Fang Zixu saw the bloodstains on the ground and his wife Li Xiuhua's trembling appearance. He was immediately furious, pointing at his brother Fang Zidong's nose and shouting, "Second brother, what did you do?"
"That woman wanted to poison me. If I hadn't had a dream, I would be dead."
"You killed someone?"
"That damned woman, killing her was too good for her."
As I listened, I scanned the room but couldn't find the dog cage that Li Xiuhua and Zhou Meijiao had mentioned. The bedroom door was ajar. I hurried towards the bedroom, but Fang Zidong blocked my way. "Do you really think you're part of the Fang family? Fang family matters are none of your business."
Fang Zidong came to pull me, but I shoved him away. Pushing open the door, I saw Zhou Meijiao locked inside the dog cage, covered in blood, her life uncertain. It was clear that Zhou Meijiao had been severely beaten before being dragged into the dog cage, and there was a blood trail on the floor.
I came out of the bedroom, and Fang Zidong emerged from the kitchen, holding a kitchen knife. "You're dead too!"
After all, I had some training, and dealing with ordinary people was more than enough. Dodging his knife, I subdued him in a few moves.
"Call 120!"
I yelled at Fang Zixu. Fang Zixu picked up his phone and dialed 120. The second brother, Fang Zidong, his eyes red like a wild beast, said, "Big brother, I'm your brother."
At this moment, my idea was for Fang Zixu to make the call, and then I would subdue Fang Zidong. Unexpectedly, Fang Zixu erupted with surprising strength. He shoved me aside and stumbled out of the house.
"Fang Zixu, call 110. I'll catch this beast first."
Fang Zidong ran quite fast, and this residential area had an underground garage. He ran down, and I was unfamiliar with the terrain. As I chased him, he disappeared.
...
When I returned, Li Xiuhua was crying as she wiped Zhou Meijiao's blood. I looked at the sorrowful Fang Zixu and asked him, "Isn't 120 here yet?"
"They're on their way. Should we drive her to the hospital?"
Looking at Zhou Meijiao's injuries, I shook my head. She had too many wounds; it was too risky.
"Let's wait. Urge them!"
As Fang Zixu made another call, I observed the environment inside the house. Everything that had been smashed was piled in a corner. Zhou Meijiao's usual designer bags were also in the corner. I saw the lipstick with radish seeds, a gift from my senior sister, had been broken, revealing a listening device. I took the listening device from the lipstick and secretly put it in my pocket. Just then, I heard a sound from outside. 120 had arrived.
Together, we took Zhou Meijiao to the hospital. It was an external injury, and the police were also involved.
Since Zhou Meijiao was undergoing surgery, the police questioning took place at the hospital. They were preparing to arrest Fang Zidong. As dawn approached, Zhou Meijiao woke up. The eldest brother, Fang Zixu, and his wife Li Xiuhua went to see her. I was outside the door. I thought this matter had nothing to do with me anymore.
But then, Li Xiuhua came out. Zhou Meijiao wanted to speak with me. Looking at Zhou Meijiao, her body wrapped in bandages, her aura completely gone, I truly didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Third brother, you are a capable person. Sister-in-law, no, sister, I beg you, save Su Jingran."
"What does this have to do with Su Jingran?"
"Actually, my marital relationship with Fang Zidong has always been bad. Our father-in-law was critically ill, and we hired the lawyer Su Jingran regarding the will. He and I..."
Zhou Meijiao couldn't continue, and I understood. All along, I had thought the one who was PUAing Zhou Meijiao was Wangzi, but I never expected it to be the lawyer Su Jingran.
"When Fang Zidong beat me, I told him. Now, the police haven't caught Fang Zidong yet. I'm afraid Fang Zidong will harm Su Jingran. Please notify him and tell him to go into hiding. I'm too ashamed to tell big brother and sister-in-law about this."
"Okay, Sister Zhou, I'll help you!"
...
As I left the ward, Fang Zixu stopped me. "Third brother, where are you going? Second brother broke the law, abused our father, and shouldn't get a cent of the inheritance. You and I..." I interrupted him, "Big brother, my mother is also missing now. It's not appropriate to talk about inheritance at this time. We'll discuss it when we get back."
With that, I pushed him aside and left, disregarding his attempts to stop me.
...
Wang Ren's disappearance was an urgent matter to resolve. Perhaps I could start with Su Jingran. Ever since someone reported Su Jingran and Zhang Qin for colluding to falsify a paternity test, I hadn't taken him seriously. But I never expected him to also be skilled in PUA and psychological manipulation. It was necessary to meet Su Jingran.
I arrived at his house. The door was ajar. I pushed it open and saw Su Jingran sleeping on the sofa, covered with a blanket, his beard unkempt, a look of despair on his face. I surveyed the surroundings; it looked like it had been ransacked. There was nothing in the house. The TV wall was quite beautiful, but the TV was gone.
"What happened?"
"Divorced. My wife took everything she could carry. She didn't even leave me the blankets."
"How did this happen?"
"It's all because of you."
"What does it have to do with me?"
This truly had something to do with me. Su Jingran wanted me to impersonate Fang Zixin, the third son of the Fang family. But I had seduced Zhang Qin instead. Since her brother was useless now, why not earn more money? However, I didn't expect Zhang Qin's brother, Zhang Feng, to be such a hothead. He disliked the company's system, lost money trading stocks, and had fallen so low that his sister had to support him. But when Zhang Feng saw the electronic report Zhang Qin produced, he became enraged. He thought his sister no longer wanted him, finding him a burden. He believed he was only experiencing temporary failure, not lifelong failure.
Zhang Feng's sense of loss was immense. He couldn't accept that he had fallen so low that even his closest sister looked down on him. Unable to accept this outcome, Zhang Feng chose to report the private dealings between Zhang Qin and Su Jingran. As a result, Zhang Qin was detained and punished, losing her job. Su Jingran didn't fare much better; his lawyer's license was revoked, and his wife divorced him without hesitation.
"This is what you deserve. You have nothing now, so you want to PUA Zhou Meijiao?"
After learning the whole story, I felt no pity for Su Jingran. It was all his own doing. If he hadn't been greedy, how could he have ended up like this? However, Su Jingran's answer surprised me.
"What is PUA? What is that?"
Su Jingran knew nothing. He was just a tool. He had received a call and was taught to do this. The call used a voice changer; it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman.
Regarding Su Jingran and Zhou Meijiao.
Su Jingran was inherently a womanizer, and Zhou Meijiao was the type of woman whose marital relationship was poor, who enjoyed dressing up and pursuing luxury brands. Therefore, Su Jingran's profession as a lawyer perfectly fit Zhou Meijiao's ideal man persona.
Thus, the two quickly established an affair.
According to the five-step PUA trap my senior sister explained, curiosity~exploration~infatuation~destruction~emotional abuse, completing these five steps could lead the manipulated party to emotional breakdown and loss of reason.
However, Su Jingran himself was a greedy person. His pursuit of money easily made Zhou Meijiao feel his unwillingness. Someone like Fang Zidong, incompetent and prone to violence, enjoyed wealth due to his father's status. Yet, someone talented like Su Jingran was troubled by money due to his family background. This stark contrast naturally evoked Zhou Meijiao's sympathy for Su Jingran, and their emotions resonated.
Curiosity and exploration!
These were all natural emotional processes. Although it was an illicit affair, it could be considered a normal stage of human emotional development. The third stage, infatuation, was different. Someone guided Su Jingran. Su Jingran used the current family turmoil to begin making various demands and instilling values in Zhou Meijiao, finally forcing Zhou Meijiao to harm her husband Fang Zidong by claiming "you don't love me," and emphasizing that as long as Zhou Meijiao was Fang Zidong's legal wife, she could obtain the property. Zhou Meijiao, at this point, was blinded by emotion and in a state of absolute obedience.
If my senior sister's intervention through "dream immersion" had not occurred, Su Jingran would have likely proceeded to the next stage of PUA, achieving his ideal life of being in the midst of romance without getting involved.
...
I thought Su Jingran was the schemer I had overlooked, but it turned out he was just an ignorant tool. I looked at him and sneered, "Are you still waiting for Zhou Meijiao to help you kill Fang Zidong?"
"Are you going to betray me? You cheat. Do you think you could have gotten that ten million without me?"
"Su Jingran, you're an idiot. Things you can't imagine have already happened tonight. Tell me, who guided you to PUA Zhou Meijiao, and I'll tell you something you absolutely need to know."
"What if I don't trade?"
"I'm sorry, you might not make it through today."
I looked at Su Jingran. His expression was contorted, indicating an internal struggle.
"It seems you don't want to know." I turned to leave, employing the strategy of feigned indifference.
"I'll tell you."
Su Jingran gave me the phone number on the call. I informed him about Zhou Meijiao's hospitalization and Fang Zidong being on the run. Su Jingran's face changed drastically. He wanted to pack his belongings and escape but discovered his house was empty, with nothing to pack.
I looked at him and reminded him, "Fang Zidong hates you to the bone now. I advise you to surrender to the police and seek protection."
"I don't need you to tell me what to do."
Su Jingran said that and rushed out the door.
...
This matter was indeed beyond my purview. With the phone number in hand, I immediately called Yu Xiaoluo. "Sister, help me check a phone number."
"Speak."
I gave her the number. Yu Xiaoluo didn't reply immediately. I heard the sound of rustling papers, and then Yu Xiaoluo said, "No need to check. This number sounds familiar. I've looked it up. It's Wangzi's number. He has very few calls in his records, mostly to public phones. But there is one mobile number. We checked this mobile number, and it belongs to a lawyer in the area, Su Jingran. We need to talk to him today."
"He ran away."
"How do you know?"
"I was at his house."
I heard Yu Xiaoluo say on the phone, "Captain Luo, Su Jingran has escaped. Okay, I'll gather the action team and bring him back now." As I listened, I provided clues: "Sister, Su Jingran ran from his house."
*Click.* Yu Xiaoluo hung up the phone without saying another word.