As Xu Binchen said, one week later, he came straightforwardly through the hospital's main door way before the visiting hour. Hell, the sun hadn't even fully risen yet, but he had come and brought with him the chilly wind of spring morning.
The receptionist was close to bursting into tears from his continuous terrorizing. In the end, they had to call Doctor Chun who was unfortunate enough to enjoy his day off with his family. Cursing ten thousand times, Doctor Chun had to drag himself off the bed and drove to the hospital at four thirty in the morning.
When he saw Xu Binchen's face which was sourer than his own, he really wanted to forget his occupation and bash this detective's head to the wall!
Who gave you the right to be displeased when you are the annoying one?!
"Doctor Chun." When Xu Binchen noticed his arrival, he even had the audacity to sneer, his words dripping in sarcasm. "I thought that doctors should be on standby around the clock in the hospital. My apology to disturb your beauty sleep."
Chun Liang stopped on his track, closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep, deep breath. After he was sure that he could pull off a smile, only then did he open his eyes and walked toward the man who was slouching in the desolate waiting hall.
"Sorry for making you wait, Detective Xu. It's my fault for not considering whether someone will come sitting here when no patient has awakened yet."
Xu Binchen: "…"
Doctor Chun: "…"
If stare could stab, maybe the both of them would be laying down with bodies full of holes right now.
In the end, it was Xu Binchen who averted his gaze first. "The patient hasn't woken up yet?"
Doctor Chun smiled amicably. "What do you think?"
Sparks flew in the silent waiting hall in the lobby of the hospital. The nurses stared at them cautiously, scared that the brute detective would snap and choke Doctor Chun to death. Even though when he first came, all the nurses blushed and couldn't resist wanting to get close to him, but after tasting his rude behavior and aloof demeanor for a few times, no one dared to try him anymore.
Xu Binchen stared at Doctor Chun for a moment. That kind of piercing stare could make one collapse psychologically and it had been proved to be able to make a criminal confess his crime as Xu Binchen stared at him for an hour without speaking, but Doctor Chun met his eyes head on.
"Okay." He grunted and kneaded the space between his eyebrows. "Then I will wait here."
Doctor Chun scrutinized him for a while. Wrinkled shirt, bluish eye bags, unshaved stubble, messy hair, he looked like he had been drinking for 36 hours straight and proceeded to work without rest. All in all, he looked more terrifying and irritating than when he was dressed neatly before.
Doctor Chun became softhearted, and he couldn't resist asking. "When did you last sleep?"
The man drawled sluggishly as if speaking stressed a lot of effort. "Not sure. Maybe three days, four days?"
"There still haven't been any new leads?"
"No. No news is good news. That means that there are no new victims." After thinking for a while, he added. "Yet. But we can't guarantee that he will not take action in the near time. After all, the critical three months period has passed, and that bastard must have been so excited that the police hadn't caught on to his stinky scent."
Doctor Chun sighed. "That's worrying indeed."
"Right, that's why I need to speak with the only witness as soon as possible."
"Sure." After he thought that Doctor Chun had finally relented, the elderly man raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. "Please wait for three more hours."
Then, he sauntered past lightly, his steps light and he even hummed a tone.
Xu Binchen: "…"
Fortunately, he didn't have a bad temper.
***
Shi Nian's first impression of Xu Binchen was; this uncle, he looked very similar to the landlord who came to demand her house rent every month. Could it be that landlord's son? Did he come here because the rent was due soon?
Thus, when Doctor Chun said, "Shi Nian, this is Detective Xu, he has been wanting to talk to you." She put on a genuinely surprised expression. She didn't mean offense, just that…she was taken aback that such a sour face uncle was a detective.
A debt-collector-faced uncle detective…
Shi Nian gulped, deciding to bring this first impression to her grave.
Xu Binchen hummed and took out his name card. "I am Xu Binchen, nice to meet you."
Shi Nian lowered her head and read the simple string of words on that black and white name card;
Xu Binchen
Special Crime Investigation Unit
Metropolitan Police Department
Then, he proceeded to take out his police badge and flashed it for a split second. Before Shi Nian could satisfy her curiosity to take a look at a real police badge, he had put it back to his pocket. Shi Nian sighed in pity and smiled politely.
For one week, she had been exercising regularly and diligently without fail. Thus, she could already walk around just fine. Writing wasn't a problem too. The hospital gave her a small board which she could write on easily.
"Do you know what I want to talk about?"
Shi Nian nodded and wrote hastily. Because it had been quite long since she wrote and she still hadn't got used to the board, her writing was a bit messy and scrawny. [Doctor Chun told me before…]
Xu Binchen squinted his eyes as if he was trying hard to read her writing which made her blush in embarrassment.
Doctor Chun cleared his throat from the side and helped her explain. "I told her briefly. But not so concisely, I thought that it is the police's job."
Xu Binchen gave him a cold glance which made Shi Nian stared wide-eyed.
In front of her flabbergasted look, Xu Binchen decided to be the magnanimous one. "Your mother submitted the missing person form to the police in October after she lost contact with you for two days. On 23rd December, you were found buried under the landslide by local villagers and admitted to the emergency room. Your identity was verified soon to be one of the kidnapped victims of a mass serial killer. "
Shi Nian lowered her head, listening attentively.
Xu Binchen got to the point. "Can you tell me what happened during that three months' time?"
Her fingers twitched, and she wrote. [I don't remember.]
"I told you she doesn't remember." Doctor Chun sighed.
Xu Binchen ignored him and pressed, "Then, do you remember who you are?"
Shi Nian nodded. [My name is Shi Nian, 16 years old. Second Year Class 1 in Tangzhe High School. I live with my mom, Qiang Fei, we rent a house in the suburbs of City A.]
"What was the last thing you remembered?"
She hesitated for a moment. [I worked in a late shift in the convenience store. It was 2 am in the morning and I was getting ready to leave. And then…I don't remember anymore.]
Xu Binchen narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her deeply. Shi Nian met his gaze for only two seconds before looking away. She fidgeted nervously in her seat and wrote with fervor. [I am telling the truth, uncle detective…I am not lying!]
Xu Binchen: "…"
Doctor Chun: "Pfft."
The corner of Xu Binchen's lips twitched. "…I am only twenty four." Calling her uncle was a bit…Okay, he knew that for a sixteen years old girl, he was a middle-aged man already. He sighed and waved his hand. "Whatever, that is also fine."
"You heard her," Doctor Chun spread his hands helplessly. "It's not that we don't want to help, but we are already doing our best. Time is what we need the most."
"Well," He muttered under his breath. "And time is what I have the least."
"The hospital has applied psychotherapy sessions for Shi Nian." Doctor Chun smiled. "Hopefully it will help her recover faster. But still, don't force yourself okay?" The last sentence was directed to Shi Nian which she answered with a slight nod. "It should be very hard already to escape, yet you are forced to remember again." Sighing, he shook his head.
Shi Nian hastily replied. [It's okay, I don't mind.]
She too, didn't expect that she would be the only witness for the wanted mass serial killer who had already killed 11 people in the last year. All the victims were murdered viciously, their bodies were riddled in cuts, mutilated and then sent to public places to create havoc and panic among people.
Before she went missing, Shi Nian also heard about the mass serial killer on TV, which was reported to be hiding in City A as per his latest victim.
At that time, her mother had been out of reach because she was working overseas and the time zone wasn't convenient for them to communicate frequently. Shi Nian didn't mind, she had already been an independent girl ever since she was small.
Just that, she didn't expect herself to be one of the victims, and furthermore, one that escaped successfully. No, half successful. In the middle of running, she fell down a slope and coincidentally, there was a landslide in that area, thus she was buried alive.
If not for the villagers nearby to notice her, she would have been dead already.
She was diagnosed brain-dead after surgery concluded, and then many hospitals refused to treat her because her condition wasn't optimistic. The probability of her waking up was less than fifteen percent.
Qiang Fei had been running to and fro to search for a doctor and then chanced upon Doctor Chun Liang, a neurology specialist who was willing to treat Shi Nian. But still, the cost for such a large hospital wasn't small and even if the government covered half of it, it was still a taxing amount, far exceeding what an ordinary single parent could afford. Thus, Qiang Fei had no choice but to leave her daughter in Doctor Chun's hands and left to work day and night overseas.
Maybe that's why Doctor Chun felt more protective toward her. He had already regarded Shi Nian as his half daughter. Adding to the fact that she was the only clue that the police hounded around, he was akin to a possessive mother hen, scared that his chick would be hurt by others.
[What can I do to help you, uncle?] Shi Nian felt slightly guilty seeing Xu Binchen's blackened face.
"You can do nothing except to remember." He deadpanned.
Shi Nian's eyes widened slightly. Did…uncle detective just roll his eyes at her?