The collective wedding held a different kind of romantic significance. I, along with the other grooms, took a bus to the venue, dressed in identical attire. The brides were brought in separately, and the journey was uneventful.
Yu Xiaoluo attended my wedding as a relative accompanying the group. Her eyes scanned the entire venue with the intensity of a clairvoyant, noting the many grooms and many brides.
11:11
The host announced the official commencement of the collective wedding. Lin Han and I were the eleventh couple. Each groom and bride, with expressions of happiness, walked hand-in-hand through a floral arch inscribed with "Eternal Happiness." They proceeded down the red carpet, accompanied by the wedding march, towards the host.
At this moment, both Yu Xiaoluo and I focused our gaze on the brides. I began to suspect that Zhang Chengruixue had faked the bride. However, this was not the case; these unfamiliar faces bore no resemblance to Zhang Chengruixue.
Where could she be?
Just then, Lin Han and I stepped onto the red carpet. Lin Han looked at me happily, "This is our wedding. Can we forget the dangers and enjoy this moment together with joy?" she asked, her gaze full of longing.
Perhaps I was too nervous today, as I hadn't truly looked at Lin Han's face. In this collective wedding, Lin Han had become the unhappiest person. I smiled, looked deeply into her eyes, and took her slightly cold hand.
We passed through the arch of "Eternal Happiness" together, acknowledging our relatives and friends.
The pre-arranged pathway erupted in a sequence of flames. At this point, Lin Han spotted an 'assassin' who had appeared from nowhere. She raised her gun at us.
"Danger!"
Lin Han shouted and shoved me forcefully. I didn't let her push me away; instead, I pulled her down with me, shielding her with my body.
Bang—the gun still fired. In the chaos, someone fell, hit by a bullet.
The scene descended into pandemonium. I seized the opportunity to pull Lin Han and seek cover.
Bang!
Another shot rang out. The shooter was not the assassin, but Yu Xiaoluo. Yu Xiaoluo was professionally trained, and amidst the chaos, she shot the assassin in the arm.
The injured assassin fled and was subsequently apprehended by the pre-positioned plainclothes police.
The situation began to stabilize, but I felt no relief. Zhang Chengruixue had not yet appeared. Elder Brother Chang and Fatty also rushed to my side, and my parents were now under police protection.
Lin Han held my hand, her gaze as wary as mine as she scanned our surroundings. Suddenly, she pointed to the second floor of the hall. Zhang Chengruixue was looking down at us with a smile. My phone rang. It was Zhang Chengruixue.
"Zhang Chengruixue, you can't escape."
"Tang Nan, your wife is lucky this time. Next time, the lucky one might not be her. We'll meet again."
With that, Zhang Chengruixue turned and entered a corridor. I frantically shouted to Yu Xiaoluo, "Sister, she's over there."
Yu Xiaoluo also saw Zhang Chengruixue and immediately pursued her upstairs.
Yu Xiaoluo failed to catch Zhang Chengruixue; she had meticulously planned her escape route. Moreover, Zhang Chengruixue was a formidable individual, possessing both Yu Xiaoluo's combat skills and the intelligence of an elder sister.
Due to the gunfire, we were all taken to the police station to give statements. To my surprise, the officer in charge of recording our statements was Luo Bo. Lin Han, now in civilian clothes, sat by my side. I could feel her lingering fear, so I held her hand tightly.
Before the statements began, two photographs were presented to me: one of a child and another of a young girl.
"Do you recognize these two people?"
I shook my head and asked, "Brother Luo, who are they?"
"This child is named Zhang Cheng, and this young girl is named Ruixue."
I was stunned. Zhang Chengruixue was a combination of two names?
Zhang Cheng was the boy from a story I had heard, the one sold by human traffickers. Ruixue was the girl whose organs were removed, leading to her eventual death from illness. The story was different from what I had heard.
Zhang Chengruixue's original name was Zhang Yingai. She formally adopted the name Zhang Chengruixue after joining the criminal psychology department.
When Zhang Cheng was abducted, Zhang Yingai witnessed the entire process, even acting as an accomplice. However, Zhang Yingai was too young to be suspected. Later, when Zhang Yingai's mother learned of this, she was terrified and desperately tried to educate Zhang Yingai, instructing her not to speak of the matter.
Zhang Yingai understood her parents and severed ties with the incident, becoming the "lucky girl" in their eyes.
From then on, Zhang Yingai reveled in the title "lucky girl." She would often "lose" things for classmates to find, making others believe she had good fortune. Sometimes, Zhang Yingai would even deliberately buy lottery prizes and tell others that she had won them.
Zhang Yingai's behavior remained within acceptable limits until the day before Ruixue was captured. Because both girls were present, the human traffickers did not act immediately. However, Zhang Yingai overheard their hushed conversation from a hidden corner. Zhang Yingai thought that if the villains captured Ruixue, she would remain safe, once again becoming the famously lucky girl.
Therefore, Zhang Yingai decisively took a leave of absence, leaving Ruixue vulnerable. Indeed, her suspicions were confirmed; Ruixue was abducted. When Ruixue was later found, her organs had been removed. People began to discuss how lucky Zhang Yingai was, having narrowly escaped becoming the victim of the perpetrator. Zhang Yingai enjoyed this period immensely.
This closely resembled a theory I had heard: Zhang Yingai was a psychopathic individual with antisocial behavior. Her nerves, psychology, and emotions differed from those of ordinary people; she was ill.
At the age of twenty-four, Zhang Yingai lived with a child and a psychology professor, unaware that the professor himself was a psychopath.
However, the reality was different. At twenty-four, Zhang Yingai was no longer experiencing much luck, which dissatisfied her. So, she adopted a child and posed as a single mother.
A single mother with a child marrying a psychology professor – what immense fortune she must have accumulated in her past life to be so lucky.
This was a small part of Zhang Yingai's enjoyment, as she had long known the psychology professor was a psychopath. Soon after, the psychology professor murdered a young girl and intended to frame Zhang Yingai for it. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yingai called the police, reporting that the psychology professor had killed her child.
During the police investigation, the body of another young girl was discovered. Cornered, the professor fled to a small motel and died of electrocution.
A compassionate police officer believed Zhang Yingai was truly blessed by the goddess of luck, having narrowly escaped being murdered by the psychology professor. Zhang Yingai continued to be perceived by others as someone whose life was marked by fortunate events.
Zhang Yingai interacted frequently with this compassionate police officer, and with his help, she found renewed purpose in life. The following year, she married this officer.
As described by antisocial behavior theories, Zhang Yingai was unwilling to be bound by the law. She constantly sought novel life experiences, preparing to become "lucky" once again. The special police officer who married Zhang Yingai was targeted by criminals after a mission, dragging Zhang Yingai into the incident. The special police officer sacrificed his life, while Zhang Yingai, miraculously, survived.
If this was Zhang Yingai's lucky life, it was still too brief; it had only just begun.
Zhang Yingai worked diligently and, through her own means, became a special police officer. Whether through manipulation or other methods, Luo Bo could not ascertain, but she succeeded, becoming a fortunate member of the special police force.
At that time, the special police unit had an overseas training program. The recommended candidate was Liu Heng, a young psychology master's graduate with three years of police academy training, aged thirty-two. Zhang Yingai then orchestrated a staged event, convincing the relatives of victims in unsolved cases that Liu Heng was a murderer. Subsequently, approximately six individuals, driven by irrationality, murdered Liu Heng.
In the subsequent investigation, Zhang Yingai, with her professional psychological knowledge and dual identity as a special police officer, garnered the attention of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. The bureau sent her overseas for a year of training, and she fortunately became Liu Heng's replacement. Upon her return, she joined the criminal psychology department as an assistant to Professor Wang Ren.
Zhang Yingai had always been a restless individual. She envied everything Professor Wang Ren possessed. Thus, she began a new plan, targeting Professor Wang Ren.
Professor Wang Ren was impeccable, and Zhang Yingai dared not openly scheme against him. On one hand, she joined "Zhengqi" (Integrity/Justice), enjoying the thrill of murder without consequence, a testament to her luck. On the other hand, Zhang Yingai studied the knowledge of schemers under Professor Wang Ren, searching for his vulnerabilities.
Until the day I intruded into Professor Wang Ren's office and declared him a villain, Zhang Yingai overheard this and decided to use me to frame Professor Wang Ren as the leader of "Zhengqi," thereby becoming the authoritative figure in criminal psychology.