You Mingxu pretended not to notice and asked, “Chief, did you bring a doctor?” Ding Xiongwei glanced at the simpleton but chose not to argue with them. He nodded and called out, “Xu Mengshan!” Then he led his subordinates to spread out and secure the scene.

You Mingxu felt the two fingers hooked around her pinky tighten slightly. The simpleton remained silent, stubborn. You Mingxu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, saying, “What are you, a puppy?” He just looked up at her, his gaze unwavering. You Mingxu’s smile faded as she said, “Let go. I’m a police officer, and I’ll protect you. But you can’t keep clinging to me.”

He lowered his head, and suddenly his fingers moved. Instead of just two fingers, his entire palm now gripped her slender pinky tightly. You Mingxu was taken aback. His hand was large and lean, but very cold. He said softly, “Mingxu, don’t leave me. I don’t recognize anyone else, and I can’t remember anything. I’ll be very good.”

You Mingxu wondered when he had learned her name. She remained silent but didn’t forcefully pull away. They stayed like this for a moment until someone nearby said, “I figure he won’t die from bleeding for a few more minutes. Call me when you’re done chatting.”

You Mingxu’s fingers practically flew out of the simpleton’s palm. The suddenness of it, combined with the distraction of someone speaking nearby that made his mind whirl, actually allowed her to succeed in escaping. The simpleton froze for a moment, pressing his lips together, already showing signs of displeasure as he glared at the newcomer.

The arrival was a young man in police uniform and cap, none other than Xu Mengshan from You Mingxu’s unit. A doctor in a white coat followed behind him. Seeing the two had separated, he didn’t waste words and said to the simpleton, “Sit here, let the doctor give you emergency treatment.”

The simpleton didn’t move, only staring at You Mingxu. You Mingxu felt a headache coming on, vaguely guessing why—after being knocked silly and waking up, he had stumbled into her tent by accident, and she was the first person he saw, right? Was this imprinting behavior, treating her like a mother?

She said, “Be good, sit down.”

Only then did the simpleton walk over to the doctor and sit on a broken log. The doctor immediately began examining his injuries.

You Mingxu asked, “When did you arrive in Tibet?”

Xu Mengshan answered, “Two days ago.”

“Who else from the team came?”

“Everyone who could be mobilized. Fan Jia came too, she’s behind somewhere, not sure where she ran off to.” Fan Jia was another female officer they were close within the unit.

“Why did it take so long?” You Mingxu said with a smile, “I almost got played by the suspect.”

Xu Mengshan was tall and thin, with ordinary features and usually serious expression. But now he smiled and said, “Come on, you? Get played? Do you think I didn’t see how beaten up the suspect was? The heavy rain caused landslides, many police forces were diverted, and this road was completely blocked. We had to make a huge effort to get here this quickly. How did you end up here anyway?”

You Mingxu snorted lightly and said, “No wonder the suspect could escape on the road for days. He’s just lucky.”

As the two chatted for a few more sentences, the simpleton allowed the doctor to treat his wounds while constantly watching them. Although he didn’t understand who this sudden man was or what relationship he had with You Mingxu, he could sense that she was different from every moment before—she had changed, and even her tone of voice was different. She was relaxed, her whole being at ease. That beautiful hint of a smile on her lips came from deep within.

That person was someone she trusted deeply and knew well, her companion.

Thinking this, the simpleton suddenly felt a little heartache.

You Mingxu also noticed his gaze but didn’t want to acknowledge it. While talking with Xu Mengshan, she could feel him staring foolishly the whole time. Later she smiled, just about to turn her head to see just how stubborn this person was, when she heard the doctor cry out “Ah!” and shout, “Hey, are you alright?”

You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan whirled around to see the simpleton had fallen from the log, lying stiff on the ground with his eyes tightly closed, face pale. They both rushed over to help the doctor slowly lift the simpleton. The doctor checked his breathing and pulse, getting a sense of his injuries, and said, “Probably exhaustion combined with too much blood loss caused him to faint. Stretcher! Stretcher! He’s a tough one, held on for quite a while before passing out. You police officers are made of steel.”

You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan exchanged glances. At this point, the stretcher arrived, and several people lifted him onto it and carried him to the ambulance. You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan followed behind, and Xu Mengshan asked, “Which department is he from? I thought he was just a victim trying to take advantage of you, but he’s one of us?”

You Mingxu said, “Still not certain.” She then briefly explained the simpleton’s background and the general course of events, finally saying, “He’s either originally a police officer who didn’t follow orders well and might have been a bit eccentric…” Here she smiled, “Or he’s a crime investigation enthusiast who came to join the excitement. Or… there’s another story about him that we don’t know about.”

Xu Mengshan said, “Interesting.”

As the ambulance doors were about to close, You Mingxu took another look at the person lying there. Such a big guy, now unconscious, finally looking like a normal young man. For some reason, You Mingxu noticed his hand at his side, tightly clenched as if still trying to hold onto something. He looked disheveled and down on his luck now, covered in blood stains, but You Mingxu somehow saw a kind of vulnerable, pitiful handsomeness. She looked for a while, then turned away.

Unexpectedly at this moment, someone else arrived. It was their colleague Fan Jia, with two people following behind. Fan Jia saw You Mingxu and showed a delighted expression, greeted the two of them, and then said to the people behind her, “This is the last person, see if it’s who you’re looking for?”

You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan were both startled. This was still a crime scene, and that man and woman, well-dressed, clearly weren’t from the police force, shouldn’t be here. Fan Jia gave them a look, saying quietly, “Chief had me bring them, orders from above.”

The three remained silent, standing to the side. You Mingxu first looked at the woman, who appeared to be in her early thirties, with delicate beautiful features, wearing a black cashmere coat, carrying an intellectual air. The man was younger, only twenty-four or twenty-five, wearing glasses and an outdoor jacket, but also emanating a scholarly demeanor. Both their expressions were very serious, with hints of anxiety and weariness showing through. They quickly exchanged polite greetings with You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan before walking toward the ambulance.

You Mingxu suddenly had a premonition—

The simpleton was the person they were looking for.

Sure enough, when the two saw the person on the stretcher, their expressions changed dramatically. The man leaned over the stretcher, shouting, “Teacher Yin! Teacher Yin!” He quickly asked the doctor nearby, “Is he alright? What happened to him?”

The woman stared at him stunned, tears nearly falling as she cried out, “Yin Feng! Yin Feng!”

The three officers remained silent. Fortunately, the man appeared rational and capable, telling the woman with mixed joy and concern, “Let’s go to the hospital first.” The woman nodded.

Just as the medical staff were about to close the doors, You Mingxu suddenly said, “Mengshan, go with them.” Xu Mengshan didn’t even ask why, just jumped straight into the ambulance.

The ambulance quickly departed.

You Mingxu watched for a while, then looked around: Ming Tao and the others had also gotten into ambulances one after another, too far for her to see clearly except for vague figures. Several police cars were parked nearby, with Gu Tiancheng surely detained in one of them. Other officers were scattered throughout the forest, investigating. The sky had brightened, and more police cars kept arriving from the highway.

At this point, Fan Jia said with a smile, “My dear sister, you’re amazing as always—even on vacation you managed to catch a serial killer!”

You Mingxu just smiled and said, “He had bad luck. That… Yin Feng, who is he?”

Fan Jia said, “Yin Feng? Haven’t you heard of him? He’s super famous! So many fans of his in our police station, even the chief! That crime movie ‘Heart Hunter’ that came out last month, did you see it?”

You Mingxu gave her a sideways glance: “Yes.”

“Was it good?”

“It was good.”

Fan Jia nodded: “He’s the original author. A famous crime novelist, seems he’s also a university professor, psychology researcher, or something, very very famous. Just don’t know how he ended up here. Those two are his assistant and family member they’ve been searching in Tibet for days, pulled a lot of strings, and even alarmed the provincial government. Who would have thought… such a celebrity would end up in our Sister You’s hands.” Fan Jia nudged You Mingxu’s shoulder, saying, “What exactly happened? I see Writer Yin was injured too. Did you catch the suspect together? Wow, that would be so awesome…”

As she chattered on, You Mingxu had a half-smile but was thinking: A writer, actually a writer.

And one who wrote about their line of work, no wonder he had some understanding of the case and suspect. But why did he appear here, was it to gather writing material? And ended up with such bad luck being caught by the suspect?

After graduating from the police academy with outstanding grades, You Mingxu joined the criminal investigation unit, working with a group of brothers for several years. The writing profession, playing with words and ink, was very distant from her. That guy was even a famous writer, a celebrity? Thinking of his deer-like eyes, his constantly anxiously clenched fists, and his damaged mind, You Mingxu felt somewhat melancholic. Fate probably just likes such abrupt turns, catching you completely off guard, even making you unaware. She thought again: His assistant and family have come looking for him, maybe that will help his mind recover. When he wakes up, perhaps he won’t be as fearful and pitiful as before, so lacking in security.