Mu Mian had just arrived at the office when she overheard Zhang and Chen Xue gossiping about their rumored romance.
She was somewhat surprised, but also found it reasonable - they both loved to talk, so they must get along well.
When Chen Xue saw even Mu Mian's expression of having stumbled upon juicy gossip, she knew that rumors truly don't stop with the wise!
"Mian Mian, you have to believe me, I'm not dating Zhang," Chen Xue said.
Mu Mian's gaze was a bit bewildered as she asked in confusion, "But you seem so happy when you're with Officer Zhang!"
"...Do I?" Chen Xue questioned.
"When you talk to me, you smile like this." Mu Mian stiffly imitated a "caught between laughter and tears" expression.
"I smile sweetly at you, and your imitation looks nothing like it!" Chen Xue protested.
"When you smile at Officer Zhang, your mouth stretches really wide. That's how the female lead smiles at the male lead in movies," Mu Mian said, imitating a big, hearty laugh.
One part of the autism intervention program involved having autistic patients watch therapist-selected movies and write their impressions afterwards.
Mu Mian's movie list included several romance films. Though she watched them many times without understanding, she did remember the female lead's smile.
Smiling, being one of the more outward and positive emotions, was also the emotion Mu Mian could identify most easily.
Chen Xue fell into self-doubt: Could her pure collegial relationship with Zhang really have changed without her noticing?
After solving the arson case involving Ye Zeming, the Special Crime Unit had been relatively idle for a while.
"Fang Rui, there's a case I find rather tricky. Could your Special Crime Unit take it over?" Captain Li from the neighboring Criminal Investigation Unit approached Fang Rui. "I think only your team can handle it!"
Fang Rui asked, "What kind of case?"
"A rape case. The victim is an internet celebrity, so it's causing quite a stir. We need to solve it quickly. But it's complicated and not easy to investigate."
Without hesitation, Fang Rui asked for all the case files.
Fang Rui saw the suspect's name: Lin Qianjie, son of Jiangzhou City's wealthiest man. No wonder Captain Li was in such a hurry to pass the case to him - he clearly didn't want to invite trouble.
Zhang tried desperately to signal Fang Rui with his eyes, but failed to stop him from taking the case.
"Boss, are you crazy? Captain Li is obviously trying to dump this on us! Even if we solve it, we won't get much credit. But if we can't uncover the truth, or if the truth doesn't match public speculation, we'll be crucified!" Zhang exclaimed.
Fang Rui paused in his steps. "Zhang, we became police officers to uphold justice, not for promotions or money."
Zhang fell silent. Fang Rui had the right to say such things. Both of Fang Rui's parents were in politics, and his family members all held high positions. If Fang Rui hadn't insisted on becoming a police officer, he could have had an even brighter future.
"But we can't take every case that comes our way," Zhang said, stifling a bored yawn. "A case like this isn't complex. There's no challenge to it."
The victim was named Lu Tian, a beauty blogger on a certain platform. On the day of the incident, Lin Qianjie had entered Lu Tian's home under the pretext of discussing a business collaboration and then raped her.
The forensic doctor had already examined Lu Tian. Semen was extracted from her vagina and confirmed to be Lin Qianjie's.
Lu Tian had many defensive wounds on her body, indirectly proving that she had been forced into sexual intercourse with Lin Qianjie against her will.
Lin Qianjie had already been brought to the interrogation room.
Lin Qianjie was somewhat good-looking, but had a sleazy air about him. There was a bruise at the corner of his mouth where Lu Tian had hit him with a vase while resisting.
He wore a gaudy shirt, slouched sideways in his chair with his legs crossed, looking arrogant. No matter what he was asked, he kept saying that he had the right to remain silent until his lawyer arrived.
When he saw Fang Rui enter, he was taken aback for a moment and instinctively sat up straighter. But the contemptuous smile remained on his face.
"Well, if it isn't my old classmate Fang Rui? Look at you now, what's the point of being a lowly cop? Why don't you come work for me as a bodyguard? I'll pay you tens of thousands a month, that's way more than you make as a cop, right?"
Fang Rui raised his eyes and gave him a cool look. "Are you sure about that?"
"Oh come on, I was just joking," Lin Qianjie immediately backed down. He knew very well that if Fang Rui wasn't wearing that police uniform, he would have already beaten him up.
Lin Qianjie and Fang Rui were classmates from elementary school through high school. Fang Rui, who despised evil, had always disliked Lin Qianjie and had beaten him up quite often.
"Fang Rui, you don't need to investigate this case. Lu Tian and I are a couple. I didn't rape her at all. She's just upset with me and that's why she called the police on me. If you don't believe me, go check - I have plenty of witnesses and evidence!"
Fang Rui cut him off, "Answer only what I ask. Please don't over-explain!"
"Don't be so serious. It's not like I'm a real rapist!" Lin Qianjie protested.
Fang Rui looked at him coldly.
"Alright, alright, go ahead and ask. I'll answer everything truthfully," Lin Qianjie conceded.
"Describe the situation on the day of the incident."
Lin Qianjie explained, "That day I had secured a brand promotion deal for Lu Tian, so I went to her place to give her the good news.
We were already a couple, you know, and I have pretty high sexual needs, so naturally, things led to us having sex.
Who would have thought Lu Tian would pull this trick, actually accusing me of rape? I'm being framed here!"
"If she was willing, why does she have defensive wounds on her body?" Fang Rui questioned.
"Come on, women are like that. They say no with their mouths, but they actually mean yes. It's just foreplay!" Lin Qianjie glanced at Zhang, then looked back at Fang Rui. "You two are both single, how would you understand these things?"
"You say you were dating her. Do you have any evidence?"
Lin Qianjie leaned back, a very confident smile on his face.
"There's plenty of evidence. My lawyer is already collecting it, and he'll bring it over to you soon. Fang Rui, you don't need to investigate this case. My lawyer will submit all the evidence to you, and you can just write up the case closure report."
Just as Lin Qianjie finished speaking, his lawyer arrived to bail him out.
Lin Qianjie's lawyer was named Wang Li, the most famous criminal lawyer in the city.
Rumor had it that he had never lost a case. He even dared to defend murder cases with a not guilty plea, and still won. However, he generally only took cases for wealthy clients because his fees were exceptionally high.
"Officer Fang, I believe these materials can prove that my client and Ms. Lu were in a relationship," Lawyer Wang, dressed in a black suit with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, looked very professional as he handed Fang Rui a file folder.
Fang Rui took the folder, which was quite heavy, filled with photographs.
All the photos were of Lin Qianjie and Lu Tian together - some of them on a yacht during a sea trip, some of them entering and leaving an apartment complex together, and some of them wearing matching outfits.
The photos covered many different scenarios, but the main subjects were always Lin Qianjie and Lu Tian. In the photos, Lu Tian's expressions looked natural, not as if she had been coerced into taking them.
"Officer Fang, take your time to look through these. I'll take my client home now," Wang Li said, having quickly completed the bail procedures. He was in a hurry to get Lin Qianjie out.
Lin Qianjie raised his chin at Fang Rui provocatively. "Officer Fang, I'm leaving now!"
A middle-aged woman with a refined air was waiting for him in the hallway.
When Lin Qianjie saw her, his whole demeanor became nervous. He shuffled over slowly and called out, "Mom, why are you here?"
The woman was Lin Qianjie's stepmother, Jiang Yun. Without a word, she slapped him across the face. "You're a disgrace!"
Lin Qianjie's fists clenched tightly, but he didn't dare to talk back. Instead, he put on a placating smile and said, "I was set up by that woman this time. It won't happen again."
Mu Mian came out of the office just in time to see Jiang Yun. She froze in place.
This woman looked almost identical to the mother in the photograph.
Could she... be her mother?
