HC CH136
Dr. Zhou, Sun Jing’s original attending physician, had already left Rongmei Hospital to open his own small psychological counseling clinic. When Ling Lie arrived at the clinic, he identified himself as a police officer but didn’t immediately mention Sun Jing. Since the Rongmei Hospital and Luo Manchai cases had been dominating the public attention in Xiarong City lately, Dr. Zhou naturally knew about the bizarre deaths of several patients at Rongmei and assumed Ling Lie was there to investigate the hospital.
“I’ve been out of Rongmei for over a year now. I heard the trouble happened in the newly built North District. Although I’m a psychiatrist, I actually never worked in the North District.” Dr. Zhou poured a cup of tea for Ling Lie. “What do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything I know.”
The tea was warm and the aroma was rich; it seemed like good tea. However, Ling Lie suddenly recalled the herbal tea he had drunk in Zhuo Suyí’s office. That flavor was unique, carrying a hint of exotic flair. He had never tasted anything like it before, and compared to the tea here, it seemed somewhat cheaper, yet he found himself missing it slightly.
Ling Lie had intended to ask about Sun Jing directly, but his mind suddenly took a detour. “I heard at Rongmei that the doctors’ salaries are very high and the benefits are excellent. What made you think of quitting to strike out on your own? If it was over a year ago, the news about splitting off the North District must have already been out, right?”
Dr. Zhou smiled and shook his head. “It was precisely because the North District was about to be split off that I planned to leave. In the South District, our role was positioned as rehabilitation assistance. Sometimes we had patients purely for psychological treatment, but overall, the proportion wasn’t large. Transferring to the North District would mean facing people with severe psychological problems every day.”
Ling Lie was puzzled. “But you are a psychiatrist, and what you’ve opened now is a specialized psychological counseling clinic.”
Dr. Zhou shook his head again. “That’s different. I’m a bit of a loose spirit. Under Rongmei’s high-intensity assessment system, surrounded by an entire district of patients… sooner or later someone would have had to treat me. Besides, Rongmei and my clinic here are very different.”
“For example?”
“Those who go to Rongmei can be roughly divided into two categories. First, those from wealthy families who come in the moment they feel they have a slight problem. Second, those with average financial means who endure it until they are about to lose control, only then being sent in by family and friends. Of course, there are plenty who fall somewhere in between. Treating these patients was painful for me as a doctor; their emotions would constantly erode me. I weighed it for a long time before deciding to resign.”
“My current clinic is aimed at ordinary people. The fees aren’t high. Many people only have surface-level psychological issues; with early intervention, their recovery is usually quite good. My psychological burden isn’t that heavy. As for income, I’m the boss now and pay my own salary, so it’s not much worse than Rongmei.”
After listening to Dr. Zhou’s mental journey, Ling Lie asked, “Was treating a patient like Sun Jing painful for you?”
Dr. Zhou was stunned for a moment. “Sun Jing?”
“Yes. She used to be a director, and now she’s a Rehabilitation Scholar at Rongmei. You know what a Rehabilitation Scholar is, right?”
“I know, I know. Someone who once had severe psychological problems and, after recovering, helps other patients. I have an impression of Sun Jing. You are investigating her?”
Ling Lie said, “What kind of person is she? What did she confide in you?”
Dr. Zhou frowned. “That is patient privacy.”
“I know, but Sun Jing might be involved in a case.”
Dr. Zhou was surprised. “So you came to find me to investigate Sun Jing?”
“Sort of.”
Dr. Zhou weighed his words for a moment, looked at Ling Lie’s ID again, and then began to recall the process of treating Sun Jing.
Among all the patients he had come into contact with, Sun Jing was someone who actively controlled her emotions and had a strong will to recover. The first time they met, Sun Jing wore no makeup and was dressed in a gray suit skirt. She looked like a scorched piece of withered grass. She poured out stories of devastating blows to her career and family, and how she had lost the motivation to live.
She told the doctor about the criticism her labor of love, Rain on the West Ridge, had received. This was just the fuse. Because she couldn’t stand the abuse, she published an article attacking reality and the audience. This article completely destroyed her; the abuse was no longer directed at Rain on the West Ridge, but became attacks on her personally.
In this darkest hour, the husband who was supposed to support her betrayed her. He accused her of having mental problems, of having an unclear relationship with a young male actor, of selling her body to get ahead, and of stepping on her peers to climb up…
This became the straw that broke the camel’s back. She didn’t understand why her husband would treat her this way. It wasn’t until after the divorce, when her husband quickly got together with an actress, that she realized he did it to secure favorable divorce terms and whitewash himself.
She had nothing left. Her former fans looked down on her, no actors were willing to work with her, and she had lost the ability to continue creating.
To better understand Sun Jing, Dr. Zhou even went online to look at that flame war. Dr. Zhou asked Sun Jing, “What causes you the most pain?”
Sun Jing gritted her teeth and said it was her husband’s betrayal.
This matched Dr. Zhou’s own judgment. Although the first people to scold her were film critics and netizens who didn’t even count as an audience, the one who truly had a concrete image in her mind was her husband. Hitting someone when they are down is often the fatal blow.
Dr. Zhou began targeted treatment for Sun Jing. She was very cooperative and even taught herself psychology in Rongmei’s library.
Ling Lie interrupted, “She taught herself psychology?”
Dr. Zhou said that this wasn’t uncommon among patients at Rongmei. Many patients become interested in this “magical” discipline during treatment; as the saying goes, a prolonged illness makes a doctor of the patient.
Ling Lie nodded, and the doctor continued his recollection.
Sun Jing’s deepest pain was being abandoned by her husband right after her career took a heavy hit. She expressed to Dr. Zhou many times the desire to kill her husband and end it all. During therapy, Sun Jing gradually let go of this hatred and reverted to being a mentally sound person.
Before being discharged, she underwent a joint assessment by several doctors—a necessary procedure at Rongmei to determine if a patient has truly recovered. The result was naturally good, and because of her positive attitude and knowledge of psychology, she qualified to become a Rehabilitation Scholar.
Sun Jing left Rongmei for a while. During that time, Dr. Zhou also left Rongmei to start his business. More than half a year later, Sun Jing returned to Rongmei. She even made a special trip to visit Dr. Zhou, saying she had traveled to many cities and now wanted to contribute to other patients as a Rehabilitation Scholar.
That was the last time Dr. Zhou saw Sun Jing. She looked very healthy and full of vitality. Dr. Zhou felt she was one of the most successful patients he had treated.
“How could she be involved in a case?” Dr. Zhou was unwilling to believe it. “Did she make a move on her husband after all?”
Ling Lie said, “Was the person she hated most really her husband?”
Dr. Zhou was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Ling Lie said, “Maybe she has been deceiving herself, and deceiving you too. Did she rarely mention the people who scolded her? Or did you just not mention it?”
Dr. Zhou’s face stiffened, and he suddenly understood what Ling Lie meant. “You mean, what she truly hated was still those people who criticized her work? But… but she expressed absolutely nothing about that!”
“That’s why I said she actually deceived herself as well.” Ling Lie stood up and drank the tea in one gulp. “She doesn’t hate a specific person. That hatred has been buried deep in her heart all along.”
At the Serious Crimes Unit, Shen Qi found time to look up the movements of Sun Jing’s ex-husband over the past three years for Ling Lie. After the divorce, the ex-husband briefly enjoyed the limelight by exposing Sun Jing’s scandals, but later, he and his new wife got involved in industry turmoil and his career suffered. Now he has basically left the film and television circle; his wife does livestream sales, and he does business.
Sun Jing never appeared in their lives; there was no contact after the divorce.
From this perspective, it seemed Sun Jing had let go of her hatred for her ex-husband, just as the doctor said.
But perhaps in Sun Jing’s heart, the husband who kicked her when she was down wasn’t worthy of bearing her hatred. For a long time, she didn’t know what she hated. Was it those people who scolded her? But they were faceless; there were thousands of them. She couldn’t find a single one of them, so she could only aim her pent-up resentment at her ex-husband, wanting to kill him.
Dr. Zhou thought he had successfully enlightened her, but he hadn’t at all, because the root of her hatred was never her ex-husband from the start.
But what was it?
While studying those psychology books in the Rongmei library, she suddenly saw the light.
And while communicating with the director of The Cyan Tea Vat, Ling Lie finally caught the shadow of her hatred.
It wasn’t her ex-husband, nor was it even the “King of the Sand Mountain” who first poured cold water on Rain on the West Ridge. It was those blind people without faces, those who wantonly vented malice and fanned the flames.
Hearing Ling Lie’s analysis, Ji Chenjiao fell silent. After a good while, he said, “But we investigated Jiang Yunduo and Mou Ying’s backgrounds a long time ago. They never attacked Sun Jing. As for Chen Di…”
“Chen Di even had a conflict with the ‘King of the Sand Mountain.’ Sun Jing shouldn’t be hostile toward them.” Ling Lie spun Ji Chenjiao’s chair around, suddenly stopping when he was facing him. “But Xiao Ji, must revenge be taken against the person who hurt you? Did the people who attacked Sun Jing ever get hurt by her? In those random acts of violence against society that happen from time to time, did the people who died ever hurt the perpetrator?”
Ji Chenjiao suddenly frowned.
Ling Lie stood up, patted Ji Chenjiao on the shoulder with the air of a leader, and then clasped his hands behind his back like an old veteran cadre. “I’ve been following Sun Jing from start to finish. It’s excusable if you don’t grasp the core of this matter.”
Ji Chenjiao: “…”
Ling Lie: “Are those people who hate and slander her blindly fanning the flames? Whether she was the one hurt isn’t important; what’s important is the act of hurting and instigating itself. Therefore, the arrow she reflects doesn’t need a target either. What makes her happy and crazy is the revenge itself. She is even excited by this uncertainty and aimlessness—I was the last one hurt, who’s turn is it next?“
Ji Chenjiao digested this for a moment. “Her psychological problems were never treated; they became even more severe.”
“Exactly. And through her study and treatment at Rongmei, she increasingly understands how to stimulate a person, leading that person toward…” Ling Lie paused, “Death.”
Such malice was suffocating. Three years ago, was Sun Jing drowned by malice? Perhaps the original her died back then, and what lived on was just a demon transformed by hatred.
Ji Chenjiao said, “But we still lack evidence.”
Ling Lie checked the time. “Ms. Xi will bring back clues soon. Then we’ll have grounds to apply for an arrest warrant and a search warrant.”
The task Xi Wan received from Ling Lie was to screen the patients on the list at their homes. Ling Lie had highlighted key individuals beforehand. They were all women whose work involved dealing with the public to some extent. However, there was one exception: a housewife named Pan Junshu.
Ling Lie had circled her last. Following the order, Xi Wan visited her last as well.
Pan Junshu’s home was in a famous wealthy villa district in Xiarong City. Her maiden family was wealthy to begin with, and the husband she married was even richer. Before marriage, she worked as an ordinary employee in her family’s company; after marriage, she became a full-time housewife. Her husband was a young talent, and their two children were obedient and cute. She didn’t have to do any housework at home; she just needed to accompany the children. Her daily routine consisted of shopping, gatherings, and learning. Outsiders thought she lived a fairy-tale life.
But this “fairy” was admitted to Rongmei at the beginning of this year. She only returned home after the incident at Rongmei occurred.
Xi Wan arrived at the villa, which was as luxurious as a European manor, yet the massive house contained only Pan Junshu. Even in her own home, she was dressed immaculately, with earrings, necklaces, and rings all in place.
Facing the police, she was somewhat at a loss, but the fact that Xi Wan was a woman reassured her slightly. Xi Wan chatted with her about what happened at Rongmei, and then about the reason she went there. She hesitated for a long time before speaking.
It turned out her life was like a fragile illusion; she was the unhappiest person in this house. She and her husband had once been in love. Because their families were of equal status, they married quickly. After marriage, she resigned from her job as a matter of course, becoming her husband’s appendage. With her support, her husband’s career flourished.
Soon, they had two lovely children. Just when she thought life would always be happy like this, she discovered her husband had another woman outside.
She had always had a personality like a dodder flower—clinging and weak. She never fought for anything and only knew how to cry. She begged her husband to change his mind, but in exchange, she got his utter brazenness. Their relationship existed in name only, but neither she nor her husband wanted a divorce. Her husband couldn’t lose the support of her family, and she didn’t want to be discovered as a failed woman who couldn’t keep her husband.
She pretended everything was like before, appearing as a couple with her husband at events where she was needed, patiently educating the two children, participating in wealthy wives’ activities, and even deliberately registering an account on a platform to post about her happy life every day.
Because it was fake, she wanted to make more people believe it was real.
But as the children grew up and gradually developed their own thoughts, they increasingly looked down on her, a mother who was useless except for being pretty. They were unwilling to talk to her. Even knowing their father was cheating, they were willing to stand on his side. Because the father was the strong one in this family.
Pan Junshu was in pain. Every day of her glamorous life was torture to her. She became increasingly sensitive and couldn’t stand any words questioning her marriage, regarding them all as offenses and curses. Slowly, the circle of wealthy wives drifted away from her; everyone knew what was going on with their family.
At the beginning of this year, Pan Junshu suffered an emotional breakdown and finally went crazy at home once. Her husband and her maiden family sent her to Rongmei together for hospitalization and treatment.
Pan Junshu was initially very resistant to treatment. Even the celebrity doctors of the North District couldn’t get her to open up. This was where the Rehabilitation Scholars came in. They were also once patients; their past and present were a living history of healing. If the Rehabilitation Scholar had charisma, it was easier to get close to the patient.
Pan Junshu’s Rehabilitation Scholar was none other than Sun Jing.
Ji Chenjiao looked at the list Ling Lie had marked, his gaze falling on Pan Junshu’s name. “She doesn’t seem to fit the conditions you just mentioned.”
“But I’ve seen her treatment records,” Ling Lie said with confidence. “Sun Jing was her first Rehabilitation Scholar. Before Sun Jing contacted her, she had an absolutely resistant attitude toward treatment. And there’s another point: her husband was unfaithful to her. This experience is similar to Sun Jing’s.”
Ji Chenjiao put down the list, his gaze toward Ling Lie deepening.
Recently, the Serious Crimes Unit had been overwhelmed with work, and everyone was overloaded. Ling Lie’s calmness and meticulousness appeared exceptionally rare at this time. Finding these clues that were difficult to spot seemed to be mere instinct for this clever cat.
Ling Lie noticed Ji Chenjiao’s gaze. His originally serious tone suddenly curled into a tease. “Xiao Ji, are your eyes glued to me?”
Ji Chenjiao coughed and retracted his gaze.
But Ling Lie was highly amused by this. He slipped in front of Ji Chenjiao and pinched his earlobe. Ji Chenjiao swatted at him, but he dodged quickly, then went to pinch it again. He was simply annoying to death.
Ji Chenjiao: “Acting like a proper human will get you sentenced, is that it?”
Ling Lie wandered around for a while, then ran back and grabbed a handful of Ji Chenjiao’s hair.
Ji Chenjiao had a headache. “If you won’t be a human, at least be a good cat.”
Mission “Bully Xiao Ji” accomplished for the day; Ling Lie laughed loudly and left.
Xi Wan asked, “Are you and Sun Jing friends? How did she lead you out of it initially?”
Pan Junshu seemed to rely heavily on Sun Jing. Upon mentioning Sun Jing’s name, the wariness in her eyes clearly diminished. She said that Sun Jing told her that her own husband had also cheated and used very dirty means to push the blame onto her. She was foolish at the time and only learned the truth after her reputation was ruined and she was divorced.
Sun Jing stood in a lower, more miserable position, which generated pity in Pan Junshu. Relying on this pity, she became Pan Junshu’s most important Rehabilitation Scholar. Later, a doctor replaced Sun Jing, as Sun Jing had many other patients to attend to, but in Pan Junshu’s heart, she was the most important one. Whenever there was a chance, she would actively seek out Sun Jing to chat.
Xi Wan realized that what Pan Junshu was about to say next was likely the key.
“What did you usually talk about?”
Pan Junshu recalled that she liked listening to Sun Jing talk about the process of receiving treatment back then. Sun Jing shared without reservation and even taught her some psychological knowledge. She confided in Sun Jing that she couldn’t walk out of her husband’s shadow, and Sun Jing comforted her, saying that day would come sooner or later.
Towards the end of her recount, Pan Junshu frowned, seeming somewhat uncomfortable.
Xi Wan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Pan Junshu’s forehead was sweating. “I… I really can’t move on. Don’t poke my sore spot anymore.”
Xi Wan’s mind quickly flashed through Pan Junshu’s treatment stages. Her biggest hurdle was her inability to remove the fig leaf of her unhappy marriage in front of outsiders. A sore spot? Did she mean this point? Who was poking Pan Junshu’s sore spot?
“Did Sun Jing repeatedly mention your husband’s betrayal to you?”
Pan Junshu’s shoulders stiffened, and the whites of her eyes turned red. That wasn’t the red of fragile weeping; it was long-accumulated hatred.
Xi Wan was somewhat taken aback. “Ms. Pan?”
Pan Junshu shed her frailty and became hysterical. “Why does every one of you want me to admit it? If I admit it, you can all laugh at me, right? I can’t divorce. If I lose my marriage, I have nothing!”
She was incoherent. Although Xi Wan didn’t know much about mental illness, she knew Pan Junshu needed medicine right now.
“Ms. Pan, calm down first. Where is your medicine?”
Pan Junshu stared at Xi Wan. “Sun… Sun Jing.”
Xi Wan could only play along. “Yes, I am Sun Jing. What’s wrong?”
Pan Junshu suddenly burst into tears, pointing at a drawer in the cupboard. “The medicine you gave me is there. Save me!”
Xi Wan was startled. Sun Jing gave Pan Junshu medicine? But Rehabilitation Scholars had absolutely no qualification to prescribe medicine!
There were many medicines in the drawer, but one bottle stood out because there were no labels for dosage or precautions on the bottle.
Xi Wan picked up this bottle. Pan Junshu took it with trembling hands, poured out many pills, and swallowed them all at once.
Xi Wan looked grim. This was not normal! This was absolutely not normal!
After taking the medicine, Pan Junshu didn’t improve; instead, she became even more hyperactive. She even grabbed a knife and tried to cut her thigh. Xi Wan noticed there were already many bloody scars on Pan Junshu’s leg. She immediately restrained her and took her back to the City Bureau.
After emergency treatment, Pan Junshu calmed down. All the medicine in her drawer was checked. Except for that unlabeled bottle, they were all prescribed by Rongmei doctors through normal channels. And that specific bottle contained the Lithium that Mou Ying had overdosed on.
Ling Lie took the medicine to Pan Junshu’s hospital bed and asked, “Who gave you this?”
Pan Junshu said, “It was Sun Jing. She said this could help me move on. She… she did it for my own good.”
After speaking, Pan Junshu looked toward the window. It seemed even she suddenly understood one thing—Sun Jing wasn’t really doing it for her good.
But why would Sun Jing do this? That was a question she couldn’t find an answer to no matter what.
Sun Jing illegally prescribed medicine to patients and was suspected of maliciously guiding them. When Ling Lie arrived at Sun Jing’s home again, he brought a search warrant.
Sun Jing’s state was like a heavily injured, dying beast. She hid in the corner, silently watching the criminal police enter her home, motionless, as if she were dead.
The Serious Crimes Unit found more than ten types of psychiatric drugs in her home. These drugs were all in unlabeled bottles and couldn’t have been bought in a pharmacy.
Ling Lie asked, “Where did these drugs come from?”
Sun Jing slowly lifted her eyelids. “Took them from Rongmei.”
“How did you take them? What were you using them for?”
“I’m sick too. Sometimes I need drugs to control it.”
“But you don’t need this much. If you really needed them, you could have gone through proper channels and asked a Rongmei doctor to prescribe them.”
Sun Jing was silent for a long time, then held out her hands. “Then arrest me. I stole Rongmei’s medicine. I’ll pay what I should pay, and serve the time I should serve.”
Xi Wan had already gone to Rongmei. Only then did Rongmei discover a loophole in their drug dispensing system, which made it convenient for Rehabilitation Scholars like Sun Jing to repeatedly take medicine privately, accumulating a large amount over time.
Sun Jing admitted to stealing the medicine and admitted to giving it to Pan Junshu, but the investigation hit a deadlock from there. Psychological induction is a very “metaphysical” thing. She refused to admit she had ever influenced Mou Ying, Chen Di, or Pan Junshu, and Pan Junshu’s chaotic expression couldn’t prove Sun Jing instigated her to commit a crime.
“I just enlightened them from my perspective. Junshu’s state was very similar to mine, so I gave her the medicine I thought was most useful. That’s all.”
The case became tricky. Ling Lie looked at Chen Di’s photo. “Why did you also fall into her web?”