°¡­¡­Don¡¯t you think that although our consultation has lasted for so long, it can be said that there has been no progress.¡±


    Xie Lin disagreed: ¡°I think there¡¯s quite a bit of progress.¡±


    Dr. Wu remarked in his heart that given our current state, how could there be any progress.


    ¡°Coming here every week to listen to your knowledge about mental health and safety has allowed me to understand things differently and see many things in a new light,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°People¡¯s lives are so stressful nowadays, it is necessary to come here regularly to cleanse the soul.¡±


    Dr. Wu: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    See, saying so many words that sound nice, but it¡¯s the same as not saying anything.


    The same was true of his understanding of Xie Lin over these years. There was no useful information that could be found, and when it comes to psychology, this person knew more than him.


    He seemed to have been this way since they met¡­¡­


    No, there was one exception.


    Dr. Wu recalled when Xie Lin first stepped into the consulting room a few years ago.


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t say anything that time, borrowed the rest bed in the consulting room, slept for almost two hours, and thanked him when he woke up.


    Dr. Wu couldn¡¯t remember the exact date, only that it was a snowy winter; the streets were covered with a layer of white snow, and flakes of snow fell on Xie Lin¡¯s shoulders when he put on his coat and walked out.


    ¡°So now I have to cooperate with him for his treatment?¡± Xie Lin¡¯s words brought Dr. Wu out of his thoughts.


    Whenever Xie Lin tried to figure out a person¡¯s mind, he was rarely wrong. Before Dr. Wu could say what his ultimate goal was, he brought it up first.


    Dr. Wu¡¯s thoughts were indeed that. Although he didn¡¯t know the reason at all, Chi Qing¡¯s mysophobia had at least made a breakthrough: ¡°Of course this also depends on your willingness, it¡¯s best if you¡¯re willing. In his current state, if there¡¯s someone who can help him get used to being touched, he¡¯s very likely to get better.¡±


    Xie Lin was still wearing the ring when he went out; he pinched the silver ring, turning the ring around, and finally said: ¡°I¡¯m fine, as long as he doesn¡¯t reject it.¡±


    Every time Xie Lin came to the clinic, there was a lot of commotion. The commotion wasn¡¯t because he did something, but rather that the receptionists would start talking about lively topics, the two words ¡°Mr. Xie¡± being unavoidable.


    When Xie Lin¡¯s consultation ended, several receptionists turned their attention away from the wall-mounted TV in the waiting room: ¡°Mr. Xie, the consultation is over? How do you feel?¡±


    Xie Lin smiled at them, speaking familiarly: ¡°Do you know if Dr. Wu knows some kind of magic, otherwise why do I feel like I¡¯m in a very good condition after each consultation.¡±


    This was essentially the same as saying that it¡¯s good to see you.


    The receptionist smiled, speaking shyly: ¡°Then¡­¡­ see you next week.¡±


    While waiting for the car to be driven to the door, Xie Lin glanced sideways at the screen on the wall-mounted TV. The TV channel was broadcasting a report from the news stations, the topic revolving around the current popular case of ¡°the mysterious deaths of tenants.¡±


    Since the TV was placed in the waiting area, it couldn¡¯t affect the patients going in and out for business. The TV was muted, only a line of headlines could be seen, along with the new anchor¡¯s closed mouth: There is no progress on the case¡­¡­ We have no way of knowing how the murderer entered the house, or how the crime was committed¡­¡­


    The female receptionist noticed Xie Lin¡¯s gaze, saying: ¡°So terrifying, I¡¯m scared to go home after work every night. I also rent a place nearby, and I don¡¯t feel safe at home.¡±


    The female receptionist chatted with Xie Lin for a while; when Xie Lin¡¯s car arrived at the door, the female receptionist finally noticed Dr. Wu who had been standing at her side for an unknown amount of time: ¡°Dr. Wu.¡±


    Dr. Wu jokingly said: ¡°Finally came back to your senses, I usually don¡¯t see you talk this much.¡±


    The receptionist laughed: ¡°Mr. Xie is very kind. There¡¯s a lot to talk about with him.¡±


    Dr. Wu sighed, but he didn¡¯t say anything else. He was more concerned about whether or not the two most difficult patients in his hands could cooperate well with his treatment plan.


    The author has something to say:


    I¡¯ve! Come! To! Pay! Off! The debt!!!

 CH 27

    Perhaps it was a psychological effect, after basically all the residents fell asleep in the second half of the night, Chi Qing went back after touching Xie Lin¡¯s hand, and fell asleep.


    There was no dream, not a single sound was heard, no distorted voice, and no waking up suddenly.


    It wasn¡¯t until dawn that the people in the building gradually resumed their lives, and the sounds of various conversations gradually grew louder.


    Although he slept for less than five hours that night, it could be considered a miracle given Chi Qing¡¯s week-long insomnia.


    Chi Qing reached over to the alarm clock next to the bed, the hour hand pointing to 9.


    Someone hurriedly pressed the elevator button: [I forgot the briefcase, ah, I will really be late to work today, and I have to see that look on the manager¡¯s face. I¡¯ll buy a lottery ticket on the way to work later, laozi will resign immediately if I win.]


    There was also someone who took the day off to rest at home, but looked forward to being able to go into the office: [Can¡¯t go to work, when will I get better. I¡¯m at the rising point of my career, each minute of each day is important, what if the performance of XXX next door surpasses me, the opportunity for a promotion this time¡­¡­]


    Chi Qing felt more energetic after he got up, took medicine on time, and the topic by his ears changed several times as he drank water from the glass.


    When everyone who was supposed to go to work went to work, the hour hand turned another half a circle. Those who were left in the building were patients who were worried about their performance, retired elderly people staying at home, children who were on vacation, and¡­¡­ a drunk who woke up in the afternoon.


    [I dislike my father the most.] A young voice said with the sound of tears.


    Immediately afterwards, that voice stopped for a long time. It wasn¡¯t until Chi Qing put down the glass, carefully selected a silver pocket knife from the knives display, took an apple from the plate of fruits, and the apple was cut in half that the voice sounded again.


    [Don¡¯t hit mom.]


    [Don¡¯t keep hitting mom.]


    The red apple in Chi Qing¡¯s hand was cut in half and split.


    Downstairs on the third floor, room 302.


    The drunk man reeked of alcohol, and upon seeing the woman who was working hard at home, he commanded in a hoarse voice: ¡°Go get me a glass of water.¡±


    ¡±Wait a minute,¡± the woman¡¯s curly hair, which had been permed and dyed a long time ago, looked very messy. She held unfinished laundry, saying, ¡°I¡¯m still busy, pour it yourself.¡±


    But the drunk man acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything.


    He waited and waited, several days of unhappiness burst through the drunkenness, kicking out: ¡°Fuck¡ª¡±


    In the corner of the living room, a little girl was curled up next to the refrigerator. Her eyes were very red, staring blankly at him.


    ¡±You¡¯re just like your mom, I get angry just seeing you,¡± he turned his head and said, ¡°What are you staring at me for!¡±


    The girl let out a soft cry from her chest, closing her eyes tightly in the end, covering her ears.


    [It didn¡¯t used to be like this at home, ever since my father¡¯s workplace went bankrupt¡­¡­ why did it turn out like this, my father clearly isn¡¯t like this.]


    Just as she thought ¡°can this hurry up and end, how can this end quicker,¡± she heard as ¡°ding.¡±


    The door bell sounded abruptly.


    The man cursed and stopped to open the door. The woman took the opportunity to wipe away her tears and hug the girl tightly, covering her ears as she spoke: ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, your father¡¯s just drunk.¡±


    A stranger stood outside the door; seeing him open the door, the man¡¯s black glove clad hand slowly left the doorbell.


    The man was very thin, wearing a dark colored sweater, his slightly long hair making him seem inexplicably gloomy, his red lips pursed, his complexion oddly pale. He had lived in this building for a long time, and never met this person. But the most important thing was that this person held a small knife in his other hand.


    The sharp tip of the two-finger wide folding knife, although it was folded up, could still be seen.


    The man looked the visitor up and down, understood tacitly, and blurted out one sentence: ¡°I have no money!¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡±You¡¯re here to collect debts right,¡± the man who originally lived a good life, but when met with misfortune, fell from the heavens and broke the jar, spoke, ¡°If you want money, I have none, my life is doomed, I don¡¯t even have a job, I¡¯m penniless right now. Figure it out yourself, I¡¯m not scared of you.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t speak. He stood at the doorway, glancing coldly around the room. The situation in the room was similar to what he heard.


    The man obviously misunderstood this look: ¡°I really have no money!¡±


    ¡±¡­¡­¡±


    ¡±I¡¯m not here to collect debts,¡± Chi Qing finally said, ¡°Your life is also not as valuable as you think it is. You living is a waste of public resources, and you dying is a waste of land.¡±


    ¡±I came because I wanted to say one thing.¡±


    The man listened to that cold voice in a daze.


    ¡±So noisy, be quieter,¡± the knife in Chi Qing¡¯s hand was brought down by him while he was peeling the apple just now, but it actually had no other meaning. He then pointed the handle of the knife at the woman, his face still expressionless, ¡°Try hitting her again.¡±


    The man: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The man forgot to think for a moment; this unknown resident didn¡¯t even live on the same floor, how could he hear the noise and think its noisy.


    It¡¯s not that no one had come by before to break up the fight before, but most of the neighbors also took into consideration that they were husband and wife; the matters of a person¡¯s family were hard to manage, unable to be managed by the police, much less them.


    But no matter what, none of those who came were as arrogant as this one.


    This unknown resident didn¡¯t seem to care what was going on in their family, only thinking that it was noisy, not as righteously indignant as the other residents, but the result was outstanding.


    The girl who was held in the arms of the woman opened her tightly closed eyes, and found that just like how she had been asking for help in her mind, everything was over.


    She could only catch a glimpse of the man¡¯s hand holding the folding knife with a black glove on.


    Chi Qing ignored the man after he finished speaking. The elevator also coincidentally stopped on the first floor; he just pressed the elevator button. When the elevator slowly stopped on the third floor, the elevator doors opened, revealing Xie Lin who had just come back from the psychiatric clinic: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin¡¯s finger pressed the ¡®open elevator door¡¯ button, making it easier for whoever was on the third floor that wanted to get in the elevator to get in, never having expected it would be Chi Qing that he met on the third floor: ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Would you believe it if I said I came down here just to look around.¡±


    Xie Lin glanced at Chi Qing¡¯s hand, lingering on the family in 302, finally saying: ¡°Looking at the current situation, it¡¯s hard to believe.¡±


    The man who had been so intimidated before that he didn¡¯t dare speak had met Xie Lin before. He had lived in the building for a long time after all, it was hard to not remember such a person. When he saw Xie Lin¡¯s smiling face, his courage doubled instantly, as if he found a reason to continue making trouble: ¡°Do you know each other? He came here with a knife to threaten me¡ª I¡¯ve never seen him before, can¡¯t he just leave me alone.¡±


    Xie Lin smelled the alcohol on the man, glancing at the half closed door again.


    Chi Qing thought that Xie Lin would ask, but Xie Lin didn¡¯t ask anything.


    ¡±It¡¯s a threat just because you said so?¡± Xie Lin still appeared easy-going, but what he said was, ¡°my apologies, I didn¡¯t see it, I wasn¡¯t there.¡±


    ¡±¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin gestured for Chi Qing to enter the elevator: ¡°My tenant¡¯s personality is very gentle, unable to do anything threatening. I hope you pay attention to your words before you speak next time.¡±


    Chi Qing, whose personality had nothing to do with the words ¡°very gentle,¡± felt that the evaluation was rather exaggerated, so exaggerated that he didn¡¯t notice the prefix in front of the words at the time.


    Xie Lin looked past the man, his gaze landing on the half closed door behind the man. His last words before letting go of the elevator button were obviously not aimed at the man. His voice softened, sounding comforting: ¡°Police reports and hospital medical records are important pieces of evidence for identifying domestic abuse. According to the law, you can contact the neighborhood committee, women¡¯s federation, or police station. These three organizations are meant to protect you. Of course what to do also depends on your wishes, but, sometimes, the actions and choices made by the parents will affect the child to a large extent¡­¡­ If your child finds herself in the same position in the future, she might think that tolerating it is normal and correct.¡±


    Xie Lin released his hand.


    The elevator door closed completely.


    Chi Qing held the folding knife in his hand; forced by Xie Lin¡¯s keen observation, he could only take the initiative to explain: ¡°The elevator happened to stop on the third floor while going down just now, and I heard movements in unit 302.¡±


    When Chi Qing spoke up to here, he paused: ¡°Do you really think I didn¡¯t threaten him?¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°It depends on what kind of threat it is. Even if you don¡¯t speak at that point, it¡¯s easy to make people feel threatened.¡±


    ¡±¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin went on to say: ¡°But with this kind of person, so what if you threaten him.¡±


    The topic of 302 came to a close, the atmosphere in the elevator briefly awkward.


    Although he slept well after touching him yesterday, in such a small and closed space, the uneasiness in Chi Qing¡¯s heart was magnified.


    The second before the elevator arrived, Xie Lin broke the silence: ¡°Dr. Wu told me.¡±


    Chi Qing lifted his eyes: ¡°?¡±


    ¡±As long as you need it, I will cooperate with you.¡±


    Xie Lin looked at Chi Qing¡¯s gloved hand again: ¡°You don¡¯t need to wear gloves the next time we meet, how can I touch you with gloves on?¡±


    Chi Qing had mentioned it to Dr. Wu before when he felt troubled, and used it when he had no other choice but to explain to Xie Lin. But apart from these, he didn¡¯t think about anything else, much less the fact that Dr. Wu would look for Xie Lin, putting the treatment plan on the agenda.


    Chi Qing only took off his gloves little by little after he got back home and closed the door, looking at his hands for a long time.


    Until the phone rang.


    He had placed his phone casually on the cabinet by the entrance before he went out. The phone rang several times, the caller name displayed: [Ji Mingrui].


    Ji Mingrui had been too busy to sleep these days, and finally found a rare chance to sleep in the car for a bit. He realized that Chi Qing had disappeared for nearly a week when he grabbed his phone to check the time after waking up, neither replying to messages, nor picking up calls.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Ji Mingrui said after the call went through, ¡°Master, you¡¯re still alive.¡±


    The master on the other end of the line said the most indifferent words in the most familiar tone: ¡°Didn¡¯t die.¡±


    Ji Mingrui: ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re still breathing, I got scared, I thought something happened to you.¡±


    Ji Mingrui got up from the back seat of the car, his legs numb from having fallen asleep. He smacked his legs: ¡°Oh right, didn¡¯t you say you were getting therapy last time¡­¡­ has there been any progress?¡±


    The two couldn¡¯t talk for long.


    Because Su Xiaolan opened the passenger door visibly upset; she sat down with her notebook and said: ¡°The investigation here is over, go to the next place.¡±


    So Ji Mingrui hurriedly hung up the phone, flipping into the driver¡¯s seat in the front skillfully: ¡°Alright I won¡¯t talk to you, let¡¯s talk when I¡¯m back.¡±


    Su Xiaolan asked casually: ¡°What therapy?¡±


    Ji Mingrui put down the handbrake: ¡°What other kind of therapy is there, the one for sick people.¡±


    Ji Mingrui added, ¡°Therapy for mysophobia.¡±


    The first thing that Su Xiaolan thought of was Chi Qing¡¯s hands, and the black gloves that never left his hands year round: ¡°The therapy¡­¡­ has progress?¡±


    Ji Mingrui had actually not been able to hear Chi Qing¡¯s response at all just now, but he still said confidently: ¡°Impossible, do I not know my good friend, there is no cure. The last time I went to his house, he felt disgusted when he let me touch him for a second, so what progress can be made.¡±


    Outside the car window, the sun was setting, and it was evening.


    The day passed quickly, the sun and moon switching spots, the last bit of light also blocked out. The street lights on both sides of the road lit up instantly; it was night again, and it was dark outside.


    Chi Qing laid in bed with his eyes closed as he tried to fall asleep.


    But every time he thought that he might be able to fall asleep, a voice would suddenly speak: [He¡¯s right, if my child finds herself in this kind of situation in the future, will she make the same choice as me?]


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t need to think to know that this voice came from the third floor.


    Ten minutes later.


    Chi Qing knocked on his neighbor¡¯s door for the second time.


    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing gloves,¡± When Xie Lin opened the door, Chi Qing was wearing a light jacket. His voice was still indifferent, but his eyes were unnaturally lowered; it was obvious that he wasn¡¯t used to expressing himself in ways other than irritating people, ¡°Is now alright for you?¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Ji Mingrui: ?


    ¨C


    Ah, missed another day¡­¡­

 CH 28

    Not long ago, the two were in the kind of relationship where one tied the other up with a necktie, and one pointed at the other with the tip of an umbrella in the middle of the rain.


    For the out-of-control treatment, they could now stand together and talk properly.


    Chi Qing wasn¡¯t sure if Xie Lin was asleep before he came; only after he finished speaking did he realize that he came over suddenly. After his mind reading went out of control, his own behavior also became uncontrollable.


    ¡±¡­¡­¡± Xie Lin gestured for him to come in, ¡°First come in and wait a while, I need to dry my hair.¡±


    Xie Lin had just taken a shower, the ends of his hair still dripping water. The hair that had been parted into two sides was now neatly scattered on his forehead, covering his slightly raised eyes. The drops of water falling from his hair happened to fall on the back of Chi Qing¡¯s hand.


    The back of Chi Qing¡¯s hand felt cold; he fought against the insomnia, finally speaking rationally: ¡°We can do this another day if you¡¯re about to sleep.¡±


    Xie Lin squinted his eyes, unable to see things clearly: ¡°I¡¯m not about to sleep, come in.¡±


    Chi Qing found a spot on the sofa for him to sit while waiting.


    Xie Lin came out of the bathroom after half drying his hair, his hair smooth even without any styling. He opened the fridge, pouring a glass of cold water: ¡°Did you take medicine yet.¡±


    Chi Qing picked out Xie Lin¡¯s voice from the mess of voices, letting out an ¡°en.¡± Scared that he would ask more, he added: ¡°Fever¡¯s gone.¡±


    But he didn¡¯t seem very energetic, so the words weren¡¯t very convincing.


    Chi Qing couldn¡¯t wait until Xie Lin spoke; he was sleepy and it was noisy. His eyes were half closed as he curled up on the sofa, the hair on his forehead unexpectedly lifted up by a hand: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin had, at some unknown point of time, moved to stand in front of him, very close to him, bending over slightly. The smell of shampoo and body wash mixed together drifted over, smelling like some kind of light perfume, with the sweet scent of tobacco.


    After lifting the hair on Chi Qing¡¯s forehead, he gently pressed the back of his other hand against his forehead.


    ¡±Don¡¯t move,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°let me take your temperature.¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t know what there was to take: ¡°I took my temperature before coming over, or is it that you think you¡¯re better than a thermometer?¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°I¡¯m not better than a thermometer, but I can tell whether or not you¡¯re lying. After all, some people would rather suffer a fever than go to the hospital.¡±


    After Xie Lin finished speaking, he looked at him and said: ¡°¡­¡­You seem a little stiff.¡±


    ¡±¡­¡­¡±


    Due to the stiffness, Chi Qing¡¯s entire sitting posture seemed unnatural. Although he didn¡¯t touch Xie Lin¡¯s hand, the same affect happened the moment Xie Lin reached out his hand and touched him. As a result of his body being excessively tense, it suddenly turned quiet, not a single sound could be heard by his ear.


    Not resisting and not finding it repulsive did not mean being used to it, especially since he was used to keeping his distance from people all year round.


    Xie Lin lifted his hand, confirming that there was no abnormality with his body temperature: ¡°Your complexion looks bad, is it really uncomfortable.¡±


    Chi Qing gradually relaxed his body, the distorted voice making its way back to his ears: ¡°It¡¯s bearable.¡±


    Xie Lin really was not about to sleep. After he sat down on the empty sofa chair closest to Chi Qing, he held his phone in one hand, and gave the other hand to Chi Qing: ¡°Give it a try, let go if it¡¯s uncomfortable.¡±


    Chi Qing¡¯s fingers peeked out from his sleeves, unable to come in contact with much, finally only able to hold one of Xie Lin¡¯s fingers.


    There was a light ring mark at the base of that finger.


    In an instant, it was as if the sounds were from a magic box that had suddenly been closed, crowded together and drifting by his ear endlessly, and they were stored back in the magic box all at once.


    Although Xie Lin usually had very little to do, all of the business matters at home taken care of by a specialized person, he still had to read email reports frequently.


    He flipped through a few pages, and Wu Zhi¡¯s messages suddenly appeared in the notification bar.


    Wu Zhi: Jianghu emergency.1


    Wu Zhi: Just five seconds ago, my true love reappeared.


    Wu Zhi was in the bar. All aspects of him were rather good, but he was still hiding in the corner holding his phone like a coward, deciding not to rashly strike up a conversation until Xie Lin replied to his messages.


    But the reincarnation of his parents acted uncharacteristically today, only replying with two words.


    Xie Lin: Not free.


    ¨C ???


    ¨C Not free?


    ¨C What¡¯re you busy with?


    ¨C Busy not being busy.


    Xie Lin replied.


    Wu Zhi got more confused seeing these four words.


    ¨C ?


    ¨C Can you talk like a human, then are you busy or are you not busy.


    Xie Lin actually couldn¡¯t concentrate on reading emails; his hand was held by someone, making it difficult to concentrate.


    He looked down at his hand, seeing the two fingers that were half peeking out of the coat sleeve and lightly resting on his knuckles. The nails were cut cleanly, and the pale and thin fingers rested on his hand with a sharp contrast of skin color.


    But the instigator was heartless, because he had already looked for a good place on the sofa and fallen asleep.


    Chi Qing¡¯s legs were bent, curled up, with the loose coat draped over his body. His face was half covered by his hair, revealing only his chin, and strangely red lips.


    Xie Lin looked away from him, his gaze returning to his phone screen, and sent a message with one hand.


    ¨C Today¡¯s not a good time.


    ¨C I¡¯ve lent my hand out.


    As he held his phone, Wu Zhi wondered if the DJ at the bar tonight was too energetic, making his brain ache and have difficulty functioning, otherwise why couldn¡¯t he understand the words that Xie Lin sent him.


    Chi Qing slept for over two hours. When he opened his eyes, he even thought that he had returned to what he was like before he lost control. The effects caused by alcohol seemed like a dream.


    He closed his eyes and slowed down, feeling the warm knuckles between his fingers, and gradually regaining consciousness.


    ¡±Awake?¡± Xie Lin had also just finished handling his matters, exiting out of his email.


    Chi Qing let go of his hand, finding that there weren¡¯t many people speaking at this point tonight, and almost everyone upstairs and downstairs had already fallen asleep: ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡±You could wake me up.¡±


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t mind: ¡°It¡¯s okay, I just finished my work, and don¡¯t intend on sleeping yet.¡±


    Chi Qing recalled that the last time he came to Xie Lin¡¯s house was also late at night.


    It had been almost four in the morning, he was still awake.


    Chi Qing had been distracted by the noise before, now asking: ¡°You always work at night?¡±


    Under the guise of ¡°helping with therapy,¡± he chose his words carefully as he spoke, and didn¡¯t just say ¡®No wonder you¡¯re so free during the day.¡¯


    Xie Lin caught the word ¡°always,¡± and also recalled the last time Chi Qing knocked on his door.


    According to his usual style, he would say some pleasant sounding words to brush over the past, such as ¡°How could I wait for you if I don¡¯t sleep late,¡± but the words turned around once they reached his mouth: ¡°¡­¡­No, it¡¯s just that there¡¯s something that I¡¯m not sure if I should or shouldn¡¯t do recently.¡±


    ¡±?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know why he could bring it up to Chi Qing.


    ¡±A position in the police station,¡± Xie Lin said, ¡°consultant.¡±


    An old voice emerged from the depths of his memories.


    ¡ª ¡°Xie Lin, the final result of your psychological evaluation report is¡­¡­ high risk.¡±


    ¡ª ¡°We want you to leave the team, long-term exposure to these cases may not be beneficial for your mental health.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡ª ¡°In the past there was Xie Feng, but Xie Feng isn¡¯t here anymore. Who can control him, who is able to control him?!¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t understand: ¡°Why not go?¡±


    Xie Lin raised his eyebrows: ¡°Why do I have to go?¡±


    As it was difficult for Chi Qing to feel sympathy for victims, his view was therefore more rational and objective: ¡°Because you can solve cases.¡±


    Chi Qing habitually retracted his hands, stating the facts: ¡°If no one had found that there was something wrong with those cat corpses before, the baby might not have just been simply cut by the knife in the end.¡±


    Xie Lin was taken back.


    Yuan Ju¡¯s voice from ten years ago, and the voices of other criminal policemen slowly faded away.


    Only one sentence remained from those memories in the end.


    All that remained was that sentence spoken during the explosion¡ª ¡°¡­¡­You can help a lot of people.¡±


    It was already late, and it was inconvenient for Chi Qing to stay and intrude on him. He placed his hands in his coat pockets, looking very sleepy, and said ¡°thank you¡± before leaving.


    Xie Lin sent him to the door, smiling as he leaned against the door: ¡°I should be thanking you.¡±


    The next day.


    In the still busy headquarters, several criminal police came and went in a hurry, some came back with clues, and there were some who immediately led a team to rush out after receiving the news. In the past ten years, there were many new faces in the General Administration.


    The two consecutive cases of living alone murders made less and less progress over the days, as the pressure of public opinion increased day by day, with some news even openly pointing to the police handling the case.


    The murderer¡¯s methods were overly familiar, making them suspect that this was not the first or second case. After conducting cross-provincial investigations, they actually found several very similar cases. These similar cases all came from the neighboring Xiamen City. The landlord involved said: ¡°I thought she had withdrawn the lease. I told her two months in advance that I would take this house back. I had originally found a buyer, and planned on selling it. My son is getting married next year, so I wanted to add some money to buy another place. Who knew that when I called the cleaning lady to come clean the place, I would find that someone died in my house.¡±


    The General Administration had to sent up an emergency team to participate in the investigation of the living alone cases at first, combining these cases.


    In the already busy General Administration, these days can be said to be extremely busy.


    So when Wu Zhibin and Yuan Ju¡¯s group of people went to the door to meet someone in person, everyone in the General Administration was very panicked, thinking that because there was no breakthrough in the case for such a long time, some big shot had come.


    ¡±Who is it?¡± Someone asked in a quiet voice.


    ¡±Don¡¯t know,¡± another replied, ¡°such a big fuss.¡±


    Everyone was still busy with the matter at hand, only paying attention to the movement at the door from time to time.


    But the person who came was beyond their expectations.


    Not long after Wu Zhibin and Yuan Ju arrived at the entrance, a car that looked expensive slowed down, turned and crossed the opposite street, before stopping noticeably at the gates of the General Administration, the windows slowly lowering.


    A face that didn¡¯t fit in with the General Administration appeared in the eyes of everyone who wanted to see it but didn¡¯t dare to look at it¡ª the atmosphere of the General Administration is serious and stiff, the uniform looking rigid when worn. But this face very obviously did not match the word ¡°serious,¡± seeming more like a thrill seeker.


    With a hand on the steering wheel, Xie Lin turned his head to look at them from the car window, greeting them with a smile: ¡°Although it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been here, I still remember how to get to the General Bureau. There¡¯s no need to bring so many people guide me at the door, Yuan Ju.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Unexpectedly, the debt, can never be paid off.


    1 Jianghu emergency (½­ºþ¾È¼±) ¡ª an emergency where you don¡¯t understand something/are in a crisis and need help from someone urgently.

 CH 29

    The files had been prepared in advance in the General Administration conference room.


    A rookie from the headquarters who was in charge of bringing in the water secretly observed the situation in the conference room while putting the water down.


    So the rookie from the headquarters saw the young man who was personally greeted by Yuan Ju himself at the entrance of the headquarters sitting in the conference room. Everyone was wearing a police uniform. He wore a very casual black shirt. In the tense atmosphere, he smiled when he took the water and said thank you.


    After he brought in the water, he closed the conference room door on the way out.


    Plenty of people had gathered outside of the conference room. They all seemed to be doing their own things at first glance, but when they saw him come out, the people pretending to print something in front of the printer stopped pretending, and several people quickly formed a circle.


    ¡°What exactly is going on?¡±


    ¡°Seems like, said it¡¯s a consultant they invited.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Consultant? One that studied psychology? Doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, seems to be surnamed Xie.¡±


    ¡°Consultant, surnamed Xie,¡± someone connected those two keywords, and got shocked, ¡°Xie Lin?!¡±


    The people in the General Administration were sensitive to the word ¡°Xie.¡± Although they don¡¯t recognize him, they were familiar with the name and deeds.


    They weren¡¯t like Ji Mingrui and Su Xiaolan, who didn¡¯t even know who ¡°Xie Lin¡± was when mentioned.


    Ever since they entered the General Administration¡ª no, even earlier, as long as they learned about the case from ten years ago, there was no way for them to not have seen the two words Xie Lin.


    If Xie Feng can be said to be the textbook-level rising star of the Criminal Police Corps back then, then Xie Lin, who started participating in criminal investigations at the age of fifteen, was like a cheating existence.


    To this day, on the list of all participants marked on the last page of the yellowed old cases in the archives of the headquarters, there will be three words¡ª Consultant: Xie Lin.


    These newcomers had only heard of Xie Lin¡¯s name, regardless of how shocking it might be, there was the shock of seeing the rumored person. But those who participated in the old cases many years ago were different. When the old detectives saw Xie Lin entering the conference room once again, they thought they suddenly saw that scene from ten years ago, through the blinds.


    In the conference room.


    Many things have changed in the past ten years. Like the old-fashioned projection screen in the conference room for example, which had vague shapes and low color rendering, had been replaced with an LCD screen with technological progress, and could be automatically connected to the main computer.


    Yuan Ju¡¯s white hair couldn¡¯t be covered by the knot of hair on top of his head. There was also the criminal policeman sitting next to Yuan Ju, who appeared to be only in his thirties, but had many meritorious medals on his shoulders.


    Wu Zhibin was a little hesitant while introducing: ¡°This is Captain Yang. You should have an impression of him. Among the people who entered the team that year, him and your brother were the most favored. After your brother passed away¡­¡­ the position of team captain¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin didn¡¯t speak.


    Revisiting a formerly familiar place ten years later, many things have changed.


    Just like how the person who was in that position will never come back.


    But there were also some things that didn¡¯t change; such as the words on the white wall of the conference room: Law enforcement for the people, police for the public.


    ¡°The deceased Xue Mei, after a forensic examination, was confirmed to have died earlier than Yang Zhenzhen, killed approximately a month ago.¡±


    A photo of the fridge at the crime scene was displayed on the LCD screen, the scene of the murder ghastly.


    ¡°Although the way the murderer ultimately disposed of the bodies were different, we compared several fatal wounds on the deceased,¡± the slideshow switched to the next slide, ¡°the fatal wounds on the back of the head, chest, waist, and abdomen are very similar, and Xue Mei was also sexually assaulted before death.¡±


    ¡°According to what the landlord recalled, when she led people to open the door with a spare key, there were no signs of damage to the doors or windows, which means that the murderer did not need to enter the deceased¡¯s room by force. This is the same as the case with Yang Zhenzhen.¡±


    While the reporter was giving the summary report, Xie Lin didn¡¯t make a single sound.


    Xie Lin sat towards the back. The light from the LCD screen couldn¡¯t reach him, and the blinds next to him were closed. The Xie Lin who had immersed himself in the case suddenly made people unable to think of the Xie Lin who had accepted the water with a smile just now for some strange reason.


    He seemed to like looking at pictures of the scene of murder, arranging the bloodiest ones according to the time of the crime.


    Xie Lin leaned against the back of the chair, pinching the ring on one of his fingers with two other fingers and turning it a couple of times. When the reporter stopped and looked at him, he took his eyes off the photo of the scene, saying: ¡°I¡¯m listening, you can continue.¡±


    ¡°We investigated everyone who was close to Xue Mei. Xue Mei¡¯s lifestyle is usually very simple, two points connected by one line. The only conflict might be that she and her boyfriend were on the verge of breaking up a month ago. But her boyfriend is not a suspect, because he wasn¡¯t in the city the whole month, traveling with friends to relax. He claimed that he wanted to calm down and reevaluate their relationship, so he didn¡¯t contact her for an entire month. We confirmed his ticket, and monitored his hotel check-in and spending information. He was indeed not in this city a month ago.¡±


    This once again excluded close acquaintances.


    ¡°We are currently still unsure of how the murder managed to leave no traces in the house¡­¡­¡±


    After learning more about Xue Mei¡¯s case, Xie Lin asked: ¡°What about the cases in Xiamen City?¡±


    The police officer in charge of reporting them said: ¡°There are two suspected cases in Xiamen City, in August of last year and December of last year. Due to a lack of clues, in addition to the fact that the victims were all tenants, there¡¯s a big gap between the time the crime occurred and the time they were discovered¡­¡­ so the cases are¡­¡­¡±


    All the information that the reporter said, everyone in the room had already heard before.


    Xie Lin, however, extracted the clues that they had missed: ¡°So all four victims were not close to their families. When Yang Zhenzhen was murdered, if the police hadn¡¯t contacted her family, she might have been like Xue Mei, disappearing for a month without being discovered. The murderer may not necessarily be someone close to them, but must be someone who understands their situation. In other words, it should be relatively easy for him to obtain the victim¡¯s personal information by some means.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­?!¡±


    Xie Lin showed them what¡¯s called the breakthrough point of a case is also the difficulty of it.


    The victims were found a period of time after being murdered, which certainly increased the difficulty of solving the case, but from another angle, it could also be a clue left behind by the murderer.


    Xie Lin quickly determined the conditions that the murderer used to choose the ¡°prey¡±: ¡°His specifically selected women who lived alone, and investigated these women¡¯s family background. It¡¯s very likely¡ª the nature of his work made it easy for him to do this, because under normal circumstances, it¡¯s impossible to get a random woman to confide in you about her family situation through regular social interaction. He was still in Xiamen City in December of last year; his job is very likely to be very inconsistent and mobile.¡± Sensing that the atmosphere in the conference room was too tense, Xie Lin flipped a page of the file in front of him, saying, ¡°¡­¡­Of course this assumption is not necessarily for sure, as if it were me, maybe it could be done.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    There¡¯s no need to show off your personal charm at a time like this.


    Wu Zhibin thought about it after hearing this, shifting through a pile of materials, and finally pulled out a photo. The man in the photo had his hair shaved short, a buzzcut, single eyelids, and his face was a bit fierce: ¡°He¡¯s Xue Mei¡¯s neighbor, who works in the logistics industry. That day when we visited him, he acted unnaturally.¡±


    The meeting ended with a final word from Yuan Ju: ¡°Investigate.¡±


    After the meeting ended, Xie Lin unscrewed the cap of the water bottle, took out the phone that had been put on silent mode before, and opened the chat list, wanting to see if a certain someone had sent him a message.


    Chi Qing was clearly not the type of person to send people messages; unless something said was overboard, he would not take the initiative to poke Xie Lin.


    Xie Lin took the initiative to send a greeting.


    ¨C Dear patient, do you need the treatment today.


    The other party didn¡¯t react for a long time.


    Xie Lin moved his fingers again, typing out two lines.


    Wu Zhibin saw this screen: ¡°Who are you texting.¡±


    Xie Lin smiled: ¡°You¡¯ve met him, the one who wears gloves all the time and doesn¡¯t let people touch him.¡±


    Wu Zhibin: ¡°You¡¯re still in contact with him?¡±


    That one sentence revealed quite a bit of information, but the attitude didn¡¯t match.


    Xie Lin: ¡°What?¡±


    Wu Zhibin realized he made a slip of tongue: ¡°Nothing¡­¡­ I just think that someone like him, seems a bit weird.¡±


    ¡°The apartment across from mine was empty when I bought it. I rented it out to him some time ago,¡± as for the evaluation of ¡°weird,¡± Xie Lin acknowledged it: ¡°He is a bit weird. He has a disorder, and I don¡¯t know where it comes from.¡±


    Xie Lin¡¯s words seemed sarcastic, but Wu Zhibin sensed some hidden intimacy after thinking about it.


    Xie Lin took a sip of water, closed the cap again, and stood up while saying: ¡°I¡¯m leaving, I¡¯ll be back tomorrow when that neighbor is being interrogated.¡±


    Wu Zhibin was the last to leave the conference room.


    The rookie detective who came to pack his things saw him: ¡°Bin-ge, you still haven¡¯t left.¡±


    Wu Zhibin came back to his senses: ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll leave right away, you¡¯ve worked hard.¡±


    He had been sitting there just now thinking about the old case. There were actually two victim information sheets in the file bag. He had stopped on the second to last page the last time he flipped through it. The photo on the second to last page is of a teenage Chi Qing.


    He didn¡¯t flip to the end, because he didn¡¯t need to see the last page to know¡ª there was a photo pasted on the last page in the same position, and the person in the photo was Xie Lin from ten years ago.


    Wu Zhibin didn¡¯t know what exactly the fate between these two people were, surprised that the only two survivors in the old case would meet again after so many years. The result of the psychological evaluation Xie Lin took back then turned out to be high risk, then what about that Chi Qing?


    Wu Zhibin thought of the intriguing ¡°long-term follow-ups suggested¡± in the file.


    ¡­¡­Could he be a normal person?


    On the other hand, since he slept rather well yesterday, Chi Qing had the rare thought of placing an order on the grocery app. After the vegetable and fruits and a box of frozen steaks were delivered, he got ready to cook.


    He rarely cooked, mostly because it¡¯s too much of a hassle.


    Chi Qing selected a few knives from the knife holder, putting them to the side for later use. After carefully wiping the knives clean, he took out a pair of rubber gloves from the drawer and put them on, so he could avoid direct contact with the ingredients.


    The curtains in the house were drawn closed, and the lights were also off.


    A bright red steak laid on the wooden cutting board.


    Chi Qing picked up the knife, the gleaming silver tip of the knife cutting into the meat. His hand was steady, cutting down slowly, and the cut was extremely smooth.


    The phone next to the cutting board lit up, illuminating the scene.


    ¨C Xie Lin returned to the headquarters!!!


    ¨C The headquarters! Headquarters consultant!


    ¨C Did you know this, I¡¯m so jealous, I¡¯m living under a lemon tree today.


    Sender Ji Mingrui.


    After Chi Qing finished cutting the meat, he took off one rubber glove.


    ¨C Why do I have to know.


    Ji Mingrui: Could you reply to messages any slower, what are you doing?


    Chi Qing replied with a word.


    ¨C Cooking.


    ¨C ¡­¡­


    Ji Mingrui had the honor of watching Chi Qing cook a few times, his hair standing on edge whenever he thinks of it.


    Honestly speaking, it¡¯s a bit freakish.


    Actually, cutting meat is a very common thing, but Chi Qing does it very differently. Holding a knife sinisterly, specially wearing rubber gloves, he knows that it¡¯s because this good friend has mysophobia¡ª but the sense of ritual is so strong, it¡¯s hard to not make people overthink it.


    Moreover, he makes each cut very slowly, so slow that it seems like he¡¯s carefully immersing himself in the feeling¡­¡­ In short, after he saw it once, he felt goosebumps on his arm and made an excuse to leave.


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t chat further with Ji Mingrui, exiting the chat, and saw a few unread messages in his chat list.


    ¨C Dear patient, do you need the treatment today.


    This message was followed closely by two more:


    ¨C Not replying to me.


    ¨C Running away after sleeping?

 CH 30

    The words ¡°running away after sleeping¡± were very ambiguous.


    Chi Qing: ¡­¡­


    Chi Qing¡¯s mental state improved a lot today. There were two friendly families in the building who were discussing going on a vacation together, at eight in the morning in the elevator. The one who was staying home on sick leave also got better. Many people had left and it became much quieter. The number of times the residents of the building would stay up late were limited, and there weren¡¯t things to fight about every night. The only thing bothering him was that there was a search for a tenant for one of the two vacant rooms downstairs.


    The agent brought people over to see the apartment, three times in an afternoon, but failed in the negotiations because of the high rent.


    Towards the evening, the agent eventually brought a female tenant. The female tenant wasn¡¯t renting the apartment alone, because the distorted voice said: [All aspects of this apartment are rather good, I don¡¯t know if they¡¯d like it or not¡­¡­]


    As for whether this person is a ¡®he¡¯ or ¡®she,¡¯ Chi Qing had absolutely no interest in those types of things. He just hoped that the person who moved in in the end wasn¡¯t talkative.


    In short, when his mental state is not as bad, he didn¡¯t mind reverting back to his original relationship with Xie Lin for a while, so his attitude of replying to messages was straightforward.


    ¨C I owe you a meal, I made too much when I was cooking.


    Followed closely by five words.


    ¨C Want to eat or not.


    ¡°Is there anyone who asks the way you do,¡± approximately ten minutes later, Xie Lin parked the car and took the elevator upstairs, leaning against the doorway of Chi Qing¡¯s apartment, ¡°would it meet your expectations if I said I won¡¯t eat?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Do you want to hear the truth?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± regardless of if Xie Lin wanted to hear it, Chi Qing said the truth, ¡°I don¡¯t like to eat with other people.¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Then how should I eat?¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°Take it home.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­How cold,¡± Xie Lin smiled as he looked at him, ¡°and you even said you¡¯re not running away after sleeping.¡±


    Xie Lin purposefully walked past the door: ¡°Then what should I do, I quite like eating with you, why don¡¯t you start getting used to me first.¡±


    There were two white plates on the dining table in the apartment, with two sets of knives and forks on the side.


    The food Chi Qing made didn¡¯t seem bad, but frying beef strips and boiling vegetables were also originally not difficult.


    Xie Lin really hadn¡¯t eaten yet. Wu Zhibin invited him to eat in the canteen at the General Administration, but he didn¡¯t reply.


    The General Administration, that place, was both too familiar and too unfamiliar. So many things had changed, but there were traces of Xie Feng no matter where he went.


    He remembered the way the man in a police uniform gave him food when he took him to the canteen at the General Administration for the first time. The man¡¯s face at the time had already become a blurred memory, but he remembered the words filled with pride and eagerness: ¡°This is where gege works.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Chi Qing wiped the cutlery carefully again, then picked up the cutlery, holding the silver knife and fork with black clad fingers. Before he could make the first cut, he heard Xie Lin speak: ¡°This patient¡¯s attitude towards treatment isn¡¯t very proactive today.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Take your gloves off, who would cover up so much while eating?¡±


    It was a habit for Chi Qing to wear gloves.


    Wearing it when there was someone around was habitual, without having to think too much about it.


    Habits formed over ten years were hard to change overnight.


    The hand holding the cutlery paused. He had dug the pit of cooperating with the treatment himself after all. He was also not really resistant to Xie Lin, nor could he not compromise.


    So he put down the cutlery, and took off his gloves.


    Picking up the fork and knife again, there was no black cloth this time, so his fingers touched the hard cold surface of the fork and knife directly, appearing more natural.


    During the meal, the two chatted occasionally.


    Xie Lin was used to Western food, his index finger resting on the cutlery naturally: ¡°You don¡¯t seem to like talking when you¡¯re eating.¡±


    Chi Qing coldly cut the piece of beef in his hand: ¡°I don¡¯t like to even when I¡¯m not eating.¡±


    ¡°Is it always this dark at your place?¡±


    ¡°The lights aren¡¯t on, the curtains aren¡¯t drawn. It¡¯s quite sunny outside today.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, you can take it back to eat.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    After eating, Xie Lin suddenly brought up a random topic as he put his fork and knife down: ¡°The woman who died in Tianrui Community was named Xue Mei. Like with Yang Zhenzhen, there were no signs of forced entry, but none of the people around her are murder suspects.¡±


    Xie Lin rarely wanted to listen to other people¡¯s opinions when he handled cases.


    And there were no one¡¯s opinions for him to listen to, but Chi Qing¡¯s performance in the cat murder case caught his attention.


    This eccentric, full of flaws, mysophobic, who stays at home all day yet doesn¡¯t like to turn on the lights, had extraordinary insight in some aspects.


    Chi Qing: ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡±


    Xie Lin: ¡°Nothing to do with you, I just want to hear what you think about this case.¡±


    After a while, Chi Qing grabbed a tissue from the side, and spoke while wiping his hands: ¡°There are too few conditions, it¡¯s hard to guess. The murderer may have the means to freely enter and exit, or may have erased the traces. The lack of forced entry may just be a fake. There are too many directions to guess in, so it¡¯s hard to say.¡±


    The topic of Xue Mei ended there. Xie Lin received the text message Wu Zhibin sent after he went home: The neighbor¡¯s whereabouts are indeed suspicious. He hasn¡¯t gone to the office to work this whole time, and no one opened the door when we knocked on it. We¡¯re currently camping outside of Tianrui Community for him, you can also come over if you have nothing to do tomorrow.


    Xie Lin replied: Got it.


    The next day, Chi Qing stayed at home as usual, and the agent brought another new resident to see the apartment.


    Chi Qing was forced to learn that the apartment downstairs was originally a wedding gift bought for the owner¡¯s son, but the son didn¡¯t choose to return to the country for work after studying abroad, choosing to stay and settle overseas, so the owner planned to rent out the house.


    He just pretended to not have heard anything; as long as he didn¡¯t go out, or to crowded places, he could bear the voices coming from the people in the building for a while longer.


    But this small hope was quickly shattered by reality.


    His former landlord called him: ¡°Mr. Chi do you have time right now? Here¡¯s the thing, you moved out in a bit of a hurry. I haven¡¯t even returned the deposit to you, do you think it¡¯s convenient for you to come back?¡±


    Chi Qing didn¡¯t want to go outside: ¡°Not convenient.¡±


    Former landlord: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Chi Qing: ¡°You can check yourself, if there¡¯s anything broken, give the deposit back as you see fit.¡±


    The landlord knew that this tenant didn¡¯t like to talk to people, yet didn¡¯t think it was to this degree, but he still insisted: ¡°If you¡¯re not here in person, I would not feel at ease. If there is any damage or anything similar, then two people can talk it through more clearly in person, you agree right.¡±


    There wasn¡¯t much trust between people.


    The landlord thought that if the amount of compensation to be paid exceeded the deposit, and this tenant wasn¡¯t present, there was nothing he could do if he ran away or refused to admit it.


    Chi Qing still went outside in the end.


    This was the first time he has gone out in over a week.


    The outside world was like a huge noise producing factory to him after losing control, with countless mouths opening and closing, behind every sentence was another sentence that he didn¡¯t dare say, the two voices mixing together and filling his ears endlessly.


    Chi Qing put on a black jacket. In order to reduce contact with the surrounding air, he also pulled up the hood on the hoodie. At the same time, it was also for psychological effect, as if the loose hood covering half his face could isolate the surrounding sounds.


    The driver looked at the address on the order, and muttered: ¡°You¡¯re going to Yangyuan, it¡¯s dangerous over there right now, I heard they still haven¡¯t caught the person¡­¡­¡±


    As long as the case was not solved, everyone¡¯s vigilance would not be lowered.


    The rumors actually only intensified.


    When he got closer to his destination, Chi Qing heard a lot of voices, many of which were still talking about the murder.


    [The murderer must live in this neighborhood, otherwise how else would the two dead girls live so close to each other.]


    [I¡¯m scared to death everyday when I get back to the community after work, scared that the murderer is still nearby. I should really find a place and move away from here as soon as possible.]


    [¡­¡­]


    The former landlord was obviously also worried about this. As soon as he saw Chi Qing getting out of the elevator, he couldn¡¯t hold back after greeting and complained to him: ¡°It¡¯s getting harder and harder to rent out the places in this area, no one comes even if the rent is reduced by a third.¡±


    The former landlord was a middle-aged man, who had demolished the original building and divided it into several more suites. He had become fatter and fatter recently.


    Chi Qing actually had a hard time hearing what the former landlord was saying. There were too many residents in the building. He had been getting a headache from all the noises ever since entering the community, so he interrupted: ¡°Open the door.¡±


    The former landlord pulled out the key and opened the door.


    Although Chi Qing moved out, he hadn¡¯t come back to see this apartment. The apartments he rented weren¡¯t limited to this one, and the lease with Chi Qing didn¡¯t expire until the end of the month. Chi Qing had moved out early, still within the lease period, so he wasn¡¯t in a rush to check it over.


    Seeing this, the former landlord was understandably shocked: the apartment seemed so new that it was exactly the same as the one that had been rented out, looking like it had hardly been lived in.


    The former landlord looked at the apartment hesitantly, looked Chi Qing up and down again a few times, and realized once his gaze landed on the pair of black gloves on his hands, this person might have serious mysophobia.


    ¡°There are no problems, aiya, this apartment looks the same as when I bought it,¡± the former landlord grinned from ear to ear, as how new the apartment was had a big influence on how high the rent was, ¡°I will transfer the deposit back to you. Let¡¯s do business together again in the future if there¡¯s an opportunity. If you want to rent from me again, I welcome you anytime.¡±


    Chi Qing, because of his mysophobia, has received a lot of criticism.


    He was always out of touch with the students around him in school, so it was barren everywhere he passed, and other students were scared of touching him.


    It¡¯s unexpected that he¡¯s popular when it comes to things like renting an apartment.


    It was already noon by the time Chi Qing left after handing the apartment over. The sun was shining brightly; he lifted his hand to press down his hood, walking to the side of the road and getting ready to take a taxi back early.


    There were too many people in the community.


    Residents, shops along the street, pedestrians and vehicles on the road.


    There were sounds everywhere, all of them meshing together. Chi Qing couldn¡¯t process all these sounds at the same time.


    The sounds overlapped in the end, and he heard a dizzying hum.


    As the hum passed him, a man with a buzzcut in a padded jacket hurried past him.


    Right as he passed by, he heard an extremely clear distorted voice: [Xue Mei died, the police will find me soon, they¡¯ll find that I¡¯ve always been¡­¡­ she¡­¡­]


    Chi Qing could only hear the first half of the sentence when he passed by. The most important words in the middle of the first sentence were disrupted by the surrounding voices, and the name Xue Mei was familiar.


    Chi Qing recalled what Xie Lin said last night while eating.


    ¡ª ¡°The woman who died in Tianrui Community was named Xue Mei.¡±


    At the same time, 50 meters away from Tianrui Community, in a seemingly ordinary car, Wu Zhibin sat in the shotgun seat and quietly observed the movement at the entrance of Tianrui Community.


    Since the incident, the other entrances of Tianrui Community had been blocked off, leaving only the south gate for residents to enter and exit.


    ¡°The person still hasn¡¯t shown up.¡± Wu Zhibin said.


    Sitting in the driver¡¯s seat was a professional criminal police officer sent by the General Administration. He was puzzled as he said: ¡°There¡¯s currently no definitive evidence pointing at him, why is he hiding his whereabouts?¡±


    Before they could find the person, no questions could be answered.


    Wu Zhibin suddenly turned and looked at the backseat of the car: ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t come today.¡±


    There was one person sitting in the backseat of the car.


    Xie Lin sat in the backseat, his hand propped up on the half rolled down car window, and looked sideways out the window. There were no signs of even the slightest tension of carrying out the task in his demeanor: ¡°You have already invited me in person, how could I not come.¡±


    While speaking, the criminal policeman in the driver¡¯s seat straightened up in his seat, and said: ¡°I found the target.¡±


    ¡°Wearing a black jacket, diagonally behind us,¡± the policeman watched the rearview mirror as he spoke, ¡°at a distance of approximately 250 meters, and will pass by our car in a few minutes.¡±


    Wu Zhibin also straightened up: ¡°Get ready!¡±


    Only Xie Lin still looked idle, even looking out the window as if admiring the scenery.


    The angle that the rearview mirror could see was limited, and other pedestrians would also block the view during the time. They also couldn¡¯t stick their heads out the window and look back. They could only hold their breath and wait for the target to approach them.


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    Chi Qing: Scored twice