Understanding Senior Brother Zhu Guang's words, Wang Ren finally realized that their master's assessment wasn't just talk. If she faltered even slightly, she might actually send their eldest senior brother to prison. She couldn't let that happen...
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Wang Ren hurried home, pushing her bicycle.
No one was home at the moment; her husband was at work, and both children were at school.
Wang Ren returned home mainly to retrieve an item – an antique pocket watch made of brass. It was a gift from a psychologist to Mr. Wen De when he was in Europe. The pocket watch was old, its surface depicting the Seven Deadly Sins from Western religion.
...
Wang Ren remembered when she first arrived at Wen De Courtyard, she was as proud as a phoenix, her radiance eclipsing the diligent and eager Second Senior Brother. However, back then, Wang Ren was completely different. She lacked these warm human qualities, didn't consider this place home, and never thought anyone was superior to her.
Yet, Wang Ren didn't carry her past personality forward. She chose love. Despite experiencing many ups and downs in life afterward, she ultimately achieved a happy life.
Her senior brothers couldn't understand how someone so cold and unfeeling could so quickly fall into the love and affection of ordinary people. In reality, only Wang Ren understood. The reason she changed was that she had hidden her very core in a wardrobe, keeping it from the light of day.
Holding the old pocket watch, Wang Ren walked to the dressing mirror. She looked at her reflection, understanding the weak and incompetent expression on her face. Suddenly, Wang Ren smiled. She turned her palm over, and the pocket watch slid down her fair palm, falling. When it reached the limit of its chain, inertia yanked it upwards, and the cover, depicting the Seven Deadly Sins, sprang open with a bang.
Wang Ren's gaze naturally fell upon the watch face. The still hands began to move with a ticking sound. Did they move? No one knew. But the time it displayed was rewinding in Wang Ren's eyes, slowly at first, then faster and faster, as if time were shuttling back, becoming a blur of white!
...
On the streets of Beijing, a few boys in school uniforms, having been released from school early that day, were gathered in front of a dilapidated park, smoking. The boys had been chatting and laughing, but suddenly, one of them's expression changed as he saw a woman speeding by on a bicycle.
This woman was Wang Ren, and the boy was her son. Her son never expected his mother to appear at this time and place. He immediately panicked, flicking his half-smoked cigarette to the ground. But by then, Wang Ren was already upon him. With no other option, he braced himself, preparing to face Wang Ren's veiled criticisms. To his surprise, his mother, Wang Ren, extended her hand.
"What?"
Wang Ren didn't speak. She took the cigarette from her son's pocket, lit one, and put it in her mouth. Then, she held out her hand, and the boy beside her quickly handed her a match. Wang Ren lit her cigarette, put the cigarette and matches back into her son's pocket, and rode away.
Her son stared blankly for a moment. Not long after Wang Ren had left, he suddenly burst into tears.
...
Wang Ren went to the criminal police station to find Wang Zeyu. Wang Zeyu brought Wang Ren to meet the captain, introducing her by saying, "Sister Wang Ren is an expert in psychology and will be assisting us with the case."
The captain, driven to distraction by the twelve murderers, almost exploded with anger when Wang Zeyu brought in a housewife claiming to be a psychologist.
"What do you want?"
"To help us solve the case."
"This is nonsense. What if we can't solve it? Are you willing to forgo this year's bonus?"
"I will solve the case today," Wang Ren said lightly, but with full conviction.
The captain froze. After a moment of thought, he pointed at Wang Zeyu's nose and said, "Go solve the case now. If you can't, don't expect next year's bonus either."
A colleague nearby chimed in, "Captain, Wang Zeyu lost his bonus for the past two years already."
...
Regardless, Wang Zeyu succeeded in bringing Wang Ren into the interrogation room. Wang Ren lit a cigarette, crossed her legs, and leaned back in her chair. She looked more like a criminal than the murderer. Wang Zeyu began the interrogation, quickly becoming overwhelmed. "Say it again, why did you kill?"
The murderer was a young man, in his twenties, wearing a factory uniform.
"One day, I met an old beggar. I took him to the cafeteria and bought him two steamed buns. I usually don't give money to people like that; if they want food, they're beggars. If they want money, they might be richer than me."
"Describe the process."
"At that time, the old beggar told me I could ask him one question, and he would answer. I asked him if ghosts exist in this world. He said yes, and I believed him."
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Wang Zeyu frowned, then glanced at Wang Ren, who was smoking and lounging with her legs crossed. He wanted to ask Wang Ren for advice, but she remained silent.
Helplessly, Wang Zeyu said, "You believed him just like that?"
The young man said, "Perhaps because of the old beggar, I gained the 'heavenly eye,' the ability to see ghosts."
Wang Zeyu grew angry. "Stop with the nonsense. Tell me why you killed."
"I killed him, but I don't know why. I was possessed by a ghost."
This statement infuriated Wang Zeyu, making him want to lash out. But at this moment, Wang Ren stood up. "Next!"
...
This time, they met a plump woman, about 1.65 meters tall and weighing around 100 kilograms. She was breathless just walking. It was hard to imagine how she could have committed murder.
The plump woman spoke first upon seeing Wang Zeyu, asking, "If I hadn't cut off that woman's hand, would you have discovered I killed someone?"
Wang Zeyu stared. "You killed a child, not a woman. You don't even know who you killed, so don't try to take the blame."
"You're wrong!"
"Where am I wrong?"
Wang Ren watched coldly, sensing Wang Zeyu's patience was running out. She interjected, "A girl grows up to be a woman, right?"
"Yes!"
"If we hadn't found you because of the severed hand, would you still have killed?" Wang Ren asked seriously.
"Yes, but I wasn't killing. I was punishing evil and promoting good."
Wang Zeyu couldn't contain himself and blurted out, "Sister, don't listen to his nonsense. How can a girl be a bad person?"
The plump woman showed some dissatisfaction with Wang Zeyu's words. "If a bad person doesn't provoke the people around the protagonist, can they continue to do evil deeds?"
This question utterly broke Wang Zeyu. He roared, "Are you mentally ill? Who is the protagonist in your life? And who can determine that a child will grow up to be a criminal?"
The plump woman calmly faced Wang Zeyu's outburst. When Wang Zeyu was panting, she continued, "In your life, you are the protagonist. In my life, I am the protagonist. I know the ending of TV dramas. This child, in the TV drama of my life, became a villain, a very powerful one. Therefore, I chose to kill her first."
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Wang Zeyu was about to shout again, but Wang Ren stopped him with a gesture. Wang Ren looked at the plump woman and asked seriously, "Does your life's TV drama have a theme song?"
The plump woman was suddenly stumped by Wang Ren's question. She lowered her head, deep in thought, unable to comprehend. Wang Ren grabbed the woman's hair and slammed her head forcefully onto the tabletop with a clang!
When the woman looked up again, her eyes were different. She asked, "Where is this? Comrade!"
Wang Ren asked earnestly, "Never mind where this is for now. I'm asking you, do you have any discomforts usually?"
"No."
"Do you have fugue states?"
"Yes, once my family said I was crawling like a dog and asked if they saw my tail."
"You don't remember."
"I remember, but I thought it was a dream."
"What other dreams have you had?"
"I killed a girl and cut off her right hand."
"Where is the hand?"
The plump woman cried, weeping loudly. After she finished crying, Wang Ren asked, "You threw that hand away, right?"
The plump woman nodded, sobbing, "That night, I had a dream that I was the protagonist in a TV drama. There was a villain, and I killed her, cutting off her right hand. When I woke up and moved my hand, the child's right hand was next to me."
"Where is the hand?"
"I threw it in a trash bag."
...
Wang Ren stood up and walked out. Wang Zeyu quickly followed, asking as he caught up, "Sister, what's going on?"
"They were hypnotized."
"Hypnotized to kill?"
"Theoretically, even hypnotized people wouldn't kill. Why they were able to do it, I don't know. Have them examined, preferably in a place with medical facilities for a brain CT scan."
Wang Zeyu nodded quickly. "Next one?"
"No, has Duan Shan left?"
"No, take me to see him."
...
Wang Ren saw Duan Shan looking troubled, seemingly preoccupied with his son's confession. Wang Zeyu and Wang Ren entered the interrogation room. Duan Shan looked up, and after his eyes met Wang Ren's, he became wary.
"Do you mind if I hypnotize you before questioning you?" Wang Ren asked directly.
"If I don't trust you, you can't hypnotize me. That's basic knowledge for a psychologist," Duan Shan said with a smile.
"That's true. However, even if you trust me, I can't control you to kill. This subverts all of psychology. How did you do it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
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"Then I'll tell you something you know. Do you know why Duan Dongyang admitted to killing Zhuang Jing? It's because he wants to know your secret. He deliberately confessed to being the murderer in cooperation with us. If you don't reveal this secret, your excellent son will become a murderer and be executed."
Duan Shan remained silent. Wang Ren smiled. "Remember that plump woman, the murderer in the ninth case, the one who killed the little girl? She said something right: if a bad person doesn't provoke the people around the protagonist, they can indeed continue to do evil. This time, you've truly brought trouble upon yourself. I am the protagonist of this TV drama."