"Why did Chen Fengde need to be killed? Who ordered you to do it?" Lin Qiupu questioned the man in the interrogation room.

"I just did things for money!"

"Who told you to do it?"

"Haha, I’ll die if I told you."

Chen Shi received the call and rushed to the bureau. At this time, the interrogation was in progress. He asked Lin Dongxue, "Caught him?"

"After all, the prison is relatively closed. The prisoners were interrogated one by one and some leads were found. This guy..." Lin Dongxue pointed to the interrogation room, "It was he who caused the small accident in the factory. While everyone's attention was diverted, he killed Chen Fengde and hid him in a machine. Then, he slipped back quietly after chopping Chen Fengde's hands off, put the body into a chemical barrel, and cleaned the scene with chemicals so that the police dogs wouldn’t smell it. I don't know how, but he sent Chen Fengde's hands out. We suspect that he has an accomplice, but he refuses to confess anything."

"Very professional! Why was he locked in jail?"

"Robbery of a convenience store. He just robbed a few packs of cigarettes. He was locked in half a year ago. We suspect that this was deliberately done. This person may be a professional killer who specialized in killing prison inmates. We checked his files and found that while he was in jail, other prisoners had died strangely."

"People who know this kind of role are by no means ordinary!"

"I was suddenly thinking that this mysterious helper wouldn’t come cheap. They’ve got superb skills, clean execution, and are proficient in hypnosis. Could they be..."

"Mm, I also thought of this person. This debt will be settled later! I’m going to see Miss Gu. I promised to tell her the truth."

"The case is closed today. You should come back to eat with us tonight. You can ask Miss Gu to come too!"

"Okay!"

Chen Shi went to the consultation clinic where Gu You was located. After hearing the truth, Gu You couldn't control her emotions. Tears in her eyes couldn't help but fall as she said, "It's okay, I finally have an explanation. His corpse…"

"It’s at Old Peng’s. When the autopsy is over, you can take it back for a good burial."

"Isn't burial equal to forgetting? In the past, I always wanted to forget this murderer of a father, but now I want to remember him forever. I want to make his ashes into an hourglass and put it here to see every day."

"I support you. Loved ones shouldn't be forgotten!" Chen Shi got up and walked to the window, looked outside, turned around and said, "I still have something to tell you."

"Oh?"

"When I was hypnotized and dreaming, the person in my dream inexplicably accused me of killing Zhou Tiannan. Thinking about it now, there’s more than meets the eye. The person who hypnotized me thought I killed Zhou Tiannan. Who would think so?"

"Ling Shuang?!"

"Superb methods, proficient in hypnosis, elusive, and at the same time, knows that I’m Song Lang. If it isn’t Ling Shuang, who could it be?!"

"It's not surprising when thinking about it. After all, they also have to earn money and will take jobs from time to time. You’re a policeman and you will always encounter cases in which they’re involved with. This is a rivalry between you guys."

Chen Shi returned to his chair and spread his hands. "I dare not tell Dongxue. This involves my true identity. I can only tell you. But, I have a question. How did you know that I was Song Lang? It’s not a coincidence for you to move next to my house, right?"

Gu You smiled, "Let me keep some secrets! I will tell you when the opportunity is right."

Chen Shi smiled bitterly. "Okay! By the way, I need a small favor..."

Leaving the Tianchuan Psychological Counseling Room, Chen Shi flagged a passenger along the way. It was an uncle in a windbreaker and hat with a cigar in his hand. Chen Shi reminded him not to drop his cigarette ashes on the seat.

Apart from the smell of smoke, there was also the strong smell of alcohol. Chen Shi asked, "Uncle, how much wine did you drink at noon?"

"Ai, I couldn’t do anything about it. It was socializing!"

"Socializing is really annoying."

"Isn't it? In order to make money, I wear a mask and please customers... Young man, each of us wears a mask. You do, and as do I!"

Chen Shi looked up in the rearview mirror and saw that he was actually Song Lang. The person sitting behind him, sneering, was Zhou Tiannan.

"If you wear the mask for too long, you won’t be able to tell whether it’s a mask or your own face!" Zhou Tiannan opened his mouth to say, but it was the voice of a woman. Chen Shi woke up from his dream.

He opened his eyes and grabbed the wrist of the person who was standing next to the bed talking to him. He couldn't see clearly in the dark. He could only vaguely see an outline. It was a long-haired woman dressed in black. She sneered and her teeth were shining in the dark.

"Ling Shuang!" Chen Shi called her name.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Song Lang, you’re as keen as always, using yourself as bait to lure me in?" Ling Shuang taunted calmly.

"More than that!" Chen Shi sneered. He took out a pair of handcuffs from under the pillow, and handcuffed Ling Shuang to his thumb. He borrowed these from Lin Dongxue at dinner and made up a very unserious reason.

In the afternoon, Chen Shi had asked Gu You to hypnotize himself. As long as he heard the words "Zhou Tiannan" in any situation, he would immediately wake up.

He guessed that Ling Shuang would come again because she hadn't found out who killed Zhou Tiannan, and he was the prime suspect in their eyes.

Instead of passive defense, he should take the initiative!

Seeing the handcuffs on her hand, Ling Shuang’s smile faded. She said, “I have a question for you. As Song Lang, you’ve been acting as Chen Shi. Where did you hide Song Lang in your heart? Does he wake up occasionally?"

"That's your purpose, right? Driving me crazy to make me kill myself."

"We don't want you to die. The city would be too boring if you die. What's the fun of a game without an opponent? Song Lang, the fun is yet to come!"

"Stop acting deliberately mystifying!"

Suddenly, a knife appeared in Ling Shuang's hand, and Chen Shi immediately became alert. When the knife stabbed at him, he grabbed it with his hand. The sharp blade cut through his palm and blood gurgled down.

Ling Shuang pulled the knife out fiercely. Her goal wasn’t to kill Chen Shi, but to chop off Chen Shi's left thumb and remove the handcuffs.

At this moment, Ling Shuang raised her head and screamed, arching herself in pain. She gritted her teeth and cut off her thumb like a carrot, before stepping on the bed and rushing to the window, breaking out. A few seconds later, the sound of a car getting started could be heard.

Chen Shi looked at the severed finger that had fallen on the ground. He couldn't imagine cutting off your own finger could be done so decisively. She deserved to be a bandit trained by Zhou Tiannan.

He wrapped his injured palm with a pillow towel.[1] Tao Yueyue stood by the bedroom door in her pajamas. Chen Shi smiled bitterly. "Thank you for saving me."

"Sorry, Uncle Chen. Your favorite peeling knife is gone."

"Come over!"

Calling Tao Yueyue to his side, Chen Shi stroked her head and said, "You’re really ruthless."

"Who was it just then?"

"You don't even know who it was and just stuck a knife into her back?"[2]

"Because she was hurting you and I was really scared… Right, do you want to call the police?"

"No, don't call the police. I’m afraid that this matter wouldn’t be made clear..." Chen Shi fell into a deep state of gloom. When they finally arrest Zhou Xiao and Ling Shuang, his own secret couldn’t be kept any longer. Evasion wasn’t a solution after all, but how should he bring it up?!

Once the secret is revealed, you can never look back!

1. Some people put towels on top of their pillows.

2. Not sure when this happened, but this is what was written, so I’ll leave it here. I assume the author originally meant for Tao Yueyue to stab Ling Shuang, then Ling Shuan took the knife out somehow and tried to cut Chen Shi’s thumb off before cutting off her own thumb. That’s just my speculation though.