Imprisoned with a Wife (On the Psychology of Being F***ed) - Chapter 4
(My dears, given Professor Ji’s character, there’ll be some build-up first, the juicy parts will come in about ten chapters)
Fu Chaoyu. There were three people with this name online: a transparent blogger, a university professor, and a protagonist in a game.
Ji Lan didn’t think any of them were the person she was looking for.
According to her mother, this Fu Chaoyu was the reason Yan Rui was forced to be demoted and transferred, and it happened in 1997.
The case files from that year weren’t many. Ji Lan had previously worked as a police consultant and knew friends at the municipal bureau. In the afternoon, she specifically went over and was granted permission to stay in the archives for half an hour.
The archives were a bit dusty, but relatively neat. She found three or four file bags marked 1997.
Compared to other years, there weren’t many major or suspicious cases that year; most involved crimes of passion, or those motivated by love or money.
Two stood out: one was the Black Rose case, which involved the famous concert pianist Xue Ann, who was there for an exchange program at the time; the second was the December 15th home invasion, robbery, murder, and dismemberment case. The perpetrator was quickly apprehended, and the case was solved with remarkably high efficiency.
The two victims in the Black Rose case were investigated and ruled as suicides, which had nothing to do with what she wanted to investigate.
As for the second home invasion case, there were no real doubts. The victim and the perpetrator were both clearly identified. However, the record seemed overly simplistic, and the perpetrator died before being sentenced?
Zhang Haimin, suspect, male, forty-four years old. After a home invasion, robbery, murder, and dismemberment, he was apprehended at 4 AM on December 15th before he could escape. At 10:30 PM on the 18th, he died in the interrogation room of the East District Police Station. His carotid artery ruptured, and the cause of death was ruled as suicide.
Apprehended quickly, died quickly. Ji Lan quickly scanned the details: Lu Chaoyun, victim, female, twenty-three years old. Died in a rented apartment on the third floor of Huatian Community, Dongzhou Road. She was dismembered when found.
One stab wound to the upper left chest, piercing the lung. The body was missing its heart and one-third of its stomach. These organs were found in a pressure cooker in the rented apartment. The flesh from both br3asts and the inner thighs had been cleanly cut off with a fruit knife…
Her stomach suddenly cramped. Even just the forensic report was shocking enough. Ji Lan’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Pierced lung. The report didn’t list a fatal wound; death was due to multiple injuries leading to organ failure and excessive bleeding—death by dismemberment.
To die so cruelly in pain, such a criminal must have an antisocial personality, yet the interrogation transcript was incomplete, and it was clear the culprit was rambling incoherently.
The interrogation at the time was likely not smooth, and the suspect died quickly. She flipped through the case files of subsequent years, and indeed, Yan Rui’s name no longer appeared on the last page of the interrogation transcripts.
Her mother said Yan Rui was demoted and disciplined.
••••
Half an hour later, Ji Lan left the police station as agreed.
On the way, she kept thinking about this highly suspicious case. Something looked wrong, but she couldn’t find any key details.
Would an antisocial personality commit suicide in just three days, and while in police custody? Why was he only held at the police station? Was Yan Rui demoted just because of this incident? And what about Fu Chaoyu?
She also recalled Ji Wanyan repeatedly emphasizing not to disclose this matter. After much thought, she called her mentor, Ren Jingxi.
“Ji Lan?”
“Teacher, there’s something I’d like to ask you about.”
She gently caressed the steering wheel. She didn’t want to go against her mother’s instructions, but the life or death of that child had concerned her for years.
“Do you know someone named Fu Chaoyu?”
Ren Jingxi’s network and connections were far beyond her own. Ji Lan believed she would know something, and more importantly, she trusted her teacher implicitly.
Holding her breath, she waited for an answer. There was a long silence on the other end, then: “Ji Lan, don’t ask about this person. Don’t go asking others either. She has no connection to the child you’re looking for.”
“But in 1997, a suspect with an antisocial personality was arrested here in Licheng. I thought…”
“It yielded no results.”
Ren Jingxi was uncharacteristically tight-lipped. “That case yielded no results.”
“…”
Alright, her teacher didn’t want to say more, and her mom refused to help her ask Yan Rui more questions. Everyone was being evasive, avoiding the topic.
But the more they covered it up, the more curious she became.
If her teacher and her mom weren’t willing to disclose anything, it meant other participants in the case wouldn’t either. Who else could she ask?
Yan Rui, Ji Lan vaguely remembered, that Aunt Yan had a daughter.
••••
“This guy still has the nerve to appeal?”
Yan Jingyao flipped through the case file. The man’s photo alone exuded creepiness. “How did you even recruit this person?”
“I didn’t recruit him,” Jiang Ying handed her a hot cocoa. “I only handle lawyer recruitment. This person applied for a cleaning position; Old Zheng must have interviewed and approved him.”
“Right, men always find other men pleasing, don’t they?”
Yan Jingyao was furious. She pointed at the photo, complaining, “What was he thinking, looking like that? His eyes clearly show he has issues. Even if you wanted to hire a man, it didn’t have to be him.”
“Maybe he thought a man would be stronger for cleaning.”
“Does gender matter? The previous auntie kept the place very clean too. I’m saying the hiring was too careless.”
“He’s been here for half a year, not only tampering with the bathroom to secretly photograph the firm’s female private areas, but also sexually harassing Zou Yu when she was alone working overtime! If Jiang Xinyao hadn’t arrived quickly that night, who knows what would have happened!”
Yan Jingyao didn’t believe such a person had no criminal record. “It was entirely Old Zheng’s dereliction of duty back then, not properly checking the person’s background!”
Jiang Ying nodded, knowing she was angry. After a moment, she explained, “Actually, it’s not entirely Director Zheng’s fault. No one expected an ordinary cleaner to be a psychopath.”
“Hmph, let’s see how Old Zheng explains this to Jiang Xinyao now.”
Their law firm wasn’t large; it was mainly run as a partnership between Jiang Ying and herself. They had only seven or eight lawyers handling cases, most of whom were new to the industry, slowly gaining experience with smaller cases.
Among them, Zou Yu was considered more senior. By chance, she met Jiang Xinyao, and their relationship was extraordinary. Jiang was a typical *baifumei* (fair, rich, beautiful), and she had even invested in the law firm before the New Year.
“Miss Jiang hasn’t said much,” Jiang Ying lowered her voice slightly, leaning closer. “If the person really gets released, her intention is to handle it herself and send him to a mental hospital.”
“Fine, a castration package then.”
Yan Jingyao gnashed her teeth. Because of this incident, three lawyers who handled business had left the firm! Their “Eight Vajra” had instantly become five!
“The firm only has five lawyers, which isn’t enough staff. We can’t handle the business. We need to hire people quickly. Among your National Politics University graduates, whether they are undergraduates or masters, are there any good prospects?”
“Wait a minute,” Jiang Ying sighed, her head aching. “The main problem is that this incident was exposed online. Although we tried to suppress the heat, you know how it is. Those kids are timid and are too scared to come.”
Their firm wasn’t the only one; their scale was small, and ambitious individuals would naturally prefer larger firms.
They were relying on her and Jiang Ying’s connections to get by. She had just returned and hadn’t fully re-established her relationships, and now she had offended the investing Miss Jiang.
Yan Jingyao looked up at the sky, thinking about the ridiculously expensive imported fruit basket she had given Zou Yu, and almost cried. She decided to go embrace Pei Jinxi and Shen Jin’s sturdy legs tonight.
She would dance naked for them: “Daddies, throw me a bone!”
“Jiang Ying, the most urgent task is to mitigate the impact. I see many people on Weibo are still questioning us, and the narrative is starting to shift towards the law firm’s gender culture. We can’t do nothing.”
“The public relations statement has been issued, there’s a police report, and Director Zheng’s negligence has been disciplined. What else do you want to do?”
Their reaction speed was quite fast. Yan Jingyao thought for a moment, looked at Jiang Ying, and said, “How about this: we find another psychological authority to conduct psychological tests for everyone at the law firm, release the results, and promise that future hires will also be subject to the same testing requirements.”
“Okay, that’s a big show of sincerity. Who are you thinking of?”
“If it’s nearby, I’ll try to find someone at Li University.”
“Then I’ll try to appease Jiang Xinyao these next two days and see what the court’s attitude is towards the appeal.”
“OK.”