Lei Mi - Profiler

This petite young woman was clearly quite well-off, and from her bearing it was clear that if her parents weren't high-ranking intellectuals, then they had to be government officials.

Seeming to realize that Fang Mu was observing her, Deng Linyue blushed slightly. When she finished eating, she lightly dabbed the corners of her mouth with a tissue, stood up, and bid a polite goodbye.

"I've got some things to take care of," she said. "See you guys soon." Then she nodded at everyone, picked up her tray, and walked gracefully away.

Once she was gone, Zhang Yao muttered in disappointment, "What the heck were you doing, Fang Mu?"

Cigarette hanging from his mouth, Fang Mu stared at the ceiling and ignored her.

"You colossal fool!" said Du Yu once they were back in the dorm. He was still upset over what had happened at lunch.

"She's beautiful, from a good family, and her dad is the director of the local Bureau of Industry and Commerce. You know how many guys are after her? It took a whole lot of work on Zhang Yao's part before she'd even agree to chat with you."

"Why don't you go for her if you like her so much?" said Fang Mu. He was shirtless and wearing only a pair of shorts, and he climbed into bed and pulled the top sheet over him. "Tell Zhang Yao that while I'm very grateful, she shouldn't waste so much energy on me in the future."

"Jeez, let no good deed go unpunished," said Du Yu, also getting ready for an afternoon nap. After undressing, he stared off into space for a moment. Then he smiled.

"She really does have some long legs, though." He laughed and smacked his lips in delight.

"Manwhore!" yelled Fang Mu, although he couldn't help but smile.

While the sound of Du Yu's snoring soon filled the room, Fang Mu tossed and turned, but couldn't get to sleep.

A girlfriend?Do I really need a girlfriend?

Even though Fang Mu had long remained aloof on campus, rarely socializing with anyone else, he had noticed at various points that a few girls seemed to regard him with interest. But because he was so accustomed to avoiding other people, those girls had gradually shifted their attentions to more open, enthusiastic boys.

Chen Xi.

The name alone caused Fang Mu's spirits to plummet. Rolling over, he buried his face in the cool side of the bed.

Never mind a kiss, never mind the feel of her hand in his, Fang Mu had never even spoken those three simple words to Chen Xi before it was too late. With some things, make one mistake and you can never take it back. With some people, make one and they never come back.

In the movie A Chinese Odyssey II , when a sword was held to Glorious Bao's throat, he spoke a heartfelt lie: "If God were to give me another chance, I would tell her I love her. And if He said that one day our love must end, I would wish for ten thousand years."

If God gave me another chance, I would wish that none of this ever happened, that I had never even met Chen Xi.

Don't think about it anymore, he told himself, blinking his already moist eyes. Since he was choosing to say goodbye to the past, that meant choosing to forget every part of it.

Half asleep, Fang Mu was surprised to find himself thinking about Deng Linyue. Although that afternoon he had scrutinized her from head to toe, he now couldn't remember what she looked like at all.

All he remembered was that she used Soulmate brand tissues, the pack printed with drawings from the Jimmy Liao graphic novel Turn Left, Turn Right .

Before getting off work, Tai Wei ran into Zhao Yonggui, deputy chief of the State Enterprise and Nonprofit Institution Investigative Division. Old Zhao was leaning against the hallway window, smoking sullenly. A number of butts already littered the floor around his feet. When Tai Wei walked over and said hello, Old Zhao glanced up at him with cavernous, bloodshot eyes.

"How's your case going?" asked Tai Wei, offering him a cigarette.

Old Zhao tossed the spent cigarette in his hand to the ground and accepted the one from Tai Wei. He lit it and took a deep drag.

"No progress whatsoever," he said, digging his fingers into his temples. "We've interviewed nearly six hundred people and still haven't learned a thing. How about yours?"

"The same," said Tai Wei, his voice sounding a little disheartened.

The two men smiled bitterly at each other, and then smoked together in silence.

At some point it began to rain, blurring the view from the window. As Tai Wei watched the drops run endlessly down the glass, he suddenly remembered how he and Fang Mu had searched through a storm for Tong Hui. Unable to help himself, he smiled.

That pale, quiet, somewhat nervous kid had actually seemed a lot better the last time they'd met. His complexion had improved, and there was a more youthful look in his eyes.

It was true; making a kid his age confront blood-drenched murder scenes day after day was a little cruel. He should get to be like his fellow students, happy and carefree, idling his time away. And then later: graduating, getting a job, marrying, having children-enjoying the common pleasures of an ordinary life.

Ding Shucheng had said Fang Mu had a gift for understanding crime. But as Tai Wei saw it, this gift didn't seem to give him any pleasure at all. When Tai Wei tried to ask him why he was so interested in this stuff, he had said he didn't know. But that was obviously not the truth. Instead, it seemed to Tai Wei that the kid was constantly struggling with some memory he was powerless to shake. What terrifying experience was haunting him from the past?

If a person like Fang Mu wanted to choose an ordinary life, Tai Wei didn't know whether he should be happy for him or disappointed that he was wasting his talents. Take the case he was currently working on: if Fang Mu were there, Tai Wei was certain he'd never feel so stuck. But the way that Fang Mu had acted last time made him feel a little apprehensive about asking for his help. So although his advice about looking for a sexual dimension to the crime hadn't panned out, Tai Wei did not plan on consulting him again.

"If we see each other again, it means someone else has died."

Tai Wei just shook his head. That kid was a real piece of work. He truly hoped that one day the two of them could meet up for drinks when there was nothing else to worry about, and then get dead drunk together.

"Tai Wei," said Old Zhao suddenly.

"Huh?" grunted Tai Wei, quickly coming back to reality.

"You guys did a good job on that Ma Kai case," said Old Zhao, roughly smoothing his hair. "From the start, I've felt that our killer from the seven-one case is also abnormal, with some kind of mental disorder most likely, but I've been unable to figure a thing out on my own. Will you help me out with the psychological analysis?"

"Me?" asked Tai Wei, pointing at himself. "Stop kidding around. Since when have I had those kinds of skills?"

Still, Old Zhao's words made Tai Wei's heart skip a beat, because he was absolutely right. Constructing a criminal profile of Ma Kai had been hugely beneficial in cracking his case, so why not use a tactic like that again? The 7/1 double murder and the hospital heroin killing were both unusual crimes with seemingly unexplainable aspects. If psychological profiles could be made of their perpetrators, Tai Wei was confident this would greatly help to push both cases along.

"We should find an expert on psychology to help us out," said Tai Wei.

For an instant Old Zhao hesitated, clearly ill at ease. Then he tossed his half-smoked cigarette on the ground and crushed it roughly with his foot. "We'll see," he said. He glanced at his watch. "Shit, look how late it is. I'm not working overtime today. I need to head home and get some rest." He nodded to Tai Wei. Then turned and left.