Volume Two: Portrait - Chapter 9: Exposure_Psychological Crime

Volume Two: Portrait - Chapter 9: Exposure

Wednesday afternoon, the whole school gathered for a meeting.

The theme of the meeting was to implement the guidelines from the Provincial Education Commission about "applying knowledge to practice and promoting the great cause with technology." All the school staff attended the meeting, and the auditorium was packed. Of course, most of the people were sleeping.

The principal gave a speech. The secretary of the school party committee gave a speech. The vice president in charge of teaching and research gave a speech.

Vice President Qi had just been promoted from the head of the research department. It was probably his first appearance in the whole school, and it was clear that he was nervous and excited. The speeches of the first two leaders did not last more than half an hour in total, but this guy had been speaking for almost an hour before he got to the "second aspect of the second issue."

Fang Mu was drowsy below, and the auditorium was hot. He could feel the sweat trickling down his neck, sticky and uncomfortable. He struggled to open his eyes, pulling at his collar and fanning himself while looking around.

Heh, Du Yu was sleeping soundly with his head tilted, drool dripping onto his shoulder without a care. The person next to him hadn't fallen asleep, but was nodding off, probably about to give in as well.

"Comrade Deng Xiaoping once said, 'Science and technology are the primary productive forces.' This not only explains the important position of science and technology in the socialist modernization construction, but also poses a question to us research workers. That is: why do we need to conduct research?" Vice President Qi deliberately paused for a moment, but the audience below was either still sleeping or their eyes were wandering, not provoking deep thought. He had to answer his own question, "For the sake of serving practice."

To cover up his own embarrassment, he picked up a teacup, took a sip of water, spat out the tea leaves, and tried to perk up, saying, "In the past, we have not done enough in this respect. Professors, in order to get promoted or achieve results, bury themselves in their research topics and rarely consider whether their research has any practical significance for society. This has led to a serious disconnect between research and practice. If what you produce is not used by anyone, it is useless; so what is the point of being holed up in your room all day?"

He took a letter from his pocket, exaggeratedly waved it, and said, "Here is a letter of commendation, although it was written to one of our students, I think this student can be a role model for everyone here!"

The whole room suddenly quieted down, and many people who had been dozing off opened their eyes.

Vice President Qi was obviously very satisfied with this effect. He opened the envelope and took out a few pages of paper, "I believe everyone knows that some time ago, there were several brutal murders in City J. The methods were extremely cruel, and the public security agencies were scratching their heads as the cases remained unsolved. But one of our students applied the knowledge he learned at school to assist the public security agencies in successfully solving a series of murders..."

Fang Mu's eyes widened.

"...There was a victim who was successfully rescued, and her father sent this letter of thanks. I was very moved after reading it. A student who is still in school can be brave, proactive, and carry forward the excellent spirit of combining theory with practice. This spirit is worthy of our vigorous promotion and praise!"

🤡 En`jing's` Study

The crowd below started to get excited, whispering and sizing each other up.

"Quiet! Quiet, please." Vice President Qi, with a flushed face, reached out his hands in a calming gesture. "Now, we invite Fang Mu, a 2001 graduate student in the Criminal Psychology program at the Law School, to come up and talk about his thoughts." He brought the microphone to his mouth, "Fang Mu, where are you?"

Fang Mu's mind went blank, and it wasn't until Du Yu nudged him a few times that he came to his senses and raised his hand dumbly.

A spotlight snapped onto him, casting a large halo around him.

"Come on, come over here." Vice President Qi stood up enthusiastically.

The light was shining uncomfortably in Fang Mu's eyes. He looked around blankly, and the classmates in the same row had already stood up, leaving a space for him. He had no choice but to stand up, squeeze his way past his classmates, and walk towards the stage along the aisle. The halo followed him as he moved, and the cameras were clicking incessantly.

How far was this walk, and why did it seem endless? All he could see was white light, and dizziness kept coming over him. He felt like he could collapse at any moment.

Run away, turn around, and dash out along the aisle.

Vice President Qi, who couldn't wait any longer, stood at the edge of the stage. He grabbed Fang Mu, who was climbing the stairs, and shook his hand, while also placing his other hand on his shoulder, half pulling and half pushing him to the microphone.

"Come on, Fang Mu, talk about your thoughts."

Fang Mu stood stiffly in front of the microphone, looking around at the audience below. Everyone was staring at him intently, their eyes expressing various emotions: curiosity, speculation, disdain, envy, and jealousy.

Is this a nightmare? Disappear, all of you, including myself.

A full minute passed, and Fang Mu moved his lips and, from between his teeth, a single word popped out, "I..."

The Vice President, who had already lost patience, reminded, "Tell us about how you assisted the public security agencies in solving the case."

Under the spotlight, Fang Mu's face turned ashen, and sweat dripped down from his forehead, his teeth clenched as if in a spasm.

The entire audience held their breath, silently watching the young man on the stage who remained silent.

"Alright," Vice President Qi finally lost his patience. He leaned toward the microphone and forced a smile, "Silence is better than speech. Fang Mu must have a lot to say, but I can see he's too nervous. Please step down for now, Fang Mu."

At this moment, Fang Mu suddenly felt a surge of energy. He stepped down from the platform with his two stiff legs. He didn't return to his seat but walked through the aisle, facing the whispers and countless eyes, and left the auditorium directly.

"Hello?" The voice in the receiver was indifferent.

"..."

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Is it you who told that girl's parents my name?"

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"Heh, it's you. Did you receive the letter of commendation?" The tone of the voice became cheerful.

"What do you think?" Fang Mu didn't want to use foul language and held back his anger.

"Heh, did the school praise you?"

"What's wrong with you?" Fang Mu hung up the phone fiercely.

"What's wrong with this guy?" The other party looked at the phone inexplicably, feeling annoyed as well.

On his way back to the dormitory, Fang Mu kept his head down, trying to avoid the curious gazes, and hesitated for a moment before taking a detour to the sports field.

The steps of the sports field still held the warmth of the daytime sun, and sitting on them felt comfortable.

In the darkness, people walked tirelessly around the sports field in pairs, and cheerful laughter occasionally pierced through the night, inexplicably bringing a smile to Fang Mu's face.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to smoke. Fang Mu opened a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

For a long time, Fang Mu didn't know what he was doing. It seemed like he had been pursuing a certain kind of life, but when asked to describe that life, he often felt lost. Endless contemplation, instant judgments, the cold crime scenes, the horrifying data in the computer, and the endless nightmares that haunted him for the past two years. These "companions" that had been with him constantly, at this moment, made him feel incredibly exhausted.

What do I really want?

He looked up at the star-studded night sky as if someone were kindly watching over him.

Can you tell me?

When it was time to go back to the dormitory, Fang Mu returned. As soon as he entered, Du Yu informed him that his mother had called several times.

Call back. The phone rang once, and he heard his mother's voice.

Was she waiting by the phone the whole time?

"Why did you come back so late?"

"Oh, I went out." Fang Mu didn't want to say much, "Is there something you need to tell me?"

"No, nothing. You looked much thinner when you came back last time, and your dad and I are very worried about you. We wanted to talk to you when you came back. But you left so soon."

"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. How are you and Dad?"

"We're both doing well." His mother paused for a moment, "Little Mu, can you tell your mother what you've been up to recently?"

"I haven't been up to much, just attending classes and studying."

"Are you still helping the police solve cases?"

"No." It was the hardest to lie to his own family, and Fang Mu felt the strangeness in his own voice.

His mother fell silent for a while and sighed, "Child, your mother is getting older. Please don't worry your mother anymore. Dealing with those things all day, associating with those people, do you know how worried your mother is?"

Fang Mu said nothing.

"I've been having nightmares these days. I dreamt that Wu Han killed you and woke up scared every time. Your dad asked me what was wrong, but I didn't dare tell him."

"Mum, don't overthink. That matter is already in the past."

"I know, but I can't control myself." His mother's voice choked, "Little Mu, can you promise me not to do those dangerous things again, just be a simple and honest ordinary person, okay?"

"...Okay."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Mu sat in a daze for a while, then picked up his toiletries and went to the washroom.

In the washroom, the large mirror on the wall reflected a slightly gaunt figure of a young man. His upper body was bare, with pale skin and a sunken chest.

Fang Mu leaned closer to the mirror to scrutinize himself: short, stiff hair, a broad forehead, pale, sunken cheeks, eyes with red blood vessels, dark stubble on his chin, furrowed brows, and deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

Was this really me at 24?

Fang Mu turned his head left and right, carefully examining himself.

Damn, I look worse when I smile.

But I have to smile.

Fang Mu dipped his face into the basin of cold water.

In life, there's more than just serial killers.

When it was time to go to bed, Fang Mu returned to the dormitory. As soon as he entered, Du Yu told him that his mother had called multiple times.