The nurse cleaned Mu Mian's wound and found it was very small, just a minor abrasion. She glanced at the sweating Fang Rui, feeling a bit exasperated. Was it necessary to be so anxious over such a minor injury?
"Can I choose a SpongeBob bandage?" Mu Mian asked with a frown.
"No, only the pediatric department has cartoon bandages."
"Fine. You should offer more choices. This white bandage is depressing."
"We'll take that into consideration. But no patient comes to the ER just to get a bandage."
"Nurse, is that all you're going to do for her?" Fang Rui looked at the bandage disapprovingly. "She's badly hurt, and you're just putting on a bandage?"
"What else? It's just a small scratch. If her blood clotting wasn't slightly impaired, causing slower healing, this wound would have healed on its own without needing a bandage."
Mu Mian paused while flipping through a medical journal, nodding in agreement. She quietly complained to the nurse, "That's what I said too, but Fang Rui wouldn't believe me. He really lacks basic medical knowledge."
The nurse couldn't help but smile, "It's because your boyfriend cares about you so much. He's afraid something might happen to you."
Mu Mian, focused on the journal, forgot to correct the nurse's assumption. She was at an interesting part and couldn't multitask.
The nurse turned to Fang Rui and asked, "How did your girlfriend get injured?"
Fang Rui was busy searching "Can minor bumps cause concussions?" and didn't respond to the nurse.
Zhang, who was standing nearby, explained, "Liang Guangyu's fans were causing trouble at our door and bumped into her."
The nurse became angry upon hearing this. "That scumbag Liang Guangyu is bad enough, but his fans are just as disgusting. Su Momo is such a kind girl, how did she end up with such a jerk? I hope she wasn't really kidnapped by that scumbag Liang Guangyu. I hope the police find her soon."
Zhang excitedly asked, "Are you a fan of Su Momo too?"
"Yes, I absolutely adore Su Momo. Her career is so inspiring. Can you imagine, before she became famous, she worked as an extra for three years, even playing corpses? When she was broke, she lived in a crowded room in an urban village.
She's actually from our Jiangzhou City, but her father ran off with the family's money, leaving her mother with a huge debt. At such a young age, she had to pay off debts, yet she still pursued her dream of being an actress...
Finally, she got a leading role and became famous overnight. Even after becoming famous, she remained dedicated to her craft and did a lot of charity work. She's very down-to-earth... I saw her at the hospital not long ago, but unfortunately didn't get her autograph. A nurse from another department did though..."
"Su Momo really has had it tough!" Zhang exclaimed.
"Yes, I'm surprised she has male fans too."
"I'm not her fan, my girlfriend is. She loves Su Momo."
"Your girlfriend has great taste."
"Of course, that's why she's with me."
"..."
Fang Rui realized that Su Momo's fans seemed to be everywhere. Was she really that famous?
Fang Rui asked, "Did Su Momo come to the hospital for treatment?"
"I think so, but I'm not sure what for exactly."
"Which department did she go to?"
"I believe it was Endocrinology."
Fang Rui signaled Zhang to go find out exactly what illness Su Momo had.
Still worried about Mu Mian's injury, Fang Rui called for Dr. Li, the best neurosurgeon in the hospital and his uncle. Dr. Li was doing rounds and would need some time to arrive.
While waiting for Dr. Li, Fang Rui discussed the case with Mu Mian, "Mu Mian, do you think Su Momo might still be alive?"
"Anything is possible until we find a body! We only found blood at the scene. If someone had received a bone marrow transplant from Su Momo, their blood DNA could match hers; or if someone collected small amounts of her blood daily and saved it up... Even people who lose over 1000cc of blood can survive for 12 hours without treatment if they're lucky." Mu Mian proposed several possibilities.
"We can rule out that last possibility. The person who lost 1000cc of blood had drunk a large amount of water beforehand, diluting their blood. The blood found at the crime scene wasn't diluted," Mu Mian added.
"So Su Momo might have faked her death?" Fang Rui analyzed, "Her purpose might be to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend, to ruin his reputation."
Mu Mian questioned, "But couldn't she just expose her ex-boyfriend directly to ruin his reputation?"
Fang Rui thought Mu Mian had a point. With Su Momo's popularity, if she exposed him online, even Liang Guangyu's powerful agency couldn't suppress the news.
So why did Su Momo or her body disappear? Where could she be?
They waited a while before Dr. Li arrived. He was in his fifties with thick, fluffy hair reminiscent of Einstein. He smiled kindly at Mu Mian.
Dr. Li turned to Fang Rui, "Fang Rui, your mother told me all about your girlfr-"
Fang Rui interrupted him, "Dr. Li, please examine her wound quickly."
Dr. Li glared at Fang Rui, "What's with calling me Dr. Li? Can't even greet your uncle properly? You're being ridiculous!"
"It's common sense to use professional titles at work," Mu Mian whispered.
"..."
Dr. Li carefully examined Mu Mian's wound, "Fang Rui, you can take her home now."
"Doesn't she need a brain CT and MRI?"
"No need."
"Let's do them anyway," Fang Rui insisted.
"Fang Rui, who's the doctor here, you or me? I've been doing this for years. Can't I even assess an injury properly?" Dr. Li felt irritated at having his professional ability questioned.
Fang Rui finally relaxed. He asked the nurse for some medicine and bandages, and re-dressed Mu Mian's wound himself.
Mu Mian touched the thick bandage on her head and complained, "Fang Rui, this bandage makes me look stupid."
"You bumped into a door while picking up a package. Aren't you already stupid?"
"I object! That just proves I'm unlucky. This year has been terrible. I keep getting caught by criminals, and now I've hit my head."
"...You are quite unlucky."
Mu Mian was soon discharged. Zhang had gathered information and was waiting for them at the hospital entrance.
"Captain Fang, Su Momo did come to the hospital. She had some severe endocrine disorders causing skin inflammation. She was supposed to be hospitalized, but she didn't have time, so the doctor just prescribed some medication," Zhang paused, "But she still needs to do blood tests every few days. Her assistant, Qi Fang, brings the blood samples."
Zhang speculated, "Boss, could Qi Fang have secretly collected Su Momo's blood and poured it at the crime scene to fake her death?"
"If that's the case, couldn't Mu Mian detect it?" Fang Rui looked at Mu Mian.
Mu Mian sighed, "If they just poured blood on the ground, we'd definitely spot the discrepancy. But if the perpetrator mimicked the blood flow pattern of a suicide, it would be much harder to distinguish. The blood spatter at the crime scene is consistent with what we'd expect from a wrist-cutting suicide."
Mu Mian remembered the scars on Su Momo's wrists. She didn't seem like someone who would commit suicide. Why would she cut her wrists?
When they returned to the station, Mu Mian heard a rumor.
"Did you hear? Forensic Mu deliberately hit her head on the door to drive away those protesting fans. Her face was covered in blood."
"Was it real blood? Not fake?"
"Of course it was real! Why else would Captain Fang rush her to the hospital so anxiously?"
"Not necessarily. Last time when Forensic Mu choked on water, Captain Fang was just as panicked..."
Mu Mian wanted to clarify that she had just lost her balance and hit the door, not deliberately hurt herself to drive people away.
Fang Rui stopped her, "Mu Mian, I think it's better if you don't clarify."
"Why not?"
"Because the truth makes you look more foolish than the rumors they've made up."
"..."
Since they had discovered that Su Momo might have faked her death, finding out how she left the makeup area became crucial.
Fang Rui remembered that one of the backup dancers had mentioned that Liu Yaying had visited the makeup room around 4 o'clock. Liu Yaying would certainly know whether the person in the makeup room at that time was Su Momo or not.
But Liu Yaying had disappeared. Just as Fang Rui was about to call Old Zhang and his team to ask if they had found Liu Yaying, Old Zhang called him.
"Chief Fang, we've found Liu Yaying. She's in a rented apartment. She attempted suicide by slitting her wrists and lost a lot of blood, but she's still alive. We're about to take her to the hospital for emergency treatment."
