Don't Think You Can Defy the Odds - Chapter 2

“Oh, here.” Xie Chongyang shook Cui Renwang’s hand briefly, sensing nothing unusual about the gesture, before finally handing him the files.

He pointed to an empty interrogation room nearby. “That one is vacant; we can use it.”

“Mm,” Cui Renwang hummed in response. He stood up while flipping through the documents. Noticing Cui was not looking where he was going, Xie Chongyang reached out, caught him by the wrist, and guided him toward the room.

“You,” Cui Renwang began, but before he could protest, he was whisked into the room. Xie Chongyang practicedly produced a paper cup. “Do you want some tea? Or just hot water?”

Cui Renwang glanced at the milk tea by his side. Xie Chongyang was already heading toward the water dispenser. “Your hands are freezing; you should drink something hot.”

Touching his strawberry tea, which had already dropped to room temperature, Cui Renwang looked down and said, “Hot water, thank you.”

“Do not mention it.” Xie Chongyang sat down right next to him and asked, “Are you up to speed on the case yet?”

Cui Renwang knit his brows slightly and inconspicuously nudged his stool a bit further away. Xie Chongyang leaned in again. “Do you want me to walk you through it?”

“Officer,” Cui Renwang sat up a bit straighter. “Could you please sit across from me?”

“We only sit face-to-face when interrogating suspects.” Xie Chongyang looked at him sideways, his gaze so frank it was a bit overwhelming. “My captain says that when I sit across from people and stare, it puts too much pressure on them.”

Cui Renwang thought, “Your captain is right.”

But sitting right next to me is just as high-pressure, he noted internally.

He looked down at the files. The victim Xiao Zijie’s parents were currently in the hospital, though police were stationed with them. After they regained consciousness, necessary questioning was conducted. The old couple’s statements, when compared to those of Xiao Zijie’s wife, Gu Jiayi, showed almost no discrepancies.

Both parties emphasized that Xiao Zijie was in good financial standing. He was not necessarily wealthy, but certainly middle-class, and his life was perfect. There was no way he would suddenly commit suicide.

And yet, right under everyone’s noses, he had opened the window and jumped.

“The statements from the parents and the wife match up in every detail, and the forensics at the scene corroborate their stories.” Xie Chongyang leaned against the table. “Xiao Zijie’s suicide seems to be an indisputable fact. The current mystery is why a man with absolutely no reason to kill himself would suddenly do so.”

“Xiao Zijie’s mother mentioned they had been married for five years without children. Gu Jiayi said that the household had previously been subsidized by the parents, and it was only in the last year that Xiao Zijie started making big money through business. His personality became a bit flashy; he often made things difficult for delivery drivers, couriers, and waiters. Plenty of people disliked him, but no one really hated him. Besides, he would not kill himself over conflicts with people like that.”

“Time has been tight, and we have not had a chance to fully map out his social circle yet, so,” Xie continued.

Comparing the interrogation records of the mother and the wife, Cui Renwang finally found what he was looking for. He interrupted Xie Chongyang’s analysis and asked, “Why did Gu Jiayi say that Xiao Zijie acted as if he were possessed?”

“Because he committed suicide for no reason,” Xie Chongyang started to answer, but before he could finish his sentence, Cui Renwang pointed to the mother’s record. “His mother also kept saying she saw a ghost.”

Xie Chongyang suddenly realized something. “Possessed” and “seeing a ghost” sounded like hyperbolic figures of speech, but what if they were actually stating facts?

He stood up abruptly, pulling Cui Renwang with him. “Let us go! We are asking her!”

“Hey,” Cui Renwang protested as he was dragged along in a dead sprint to the door of the interrogation room. Xie Chongyang knocked, and Du Like opened the door and stepped out. After a few whispered words and a quick glance at Cui Renwang, Du nodded and went back inside, closing the door.

A criminal investigator’s gaze always carries a certain level of scrutiny, as if they are trying to memorize a person’s physical characteristics in a single glance. It was not particularly comfortable. Expressionless, Cui Renwang straightened his scarf, which had become loose from being dragged, and stood his ground.

Xie Chongyang turned back and waved at him, giving up the best eavesdropping spot by the door. “Come listen!”

Inside the room, Du Like had sat back down. He stared at Gu Jiayi and asked, “You said before that Xiao Zijie acted as if he were possessed. Why did you say that? Did he show any specific possessed behavior?”

Gu Jiayi paused while wiping her tears. She instinctively clenched her hands. Du Like feigned impatience and tapped the table lightly. “I am asking you a question.”

Jiang Ding, playing the sympathetic officer, nudged him with his elbow. “Why are you being so harsh? It is not like she could be the killer.”

Gu Jiayi burst into tears, sobbing, “I was afraid you would not believe me if I told you. He was sitting at the dining table with his head down, muttering to himself. I thought he was just nitpicking the food my parents made again, so I scolded him a bit and told him to shut up and eat. I only said those few words, and his voice suddenly got loud! That is when I heard what he was saying.”

“He said his whole life had been a failure, that everyone treated him like a fool, and he even said something about suffering for someone else’s mistakes, losing his job, his wife running away, and his children not recognizing him. How is that possible? He has not worked a single day since graduation; he has always been doing his own startups and things. What does ‘job is gone’ mean? And ‘wife ran away’—I am right here! And kids? We do not even have kids!”

She suddenly leaned forward. “Officer, could he have had someone else on the outside? That person left him, dumped him, and they even had a child together!” As she spoke, her voice broke again into a sob. Overwhelmed by emotion, she wept uncontrollably.

Xie Chongyang listened, stunned. He knit his brows in thought for a moment, then turned to Cui Renwang. “Wait here. Qian Song is at the hospital with the parents; I will have him confirm this too!”

He stepped away to make a phone call. Cui Renwang leaned against the door, observing his expression. Soon, Xie Chongyang hung up. Judging by his face, it was confirmed. Xie Chongyang’s eyes widened with a hint of pleasant surprise. “His mother said the same thing. She said Xiao Zijie acted like he was possessed by a ghost.”

“She insists that was not her son, and that it was not suicide, because his accent had changed to a Northern one. It was completely different from how Xiao Zijie usually spoke.” He crossed his arms, thinking seriously. “The elderly can be a bit superstitious, but at least this proves that Xiao Zijie was acting strangely before his death!”

“Mm.” Cui Renwang had obtained the information he wanted and was ready to leave. He gave a perfunctory nod and was about to say goodbye when Xie Chongyang popped up in front of him again. “Oh, right, I have not asked yet. They only said you are a special consultant. What kind of special consultant are you? You found a breakthrough instantly. Are you a psychology expert?”

Cui Renwang met his gaze. “There is a ghost in this case.”

“I know,” Xie Chongyang nodded with certainty. “Otherwise, a standard suicide case would not come to the Major Crimes Unit.”

Cui Renwang looked at him silently. “I mean a literal ghost. A spirit. I do not mean something fishy.”

“Huh?” Xie Chongyang’s eyes darted left and right before he stared back at Cui Renwang with a look of sincere confusion, letting out a puzzled hum.

“I can see ghosts.” Cui Renwang put his hands in his pockets. “I am an expert in that field.” He felt a bit of a headache coming on. Did Old Zhang not say he would handle the introductions? Why did it seem like no one in the Major Crimes Unit knew the situation?

“Ah,” Xie Chongyang leaned back slightly as the realization hit him. Suddenly, he leaned in and threw an arm around Cui’s shoulder. “I get it! You are one of those fortune-telling swindlers, are you not? You must have been caught running a street scam and ended up as an informant for our captain, right? Does this case involve feudal superstitions?”

Cui Renwang slowly turned his head to meet Xie Chongyang’s eyes. With a cold, artificial smile, he brushed the hand off his shoulder and took a step back to create distance.

“Hey,” Xie Chongyang scratched his head.

Cui Renwang stood still and said calmly, “The reason this case was sent to Major Crimes is that there have been three previous suicide cases where the key anchor points were identical. Before dying, the victims claimed they were suffering for someone else, lost their job, their wife ran away, and their children did not recognize them. Then they jumped to their deaths, as if a destitute, frustrated ghost was constantly repeating its final moments.”

“We even found the original person. Five years ago, Li Cheng, a Northerner, lost his job due to a major error, was sued by his company, lost his wife and children, and committed suicide.” Cui Renwang decided not to share the professional details about ghosts vanishing and leaving a heavy miasma just yet.

Cui Renwang quite enjoyed the shocked expression on this young officer’s face; it looked as though his entire worldview was being reconstructed. Curling his lips into a slightly wicked smile, he asked, “Do you believe there is a ghost in this case now?”

Xie Chongyang’s expression instantly turned grave. “Bizarre group suicides; this could very well be a version of Blue Whale! Previously abroad, people used chat rooms to incite teenagers to self-harm and commit suicide, calling it the Blue Whale game. It spread rapidly through the internet, leading to mysterious suicides of teenagers all over the world. If this is something similar, the nature of it is even more heinous. They can actually mentally manipulate an adult! And if they all said similar things before they died, it is highly likely someone planted Li Cheng’s experiences and life into the victims’ minds, making them wholeheartedly believe they were Li Cheng, pushing them step by step into the abyss of suicide!”

Cui Renwang thought in silence for a moment, then whispered in surprise, “That actually makes a lot of sense.”

Xie Chongyang, looking at him with admiration, gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder. “Wait here, I am going to tell the captain!”

Cui Renwang’s shoulder dipped from the force of the pat. He checked his phone and wordlessly turned to walk out. Xie Chongyang turned and shouted, “Where are you going, Xiao Cui!”

Cui Renwang thought, “Is this guy a little too familiar too fast?” He replied expressionlessly, “To catch a ghost.”

“Wait for me!” Xie Chongyang sent a voice note to his captain and hurried after him. “Are we going to catch the person behind this? Do you have a lead?”

Cui Renwang corrected him, “Not catching the person behind it. Catching the ghost.”

“Right, I get it.” Xie Chongyang nodded considerately. “I will respect your professional terminology. You can call them a ghost. But to catch someone, the police force has to be deployed. You cannot go alone!”

Cui Renwang was terrified he would call in the entire Major Crimes Unit. “I am not catching a person. Do you have a car?”

“Yes,” Xie Chongyang jiggled his car keys.

Cui Renwang followed him to the car. He was about to get in the back when Xie Chongyang ushered him into the passenger seat. “It is not convenient for you to give me directions from the back.” Xie Chongyang smiled as he buckled Cui’s seatbelt. “Where to? Do not worry, the captain said I am under your command today!”

Cui Renwang, feeling the life drain out of him, said, “Turn right out of the gate and stop after 500 meters.”

“So close!” Xie Chongyang was shocked. “Is it really right under our noses?”

He followed Cui Renwang’s directions and parked. Cui got out, and Xie Chongyang followed close behind. Then, one after the other, they walked into a bubble tea shop. The moment Xie Chongyang stepped inside, he recoiled two steps in shock and looked up at the sign. “Milk tea?”

Cui Renwang was already scanning the QR code to order. Without looking up, he asked, “What are you drinking?”

Xie Chongyang was stunned. “Did you not just have one in your hand?”

“Finished it.” Cui Renwang looked down. “I will order a new item for you then.” He picked a new menu item for Xie, then ordered a full-sugar Strawberry Coconut for himself.

Xie Chongyang was still scratching his head, but he did not want to talk about the case in front of the shop staff. “You drink that much? Two cups a day cannot be good!”

“It is the third cup,” Cui Renwang said matter-of-factly. “I have not eaten.”

Xie Chongyang knit his brows. “So you are just not going to eat real food?”

“Good point.” Cui Renwang nodded. “I will add a serving of mochi toppings.”