Lei Mi - Profiler

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"In that case, there are way too many people like this on your campus. In my experience, practically all college professors fit this profile."

"We might not know who it is," said Fang Mu, pulling on his jacket, "but I know someone who might. Follow me!"

It was Professor Qiao who opened the door. Although he didn't seem surprised by Fang Mu's sudden visit, his expression shifted slightly when he saw Tai Wei was standing behind him.

He pointed at the slippers placed beside the door, and then turned and walked alone into the study.

After removing their shoes and putting on slippers, Fang Mu and Tai Wei followed after him. Professor Qiao had already lit a cigarette and was sitting on the couch, smoking gloomily, his expression somber.

Seeing the professor's mood, Fang Mu didn't quite know what to say. Tai Wei was first to speak. "Teacher Qiao… Oh, I mean Professor Qiao, how are you, sir?" he said politely. "I'm Tai Wei from the city bureau. This is my police ID."

Professor Qiao didn't even turn his head, just made a brief sound of recognition. Nor did he take the police ID that Tai Wei was holding out for him.

Tai Wei's arm hung awkwardly in the air for several seconds. Miffed, he angrily pulled it back. Seeing that Fang Mu wasn't talking, he poked him hard in the side.

Given no choice, Fang Mu forced himself to say, "Professor Qiao, there is something I wanted to ask your advice about."

"Yes?"

Fang Mu looked at Tai Wei. Then, summoning his courage, he said, "Professor Qiao, do you know anyone on this campus who's fairly adept at psychological analysis?"

Professor Qiao tapped out the ash from his cigarette. "I do."

"Who?" Fang Mu asked. Both his and Tai Wei's ears pricked up at once.

"Me." Professor Qiao paused. "And you."

At once the air in the study seemed to solidify.

Fang Mu stammered: "I…what I was trying to say…"

"That I already know." Professor Qiao then placed the butt of his cigarette in the ashtray on the table, grabbed a book, and began to turn its pages.

When Fang Mu and Tai Wei saw this, they had no choice but to turn to take their leave.

Tai Wei did not look pleased at all. Without even saying goodbye, he left. Fang Mu followed. Tai Wei angrily pulled on his shoes and pounded down the stairs.

After putting on his shoes, Fang Mu looked up to see Professor Qiao standing in front of him. He was watching Fang Mu, his expression meaningful.

"Professor…I…think I'm going to be leaving now," Fang Mu excused hesitantly.

Professor Qiao suddenly reached out and placed one hand on Fang Mu's shoulder. He squeezed it tightly.

"Take care of yourself," he said, then his voice went quiet. "This will all be over soon."

This said, he pushed Fang Mu out the door and then slammed it behind him.

Tai Wei was waiting for Fang Mu in his jeep outside. As soon as Fang Mu got in, Tai Wei stepped angrily on the gas, and the jeep immediately lurched forward.

"That old guy was obviously screwing with us," said Tai Wei, honking impatiently at the bicyclist in front of them. "You think he could be the killer?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Fang Mu was still thinking about the last thing Professor Qiao had said.

"This will all be over soon."

Was it possible that he already knew who the killer was, and was about to bring him to justice?

Previously when Fang Mu had learned that Professor Qiao was joining the investigation, he had felt greatly reassured. Now, however, he didn't feel relaxed in the slightest. Rather, he was even more anxious.

Tai Wei pulled up in front of Fang Mu's dormitory. After Fang Mu got out, Tai Wei turned to him and said, "It looks like we're gonna have to investigate this ourselves. Shit, before this was all easy. But now that I can't look into anything openly, I'm just going to have to investigate things on my own."

"All right. Well, you'd better start by looking into whether any teachers also work in the counseling centers of any of the city hospitals."

"Yeah, I got it. And you be careful." Tai Wei started up the jeep and drove off.

Fang Mu watched as Tai Wei's jeep disappeared around the corner. He looked up at the sky. Huge, lead-black clouds were rolling overhead, seeming to indicate that a blizzard was quietly approaching.

As soon as Fang Mu reached the third floor corridor, he saw that several guys were standing outside Room 313 and sticking their heads through the open door.

Fang Mu's heart skipped a beat. Had something happened to Du Yu?

He walked quickly over. Seeing him coming, several of the students parted to give him a path to the door.

Inside the room, Du Yu was sitting in his chair with his head drooped and a stubbly beard on his face. His pant legs were covered with mud. In front of him stood a man who Fang Mu recognized from the law school office. He was yelling at Du Yu and gesturing wildly.

"If you get caught walking around in the middle of the night with this thing in your possession again, you won't just be dealing with campus security! No, I'll make sure you get sent straight to the police!" He slammed a box-cutter down on the desk. "Trying to get revenge, huh? You think you're going to be able to catch the killer all by yourself? You're just a law student! If you could take him out, then what would we need the police for?"

Du Yu raised his head to argue, but when he saw Fang Mu standing in the doorway, the words caught in his throat and he just stared at him.

Fang Mu looked at the puffy, black and blue bruises covering Du Yu's face. He was about to say something, but when he opened his mouth nothing came out, so he just turned and walked away.

In the middle of the night, the snow finally began to fall.

When Fang Mu happened to look up from his computer screen where he was intensely scrutinizing the textbook excerpt, he saw that the sill outside his window had already accumulated a thick layer of snow.

Picking up a cup of water that had long since gotten cold, he walked over to the window and watched the snowflakes dance and swirl through the air.

His heart suddenly grew warm.

After people die, do their souls live on?

If they do, then Chen Xi, Fourth Brother, Wang Jian…

Help me…

Someone knocked on the door.

Who could it be this late? he wondered.

Grabbing his knife from under the pillow, he tiptoed over and put his ear to the door. He could hear the sound of heavy breathing outside.

"Who is it?"

After several seconds of silence, the person outside said, "It's me."

It was Du Yu's voice.

Fang Mu hesitated for a moment and then opened the door.

A heavy smell of alcohol wafted inside. Du Yu stood in the doorway, his hair disheveled and his face haggard. The bruises on his face looked terrible.

Fang Mu moved to the side and waved for him to come in. As soon as Du Yu walked through the door, he stumbled and then crashed into the doorframe. Fang Mu quickly went to help him, but Du Yu just pushed his hands away. He teetered into the room and sat heavily on the bed across from Fang Mu's.

Du Yu was haggard and unkempt, the stark bruises on his face adding to his miserable appearance. He was gasping for breath, constantly belching from the alcohol. Fang Mu gave him a cup of hot water. Du Yu grabbed it without a word of thanks and downed it in one gulp. Fang Mu tried to stop him, but it was already too late. The water had been nearly 150 degrees, but Du Yu didn't seem to have noticed in the least.

Fang Mu sat down on his bed.

After they had each drunk a cup of water, the two of them silently faced each other from their opposite beds. The space between them was less than nine feet across, but it seemed as impassable as a bottomless abyss.