Ji Feng returned to the hotel, it was already 10 o'clock at night.
He went to knock on the door of the next room. Light was shining from under the crack of the door, but no one came to open it for ages.
She must still be angry.
With no other choice, Ji Feng took out his phone and called her.
No answer.
He changed to sending a message: [Actually, I got a clue about him earlier, let's talk about it]
Jian Jing: [Talk if you want]
Ji Feng: [I didn't mean to hide it from you. I wanted to wait until there were results before telling you, in case you got excited for nothing.]
Jian Jing: [You were guarding against me, afraid I'd be brainwashed by him and secretly switch sides?]
When it came to work, Ji Feng was always fair and honest, he would never make things up: [Yes]
He sincerely explained his reasons: [You're the victim in this case. After being with the criminal for so long, no one can guarantee you haven't been influenced in some way, including yourself. By requesting you participate in solving the case, I'm not only responsible to the organization, but to you as well.]
Does he trust Jian Jing?
Of course, everything about her in the past showed her courage and sense of justice.
But this wasn't about trust or not. Avoiding subjective emotions is crucial in solving cases. Even when the police become involved parties, they have to declare a conflict of interest.
Because no matter what, people cannot act without emotions.
With her in the middle of this, he had to watch her carefully - that was both wariness and protection.
The door opened.
Jian Jing stood at the door, looking at him uncertainly: "You didn't tell me because you were afraid I'd get excited for nothing - is that what you really think?"
Ji Feng: "Well..."
"You'd better tell the truth." She gave a cold laugh, "You only get one chance."
"Actually, I thought you would have guessed already. I didn't think it was necessary to bring it up when you didn't give it much thought. I figured I'd give you some time to think it through slowly." He looked completely sincere.
Jian Jing took a deep breath, blood pressure rising: "When I talk to you, do I need to concentrate every second to take your tests and sudden questions?"
When it was time to concede, don't argue over details. Ji Feng lowered his head and admitted his mistake: "My bad."
"A guy like you will never get a girlfriend in this life." Jian Jing suddenly felt tired and couldn't be bothered to stay angry.
Ji Feng's expression didn't change, perfectly calm: "Thanks for the reminder, I'll keep that in mind."
"Come in." Jian Jing moved aside to let him in, "What did you want to talk about?"
Ji Feng readily revealed the answer: "He shot at me, and I shot back at him."
She was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "Blood?"
"Yes." He said simply, "He was injured. Blood stains were detected at the scene. I've submitted a report requesting it be compared with the national DNA database. If his relatives were kidnapped children or arrested criminals, we may be able to identify him."
He also reminded her: "The probability is very low, it's just trying our luck. Our investigation of him is still very important."
Jian Jing naturally did not conceal anything either: "His mother may have died from illness, and went through tremendous suffering. He witnessed his mother's miserable death, and often regretted not having ended her suffering sooner. "
Ji Feng was very surprised: "That's a completely different line of thought."
Previously, their conjectures were as follows: He had an unhappy childhood and lacked maternal love. When he met Guo Yifang, she became the mother figure he imagined, and the eldest son was his self-inserted character. Therefore, by joining this family, he made up for his own regrets and gained a complete, happy family - even if just for a moment.
But Jian Jing had now overturned the basis for this reasoning.
That is, he did not lack maternal love. On the contrary, his mother loved him very much, just as Guo Yifang loved her children. He did not take on the role of the child, he only cared about Guo Yifang.
He killed her to make up for the regret of not having killed his own mother.
Jian Jing said: "Think about that dress. If he was inserting himself as the child, why didn't the child have any personal symbols, but rather the mother's dress that fit his age?"
Ji Feng did not answer her directly. He thought for a long time before slowly saying: "Generally speaking, happy families do not easily produce demons, especially when the mother has given sufficient love. Unhappy families and lack of maternal love make it easier to create murderous psychopaths - so why did you suddenly have this new idea?"
Jian Jing: "Trying a different perspective."
"I believe you." He stated his stance, "But Teacher Jian, be careful."
"Careful of what?"
"Criminals are very crafty, especially serial killers like this who have evaded capture for so many years without leaving any trails. He must be extremely cunning." Ji Feng said solemnly, "Letting you come back, how could he not have guessed you'd be sent for treatment?"
Jian Jing was stunned: "You mean..."
"He left a message on you, but it wasn't for you." He said, "It was for the police. He's provoking the cops, so what you 'know' may not be the 'truth'."
As his words faded, the air became dead silent.
Jian Jing pressed her lips tightly, extremely uncomfortable inside.
She had thought she was unraveling the layers of fog, touching the edges of the truth, but forgot that the so-called truth may not be the reality.
Ji Feng had noticed her blind spot - why would someone as crafty as Scarface send such a big clue back with her?
Because she was just a pawn.
"I didn't want to say it, but since my acting wasn't good enough and you saw through it, I'll just speak plainly. You're not a fragile person, being straightforward, you'll know where you stand."
Ji Feng spoke calmly and flatly, subtly dissolving her embarrassment: "I think he left three moves: the first layer is your hypnosis, the second layer is the truth after hypnosis, the third layer is you yourself."
Jian Jing was silent for a while, then sat dejectedly on the edge of the bed: "That makes sense, go on."
He smiled and pulled over a chair to sit down: "To gain your trust, he couldn't have told all lies. We need to discern the traps from the clues to catch his tail."
Jian Jing glanced at him, her eyes asking: How do we differentiate?
"Let's start with something simple. At the signing event, the surveillance only caught one of his hands, proving he knew where the cameras were - then he casually signed with his scarred hand for you to see? That's illogical." Ji Feng brought up a long-buried concern.
Jian Jing thought carefully, it did seem to be the case.
"Human memory grasps key points, and striking impressions are remembered first." He said, "Scars are a very obvious characteristic. I think this was a very obvious trap, and he may not actually have any scars himself."
It was reasonable and convincing.
But Jian Jing hesitated for a moment before voluntarily speaking up.
Ji Feng seemed to have guessed her concerns and took the initiative: "If you think some parts are too much, I can make you a promise."
"Absolutely won't say it to others?" She mocked, "Boring."
"Not boring, you'll be interested." Ji Feng sighed, prepared himself, then said, "My father's death is still an unsolved case. I will get to the bottom of it sooner or later. When that time comes, you can have your revenge."
Jian Jing was indeed interested: "Your father?"
"I'll tell you later." He avoided the subject,
"Do we have a deal?"
She thought for a moment, then nodded: "I'll trust you one last time."
"Want to hook pinkies on it?" Ji Feng teased.
She had an expression of "don't be so disgusting".
"Then go ahead."
Jian Jing organized her thoughts and told him about the dream from last night.
"It was a dream, not intuition?" Ji Feng was surprised instead, "You were the protagonist in the dream?"
Jian Jing said: "No, I was a third-party observer embodied in the protagonist."
"Spectator perspective?"
"Correct."
"Then let's first assume the dream had meaning..."
She interrupted: "I'm certain it did."
"Okay, okay." Ji Feng immediately changed his words, "Let's just analyze point by point. I think his anger has two possible explanations."
"Please elaborate."
"One, as you said, is injustice for his mother. She suffered endless torment without good results, and died tragically. His personality changed drastically after that, and he came to believe that death was the ultimate truth. Two, the opposite - this was the excuse he sought for his mother's coldness, to comfort himself that her abandonment of him was right."
That made sense too.
"Now the two conclusions are opposites, what do we do?" She asked.
Ji Feng said: "Wait it out."
"Criminal profiling is an assistive method after all, studying groups rather than individuals." He explained, "Our biggest findings this time are his simulated portrait, his mother's special circumstances, and the age range."
Jian Jing: "The skirt was popular in the 1980s. He must have been a child back then, so he was probably born in the late 1970s to 1980s? He should be around 35-40 years old now?"
"Yes, that's a clear clue," he said. "Once we find out his identity, we can get to the bottom of his issues with his mother."
After a brief pause, he frowned again: "Actually, I'm worried about another problem now."
Ji Feng looked at Jian Jing: "We've been away from Heping City for over a week. If he was keeping close tabs on you, he would have noticed our whereabouts by now. But he hasn't tried to stop our investigation at all. Why?"
"Maybe he thinks we won't be able to find out much," a chill crept into her heart as she said slowly, "Or perhaps...he has more important plans underway."
It was an awkward time to return to Heping City.
4pm was too late to go to work and too early to sleep. Ji Feng decided to go to the vegetable market to buy some ingredients for dinner, do the laundry and tidy up the dusty corners of the house.
When Ji Yunyun came home from school, she was so surprised to see him cooking that her jaw dropped: "Is today a holiday?"
"I'm going back to work tomorrow, so I'm making you a nice meal today," he urged, "Come help serve the rice."
Ji Yunyun briskly brought over the bowls.
The rare occasion of the siblings sitting down to enjoy a hot meal together.
It was impossible for family members to eat together without chatting.
Ji Yunyun curiously asked about his business trip: "What case was it that you didn't even get time off for vacation? Was it related to the person who injured you? Has he been arrested?"
"You're in 12th grade, how's your studying going? When's your next exam?" Ji Feng counter-asked.
Ji Yunyun: "It's fine, 12th graders don't have monthly exams. Your turn."
"Kids shouldn't poke their noses into adults' affairs," the shameless adult played the shameless card.
But Ji Yunyun wasn't going to back down either. She immediately snorted: "I'd know even if you didn't tell me. Uncle Li has been asking me lately if anyone's been following me, and he walks me upstairs. Obviously he's worried I'll be retaliated against."
They lived in a residential compound for families of civil servants. The retired security guard used to be a policeman, and the dogs being walked around the compound were probably on the government payroll, the kind that got pensions.
Ji Feng glanced at his sister but didn't deny it: "So has there been anyone or not?"
She shook her head.
"I've watched the school gate through binoculars from inside the school, and hid behind the curtains at night to keep watch after turning off the lights. I didn't notice anyone following me." Ji Yunyun shook her head, her ponytail swaying. She was incredibly pleased with herself.
Ji Feng: "..." His dear sister.
But he still scolded her with his words: "Don't get self-important."
Ji Yunyun: "Hmph!!"
"Hurry up and eat, wash the dishes after eating," Ji Feng urged.
Ji Yunyun: "I have homework to do, you wash them."
Nothing in the world was bigger than a 12th grader, so Ji Feng conceded.
However, in the gaps between doing chores, his mind involuntarily became active again: Did the scarred man believe Jian Jing's social media post, or has he switched to a different target?
In any case, he didn't believe the other party would just wait around to be captured.
And Teacher Jian seemed to be doing much better than he had imagined, she didn't appear to be particularly affected.
Seeing things from her first-person perspective in his third-person perspective was certainly strange... But it did explain her anger - turns out she had never considered the possibility that she was being misled.
He must have really irritated her by pointing that out.
Ji Feng figured it'd be best to make himself scarce and not show up in front of her these next couple days.
