The officer explained that this young man was Ma Sanyou’s second son who was stabbed in the kidney at school.

His attitude was quite in line with my expectations. His whole life was destroyed because of his father's suspicions, and then his father went missing. As a result, he had to suffer scorn, condemnation, exclusion and hurt on his father’s behalf. How could he remain unaffected?

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if such a man embarked on the road of crime one day.

Man was a social creature by nature and crime extreme antisocial behavior, contrary to nature. If a person was excluded by society for a long time, he was probably one step away from crime!

The officer was about to knock on the door again, but I sighed, "Don't bother. He won't open it."

"Looks like we won’t be able to investigate anything. Perhaps we should return to the station first."

I smiled bitterly, "What can we do if we go back? You leave first. We’ll wait for him to leave his flat."

Naturally, the officer was reluctant to leave us here, but I felt bad making him wait with us. Fifteen minutes later, Xiaotao suddenly grabbed my hand and said coyly, "Honey, when we return to Nanjiang City, let's take our wedding photos!"

It took me a moment to react. In the presence of outsiders, my face turned red. "It's too soon!"

"I’ve always dreamed of wearing a white wedding dress since I was a child. You must fulfill my wish. We’re always so busy, so we have to get it done as soon as we have time.”

I scratched my head, "Alright then."

The officer looked a little embarrassed. "Um, I just remembered I have some other things to deal with."

"Go on then, don't wait for us."

After repeatedly conveying niceties, he finally walked off. Only when Xiaotao burst out laughing did I realize she had deliberately mentioned wedding photos to get rid of the other party.

"So you didn’t mean it?" I asked.

Xiaotao arched an eyebrow, "Are you boys all so resistant to taking wedding photos?"

"Um..." I wasn’t sure what to say, but I certainly had no interest in that.

Smiling, Xiaotao patted me on the back, "Look how scared you are! I’m not interested in that either. I prefer my police uniform to a wedding dress. Besides, you haven't even proposed to me yet. There’s no sense in shooting wedding photos."

I thought to myself, A marriage proposal requires preparation, doesn’t it? Anyway, isn’t it a bit too soon?

Right then, there was movement in the corridor, and a man well-dressed in a suit walked past, his combed hair, shiny and glistening. His face was angular, not handsome, but clean-looking with white gloves and a walking cane.

I assumed he was headed upstairs so I made way. Unexpectedly, he stopped in front of us and looked at me, "Young man, is this flat vacant?"

"Are you looking for the occupant? He’s inside," I pointed to the door behind me.

"Why don't you go in... Oh, I see, you've been shut out. I forgot to introduce yourself, I'm Mr. Ma's psychiatrist." He pulled out his business card and handed it over. It read: Tang Zixin, chief psychologist at Xinle Psychological Rehabilitation Center.

We introduced ourselves out of politeness, but I was overcome with curiosity. Ma Qiaojun looked average in terms of socioeconomic status. He couldn’t even rent his own home and still lived in his father's old residence. When I first opened the door, I caught a glimpse of the mess inside the flat. How could he afford a psychologist?

Besides, therapy was very expensive, usually priced at 150 to 500 an hour. And it seemed strange that the psychologist made house calls.

"Did he personally hire you?" I asked.

Tang Zixin smiled, "No, the situation is a bit complicated."

There was a real estate company looking to buy this piece of land, but unfortunately, Ma Qiaojun wasn’t willing to sell, regardless of how high the price was. He rejected any form of negotiation and refused to move out, causing the company’s thirty-million-dollar project to be delayed, making five-figure losses every day.

However, Tang Zixin and the CEO of the company were friends. When the CEO spoke about the situation, he mentioned that the owner of the flat was the son of the murder case suspect. Tang Zixin analyzed that he might suffer from a serious delusional disorder and volunteered to help Ma Qiaojun on his road to recovery.

Although the psychological consultation was utilitarian in nature, Tang Zixin conducted each session with seriousness. He wanted to cure Ma Qiaojun's delusional disorder so that he could return to society.

Having learned about such an inside story, I asked, "How’s it going then?"

"In fact, this is my third visit,” he smiled. “He now regards me as a friend and is willing to talk. This is already great progress."

"Doctor, can I ask you for a favor?" said Xiaotao.

As a psychologist, Tang Zixin guessed correctly at once. "You want to investigate his father through me? I'm afraid that won’t work. He’s finally opened his heart to me. If he knows that he’s being used, he’ll never trust anyone again."

"We don’t have to investigate anything. We just want to meet him," I replied.

Tang Zixin seemed to be in an awkward position. "Our talks are very private. If there's someone else next to him, he’ll feel very uncomfortable."

Just as we were about to give up, Tang Zixin offered, "How about this? I’ll beat around the bush and ask about his father. I can record our conversation but I have one request."

"Keep it a secret!" I nodded, "We understand. We’ll delete it immediately after listening."

Tang Zixin smiled, flashing his white teeth before asking what questions we had. In fact, I wasn’t concerned about his father’s whereabouts, but wanted to know what sort of image he had of his father. Although memories were subjective, as Ma Sanyou’s son, he probably knew him best.

In his eyes, was Ma Sanyou really a cold-blooded murderer?

Tang Zixin revealed a look of surprise. "Aren’t you here to catch Ma Sanyou?"

"We’re reinvestigating the case. Whether Ma Sanyou is a suspect or not, I’d like to draw my own conclusions."

After exchanging our contact information and expressing our gratitude, Xiaotao and I left.

"This doctor seems like a good man," she remarked.

"He has received good education, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, has self-restraint, tolerance, and keeps his emotions to himself. This sort of person either has very lofty ideals or is a big hypocrite."

"There you go again with your behavioral analysis. Which one do you think he is?"

I laughed, "It's not good to jump to conclusions or talk about people behind their backs. But if I had to choose, I prefer the former."