Inspired by Yan Su, Zhen Ai began summarizing the case they had just discussed:
"The host is too tall; only someone of equal height or slightly taller would think to strangle him from behind. Looking at it this way, among all the people, only the taller lawyer meets this condition.
The process of the crime is evident from the scene: he strangled the host, who struggled desperately but eventually gasped his last breath. The lawyer worried the host might not die, so he grabbed his head and slammed it against the corners of the table. However, there was no blood splattered on the lawyer, indicating he probably used the host's blanket to block it."
Yan Su's lips curled slightly: "What a coincidence, we think alike."
Hearing "what a coincidence" made her heart inexplicably race.
Zhen Ai pouted, shot him a glance, then returned her focus to her thoughts, instantly having doubts:
"But dear, although the crime scene of the host is different from the previous ones, there's still the possibility that the same murderer might display different traits and information across a series of cases."
Yan Su listened quietly, a glimmer of a smile in his eyes: "So?"
She counted on her fingers to explain:
"A: The lawyer is the murderer of the host.
B: The crime scene of the host's death has no similarities with the previous ones.
From this, we conclude C: The lawyer is not the murderer of the previous victims.
This reasoning is flawed."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, his pale complexion tinged with a hint of joy. There was nothing more enjoyable for him than hearing the woman he loved articulate thoughts on his favorite subject. It felt like serendipity, like a series of delightful coincidences that continually surprised him, each time proving effective.
"Typically, when people see similarities in murder scenes, they tend to jump to the conclusion that it's a serial killer; conversely, if there are no similarities, they assume it's not the same perpetrator. But that's a mistake. The presence or absence of similarities in murder scenes does not necessarily correlate with whether it's a serial killing."
She propped her chin on her hand, her dark eyes serious. "You see, if I were the murderer, I could premeditate and cleanly kill several people. But that doesn't guarantee that I would be just as composed if I suddenly decided to kill the host."
After she finished speaking, Yan Su's smile widened, looking quite pleased, and he added, "In logic, this commits the fallacy of irrelevant conclusion and hasty generalization."
He tilted his head to look at her: "This is also why I never considered these four cases as a serial murder but rather analyzed them individually. The previous cases cannot rule out the lawyer's suspicion."
Zhen Ai leaned beside him, feeling a surge of happiness upon hearing this. She truly admired his meticulous and professional nature. To her, only a man like him could be considered sexy.
What the actress said about "bad boys being more appealing to women" was such an illogical statement!
Unconsciously, she leaned closer to him, being careful not to bump against his injury, settling into a comfortable position before continuing the previous topic: "Let's analyze them together, one by one.
Starting with the doctor, in just a few seconds of darkness, the murderer killed the doctor and dragged him under the dining table while the nearby boxer and kindergarten teacher remained completely unaware. This is simply impossible!"
Yan Su smiled slightly at her words, propped himself up, and Zhen Ai quickly supported him: "What's wrong?"
"Just going along with you!" He sat back on the sofa, weakly leaning against the cushion, his eyes bright. "I'm the doctor; think about how I could be killed in just a few seconds without anyone knowing."
Thinking like the murderer?
Zhen Ai felt even more interested. But before she officially played the role of the murderer, she instinctively worried that Yan Su might be cold and specially covered him with a blanket. Yan Su blinked in surprise, then suddenly smiled inside.
Just a moment ago, she had been carefully covering his legs with the blanket and gently adjusting it around his neck, but in the next moment, she changed to a calm demeanor, instantly getting into character:
"If I wanted to kill you, it would be simple. I could wrap the surgical knife in a napkin and stab it into your heart. But,"
She squinted slightly, envisioning the scene in the restaurant. The doctor sat between the kindergarten teacher and the boxer, with a heavy wooden chair behind him occupied by a wax figure.
"But if you died, you would fall and crash into the chair and the wax figure, making a loud noise, and you might even hit someone nearby. So, how did I quietly kill you and drag you under the table?"
Zhen Ai furrowed her brow, utterly perplexed. She looked at Yan Su and suddenly hugged his shoulder: "Could it be that after killing you, I quickly embraced you like a princess?"
Yan Su's lips curved into a smile, holding back laughter.
Zhen Ai shot him a glare, playfully scolding him for not taking it seriously, but her mind continued to analyze seriously. Nestled against his head, she murmured to herself, "In the dark, I can't see where your heart is, so I'd have to measure it with my hands first."
As she spoke, her delicate fingers lightly crawled toward Yan Su's left chest, just touching without applying pressure due to his injury. But as Yan Su watched her pale fingertips lightly dance across his chest like a dragonfly, he suddenly felt the sharp pain in his heart fade away, replaced by an unbearable itch.
She truly was the best painkiller!
He lost focus for a moment, but her voice pulled him back: "Measuring your chest, such a strange action, why don't you scold me? Moreover, when I'm killing you, why don't you shout for help? Why don't you cry out in pain…"
Before she could finish her sentence, a flash of insight struck Zhen Ai, and she reflexively said:
"Because your mouth was covered."
Suddenly, the moment flashed back to when she had pulled the arrow from Yan Su's wound. He was in agony, his whole body tense, but she had blocked his mouth. Even if he made a muffled sound, it was forcefully absorbed by her deep kiss.
Zhen Ai froze, her eyes wide with shock: "The murderer was a woman!"
Only a woman could cover his mouth and keep him silent; only a woman could intimately touch his chest without him feeling repulsed.
Yan Su smiled gently at her, generously praising her: "Hmm, very good."
Zhen Ai was thrilled with her discovery, but when she thought of the next question, she was puzzled again: "But it's very difficult for a man to carry the doctor's body under the table without bumping into the wax figure and chairs in such a narrow space; for a woman, it would be even harder!"
Seeing her reach a dead end, Yan Su patted her head: "Ai, didn't you just say not to make assumptions?"
Not to make assumptions?
Zhen Ai stared at him, realizing the implication of his words… In an instant, she had an epiphany.
Because the murderer was a woman, this murder case became exceptionally simple.
She smiled, biting her lip: "I got it. Let's recreate the scene."
With that, she released him, jumped down from the sofa, crouched beside his legs, and looked up at him, serious yet excited.
He suddenly sensed trouble and wanted to stop her, but she was already speaking: "Killing you and dragging you down sounds so troublesome. Why not come find me under the table instead?"
She tilted her head, her tone lazy and slightly playful, with a hint of reproach. She was deeply immersed in the scene, as was he. Looking down at her sitting between his legs, he felt an overwhelming urge to slip off the sofa and kiss her.
At the same time, her soft, almost boneless hand slipped into his pant leg, gently moving up his thigh like an electric current.
Yan Su felt a jolt run through him, staring at her in shock.
But her dark eyes sparkled like grapes, her fair face innocent and pure, so beautiful that it was hard to look away. Her hand was clearly enticing him, yet her expression was serious, as if she were exploring.
The contrast between her actions and expression was a potent temptation.
Unaware of the effect she had, she seemed almost addicted, her delicate arm stretching further into his pants, intertwining with his leg, sliding past his knee, eager to go deeper.
Yan Su's face flushed; it felt as if his lower abdomen was on fire, a hot, restless tension building within him, desperate to be released.
But, oh, he truly enjoyed this intimate touch; in the constricted space of his pants, only her gentle caress on his leg was intimate yet private, mesmerizing him.
As he hesitated over whether to stop her from exploring further, her hand suddenly paused.
Zhen Ai had initially only intended a symbolic touch to demonstrate how the female killer lured the victim under the table, but as her hand slipped in, she felt his soft hair, the smooth warmth of his skin, and the defined muscles of his leg.
Inside his pants, it was warm; her delicate arm was pressed against his leg, so intimate!
She felt as if she were addicted, wanting to explore even further, wishing she could bury her entire arm in and hug him completely. But he was seated on the sofa, his legs bent, limiting her movements; she couldn't go any further.
Zhen Ai's heart raced. She steadied herself, looking at him to continue recreating the scene: "I'm below, giving you hints. So, you naturally came to join me under the table."
Yan Su stared at her, his heart pounding in silence.
She slowly withdrew her hand from his pant leg, knelt on the sofa, reached around to the back of his neck, and leaned closer to his lips:
"You come under the table to rendezvous with me. We kiss passionately and fervently; my hand explores your chest, and you wouldn't mind because it's an intimate caress." She was cautious of his injury, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder.
"But just as you're most relaxed, I stab the knife in your heart, and you can't make a sound—you die just like that."
Yan Su felt an inexplicable dryness in his mouth, biting his lips and subtly adjusting his breathing.
After Zhen Ai finished, she quickly released him, sitting up excitedly, her eyes gleaming with anticipation as if waiting for praise: "How was it? Was my thinking correct?"
Yan Su blinked, feeling a bit awkward. After a long pause, he coughed slightly, his voice dry: "Um, yes, very correct." He quickly composed himself and continued discussing with her, "The killer is a woman, but some women can be ruled out."
Even though he knew the killer was a woman, there were still four women present at the scene. How could they be excluded?
Zhen Ai sat on the sofa, hugging her legs, piecing together the situation again, recalling everyone's positions and the condition of the body…
After careful thought, she finally sorted it out:
"The doctor's body didn't show any odd or notable signs. If it were the actress, her heavy makeup and lipstick would surely leave marks on the doctor's lips, and we would have noticed that immediately."
At this point, she glanced up at Yan Su, who was encouraging her with his gaze to continue.
"Next, the maid sat at the very end of the table. If she crawled under the table to reach the doctor, that method would be too unsafe. She could easily bump into someone else's legs during the crawl, so it couldn't have been her."
"If the doctor went under the table, it was because he recognized her, and they had an intimate understanding. If it were the kindergarten teacher sitting beside him and wanting to kiss him, there would be no need to crawl under the table. That approach would seem abrupt and strange to the doctor; his surprise and reaction would take several seconds."
The case that once seemed impossible suddenly became simple.
"It could only be the model sitting diagonally across from him, the one without any makeup."