The person on the other end of the phone was Xing Mingconglian, the current captain of the Criminal Police Brigade in Hongjing City.

Although Wang Fa called him “little uncle,” the two weren’t that far apart in age. It was the age gap between the eldest daughter and youngest daughter of that generation that created their difference in family status.

Calling someone who was only a few years older than you an “uncle” was disadvantageous. For Wang Fa, he wouldn’t ask his family for help unless necessary. But now, he urgently needed a professional to help him clarify all these doubtful points.

“Ah~”

Sure enough, the person on the other end “contentedly” responded.

Wang Fa was about to continue when he heard the other party coldly say, “Comrade Wang Fa, I cannot privately leak information about any case, bribery with milk tea won’t work.”

Wang Fa persisted, “Can you at least hear me out first?”

“Oh, I’m all ears. Go ahead.”

The students were training particularly diligently today, running wildly on the court as if needing to vent many emotions.

Wang Fa watched them and began to tell the story of him and Lin Wanxing.

When it came to business, Xing Conglian immediately put away his frivolous attitude and listened very attentively.

“Yongchuan University, psychology professor committed suicide?”

At a certain point, Xing Conglian suddenly asked this.

“Yes, I saw that you recently handled a case at Yongchuan University…”

Wang Fa had only said half his piece when he noticed Xing Conglian pressing down on the mouthpiece. It seemed as if someone had entered the room, or was already there, and he was communicating something with that person.

After quite a long time, the phone was picked up again.

A voice that didn’t belong to Xing Conglian came through, clear, cold, and pleasant to the ear.

“Hello.”

“Hello.” Wang Fa involuntarily shuddered.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Lin Chen, graduated from Yongchuan University’s Criminal Psychology program, and also consider myself Lin Wanxing’s senior schoolmate.”

“Hello.”

“You’re not looking for Xing Conglian. You probably saw that we handled the serial suicide cases at Yongchuan University, so you came looking for me.”

Though his purpose was directly seen through, Lin Chen didn’t make Wang Fa feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, calmness and composure themselves could soothe one’s heart.

“Yes,” Wang Fa admitted.

“Let me confirm with you again, Lin Wanxing left X days ago, correct?”

“Correct.”

The person on the other end pondered for a moment as if figuring out some issues, “I roughly understand. I will reinvestigate the truth behind Professor Shu Yong’s suicide case. As for why Lin Wanxing left, I’ll ask Yan Ming again. Have Jiang Xun call me directly. If time permits, you can come to Yongchuan on Sunday, and I’ll help resolve some of your questions.”

The voice on the other end was very calm, explaining everything point by point. Wang Fa couldn’t believe the other party had completely taken everything upon himself.

His little uncle was equally shocked, “You’re going to investigate for him? Isn’t that a bit much?”

“I can investigate these matters without accessing police files, so you needn’t be troubled,” Lin Chen said.

“Ah, don’t be so formal!” Xing Conglian said as he hung up the phone.

On Sunday, as agreed, Wang Fa boarded the high-speed train to Yongchuan.

Accompanying him were two “bodyguards” elected through nomination — Qin Ao and Wen Chengye.

Qin Ao was tall, strong, and fierce, while Wen Chengye was selected because he was “abnormal” and could fight to the death if needed.

The two boys claimed they feared he might face dangers on his way to Yongchuan, but Wang Fa knew they just wanted to know the answers.

The meeting place was at the entrance of Yongchuan University.

Entering the road outside the campus area, one could immediately see the towering white marble archway with “National Yongchuan University” inscribed on it.

The weather was fine, students changed into light and bright spring clothes, and vibrant, lively scenes surrounded them.

Although Qin Ao and Wen Chengye didn’t say anything, they were excited about visiting a prestigious university for the first time.

Wang Fa immediately spotted the two people waiting under the archway.

His little uncle still maintained his scruffy, unshaven appearance, but looked much more weathered than when they last met.

And the person standing next to his little uncle should be that criminal psychologist.

Lin Chen wore a gray hooded tracksuit, his gaze clear and peaceful. He almost completely blended in with the surrounding college students, yet was completely different from everyone else. He was just standing there, but even Qin Ao and Wen Chengye couldn’t help but stare.

Upon actually meeting, Xing Conglian lost the flippant attitude he had on the phone and patted Wang Fa’s shoulder as a greeting.

Wang Fa’s heart sank, knowing that the investigation results regarding Lin Wanxing weren’t good.

But Lin Chen appeared relatively relaxed, “Qin Ao, Wen Chengye?”

Lin Chen’s gaze swept over them, accurately calling out the names of the two students.

“You’re both adults, right?”

The two high school students were dumbfounded.

“Ah, yes!”

“Let’s go, I’ll give you a tour of Yongchuan University,” he said to the students.

Yongchuan University has a long history. Green trees cast shade here, creating a serene environment. Lin Chen led them along a bluestone path, and everything on the university campus seemed temporarily isolated by greenery. The previously chattering boys unconsciously quieted down.

“Consultant Lin enjoys being a tour guide,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen truly acted like a dedicated tour guide, not only introducing their current location but also taking them for a stroll by the lake at Yongchuan University. Lin Chen’s temperament was very cool yet approachable. Following him along the way, listening to him introduce everything about his alma mater, the students began asking more questions. They started asking Lin Chen what score he had achieved in the entrance exam, whether they as sports students could get in, roughly what score was needed, and similar questions. Lin Chen answered each one, and for parts he wasn’t familiar with, he also said he would ask the admissions teachers he knew and get back to them later.

Just when everyone had almost forgotten the purpose of this trip, Lin Chen suddenly said, “Our school’s feng shui isn’t very good.”

The boys all trembled. They were right by the lake, next to several crooked willows. Fresh flowers and some funeral offerings were placed under the trees. Willow branches drooped over the lake surface, and when the wind blew, it instantly felt like a gust of ghostly air.

Xing Conglian immediately agreed, “I’ve long felt that way, especially your department.”

“Nothing can be done about that. I mentioned to my teacher before that our psychology department has feng shui problems and needs a professional feng shui master to take a look.”

“Uh… okay,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen stood by the lake, looking up and gazing deeply at an old building not far away, then turned to them and said, “Actually, Lin Wanxing’s departure has some connection to us.”

Wang Fa and the students were momentarily confused.

“But the connection isn’t significant, we’re not taking the blame,” Xing Conglian emphasized.

“There were serial campus suicide cases at Yongchuan University before, so the local police pulled up related files from previous cases to see if there was any connection. On the day Lin Wanxing left, as someone relevant to Professor Shu Yong’s suicide case, she was subjected to another verification. This should be the most direct reason prompting her to leave.”

“Are the two cases related?”

“No relevant connection was found during the investigation.”

“Then why did our teacher leave?”

Qin Ao completely didn’t understand what was going on. He fully trusted Lin Wanxing, so he couldn’t comprehend why she would leave just because of an investigation.

“Did the police investigation trigger her traumatic memories?” Wang Fa asked.

“That should be one aspect of why she left.”

“What exactly happened with Professor Shu Yong’s suicide case?”

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen looked at them deeply.

From the lakeside, Lin Chen led them to an old building in Republican-era style.

It was an old brick building with a lush purple bougainvillea in the flower bed at the entrance, partially concealing a brass door plate that read “Yongchuan University – Department of Psychology.”

Lin Chen glanced at the two young men, showing no intention of avoiding them, and took them up the creaking wooden stairs.

The fifth-floor corridor was fitted with old-style glazed windows, making it particularly dim.

Terrazzo floors, dark red wooden doors.

Wang Fa stared at the brass handles on the wooden doors and quickly understood, “This is…”

“Shu Yong’s office where he committed suicide,” Lin Chen looked at the time as if waiting for someone. “Before his suicide, he met with Lin Wanxing here. After Lin Wanxing left, Shu Yong locked himself in the office and sent her a message. It was also for this reason that Lin Wanxing was the first to discover Shu Yong’s body.”

“What message?”

“Goodbye, my love.”

Wang Fa suddenly looked at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen opened the office door, and the fishy, damp lake wind poured in, scattering papers all over the floor. The entire space seemed completely sealed at the moment of Shu Yong’s death.

There was a window in the office. Lin Chen gazed at the small path outside and said, “There’s only one path to this office building. It was snowing that night, and Shu Yong was facing the window when he committed suicide. If Lin Wanxing received the message and rushed back, she would see him at first glance.”

The office was terrifyingly quiet, as if the sound of footsteps on snow could be heard. The girl looked up, and in the dimly lit room, the teacher was hanging from the beam.

She was first in disbelief, then frantically ran upstairs, desperately calling for help, recklessly banging on the door…

This wasn’t a desperate suicide, but a meticulously planned death feast.

During the time Shu Yong was suffocating, he might have been enjoying Lin Wanxing’s wails.

Until security finally arrived.

What she saw was the cold corpse hanging from the beam and the collapse of all literature and works.

Shu Yong’s suicide note was placed in the most prominent position on the desk.

Snowflakes whirled in through the window.

But from that moment on, Lin Wanxing’s world turned completely dark.

“Yes, Shu Yong confessed to Lin Wanxing before dying. He knew Lin Wanxing would reject him. But that didn’t matter. He would pin Lin Wanxing forever on his specimen box, enjoying everything after death,” Lin Chen said this way.

All around felt as cold as death.

But sometimes, living is colder than dying.

Wang Fa felt like the world was crumbling like fragments fluttering down.

He had seen the contents of that email, he thought it was just someone simply slandering Lin Wanxing, and he didn’t believe any of it.

He never imagined that this matter had another, more terrifying possibility.

Part of the content in the letter was true.

“That dead old man loved our teacher?” Wen Chengye asked in a cold tone.

“I definitely wouldn’t define this kind of feeling as ‘love.’ At that time, Lin Wanxing had received a full scholarship and would study abroad after graduation. Shu Yong knew he couldn’t keep her anymore, so he used this extremely deformed and perverted way to try and lock her soul,” Lin Chen said.

“Did our teacher know about this?” Qin Ao suddenly spoke up.

“Whether she knew or not isn’t important, because from the moment she was loved by Shu Yong, in everyone’s eyes, she was guilty,”

Lin Chen’s voice was light, but to Wang Fa, it was deafening.

Those secret, immoral feelings, and burning desires — Shu Yong never intended to hide them from the beginning.

More terrifying was that Shu Yong not only wanted Lin Wanxing to know about his love, he wanted everyone to know.

“Who sent that mass email?” Wang Fa asked.

Lin Chen gave him an approving look, then checked the time.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor, and at the office door, someone looked at them with shocked eyes.

“How did you get in here?” he asked.

The newcomer was a young man, simply dressed but tall and sturdy. His exposed forearms were quite muscular, his gaze full of strength.

“There was a fatal case here before, it’s been sealed for a long time. What are you doing breaking in?” The young man directly entered to chase them out.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Xiang Zi,” Lin Chen turned to look at him and greeted him.

The surname “Xiang” isn’t common. Wang Fa quickly recalled that previously at Dongming Lake in Yongchuan, after hearing this name, Lin Wanxing’s condition became very abnormal.

Wang Fa immediately realized something and clenched his fists, but Lin Chen calmly glanced at him and shook his head.

“I asked Fu Hao to call you over. Come on, let’s go get something to drink,” Lin Chen said to Xiang Zi.

Thus, the original 5-person tour group gained a new member.

Lin Chen led them to the school café, finding a corner to sit down.

“Need some dopamine again?” Xing Conglian smacked his lips and asked.

“Not really, just feel that chatting in a public place makes everyone a bit more calm and rational,” Lin Chen said.

Xiang Zi was tense all over.

Wang Fa’s face was ashen.

The students were puzzled, wanting to speak but hesitating.

“Let me introduce everyone,” the coffee arrived, and Lin Chen began, “This is Xiang Zi, a psychology doctoral student at our school.” He paused, looking at Xiang Zi, “These three are Lin Wanxing’s friends and students. They’re very concerned about some things that happened in the last half year of her master’s.”

Xiang Zi had a rugged look as if he had already guessed something. He swept a cold, stern gaze around, his eyes full of contempt, “All I know is that Lin Wanxing seduced Professor Shu Yong, destroyed his family, made him suffer internal torment, and ultimately chose suicide.”

Qin Ao slammed his fist on the table.

Lin Chen glanced at Qin Ao, and the boy immediately fell silent.

“Is that so? But Fu Hao says that after Professor Shu Yong’s death, you repeatedly reported Lin Wanxing to the school for various reasons. Later, you also wrote a very detailed investigation report, anonymously sending it to many alumni. I think you’re the person who understands the inside story best,” Lin Chen said.

Wang Fa had already guessed this. He stared fiercely at Xiang Zi, growing colder the more angry he became.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No need to deny it.”

Xiang Zi glanced at Xing Conglian and asked, “What are the police doing now, interrogating me?”

“Don’t be nervous, we’re just back at our alma mater for coffee,” Lin Chen stood up, and switched tables with Xing Conglian, giving them enough space to talk.

The students were somewhat confused.

Wang Fa knew that Lin Chen wanted him to clear up this matter himself.

The entire booth space instantly quieted.

Xiang Zi spoke first, “Why did you suddenly come to learn about Lin Wanxing? New ‘victims’?”

Qin Ao and Wen Chengye’s fists were clenched tight, but they didn’t act impulsively again.

Wang Fa looked at the person opposite, and though enraged, he still said, “She left without saying goodbye, we’re all quite worried.”

“No need to worry, a woman like Lin Wanxing can get along anywhere.”

Wang Fa took a deep breath and calmly asked, “Doctor Xiang, I read the email you wrote. In your email, you said that Lin Wanxing seduced Professor Shu Yong to commit a ‘big mistake’ from the beginning, to get him to help her on the academic path?”

“Under the same supervisor, do you know how many SCI papers Lin Wanxing published? For her two top journal papers, the professor found experts in related research directions to be her corresponding authors. Do you know what concept this is? We had other classmates who were almost extending their graduation before pulling together a second-author paper.”

Wang Fa didn’t understand the rules of academic circles, but he could completely imagine how much jealousy Lin Wanxing’s excellence would provoke.

And Shu Yong understood these students too well. From very early on, he had set a huge trap for Lin Wanxing. With just a little help, all of Lin Wanxing’s achievements would be questioned.

Shu Yong had likely used Xiang Zi.

Suppressing the nausea in his heart, Wang Fa continued asking, “But that should have been very secretive, right? I mean, the relationship between Lin Wanxing and Professor Shu Yong, how do you know it so clearly?”

“Are you doubting me?”

Wang Fa thought about the content of the email and directly took out his phone, opened an article, placed the screen on the table, and pushed it to Xiang Zi, “You mentioned in your email that in the paper published by Lin Wanxing, there’s key evidence of the relationship between Professor Shu Yong and Lin Wanxing. The first letters of the variables presented are — LWX LOVE SY, but I don’t quite understand this paper.”

Xiang Zi glanced at the phone and said, “This is a study on the effect of moral priming on prosocial behavior. It refers to whether quickly presenting certain words or positive moral stories can promote prosocial behavior. A simple example would be whether students who read stories about ‘not picking up lost items on the road’ or ‘self-sacrifice for others’ would donate more money.”

“The first letters are very subtle, even far-fetched. You say this was Lin Wanxing’s method to seduce Professor Shu Yong, but how did you discover this information?”

Xiang Zi’s expression fluctuated between light and dark.

“I want to know, is it possible that Professor Shu Yong committed suicide because you discovered his feelings for Lin Wanxing?” Wang Fa asked.

Hearing this, Xiang Zi slammed the table violently, raised his voice, and rose in fury, “The teacher was always in great pain, you know nothing at all!”

“I don’t know anything,” Wang Fa spoke with cold teeth, but his thinking became increasingly clear and calm.

His knuckles tapped lightly on the glass surface of the coffee shop, once, then again…

Ding, ding…

“But can you tell me?” Finally, he asked this way.

After a long silence, Xiang Zi slowly began, “It was a photograph.”

The photo was of Lin Wanxing, stuck in an open English journal on Shu Yong’s desk, coincidentally on the page where Lin Wanxing published the moral priming effect. Everyone usually reads English journals online, and apart from the library ordering some paper versions, they’re rarely seen.

Lin Wanxing had promised to add his name to a paper, but when he received the confirmation email from the editorial department, his name wasn’t there. Lin Wanxing said the professor submitted the final paper, and she wasn’t clear what happened. Xiang Zi directly confronted Shu Yong.

Xiang Zi was very shocked when he saw the photo because it wasn’t a group photo of students or anything else, but Lin Wanxing facing the camera, smiling, and making a huge heart sign with her hands.

In this era, photos are stored on phones. This kind of specially developed film is rarely seen, let alone a beautiful female student’s heart-making photo, which was even more suggestive.

Shu Yong’s reaction was also problematic. He was very flustered and quickly closed the magazine, putting it back on the bookshelf.

“He was always gentle, and good-tempered, which is why he could be manipulated by Lin Wanxing. But that time he lost his temper with me, so we quarreled,” Xiang Zi said.

Wang Fa was greatly shocked. He remembered the photos Lin Wanxing had sealed in a cardboard box. He didn’t believe Lin Wanxing would profess love to Shu Yong in a paper, let alone put her photo inside to give to her teacher.

All of this was what Shu Yong had made Xiang Zi believe.

She was so happy at that time, yet was constantly watched and calculated by a dark, decaying creature.

“You directly opened the journal and questioned him?”

“As you can see, I’m straightforward. I directly grabbed the journal, shook out Lin Wanxing’s photo, and asked what was going on. He initially denied it, but when I said I was going to ask Lin Wanxing, he knelt before me. He cried. He said it was all his fault and begged me not to go and stimulate Lin Wanxing.”

“So you didn’t go look for her?” Wang Fa felt a chill. If Xiang Zi had approached Lin Wanxing at that time, she would certainly have understood what was happening. He didn’t understand why Xiang Zi hadn’t done this.

“Because the teacher’s wife was hospitalized with lung cancer at that time. Lin Wanxing had long wanted to take her place. The teacher said he was afraid that if Lin Wanxing found out, she would take the opportunity to do something extreme, harming his wife.”

A cracking sound, like something breaking.

Wang Fa felt only horror.

Lin Wanxing seemed like a small insect accidentally stuck on a giant spider web, trapped by a huge, dying spider. He watched her struggle with his decaying gaze, and even after his death, Lin Wanxing would forever be trapped in this spider web.

Shu Yong must have appeared very pained and struggling. Wang Fa could almost see his smile as he bowed his head in kneeling confession.

Just push all the responsibility onto Lin Wanxing, and his sick wife could completely lock down Xiang Zi, making him only able to silently keep this secret.

The stories in his mind about him and her finally had someone to witness.

In this process, Shu Yong would continuously confess.

It was he who couldn’t resist temptation, but things had already happened, and he didn’t know what to do.

He had let down his family, but Lin Wanxing wanted to be with him, and he was completely infatuated with her.

The deeper Xiang Zi’s relationship with Shu Yong grew, the more he would understand the details of Lin Wanxing’s emotional manipulation fabricated in Shu Yong’s mind. The photo, the first letters in the paper, and other evidence were all Lin Wanxing’s methods.

Shu Yong would be increasingly kind to Xiang Zi, helping him publish papers, promising him doctoral admission, and treating him like his own son.

He was very pained and weak but indicated that he would definitely handle things well and not harm his wife again.

Just when Xiang Zi thought everything would change, he received news of Professor Shu Yong’s suicide.

And Lin Wanxing was right there.

The entire space fell completely silent.

Creaking, creaking sounds of walking on snow softly echoed.

Wang Fa seemed to return to that cold snowy night.

He saw Lin Wanxing being called to the office by the professor for work, slowly walking up the wooden stairs of that old building.

She was so beautiful, lively, cute, intelligent, and kind — almost all perfect words describing girls could be used for her. More importantly, her soul was too clean, making one irresistibly want to completely possess it.

She stood at the office door, knocking, yet completely unaware of what kind of huge trap lay behind the door.

Wang Fa felt as if he were standing behind Shu Yong, wanting to shout to tell Lin Wanxing never to come in.

But she still pushed open that door.

The night wind blew her sideburns; she was a pearl in a deep-sea shell, and also the most gentle and beautiful star in the sky.

Shu Yong had thought it through clearly.

She was too wonderful, would reject him, and could never have any male-female relationship with an old man like him.

More importantly, if they did develop feelings, it would completely defile her beauty, all affection would shatter, and he couldn’t accept such a thing happening.

This was probably a kind of cherishing that feared melting even when held in the mouth — because of too much liking, there was more anxiety about gain and loss.

But time passed, and he couldn’t keep the girl by his side forever. She would graduate, work, marry, have children…

What was harder for him to accept was that as graduation season approached, the girl received a full scholarship and was about to study abroad.

As soon as the girl graduated, he would lose her forever. This panic hammered his heart day and night.

Just thinking about this made him agonized. So, he decided to die.

His death was the true beginning of their being together.

Lin Wanxing thus easily stepped into his office.

Like a butterfly lightly sticking to a spider web.

On a snowy night under a solitary lamp, the girl was beautiful and fragile. He would tell her his overflowing love, then contentedly die.

He knew very well that no one would believe she was innocent.

Why was he so confident?

Because there are no walls in a school that don’t leak wind.

Lin Wanxing came to his office before his death, plus that text message and his suicide note would spread.

To ensure someone would be widely publicized after his death, he also selected the most suitable person.

That person knew everything and would make it all public.

By then, everyone around would become witnesses to his love.

The coffee at the next table seemed to spill, and porcelain collision sounds rang out, making everyone immersed in the story suddenly shudder.

Wang Fa’s gaze was deep and distant, “So, did Professor Shu Yong leave you any last words before he died?”

He finally asked Xiang Zi.

After a long silence.

“The teacher said, ‘Don’t tell, don’t hurt her.'”