As soon as Lu Yan appeared, Yu Zheng extended his hand with a smile. “Miss Lu, you might not remember me, but I remember you. Last year at the physiological conference where your mentor was lecturing, you were assisting as secretary. The presentation materials you prepared were outstanding. Since both anesthesiology and criminal psychology are rooted in physiology, we’re somewhat colleagues in the same field.”
No wonder he looked familiar.
She quickly shook hands with him. “Hello, Dr. Yu.”
It was strange – her memory seemed to have certain focal points. While she couldn’t recall Dr. Yu’s name, she distinctly remembered the content of her mentor’s lecture.
She remembered that her mentor’s topic was “The Awakening Mechanism of the Cerebral Cortex” – a fundamental lecture. If she wasn’t mistaken, Dr. Yu had stayed after class to discuss with her mentor for quite a while, their conversation centered around the autonomic nervous system responses in psychopaths.
If she remembered correctly, this man was a genius in the field of criminal psychology, not only achieving great heights in his own research area but also possessing extensive knowledge in related disciplines.
Jiang Chengyi said, “Dr. Yu, since you have time this evening, why don’t we have dinner together at the Chinese restaurant across the street in the hotel?”
Yu Zheng agreed, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
After leaving the police station, the three of them went to the famous Chinese restaurant in the hotel across the street. A waiter quietly approached with menus.
Jiang Chengyi took the menu and leaned back in his chair, beginning to order.
Lu Yan removed her coat, thinking about the earlier phone call. She wanted to ask Jiang Chengyi about his response to his mother, but considering Yu Zheng’s presence, she held back.
The restaurant was quiet, with gentle music flowing into their ears, mysteriously creating a sensation of having one’s soul explored.
Amidst the music, Yu Zheng looked at Lu Yan, and Lu Yan looked back at him. After a while, seeing that Yu Zheng didn’t intend to speak, she smiled apologetically and took out her earlier notes to review them.
Yu Zheng crossed his arms, his gaze lingering on Lu Yan’s notebook for a moment before suddenly brightening. He smiled at Lu Yan: “Miss Lu, I’ve reviewed Deng Man’s files and noticed that someone had been sending anonymous letters to the Anshan District Police Station for seven consecutive years. And recently, when someone impersonating Deng Man was spotted, the witness coincidentally had the surname Lu. I recall that the witness was Deng Man’s close friend in high school. Pardon my forwardness, but was the anonymous letter writer you, Miss Lu?”
Jiang Chengyi, still looking at the menu, raised his eyes to Yu Zheng upon hearing this.
Lu Yan froze.
Yu Zheng’s gaze was like a ray of sunlight piercing through a dark forest, shooting straight into her heart.
After maintaining eye contact for a moment, her tense back gradually relaxed. She slowly lowered her eyelashes, smiled, and admitted frankly, “Yes.”
As she spoke, she had a strange feeling that he was about to open a long-scabbed wound, cut away the dead flesh, and let new flesh grow.
Seeing Lu Yan handle the situation composedly, Jiang Chengyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Yu Zheng gave her an admiring look: “Miss Lu, after you sent those anonymous letters, the police investigated Deng Man’s case twice, but unfortunately, both investigations ruled out the possibility of homicide. Even eight years later, with so many clues in the police’s possession, they still haven’t been able to clarify the truth of that year. This shows how complex the case is. However, as Deng Man’s friend, you never gave up investigating this matter. Your persistence is truly admirable. Miss Lu, from your academic background and experience, it’s clear you have excellent learning and memory abilities, but what’s most outstanding is your observational skills. Now that we’re at a critical stage in finding the perpetrator, allow me to make a request—”
Lu Yan glanced sideways at Jiang Chengyi, quickly noticing the approving attitude in his eyes. Jiang Chengyi highly regarded Yu Zheng’s professional abilities and character. Feeling reassured, she smiled and said, “Please go ahead, Dr. Yu.”
“Regarding the events of that year, Captain Jiang has told me some of it, but reviewing the entire case, I’d still like to utilize Miss Lu’s observational skills to take me back to Class 6 of Seventh High School eight years ago. Using your memory, your eyes, and your feelings, please help me recall and consider your impressions of Teacher Zhou, your class teacher at that time.”
Lu Yan closed her eyes to remember. Strangely enough, whenever she thought of Teacher Zhou, the most prominent image was of him standing at the podium in his white shirt.
The sunlight was golden, with tiny dust particles floating in the light, and Teacher Zhou’s voice was deep and mellow, echoing throughout the classroom.
She slowly recalled: “Teacher Zhou was a very patient teacher, gentle-tempered, and treated all students equally. Because of his outstanding professional abilities, he was named an excellent teacher every year. He taught physics, and many difficult problems became easily understandable after his explanations, so students admired him at the time. I remember Deng Man’s physics grades weren’t very good in her first and second years of high school, but they gradually improved under Teacher Zhou’s instruction.”
Yu Zheng’s voice became soft: “During the entire three years of high school teaching, were there any times when Teacher Zhou showed emotional instability?”
Lu Yan kept her eyes closed and thought for a long time: “No, Teacher Zhou’s emotions were always stable.”
“A person skilled at disguise.” Yu Zheng took out a palm-sized notebook and a pen from his pocket and began writing.
“In Zhou Zhicheng’s life, he encountered at least three major emotional setbacks. The first was in 2000 when his wife had an unexpected miscarriage. The second was when his wife had a car accident, after which she became a vegetative patient and lay in bed for three years. The third was when his wife passed away. Of course, during the first incident, you were only nine years old, far from school age, and the third incident occurred in September 2010, by which time you had already graduated—”
He changed the subject and asked Jiang Chengyi: “Captain Jiang, when you were introducing the information about Zhou Zhicheng’s wife Lin Chunmei, I noticed that her physical characteristics were very similar to the later victims – all around 166-167cm, about 50kg, and very beautiful. I wonder if you’ve investigated—well, I mean, regarding Lin Chunmei’s miscarriage, was it natural, or were there other external factors?”
Jiang Chengyi said: “We’re investigating, but Lin Chunmei’s parents are visiting their hometown and currently not in the city. As for Zhou Zhicheng… before obtaining further clues, we don’t want to alert him. From what we learned from neighbors, Lin Chunmei, like her parents, had a rather fierce and domineering personality, not easy to get along with. In terms of popularity, she was far behind her husband Zhou Zhicheng.”
Yu Zheng nodded, somewhat regretfully: “If Lin Chunmei was heavily influenced by her family, she likely shared her parents’ strong personality type. Even with children, she might not have been a qualified mother. However, Zhou Zhicheng’s personality profile differs from the criminal’s profile in several ways… it doesn’t quite match in any aspect. If only we knew about Zhou Zhicheng’s childhood experiences.”
He crossed his fingers and placed them against his lips, remaining silent for a long time. The casual smile usually seen on his face disappeared, replaced by deep confusion.
After quite a while, he looked up at Jiang Chengyi: “Captain Jiang, are you certain Zhou Zhicheng has no children?”
“Based on the information we currently have, no.” Jiang Chengyi noticed Lu Yan was hungry and began ladling soup for her as soon as the food arrived. “Besides, even if Zhou Zhicheng had children, he married in 1997, so his child would have been born at the earliest that year, making them at most 19-20 years old now. But the perpetrator of this series of cases can move freely between City B and City S, purchase hacking software to infiltrate websites, transport bodies, fulfill victims’ wishes, and arrange crime scenes – all of which require substantial financial resources. A 20-year-old might have the motive to commit crimes, but they’re unlikely to have these practical means.”
Yu Zheng patted his forehead, showing a self-mocking smile: “Oh, I was too eager for results. However, while looking at Lin Chunmei’s photos earlier, I suddenly had an inspiration. I feel that Deng Man wasn’t the origin of all this – Lin Chunmei was. But based on the clues we currently have, many aspects contradict my deductions.”
He pondered for a moment: “Captain Jiang, I agree with your approach to focus the investigation on the people and events at Seventh High School. In any case, I’ll wait for your further investigation. Additionally, I want to add that I’m very confident in my professional abilities, and I believe we’re missing some crucial elements here.”
Jiang Chengyi paused briefly, thought for a few seconds, and then nodded.
After dinner, Yu Zheng was still enthusiastic about the discussion, talking about the criminal’s deficiencies in emotional and behavioral control and the PCL-R scale with them until they got to the car.
After seeing Yu Zheng off, the two got in their car, and Jiang Chengyi said to Lu Yan: “My mother is still waiting for you at Yuheng Plaza, let’s go.”
Before Lu Yan could respond, the phone rang – sure enough, it was Jiang’s mother.
“Yan Yan, when are you coming? This season’s Chanel collection is amazing, with many styles suitable for young ladies – both elegant and graceful. And your good friend Miss Tang, I love spending time with young people. If she’s free, invite her to come along.”
Lu Yan glanced at Jiang Chengyi, seeing no objection from him, she said: “Alright, Auntie, we’re on our way. I’ll try calling Tang Jie.”
They quickly arrived at Yuheng Plaza.
Tang Jie happened to be shopping at a nearby mall and arrived even earlier than them.
With two VIP customers arriving at once, the sales associate quickly led them to the VIP room.
Jiang Chengyi sat down on a single sofa, playing with his phone out of boredom.
Seeing that Lu Yan was only providing opinions for her and Tang Jie without trying on any clothes herself, Jiang’s mother was very dissatisfied: “Don’t try to save money for Jiang Chengyi. His salary might be low, but the annual dividends from the shares his grandfather left him are quite substantial. Dear Yan Yan, just buy whatever clothes you like.”
Before she finished speaking, Jiang Chengyi, still frowning at the information Old Qin had sent, took out his wallet and handed a card to the nearby sales associate.
Tang Jie almost doubled over with laughter and secretly pulled Lu Yan aside: “Jiang Chengyi hasn’t changed at all, still as generous with you as he was back then. But I must say, your mother-in-law is quite a character.”