Mu Mian felt that Nie Yan's expression was a bit complex. She couldn't read it, which made her feel irritated.
"Justice is something that needs to be pursued and sought after. Because we can't achieve a perfect reality of justice, we must strive for it. Justice isn't a result, but a process," Mu Mian comforted her.
"That quote is from Alan Dershowitz. He defended Simpson, who killed his wife, and also defended the pedophile billionaire Epstein. Are you trying to comfort me with the words of such an infamous shyster?" Nie Yan couldn't help but laugh. She found Mu Mian to be a very interesting person.
"See, even someone like that believes in justice. It shows that upholding justice isn't a foolish thing," Mu Mian said.
"Haha, your logic for comforting people is so strange. But thank you, my good friend. I do feel comforted. Now I'm going to sleep. Good night."
"Nie Yan, are we... friends now?"
Nie Yan didn't answer Mu Mian. She was already asleep, leaning on the sofa.
Mu Mian felt a bit happy. She quickly wrote in her self-observation diary: Today I was very lucky, I made a friend. She thought for a moment, then crossed out the "a" and changed it to "two".
Lu Tian should probably count as her friend too.
Mu Mian covered them both with blankets. She didn't sleep, instead looking at the night sky and boredly counting stars.
She didn't actually believe much in the existence of justice. Justice was just a concept created to maintain order and stability, just like laws were only tools. But Nie Yan viewed it as incredibly noble.
After counting to the 130th star, Mu Mian finally couldn't stay awake and fell asleep.
She only slept for a few minutes before suddenly waking up startled. She looked towards the sofa, and sure enough, Nie Yan was gone.
Mu Mian searched everywhere. When she pushed open the bathroom door, she saw a bathtub full of bloody water. Nie Yan's left wrist artery had been cut, and blood had stained the entire bathtub red.
Mu Mian woke up Chen Xue, telling her to quickly call an ambulance, while she pressed on Nie Yan's wrist to stop the bleeding.
At the same time, she pondered a question - Nie Yan seemed to have been comforted earlier, so why did she attempt suicide?
She should have given Nie Yan a hug... Indeed, she still wasn't good at comforting others.
Because it was discovered in time, Nie Yan's life wasn't in danger. She just needed to have her wound bandaged.
"The patient didn't lose too much blood. Just make sure she gets plenty of supplements in the near future," the doctor instructed, then couldn't help but comment, "This wound isn't even that deep. And look at how well it's bandaged, even better than we would have done it. There wasn't really any need to bring her here!"
When Nie Yan woke up, she apologized to everyone: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to commit suicide. I don't know what came over me. When the emotions hit, I just couldn't control myself. I won't do this again."
Originally, Nie Yan hadn't intended to commit suicide. But then she received a message from her superior saying she had been fired for accepting bribes. Unable to process it in the moment, she cut her wrist.
Mu Mian reminded her: "Prosecutor Nie, you likely have depression. It's very difficult to recover on your own. You need to see a psychiatrist. Medication can be very effective."
Mu Mian handed her Shen Xiyin's business card.
"Alright, I'll go see one after I'm discharged," Nie Yan said, taking the card and casually tucking it under her pillow.
Seeing her dismissive attitude, Mu Mian felt a bit angry. "I'm giving you very serious advice. We're friends, and I hope I'll be able to see you again in the future."
"I promise I'll go see a psychiatrist! I'm not lying to you! But," Nie Yan pointed at her bandaged wrist, "you can't expect me to go right now, can you? I need to let my hand heal first!"
"You must go after you're discharged!" Mu Mian emphasized again.
"I know, I know."
When Nie Yan's parents heard the news, they quickly came to the hospital. Both were high school teachers. Though they looked stern, they were very good to Nie Yan.
They didn't question her about the reason for her suicide attempt. Her mother gave her a hug and encouraged her: "Nie Yan, we saw the news. We're very proud to have a daughter like you."
Nie Yan hugged her parents and burst into tears.
"Mom, I don't want to work in law anymore. I want to go home with you," Nie Yan tightly hugged her parents, "I'll become a teacher like you!"
"That's fine. Even if you don't work at all, that's okay too. Whatever you want to do, we'll support you. But we hope you've really thought this through, and that you're not just giving up on your dreams because of a setback, trying to avoid difficulties."
Seeing that Nie Yan's parents had come to take care of her, Mu Mian and Chen Xue left the hospital.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, with a fiery red sun slowly rising on the horizon.
"Another beautiful day!" Chen Xue yawned, admiring the sun rising from the horizon. She took photos while exclaiming, "It's so beautiful. Just for this gorgeous sunrise, it's worth living well!"
"Chen Xue, the sunrise isn't beautiful at all! It's too glaring," Mu Mian grumbled, with dark circles under her eyes.
She had only slept for five minutes last night, and she had also pondered a lot of meaningless questions, leaving her exhausted and sleepy. She had gone through an extremely awful night.
"Mian Mian, you look so tired. Are you going to take the day off?"
"Yes! I'm going to sleep for a whole day."
Chen Xue drove Mu Mian home. When they were almost at the entrance to the residential complex, Mu Mian's phone rang. She declined the call and continued napping. Then Chen Xue's phone rang.
"Chen Xue, there's been a homicide case, two victims!" It was Zhang speaking. "Is Dr. Mu with you? Come directly to the dock. I've sent you the location."
Before Chen Xue could reply, he had already hung up.
"Mu Mian, you..." Chen Xue turned her head towards Mu Mian, about to ask if she still wanted to take the day off, when she saw Mu Mian staring at her with bright eyes.
"Chen Xue, drive to the dock quickly. Hurry, don't let them mess up my corpses."
"Weren't you just feeling very sleepy?" Chen Xue was shocked at how quickly Mu Mian's energy had recovered.
"I can manage. I've gone five days without sleep before, and even then, my thinking speed wasn't affected."
"Why would you go five days without sleep?"
Mu Mian didn't answer. She looked out the window and exclaimed: "Chen Xue, the scenery here is so beautiful!"
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But there's nothing outside the window except traffic. Where's the beautiful scenery? Mu Mian, your way of changing the subject is really clumsy."
Jiangzhou City was a coastal city with a long shoreline and beautiful seaside views.
The location of the homicide was a small yacht. When the incident occurred, the yacht had already set sail, with four passengers on board having a party.
During the party, two of them suddenly started convulsing and foaming at the mouth, becoming unresponsive shortly after. The remaining two immediately steered the yacht back to the dock and called the police.
When Mu Mian and Chen Xue arrived at the yacht, Fang Rui and his team were already examining the scene.
There were two bodies on the floor, one male and one female.
"The victim is actually Lin Qianjie?" Chen Xue recognized the victim and exclaimed while nudging the body with her foot, "Wasn't he alive and kicking just yesterday?"
Mu Mian said disapprovingly: "Chen Xue, stop stepping on the corpse."
"Sorry, my foot slipped."
