"For me?" Fang Yuan had never heard anything so ridiculous. "You killed Qin Yanping and Tao Bing'er, and left Xu Zhaodi in a vegetative state, and now you say it's for me?"
He Jianhui finished his last sip of coffee, stretched, and chuckled. "I did it for you. Think about it, if Qin Yanping hadn't died, what if she'd sleepwalked again and hurt you? Besides, her death could be considered a relief; it was her own will. You were at the scene, and I believe you saw it too. Qin Yanping completely committed suicide. I have nothing to do with it at all."
Fang Yuan didn't believe He Jianhui's words. If he could drive Xu Yan and Tang Tianyu insane, he could certainly use the blood jade's special properties to hypnotize Qin Yanping and make her commit suicide.
"Were you in our dorm when Qin Yanping died? And it was you who hypnotized her and made her commit suicide, right?"
"You can't understand it that way," He Jianhui said, looking displeased. "Hypnosis is just a method. No one can force someone to do something they don't want to do. All I did was help Qin Yanping gain a clearer understanding of herself. As for the path she chooses, it's entirely up to her. I simply helped her alleviate some of the pain."
Pain is actually a way humans protect themselves. It's because of pain that humans learn to cherish their bodies. He Jianhui not only induced Qin Yanping to commit suicide, but also hypnotized her, rendering her nervous system insensitive to pain and hastening her death. Otherwise, how could the pampered Qin Yanping endure such a painful act of slitting her wrists, which would have lasted so long?
"What about Tao Bing'er? Even though her father said no one entered the villa, you could easily have hypnotized her outside the villa, making her go inside and then commit suicide, right? You installed a bug in our dormitory, so of course you knew Tao Bing'er had left and gone home. Since she was gone, why didn't you let her go?"
He Jianhui was very dissatisfied with Fang Yuan's attitude and began to get irritated. "How many times do I have to tell you before you understand? I didn't murder them. I was simply helping them understand themselves. The laws of nature are survival of the fittest, the strong preying on the weak. They are so weak, they can't even... If they can't even handle the slightest setback, who can they blame? All resources on Earth are limited. Instead of wasting them on them, it's better to save them for others. Besides, I'm helping them understand their inner selves for their own good. This world is full of disguises and fierce competition. Only by clearly understanding and knowing oneself can one become strong and prevail. If there's anyone to blame, blame them for being too fragile, afraid to face themselves, afraid to face this complex and cruel competitive world.
He Jianhui's words indirectly acknowledged his own faults for Qin Yanping and Tao Bing'er's deaths. Xu Zhaodi's transformation into a vegetative state was certainly his own doing. Fang Yuan knew it was futile to reason with someone like He Jianhui. His values and worldview had become distorted. In modern society, the more material prosperity there is, the more fragile people become. He Jianhui claimed to be helping the girls in Dormitory 441 understand themselves, but he himself had lost himself. He was weary of everything else, but obsessed with studying other people's minds, especially their fears.
On the night Tao Bing'er summoned the spirit of the pen, Qin Yanping's computer inexplicably played a song repeatedly. This must have been caused by He Jianhui's hacking program. He was a computer whiz and ran a small computer company.
"Did you collude with our dormitory administrator, Sister Zhang? It's because of Sister Zhang's help that you can come and go freely, right?"
"Yes. Do you know what this woman loves most? Money. She has no man to rely on, and as she gets older, her desire for money grows stronger. She'll do anything for money."
Fang Yuan regretted it. "Actually, I should have suspected her long ago. She's the only one who wasn't in our dormitory, yet she was able to come and go freely. But these things were so bizarre that I couldn't help but speculate about ghosts and overlooked her existence."
If she had started with Sister Zhang sooner, had uncovered the truth sooner, Qin Yanping, Tao Bing'er, and the others wouldn't have died, and Xu Zhaodi wouldn't have become a vegetative state. She still had some questions, like how He Jianhui hypnotized people, what the blood jade actually looked like, and how powerful it was. But none of that mattered anymore. What had happened couldn't be changed. Now, she needed to consider what she should do.
He Jianhui was right about one thing: he did all this for Fang Yuan. In his darkroom, he'd developed so many photos of Fang Yuan that even a fool could see that He Jianhui was studying her, his obsession with her reaching an obsessive level. People are born with all sorts of desires: some like money, some like power, some like sex, some like alcohol and tobacco, some like literature, some like art, and so on. But these are relatively common desires, within the acceptable and understandable range of human society. Some desires, though limited to a minority, can cause immense harm. Take, for example, cults that control others' minds, serial killers obsessed with killing, and violent individuals who enjoy abusing others. He Jianhui's desires were also rather peculiar. He enjoyed studying the minds of others, prying into their privacy, inducing threats, and testing the strength of their will. It felt as if he were a scientist conducting cutting-edge experiments, and these women were his guinea pigs.
It was already past midnight, and a wave of fatigue washed over Fang Yuan. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she suddenly felt sleepy.
He Jianhui was still smiling, but his smile was beginning to fade. His eyes shone with a strange light. His lips moved slightly, as if he were singing an ancient nursery rhyme. The melodious rhyme transported Fang Yuan back to the innocence of her childhood, her thoughts as simple and clear as a single line. She seemed to be bathed in a soft, rosy glow, her consciousness growing increasingly hazy—she was about to fall asleep.
Just as Fang Yuan was about to fall asleep, the door suddenly slammed against the wall with a loud bang, startling her awake. She was suddenly startled, realizing she had unknowingly fallen for He Jianhui's trick and nearly fallen prey to his hypnosis.
He Jianhui's face was pale, and he looked exhausted. The loud noise had shattered his concentrated mental energy, leaving him mentally damaged.
Standing at the gate was a figure in a black windbreaker, with a gaunt face and blue eyes. It was the previously deceased Xiao Jing.
Xiao Jing wasn't dead?
How had he suddenly arrived here?
The black cat, excited at the sight of Xiao Jing, meowed non-stop, looking very proud, as if taking credit.
Fang Yuan was stunned, but He Jianhui, seemingly prepared, said, "I knew you'd come. Why come at this time, any other time?"
Xiao Jing's expression was expressionless. "You knew I wasn't dead?"
He Jianhui smiled bitterly. "It's a shame I found out a little too late. I just figured out how Fang Yuan found her here. I guess you were the one who ordered it."
Just now, He Jianhui suddenly realized that Xiao Jing might not be dead, and that Fang Yuan's finding his place might be a setup. While Fang Yuan relaxed her guard and pondered, he tried to urge her on.
"I asked the black cat to bring her here."
"Black cat?" He Jianhui looked at the black cat, a little unconvinced. "Is it so intelligent that it understood you and brought Fang Yuan here?"
The black cat seemed to know that He Jianhui was doubting its intelligence. It glared at him with its cat-like eyes, its fur bristling, and an expression of anger.
He Jianhui finally believed it. "This black cat is indeed quite interesting."
Xiao Jing coughed a few times; it was too cold outside, and he seemed to be physically unable to bear it.
"Are you feeling alright? Don't catch a cold. But I'm sorry, I don't welcome you. Please leave," He Jianhui said to Xiao Jing with a stern face.
Xiao Jing shook her head. "At this point, you still won't give up?"
He Jianhui's eyes widened, seemingly surprised. "Give up? What do you mean by giving up? All I know is, this is my home. If you're trespassing, I can call the police anytime."
"No need. I happen to have a police officer with me." Xiao Jing shifted, making way for the man hiding behind him, a solemn-looking man in his thirties.
"I forgot to introduce him. His name is Wei Tianqiang, and he's also my classmate. He's currently a forensic pathologist at the Nanjiang City Public Security Bureau."
"He's just a forensic pathologist," He Jianhui said with disdain.
"You're wrong. I sought his help because of his forensic expertise. Ordinary police wouldn't believe this, and ordinary doctors can't punish you. Wei Tianqiang has another profession: a psychologist. The legal community will believe his testimony. Besides, we have another witness: your accomplice, Sister Zhang."
"Really?" He Jianhui glanced coldly at Xiao Jing and Wei Tianqiang. "If I wanted to leave, could you two stop me?"
Xiao Jing was stunned, secretly cursing. She hadn't anticipated He Jianhui's desperate escape. He Jianhui was right. He exercised regularly and was in good health, while Xiao Jing was terminally ill. Wei Tianqiang couldn't subdue him on his own.
"The police will be here soon. You can't escape," Xiao Jing insisted.
"Run? Why would I run?" He Jianhui combed his hair in front of the mirror, completely unconcerned. "What are you accusing me of? Murder? What a joke! Do you have evidence? Can you bring me down with just your one-sided story? I want to see how this game ends."
He Jianhui didn't care about Xiao Jing and the others. He cared about his image in Fang Yuan's eyes.
"Fang Yuan, it's good that you know all this. Sooner or later, I'll confront you. These people won't understand me, but you can, right?"
Fang Yuan felt sick. A man so elegant could do such a despicable thing. "I never want to see you again in my life."
"Don't say that. It hurts me. Believe me, you'll understand me one day." He Jianhui was full of confidence.
Ten minutes later, the police arrived. After greeting Wei Tianqiang, they handcuffed He Jianhui and took him away.
Before leaving, He Jianhui smiled at Fang Yuan, his smile was very sweet, "Don't worry, I'm fine, I will come back to find you. Remember, you must wait for me.