CH 236

Since it was an illusion, it was always short-lived.

Huang Ze coughed heavily on the other end of the phone; the sound was loud enough to drown out their conversation.

“In fact, I don’t know how all this you’re talking about is useful in locating Shen Lian.”

Huang Ze stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of the municipal bureau, with a subordinate behind him who mentioned that even the higher-ranking officials wanted a briefing on the situation. In the background, the sound of opening and closing doors and hurried footsteps could be heard nearby. What was more, the number of reporter vehicles outside the municipal bureau was visibly increasing.

It felt like something big was about to happen.

The entire corridor fell silent, starting from the far end. Huang Ze knew that time was up, and in the end, he could only say curtly, “Alright, Lin Chen, you have twenty more minutes.”

……

Huang Ze hung up the phone decisively.

At the entrance of the dumpling restaurant, under the camphor tree, the box of dumplings in the hands of the teenager was nearly empty.

The abrupt sound of the hang-up made the teenager look up cautiously, and he asked, “A’Chen Gege, I don’t understand how we’re supposed to find Shen Lian. Is that my fault?”

Lin Chen had already sorted out his thoughts. “For Shen Lian, she has limited options during her escape. Since she has achieved her goal, the only possibility is that she’s in hiding. Tracking the whereabouts of an ordinary criminal might be difficult, but for Shen Lian, she would choose a place that makes her feel extremely safe.”

“Li Jingtian chose to hide in the embassy, which is quite safe, but what kind of place would make Shen Lian feel safe?” Wang Chao asked.

“When she’s with ‘her people’,” Lin Chen said. “Now, let’s look back at the cases we have. There’s one question that has yet to be answered: Why did Shen Lian drive the elderly people to madness?”

“Could it be related to the old man who died? That old man also had mental issues, right?” Wang Chao suddenly realized. “Lao Bian just mentioned that Shen Lian got excited when she heard about the old man’s time of death! But at the time of the incident, she didn’t speak up for the old man, didn’t tell the truth to the police afterwards, and only reported it after a month and a half. Why did someone so lacking in sympathy break down when she discovered the issue with the old man’s time of death?”

“Specifically, it’s not sympathy but empathy*,” Lin Chen corrected. “Empathy develops during childhood and is an emotional state that involves anticipating others’ suffering and wanting to help them. She had a hard time sensing the old man’s pain and helping him, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t sense her own pain. In fact, even the most cold-blooded violent criminals have a strong sense of empathy, but they only protect their own comrades and disregard the lives of others.”

*Clarity: Empathy is how much compassion and understanding we can give another, while sympathy is the feeling of pity for another. Empathy is our ability to understand how someone feels, while sympathy is our relief at not having the same problems. Empathy is understanding, while sympathy is sharing.

“What does this imply? Who are Shen Lian’s companions?”

Lin Chen paused.

The wind blew through the camphor trees along the road, casting swaying shadows on them, but there was no sound.

……

Huihe Nursing Home was also eerily quiet.

But this kind of silence, rather than being described as peaceful or serene, was better characterized as deathly stillness.

Like in the night, there was no one in the corridors of the nursing home during the day. The clean and bright tiles indicated good cleaning, but their pristine condition also meant that there was little foot traffic.

This wasn’t normal because anyone who had been to a nursing home knew that the elderly liked to sit in the shaded corridors and chat. However, this scene was completely absent here.

The stray dogs on the embankment were barking again; their barks rising and falling with the undulating terrain.

A lady who appeared to be a caregiver stood in front of a mirror, tidying her clothes. The water flowed steadily, and the lady’s damp fingers left water stains on her collar.

This was a standard double occupancy ward, and the room was extremely dim. The light in the bathroom was on.

Two elderly people still lay on the hospital beds. In the dim light, one could vaguely see their frail frames covered by white sheets. One hand was placed outside the sheets, while the other remained beneath.

On their chests, the thin blankets had clearly been carefully tucked in, and above that were the wrinkled necks resembling tree bark. Their lips dried into two lines, and their eyes, covered in a large amount of sclera, hollow and lifeless.

Yes, both elderly people on the hospital beds had their eyes open. They gazed at the ceiling, looking at some long-standing mold spots that grew along the ceiling cracks.

Footsteps echoed in the ward again as the caregiver walked to the window. She pulled back the curtains, allowing the bright sunlight to pour into the room. However, even this sudden brightness couldn’t make the two elderly people on the hospital beds blink.

The slight rise and fall of their chests indicated that the elderly people hadn’t passed away, but compared to a corpse, there wasn’t much difference.

At that moment, the caregiver turned around, pulled back the covers, and laid down.

……

Lao Bian Dumpling Restaurant.

Wang Chao asked what could have caused Shen Lian to be unable to accept the old homeless man’s death being related to herself.

Lin Chen pondered over various possible causes, but the simplest and most likely reason was only one.

“For Shen Lian, she couldn’t accept becoming a murderer like the residents of Xiaolin Lane.”

Not only Wang Chao, but even Xing Conglian was stunned. Police officers in the distance mounted their motorcycles and sped away.

“This is just my speculation, and we’ll have to wait until we meet Shen Lian to understand the specifics.” Lin Chen steadied his breath and said calmly, “Normal people, when faced with extreme stimuli, employ various defense mechanisms or cognitive adjustments to alleviate psychological stress. But for Shen Lian, her psychological issues mean that she can’t alleviate the pressure like a normal person when confronted with these situations.”

“So?” Xing Conglian asked. He had stubble on his chin, a sharply defined face, and wise eyes that could easily see through people’s hearts.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze, suppressing the emotions in his heart, and said calmly, “In simple terms, Shen Lian initially believed that the old man accidentally died during a scuffle with the residents of Xiaolin Lane, and she didn’t feel any psychological stress because the old man’s death had nothing to do with her. But when she suddenly discovered that the old man hadn’t died that night, but gradually died from severe injuries in the cold rainy night, her knowledge of this fact without even glancing at the old man turned her into one of the murderers.”

Wang Chao nodded, and Lin Chen continued, “Normal people in similar situations might simply think it’s the responsibility of others present, deflecting blame and letting the matter pass. But Shen Lian couldn’t.”

Lin Chen said, “There are three types of aggressive psychological defense mechanisms: displacement1, projection2, and introjection3. If I’m not mistaken, Shen Lian’s subconscious mind chose the latter. Introjection refers to incorporating objects of love and hate symbolically into one’s own self. In Shen Lian’s case, she absorbed the mentally disturbed elderly person as part of herself.”

1Redirection of an impulse (usually aggression) onto a powerless substitute target. For example: You’re angry, and you kick the dog to vent your anger.

2Attributes unwanted thoughts, feelings, and motives onto another person. For example: You hate someone, but you feel that it’s wrong, so you tell yourself they also hate you, solving the issue.

3Sometimes called identification, involves taking into your own personality characteristics of someone else, because doing so solves some emotional difficulty. For example: A child left alone frequently may try to become “mom” in order to lessen their fears.

He made a joke, saying, “It’s like a part of the deceased’s soul entered her body.”

With a light sound, the food container in Wang Chao’s hand fell to the ground. “That’s too twisted!”

“Suddenly, Shen Lian changed, and is her remarkable academic performance also related to this?” Xing Conglian asked astutely.

“It’s just a speculation. After all, we don’t know the specifics of that particular elderly person. But you should know that sometimes schizophrenia is synonymous with geniuses.”

Wang Chao shuddered and realized something. “So elderly people with mental illnesses are her kind? What is she trying to do, turn all the grandpas and grandmas in the country into lunatics? And what does this have to do with Teacher Duan?”

Lin Chen lowered his eyes and patted Wang Chao’s head. “Look, I’m not a god. How could I know so much? So, since Teacher Duan helped us find Shen Lian, let’s find her and ask.”

“How do we find Shen Lian!” Wang Chao blurted out the question, feeling foolish. He turned around quickly, squatted in front of the flower bed, and opened his laptop to search for institutional information.

Lin Chen said, “Psychiatric rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, or shelters. Hongjing isn’t a metropolis, so there won’t be too many of these institutions in the vicinity. Excluding large institutions under the national civil affairs department, private centers will be even fewer…”

……

The scorching summer wind rolled over the lush green fields, over the large expanse of melon sheds, and rolled all the way to the city center along the embankment.

The overwhelming heat wave swept past the various tall and low buildings, rolling across the square in front of the Hongjing Police Station.

A Lincoln drove along the Municipal Government Street and slowly stopped at the entrance of the police station.

The reporters who arrived upon hearing the news gathered at the entrance of the police station like sharks smelling blood, occupying advantageous positions. They didn’t dare to go too far, but naturally, they didn’t want to give up their front-row spots.

Compared to the bustling reporters at the entrance, the atmosphere inside the actual conference room was solemn, and everyone was exhaling smoke.

At the head of the room sat the superior whom even Huang Ze bowed to.

The superior had a serious expression, and the room fell silent. Finally, he slammed the table. “You’re saying it’s a major incident, but so far no one can make sense of it?”

Perhaps due to the boss’ anger, the thick smoke in the air trembled.

At that moment, the door to the conference room was knocked.

Huang Ze abruptly looked towards the door.

……

Outside the Lao Bian Dumpling Restaurant.

Under the glaring sunlight, Wang Chao’s laptop reflected a blurry white light that was almost indiscernible.

Lin Chen sat quietly beside him, with a calm expression. Sweat stains appeared on his fair and delicate neck due to running around and sun exposure, like a layer of glaze on porcelain. He wasn’t looking at the screen, but more like thinking aimlessly about something.

“Don’t think too much,” Xing Conglian said to Lin Chen.

This sentence was somewhat cryptic, but for Lin Chen, it should be more straightforward.

Lin Chen gazed into the distance with no intention of concealing his thoughts. “I just find the human psyche fascinating. For someone like Shen Lian, a natural psychopath, it’s actually the remaining trace of kindness in her humanity that drove her to madness.” Lin Chen paused and added, “I wish I’m wrong.”

Xing Conglian was suddenly startled, looking at Lin Chen, but the latter didn’t meet his gaze.

Xing Conglian stood up, putting his hand in his pocket, and said, “Consultant Lin, come with me.”

Lin Chen looked up, and Xing Conglian took out his car keys, pointing in the direction of the Jeep parked under the shade of the roadside tree.

Lin Chen followed him to the car as instructed.

Xing Conglian habitually opened the driver’s side door but found Lin Chen standing behind him. He twirled the keys in his hand and turned around to look at Lin Chen.

“You want to talk to me alone, but I don’t feel like talking,” Lin Chen said to him.

Xing Conglian nodded, instantly understanding Lin Chen’s meaning. “Right, the driver’s seat is a bit cramped.”

He opened the back door and went in first, with Lin Chen following, stepping into the car.

Thanks to the new car tint, the interior of the car was extremely dim, and sunlight filtered through the shade of the trees illuminated a small section of the seats. Although it was midsummer, the coolness from the car’s air conditioning hadn’t dissipated completely, leaving a slight chill in the air.

Lin Chen placed his other foot in the car, and Xing Conglian held his wrist, half-jokingly saying, “Actually, the driver’s seat isn’t bad. You can sit on my lap.”

Before he finished speaking, the car door slammed shut.

Xing Conglian felt Lin Chen intertwine his fingers with his own, and in the next moment, Lin Chen followed his suggestion, spreading his legs and straddling him.

Xing Conglian felt his chest tighten. Lin Chen’s warm body pressed against him without any gaps, and Lin Chen’s willingness to comply sometimes scared him.

Without even looking down, he could imagine Lin Chen’s posture.

At this moment, Lin Chen was half-kneeling on the seat, with his canvas-shoed feet protruding from the cushion. The shoelaces hanging in the air were gently swaying.

A similar scene had appeared in Xing Conglian’s memory before. At that time, the air was filled with a tantalizing sensuality. But now, even though their relationship had progressed so far, it had become a matter-of-fact calmness.

However, he didn’t have time to ponder over what this calmness meant. After all, Lin Chen was leaning against his shoulder, his cool breath falling on his neck. Through the fabric of his shirt, Xing Conglian gently caressed Lin Chen’s sweaty back. He could clearly feel the contours of Lin Chen’s shoulder blades, the protrusion of his spine, and the supple skin covering them.

Lin Chen had made it clear earlier that he didn’t want to talk; he just wanted to sit quietly together.

In this serene process, Lin Chen’s breathing rhythm remained unchanged. But because the cabin was so quiet, they gradually became aware of each other’s heartbeats. As their breaths intertwined and the temperature rose, there was an indescribable ambiguity, but more importantly, perhaps because of the weight of Lin Chen on his legs or the strong beat of his heart, Xing Conglian felt a sense of complete trust.

A deeply precious and unrestricted emotion.

After a while, a short enough time for Xing Conglian to not fully savor this feeling, he heard Lin Chen say, “Xing Conglian…”

“Now you’re using my full name. This must be serious.” Xing Conglian kissed Lin Chen’s ear.

“I…”

Before Lin Chen could continue, Xing Conglian interrupted him, saying, “You’re not that fragile. You don’t need me to constantly monitor your mental state, and the moment I notice any signs of trouble, I have to stop you and have a conversation?”

“No, I am fragile, and I really need you.”