Fang Rui returned to the police station with the cursed doll and the hotel corridor surveillance footage. Meanwhile, Captain Li stayed at the hotel to protect Su Momo's safety.
Fang Rui first went to Mu Mian's office to find her.
Mu Mian was studying the forensic manual given to her by Forensic Doctor Cheng. Mu Mian found the technical parts easy to understand, but she struggled with the sections on interpersonal relationships. She still couldn't comprehend complex human interactions.
"Fang Rui, where did you go today? I haven't seen you all day. Did you secretly go investigate a case?" Mu Mian leaned in and sniffed around Fang Rui, "It's the smell of blood, some kind of animal blood, not very fresh."
"You have quite the keen nose." Fang Rui handed the evidence bag containing the cursed doll to Mu Mian, "I also don't think it's human blood. Mu Mian, can you help examine what kind of blood is on this doll?"
"Fang Rui, you really did go investigate a case. Was there no victim? Why didn't you take me along?" Mu Mian was a bit displeased.
"It's a small case. But the chief said it needs to be kept confidential."
"Alright then."
Mu Mian put on gloves and carefully examined the blood stains on the cursed doll. She used an anti-human hemoglobin colloidal test paper, which came back negative, confirming that the blood on the doll was indeed not human.
"This is some kind of animal blood. Based on its smell, color, and consistency, we can rule out pig blood, duck blood, sheep blood, and chicken blood, but to determine exactly what kind of blood it is, we'll need to analyze its components. I suspect it might be dog blood."
Mu Mian squeezed the doll, feeling that the cotton inside had clumped together, becoming hard. She also felt something strange inside, long and slightly elastic when squeezed.
Curious about what was inside, Mu Mian turned to Fang Rui and asked, "Can I open up this doll to examine it? I feel there's something unusual inside."
"Go ahead, I was planning to open it up and see what's inside anyway."
Mu Mian carefully cut open the doll along its seams and removed the clumped cotton inside. There was a yellowish-brown, elongated piece of flesh, wrinkled, about 10cm long and three fingers wide.
Mu Mian picked it up with tweezers for closer inspection, "This looks like a fetus, judging by its size, it's probably about three months old."
"Are you sure it's a human fetus?" Fang Rui thought of Chen Hui's case, wondering if there could be a connection between the two cases.
"Yes, and it's been dried."
Mu Mian also found a yellow paper ball wedged in the cotton, soaked in blood and crumpled. Strange characters were outlined in gold on the paper.
"These characters are very odd, I've never seen them before. They don't seem to follow any pattern, so they're probably not a code. They might be some kind of mystical symbols, possibly related to religion." Mu Mian felt these weren't letters, but more like some kind of symbols.
Mu Mian wasn't interested in mystical things and rarely read about such topics, so she couldn't identify what the symbols were.
Fang Rui guessed, "This must be a talisman with spells written on it."
The combination of a talisman and a dried fetus strongly resembled some kind of black magic. Fang Rui suspected that whoever made this cursed doll wasn't just trying to scare Su Momo, but actually believed the curse could work.
So the question was, why would the perpetrator want to curse Su Momo to commit suicide by slitting her wrists?
Fang Rui thought of Su Momo's assistant, who seemed very superstitious. Could she be involved in this?
Fang Rui watched all the video footage of Su Momo since she checked into the hotel. Su Momo was often out early and back late, rarely staying in the hotel during the day. Her life assistant, Qi Fang, was always by her side, while Liu Yaying's schedule was more flexible, allowing her to move about freely most of the time.
Fang Rui noticed some suspicious points. Su Momo and her assistant Liu Yaying had a strange relationship. When they talked, they seemed to get along very well. But whenever Su Momo turned her back, Liu Yaying's expression would instantly change, glaring at Su Momo with intense hatred.
Liu Yaying seemed to despise Su Momo.
Yet Su Momo treated Liu Yaying extremely well, even giving her expensive gifts from brand sponsors, nearly offending the sponsors in the process.
On the first day Su Momo checked in, she was carrying a spotted dog. The dog could be seen walking in the corridor on the second and third days. But after the fourth day, the dog was never seen again in the surveillance footage.
Fang Rui focused his investigation on the relationship between Su Momo and Liu Yaying.
They were both students in the acting department at Film University, in the same year but different classes. They had been close friends since their freshman year.
During their university years, Liu Yaying far surpassed Su Momo in both looks and acting ability. In every performance showcase, Liu Yaying always played the lead role, while Su Momo could only get minor roles with few lines.
In their senior year, Liu Yaying started dating a rich second-generation heir and lost interest in acting, turning down many roles. She passed on a TV drama script she didn't think much of to Su Momo, and recommended Su Momo to the director for the unpopular lead role.
Unexpectedly, the low-budget TV drama became a hit, and Su Momo rose from being an extra to instant stardom.
Liu Yaying's fortunes, however, took a sharp downturn. Her wealthy boyfriend quickly tired of her and abandoned her while she was pregnant. She also offended industry insiders by breaking contracts and was essentially blacklisted. These consecutive blows left Liu Yaying physically and mentally exhausted, nearly driving her to attempt suicide by slitting her wrists.
Later, Su Momo, grateful for Liu Yaying's help in the past, hired the destitute Liu Yaying as her assistant and provided her with various forms of financial support. This gradually helped Liu Yaying emerge from the shadows of her past and regain her spirit.
Fang Rui found Liu Yaying very suspicious. She had a strong motive for the crime.
Fang Rui reviewed all surveillance footage featuring Liu Yaying. He noticed that the day before the cursed doll appeared, Liu Yaying was carrying an LV bag that was bulging oddly, as if concealing some living creature.
Fang Rui went back to Jiangzhou International Hotel. He first questioned Su Momo: "Miss Su, do you know where your spotted dog is?"
"You mean Bugu? Its hind legs were injured, so it was sent to the pet hospital for surgery." Mentioning her beloved dog, Su Momo's expression turned sad, "It ran out and got cut by some glass, so I had Yaying take it to the hospital."
"Can we inquire about your dog's condition at the hospital?"
"You'll have to ask Yaying about that. She's the one who contacted the pet hospital, only she has their information."
Fang Rui and Captain Li found Liu Yaying for questioning.
"Miss Liu, how would you describe your relationship with Su Momo?" Fang Rui asked.
"Momo and I are best friends. We've known each other since freshman year and are very close."
"Are you sure your relationship is that good?"
Fang Rui produced a stack of photos showing Liu Yaying rolling her eyes at Su Momo, glaring at her fiercely, and even making a choking gesture behind her back...
The numerous photos all pointed to one conclusion: Liu Yaying harbored intense hatred towards Su Momo.
