Chapter 258: Chapter 258

"Finally figured it out?" When he talked about the case, he took on his clear-cut, cold and determined persona, no longer the clingy rogue that demanded kisses from her earlier.

"The person involved is Rosa, linked to you; the timeline is before the partner meeting, still connected to you; emotionally, you have already experienced the message conveyed when that person painted the clown face... The person, time, and emotion, already three related points, are enough to determine that Rosa’s car accident isn’t an isolated event but a related one."

Shi Nian stared at him: "What are you trying to say? You’re saying it’s related to me, which means that the clown smile was drawn for me to see?"

Tang Yanqing could only sigh quietly: "At least for the moment, it looks that way."

Shi Nian propped her hands against her temples, pacing around the room.

"Only after cracking the case and finding the real culprit can we know why from his mouth. This ’why’ is the bonus after defeating the BOSS."

Shi Nian took a deep breath: "Alright, I’ll try to crack it as soon as possible."

She calmed herself, her eyes under the light were as bright as the morning star: "Let’s temporarily set myself aside and return to the links in the case. You said Rosa’s case is also linked to the case we handled earlier, do you mean..."

She frowned, somewhat unwilling to continue.

Do you mean Rosa’s disappearance that year was like Nisha, becoming Tong’s wife at some point?

"Nothing’s impossible." Tang Yanqing suppressed a sigh: "Guan Liang has already retrieved Rosa’s childhood photos." He said this as he opened his phone’s photo album and pulled out the pictures: "Look, young Rosa completely fits the criteria for Tong’s wife."

Shi Nian took the phone for a closer look. Indeed, young Rosa had the same jet-black, shiny hair, clear yet shy eyes, and soft, delicate skin, like an oriental porcelain doll.

"Bastards!" Shi Nian couldn’t help but curse softly.

"Scumbags." He turned to look at her, his gaze deep and cold: "Calling them bastards is too kind to them."

Shi Nian stood up: "I’ll go find Mrs. Luo first thing tomorrow morning to talk. I’ll try to convince her to open up and tell us about what happened back then. If it’s proven that Rosa did have that kind of experience, then the cases can be investigated together."

Tang Yanqing slowly nodded.

Shi Nian walked to the door but stopped, hesitantly looking back at him.

"Do you think a person’s memory can really be erased deliberately? Rosa doesn’t remember what happened a year ago, and Mrs. Luo said she took Rosa to see a psychologist for three whole years."

She finally asked the critical point.

Tang Yanqing watched her expression closely, slowly saying: "No, a person’s memory cannot be erased. Everything that has happened in this world will leave a mark."

"What Rosa referred to as ’forgetting’ that year’s events was merely psychological guidance through therapy. For instance, if she subconsciously wanted them all to be just a nightmare, not something that really happened, then the therapist would use this subconscious to guide her into gradually treating real events as a nightmare, as if they never existed."

"Conversely, if in her subconscious she firmly believed those events truly happened and could face that memory, no psychologist, no matter how skilled, could make that memory disappear."

Shi Nian inhaled deeply: "Like hypnosis?"

Shi Nian nodded: "Huo Danru mentioned that patients with PTSD also selectively forget certain things. It’s the same logic as wishing it were a nightmare, an escape from reality, right?"

Tang Yanqing looked deeply into her eyes: "Right."

Shi Nian’s fingers tightened, then relaxed, around the doorknob. This was the classic [indecision].

She looked up at him: "And the person in my dreams, the reason he’s so elusive is that even I’m not sure if he truly exists. Or rather—my subconscious is avoiding him?"

Tang Yanqing took a deep breath: "Yes. While you’re so fond of him, you’re also subconsciously avoiding him, even hoping he isn’t real."

She looked at him helplessly, her face a bit pale.

He lowered his head, struggling to smile, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in the corner of his left ribcage.

"Because that person is directly linked to your nightmare, thinking of him naturally brings up that incident. In your subconscious, you hope that past is just a nightmare, not real; yet his existence prevents you from safely retreating into the illusion of unreality. So you subjectively miss him, even love him; but objectively your subconscious wants to run away from him."

Her face grew even paler: "Be more specific."

Tang Yanqing inhaled deeply: "Because he once...hurt you. And in your subconscious, you also fear that person might genuinely have been the one who kidnapped you."

Shi Nian forced a mechanical smile, raising her arm to wave: "Professor, I’m tired. Bye."

He gazed deeply at her, saying nothing, only watching as she fled the room, hurriedly escaping back to her room.

He closed his eyes tightly, raising his fist to slam against the wall.

This night was destined to be dark and long.

Tang Yanqing laid with his hands behind his head, waiting for sleep to come without success.

Four years ago, Shi Nian didn’t want to bring it up, and he didn’t want to revisit it himself. Those were ridiculous years for him, with restless anxiety beyond his abilities... If it hadn’t been for him, perhaps everything wouldn’t have unfolded that way.

Over these four years, whenever he couldn’t escape that past during the deep of night, he also forced himself to only look back from the moment he woke from that raging fire.

At that time, he opened his eyes and saw a snow-white expanse, saw the golden translucent sunlight, thinking he’d arrived in paradise. But the doctor’s stethoscope shattered his imagination—who would wear a stethoscope in paradise?

When reality returned to his mind, he paused with shock.

—What? How did he end up back in M Country?

He hurriedly searched Chinese news online, finding coverage of that case in Yun City—kidnapping, fire, isolated building... He confirmed the news he found matched the nightmare he’d just experienced; comparing the time reported and the current time, he realized he’d been in a coma for a whole two months!

Two months, two months is enough for many events to change, clues to disappear, people’s hearts to alter.

He went crazy, disregarding the doctor’s objections, bought a ticket, and flew back to China. He found Yun City Public Security Bureau, asking about the whereabouts of the police officer and his daughter.

The officer’s expression as he glanced at him, he still remembers vividly to this day.

It was a kind of indifference from the inside out, chilling him to his core.

"They’re dead, all dead. Old Shi died on the operating table during rescue, while his daughter had already died in the fire."

At that moment, he felt like the sky was falling, he grabbed the officer’s lapels: "Say that again? Who did you say died?"

The officer was also frightened by his presence, pulling out the household registration records to show him: "I’m not lying, see for yourself! They’re both dead, their records already canceled."

"You’re lying, I don’t believe you!" He swung a fist at the officer, wanting to shatter that bureaucratic coldness.

How could she be dead? He clearly told her to live well... to wait for him to find her. How could she have died?

Later, it was the Chinese side that notified his second uncle, Tang Mingxiang, who personally came to China and brought him back.

Uncle said that was the daughter of a Chinese police officer, and the police would not make a mistake. Since her registration information was canceled, that person was no longer in this world.

Uncle solemnly consoled him, saying several people died in that fire, later through DNA comparison it was confirmed it was that girl. Uncle said, although hard to accept, that is the cruel reality of criminal cases. Everyone wishes it wasn’t real but criminal acts happen for real around everyone’s lives every day.

On the plane he finally lifted his head wearily to Uncle, only repeatedly asking one question: "Wasn’t I supposed to be in China? How did I end up back in M Country? If I were still in China, I wouldn’t have lost her."

At those moments, Uncle would have a pained expression and seriously apologize: "Yanqing, you were gravely injured back then. The Chinese police knew you were my nephew, and they contacted me immediately. At the time, ensuring your safety was the top priority... Yanqing, I’m sorry."

Back in M Country, he spent two months like a living corpse. On one night he finally awoke from this daze, quietly got up, and wrote an application letter on his computer to join the police force.

That night he had a dream, dreaming that in the darkness, when he asked her what kind of boyfriend she liked.

She couldn’t be gone, he had to go on living in a way that she dreamed.

For her, to keep living.

According to the Chinese police, Shi Haoran, whom he saw as the primary suspect as the criminal, allegedly shouted openly that he wouldn’t rest unless Shi Haoran was dead, even if he were released from prison.

He couldn’t understand why he had returned to M Country. He lost her because he wasn’t in China to protect her.

Uncle Mingxiang had reassured him, emphasizing the accuracy of police records and the DNA tests that confirmed her death in that tragic incident. Despite the unbearable truth, crimes were a harsh reality.

After returning to M Country, two months passed like being a walking corpse. One night he dreamt again, this time about the darkness when he asked her what kind of boyfriend she liked. Read full story at NoveI★Fire.net

He realized he still had to live according to what she had once dreamed of.

To live on... for her.

The Chinese police had published information about the main suspect connected to the crime. It was a repeat offender who had a grudge against Shi Haoran and had openly threatened that if he didn’t die, he would surely finish off Shi Haoran once he was out of prison.

He dreamed of darkness that night, asking her what kind of boyfriend she liked. Waking up from the dream...

[Second update of the morning~~]