Chapter 6

Five minutes later, Lu Siyu locked the door and descended to the parking lot. The other two cars had already left, leaving only Song Wen waiting for him. Seeing him take the passenger seat, Song Wen asked, “Why did it take so long?”

Lu Siyu replied in a low voice, “I looked around for a while…”

“The door is locked now, right?”

“Yeah.” Lu Siyu lowered his head and fastened his seatbelt.

“Where do you live? I’ll drop you off directly.” Song Wen, sensing that he might have been too hard on the newcomer, considered this a way to make amends.

Lu Siyu mentioned an address and started playing with his phone. While looking at his phone, his mind was elsewhere, and he didn’t notice the screen had turned black.

Today, Lu Siyu found a detail in the deceased’s phone. In the browser’s bookmark bar, there was an app marked by a blue circle—Blued, a platform for gay relationships. He had only touched the phone for about two minutes, recording the phone’s model and number before the evidence was confiscated. This discovery wasn’t easy to share, so Lu Siyu kept it to himself, expecting it to be revealed soon in the investigation.

With the sky now dark, they drove out and soon entered the elevated highway. The city roads were lined with rows of various car lights, resembling a long dragon. In the morning, it was traffic jams during the rush to work, and now it was traffic jams during the evening rush home. Urbanites in the city were like migratory birds, commuting every day.

Lu Siyu remained silent for a while, gazing outside. From this angle, he could see the iconic building of Nancheng—the Nancheng Tower. It was the highest point in Nancheng, and in the night sky of the city, lights sparkled on Nancheng Tower.

It seemed that since ancient Babylon, humans had a liking for building towers, feeling that tall towers stood closest to the sky, closer to the realm of gods. There were many cities worldwide with towers as important landmarks. Famous towers were countless, such as the Eiffel Tower, Tokyo Tower, Burj Khalifa, Oriental Pearl Tower… each with its own unique features. Nancheng’s tower was no exception. Over twenty years ago, the people of Nancheng, led by wealthy merchants, spent half the city’s wealth to build this tower. It consumed a lot of money and manpower but also provided numerous job opportunities. The tower had an observation deck, offering a panoramic view of the entire city.

Once, this tower was a symbol of people’s hope and Nancheng’s pride. Even for outings, people often met under the tower.

About a dozen years ago, Nancheng underwent a transformation, with enterprise restructuring leading to mass unemployment. At that time, the first person jumped from the Nancheng Tower.

For a while, this act shocked the entire city.

People looked at the tower again, but their perspective had changed. In that era, even imitators appeared, and over several months, it developed into a suicide hotspot. To change the situation, the Nancheng government had to invest in repairing the tower, eliminating safety hazards.

Continuing on, after the development following the pain relief, Nancheng Tower was no longer isolated. Many high-rise buildings had sprung up around it.

Now, this place had become a memory for the people of Nancheng. Only tourists still considered it a scenic spot, with a continuous flow of visitors every day.

In the darkness, the lights from Nancheng Tower not far away projected down, causing Lu Siyu’s dark eyes to sparkle like stars.

“Are you looking at Nancheng Tower?” Song Wen glanced at Lu Siyu.

“Yeah.” Lu Siyu responded quietly.

Song Wen said, “When we’re free later, you can go up and take a look. I haven’t been there in a long time. I heard they’ve built a new glass skywalk up there.”

However, Lu Siyu seemed uninterested in this suggestion. After a pause, he responded somewhat indifferently, “Maybe some other time.”

The car turned a corner, and Nancheng Tower disappeared from view. Lu Siyu turned his head, and Song Wen stole a glance at him through the rearview mirror. The light from the streetlamp slanted down, illuminating a small part of Lu Siyu’s forehead and his high nose bridge, resembling finely crafted white porcelain. At this moment, Lu Siyu blinked his eyelashes, his face expressionless, making it difficult for people to discern what he was thinking.

After driving a few more kilometers, Song Wen tapped the steering wheel with his index finger and said, “You mentioned earlier…” Turning his head, he saw that Lu Siyu had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. His head was against the car window, and his body curled up slightly, a posture indicating a lack of security, perhaps because a full day of investigation had exhausted all his strength. The orange light from the front dashboard shone on the side of his face, outlining the elegant and slightly sharp curve of his jawline. It cast a layer of golden warmth on his nose bridge, making him look exceptionally clean.

Song Wen momentarily forgot what he wanted to say and reached out to turn off the overhead light.

After driving for a while, it was already past 8 p.m., and they had missed the evening rush hour. The entire city seemed to be getting lazy, as if preparing for sleep. The car eventually stopped at the address Lu Siyu had mentioned. Song Wen was hesitating whether to wake him up when Lu Siyu moved slightly, waking up on his own. He rubbed his eyes and realized they had arrived. He got out of the car, a bit dazed, and said, “Thanks, Captain Song.”

Song Wen reminded him, “Don’t forget your things.”

Lu Siyu looked at his bag behind him and the water cup in his hand. “Got everything.”

“And the investigation records!”

“I know, I’ll submit them tomorrow.”

Only then did Song Wen let him go, waving his hand. “See you tomorrow.”

Watching Song Wen leave, Lu Siyu’s gaze returned to normal. He was wide awake now. Instead of entering the residential compound behind him, he hailed a taxi again, reported a different address, sent a few WeChat messages, and when he finished these tasks, he silently dialed a string of numbers—Lin Zhenghua’s phone number, the victim’s.

The search page quickly displayed several records, all from dating websites. The individuals in the photos were challenging to associate with the dismembered body found today, but Lu Siyu recognized the person from the ID card at a glance.

As he looked at the information, Lu Siyu frowned. The prolonged fasting intensified the pain in his stomach, making it difficult for him to concentrate. He reached for the medicine box in his pocket, a simple solution he had relied on in the past, but now the box was empty. Lu Siyu used his teeth to nibble at his thumb’s fingernail, leaving it uneven and fragmented. Suddenly, his finger touched something, which was a candy given to him by Cheng Xiaobing during the day.

Lu Siyu tore open the packaging, placed it in his mouth, and sucked on the candy. The subtle sweetness spread in his mouth, seemingly suppressing the restless and anxious emotions.

Song Wen drove along Chengyang Road and arrived at Dr. Zhou’s clinic. The clinic was located in a high-end commercial office building. Even at this late hour, many floors were still illuminated.

Song Wen parked the police car in the building’s underground parking lot and walked to the eighth floor.

The receptionist at the appointment desk recognized him and said apologetically, “Captain Song, Dr. Zhou is still with a patient. Please wait here for a moment.”

Each client at the mental health clinic had a scheduled appointment, so the waiting time was not long. There were a few sofas beside the clinic, nearly all of them still brand new since the clinic had opened.

Song Wen borrowed some paper and a pen from the nurse and sat down. Out of habit, he started sketching on the paper.

Drawing was the best way for him to pass the time, even more enjoyable than playing with his phone. Whenever he picked up a brush, his mind would become calm.

Thinking about today’s dismemberment case, not much time passed before a face was outlined on the paper. It was the head of the victim found in the refrigerator. Disheveled hair, tightly closed eyes, and a jagged incision at the neck.

With no leads in the case, Song Wen continued to practice drawing absentmindedly. He cleared his mind, and the pen tip scratched over the paper—eyes, nose, mouth. He drew a jawline, precise lines, and then the part of the Adam’s apple. His pen hesitated on it, dropping a bit, and then Song Wen froze. He stared for a few seconds, crumpling the paper into a ball.

Subconsciously, he was drawing Lu Siyu’s face.

At that moment, Dr. Zhou’s patient came out—a woman in her fifties, slightly chubby, with a seemingly joyful face that didn’t match the need for psychological counseling. However, her expression radiated a kind of happiness, tears of excitement in the corners of her eyes, as if a believer had met a Bodhisattva, finding complete satisfaction in the resolution of all suffering.

Song Wen entered the clinic, and Dr. Zhou Yineng was already waiting. He adjusted his glasses and searched through the materials. Lifting his hand, he handed the report on Lu Siyu to Song Wen.

Sitting across from Dr. Zhou, Song Wen occupied the standard patient’s seat—a comfortable position for conversation, slightly lower than Dr. Zhou’s position by that subtle 3cm. This seemingly negligible 3cm created a delicate emotional dynamic between the patient and the doctor.

Song Wen took the report and glanced at it. He had seen many such reports before—the higher the score, the higher the safety level, indicating better psychological resilience suitable for detective work. While Lu Siyu’s performance wasn’t top-notch, it was above average. Song Wen was puzzled, “His scores are good. Why did you insist on me coming here alone?”

Zhou Yining rubbed his temples wearily. Having received six patients today, dealing with their negative emotions had become a bit overwhelming. “Things that appear on the surface may not necessarily be true.” Then he explained, “Psychological test questions are designed with a certain direction. If you understand the tests well enough, you can present the image you want others to see.”

Song Wen asked, “So, are you saying that kid cheated on the test?” The set of questions was drawn from a question bank and was not classified. As long as someone understood the system, they could find the questions and understand the judging criteria.

Zhou Yining shook his head, not directly answering the question. “Have you noticed that the newcomer reacts a bit slowly and lacks emotional changes?”

Song Wen nodded. Throughout the day, he also observed these characteristics in Lu Siyu. However, as he was not a psychology expert, he didn’t know what these traits represented.

Zhou Yining explained, “During our conversation after the exam, I sensed some subtle behaviors. Initially, I thought it was because he was trying to anticipate my questions. Such behavior is common among those who consider themselves clever; they prepare for psychologists, thinking that by memorizing the book, they can flawlessly answer questions. However, often these people lack professionalism, and their answers reveal loopholes. Observing these loopholes is one way I gather information…” Initially, he regarded Lu Siyu as a research subject, an observer evaluating personnel. Dealing with various people from all walks of life, he thought Lu Siyu was just one of them.

“After the conversation, I concluded that he showed some emotional indifference, manifested as a lack of emotional response and dullness. Even if he has rich inner emotions, he rarely expresses them. He tends to maintain an attitude of distrust and dissatisfaction with the outside world, making it difficult for him to get close to people. It’s not a big deal. As researchers in psychology, many people have minor psychological issues. A person without any issues is like living in a vacuum, almost impossible. As long as these minor issues don’t affect daily work and life, they are harmless. So, I passed him in the evaluation.”

At this point, Zhou Yining paused, then continued, “But when I reviewed the conversation, I realized I might have made a wrong judgment…” As he spoke, he slightly pursed his lips, and his hands touched each other—a subtle action indicating unwillingness to admit and accept. His gaze flickered, struggling to find the right words.

“Dr. Zhou, you are our psychological expert in Nancheng.” Song Wen’s initial reaction was disbelief. He thought Dr. Zhou was making a joke, as those who studied psychology were a bit eccentric, enjoying throwing out various topics to test people’s minds. Dr. Zhou had done this to him before. After spending the day with Lu Siyu, Song Wen admitted that although Lu Siyu was a bit peculiar, it was just eccentricity. He might possess certain traits, but they weren’t severe.

However, Zhou Yining looked at Song Wen with a serious expression, not seeming like he was joking at all. He closed his eyes for a moment, adjusted his glasses, and continued, “It’s possible that I was induced and suggested, deceived by various surface phenomena, and failed to discover more substantive content. I did not touch upon his inner thoughts.”

Song Wen furrowed his brows slightly. To be induced and suggested by a seasoned psychologist, he naturally understood the implications.

Suddenly, he remembered his earlier drawing. The techniques for drawing a dead person and a living person were not entirely the same. A dead person was lifeless, with life frozen at the moment of death. On the other hand, a living person always carried emotions—whether evil, angry, friendly, or humble.

But the portrait of Lu Siyu he drew just now showed no emotions whatsoever. Perhaps, at that moment, that feeling was correct. Before he truly understood the person, his brush had already revealed something.

TN:

Seems like the author has a thing for portraying characters with dissociation.