SFTD -Chapter 56 The Tragedy of an Entire Family (Part 9)

Fang Qing fell into brief thought, pondering for a moment before speaking.

“It was late last year, on a Friday afternoon. Heavy snow was falling that day, so there weren’t many patients.

She came to see me and asked if I could examine her.

She said there were two hateful people living inside her heart, constantly interfering with her normal life.

Through hypnosis, I discovered that she had multiple personalities.

After learning the truth, she became extremely depressed.

And she hoped I would keep it secret. After all, no matter which personality surfaced during work, she could still function normally.

It was only in the eyes of the world that she seemed abnormal—promiscuous, fickle, incapable of staying faithful.

From then on, we began treatment related to her condition. Since receiving treatment at the hospital would attract attention, she came to my home every Saturday and Sunday for hypnosis therapy.

At first, there were some results. She was occasionally able to suppress the other two secondary personalities.

Then I changed the treatment method.

Through emotional release, I tried to ‘guide the primary personality back.’

To make her take responsibility for the anger, dissatisfaction, impulsiveness, and other emotions she previously could not accept, and then handle them in a more constructive way.

However, during the process when the primary and secondary personalities were communicating with each other, a misunderstanding from my girlfriend caused the treatment to stop.

And for a very long time afterward, Zhang Junya remained in a state where she couldn’t control herself.

Do you understand what I mean?

Her primary personality was no longer controlling her body. Instead, it had retreated into its shell and chosen escape!

Not until mid-August did she suddenly come to see me again. She said she was getting married and wanted to suppress those two secondary personalities, hoping I could help her.

So we resumed treatment. In fact, we were still continuing it as recently as last weekend.”

After finishing, Fang Qing let out a long breath. He raised his eyes toward the glass behind the deputy captain, as though he could sense that someone was observing from there—someone professional. Only the people behind that glass could judge whether what he had just said was true.

Liu Da tilted his head and glanced at Zhou Hai, narrowing his eyes.

“He’s looking at you. Seems like he knows who you are. That look says he understands.”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“Yes. He’s looking at me, and everything he just said was actually meant for me to hear.”

Xu Biao shivered.

“Does it really have to be this creepy? He’s just a psychologist—is he really that scary?”

Zhou Hai raised a hand to stop him.

“Keep listening.”

Inside the interrogation room, the deputy captain continued.

“Does anyone else know about your doctor-patient relationship with Zhang Junya?”

Fang Qing thought for a moment and shrugged.

“My girlfriend misunderstood because of it back then, but I never explained anything. People can think whatever they want. Protecting a patient’s secrets is a crucial part of my profession—it’s my professional code.”

“But aren’t you violating that code by telling the police about Zhang Junya’s condition now?”

Faced with the sudden rebuttal, Fang Qing paused briefly before throwing his head back in laughter.

“Blood draws, isolated questioning—even an idiot can tell what your police are investigating. You don’t need to explain it to me. I can already guess that Zhang Junya is most likely dead. At a time like this, of course everything should be made clear!”

The answer was flawless.

Fang Qing leaned against the table with both arms, a faint smile on his face. The way he spoke calmly and confidently made it seem as though the deputy captain was the patient instead.

The deputy captain then moved on to ask about Fang Qing’s whereabouts during the time of the crime.

“At that time? I was probably at home. I didn’t pay much attention. Last night I went out drinking with colleagues, and I drank a bit too much. I don’t remember clearly what time I got home. Can I ask my colleagues?”

“Give us their names. We’ll verify it with them, as well as the surveillance cameras in your residential complex.”

“No problem.”

Fang Qing straightened the shirt and tie beneath his white coat. A gentle smile lingered at the corner of his lips as he looked at the two officers.

The deputy captain asked Xiao Hu to escort Fang Qing out. Fang Qing stood up and nodded politely at him, though the smile on his lips seemed to fade slightly.

But his gaze casually drifted toward the one-way mirror across the table.

Before anyone could speak, Zhou Hai’s phone rang. It was Xiao Liang calling.

“Brother Hai! The DNA comparison results are out. The DNA collected from the bite mark on Zhang Junya’s ear is a complete match with Zhu Xupeng, the sample submitted today.”

Zhou Hai froze.

“Zhu Xupeng?”

“That’s right—Zhu Xupeng!”

After hanging up, Liu Da looked puzzled and patted Zhou Hai on the shoulder.

“Forensic Zhou, we’ve found such conclusive evidence. What are you still worried about?”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

“Did you notice Fang Qing’s expression when he left?”

Xu Biao thought back.

“He smiled politely and followed Xiao Hu out. What was wrong with that?”

“No. He was smiling at the one-way mirror. The smile was being deliberately restrained. Very calm…And very provocative.”

Liu Da and Xu Biao exchanged glances and both shook their heads.

“Maybe you’re overthinking it? I didn’t get that feeling at all! Don’t leave yet. I’m going to arrange for a search warrant and have Zhu Xupeng’s house searched.”

With that, Liu Da stepped out of the room. The moment the door opened, Fang Qing happened to be passing by.

Completely unsurprised, he looked into the room.

The instant he spotted Zhou Hai, he stopped in his tracks, his expression of surprise seeming somewhat exaggerated.

“Zhou Hai! I never expected you’d be here!”

Zhou Hai followed Liu Da out of the room, with Xu Biao right behind him.

“Mhm. Hello.”

“Pfft, old classmate, we haven’t seen each other in ten years, and that’s all you have to say to me?”

Xu Biao suddenly felt delighted. Apparently he wasn’t the worst-treated person around. Zhou Hai might not talk much, but he had never brushed him off like that.

Zhou Hai neither paused nor showed any embarrassment. Calmly, he turned his head toward Fang Qing.

“Didn’t you go away for advanced studies? When did you return to Dongnan?”

Fang Qing seemed surprised that Zhou Hai would ask such a question. His expression stiffened briefly before his smile returned.

“About ten days ago.”

“Oh.”

Zhou Hai said nothing further.

Xu Biao chuckled and squeezed himself between the two men.

“Doctor Fang is really dedicated to his patients. Back from training and already hard at work.”

Fang Qing merely smiled without replying, then followed Xiao Hu to the waiting room.

Zhou Hai’s expression grew increasingly grim.

This Fang Qing no longer felt like the same person from ten years ago.

He had become worldly and inscrutable, burying all his thoughts deep inside. Perhaps it had something to do with the field he studied.

But Zhou Hai still couldn’t make sense of it.

The DNA comparison result was far beyond his expectations.

Two hours later, in the hidden compartment beneath the trunk lining of Zhu Xupeng’s Kia Sportage, Xu Biao found a knife.

It had been wrapped in plastic and tightly sealed with tape, hidden inside the gap beneath the trunk mat. If not for the search dog detecting it, Xu Biao and the others would have returned empty-handed.

The bloodstained knife bore no fingerprints—only bloody glove prints and bloody finger impressions.

After being photographed, the knife was sent to the forensic center for blood comparison testing.

Liu Da immediately ordered an overnight intensive interrogation of Zhu Xupeng.

Meanwhile, Fang Qing was released.

Zhou Hai drove Xu Biao away from the station, remaining silent the entire way.

Xu Biao kept rambling nonstop. Seeing Zhou Hai in low spirits, he patted him on the shoulder.

“Come on, cheer up! You said it yourself—people in our line of work can’t let emotions interfere. Everything depends on evidence. And look at the evidence now. It’s solid as can be! What’s there left to struggle over? Wasn’t all of this uncovered through the clues we found during the autopsy and forensic investigation?”

Zhou Hai shook his head.

“That’s not what bothers me. I just feel like throughout this entire case, someone has been leading us by the nose. Every piece of evidence we’ve obtained feels prearranged. Too real. Too coincidental. Too perfect.”

“Isn’t complete evidence a good thing?”

“When evidence is too complete, it becomes deliberate. And that means it’s fake.”

Xu Biao’s eyes widened in confusion.

“Fake?”