Chapter 86: The Test
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
That night, Xiang Wan did not sleep well.
Human emotions, regardless of happiness, fear or pain, will affect the activity of nerve cells in the brain.
She thought about a lot of things, including why she had those strange perceptions…
A normal person have about 14 to 15 billion brain cells , she thought. Yet only less than 10 percent were being activated and utilized, while generally 95 percent of the brain cells were in a dormant state, waiting to be activated. Could it be that she had a slightly greater percent of brain cells that were activated?
This particular thought excited her.
She had a hard time falling asleep. That night, she had a nightmare.
Uncontrollable nightmares intertwined around her…
At day break, she got up with a splitting headache. After breakfast, she received a piece of definite news.
The little boy died.
The woman survived.
It was a piece of heartbreaking news.
The one who wanted to die survived, but the one who wanted to live, died.
Currently, the community police station was still investigating about this case.
Suicides do not fall under the category of criminal cases. If the woman died, the case would be closed. Nevertheless, now that her child died but she survived, it would be a different story. The police would ascertain if it was a case of intentional homicide, and if she had to bear criminal responsibility for it. The police would need further investigation before deciding what to do.
A mother committed suicide with her child but ended up killing her own child as she survived the suicide attempt. This had become a hot topic for discussion in this city.
Fang Yuanyuan told Xiang Wan that the whole editorial department was talking about this case. Everyone felt sympathy for the little boy.
He was so young and so obedient, yet his life ended in such a manner.
No one gave him the chance to choose. Be it coming to this cruel world or to continue living in this world, his mother had never given him an option to choose.
Children are a vulnerable group in the society. They are not given options to decide what they want to do with their life.
Xiang Wan’s heart goes out for the little boy.
However, she also held other views on this incident which was different from the mere pity of the public.
This is not just a suicide! This is not just a mere suicide , Xiang Wan told herself.
With regards to this feeling, she had no evidence to back up her claim. But in the few encounters she had with the woman, she could clearly feel that the woman had undergone a lot and had a story to tell. This strong feeling made her want to dig into her story.
“Bai Muchuan, I feel that there’s a lot of things we can find out from her. She must have a story to tell. I want to find out why she wanted to commit suicide together with her child. I want to find out more details about the case.”
When Xiang Wan decided to call Bai Muchuan, she actually did not have much confidence that he would agree to her request.
This was because she had no other relationship with that woman. They were only neighbors, and nothing else more…
“Teacher Xiang, as you’ve said earlier, a story is not a case, certainly not a criminal case, either.”
“I know that.” Xiang Wan furrowed her brows. “But somehow I feel… uneasy. Maybe this is a form of Obsessive Compulsive Behavior? If I don’t get to the bottom of this, I can’t sleep well at all. Captain Bai, you’ll help out me right?” Toward the end, she lowered her voice with a pleading tone.
Xiang Wan had a nice voice.
Her voice was soft and gentle—like a warm, refreshing breeze that brushes past one’s ears. It could be said that this was a “deadly weapon” against straight men.
However, Bai Muchuan had obviously heard so much that he was immune to that now.
“Give me a reason.”
“For the sake of that child who helped me once by reporting my abduction to the police. Plus, he also called me ‘big sister’, will these do?”
“This reason is not enough! It is not enough reason for me to meddle with the affairs of a community police station.”
“…” This fellow.
Xiang Wan paused for a moment and suddenly spoke in a solemn manner, “What if I say… I feel that her case might have some kind of connection with the case that both of us are concerned about?”
“Hm?” Bai Muchuan was already used to her sudden thoughts. “Give me more details,” he said casually.
“During the 720 case, do you still remember how I was nearly hit by a flower pot?” Xiang Wan a.n.a.lyzed calmly. “Till now, I don’t know which household the flower pot had fallen from. But at that time, I clearly remember I saw a silhouette of a woman from the fourth floor which happens to be the location of her house. Subsequently, there was another occasion when I walked along the alley and heard a woman’s scream. Now that I think of it, it should be her…”
“What can all these prove?”
“Don’t you think that all these are coincidences?” Xiang Wan was a little agitated due to Bai Muchuan’s cool and indifferent tone. “There’s more, when I got kidnapped by Old Mr. Xu, she and her child made the police report. You know, that day when I thanked her, her reaction didn’t seem normal, and that strongly piqued my curiosity.”
“You sure have a strong sense of curiosity!” Bai Muchuan suddenly laughed. “You’re not afraid of getting into trouble?”
Hur! Xiang Wan sneered, unable to hold her laughter.
“If trouble comes knocking, I’ll gladly face it. If it has nothing to do with me, I won’t get into trouble.”
“… Idiot!”
Bai Muchuan never softened on his criticisms on Xiang Wan, but at least he did not reject her request.
About an hour or so later, Xiang Wan washed her hair and had not even blow-dry it when Bai Muchuan called her up.
“Xiang Wan, you’re right again!”
The word “again” felt as powerful as an earthquake.
Xiang Wan grasped her mobile phone tightly, letting the water drip from her head freely.
“What happened? Tell me quick.”
“Why don’t you come to my office?” Bai Muchuan spoke coldly. “I can’t leave right now and don’t have time to tell you the details.”
“Alright!”
…
Her brain was greatly stimulated with excitement. Xiang Wan’s heartbeat seemed to be beating faster than usual.
After blow-drying her hair, she casually tied a ponytail and went out with her laptop bag without any hesitation.
This was completely different from her normally leisure, female otaku lifestyle.
She suddenly realized that she would get naturally excited when she came into contact with criminal cases.
She was a little fearful and a little weak yet unable to withstand the temptation and attraction to go near them, wanting to find out the truth behind the cases.
When she walked out of the alley, the cab she booked earlier had arrived.
Upon getting on the cab, she said solemnly, “Shifu, please drive faster.”
The driver took a glance at her expression via the rear view mirror and said nothing.
…
Recently, Xiang Wan had become the unofficial adviser to the Criminal Investigation Unit of Hongjiang District.
When she entered the office, n.o.body stopped her. Some familiar faces would even smile and nod at her.
“Teacher Xiang, you’re fantastic!” Tang Yuanchu laughed when he saw her and looked at her from top to toe. “Tch, tch, tch, I’m even starting to wonder if your brain is different from the average person.”
“Shush…” Xiang Wan gestured a hush sign, pretending to be panicked and spoke softly, “Don’t tell anyone that I’m actually from Mars.”
“Hahaha!” Tang Yuanchu was amused by her. “Captain Bai is inside.” He pointed toward the office. “Let’s go in together.”
The door to his office was closed.
When they knocked and went inside, Bai Muchuan was in front of his computer. They did not know what he was busy with.
He did not show any emotion or say a word when he saw Xiang Wan. He just gestured for her to sit.
The atmosphere seemed to be rather tense?
Xiang Wan sat on a chair opposite him and somehow felt a bit stressed.
“Captain Bai, so could you tell me now?”
Bai Muchuan took a glance at Tang Yuanchu, then he spoke as if a storm was about to brew, “I still have something on here. Tang Yuanchu, you tell her.”
Xiang Wan’s heart started to drum anxiously due to Bai Muchuan’s serious att.i.tude.
“Yes, Captain Bai.” Tang Yuanchu also sounded serious which startled Xiang Wan, who turned to face him subconsciously.
“It’s like this, Teacher Xiang. Initially, this case is already deemed as a suicide case. This is also because there isn’t any evidence to prove otherwise. The subject, Kong Xinqiong, is working in an ordinary company as a clerk, earning only a meager salary. She’s living with her child in a rented apartment and hardly socialized with her colleagues as well as her neighbors. Her son was a primary three student in Green Garden Primary. She’s living in arrears for about ten days now. Everyone thought that she committed suicide due to too much pressure…”
So the boy was only a primary three kid?
The moment Xiang Wan thought about the child who would always call her big sister, she furrowed her eyebrows.
“And?”
“Captain Bai listened to your suggestion and requested the community police to investigate again. In the end, we have an unexpected discovery.”
“What did you find?” Xiang Wan asked with some urgency.
What she wanted to hear was the final conclusion.
Yet Tang Yuanchu kept her in suspense as he hesitated. “The Green Garden community police found a photo in Kong Xinqiong’s personal belongings. After verification, the owner of the photo is Tan Ziyang during his college days…”
Kong Xinqiong, Tan Ziyang.
Two totally unfamiliar names; these two people who seemed to have nothing to do with each other actually have such a connection?
Xiang Wan suddenly thought of the woman’s expression.
It was cold and numb, as if she was a wandering soul who had been dead for very long.
She squinted her eyes slowly and asked Tang Yuanchu, “Is the boy Tan Ziyang’s kid?”
“Kong Xinqiong’s case is currently not in our charge.” Tang Yuanchu said seriously as he swept a gaze at Bai Muchuan who was busy with something, “Therefore, right now, we are unable to conduct a more in-depth investigation. But no worries, Captain Bai is applying to take over the case…”
Oh?
So he’s occupied with this?
Xiang Wan took a glance at Bai Muchuan’s well-defined face.
Men were said to be most attractive when they work hard. When this was applied on Bai Muchuan, the effect was obviously doubled…
He is such a heartthrob that even deities must be jealous of him!
Xiang Wan retracted her gaze and asked Tang Yuanchu, “Is Kong Xinqiong better now?”
Not surprisingly, Tang Yuanchu sighed as he shook his head again. “Still in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber for treatment. Long periods of oxygen deprivation has caused nerve cell damage to her brain. The attending doctor said that neurological damage is highly possible…”
Xiang Wan did know some knowledge about carbon monoxide poisoning.
If Kong Xinqiong were to suffer some brain damage, even if she did not die of carbon monoxide poisoning, she might not be able to answer the questions they wanted to know.
“Did she know that her child has died?”
“Currently… she should not have known.”
A young detective like Tang Yuanchu also felt sorry for the death of the child.
“That poor child!”
A sense of tragedy filled the office in a brief moment of silence until Bai Muchuan lifted his head, put down the mouse, and drank some water.
“Done!”
Tang Yuanchu was dumbstruck for a moment before his eyes revealed a pleasant surprise. “The branch office has approved the application?”
“Yes, approved! Hurry and proceed with the rest of the procedures to take over Kong Xinqiong’s case. We’ll have a meeting this afternoon to a.n.a.lyze the current situation!”
“Alright, I’ll go get it done right away.” Tang Yuanchu was someone always in a haste whenever he had work on hand. When he worked under the command of Bai Muchuan, he even had a military style of work where every order was executed without fail. Without another word, he turned around and went out of the office.
…
The air-conditioning in Bai Muchuan’s office was much stronger than outside.
Xiang Wan did not bring her cardigan along today. She already had a weak const.i.tution, so when the temperature of the air-conditioning made her feel uncomfortable, she hugged her arms round her chest.
“Captain Bai, is there anything else?”
“Hm?” Bai Muchuan frowned as he turned to her. “What?”
“So, besides what Detective Tang has said, is there anything else for me?”
“Yes,” Bai Muchuan nodded with a serious face. “We’ll have lunch together!”
“…”
Just like that? Xiang Wan was dubious.
Seeing his nonchalant expression, Xiang Wan furrowed her eyebrows.
Bai Muchuan was someone who could make a clear distinction between work and private matters. He was so busy with work, yet he had specially asked her to come over for a meal together?
“It’s still not meal time.” She saw him typing on the keyboard and wanted to look at what he was doing by tilting her head when he happened to turn around and meet her eyes. Xiang Wan asked a rather awkward question, “Don’t tell me you haven’t eaten your breakfast?”
“When did I eat breakfast?” Bai Muchuan responded casually. After giving her a thoughtful glance, he got up and walked to the file cabinet, where he opened a drawer, pulled out a thick filing organizer, and dropped it in front of Xiang Wan.
“Take a look at these things first.”
Books? Test questions?
Xiang Wan was baffled.
Ever since she dropped out of college, she haven’t done any questions for years.
What exactly is these for ? she asked herself. As she looked through the information, her heart was pounding, and her fingers went stiff.
“These are for me?”
“Is there someone else here?” Bai Muchuan sat straight in his office chair. There was only seriousness in his handsome face.
“… Why do I have to do it?”
This is a Criminal Psychology Test!
What had it got to do with her?
Xiang Wan could not understand his intentions. She lifted her head and looked him in the eye. Through Bai Muchuan’s indifferent gaze, she seemed to detect a deeply concealed emotion. But before she could read the emotion, he had shunned away craftily.
“Didn’t you want to become the advisor for the Criminal Investigation Unit?”
“Yes, so…” Xiang Wan tapped on the pile of materials in front of her. “You’re giving me an apt.i.tude test?”
“You can’t just take it at surface value,” Bai Muchuan spoke calmly. “This is not a formal test, either. I told you before that if you’re able to do it, then there’s only one reason—you have the capability. Profiling requires relevant expertise in criminal psychology. These are things that you’ll definitely need. If you don’t have the expertise, I would have a hard time persuading my superiors.”
Understood.
Xiang Wan closed the materials and suddenly felt like laughing.
“Captain Bai, you should know that I major in law, not criminal psychology… Furthermore, I didn’t even graduate.”
“This set of study materials and test questions is prepared by Zhan Se for you.” Bai Muchuan did not want to harp on that. Instead, he pointed to the two books in her filing bag. “These books, she’s the one who prepared them for you, too. These are the simplest entry level knowledge. If you have the talent, none of these will be difficult for you. Lastly, if you can achieve 80 or above on all of these tests, that means you’re qualified.”
“I…”
Xiang Wan’s eyes were like a scanner scanning through the questions.
All of it were unfamiliar knowledge, completely different from what she had learned previously in college.
“This is totally not something I know.” She lifted her head from looking at those questions only to meet with Bai Muchuan’s scrutinizing eyes. “When I told you about those feelings I have toward a case, it is only a feeling. It is just like our five senses, and it just comes naturally to me. For certain things, I don’t have any evidence to back up my claim. I only have a strong feeling or rather, intuition. We can say it could be the sixth sense, or seventh sense, or that my brain is developed differently from others. But my intuition may not necessarily be true, nor is it scientifically verifiable. Do you understand what I’m talking about?”
“I don’t understand.” Bai Muchuan’s answer was crisp.
“…” Xiang Wan felt like venting her frustrations.
She had thought about her intuition for a long time last night. She could not even understand herself, let alone pinning hopes on someone who could understand her?
Bai Muchuan poured a cup of water and set it in front of her. “Well, we still have time, you can tell me about it slowly so I can understand.”
“…”
Xiang Wan took a deep breath.
“You’re willing to listen?”
“I’m willing.”
He looked at her solemnly without looking away.
Xiang Wan was also looking at him.
She could tell that in his gaze, there was no mocking or taunting, only earnesty.
Xiang Wan stayed silent for a while before she finally found an easier way to let her thoughts be understood. “Let’s put it this way. The human body is the most sophisticated instrument in the world. I believe you’ll agree with me on this. The mystery of the human body and life, even with the current development of technology, cannot be fully understood. Moreover, such powerful and sophisticated instrument is not same with one another. Everyone may have the same parts, but the function might be completely different.”
Bai Muchuan furrowed his eyebrows.
She smiled. “Is it tough to understand? For example men and women, or you and me, our body parts are similar, but their functions and uses could be entirely different. I’m more perceptive than you, while you’re more rational than me. Our personality, likes, moods, and the sensitivity of emotions are totally different… These are all innate, not learned.”
“No!” Bai Muchuan’s lips formed a smile. “Our parts are different.”
“?” Don’t we all have a nose, a mouth, two eyes, and two ears?
“What I have, you don’t. What you have, I don’t. How can we be the same?”
Bai Muchuan wore a sly expression. His pair of bright, dark pupils seemed to be flashing, and there was a glint of mischief and tease…
Such hint! Xiang Wan knew what he was referring to.
King of puns!
She puffed a helpless sigh as she gave him a glare. “I’m serious.”
“I’m also serious.”
“Okay, okay, you’re serious,” she continued, “we’re indeed different, otherwise, you won’t be a rogue.” Xiang Wan knew that he was deliberate but did not bother to argue with him. “Just like you and Detective Huang, your body parts should be similar, but when your body functions, there will be completely different results…”
“Of course I’m different from him.”
“?” What’s different this time?
“The size is different,” Bai Muchuan replied with a straight face.
Pffft! Xiang Wan was unable to go on explaining.
She rubbed her forehead while laughing. “Should I say you’re trying to be funny or you’re too serious?”
“I’m very serious, Teacher Xiang.” There wasn’t any expression on Bai Muchuan’s face and he did not look like he was trying to be funny or act like a rogue.
On the contrary, as he saw Xiang Wan laughing uncontrollably, he continued the topic in a serious manner. “I think I know what you mean. You’re trying to say that every person’s perception of things, ability, and sensitivity are different. And you, you are the outstanding instrument with regards to the sixth sense, that you’re able to sense what others are unable to do so. Am I right?”
“Yes, that’s about it.” Xiang Wan felt rather embarra.s.sed when he put it in a way like that. “So do you think what I’ve said makes sense? Is it scientific?”
Bai Muchuan nodded. “It’s indeed scientific. Hence… if you can prove that you’re indeed more sophisticated than anyone else, I can a.s.sure you that you’ll get the position of the advisor.”
How am I going to prove it?
Xiang Wan looked at him in confusion.
“How do you want me to prove?”
“It’s very simple!” Bai Muchuan pointed to the filing bag before her. “Answer the questions correctly, achieve the target point with your sophisticated instrument. n.o.body would dare to disagree… Otherwise, people might say it’s just pure luck on your part.”
“…”
After saying so much, it was back to square one again.
She still needed to get all these questions, which were totally unrelated to what she have learnt, done.
Xiang Wan looked distressed. “Must I really do it?”
“You must.”
“If that’s the case… I don’t want to be the advisor anymore.”
“It’s too late.” Bai Muchuan narrowed his eyes. “You’ve already partic.i.p.ated in this game and you’re not allowed to pull out half-way. Just earlier on, I’ve submitted the application of hiring you as an advisor. How can you burn the bridge after I’ve helped you? I will doubt your motive and intentions, Teacher Xiang.”
“…”
Xiang Wan’s inner heart had come crumbling down.
She waved the stack of the test questions that could give her a headache just from the sight of it.
“When will this be used?”
“You’ll learn first. After the application is approved, I’ll test you!”
“Bai Muchuan.” Xiang Wan’s eyebrows were closely knitted together. “I’m seriously thinking that you’ve been kidding with me?”
“Teacher Xiang, my time is very precious.”
Xiang Wan felt tense and glared at him. “So?”
“Let’s go!” Bai Muchuan got up suddenly from his seat. “Come with me, for work.”
“Where are we going?” Xiang Wan’s gaze followed him, and she got up from her seat subconsciously when she suddenly sneezed.
Bai Muchuan turned around and offered her a tissue. “Let’s go to the forensics team!”
What? Forensics team? Xiang Wan felt an instant chill at her spine, and her whole body felt cold from the inside.