Chapter 90: Because She’s Love-Struck, It Doesn’t Matter If Her Boyfriend Is a Maniac (22)

After returning to school, Dongfang Xuan immediately sought out He Cai, and his first words were to ask her to stay away from Bai Yao. He Cai replied with only one sentence: “Are you out of your mind?” No matter how earnestly Dongfang Xuan tried to persuade her, He Cai paid him no heed; instead, she found him increasingly irritating.

Unable to contain himself, Dongfang Xuan exclaimed, “Everyone around Bai Yao is crazy! You’ve seen what’s become of Nangong and the others! If you don’t distance yourself from her, one day you might end up just like them!” He Cai rolled her eyes, completely unconcerned with appearances. “If you say everyone around Bai Yao is crazy, then I guess I’m crazy too!”

Dongfang Xuan found himself utterly helpless before He Cai’s stubbornness. She used to listen to him, but at some point, she had begun to go against everything he said. Even her thoughts toward him were increasingly impatient. Dongfang Xuan felt deeply frustrated.

He Cai, on the other hand, soon went to find Bai Yao. “Yaoyao, does your boyfriend know a policeman named Chen Shuo?” Bai Yao nodded. “Yes, he does. Why?” He Cai frowned. “I can’t quite describe the feeling, but he seems very interested in you and your boyfriend. When he gave me a ride home last time, he asked a lot of questions about the two of you. But I don’t know any details about your relationship, so it was pointless to ask me.”

Bai Yao seemed thoughtful. He Cai, ever the gossip, asked, “That policeman isn’t interested in you, is he?” Bai Yao was speechless for a moment. “How could that be? I’ve only met him once.” He Cai thought about it. Chen Shuo seemed rough and unrefined—not at all the type Bai Yao liked. Suddenly, she had an epiphany. “Could it be that he’s interested in your boyfriend?”

Bai Yao narrowed her eyes, folded her arms, and nodded seriously. “It’s possible.” He Cai covered her mouth in astonishment.

Then Bai Yao asked, “Last time at the police station, you didn’t deny Dongfang Xuan was harassing you. He was detained for two days. Didn’t you feel sorry for him?” He Cai pouted. “All he ever thinks about is Su Youyou. I’ve no reason to feel sorry for him. Let’s not talk about these annoying things. Let’s go shopping today!”

Bai Yao had no objection.

At the mall, after buying a few pieces of clothing, Bai Yao quickly lost interest. He Cai was still in high spirits, carrying an armful of clothes into the fitting room to try them on one by one. Bai Yao waited outside.

She took out a small toy from her shopping bag and examined it closely. It was a little horror-themed doll she’d bought not long ago. Despite its gruesome design, she found it rather cute. The doll wore a black cloak, a frightening white mask, and wielded a tiny scythe. The shopkeeper had called it a Reaper doll, and she’d been taken with it at first sight. She thought she’d give it to Lu Sheng when she got home.

“Miss Bai.”

A man sat down beside her, greeting her amicably. Bai Yao looked at Chen Shuo, who wore a friendly smile. She stuffed the doll into her pocket and smiled back. “Officer Chen.”

“What a coincidence, running into you here,” Chen Shuo remarked.

“Are you here shopping with your girlfriend?” Bai Yao asked.

Chen Shuo laughed abashedly. “I’m just drifting through my days—where would I find a girlfriend?”

Bai Yao smiled. “Then it’s not so much a coincidence to meet Officer Chen in a women’s clothing store, is it?”

Chen Shuo wasn’t embarrassed. Out of habit, he reached for a cigarette, remembered that smoking was forbidden here, and withdrew his hand. Clearing his throat, he said, “Miss Bai, you’re a smart person, so I’ll speak plainly. I originally wanted to ask you to help me investigate Lu Sheng.”

“And now?” Bai Yao asked.

Chen Shuo sighed. “Seeing how fond you are of Lu Sheng, I’ve had to abandon that idea. Still, from my perspective, I think it’s necessary to warn you about how dangerous he might be.”

Bai Yao’s tone remained calm. “What are you trying to say?”

Chen Shuo replied, “For twenty years, people have been disappearing without a trace—no bodies, nothing on the security cameras, no useful clues. I once suspected Lu Sheng, but he’s only in his twenties. He couldn’t possibly have started committing crimes as a child.”

He paused, his words laden with meaning. “But what if these incidents are already beyond what normal people can comprehend—beyond the bounds of science?”

There had been several times, during his investigations into disappearances, when he’d run into Lu Sheng conducting interviews. Lu Sheng, a young man just out in the world, seemed perfectly ordinary. Yet Chen Shuo had an instinct: rather than interviewing the relatives of the missing, Lu Sheng seemed to be savoring their fear.

It was reminiscent of those sociopathic criminals who, after committing a crime, return to the scene to watch everyone running around in confusion, deriving a sense of accomplishment from the chaos.

Chen Shuo looked at Bai Yao. “Aren’t you frightened when you hear of supernatural events, Miss Bai?”

“I am,” Bai Yao responded, “but the more afraid I am deep down, the calmer I appear on the surface.”

She asked, “If you believe Lu Sheng is responsible for the disappearances, what motive could he possibly have?”

Chen Shuo smiled. “Why would he need a motive? Psychopaths kill simply because they want to.”

Bai Yao nodded in agreement. “You’re right, that makes sense.”

Chen Shuo continued, “We’ve also investigated the land at Yuhua Society, but that place is cursed. Anyone who digs too deeply either goes mad or vanishes. Even if I didn’t believe in ghosts before, I’ve started to doubt myself.”

Bai Yao offered a friendly warning. “If you keep digging, might you end up like the others?”

“I have no choice but to keep investigating.”

Bai Yao’s gaze showed admiration. “Is that your sense of professional duty?”

Chen Shuo gave a faint, shadowed smile. “I’m not so noble. To be honest, no matter how many people have vanished over the past two decades, I haven’t cared that much. There’s only one thing I want to find out—the whereabouts of this person.”

He took out a photograph and handed it to Bai Yao.

It was of a young woman with long black hair, delicate features, and a serene expression. The photo was old, clearly taken many years ago.

Bai Yao looked at Chen Shuo in confusion.

“She’s called Chen Yan, my elder sister. She disappeared twenty years ago. At that time, she lived at Yuhua Society.”

“Miss Bai, do you believe in intuition?” Chen Shuo asked.

“Sometimes, you can’t help but believe,” Bai Yao replied.

“Exactly. From the first moment I saw Lu Sheng, I had a hunch that he must know what happened to my sister.”

Bai Yao hesitated. “Were you and your sister close?”

Chen Shuo didn’t answer directly, instead saying, “Our parents died shortly after I was born, and she raised me. We depended on each other for a long time, until I enrolled in a distant university without her permission.”