Chapter 16

The police conducted a search around Chen Hui's residence but found no trace of the pregnant woman, nor any clues.Time was ticking away second by second.

Fang Rui felt increasingly restless and asked the meditating Lin Sen in the car, "Where could Chen Hui be hiding the pregnant woman?"

Holding the drawing made by Mu Mian, Lin Sen muttered, "If I were Chen Hui, and I wanted to be reborn as a cat, I would..."

"If he were to be reborn, he would definitely choose a zodiac date, at an auspicious place."

"Rebirth means returning to the starting point. Time...location... where was his birth location?" Lin Sen abruptly asked, "Where was Chen Hui born?"

Fang Rui immediately understood Lin Sen's intention, "Good, I'll have someone look it up right away."

Rebirth, to return to the time and place of birth.

Time can't be turned back, but we might return to the place.

However, connecting it to Chen Hui's birthplace is extremely difficult due to the long time span, and they lacked the necessary time to look for it carefully.

Then Fang Rui received a call, "Captain Fang, the forensic investigator Mu says, go check the sixth floor of the previously mentioned building. She says the environment there has changed and wants your assistance."

Fang Rui and Lin Sen exchanged glances, intuition told them that the pregnant woman might be there.

Fang Rui and his team searched the entire floor, ultimately discovering a pregnant woman in the room at the very back.

The pregnant woman was still breathing but seemed to have received a large dose of anaesthetic, lying calmly on the bed. Two bottles of medicine were hanging beside the bed, being injected into her body through the drip tube, preserving her life.

Fang Rui promptly got the pregnant woman onto an ambulance.

Because she was sent to the hospital in a timely manner, the doctors were able to successfully extract the dead cat from inside the pregnant woman through surgery. The pregnant woman’s life was saved, but her uterus was severely damaged, and it seemed she would never be able to conceive again.

"Eh, it's all because of that Professor Bai, if not for his video shaming the criminal online, this girl wouldn’t have been targeted," Zhang, couldn’t help but sigh, "Also, it’s her own fault, of all things, she had to become a third party."

Reminded by Zhang, Fang Rui suddenly thought of something.

"Zhang, check for me, does this Professor Bai have a daughter?"

"Why do you want to check this?"

"Just go check!"

The police conducted a thorough search of Chen Hui's house and found 132 jars containing preserved fetal embryos. These embryos had been specially processed and had not decomposed.

Fang Rui found a number of mystical books on Chen Hui’s bedside, all related to the reincarnation of the soul.

Among them was a crime novel. In the novel, to attract media attention, the criminal stuffed live cats into the stomachs of pregnant women. Chen Hui had scribbled notes throughout this book. It seemed to have acted as a reference for his crime.

There were many bottles filled with common medications for treating schizophrenia in Chen Hui’s drawer.

In the drawer, there was a diary, carefully detailing Chen Hui's criminal plans, and how his mind twisted step by step, eventually fostering the malevolent idea of being reborn as a cat.

Fang Rui quickly discerned Chen Hui's process of crime.

Originally, Chen Hui was an obstetrician-gynecologist. Half a year ago, he was fired due to frequent mistakes in his work. It was at this time he was diagnosed with schizophrenia but did not seek hospital treatment.

Three months ago, he started implementing his rebirth plan.

He applied for a job as a delivery man, taking advantage of his work pretext to enter the home of his first victim, Li Yan, and commit a crime.

Using the excuse of parcel collection, he tricked the second victim, Lu Yaoyao, to his delivery van, drugged her, and transported her to the crime scene in the same van.

Thanks to his deliveryman's identity, he managed to avoid police investigation several times.

His diary presented the entire process of the crime, clear as daylight.

"Boss, Professor Bai does indeed have a daughter," Zhang paused for a moment, creating suspense. "We know this person. Can you guess who it is?"

"Bai Jing!"

"You guessed it. Bai Jing is from the psychology department of A University. Half a year ago, she applied to be a social worker in the Ziweili Residential Area. Her psychology studies were wasted; she didn't see that Chen Hui was a psychopath."

A suspicion was growing in Fang Rui's mind, but he had no evidence to support it.

The next morning, the sunshine was bright and cheerful.

Early in the morning, Fang Rui drove to Ziweili Residential Area. As soon as he arrived at the plaza, he spotted Mu Mian standing near the flower beds.

She was still lost in thought.

"Forensic Mu, are you waiting for a ride again?" Fang Rui approached her and asked teasingly.

"Waiting for you."

As she spoke, Mu Mian looked again towards the lawn not far away, where Bai Jing was feeding a cat.

"I once thought she was a good person," Mu Mian murmured. "After I arrived here, she was the second person to return my smile."

"And what do you think now?"

"I'm not sure." Mu Mian's voice was somewhat low. "The first one to respond to my smile was Chen Hui, but he doesn't seem like a good person."

Feeling their gaze, Bai Jing put down the cat food and walked towards them.

"Officer Fang, congratulations on cracking this serial murder case!" Bai Jing smiled at them, her tone suddenly turn somber. "I can't quite believe it... The kind-hearted Chen Hui would do something like this!"

"Miss Bai studies psychology. Didn't you notice anything abnormal about his mental state?"

"A lot of psychological diseases are latent. Without in-depth interaction, they are hard to detect. Everyone in the residential area had dealings with Chen Hui, but no one noticed that there was anything wrong with him. This shows that his symptoms were not obvious."

Bai Jing mocked herself, "What's more, if my professional knowledge was good, how could I not find a job and ended up working as a community service worker here?"

"Your father is a university professor, can't he find a job for you?"

As soon as her father was mentioned, Bai Jing's facial expression became stiff for a moment.

"My mother has already divorced that man. Please do not associate me with him."

"Do you hate your father?"

Bai Jing's eyes were filled with defensiveness: "Officer Fang, what are you trying to ask, exactly?"

"Is it really a coincidence that the third victim was your father's mistress?"

"Of course it's not a coincidence. It was he who first posted a video online to provoke Chen Hui. Someone who studies psychology, yet doesn't understand how to respect people, it's laughable!"

On Bai Jing's face, there was little expression. "This is his retribution, and the retribution of that woman for being a mistress, isn't it?"

"Miss Bai, were these books you showed to Chen Hui?"

"Do you mean the coloring book? That's a gift I gave to Chen Hui," Bai Jing responded, "Chen Hui sometimes has trouble controlling his emotions. I gave it to him to help him regulate."

"I'm talking about the books on mysticism." Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"No. Chen Hui and I are not interested in mysticism."

"You used those books on mysticism, and that novel to lure Chen Hui into committing these crimes, didn't you?"

"Do you suspect me?" Bai Jing sounded somewhat incredulous, "Do you suspect that I caused Chen Hui to become like this?"

Bai Jing became agitated instantly, her voice choked up, tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.

"Believe it or not, Chen Hui was a good friend of mine. Recently, I've been feeling a lot of regret... If I had been better at my major, if I had been more intelligent, could I have seen the pain he was hiding behind his bright smile? Could I have pulled him out from the muck of his dysfunctional family..."

Mu Mian quietly pulled out a tissue and handed it to Bai Jing, "Even if you had noticed, you couldn't have helped him because psychological counseling is not effective for mental illness. You should have taken him to the hospital..."

Fang Rui signaled Mu Mian with his eyes to keep quiet.

Mu Mian protested with a sense of grievance, "I was comforting her."

"..."

Rather than respond to them, Bai Jing focused on her lamenting. "Chen Hui was a beam of sunlight in my life. After I graduated from a prestigious school and couldn't find a job, and had to settle for a job paying just a few thousand, it was him who comforted me, it was him who took me to feed the stray cats."

"In fact, if it weren't for Chen Hui, I would have jumped off that building,” pointing towards a building at a distance, Bai Jing stated, "I stood there several times. It was Chen Hui who saved me."

"He told me that life is precious. Just like these stray cats; they have nothing, but they continue to live freely."

Fang Rui promptly advised her, "Miss Bai, in your current state, you should consider seeing a psychiatrist."

"Don't worry, I won't commit suicide. Only those who are mentally fragile choose to escape reality through suicide. Besides, these stray cats still need me."

Seeing her in such a state, Fang Rui realized that he wasn't going to get anything useful out of Bai Jing.

Although one could deduce from the results that Bai Jing benefitted, there was currently no evidence pointing towards Bai Jing having any dealings with the case.

Even if it was discovered that Bai Jing had a close relationship with Chen Hui, it wouldn't prove anything, much less charge Bai Jing with any crime.

"Officer Fang, you don't need me for anything else, do you?" Bai Jing wiped her tears, slowly regaining her composure, "I need to go to work. I work hard to earn a living and feed these little ones.”

Watching Bai Jing walk away, Fang Rui turned to look at Mu Mian, "Mu Mian, do you think she manipulated Chen Hui to commit the crimes?"

"It doesn't seem like she has the ability to do so."

"That's true. She is just an ordinary psychology graduate. She shouldn't have the ability to manipulate Chen Hui into committing crimes," someone commented.

"But my older sister said that people's self-awareness is fragile. Sometimes a simple psychological suggestion can interfere with others' choices," another person interjected.

"Even if Chen Hui committed crimes under her influence, we can't catch her. We can't say that Bai Jing used psychological suggestion to control Chen Hui into committing all these murders," came a counter-argument.

Fang Rui felt helpless. If Bai Jing really used psychological suggestions to mould Chen Hui into a serial killer, then Bai Jing is truly terrifying.

"Although I can't quite figure out whether her expressions are real or feigned, I think Chen Hui must have been the sunshine in her life. She wouldn't intentionally extinguish it," someone hypothesized.

"Only Bai Jing would know if she did lead Chen Hui astray," someone else pointed out.

Mu Mian turned to Fang Rui, asking, "Why did you keep my secret?"

"What?"

"You know that I have autism, don't you? But I was never fired. Is it you who kept the secret for me?"

Fang Rui paused, "Was this really a secret? Can't everyone see it?"

Changing the subject, Fang Rui suggested, "Let's go eat. I'm treating."

"I should be treating you. I appreciate you keeping my secret," Mu Mian insisted.

After walking a few steps, Fang Rui turned to give Mu Mian a warm smile.

"Mu Mian, you don't have to pretend to be normal," he told her.

A smile...this was the third person to smile at her since she arrived.

In that moment, Mu Mian's heart felt as if it was touched by sunshine, warmly illuminating her.

It was a satisfaction felt from being accepted.

"Because, your secret might not be a secret anymore," he added.

Stunned, like she was struck by lightning, Mu Mian stared at him. "Who did you tell?"

She had perfectly masked herself, how could anyone see through her?

"Consultant Lin discovered it. Zhang was there too at that time. You probably don't know, but there's nothing that he can keep to himself. Once he knows, the whole department will know," Fang Rui explained.

Mu Mian felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She had meticulously hidden her true self for nearly a month. Was all her effort in vain? She had thought she hid it so well.

"Mu Mian, just be yourself from now on. You don't need to pretend to be seen as normal," he reassured her.

Can she really be herself?

"Captain Fang," Mu Mian looked at Fang Rui earnestly, "would you donate your body to me?"

"No! I've told you not to bring up that again!"

It seems that being herself is still out of reach...