Not the Best Start Chapter 6

"May 27th, cloudy.

Those who commit erotic crimes are the lowest form of male animals. "

Ethan Shen's handwriting was very hard, and he paused after each word, as if each stroke was embedded in the paper. He sat at the table, recalling and writing, trying to write down his feelings in the most accurate language possible.

"...tearing sensations and dull pain, strong pressure on internal organs...accompanied by internal bleeding, no pleasure at all...purely a brutality accomplished by one person alone."

Ethan Shen had a set of notebooks, which were used to record the people who had been "predicted". Ethan Shen also had a very thick diary. The diary was almost like an encyclopedia of clinical medicine - that was Blake Pang's adjective. Of course, he had never described it that way to others. He couldn't let Ethan Shen know that he had read his diary - it was almost like a record of the suffering of Jesus.

Ethan Shen locked the diary in the cabinet, but Blake Pang could see it whenever he left before putting it in the cabinet. Every day, he would "steal" the "intelligence" in the diary in the manner of a special forces soldier to monitor Ethan Shen's physical condition. Ethan Shen was not honest with Blake Pang, but he was very honest with his diary.

He used as many words as possible to describe every detail so that he would not miss any symptoms of the disease to make a second judgment on the cause of death or illness.

Blake Pang thought secretly many times that if Ethan Shen was a doctor, he would definitely be the most efficient and powerful doctor. Of course, he might also be the shortest-lived doctor.

After Natalie Wang's case was closed, Ethan Shen took more than a week to recover -- not just his physical health. This time was quite short -- compared to what he had suffered before. After Blake Pang replaced the fifth bowl that Ethan Shen had broken, he finally saw him standing by the door one morning with a gloomy face and said, "Where's breakfast?"

"How's Jordan Wang's case going?" When Ethan Shen started to eat porridge, Blake Pang, who was staring at him, breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"We are still tracking the man who talked to Emily Shen. But that man is quite capable. After leaving the scene, the police have not found his whereabouts yet."

Ethan Shen frowned and put down his chopsticks. Blake Pang said, "There is news about the man who killed Emily Shen. A witness said he came ashore from the north side of the lake and entered the wetland. Captain Lucas is searching in that direction."

Ethan Shen asked: "What did Emily Shen exchange with others at that time?"

Before she died, Emily Shen met a man. That man was most likely someone she was willing to risk her life to see. Emily Shen, as Wu Busheng's wife, was unable to change the time and had to meet that man on that day and at that time. Perhaps the important thing was not the man, but the things they exchanged.

"A check." said Blake Pang.

Ethan Shen frowned. "A check?"

"A check for twelve million. From Citibank."

Ethan Shen frowned even more. Twelve million is not a lot of money for a woman with a gangster husband. It is not big enough for Emily Shen to pay the price of her life. Obviously, Blake Pang also thought of this, but he reminded Ethan Shen: "Do you remember what Emily Shen said when she left? If she doesn't believe you, she will probably leave for this money."

"Impossible." Ethan Shen said firmly, "People who hear about their bad luck will subconsciously seek good fortune and avoid danger. Even if they have to go out, they don't have to deliberately choose that path. As long as they avoid the places I indicate, it is equivalent to causing this prediction to deviate. Anyone who doesn't want to die will not choose the option of facing fear and doubt..."

Blake Pang knocked on the table in front of him and said, "Eat first, I'll go ask Captain Lucas later. Look how thin you have become."

Ethan Shen was still immersed in his thoughts when Blake Pang picked up the bowl in front of him and said, "Do you want me to feed you?" Ethan Shen quickly snatched the bowl and glared at him embarrassedly.

After Blake Pang left in the afternoon, Ethan Shen opened the drawer and took out a document. It was Jordan Wang who had given it to Blake Pang through Mason Yang, and then to Ethan Shen. This file recorded the details of Wu Busheng's case at that time. Ethan Shen turned the pages one by one, and replayed all the details that were almost firmly imprinted in his mind. The cross-provincial drug case that Wu Busheng was suspected of participating in attracted a lot of attention at the time, and the court trial process was also made public in the media. It was almost a foregone conclusion, but Wu Busheng quietly left the prison after a few years of imprisonment.

Only a few people knew that Wu Busheng had left prison. The media was gagged and did not report the incident, which caused public opinion. During this period, Ethan Shen, who was the main accuser of Wu Busheng's crimes and later also went to prison, did not get the information until a year later. After leaving prison, he was once glad that even if he fell into the current situation, Wu Busheng could not be considered to have escaped hell. However, Wu Busheng was released on parole two years ago.

Nine years ago, Wu Busheng and his gang killed 14 people involved in the crime and innocent people. After Ethan Shen joined the task force, he has been following them. He investigated the case with the former captain as a forensic doctor until Wu Busheng transferred to this province. The case was gradually transferred to the more capable Jordan Wang. As a member of the original task force, Ethan Shen was not allowed to continue to join the task force and could only submit all the previous evidence.

His evidence was very strong, some of which came from his investigation and some from what he "saw". Ethan Shen was relieved when Wu Busheng was brought to justice. However, in the second year after Wu Busheng entered prison, Ethan Shen was prosecuted.

The plaintiff was Wu Busheng’s adopted son, Wu Luanxu.

Only then did Ethan Shen realize that even though Wu Busheng was in prison, he still had the power to control the outside world, and Wu Luanxu was his gun to take revenge on Ethan Shen.

When Blake Pang came back, Ethan Shen was working on his new translation. He was wearing glasses and repeating some words that Blake Pang couldn't understand. There were messy papers on the side of the table. Blake Pang went up to him to tidy up the papers on his table, poured him a glass of water, and then sat down by the bed and said, "We haven't caught the murderer yet, but through the surveillance, we have simulated several similar faces. And the person who communicated with Emily Shen was wearing a hat, so he couldn't be clearly photographed."

Ethan Shen took a sip of water, leaned back in his chair, frowned and thought for a while. "What happened to Emily Shen before..."

"What?"

Ethan Shen organized his words and said, "Emily Shen mentioned it before during the consultation that they killed someone while playing chess and cards. Did Mason Yang and his team find out anything?"

Blake Pang slapped his head and said, "I almost forgot! Are you sure Emily Shen and the others killed that woman?"

"Her eyes were full of panic. When she mentioned that period, veins on her temples bulged and she sweated, and her body staggered. She was very worried that I knew something. The fact that she was willing to find me to ask about her future misfortune meant that she had some idea of   what would happen to her. She knew who I was - - - "Ethan Shen glanced at Blake Pang coldly, "She refused to tell me what happened to that woman, and tried her best to distance herself from her. You know more about Emily Shen's circle than I do. You can find out by checking the missing persons."

Blake Pang pondered for a while, then called Mason Yang. Ethan Shen turned around and continued to think. Did Emily Shen come to him to predict bad luck for this matter? If so, then the several people present at the time might be related to the case of Emily Shen's death.

Ethan Shen took out his notebook, turned to Emily Shen's record, and looked at the information recorded on it. "I... I was playing cards that day... Someone lost. It was the wife of my husband's apprentice... She was young and very unreasonable. We played a thousand... She overturned our table and cards on the spot, saying that she would kill us one by one. I, a... friend, dragged her out. I don't know what she did... Really!"

Ethan Shen's fingers tapped on the paper. Emily Shen was Wu Busheng's wife, and ordinary retaliation would not make her react so nervously. Ethan Shen got up and went to the living room, where he saw Blake Pang on the phone. He asked, "Mason Yang?"

Blake Pang nodded, then shook his head, indicating that the other party had no clue. Ethan Shen stretched out his hand, Blake Pang understood what he meant, and handed him the phone.

Ethan Shen took the phone, not sure who was on the other end, and said, "You were there when Emily Shen consulted me before the accident, and you heard what she said. The victim might be the wife of one of Wu Busheng's apprentices. You'd better check the men who were present when Emily Shen was playing cards."

After Ethan Shen finished speaking, he handed the phone back to Blake Pang and then walked into his room. Blake Pang called out "Hello" and heard Mason Yang, who seemed to have just reacted, say: "...Brother Hui? How did he know that person must be dead?"

Blake Pang smiled silently and said, "Don't forget his old profession. He is a forensic doctor and has worked in the police force."

After ending the call, Blake Pang walked into Ethan Shen's room again. "In fact, before Emily Shen was killed, Fei and his team had already found a female corpse."

"Madness?"

"...right."

"Disfigured face, no fingers?"

Blake Pang smiled bitterly: "How did you know?"

"If Mason Yang is still a special police officer, he should have paid attention to what Emily Shen said. He should have investigated the events before and after Emily Shen's murder. Since you told me about the female corpse, it means that Mason Yang believes that the corpse is related to Emily Shen. If they really killed someone, there are only two ways, one is to abandon the body, and the other is to hide it. Since the police found a body in a short period of time, but could not confirm whether it was related to Emily Shen's incident, the murderer must have chosen the first method, erasing its identifiable features and abandoning it in the wilderness."

Blake Pang felt a dull pain in his abdomen because of Ethan Shen's words "he is still a special police officer".

Ethan Shen looked at the translation on the computer screen, his fingers clacking at the keyboard, obviously multitasking. "Special agent Pang, isn't it time for you to prepare dinner?"

"...Oh..." Blake Pang thought he could still struggle and say something, but he found that Ethan Shen had said everything, so he turned around and left the room reluctantly. Before leaving, Ethan Shen added: "Once there is news, let me meet someone."

Blake Pang said "hmm". As long as Mason Yang found anyone who was present when the conflict occurred, Ethan Shen might be able to see something through this person's future. This was what Ethan Shen had done in the police force, and it was also part of Ethan Shen's work when he was trying to capture Wu Busheng.

Blake Pang sighed secretly and walked into the kitchen.

Ethan Shen translated two manuscripts in five days, and after delivering them, he did not take any more assignments. He and Blake Pang bought some furniture to fill the house, and also bought a coffee machine. Blake Pang was very opposed to this coffee machine, because it meant that Ethan Shen would start to rely on coffee to stay up late again.

Ethan Shen spent most of the money he received, looked at his savings, and did a little forecast before he finally settled down. Blake Pang was exhausted by the continuous events that had happened since the move, so he planned to take Ethan Shen to the hospital that weekend and then take a full day off.

Ethan Shen was lucky. The man he met this time did not have any major accidents in the next 72 hours, and no major incidents happened afterwards. It was just that he had some psychological problems and always felt that he would die in a car accident. After Ethan Shen received 150,000 yuan, he provided him with psychological counseling and received an extra 50,000 yuan in compensation.

Blake Pang thought it would be nice if Ethan Shen could only meet people like this. Or maybe he could just become a psychologist, that would be good too. However, as soon as this thought came up, he suppressed it. With Ethan Shen's ability to empathize, it would be very risky for him to become a psychologist. In his current state, at least he didn't want to commit suicide.

Asking Ethan Shen to see a psychiatrist was even more ridiculous. Ethan Shen's mental state was extremely bad after he was released from prison. Ethan Shen has refused to tell Blake Pang what happened to him in prison. In the first few years after he left prison, Blake Pang took him to see a lot of psychiatrists, most of whom shook their heads at him after the first meeting. A few of them wanted to challenge him, but they were speechless after being beaten by Ethan Shen.

Blake Pang still remembered that Ethan Shen had met the best psychiatrist they could find, and tried to introduce the topic through small talk, but Ethan Shen pressed him step by step. "What's your name?" "Did you go to the mall yesterday afternoon?" "Do you have a wife?"... Blake Pang sat next to him, and as Ethan Shen pressed him, he and the psychiatrist gradually broke into a cold sweat.

"Let's talk about you today, okay? You." the psychiatrist said firmly.

"How can I trust you if I don't know you?" Ethan Shen sat on the chair, one leg tucked up, the heel resting on the edge of the seat. He insisted on sitting on a hard stool or chair, not on the sofa. He held his tucked leg with both hands, and stared at the psychiatrist with his dark eyes through his hair.

Blake Pang, who was allowed to sit aside, was speechless. The experienced psychologist recovered and said, "Let's make a deal. I answer one question for you and you answer one question for me."

Blake Pang thought the psychiatrist was very smart. He said "answer" instead of "ask". In other words, as long as the psychiatrist answered more questions than Ethan Shen, Ethan Shen would have to fulfill his promise and answer even the questions he didn't want to answer. This was a good way to pry open the river clam of Ethan Shen. He and Blake Pang saw from the beginning that gradual softening would not work.

Ethan Shen was silent for a long time, as if he knew that he was being monitored by Blake Pang and could not leave without completing this task, so he answered "OK".

"So I've just answered five of your questions..."

"Zero. From the trade."

"...Okay, let's start over. What do you want to ask me?"

"I don't want to ask anything."

The psychiatrist was speechless. He was tricked by Ethan Shen. He was the one who set the rule, but Ethan Shen used it to block his mouth. The psychiatrist pondered for a while and felt the difficulty of the problem. However, his confidence rose again. It was rare for him to encounter such a difficult patient, and such a difficult patient meant a challenge to both IQ and EQ.

"Then... let me ask." The psychiatrist adjusted his sitting position. The questions could not be simple pediatric questions. Ethan Shen was a former criminal with a high IQ. He knew some of the little tricks of psychiatrists. Ordinary tricks could not be applied to him. "Can you tell me the most painful thing for you?"

Ethan Shen was silent, not saying a word. The psychiatrist and Blake Pang were waiting. However, he never answered.

"Did you hear my question?"

"I'm helping you."

Ethan Shen spoke slowly: "You didn't set a time limit for answering questions. I didn't say I wouldn't answer. I had enough time to remain silent."

Blake Pang clenched his fists, feeling that he had been fooled. Ethan Shen didn't want anyone to gain his trust. He didn't trust anyone at all.

"Well, let me ask the second question," the psychiatrist said, "You can remain silent, but these are questions that will not hurt you, and you can try to trust me. Before that, I want to add a rule that any answer from either party, as long as it is answered, must be honest and effective. Do you agree with this? If it is inconvenient for you, you can ask your friend to leave."

Blake Pang frowned but said nothing. Ethan Shen did not express his desire for Blake Pang to leave.

"I see that you have a very strong ability to empathize. When you see others in pain, do you feel the same physical pain yourself? Have you ever thought that even if you see what the other person is going through, it has nothing to do with you?"

Ethan Shen still stared at the psychologist coldly without saying a word.

The psychiatrist exhaled: "Do you keep in touch with your family?"

...

For the next five minutes, the psychologist asked almost all the questions one-sidedly, and Ethan Shen didn't say a word.

Blake Pang felt that Ethan Shen was a person who could drive all psychiatrists crazy. In the last five minutes of the appointment time, he finally saw Ethan Shen open his mouth: "Second question: Yes. Third question: No. Fifth question: Yes. Ninth question: Me. Tenth question: No..."

Blake Pang and the psychiatrist were both stunned. Ethan Shen answered eleven questions without pause, and each answer was short and simple, which was specially set by the psychiatrist to induce him to answer. However, when the psychiatrist was facing Ethan Shen's questions, due to his long silence, he did not record the questions after the fifth question. And Ethan Shen's intermittent answers and surprising answering methods also made him have no time to match the answers in his mind. When he saw the psychiatrist began to record Ethan Shen's answers in a hurry, Blake Pang knew that the matter was over again.

"I have answered eleven questions, and now I will start asking questions." Ethan Shen stared at the psychiatrist and said, "As a deal, you must answer these eleven questions. You can save them for next time, but I think you don't like to be in debt."

The psychiatrist opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"What were you doing at ten yesterday morning?"

"Meet the patient."

"What did you have for lunch?"

"...steak."

"Where did you go the day before yesterday?"

...

Ethan Shen's questions were unusually simple, and the psychologist gradually calmed down. He answered Ethan Shen's questions almost mechanically. These simple questions seemed like insignificant efforts that consumed Ethan Shen's "balance" bit by bit. But Blake Pang had already covered his eyes. Ethan Shen once again took the initiative, or rather, he controlled the rhythm from beginning to end.

"I've finished asking questions." Ethan Shen paused. "Eleven questions."

Then the vibrating alarm clock set by the psychiatrist for the appointment time rang. The alarm clock vibrated softly on the table.

Ethan Shen put his feet down, turned and walked towards Blake Pang, and the psychologist quickly stood up as well.

Blake Pang sighed and said, "I think we should cancel the next appointment."

The psychiatrist stood there, staring at Ethan Shen. He finally asked a question: "How can I gain your trust?"

Ethan Shen looked back at the psychologist, pointed at his ears and said, "Pay attention to your ears these two days."