Yin Feng had been accompanying her for several days, seeing her every moment, which brought him immense satisfaction. It was like a child craving candy—after devouring a whole jar in one go, the urgency subsided, allowing for a break before indulging again. The more crucial reason was that he felt he stank terribly! Eating and sleeping alongside a group of detectives, not bathing for days—while they all seemed unfazed, even You Mingxu appeared accustomed to it.
Yin Feng could try not to mind her smell, but he couldn’t bear his own stench, lest You Mingxu find him repulsive! He had to remain fresh and appealing in her presence at all times. So today, he eagerly took his leave, instructing Chen Feng to prepare a bathtub filled to the brim with milk and flower petals. He had to wash himself clean before You Mingxu returned home. Additionally, he wanted an identical bath ready for her upon her return. They would come and go together, equally fragrant.
Meanwhile, You Mingxu plunged headfirst into the case.
The on-site investigation results for Xu Jiayuan’s case soon came in: it confirmed that the time of his murder was around 11 p.m. that night. The murder weapon was again a watermelon knife, though its size differed from the one in Xie Huifang’s case. Apart from Xu Jiayuan’s footprints, a size 38 footprint was left at the scene, which did not match any of the victim’s poker friends or roommates.
—
You Mingxu worked tirelessly until the following evening before dragging her exhausted body back home.
Pushing the door open, she expected to see someone waiting foolishly on the sofa again. But when she was met with a dark, silent room, both bedroom doors wide open, she froze for a moment.
Where has he run off to?
You Mingxu thought with some displeasure. She couldn’t be bothered to search for him, so she went to her room, took a shower, changed into her pajamas, and lay in bed for a while. The guy still hadn’t returned home.
She sat up and called him. The ringtone sounded from the next room.
He hadn’t taken his phone, so he couldn’t have gone far. Frowning, You Mingxu thought for a moment and suddenly recalled that the lights in the neighboring apartment seemed to be on when she came upstairs earlier.
Hadn’t Chen Feng rented the adjacent place a long time ago? And there was a spare key kept at home.
Holding the key and standing in the dark stairwell between the two units, You Mingxu couldn’t help but wonder: When did I start getting used to living with that little follower and seamlessly adapting to the role of a mother?
She knocked on the door first, but there was no response. Taking out the key, she unlocked the door. The living room lights were off, but light spilled from the doorway of a room ahead. You Mingxu had never been to this apartment before. Glancing around casually, she noticed it had been clearly renovated—elegant and minimalist, with very little furniture, likely to make it easier for Chen Feng and his team to attend to the boss.
Arriving at the room’s entrance, the door was open. Just as You Mingxu was about to knock, she froze completely.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle surprises, but the scene before her was genuinely shocking.
The room was almost empty, except for the walls, which were covered with enormous blackboards. At that moment, every blackboard was densely covered with writing. Yin Feng sat with his back to her on a high stool, in his usual posture—legs spread apart, hands pressed on the stool between them, like a solitary youth.
You Mingxu didn’t greet him first. Instead, her eyes fell on the words on the blackboard facing her.
The first line was a bold, prominent question: What if I were the killer?The handwriting, much like the signature she had seen before, was bold and unrestrained, with a rugged yet elegant beauty. At first glance, the entire board looked as if it were printed from a calligraphy copybook. You Mingxu found it hard to connect the person who could write such characters with the mess before her.
Suddenly, an image resurfaced in her mind: a man in a gray T-shirt and sunglasses, with a stubbled beard around his lips, stepping out of a car with a stern expression.
But You Mingxu’s interest in the case far outweighed her curiosity about Yin Feng’s eccentric behavior. She immediately continued reading. Listed below were the steps taken by the perpetrator in Xie Huifang’s case:
Prepare tools;
Track and observe;
Knock and enter;
Control the child;
Threaten the mother;
Kill the mother;
Kill the child;
Pile up the bodies;
Change out of bloodstained clothes;
Leave the scene;
*Note: On the surface, I have no direct connection or animosity with the deceased.
So, the great writer was reverse-engineering the crime? First imagining himself as the killer, then deducing the steps he would need to take?
Additionally, numerous details and clues from the case were listed, such as "size 39 shoes," "foot and hand coverings"; "the victim had a strong personality and had conflicts with colleagues"; "strict in disciplining her child"; "summer camp payment notice"; "children’s cold medicine"; "returned home for a noon break every day"; "had a major argument with her nephew the night before," and so on.
He had even drawn maps of the victim’s daily routes and the residential area, as well as a distribution map of the internet cafes frequently visited by the nephew, Li Biran…
The board was densely packed. In truth, You Mingxu and her team had also organized this information, but they had divided the tasks, with each person responsible for a specific lead. Unlike this person, who seemed to dump all the information together haphazardly, with little logical flow, as if jotting down whatever came to mind.
Just then, Yin Feng turned around and noticed her. His eyes, initially vacant and cold as if lost in thought, suddenly lit up. He jumped down from the stool and said with a smile, "You’re back!"
Without ceremony, You Mingxu took the vacant stool, crossed her legs, folded her arms, and glanced at the other three blackboards. They contained almost all the information about the two cases—details, personnel, testimonies, and more.
A faint stir of emotion rose in You Mingxu’s heart. After all, Yin Feng wasn’t a police officer, and the victims had no connection to him. Yet he was putting in such earnest effort.
She beckoned him to bend down so she could ruffle his hair and said, "You’ve worked hard."
Yin Feng smiled slightly and replied, "This handsome one isn’t afraid of hardship."
You Mingxu chuckled and asked, "You Yingjun, with all this grand setup, have you made any discoveries?"
He opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated, his gaze drifting away as he said slowly, "If I have a discovery, what reward will A Xu give me?"
You Mingxu asked, "What reward do you want?"
He feigned nonchalance and said, "Then I’ll just ask for one: when the case is solved, take me out for a day."
You Mingxu studied him for a moment, laughed, and agreed readily, "Fine, you pick the place."
Yin Feng’s face instantly bloomed with irrepressible joy, his eyes and brows radiating excitement. He exclaimed, "I’ve completed the criminal profile sketch for the suspect in Xie Huifang’s case!"
You Mingxu’s brows furrowed slightly. "Tell me about it."Yin Feng turned sideways to face the other blackboard. You Mingxu followed his gaze and saw several lines of conclusions written there. He said, "First, the perpetrator of Xie Huifang's case is a male between 15 and 20 years old. At least of medium build, not thin or weak, and frequently engages in physical labor or exercise.
Second, he comes from a very troubled family, lacking parental or elder affection, which he has never experienced;
Third, this is his first time committing murder;
Fourth, he often reads detective or violent novels and watches related TV shows, showing great interest in them.
Fifth, he is meticulous, patient, and psychologically distorted. Therefore, his psychological stress threshold is very low, meaning he is easily provoked, leading to intense emotional fluctuations and ultimately murder."
After delivering these points in a clear and crisp voice, Yin Feng turned to look at You Mingxu and said, "Actually, I figured out the answer several days ago. But in psychology, we also emphasize evidence. The criminal's behaviors at the crime scene are key evidence pointing to the above profile. And the profile, in turn, directs us to the suspect. Now, A Xu, do you know who to arrest? Among the people who have appeared recently, there is one who completely matches this profile."
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