SES Chapter 114 Part 1

Chapter 114

Luo Ren motioned for Mu Dai to get in the car, then tapped on the windshield for Yan Hongsha to come in too.

But Yan Hongsha must have thought they were about to drive Mu Dai to turn herself in, because she just cried harder and got even more stubborn.

Luo Ren didn’t bother persuading her. “Fine. Then keep lying there. We’ll talk business, and you don’t need to listen.”

When he finished, he shut all the doors and windows, then turned to Mu Dai. “I just thought of something…”

Talking tough was one thing, but being really left out was another. Yan Hongsha climbed off the hood, pressed her face against the windshield, and peered inside.

Luo Ren pretended not to notice.

Mu Dai waited for him to continue. Cao Yanhua looked out the window. “You’re really not letting my Hongsha girl in?”

Luo Ren said, “Let her stew a little.”

Yan Hongsha actually was panicking. Through the glass, it looked like they were seriously discussing something, maybe even voting, and she might miss the key vote. Even though it hurt her pride, she finally stomped over and pounded on the door: “Luo Ren! Luo Ren! Let me in!”

Luo Ren opened the door. “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming in?”

Yan Hongsha rolled her eyes and ignored everyone.

Luo Ren said, “Just now, something occurred to me. And I should thank Hongsha for reminding me.”

Caught off guard by the compliment, Yan Hongsha couldn’t keep sulking, though she had no idea what she’d said that set him off. “What did I say?”

“You said that from childhood till now, even with schizophrenia, Mu Dai has never actually done a bad thing.”

He turned to Mu Dai. “I still have reservations about Dr. He’s assessment. But if we assume what he said is true—that your three personalities all share the same goal, which is protecting you—then it makes sense.

“Little Pocket is soft and lovable, making people like you. Number Two might be stiff, but he always appeared at your most critical moments to save your life. Finally, Dr. He believes your core personality re-emerged because the other two fell out of balance, so it had to take charge. Whether good or bad, all three have been loyal, all trying to protect you.”

“If there really were a fourth personality—what has it ever done? No trace for all these years, only showing up that one night, just to push you toward death? That doesn’t add up. It doesn’t hold water at all.”

Yan Hongsha’s jaw dropped as she listened, then she kept nodding. “Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I was trying to say!”

Yi Wansan snorted. “You sure had a subtle way of saying it.”

Inside, Mu Dai felt a spark of hope. At this point, any reasonable doubt was something to cling to—even a shred of it was worth grasping with everything she had.

Luo Ren said, “You mentioned that the day you learned your mom had AIDS, you were extremely depressed and got home very late.”

Mu Dai didn’t know why he suddenly brought it up, but nodded. “Yes.”

“When you washed up, did you tie your hair back?”

“I did.”

“And when you went to bed, did you take it out?”

“No.”

That night, she’d been so weighed down she could barely manage to speak to Zheng Li.

“The next morning, was your hair still tied or was it loose?”

“Tied.”

Luo Ren thought for a moment. “I remember Song Tie describing your look. He said, ‘like a quiet schoolgirl, with long hair.’ That means when he saw you, your hair was down. The photo Wu Yuping saw also showed you with your hair down…”

He leaned in, removed her cap, and studied her.

“Hair up or down—it makes a difference.”

Cao Yanhua nodded. “Yeah. And it was nighttime, their first time meeting my little master. Recognizing that precisely is pretty suspicious.”

Luo Ren agreed.

Ma Chao and Song Tie could be explained—they had their reasons for remembering Mu Dai clearly. But Wu Yuping? She’d just happened to pass by on her bike, fallen, and glanced up at a girl on the bridge. Before seeing the photo, she hesitated, saying, ‘It was a bit far.’ But once she saw the picture, she recognized Mu Dai instantly.

Luo Ren’s face changed. “I need to make a call.”

He borrowed the police notes from Cao Yanhua and dialed Wu Yuping’s number on speaker.

Everyone held their breath.

She picked up quickly. “Hello?”

Luo Ren said, “It’s me, the one who visited you earlier. I need to confirm something. You said you fell off your bike, and while picking it up, you saw her on the bridge, right?”

“Yes.”

“As I understand it, you fell near the end of the bridge—basically already off it.”

“That’s right.”

“But the girl was on the bridge. Theoretically, you should’ve seen her while riding across, before falling. Not only afterward.”

The other end went quiet, then Wu Yuping hesitated. “I guess so. I wasn’t really paying attention before I fell.”

Luo Ren pressed her. “Not paying attention—or didn’t see her at all?”

Wu Yuping sounded unsure. “I… I don’t really remember.”

…

After hanging up, Luo Ren looked around. “Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”

He reminded them, “Doesn’t it feel like Mu Dai just appeared out of nowhere? Middle of the night, a girl standing on a bridge—you’d notice from a mile away. Yet Wu Yuping doesn’t remember.’”

Yi Wansan suddenly screeched, “Holy crap! Ma Chao, too! Same deal!”

He got so worked up that he could barely form words. “Remember what I said? Ma Chao got up to urge Zhang Tong to leave, but Zhang Tong stayed to take a leak…”