The police arrived at the scene and upon seeing the girl, they were reminded of the recent case we were investigating. Someone then informed me of the situation.
I went to this private hospital, which was near where the girl was found. I estimated that the local police chose to send the girl here because it was closer.
I met the girl first. Xia Hou, who arrived at the hospital even earlier than me, told me that he had already contacted the girl's parents.
The girl's identity had already been confirmed in the facial recognition database.
Quan Jinglan, 23 years old, female, a resident of Guangming City's Haohua Town, and a third-year student at Yueming University.
Another case with a similar age and identity. These criminal elements are truly heinous; how many happy families have they destroyed?
When I faced Quan Jinglan, I found her to be extremely frail, with a gaunt complexion, messy hair, sunken eyes, and some bloodstains around her mouth. The doctor said that she had been silent since she was brought in and was physically very weak. Mentally, she seemed to be traumatized and showed no reaction. Apart from eating and basic physiological functions, she was essentially like a puppet.
This reminded me of the ancient feng shui masters who would draw out a person's soul, leaving behind individuals who were no different from human puppets.
Her hollow appearance, as if her soul had been completely drained, made it clear that we couldn't expect to get anything out of her. However, I was still unwilling to give up. I found Professor Xia and Professor Huo, and Dr. Li was also coming.
After everyone arrived at the hospital, the experts began to examine Quan Jinglan's condition. I was outside the ward at the time. When they came out, Professor Xia said, "This situation is even more serious than Liu Yuning's. Do you understand? So, we can't do anything."
"Alas, does this mean Quan Jinglan will be like this forever?" I asked.
"Probably... we've done our best," Professor Huo said with a grim expression.
"Deputy Director He, we really can only help this much. However, if I connect with other foreign professors later, I will contact you!"
Li Zhiliang said.
I nodded slightly. I knew that forcing them wouldn't help, and I could see they were also in a difficult situation.
They were all domestic psychology experts, yet they were stumped by the condition of this girl. This feeling is something only those who have experienced it can understand. They must have felt that their knowledge was insufficient and that the world was vast, having underestimated many things before.
I've had similar experiences. When I encounter a difficult case, I also have such thoughts. After I sent them away, I sat alone, facing Quan Jinglan. Suddenly, I had an idea and asked Xia Hou to investigate Quan Jinglan in great detail. The information from He Xin was not enough; it was only basic data.
Xia Hou took the order and left. I stayed with Quan Jinglan until her parents arrived. After a few words of instruction, I left the ward.
Later, I received a message from Xia Hou: "I asked He Xin to investigate this together. Quan Jinglan went missing a year ago. Her parents reported her missing, but the child was never found. She used to attend Guangming City Hope High School, as well as her current university. We investigated the university but found nothing useful. No one seemed to know much about Quan Jinglan. She was a rather introverted girl, rarely interacting with others."
This made things a bit troublesome. I had no choice but to go myself. I went to Hope High School. Realistically, after so much time, I shouldn't expect to find any information here, but at times like these, I always apply the principle of leaving no stone unturned.
A newcomer accompanied me, not Ma Biao, but Xia Xiaoling, Professor Xia's niece. She had just returned. She had previously studied psychology and criminology in the north.
"Brother Dasheng, I heard you've been stuck on this case for a long time!"
"Ah, yes. Aren't you a genius in this field? It looks like I'll have to ask for your help this time!"
"Me? Uncle might say that, but I'm actually alright. Not as amazing as he makes me out to be."
"It's fine. Anyway, he wants you to learn from me, and I won't refuse. After all, Professor Xia used to..."
"I know. Uncle always mentions you in front of me, Detective He."
Xia Xiaoling accompanied me to the high school. We showed Quan Jinglan's photo and began asking around in the teachers' office. A male teacher named Huang Pinlei told me that he had once taught a student named Quan Jinglan. Because she had good grades and loved to read, he had a deep impression of her at the time.
"Speaking of Quan Jinglan, she was considered one of the elites among the girls in our class. Her grades were always in the top ten, and once she even ranked second. She loved reading books on subjects like biology and physics and didn't talk much. Honestly, I don't even know how she's doing now."
At this point, I explained Quan Jinglan's current situation. Huang Pinlei was shocked and said, "No way? Such a good child has fallen into such a state. These criminals nowadays have no humanity!"
After a brief sigh, Teacher Huang understood our purpose and began to provide more information. He later mentioned that Quan Jinglan had a very close younger brother. However, they didn't seem to be blood-related. Teacher Huang didn't know how they met, but he had seen them reading together, buying snacks, and shopping outside of school.
Xia Xiaoling and I exchanged glances and contacted He Xin. After He Xin found information about the "brother," we obtained his photo after interviewing more people, along with Teacher Huang's description and my sketch.
Two hours later, we had identified Quan Jinglan's younger brother, Xi Kai'an. When I saw him at the hospital, I immediately had a feeling that they might not have been just siblings, but perhaps lovers trying to conceal their relationship.
I questioned Xi Kai'an about this. Knowing I was a police officer, he didn't dare to lie and admitted that he and Quan Jinglan were in a relationship. I told him, "Your girlfriend is like this now. You need to find a way to wake her up, you know? It all depends on you now!"
"She's not my girlfriend anymore. Actually, we haven't seen each other in a long time. It's because she got into this university, and we had very few opportunities to meet afterward, and then we lost touch. Things have changed so much!"
"But you were intimate before, weren't you? Please help!" Xia Xiaoling said.
"Of course, I came here because I intend to help!"