Jin Renguang was stunned for a moment before laughing. "What do you mean? Haven't I always been like this?" He stepped forward and poured the remaining coffee which he just said that he couldn't bear not to drink down the sink and rinsed the cup.
Ru Meiqi stared at him silently.
He was always like this, whether it was back then or now.
When he met something that he didn't want to face, he would always laugh it off as a joke. But Ru Meiqi certainly wasn't joking. "Renguang, I have said it before but I will say it again now. You and I, we are impossible."
"Meiqi!" Jin Renguang propped his arms onto the corner of the sink, his back muscle stretched taut and the veins along his arms bulged. It was as if he could crush her sink with a little bit of strength. Ru Meiqi was worried he would do just that, but when Jin Renguang turned around, he had returned to his usual frivolous smile, relaxed and nonchalant. "Let's talk about this next time."
Ru Meiqi's heart slowly sank as she walked out of the kitchen. "Follow me."
The distance of ten steps were spent in silence, both immersed in their own thoughts. Ru Meiqi opened another door and went in. Jin Renguang had no choice but to follow her. His foot halted at the door as he took in the surroundings.
It was supposed to be a bedroom, but it had been modified into a study. No, it wasn't exactly a study, only the shelf full of books that was befitting of the study, but on the other two walls—except for another floor to ceiling window—it was covered with maps, photographs, notes, scribbles and analysis.
Jin Renguang had nothing to say except, "Wow."
After he closed the door behind him, he commented. "If Tang Wei sees how meticulous you are, he will surely grovel on your feet."
Jin Renguang tried to play it cool, but in the end, he couldn't betray the subconscious reaction of his body. He fidgeted in discomfort. This kind of messy composition, scrawny scribbles and even the way she haphazardly put the books on her shelf made him uncomfortable. It triggered his OCD, compelling him to tidy it for her.
He averted his gaze outside the floor to ceiling window to calm his agitated emotion.
At that exact moment, Ru Meiqi's cold yet soft voice sounded. "I have no time to tidy it up, so bear with it for just a moment."
Instantly, Jin Renguang felt his discomfort cut down by half. He looked at Ru Meiqi's slender back, a hint of smile hidden deep within his eyes. This kind of woman, could he give up on her?
Without turning around, Ru Meiqi gestured for him. "Come here."
Jin Renguang begrudgingly forced himself to the front of the wall which was full with the maps of City A, City S, City H, and City T. It was the maps from where the body part was found before. She had even added a mark on each of the locations where it was found.
Just looking at it gave Jin Renguang a headache. "What do you want me to see?"
"Look at this map." She reached for a marker and tapped on City S' map where the percentage of body parts found was the largest compared to all. "What do you see?"
Jin Renguang knitted his brows. The scattered dots made him irritated. "Roads, lines, dots."
The corner of Ru Meiqi's mouth twitched. "See, someone with OCD will not be able to bear looking at these messy points without getting a headache. Supposedly that the culprit has OCD more severe than you, then these marks aren't for nothing."
Jin Renguang was finally attracted by her words. "What do you mean?" He turned around to find Ru Meiqi's focused side profile, the yellow light above the wall highlighted her sharp cheekbones and thin lips.
"If I put myself in the culprit's shoes," She uncapped the marker and drew a set of lines. "These locations are significant to me because they commemorate the event when the police are unable to catch me. I have obviously given them such a blatant clue, but they are still clueless like a bunch of headless flies, only able to buzz here and there."
Jin Renguang: "…"
Ru Meiqi gave him a sideways glance and finished her soliloquy. "Captain, I have some insight toward these kinds of criminals. After successfully committing crime after crime yet still undiscovered, he will develop some sort of arrogance and a need to show off. He has been rampaging for a year already, it is impossible for him not to leave us some clues."
"Clues?" Jin Renguang frowned. "He gave us clues? Is he stupid? Does it mean that we can catch him easier?"
"Simple, it just adds to the excitement." She analyzed. "After killing more than ten people and causing panic among the masses, he will feel satisfied at first, but then, he will slowly turn numb and want to chase after another form of satisfaction."
Jin Renguang cursed under his breath. "And that is to play cat and mouse with the police?"
"The fact that you are still unable to catch him is irrefutable." Ru Meiqi shrugged. "Now, let us return to the map. If I am the culprit, I will leave clues in the way that is easy to find but also one that the police will never think of so that when they find out, they will realize how stupid they are."
"See these marks?" Ru Meiqi started to connect the dots. "If I draw it like this…"
A tangible shape started to form under Ru Meiqi's hands. Jin Renguang saw it and he almost choked on his breath. "What is he? An elementary kid?"
The scattered dots, when connected, would form a picture of the sun with spikes around a circle, just like one which was drawn by elementary kids in their art homework. Furthermore, every spike was drawn in the exact same length, the precision was as if the culprit had especially counted every degree and divided it meticulously.
Ru Meiqi snorted. "Maybe his way of giving clues is like an elementary kid, but can you guess it? Can you find it? By now, even if he walks under your nose, you will still be unable to identify him!"
Jin Renguang: "…"
He started to scan the map with intense focus. "Then, if he works like this…" He snatched the marker from Ru Meiqi's hands and moved to the map of City A. He tried to superimpose the maps with each other. Even though City A's maps only had 5 dots on it, he connected it only on that part and managed to draw a line where there wasn't any dot yet.
Jin Renguang was stunned, the tip of the marker hovered above a landmark.
Ru Meiqi finished for him. "Here is where he will dump the next body part."
The Recreation Park of City A.
Jin Renguang cursed under his breath but his eyes brightened. He whipped out his phone and started to make calls. When he had walked out for two steps, he turned around to find Ru Meiqi still standing on her original place, her eyes unfocused as if she was in daze, but Jin Renguang knew that she was looking at him.
With the background noise of Tang Wei's shouts, he turned around, crossing the distance with four large steps and kissed her on her lips in a quick, passionate kiss.
Ru Meiqi's eyes widened and when she wanted to push him away, Jin Renguang had let her go. A smirk hung on his lips. "Meiqi, you and I, we are possible," he declared before disappearing from Ru Meiqi's apartment, slamming the front door behind him.
Ru Meiqi fell into a trance, she numbly wiped her lips. "…crazy bastard."
.
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A/N:
hello, my dearest readers! As of today, this story is officially contracted! What does it mean? It means that the gift button is unlocked, you can send me gifts to support and cheer me up ^o^/ but don't worry I don't have plans to lock it at this moment so this story will stay free for reading! Thank you very much!