Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 513 - 371. Those years, there was once a person (2 updates 2)

Chapter 513: 371. Those years, there was once a person (2 updates 2)

Shi Nian understood this feeling.

It’s like a gun, first loaded with a series of blank cartridges in the magazine, and finally a real bullet. So the person hiding in the mist is the one holding the gun, pointing the muzzle at Dad’s forehead.

Sitting under the barrel, each time the person pulls the trigger, even though they’re blanks, Dad still feels the fear of death. And when the series of blanks finally runs out, when Dad’s nerves are numbed from the tension, the person suddenly pulls the trigger, firing the real bullet...

By then, Dad has actually lost the sharpness of his thoughts, making him unable to resist.

This is a challenge akin to a psychological game, like a cat catching a mouse. The person enjoys not the final act of taking Dad’s life, but the process of controlling Dad, watching him gradually lose his confidence and reasoning ability... Dad is a pioneer in the field of criminal psychology in the country, so the criminal uses the same psychological game method to completely bring Dad down.

This provocation is a hundred times more despicable than simply taking Dad’s life!

Conversely, it is precisely because this crime’s method and pattern match the style of a psychological game that the domestic police naturally all assumed that the series of cases before her kidnapping were all the work of the same person, all arranged in the typical mode of psychological crime described above.

But somehow Shi Nian couldn’t help proposing another possibility: "But what if the series of cases before, and the cases afterwards, are actually independent and unrelated?"

Qi Xiuqi froze for a moment, then shook his head: "How is that possible!"

Then he couldn’t help but scrutinize her: "Why did you suddenly come up with such a strange idea?"

Shi Nian was also stunned, then shook her head: "Can’t say for sure, maybe it’s just intuition."

This feeling is kind of like the current case of Huangfu Huazhang. Previously, both she and Tang Yanqing believed the Kangchuan University case and the Yanwu Square Child Wife Case were the work of Huangfu Huazhang. But now she feels maybe Kangchuan University and Yanwu Square are mutually independent, not necessarily all the work of Huangfu Huazhang.

She always thought so before, mostly because of Rosa’s clown case years ago. After all, Rosa could be considered the first "Child Wife" in this series of cases. Since that case was done by Huangfu Huazhang, then the Yanwu Square case might also be his doing. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Qi Xiuqi at this time was no longer the reckless youth of years past. Shi Nian’s expression fell into his eyes, prompting him to immediately start his deduction mode, recalling the context leading Shi Nian to think like this.

Then he remembered a passage from their previous conversation.

She said the kind of guy she wanted back then was someone who could think like Teacher Shi, someone who could converse with her on an intellectual level. She said it’s the kind of person who could discuss cases and play reasoning games together...

He couldn’t help but ask: "The reason you say this series of cases are virtual cases and might be unrelated to the kidnapping case, is it because you remember a guy you used to discuss cases with and play reasoning games together?"

Qi Xiuqi lightly slammed the table: "I caught you red-handed! You dare say you didn’t have a boyfriend at that time?!"

Shi Nian truly got scared.

No one in this world can ensure every word and deed is flawless—even those who study deduction and logic can’t achieve that.

Indeed, Qi Xiuqi caught her.

She blushed but couldn’t help frowning: "There was one, but just an online friend. I didn’t know if he was male or female or his age, so he wasn’t the kind of boyfriend you think."

"Back then we were busy with courses, and the remaining free time I spent chatting online with him. He tossed out reasoning games that lingered in my mind, leaving me no time to date like other girls."

"So there was such a person." Qi Xiuqi felt a pang in his heart: "Did you ever find out who he was later?"

Shi Nian shook her head, sadly: "No. Never had the chance to know. Actually, when I say online friend, it wasn’t one-on-one. I was just talking in an open BBS for reasoning enthusiasts, where many people posted and replied."

Years have passed, and that era of chatting on BBS has long gone. Asking about it now, both of them have a fragmented feeling.

Qi Xiuqi nodded, grabbed paper and pen, severing the link to the last case in the chain formed by the series of earlier cases, isolating them.

"Okay, now we follow your intuition to redefine the deduction mode. But I can’t figure out one question: if the person set up the series of virtual cases not to numb the teacher and guide towards the final explosion; then why did he set up those virtual cases before?"

The criminals of serial cases differ from those who act on a whim. Their criminal behaviors are pre-planned, so they must have a specific crime motive.

If the earlier presumption is true, linking the series of cases connectively to the kidnapping case, then the final case is the criminal’s motive; if severed, then the motive is lost.

Shi Nian was also stumped by the question, and after a long look said: "...Well, can’t there be no motive? It’s all just virtual cases, no one’s hurt or killed, and no actual property loss."

"What are you joking about?" Qi Xiuqi couldn’t help but stop her: "Without a motive, what is the purpose of designing these cases? Kill time?"

Shi Nian felt her heart suddenly beating fiercely.

"Maybe it’s just for fun? Like those reasoning games, setting up cases not to seek wealth or harm lives, but just for the deduction and solving process itself."

Qi Xiuqi couldn’t help but reach out his hand to touch Shi Nian’s forehead: "Looks like you’re indeed feverish."

"I’m not joking with you." Shi Nian was somewhat annoyed, "I’m serious."

Qi Xiuqi also answered seriously: "The so-called possibilities you’re suggesting are theoretical; the chance of happening in reality is virtually zero. Don’t forget this is your Dad, what kind of person could design games that deceive even him? Too far-fetched."

"Moreover, every case was styled after methods once used by the teacher, clearly aimed at the teacher, with the purpose of defeating and hurting him. The so-called reasoning game is impossible to exist."

Shi Nian lowered her head, temporarily unable to refute.

She recalled Dad saying that deduction should not become castles in the air, disconnected from reality. It would then be merely a brain teaser game without any practical role in solving cases.

In the behavior analysis course at Kangchuan University, Tang Yanqing also said that the judicial community worldwide still has doubts about applying criminal psychology in real cases, concerned the reasoning logic in psychology becomes self-indulgent and gradually disconnected from reality. Judges and prosecutors hate seeing deductions happening only in minds while cases impossible in reality are debated in court.

Shi Nian had no choice but to temporarily withdraw her intuition and leave.

But perhaps because of the recent events triggered her rebellious psychology, though she retracted her opinion with Qi Xiuqi, her intuition grew even stronger when walking alone outside.

.

Shi Nian got back into the car, fastened her seatbelt, and withdrew her thoughts. Only then did she see a guy leaning against the tree behind her car smoking through the rearview mirror.

Shi Nian got startled, quickly rolled down the car window to call him: "Hey! Trying to scare me to death?"

Tang Yanqing, in his neat police uniform, had an air of nobility, yet his smoking seemed marked with despondency.

He didn’t walk over, continued to smoke while standing on the reddish brick path.

Shi Nian instinctively sensed something amiss, quickly turned off the ignition, undone her seatbelt, and got out.

Walking towards him, she then realized the overhead trees were already lush green.

Spring had deepened, slowly tasting like summer.

The green shadows jumped and swayed in his eyes, pushing her to smile, walking up to him: "So Mr. Tang is not only fond of my green Beetle, but his eyes are also turning green."

She was cautiously coaxing him, as she sensed something was not right.

Yet he still didn’t smile, although he tried to arch his lips. The inability to smile was really disheartening.

She walked over and hugged him, pressing her cheek to his heart: "What’s wrong, hmm? I thought you were purposely following me, and was preparing to get mad."

He sighed and extended his arms to hold her.

"Well, I was indeed following you, so what?"

"So? Careful, I’ll hit you!" Shi Nian tilted her face up, feigning anger, hitting him: "Even if you’re a detective, even if you’re my boyfriend, you can’t interfere with my personal freedom."

He grinned: "Who told you to privately meet Qi Xiuqi? I haven’t forgotten what he did back then."

"Don’t talk nonsense." Shi Nian punched him again: "You’re not mad because I met him. Come clean, what’s really going on?"

He lowered his gaze to her, internally sighing.

He wasn’t lying to her; he truly feared her meeting Qi Xiuqi alone.