CH 119

A disaster disappeared into thin air—or rather, there was no possibility of a disaster. Who would really fight with the local police in the territory of another country for the sake of a singer? The attitude of the military attaché was just to posture a little.

Unfortunately, Xing Conglian had seen through this act long ago. His response was also obvious. Regardless of what Shen Chenggong would or wouldn’t do, since he had said those words that rubbed Xing Conglian the wrong way, he would act on them.

In short, this was similar to the methods commonly used in diplomatic negotiations. When one retreated, the other advanced. The two sides would then mediate and negotiate. Apart from “enhancing friendship”, there would be no other consequences.

However, Liu Ying didn’t think so. Naturally, she thought the Xinni Embassy “bodyguards” were forced to back down because of Xing Conglian.

“I assure you, you will be reprimanded,” the woman said angrily.

It was almost like her last dying resistance.

However, before her voice fell, she received a very indifferent look from the deputy military attaché. His meaning was: “Shut up.”

“Let’s go.”

Shen Chenggong bent down, as if nothing had happened just now, picked up the broken sunglasses on the floor, and put them back into his pocket, looking nonchalant.

Liu Ying’s face was indignant. The little assistant in the room was confused, while Li Jingtian finally got up from the hospital bed.

Since the other party told him to go, naturally he would follow. He methodically picked up his leather shoes and put them on. He moved slowly, like a young man with a good family background; no matter what kind of battles were around him, such an atmosphere couldn’t affect his movements.

Seeing that Li Jingtian was getting up, the assistant, Xiao Ke, also began to frantically organize Li Jingtian’s remaining luggage. Since Li Jingtian was suddenly hospitalized, there weren’t many things to pack.

Li Jingtian didn’t seem to notice any abnormalities in the room. He was just doing his own thing at his own pace.

After he finished putting on his shoes, he walked to the bedside table, picked up a glass of cold water at the head of the bed, and took a sip. The sound of a luggage bag being pulled resounded in the ward when he finished this series of slow actions.

Hearing it, Li Jingtian put down the glass of water, walked back to his assistant, and personally picked up the bulging backpack. Under everyone’s gaze, he carried it on his own; there was no arrogant aura that came from being a big star.

Li Jingtian was still the low-key and humble Li Jingtian as rumored.

The four agents from the embassy also started to move and prepared to escort Li Jingtian out.

When he was about to walk to the door, Li Jingtian suddenly stopped and turned around. The blazing sun outside the window fell right on his face, making it white like light.

Lin Chen understood and walked towards the door.

“I may return to China for recuperation in the near future. This is my personal number.” Li Jingtian bowed slightly, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it to Lin Chen with both hands.

When Lin Chen was about to reach for it, Li Jingtian suddenly grabbed his hand. Although it seemed to be just a polite handshake and farewell, the moment Li Jingtian raised his head, Lin Chen clearly saw the beast-like gaze from his eyes.

Although the gaze was fierce and cruel, it was also gentle and seductive. Lin Chen had seen the same gaze in the eyes of wild beasts that had bitten the necks of their prey and sucked on their blood. This kind of feeling was creepy because of how inhuman it felt.

Lin Chen met Li Jingtian’s gaze and lightly said, “Goodbye.”

……

……

After Li Jingtian left, there were only the three of them left in the room.

Wang Chao was the first to react. The teenager suddenly got up from the floor, laid down on the sofa, and groaned. He said in horror, “My god, Li Jingtian is crazy. He must be a big pervert. Now that he’s at the embassy, we can’t arrest him anymore. What should we do? What the hell is going on?”

“Consultant Lin?” Xing Conglian asked.

Lin Chen stood by the window and didn’t answer. From his view, he could clearly see the reporters and fans waiting anxiously at the gate of the hospital.

After a while, a black car slowly drove out of the underground garage.

The car had a yellow license plate with a special traffic sign on it, indicating that it was the car sent by the Xinni Embassy to pick up Li Jingtian.

Fans were screaming everywhere as reporters quickly reacted to what was going on. They wanted to come forward and get some exclusive news.

However, perhaps it was because the car drove too smoothly, or maybe because the glass windows were tinted on all sides, but it was impossible for anyone to see what was going on inside. The reporters who had previously chased and blocked them didn’t dare to do the same and instead maintained a distance from the car while they kept pressing their cameras at the embassy vehicle.

Li Jingtian’s fans, probably because they were still scarred from the previous stampede, only dared to quietly follow the car while they silently recited their idol’s name and sent him off.

This scene was quite comical. Li Jingtian seemed to be a hero who was about to return to his hometown. Under the farewell of flashing shutters and surrounded by fans, he disappeared at the end of the road.

Lin Chen finally retracted his gaze and finally answered Xing Conglian.

“Li Jingtian is sick.”

“Of course he’s sick,” Xing Conglian said solemnly.

“It’s a mental illness mixed with histrionic personality disorder*,” Lin Chen said.

*A personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking behaviors, usually beginning in early childhood, including inappropriate seduction and an excessive desire for approval. People diagnosed with the disorder are said to be lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, extroverted and flirtatious.

“He was born with the natural love to act?” Wang Chao suddenly asked. “Eh, does that mean his modesty, politeness, gentleness, and actions are all a performance? Shit, doesn’t he get tired of it?”

Lin Chen slowly walked to the teenager and sat down on the sofa, then shook his head. “Normal people can’t understand or recognize people with personality disorders. You infer things about them using common sense. People like Li Jingtian have the primary characteristic of ‘highly self-centered’. They desperately need the attention of others. Therefore, they regard playing with others as a means to achieve their goals. They are warm, smart, and attractive on the surface, but in fact, they completely disregard their human needs and interests. That is, as long as they can get attention, they will do anything, such as coercion, lying, deceit, flattery, and even manipulative suicide threats. If you ask if they get tired of it, it’s like asking if a fish is tired of living in water. They rely on it to live.”

Xing Conglian asked, “So you asked us not to talk to Li Jingtian before was to judge whether Li Jingtian is really sick?”

“If Li Jingtian has a serious histrionic personality disorder, as I inferred, he desperately needs the attention of others. When we entered the ward, no one paid attention to him but instead talked to other people. It would inevitably make him extremely uncomfortable. He will keep trying to attract our attention. This was the case. He really couldn’t stand being neglected by others. As you found, Li Jingtian’s emotional reaction wasn’t sincere but more like being separated by a layer of cellophane, which is also a main feature of histrionic personality disorder. Just like a fish must live in water, patients with personality disorders also have obstacles they can’t cross. You can often get a glimpse of his true psychological state from his obstacles.”

“So he did all that in the mall just to make himself look like a victim and get the attention of society? What about the rape case? Is it legit? But A’Chen, how do you know Li Jingtian has histrionic personality disorder…”

“First, when I saw him on stage, I thought there was something wrong with him, but at that time, I didn’t understand what it was. I just thought he was a smooth talker. He was too humble and affectionate, which can give people a weird and indescribable feeling. Then, we saw the bouquet of roses and the dead nightingale. Regardless of who gave the bouquet, that person must have an antisocial personality disorder. There’s no doubt about this. Following this, you told me about the rape case.” Lin Chen continued, “Since the rape case has occurred, there are only two possibilities: true or false. Of course, either situation would be terrible. However, in theory, it’s impossible. Although it hasn’t been proven that the girl named Xu Ran’s accusation is true, if the rape was real, we can infer that Li Jingtian’s own mental state is extremely unstable to the point where his sexual behavior becomes too extreme. On the other hand, this shows that he will use sex to seduce the object he wants in order to win their attention. This means he has strong predatory tendencies in his sexual behavior and a strong desire to manipulate, showing that he has extreme sexual fetishes. Linked to what he said to his fans on stage, he actually enjoys the feeling of being a victim after hurting others. This gives him an intoxicated feeling.”

“I can’t relate to this,” Wang Chao said honestly.

“I’m telling you a little so you’ll understand that in the classification of personality disorder, antisocial, narcissism, histrionic, and borderline personality disorders are all closely related. Some studies have pointed out that two-thirds of those with histrionic personality disorder also meet the diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder. There are even theories that point out that histrionic personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder may be different manifestations of the same internal cause in people of different genders. That is to say, women tend to have histrionic personality disorder while men are more inclined to show antisocial behavior.”

Lin Chen quieted down. Xing Conglian suddenly realized why Lin Chen was talking like this. If Lin Chen’s deduction was correct, then this case seemed too cruel, and there was a feeling of helplessness and suffocation.

He couldn’t help but say, “Consultant Lin, you actually have a deduction that integrates the entire case, don’t you?”

Lin Chen looked up at him with deep, bottomless eyes. “Yes.”

Cutting right to the chase, Lin Chen’s voice became calmer as he spoke slowly. “If Li Jingtian has a serious histrionic and antisocial personality disorder, then Xu Ran became his prey. After he wantonly trampled on her to satisfy his unspeakable dirty desires, he knew exactly what Xu Ran would do. After all, anyone who was forced to the extreme would resist, but how could the world believe that a dirty, stupid prostitute would accuse a big star, with a solid reputation, of raping her? No one would believe this kind of story. Although I haven’t read the file, my guess is that the rape case was designed by Li Jingtian from the start. He just played with her again and again. It’s impossible for a smart and cunning person like Li Jingtian to leave any evidence. Whether it’s the fake Photoshop photo or the wrong location of the crime, this was all done by Li Jingtian to weaken Xu Ran’s credibility. Under his arrangement, she would definitely lose, and at that time, he can enjoy the pleasure of being a victim. Unexpectedly, Li Jingtian didn’t think that this rape case would make Xu Ran the focus of everyone’s attention. The attention that should’ve belonged to him was taken away by a prostitute, which made him extremely angry. That’s why he planned this second incident. He needed to pull everyone’s attention away from Xu Ran and back to him. So the story looks like this: A whore designed a series of incidents in order to get her revenge on a big star. The big star had his throat slit and was accused of self-directing this whole thing to whitewash himself. Just when online public opinion had turned against him, his fans posted pictures of the culprit during the time of the assault and returned his innocence. Once again, he has replaced Xu Ran as the focus of everyone’s attention and sympathy. Just the thought of this probably will give him an orgasm.”

Xing Conglian was almost speechless.

A high-ranking individual repeatedly destroyed another individual who was crawling in the dust. This incident was already extremely cruel, but Xing Conglian thought there was a worse possibility. “So, Li Jingtian’s throat was slit, but the wound was extremely shallow. He didn’t pretend to be seriously injured, but walked out of the emergency room by himself because this was the best way to clear up suspicion around him. However, the police aren’t fools. As long as we find Xu Ran, which we definitely will, won’t all of Li Jingtian’s arrangements go wrong? But he seems pretty confident of himself, and I don’t think it’s because of his diplomatic protection. Why is he so sure?”

Before Xing Conglian could continue, he saw the obvious pale face of Lin Chen. He even found that Lin Chen’s knuckles were clasped on the armrest of the sofa and were trembling slightly.

“Because, he will kill her.” Lin Chen suddenly looked up at him. “Find Xu Ran right away. I’m afraid her life is in danger.”

“Didn’t Li Jingtian go to the embassy? How can he kill her?”

“How can he?” Lin Chen responded rhetorically. “Not all killing needs to be done with your own hands. Rumors can kill. Gossip can kill. Even the pain of despair can slowly kill.”

Kinky Thoughts:

Breaking down the disorders mentioned in this chapter:

Personality disorder: Class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts, and deviating from those accepted by the individual’s culture. These patterns develop early, are inflexible, and are associated with significant distress or disability. The definitions vary by source and remain a matter of controversy.

Antisocial personality disorder: Predominantly affects men (three times more common). A personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard of, or violation of, the rights of others as well as a difficulty sustaining long-term relationships. Lack of empathy and a contemptuous attitude are often apparent, as well as a history of rule-breaking that can sometimes include law-breaking, a tendency towards chronic boredom and substance abuse, and impulsive and aggressive behavior.

Borderline personality disorder: Predominantly affects women (three times more common). also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong emotional reactions. Those affected often engage in self-harm and other dangerous behaviors, often due to their difficulty with returning their emotional level to a healthy or normal baseline. They may also struggle with a feeling of emptiness, fear of abandonment, and detachment from reality.

Histrionic personality disorder: Equally affects men and women (though diagnostic rates favors women). A personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking behaviors, usually beginning in early childhood, including inappropriate seduction and an excessive desire for approval. People diagnosed with the disorder are said to be lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, extroverted and flirtatious.

Narcissistic personality disorder: Favors men. A personality disorder characterized by a life-long pattern of exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, a diminished ability or unwillingness to empathize with others’ feelings, and interpersonally exploitative behavior. Narcissistic personality disorder is one of the subtypes of the broader category known as personality disorders. It is often comorbid with other mental disorders and associated with significant functional impairment and psychosocial disability.

These are just four personality disorders that were mentioned by Lin Chen, but there are still a few more.