Chapter 64: A Gentleman's Etiquette
Situ Yi's coworkers are first to be interrogated.
"Mr. Situ is the most polite person I've ever met, and he's also very hardworking. All of the employees like him and respect him very much."
"A murder case? That's impossible. Director Situ is such a nice person. How could he be involved in the case?"
"Although I don't know how the police work, I give you my word that there is nothing wrong with Situ."
……
All of them are saying the same things. There aren't any flaws that they can pick out on "Mr. Niceguy" Situ Yi based on their day to day interactions with him.
Chatterbox is the one chatting with them. He comes out of the room looking rather helpless. Jin Xi walks over and pats his shoulder, "Don't worry. Do you think that just because most people think it's the truth, it makes it the truth? Situ Yi will definitely not become close friends with those whom he works with. He most likely keeps a perfect image of himself, which is expected." She smiles slightly, "But this further proves that his degree of being a psychopath is even higher……"
The second group they chat with are friends of Situ Yi at the clubhouse. They are also platinum VIP members and are either the second generations of a wealthy family or gold collars.
But they also can't provide any valuable information.
"Actually, I only know Situ Yi. We've drunk a few times, but we're not close friends. However, he's quite a nice guy."
"Generous, charming, good taste, and attractive to many women. If I must point out a flaw, he can be too serious sometimes. If his sleeves get a little dirty, he will leave immediately, go home and change his clothes. No matter how pretty a woman may be, if her clothes don't match with her makeup, he will not look at her at all."
"Who's the closest with Situ Yi? I'm not too sure. I don't believe there is one. I've never seen him close with anyone."
The last two people they talk to are Black Shield Team's targeted individuals.
One of them is a man who had a fight with Situ Yi four months ago where they ended up in a police station. This is also the minor incident on record which led to the police identifying Situ Yi as a possible suspect. This man is called Shao Lun.
The other person is Situ Yi's ex-girlfriend whom he had announced his relationship with publicly and dated for over half a year. Her name is Zhen Ni Ya, and she is the daughter of the President of a listed corporation.
Han Chen and Cold Face are responsible for questioning Shao Lun.
Behind the dark glass, Jin Xi, Xiao Zhuan, and Chatterbox watch them attentively. Shao Lun is an unknown employee of a research institute. He's unattractive. He's wearing an ordinary shirt, long pants and carrying an out of style briefcase. He seems very quiet and untalkative. It's hard to imagine how he would have come in contact with someone like Situ Yi.
But Han Chen soon finds the answer from questioning.
"Based on the records from a civil officer, you two had a conflict due to issues related to a love relationship. There aren't a lot of details on it," Han Chen asks, "Can you tell us what it was?"
Shao Lun keeps quiet for a moment.
He lifts his head and looks at Han Chen, "If I say it, would the police believe me? Won't he be released on bail as usual?" he pauses and says in a low voice, "He'll continue to be the rich, influential, and the 'good guy' who's got no problems."
Zhou Xiao Zhuan's eyes open wide immediately. Han Chen's expression is calm. But the three of them outside are getting worked up.
There's big news!
"We already have some thoughts on Situ Yi," Han Chen says, "Otherwise we wouldn't have asked you to come and assist with our investigation. It's your choice to tell us or not, but us police will definitely reconstruct the truth of the events."
Shao Lun remains silent for a moment. His hands holding together on the table tightens their grip.
"I think that Situ Yi is a killer who disguises himself very well. My missing girlfriend was killed by him."
Shao Lun finally tells them everything that has happened. It turns out that he and his girlfriend Ruan Shao Shuang were college classmates. After they graduated, he started working at the research institute while Ruan Shao Shuang worked as a low-level employee at a corporate company.
He doesn't know how Ruan Shao Shuang got to know Situ Yi. But in any case, within a month, her attitude towards him changed. She didn't show interest in him and became annoyed with him. They saw each other less and less. Until one weekend, he especially rode transit for a few hours to pick her up after work, which was when he saw her get into Situ Yi's car.
"A black cayenne," he says, "I had never seen her dressed up so beautifully and smiled so happily before."
She was a bumpkin who was full of dreams and was mesmerized by a playboy, so she ditched her bumpkin boyfriend in the end. That's the story. Two months after their breakup, on a late night, Shao Lun received a phone call from her suddenly.
"Ah Lun……" she whispered with a shaky voice. She sounded repressed and frightened, "Can we meet up? I think there's something wrong with Situ Yi……"
That night, he was drinking endlessly until he was drunk because of the breakup. Hearing her voice again made him feel humiliated and pain as a man. He only remembers scolding her fiercely and hanging up.
When he woke up afterward, he regretted it very much, but he couldn't find it in himself to call her back.
Ever since college, he loved her with his life. Just because she and her rich boyfriend were running into troubles, how could he bear to listen to her vent?
But he overlooked the fact that Ruan Shao Shuang was just like him. They were top students who graduated from science. Although she was vain, her ways of thinking and observing were much more sensitive than a normal girl. She was also more proud and strong. If she didn't discover a secret of Situ Yi, why would she have been so careful and called him in the middle of the night, the one she had depended on out of habit for so many years?
For a long while, they didn't contact each other.
Until one day, he received an urgent phone call from her parents, saying that she had disappeared for a month.
"She quitted her job long ago. I heard that she was starting up her own business," Shao Lun said, "The police investigated and found that before she went missing, she bought train tickets to Hangzhou. It was later that they found her clothes and wallet in a garbage can, but they still couldn't find her. She's still nowhere to be found, whether she's dead or alive, so the murderer has still not been caught."
He raises his head and looks at Han Chen and Xiao Zhuan. His eyes are already a bit red.
"The Hangzhou police believes that she has been kidnapped or murdered by a criminal in the local area, but my instincts tell me that all this must be related to Situ Yi! She must have discovered something so that he silenced her."
Later, Shao Lun went to Situ Yi's workplace to confront him. A new girl was already sitting inside of Situ Yi's car. He even told Shao Lun kindly that he and Ruan Shao Shuang had broken up long ago.
"She's missing?" he asked in shock, "What happened? Although we've broken up, just tell me what you need. I will do anything that I can to help."
Shao Lun didn't believe him.
Due to new and old grudges, he hated and suspected the well-dressed man in front of him even more.
Therefore, he punched him.
Therefore, he was kicked out by the security guard and was questioned and mocked by other men and women who were walking out of Situ Yi's office.
"Is this guy crazy? Why is he coming to our office to find his girlfriend?"
"Yeah, he even said that Director Situ hid his girlfriend. Director Situ is such a nice man. This guy is trying to extort money, isn't he?"
"So shameless! He can't keep an eye on his girlfriend yet he's coming here to blame someone else for it. Look at him. He's such a bumpkin." a woman said softly.
……
This is how the world is. If you have money, power, or have attractive looks, your tiniest bit of kindness will be magnified by three folds. And everything you say will always be easily accepted by others.
On the other hand, if you're just an unattractive and ordinary person, even though what you say is the truth, others might not bother listening.
Their questioning session ends. Everybody from the Black Shield Team is a bit depressed.
If Situ Yi is really the killer who they're looking for, they now know why he changed the way he has been committing his crimes three months ago——it's because somebody has finally noticed his crime and there's a risk of it being exposed. Furthermore, he was brought to the police station. At the time, Shao Lun also told the civil officer what he had suspected. It's just that his suspicion was not accepted or believed in. But at the time, the civil officer must have asked Shao Lun about Ruan Shao Shuang's disappearance and may have even looked at Situ Yi with suspicion.
Therefore, Situ Yi's world was no longer peaceful.
If you suspect me, I will leave the bodies at places where you can see.
This is my logic.
After they send Shao Lun out of the station, Chatterbox can't help but sigh, "The saddest thing in this world are losers like us."
_____
The last person whom they're questioning today is one of Situ Yi's ex-girlfriends, the daughter of a wealthy family, Zhen Ni Ya.
She's 26 years old, pretty, and her clothes are exquisite and luxurious. She's a little surprised that the police has asked her to come for questioning. But after hearing Jin Xi and Chatterbox advising her that it's about Situ Yi, her reaction is rather intriguing.
It's because after showing a brief expression of fright, she calms down and her eyes start to wander.
"He's quite a nice guy," she says, "We later broke up due to our different personalities. What are you trying to investigate on?"
Jin Xi and Xiao Zhuan exchange glances.
"Miss Zhen, I won't lie to you. We're investigating a serial killing case of young women," Jin Xi says, "Therefore, we are hoping to gather some more complete information on the people and events. Our chat today will also be undisclosed. What I want to know is during the period that you dated Situ Yi, did you discover anything odd about him? Our inquiries today aren't for nothing. This regards many others' lives."
Zhen Ni Ya is very shocked after hearing that it's about a murder case.
But she calms down again.
"What is considered odd?" she asks suddenly.
Jin Xi answers looking at her, "For example……getting angry suddenly as if he's a different person. Or occasionally showing violent behaviors. Or finding out that inside his heart, he actually feels hatred yet inferior to women. And lastly, when you were with him, you felt very repressed and couldn't continue your relationship with him."
For every example that Jin Xi gives, Zhen Ni Ya's expression changes a bit.
"How did you know……"
_____
At this stage of the investigation, the statements from these people, whether they are good or bad, have all become evidence indirectly indicating that Situ Yi is indeed a psychopathic serial killer.
The contrast in his personality when he's in front of people versus when he's alone is great, which ultimately matches the suspect's profile.
Besides being connected to these three cases, he may also be related to Ruan Shao Shuang's disappearance. And due to Ruan Shao Shuang's case, this helps the police to know his crime style during the time when he covered them up.
Shao Lun and Zhen Ni Ya's words can also be presented as evidence in the future.
……
"What are you thinking about?" a low and deep voice asks.
Jin Xi turns her head and sees Han Chen sitting behind the desk across from her.
It's almost noon. Chatterbox and the others are still busy taking care of the potential witnesses, so only the two of them are in the office.
Jin Xi has been staring out the window absentmindedly for a while. Hearing him speak, she leans against her chair, crosses her long and beautiful legs and answers, "It's too smooth. I keep feeling that something is not right."
Of course, this could very well be the truth. Despite they've been able to identify Situ Yi within two days' time, Situ Yi continues to be a mentally ill person who hides it very well. If it weren't for her profiling and Han Chen's intricate inferences, it would have been like searching for a needle in a haystack to find him.
Han Chen leans against his chair the same way as she does. He places his arms on the armrests. After a whole night of work, his short hair is a bit ruffled. His jacket is open and the collar of his shirt is a bit wrinkled.
But Jin Xi still feels that he is incredibly handsome.
Seeing him remaining quiet, Jin Xi gets up and goes over. She leans against the edge of his desk with her arms crossed, "Do you have the same feeling?"
"This is the difference between traditional investigation method versus criminal psychology," he answers looking at her, "We don't talk about feelings. We only know the evidence. Right now, the majority of the evidence points to Situ Yi, so he is the biggest suspect. However, we still have not found the key piece of evidence, therefore, I won't treat him as the only suspect and won't eliminate other possibilities——until we find the piece of evidence that cannot be overturned."
Jin Xi stares at him for a while.
And then she lets up a soft, "Hmph!"
Han Chen smiles immediately. He reaches out to grab her hand, but Jin Xi dodges him quickly and takes a step back.
She gives him another "Hmph!"
"I will prove to you that when it comes to these kinds of serial killers, criminal psychology is the best way to solve the case."
During her speech, he makes another attempt to grab her hand. Jin Xi is unsuccessful in escaping this time——or perhaps she has no plans to avoid him, so she is pulled to stand in front of him.
She's still standing while he's sitting. He looks up at her while holding her hand.
"Yes, criminal psychology is the greatest. Traditional investigation methods have long been defeated."
Jin Xi presses her lips together into a smile.
"F–k you. Han Chen, I feel that you're becoming more and more thick skinned recently."
They both chat for another while before Jin Xi pushes him away, "You still have some work to do. I'll go grab food."
Han Chen nods. After she walks a few steps, he calls her suddenly, "Change your clothes first."
Jin Xi looks down. She's still wearing the dress that she was wearing to go to the clubhouse.
"Why?" she turns around and looks at him smiling with her eyes squinting.
He folds his arms behind his head and stares at her, "I'm afraid that the cafeteria will become crowded in a bit."
Jin Xi is speechless, "……"
His words are too flattering to a woman. Her heart feels as if it's melting in honey. She really wants to grin but pretends to be calm like "it's normal" and says, "But where would I change my clothes? I'm too lazy to go back to the dorm."
She doesn't want to go to the girl's washroom——her formal dress is such an important piece of wardrobe, so there's no way that she'll let it get dirty while changing it in the washroom.
Han Chen has already pushed away his computer and is standing up.
"Just change here."
Jin Xi's face feels hot immediately, "You wish!"
Han Chen was planning to go outside and guard the door for her while she got changed. But who knew that she would think otherwise.
Seeing her blush, he keeps silent for a moment, walks to the door, locks it and goes back to sit down on his chair.
"They'll be back soon, so you should hurry."
Jin Xi feels embarrassed from being stared at by his dark brown eyes, but she wants to laugh at the same time. She has gotten changed in the office in the past due to time constraints where she would have Xiao Zhuan watch the door for her. She's been wearing this dress for a day and night, so it's a bit sticky from sweat and feels uncomfortable. Furthermore, it's not convenient to be in a dress. Therefore, she says, "Turn around then. You're not allowed to look."
Han Chen glances at her. He turns his chair around obediently and faces the wall.
Jin Xi fetches a set of exercise clothes, turns her back to him and starts taking off her dress quickly. As for Han Chen behind her……he's seen everything that he can possibly see. It's just that she feels embarrassed about it. Moreover, although he acts like a scoundrel sometimes, he usually keeps his word and has good manners. Therefore, he is trustworthy.
Han Chen stares at the wall as he waits patiently.
He then hears her raising her voice, "I'm not done yet. Don't turn around yet."
Han Chen doesn't answer. He thinks for a moment, lowers his head and laughs. He turns his chair around slowly without a sound.
And then he raises his head.
Jin Xi finishes changing quickly. She checks herself from the bottom up before turning around, "I'm done, you can tur-……"!!
Han Chen's hands are behind his head and his body posture carries a sense of laziness. His pair of beautiful and dark brown eyes is staring at her without blinking. She doesn't know how long he's been watching her like this.
Their eyes meet and he smiles slowly.
Jin Xi feels mad yet she wants to laugh. Her face flushes as she grabs a book from the desk and hits him with it, "You bastard!"
Jin Xi goes to the cafeteria to grab food. Han Chen continues working for a while before his phone rings suddenly.
He holds it up to see who it is. He pauses for a second and then picks it up, "Mom."