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墨書 Inktalez
Tian entered the room, only to find us all in the office. He paused for a moment, then looked at Ah Huang.
Ah Huang nodded at him and said, "It's fine. There are no outsiders here."
Tian glanced at Old Zhao, and I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. If Old Zhao wasn't an outsider, then who was? I guessed Tian was pondering the same question.
Tian took a piece of paper and said, "I just called the hospital's medical office and billing department. Here's what I found: Liu Qi went to the hospital for an examination three months ago, and he registered under Professor Qin's name. Three days later, he saw Professor Qin again for psychological treatment, and then the first missing person's case occurred a week later."
He looked at us and continued, "I also found out about the second missing case, which happened two days after Liu Qi received psychological treatment. The most recent one occurred three days after Liu Qi went to the hospital."
"Can we find out what kind of treatment he received?"
"Not yet; we need to wait for the billing department to check because it was a handwritten prescription, and we need to locate the original documents. However, I left my number with them, and they'll call me with any results." Tian stood straight and asked, "Captain, do you have any other matters?"
"Good work; it's quite detailed. You go bring the car down; we're heading to the hospital," Ah Huang instructed.
"Understood!" Tian didn't ask anything further and turned to head downstairs.
I looked at Ah Huang and asked, "What are your thoughts now?"
"It's worth investigating," Ah Huang replied immediately. "We shouldn't delay; let's go together and discuss the details in the car."
"Okay!" I perked up instantly and grabbed Old Zhao to head downstairs.
"You two wait for me in the vehicle; I'm going to change into plain clothes," Ah Huang called out from behind.
On our way to the hospital, Tian was driving while Ah Huang sat in the passenger seat. "Later, Tian and I will investigate Professor Qin on the outside. You and Zhao—Master Zhao—just follow what we discussed earlier and try to get some background on Professor Qin at the Psychiatric Clinic."
"I'm fine with that; I'll rely on Lao Zhao."
"Don't call me Lao Zhao; just call me Lao Zhao!" Old Zhao clearly didn't like being referred to as old.
"Alright then, Lao Zhao, what are your plans?"
"Plan?" I shot a glance at Lao Zhao. "Register and see the doctor!"
"Is it really that simple?"
"You think so? It really is! I’ll go in, chat with him, rely on my instincts and conversation, and through eye contact, I can basically tell what kind of person Professor Qin is and if he’s hiding anything."
"Is that true?" Ah Huang chimed in.
The old man was quite confident. "Of course! With all the people I've seen over the years in this line of work."
"What about me?" I asked.
"You'll come in with me."
"How can that be?"
"You're my relative, right?"
I was momentarily speechless. Well, it seemed I had no choice but to go along with it, even though Lao Zhao looked a bit shifty, and Ah Huang was chuckling in front of us.
Our car quickly arrived at the hospital. Lao Zhao and I got out first to register while Tian and Ah Huang parked the car and headed to the administrative office.
Lao Zhao and I walked into the outpatient department and found the specialist consultation list. To our luck, Professor Qin was indeed on duty today; we hadn’t come for nothing.
After registering, we headed straight to the second floor where the Emergency Room was located. The door was closed with a sign that read "In Consultation."
We exchanged glances and had no choice but to sit on the chairs outside and wait.
"Zhao Kun!" After a while, a middle-aged woman walked out, followed by a voice from inside.
"Hey, I'm here!" Lao Zhao stood up and walked inside, while I hurriedly pretended to assist him.
Lao Zhao shook me off and walked in first.
"Doctor! I want to see a doctor."
"Please have a seat!" As I passed Lao Zhao, I saw a refined middle-aged man wearing glasses. He had a neat side part and looked quite scholarly; my first impression was that he resembled a professor. He paused for a moment when he saw Zhao Kun and then spoke.
Lao Zhao, without any courtesy, sat down on the chair beside Professor Qin's desk.
"This comrade, who are you?" Professor Qin turned to look at me.
"Oh, this is my nephew! He came with me," Lao Zhao interjected.
I could only stand beside Lao Zhao with a forced smile, nodding eagerly while inwardly cursing Old Zhao. Just a relative would have sufficed; he had to insist on calling me his nephew!
"Doctor, I've been having trouble sleeping lately! I heard that you have effective treatments for insomnia, so I specifically came all this way to see you," Lao Zhao began his performance. I realized that Lao Zhao could really consider becoming an actor; he was quite convincing!
"What do you do?"
"Doctor, I'm a worker, now retired and selling goods at the market."
"Oh, how old are you?"
"I'm fifty, Doctor."
"Is it that you can't sleep at all or that you wake up easily?"
"Both."
"Oh!" Professor Qin glanced at Lao Zhao. "Has anything significant happened at home recently?"
"No," Lao Zhao replied, answering each question as if he were being very cooperative.
"Have you had a check-up recently?"
"No."
"I see. Have you eaten? If not, you should go get some blood drawn first, and then I'll arrange for an Electroencephalogram. I want to see if there are any organic changes."
I stood by, observing coldly, feeling that Professor Qin was rather conventional, neither showcasing the level of a professor nor revealing any clues.
"Expert, do you think there's something wrong with me?" Lao Zhao feigned a look of panic.
"Well, insomnia can have many causes, both organic and psychological. We need to rule them out slowly," Professor Qin replied slowly.
"What happens after I finish the tests?" Lao Zhao asked, looking dazed.
"After the tests? We'll see if there's anything wrong. If there is an issue, it might indicate more organic causes. If everything looks fine, then we can proceed with a Psychological Assessment," Professor Qin continued at his leisurely pace.
"What if the Psychological Assessment shows something?"
"Then you'll need to undergo counseling and treatment. Oh, right, I'll also prescribe some medication. Actually, I can give you some calming and brain-nourishing pills right away; you can take them after the tests and observe for a while before coming back," Professor Qin said with a smile directed at Old Zhao.
"But you haven't examined me at all; how can you prescribe tests and medication?" Old Zhao pretended to be angry.
"Experimental treatment is necessary, especially for unexplained conditions like yours," Professor Qin adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.
"I don't want medication; I just want you to solve my problem! I can get medication anywhere!" Old Zhao began to nitpick.
"Ah, don't rush. Let's take it slow. The more anxious you are, the worse it will get. Right now, you need to cooperate with the treatment and follow our professional advice so we can identify the issue together," Professor Qin spoke gently, giving off a reasonable and likable vibe, his tone carrying both guidance and persuasion.
"Doctor, just give me Hypnosis; that way I can sleep well. I've heard you offer sleep therapy here," Old Zhao was really putting on a show.
"Ah, Comrade, you're misunderstanding something. Hypnosis depends on the individual and their state," Professor Qin glanced at Old Zhao. "You should go for the tests first; then I'll make a judgment."
I realized there was no point in lingering any longer, so I interrupted, "Doctor, we don't know the way."
"It's alright, I'll have someone take you there," Professor Qin called out loudly. "Luo! Luo!"
After a while, the door opened, and a Cleaner walked in. "Professor, what's the matter?"
I turned to look and thought, isn't this the same Cleaner I encountered last time? He was about my height, but his facial features were oddly uncoordinated; one side of his face appeared slanted, as if he had a form of facial paralysis. It was quite unattractive.
"Luo, take them to the outpatient blood draw room," Professor Qin said kindly.
Luo glanced at us expressionlessly. "Follow me!"
Once outside, I used the excuse of needing to get money to shake off Luo and slipped out of the outpatient entrance with Lao Zhao.
"Academics are such bookworms. Typical academics!" Old Zhao stomped his foot as soon as we left the outpatient hall.
"These people only know how to do research, write papers, and work on projects! They have no practical skills whatsoever. He probably can't even do psychological therapy, let alone Hypnosis! They just check you over and then prescribe medication! These professors have no real competence; they're practically tarnishing the field of medical psychology!"
I didn't know how to advise Lao Zhao; his anger seemed inexplicable. "Lao Zhao, what about Hypnosis? Haven't you experienced it yet?"
"Hypnosis my foot! With those skills, I doubt he could Hypnotize even a fool."
"What do you mean by that?" I was a bit confused; the clues pointed toward Professor Qin, but it seemed Lao Zhao was dismissing him again.
"Let's wait and see what your friend finds out before jumping to conclusions." The old man still seemed quite indignant. He truly had a heart for justice.
I didn't say anything further and called Ah Huang, then waited outside a parking lot around the corner with Lao Zhao. After a while, we saw Ah Huang coming over with Tian.
"How did it go on your end?" Ah Huang asked eagerly as soon as he saw us.
A sense of dread filled me; clearly, Ah Huang hadn't found anything valuable either, which explained his high hopes that we might discover something worthwhile.
Old Zhao gloomily shared his judgment with Ah Huang. Ah Huang frowned, remaining somewhat silent.
Tian, being more alert, noticed my puzzled expression and said to us, "We checked on Professor Qin over there. His background is quite simple; his parents are intellectuals. After the college entrance examination was reinstated in 1986, he was admitted to Peking University. After graduating, he was assigned to this provincial city and has been working at this hospital ever since. He is unmarried and lives alone in the hospital. He is low-key, leads a simple life, and has no bad habits. We looked at his file; he was an outstanding student in the Psychology Department of Peking University's School of Science and seems to be a disciple of the renowned psychologist Lu Zhiwei."
Hmm? I glanced at Old Zhao; isn't this his fellow disciple?
Old Zhao's face darkened suddenly. I couldn't tell if it was because he held Professor Qin in high regard or if it was due to the fact that he was a successor of Old Lu, or perhaps it was because of his earlier careless words.
"It seems that Professor Qin doesn't appear to be suspicious," I hesitated before suggesting tentatively. Honestly, aside from being single, Professor Qin seemed like the perfect representative of an intellectual.
Ah Huang still looked the same, showing little expression. "Then how do we explain the connection between him, Liu Qi, and the missing persons case?"
He fell silent for a moment before randomly saying, "Just now, Tian received a call; the billing department found Liu Qi's treatment prescription, and the prescribed item was Hypnosis."
Is it really that coincidental? But the problem is that while it seemed like we were making progress, we had actually hit a dead end. What should we do now?
(To be continued, more exciting developments tomorrow!)
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