Chapter 285: If He Escapes, I’ll Admit Defeat!

“And then?”

Hearing Jiang Xin’s words, Xiao Yu showed no surprise. He had already guessed most of it.  

“H-He’s a perfectionist, and… a bit twisted.” Jiang Xin continued trembling, as if recalling something horrifying. She hugged her arms tightly, her face pale as she looked down. “I still remember when I first joined the clinic. Dr. Liu’s girlfriend was there too. She was also an intern at the time.”  

“Girlfriend?” Xiao Yu recalled Jiang Xin mentioning it before.  

The perfectionist she spoke of—didn’t he personally craft his girlfriend into a perfect partner?  

But this so-called perfect girlfriend later developed a mental illness and eventually committed suicide.

“I suspect Dr. Liu’s girlfriend’s death might not have been suicide.” Jiang Xin’s trembling voice was laced with fear. “At the funeral, I saw her body with my own eyes. Her face… even in death, she looked happy, joyful, even relieved. That kind of expression. It was so complex, it sent chills down my spine. The scariest thing was… Dr. Liu had the same expression at the time. Happy, joyful, relieved.”  

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yu suppressed the chill that crept up his spine.  

Now the question arose—how was it done? 

How could someone maintain such an expression even in death?  

The first victim had the same expression. The second victim as well. Now Jiang Xin had revealed a third case, and once again, the same eerie expression appeared on the face of the deceased.  

Isn’t that strange?  

Suddenly, Xiao Yu thought of one word: perfect.

Why this word?

What is perfection?  

Flawlessness. 

And how many people can truly achieve perfection?  

Virtually no one.  

Yet this situation had occurred three times. Even Xiao Yu couldn’t figure out how it was accomplished. But somehow, one person had done it.  

‘Is this his idea of perfection?’

To put it nicely, it was a demonstration of ability. To put it crudely, it was just showing off.  

Showing off—this stems from humanity’s deepest desire for dignity.  

Showing off—it reflects humanity’s dissatisfaction with reality and their fantasy of something better.  

Showing off—it’s humanity’s inherent right to aspire to beauty.  

Wasn’t presenting one’s perfection to others the ultimate act of showing off?  

“What else do you know?”  

Snapping out of his thoughts, Xiao Yu looked at Jiang Xin.  

“There’s nothing more,” Jiang Xin shook her head.  

“Then what are you so afraid of?” Xiao Yu pressed, cutting to the heart of the matter.  

“In the past, I suspected that Dr. Liu’s girlfriend’s death was connected to him,” Jiang Xin finally voiced her inner thoughts and continued, “And now Xiao Xue is dead too. I’m so worried.”  

‘Your worries aren’t misplaced,’ Xiao Yu had his answer.  

***

Exiting the interrogation room, Xiao Yu issued the order, “Apprehend Liu Yunwei.”  

Soon, the P City police sent back a report. The suspect, Liu Yunwei, had not appeared in P City.  

Xiao Yu sneered.  

The Criminal Investigation Division began investigating Liu Yunwei’s movements. Records showed that Liu Yunwei had indeed booked a flight to P City two days prior using his ID card. However, he never boarded the plane.  

Airport surveillance confirmed that Liu Yunwei went to the airport but left before boarding, disappearing without a trace.  

***

Xiao Yu unlocked a residential door with a click and stepped inside.  

It was a three-bedroom apartment with an elegantly designed interior. It was likely worth a significant sum just for the renovations.  

There was nothing surprising about that.  

The investigation revealed that Liu Yunwei had always been an overachiever. From being fast-tracked into a prestigious university to completing a combined bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate program, his academic path was remarkable.  

While others might take six to eight years to earn a medical license, Liu Yunwei obtained his in just four. 

At 22, he became a medical intern. By 23, his excellent skills had earned him titles such as resident doctor and senior physician.  

In just three years, he was promoted to attending physician.  

A 26-year-old attending physician at a top-tier hospital?  

Most medical students at that age hadn’t even earned their licenses yet. But at 26, Liu Yunwei left the high-paying job at the hospital and started his own private psychological counseling clinic. In four years, he had accumulated personal assets exceeding three million yuan.  

Being a doctor was far more lucrative than most imagined.  

Xiao Yu glanced around the suspect’s living room. Finding nothing suspicious, he walked toward the other rooms.  

There were three rooms: a master bedroom, a guest room, and…  

Xiao Yu’s gaze turned icy as he examined the third room. Inside were two rows of clothing racks filled with garments. One rack held dozens of men’s suits. The other rack was filled entirely with women’s clothing.  

A large question mark flashed through Xiao Yu’s mind. It was unexpected.  

His gaze shifted from the racks to a vanity table covered with an assortment of cosmetics. Both men’s and women’s products were present.  

Thinking for a moment, Xiao Yu walked over to the women’s clothing rack and picked up an outfit at random.  

Xiao Yu sneered.  

The clothes were all large-sized, suitable for women over 1.7 meters tall. If a petite woman wore them, it would look like she was draped in a robe.

Recalling the surveillance footage from a bar, Xiao Yu thought of the tall woman seen in the recordings. His expression turned complicated, as though he had seen a ghost. A man disguised as a woman—and he, with his experience in two lifetimes of criminal investigation, hadn’t noticed?  

How could that be?

‘Oh, right. He’s a perfectionist. Of course. Even in disguise, he’d aim for absolute perfection, wouldn’t he?’

Xiao Yu thought of the victim Jiang Xiuran, who had visited the bar three times. Each time, that tall woman had shown up beforehand.  

A lifetime of hunting geese, only to have one peck out his eyes… That was how Xiao Yu felt at this moment.  

No wonder something felt off the first time he saw that “woman.” Because it wasn’t a woman at all.

Shaking his head, he activated the Monarch Butterfly’s sense of smell. A peculiar scent entered his nostrils and was firmly etched in Xiao Yu’s memory. However, the scent was no longer very strong, indicating that the suspect hadn’t been home for several days.

He hadn’t gone to City P yet. Could it mean he was still hiding in Bencheng?

Xiao Yu turned and walked out of the room, heading for the front door.

‘As long as you’re still in Bencheng… if you manage to escape, I’ll admit defeat.’