down on the desk. “Did you write this book?” Xu Heyou did not answer but turned to Qi Youxuan. “You said that my book will be adapted into a movie, is that true?”
“Yes, it"s true. The adaptation will be based on the book, not your ident.i.ty. Even if you go to prison, it"s not going to stop the book from being made into a television series,” clarified Qi Youxuan.
“Yes. I"m Mei s.h.i.+yu,” said Xu Heyou, smiling generously. It was quite surprising.
“Why did you use Song Pengfei"s ident.i.ty?” asked Jiang Yuecheng.
Xu Heyou chuckled. “Of course I don"t want people to know who I am. The purpose of writing this book is to turn all the cases I write into reality. Of course, I can"t be discovered too quickly. Otherwise, how would I continue? Even now, I"m quite surprised. You solved the first three cases quickly, and discovered my ident.i.ty earlier than I expected.”
Xu Heyou"s eyes fell on Qi Youxuan again. “I"m guessing that it"s because of you.”
Qi Youxuan did not respond whatsoever. Jiang Yuecheng asked, “So you admit that you orchestrated these three cases?”
“Orchestrated? I guess you can say that. Dong Zhengfeng, Li Niancheng, and Fan Yansong; they all came to me for treatment. As I talked to them, I slowly started to control them. They all had reasons for their illness. I drew them out, expanded on them, made it more agonizing for them until they needed to find a way to vent,” said Xu Heyou lightly.
“What was your purpose for doing this?” Jiang Yuecheng asked. “You"re a psychiatrist. You have a good career, social status, a high income, a wide network, and a good reputation in your industry. Why risk it all on a joke? After investigating, we found that you"ve no connection with the three murderers and the victims. Before the three murderers went to see you for treatment, you didn"t know each other. Not to mention the victims—they"ve never even heard of you their entire lives.”
“Of course it was for the greater good of psychiatry.” Xu Heyou then continued lethargically, “I wanted to let everyone know of the great mysteries of psychology and it"s endless uses and possibilities. I want the world to know the extent of my knowledge of the subject. I can control people"s hearts and control them to do my bidding. How wonderful is this?”
“Just because of this, you manipulated others to kill innocent people. Those who were controlled by you were even more innocent,” growled Zhang Ming, clenching his fists.
The victims might have done things that hurt others in a way, but the three murderers did nothing wrong before the murders. They only hurt their loved ones. Fan Yansong was hurt by his lover but they had not intended to hurt others.
They could have prevented their misery but were manipulated by Xu Heyou, drawing out the negative emotions in their hearts and constantly amplifying them to the point where they could not control it anymore. They were completely provoked by Xu Heyou, turning them into actual psychotic patients.
“Hehehehehe,” Xu Heyou lowered his head and chuckled softly. His gla.s.ses reflected the light and obscured his eyes.
He slowly looked up. “So what about it? They were all ill anyway. It would be better for them to contribute to a medical cause. My talents shouldn"t be buried. I"m a genius and I know that. Everyone should know my name. I want my talents to be exhibited to the world!”
Xu Heyou"s original indifferent expression suddenly became agitated, showing a look of madness on his face. “If only this book is well-known, they"ll only treat it as a fiction novel and won"t be taken seriously. However, if all the plots in the book were replicated in real life, they"d know how powerful I am.”
“That"s why I want my book to be published and then adapted to television, movies. I want to expand its influence. I"ve guessed this might be a trap but still agreed to come; I can"t let any opportunity to expand its influence slip away.” Xu Heyou glanced at Qi Youxuan. “From the speed and precision of solving the cases, I knew that you would have expert help. In fact, I really want to go head to head against you at least once. Unfortunately, I"ve more important things to tend to. Compared to playing against you, revealing my greatness to the world is more important.”
“I knew that I"d be caught sooner or later. In fact, I have factored this into my plan. I needed to be caught to expand my influence. I"ve already planned for it; my book will be adapted into a film and television series. Moreover, the author of this book planned a whole series of killings and was imprisoned. The novel is bound to blow up, and the media will surely dissect it. Maybe I could still write an autobiography and basically write about my knowledge and applications of psychiatry.”
Everyone was tired of hearing of his ambitions. Just admit that you orchestrated these crimes and be done with it.
When exiting the interrogation room, Xing Jiadong still had gooseb.u.mps and rubbed his arms. “He also has mental problems right? Did he plan these murders just to gain fame? That"s insane!”
Nonetheless, they found the mastermind behind the murders. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and could now rest.
Jiang Yuecheng reported to the higher-ups that Xu Heyou had been taken into custody and had to go through professional psychiatric testing to determine his mental state.
This case was so unreal, therefore it finally reached the newspapers.
Naturally, Jinzheng Publis.h.i.+ng and Jiangs.h.i.+ Chinese Network could not let this golden opportunity for publicity slip through their fingers. Regardless of whether it was good or bad publicity, there were plenty of gimmicks around it. Plus, there were actual cases to deduce. Sales of the online and physical editions of the book were taken to a new high.
If Xu Heyou had not committed the crime and did not go to prison, he would probably be included in the list of top authors this year. Then again, if he did not commit a crime and did not go to prison, there would not be such gimmicks and sales might not be as it was.
The film adaptation also signed, striking when the iron was still hot. The producers wanted to take advantage of this attention wave to publicize while the news was still a hot topic. Therefore, the male and female protagonists were quickly determined, and it was not long before they announced the full cast members list.
Some reporters also wanted to make an appointment to interview Xu Heyou but were told that Xu Heyou"s mental state was under evaluation. As Xu Heyou was also a psychiatrist and a highly capable one at that, the psychiatrist was having a hard time a.s.sessing and coming to a conclusion.
However, Wei Muran and Qi Youxuan could not be bothered about these. Xu Heyou"s fate only had two outcomes; either prison or an asylum.
The highly tense nerves they had before were relaxed. Everyone felt tired. Fortunately, the weekend was coming up and everyone could use a vacation.
Wei Muran slept deeply and only woke up at ten the next morning. She then received a call from Qi Youxuan at around eleven o"clock.
She thought that Qi Youxuan was going to ask her out for lunch, but he asked if Wei Ziqi and Wei Ran were at home.
Wei Muran answered that they were home, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she heard the doorbell rang on the other end of her cell phone.
“Tell me quickly. Are you doing what I think you"re doing?” said Wei Muran, her mouth twitching.
“Mumu, come down quick, Father-in-law is too terrifying. I"m afraid I can no longer handle him. Boo-hoo,” Qi Youxuan"s voice can be heard from the phone.
Wei Muran was speechless.
What forum has he been lurking in recently?
Boo-hoo?
Wei Muran quickly hung up the phone and rushed downstairs, just as she saw Qi Youxuan come in carrying a whole bunch of stuff. Wei Ziqi"s face turned dark as if crude oil was about to ooze from his face. Wei Ran, however, was thrilled from the bottom of her heart. She smiled sincerely and treated Qi Youxuan as if he was already her son-in-law.
“Dad, Mom, I"m officially visiting today.” Qi Youxuan set the things down and stood in front of Wei Ziqi and Wei Ran with a serious expression.
Wei Ziqi did not get a chance to utter the words "who are you calling Dad and Mom" as Qi Youxuan continued, “It"s my first official visit today. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Qi Youxuan, twenty-six years old. I"m the deputy general manager of Qilin Property. My side job is as an advisor to the Criminal Investigation Division. I"ll be officially returning to work at Qilin next year and will be a.s.suming the general manager position. I"ve never had a girlfriend prior to Mumu and I wanted to take her as my wife since I was little. I drink but don"t smoke, I don"t indulge in any bad hobbies. I can do laundry, cook, act cutesy and beat up bad guys.”
“If Mumu is in danger, I"ll rush in front of her. If Mumu is unhappy at home, I"ll take the initiative to extend my hand for her to hit.”Qi Youxuan then continued, “Dad, Mom, I implore you to give your daughter to me. Rest a.s.sured, I won"t let her suffer one bit for sure.”
“Dad, I remember you told Mumu previously that if she can"t find someone who treats her better than you, you"d rather she not get married. I can"t promise that I can do better than you, but I"ll strive to emulate you,” a.s.sured Qi Youxuan.
This remark made Wei Ziqi"s expression look much better.
If this brat dared say that he could do better than him, he would immediately throw him out.
Qi Youxuan reached into his trousers pocket and fumbled around, then came up with a delicate square box. Kneeling down on one knee, he opened it toward Wei Muran. “Mumu, I have thought about it, and I can"t think of any romantic proposal that is worthy of you. Being able to meet you has already been the most romantic thing in my life. All I can do is to serve you my heart in the simplest and most unlavish way. It may not be the most sensational, but it"s the most sincere. I want Dad and Mom to bear witness. Mumu, will you marry me?”
Wei Ziqi was dumbfounded.
Filthy brat, he should have thrown him out just now!
Wei Muran was so touched; she had never experienced much of the world. Just these few words caused her to be teary-eyed!
Wei Ran glanced at the dark-faced Wei Ziqi and only sneered, “He"s more sincere compared to you previously. At least he proposed.”
Wei Ziqi was speechless
“Don"t you dare give me that look again!” she added. “You can"t even keep up with Youxuan, yet you dare to complain about him?”
Wei Ziqi failed to come up with a reply.
The man silently took a small step back, his face no longer dark, only gently and secretly tugging on Wei Ran"s sleeves.
Wei Ran turned and looked at this pathetic man, and finally smiled. “That settles it.”
Wei Ziqi also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. He held onto Wei Ran"s hand and no longer dared show any dissatisfaction toward Qi Youxuan, at least for now.
Wei Muran stepped forward and stretched out her hand. “This… This is fine. Really, it"s very good! It"s the proposal I want. I don"t want it to be sensational or flashy. I just want to be plain.”
Qi Youxuan breathed a sigh of relief. He stared at Wei Muran and slipped the ring on her.
At this same moment, in Prestige Residences.
Qi Chenglin looked at the young couple sitting opposite him on the sofa, and said in a heavy voice, “She"s still in university.”
“Yes, I know. We"ll get married after she graduates.” Wen Xu held onto Qi Youning"s hand and touched the diamond ring on her middle finger, the very ring he gave to her last night.
“We"d like to have her for a few more years!” Qi Chenglin firmly told him.
“Yes, she still has two years to go before she graduates,” said Wen Xu.
Qi Chenglin was silently fuming.
He really wanted to throw him out!
What should he do now that he regretted letting Wen Xu in!
That night, Qi Youxuan stayed at the Wei family"s house for dinner.
At nine o"clock, Wei Ziqi started to chase him out.
As he escorted Qi Youxuan out the door, he nagged at him outside for a while. Wei Muran returned to her bedroom and took a bath. She lied on her bed but was still too excited. She tossed and turned but could not fall asleep. Her face was hot.
Qi Youxuan"s ferocious kiss just now still lingered on her lips.
She touched her lips; it was still swollen.
Wei Muran could not fall asleep anyway. Her gaze fell on her copy of . The case was over. The book was really well written and became a legend. She would like to read it until the end.
She had read part of it last night. She flipped open the book, took down the bookmark and continued reading. In the end, the killer in the book was a psychiatrist and also an author of a novel. The book"s finale, including the hot sale of the novel, were exactly the same as the outcome of the case!
"Cras.h.!.+"
Wei Muran was so shocked and stunned that she dropped the book to the ground.
She could not help but think: was it that simple that the killer was Xu Heyou?