Chang Qing was an excellent listener.
During almost every psychological counseling session in the past, Shen Ting was able to maintain a relatively relaxed state in front of him.
At this moment, Shen Ting was leaning back on the sofa, sitting seemingly off-guard, using a calm tone to describe what he had seen and heard that day at Royal Tiandihui.
But Chang Qing could tell that he was trying his utmost to suppress his discomfort.
A person's mouth and facial expressions can lie, but their body's muscles cannot.
The Shen Ting before Chang Qing had a calm expression, his arms casually draped over the backrest of the sofa, hanging loosely behind him.
It was the presentation of an extremely relaxed posture.
Shen Ting had undergone professional training—training that was unimaginable to ordinary people—which allowed his actions to flawlessly project whatever image he wanted the outside world to see.
His concealment of his emotions and his superb control over his body were enough to deceive any ordinary psychology professional.
But to Chang Qing, a psychological expert obsessed with studying details, Shen Ting's shoulders were too rigid and stiff, and the muscles in his upper arms were not entirely relaxed.
Therefore, Chang Qing immediately understood.
Shen Ting was deeply averse to continuing to play the role of Song Ci—so averse that he was exhibiting the somatic anxiety✦ translator's noteSomatic anxiety (躯体性焦虑): A psychological term referring to the physical manifestation of anxiety—muscle tension, headaches, digestive issues—rather than just the mental or emotional symptoms. of physical resistance.
Chang Qing couldn't help but think that humans were truly fascinating creatures.
He knew Shen Ting; the man's psychological fortitude was incredibly powerful.
It was so strong that even psychological experts who had seen many extreme cases couldn't help but sigh and call him "inhuman."
Yet, this was the same Shen Ting who wouldn't bat an eye even with a criminal's gun pointed at his head.
The same Shen Ting who, during an undercover mission, watched his comrade be tortured to death with his own eyes and still perfectly masked his emotions, pretending to be utterly indifferent.
And now, he was actually experiencing somatic anxiety just because he had to pretend to be a bisexual hooligan.
Of course, there were two sides to everything. A moderate amount of anxiety was not absolutely a bad thing.
Shen Ting was an exceptionally observant person. Individuals of this type, aside from possessing agile minds, highly likely also possessed an innate, acute intuition.
And this acute intuition, in the vast majority of cases, was precisely catalyzed by a sense of anxiety.
For a criminal investigator like Shen Ting, maintaining a level of anxiety helped him survive better.
When this anxiety pointed toward the future, it could signal an impending threat or danger. When it pointed toward the past, it could hint at a certain possibility that led to the current situation.
But if the anxiety became excessive, to the point where it began to affect the execution of a mission, it genuinely required professional help and intervention.
"Listening to the whole picture, solving this problem isn't difficult."
Out of professional habit, Chang Qing held his pen and consultation notebook, but out of protection for Shen Ting and the mission, he didn't write anything down.
"Shen Ting, I know you have always been a very responsible person, but in reality, you personally do not need to be responsible for every single action you take during this mission."
As he spoke, Chang Qing's tone was steady and his gaze gentle, easily inspiring trust and goodwill.
"The truth is, you don't discriminate against homosexuality, you are simply very clear that you are not one. During the execution of this mission, no matter how badly you behave, or even if you feign having chaotic intimate relationships, it is all under the overarching premise of 'completing the mission.' When you do these things, you are not Shen Ting. And Shen Ting does not have to be responsible for any of it."
Only after confirming that Shen Ting didn't reject what he was saying did Chang Qing continue, his tone as warm as a spring breeze: "The one acting like a shameless thug on the street is Song Ci, and the one getting handsy with men is also Song Ci. You need to attribute all of these problems to Song Ci; do not force Shen Ting to take responsibility and digest them. You can't always use Shen Ting's logic and worldview to judge things. In other words, as soon as you walk out that door, you are Song Ci."
Shen Ting nodded in understanding.
But he didn't think this speech would have any immediate, effective help for him.
If he remembered correctly, a similar conversation had already taken place the very first time he met Chang Qing.
He felt he had fallen into a vicious cycle of: I understand the theory, but it doesn't work in practice, and Got it as soon as I heard it, ruined it as soon as I tried it.
And naturally, Chang Qing didn't believe that a single, short sixty-minute counseling session could instantly eliminate Shen Ting's psychological burden.
He pushed the reading glasses up the bridge of his nose and said sincerely, "Of course, what I just said was in the hopes of exploring the underlying logic behind the behaviors that make you uncomfortable. Eliminating a psychological hurdle cannot rely solely on a single conversation. Before the hurdle is cleared, you can, under reasonable circumstances, try your best to avoid the actions and situations that make you uncomfortable."
After thinking for a moment, he gave an example: "For instance, from Song Ci's perspective, you could establish a certain goal that can only be achieved by prohibiting intimate behavior with the majority of men. Use this to set a reasonable constraint for the persona of Song Ci."
This was clearly a highly practical suggestion.
Shen Ting gave a soft "Mm." When fabricating his excuse for needing to see a psychologist, he had also tried to lean in this direction.
Chang Qing wanted to say something more but was interrupted by the buzz-buzz vibration of an incoming call. He pulled his phone, which was set to vibrate, out of his lab coat pocket. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was the Chief of the Public Security Sub-bureau, Sun Ruohai. So, he answered it.
After listening to just two sentences, his expression turned grave, and he handed the phone to Shen Ting. "It's Chief Sun. He's looking for you."
Shen Ting's heart suddenly sank, and an ominous premonition of an approaching storm swelled within him.
At the same time, Chu Huainan also received an internal call from Guan Hongfen.
He was in the middle of a transatlantic conference call for a fund roadshow.
But because he had emphasized beforehand that any reports regarding the pedestrian street case were of the absolute highest priority, the Board Secretary's office promptly patched Guan Hongfen's call through midway.
"Boss, breaking news headlines just now! Three minutes ago, the media released more information regarding the case, and it has already been reposted countless times." After all, she wasn't young anymore, and Guan Hongfen's voice had gone hoarse from a full day of high-intensity work.
Taking the call, Chu Huainan looked up and shot a glance at Wang Xiaojun.
The young, capable female secretary instantly understood. She seamlessly joined the ongoing conference call and initiated a secondary recording, ensuring Chu Huainan could review the meeting at another time.
Chu Huainan hung up the internal line and pulled his own phone from his pocket. Before he even unlocked it, the screen was flooded with breaking news push notifications from multiple apps.
Every single one of these trending topics was a report on the body-dumping case.
Expressionlessly, he tapped on the top news alert.
Exclusive Breaking News: Hell Killer Returns to Kill a Cop?! Corpse Dumped in Downtown Area, Victim Brutally Dismembered and Boiled! Killer Leaves Note Provoking Police!
[2.05 Jianghu City Jiangning East Road Body-Dumping Case, Latest Update: Victim Confirmed as Former Police Officer! Suspected Killer's Fingerprint Found on Scene Evidence! Shockingly Bizarre Test Results!]
"At approximately 12:40 AM on February 5th, a vicious body-dumping case occurred at the Jiangning East Road Pedestrian Street in Jianghu City. An unidentified male commissioned an express courier to deliver an order to a popular internet-famous restaurant on Jiangning East Road. The delivery item was a men's black backpack.
"Subsequently, upon inspection by a waitress at the restaurant, human remains and boiled meat slices were shockingly discovered inside the backpack! This triggered a minor stampede at the scene that night, and the restaurant owner immediately reported it to the police. Forensic and technical investigation experts were dispatched to the scene. It is understood that some of the body parts at the scene had been boiled. A note reading 'Hell is empty, and corrupt cops are on earth' was also left inside the backpack.
"According to reliable sources, the police have now confirmed via DNA matching technology that the victim is early-retired police officer Chen [Name Withheld]. Born in March 1965, Chen previously served as the Captain of the Seventh Detachment of the Jianghu City Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Detachment.
"Furthermore, the fingerprint left on the note at the scene has also been tested and verified. Cross-referencing has locked the fingerprint as belonging to the perpetrator who carried out the indiscriminate murder at the exact same location in 2005, Li Guangqiang.
"Li Guangqiang, male, native of Jianghu City's South District, born in 1968. Following the incident in 2005, he was already declared dead by the police."
Chu Huainan's index finger tapped rhythmically against the desk, his expression chillingly stern.
The development of the case was far more complex and bizarre than anyone had imagined.
A murderer who had been dead for fifteen years, his body long reduced to dry bones, managed to cross space and time to leave a brand-new fingerprint on a piece of evidence in another case, years later, at the exact same location of his original crime?
It sounded just as absurd as a vengeful ghost returning to commit murder!
Shen Ting took the phone from Chang Qing, and Sun Ruohai's deep voice immediately came through the receiver:
"Shen Ting, the autopsy results for the case we talked about this morning are out. The victim is the former captain of the Seventh Detachment of the CID, Chen Feng."
Sun Ruohai wasn't very familiar with Chen Feng, who had applied for early retirement due to health reasons a few years ago. But having served in the same system, they had inevitably crossed paths at various large and small meetings in the past.
To think that the deceased—murdered, dismembered, partially boiled, and dumped on the street—turned out to be an old colleague he had attended meetings with.
Even Sun Ruohai, who had handled countless criminal cases, couldn't help but feel a complex swirl of emotions.
"A total of three fingerprints were extracted from the backpack. One belonged to the delivery rider from that day. Another one is not in the fingerprint database, but after discussion by the bureau's expert panel, the likelihood of this one belonging to the killer is low."However, the matching results for the fingerprint on the note—which very likely was left by the killer—have also come back. This fingerprint belongs to a man named Li Guangqiang—" Sun Ruohai's voice paused, taking a long time before he hoarsely said, "That is the murderer who killed your father on Jiangning Road Pedestrian Street in 2005."
Fifteen years ago, also on this exact day, February 5th. Shen Ting's father, Shen Zhi, had arranged to have lunch with Chen Feng and a senior alumni returning from overseas, Mu Mingsheng, at the Jiangning Road Pedestrian Street.
Yet, in the plaza atrium less than twenty meters from the restaurant's entrance, he was ambushed from behind by a drug-hallucinating Li Guangqiang, who stabbed him over twenty times.
Before the ambulance even arrived, he was already gone.
That year, Shen Ting was twelve.
Sun Ruohai waited on the other end of the line for a long time, but upon hearing no response from Shen Ting, he continued, "We did not officially release the information regarding the fingerprint to the public. But for some reason, all the media outlets know about it now. Every media channel is currently recounting the details of the case from back then.
The public is speculating wildly, and everyone in the CID believes the probability of these two cases being connected is exceedingly high."
Sun Ruohai's voice wasn't loud, but Shen Ting felt the eardrum of the ear pressed against the phone violently shuddering.
For no reason at all, he felt a dull throb at the back of his skull. It was as if this news was a heavy club suddenly and unexpectedly smashing into him.
Chang Qing watched as every muscle in Shen Ting's body went stiff.
A flash of heavy, blunt pain crossed that expressionless face. But no matter how much it hurt, the voice that spoke was still terrifyingly calm: "Chief Sun, I am not a criminal investigator from your bureau, and this case has nothing to do with my current mission. There is no need for you to give me these details..."
"Shen Ting! You are the family member of the victim in the case fifteen years ago! And the victim in this current case was your father's best friend! You have the right to know this! All these years..."
Interrupted by Sun Ruohai's roar, Shen Ting vengefully cut off his words: "Chief Sun, I am currently undergoing mission-related psychological counseling. If there are no other directives pertaining to my mission, I request to terminate this call!"
Looking at Shen Ting like this, Sun Ruohai suddenly figured out the answer to a question. It was a question that had plagued him for years, and only today did he find the answer.
Why did his wife, who had shared thick and thin with him and respected him deeply for years, suddenly demand a divorce?
Why did his deeply beloved daughter proactively ask to live with her mother, even refusing his scheduled monthly visits?
So it turns out that professionalism and dedication to duty can sometimes be so utterly detestable.
An outstanding People's Police Officer could truly have moments that made their friends and family gnash their teeth in hatred.
Sun Ruohai was so infuriated he couldn't speak a single word for a long time.
Meanwhile, the "ungrateful, cold-blooded, and ruthless" Shen Ting made his own judgment, confirming that his local mission supervisor likely had no further mission-related instructions. Thus, he cleanly and decisively hung up the phone.
"Shen Ting!" Sun Ruohai felt like he was about to vomit blood from anger at this mission-first Police Inspector Shen.
He gripped the phone—which now displayed "Call Ended"—so hard his knuckles turned white, wishing he could reach through the screen and smash Shen Ting's mission-obsessed brain awake with it.
Just as he was gnashing his teeth in fury, the phone in his palm suddenly rang again. The caller ID showed: Chang Qing.
The muscles on Sun Ruohai's face twitched as he squeezed out a sneer of absolute, extreme rage. Assuming Shen Ting had thought better of it, he immediately hit answer: "I knew it! How could a brat like you truly not care!"
However, the person on the other end really was Chang Qing himself.
Looking at the recently closed door of the counseling room, Chang Qing couldn't help but sigh.
"Chief Sun, this is Chang Qing. Shen Ting has left, but he asked me to pass a message to you. Since the media has already started digging up the old case, it's highly likely they will try to interview the families of the victims from back then. Shen Ting says his personal photos and information absolutely must not be leaked due to the media's renewed reporting. It would increase the risk of his undercover identity being exposed."
Sun Ruohai: "..."
Shen Ting's worries were justified.
The power of the media is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it protects the public's right to know. But in criminal investigation cases like this, more often than not, they laid out far too many case details—which shouldn't be exposed prematurely—in front of the bystander masses.
And as for these bystanders... In this world, there are no failed heroes, no traitors worthy of condolence, no kind-hearted enemies, no weaklings deserving of respect, and certainly no shared sorrows or joys.
Faced with exposed ugliness, the mob raising their arms and shouting together did not do so for justice; they merely did it to satisfy their morbid curiosity and their selfish desire to stand on the moral high ground.
People compromised and muddied the waters, remaining apathetically detached, as if the only thing worth protecting in this world was always their own self-interest.
To satisfy the ordinary public's curiosity toward this incredibly rare cop-killing and dismemberment case, the media in Jianghu City—and even across the nation—unanimously chose to join this macabre carnival of feeding on the tragedy✦ translator's noteMacabre carnival of feeding on the tragedy (人血馒头大狂欢): Literally "a carnival of eating human blood steamed buns." References a famous Lu Xun story where superstitious people believed buns dipped in an executed person's blood could cure diseases. In modern slang: to profit off or capitalize on others' tragedy., scrambling for stories stained with the blood of the victim, the victim's family, and even the police force.
Overnight, conspiracy theories sprang up everywhere, as if smearing the police had conversely become the political correctness of this media frenzy.
Sun Ruohai reported Shen Ting's concerns at the very first opportunity.
And the Director of the National Criminal Investigation Bureau, Yan Qiming, immediately issued a directive—at all costs, the leaking of any photos of the victims and their families from the 2005 case was strictly forbidden to protect Shen Ting's safety.
But what the police didn't expect was that when the cyber police department received the order and rolled up their sleeves, preparing to work relentlessly overnight to delete posts, ban accounts, and implement keyword blocking...
They found the media outlets were already quiet as dead chickens✦ translator's noteQuiet as dead chickens (安静如鸡): Chinese internet slang describing a state of complete silence, usually out of fear, awe, or being completely shut down..
Although everyone mentioned the 2005 case, the vast majority used the official scene-reconstruction diagrams published by authorities at the time. Not a single major media outlet released any actual photographs of the scene from that year.
This situation—where the entire media landscape used simulated reconstruction graphics to review a real case that clearly had plenty of actual scene photos—was unprecedented.
Some relevant industry professionals who were familiar with mainstream media sensed the anomaly and couldn't resist asking around.
Only to be informed that, a few hours prior, almost every highly influential media outlet had received a notice from the Yuannan Group's PR Department titled "To Our Dear Media."
It explicitly stated that they did not wish to see any actual photos related to the case from that year in any retrospective reporting. This included, but was not limited to, portraits of the victims, photos of the crime scene at the time, etc.
Although Yuannan started in pharmaceuticals, after four generations of iron-fisted leaders, it had long since evolved into an absolute behemoth in the commercial empire.
And Yuannan Group's PR Department was famous in the industry for using courtesy before force✦ translator's noteCourtesy before force (先礼后兵): A Chinese idiom meaning to try peaceful or polite measures first before resorting to force or hardline tactics..
Having received the notice—along with a generous red envelope✦ translator's noteRed envelope (红包): Traditionally monetary gifts given during holidays. In a business or journalism context, it refers to "hush money" or bribes given to reporters to secure favorable coverage or silence. of hush money—the media naturally saw no need to senselessly make an enemy out of "Daddy Yuannan," who could very well be a major financial sponsor in the future.
Meanwhile, another massive group—the independent internet bloggers and self-media accounts—were also forced into collective silence under the relentless, round-the-clock scrutiny of Yuannan's PR Department.
As a result, the cyber police officers—who had moved their bedding into the office and bought massive stockpiles of instant noodles and sausages, fully prepared for an all-out, days-long war—were left utterly dumbfounded by their pitifully light workload. Yet, they were also genuinely overjoyed.
Once again, they sincerely sighed in admiration: What beautiful RMB! What lovable capitalists!
Another pleasant early morning update! Tomorrow's update will also be posted early!
Space is limited in this chapter, so let me first thank the little angels who gifted Bawang Tickets and "irrigated" me with Nutrition Pellets over the past few days. For everyone who sent gifts yesterday and today, I will come back in the next chapter to thank you all individually!
My cuties, let's meet in the comments as usual!
Somatic anxiety (躯体性焦虑): A psychological term referring to the physical manifestation of anxiety (e.g., muscle tension, headaches, digestive issues) rather than just the mental or emotional symptoms.
Quiet as dead chickens (安静如鸡): Chinese internet slang describing a state of complete silence, usually out of fear, awe, or being completely shut down.
Macabre carnival of feeding on the tragedy (人血馒头大狂欢): Literally "a carnival of eating human blood steamed buns." This references a famous story by Lu Xun, where superstitious people believed buns dipped in the blood of an executed person could cure diseases. In modern slang, it means to profit off or capitalize on the tragedy of others.
Courtesy before force (先礼后兵): A Chinese idiom meaning to try peaceful or polite measures first before resorting to force or hardline tactics.
Red envelope (红包): Traditionally referring to monetary gifts given during holidays, in business/journalism contexts, it refers to "hush money" or bribes given to reporters to secure favorable coverage or silence.