Chapter 280 - 166: Filing the Case! [Ghost Messenger Case!]

Li Jianye was shocked.

He was truly, unprecedentedly shocked.

He had spent a long time in the Capital City back in December and had even seen a ’woman’ peeing while standing in a restroom. He thought he could stomach just about anything.

But when the truth about Qin Zhong was laid bare before him...

He was still utterly floored.

On the computer screen, the video showed Qin Zhong...

He was wearing the clothes he had purchased.

He had bought women’s lingerie!

He was wearing black silk stockings and high heels, standing before a mirror. His gaze was hazy, his expression suggestive, and he unconsciously reached out to stroke its surface.

Then...

He leaned in and kissed it.

That’s right. Standing before a full-length mirror, he gazed at his own reflection dressed in the provocative lingerie and kissed it deeply.

He was kissing a mirror, utterly lost in the moment.

His body gradually hunched over, as if he weren’t embracing a mirror but a person—his wife, his lover.

A moment later, he sat on the floor, legs spread, and his head began to move down...

"GACK~!"

Zhao Shui glanced at the screen and couldn’t hold it in, letting out a violent dry heave.

"Stop, stop, stop! Stop it!"

Li Jianye quickly shouted for them to stop. His mind was reeling, his thoughts in fragments.

He put a hand to his forehead, trying to calm himself, but it was impossible.

"This guy..."

Li Jianye mumbled, his mind completely blank.

He stared at the image of Qin Zhong in women’s clothing, and the details of the case surfaced in his mind...

"In other words..."

"In this case, the so-called third party..."

"Never existed at all!?"

Li Jianye paused, looking at the image of Qin Zhong. "Or rather," he added.

"The so-called third party was the deceased himself!"

"The ’other woman,’ the homewrecker who seduced Liu Li’s husband... it was always Qin Zhong himself."

"He fell in love with his female persona? Or did he simply fall in love with himself!?"

Xu Huo gave a slight nod, a complicated look in his eyes.

’It’s more or less what I expected. I just didn’t think Qin Zhong’s solo activities were this... deviant.’

Of course, as for the reason why...

"Narcissus Syndrome."

"It’s a personality trait characterized by extreme self-love. Individuals with this condition typically display narcissism, meaning they believe they’re superior to others in all aspects, including, but not limited to, ability and physical appearance."

"Of course, if it were only that, it would just be narcissism. What makes it evolve into this so-called ’Narcissus Syndrome’ is its unique ’self-love’ characteristic."

And by self-love, I don’t mean self-care.

I mean self-love in the most literal sense: falling in love with yourself.

In other words, a person sees themselves as so perfect that they actually fall in love with themselves.

They become obsessed with their own reflection in the mirror, developing romantic feelings for it.

If asked, people like this would not hesitate to say that their ideal spouse is, in fact, themselves.

Even if they’re the same gender.

"Right. So in other words, Qin Zhong was not only Liu Li’s husband but also her love rival."

"During their marriage, he cheated on Liu Li by having an affair with himself."

"It’s safe to assume, then, that the sweet nothings Liu Li heard—that soft, whispering voice—were real."

Xu Huo glanced at the video but didn’t bother to watch any more of it.

’Since the video exists, there’s no point in watching the rest.’

’No reason to pollute my eyes any further.’

"However, that voice was just Qin Zhong talking to himself."

"And the ’person’ in the wedding dress... wasn’t some other woman. It was Qin Zhong himself!"

’A man wearing a wedding dress, fantasizing about marrying himself...’

’It was bizarre, but it was real.’

Likewise, when you’re in love, you love someone to distraction. You accept everything about them; you’re not disgusted by anything, not even their spit.

The same was naturally true for Qin Zhong.

He wasn’t disgusted by his own saliva.

"From this perspective,"

"The case becomes crystal clear."

"Liu Li killed her husband’s lover, and in doing so, she also killed Qin Zhong."

"Back up this video to go. We’ll submit it as evidence to the court and the prosecutor’s office."

Xu Huo then added slowly, pausing after he spoke to look at the shop owner.

"As for you..."

"We’ll have to ask you to come with us."

"And if you don’t want to... I’d advise you to reconsider. The consequences could be quite severe."

The owner didn’t say a word.

Zhao Shui’s lips twitched for a moment, but in the end, he just sighed.

He walked over and, swallowing his disgust, began backing up the video.

’Falling in love with yourself, marrying yourself...’

’The ’other woman’ was him, and he was the ’other woman’.’

’Well, that’s a new one!’

Jiangsan City had never had a criminal case like this in all its years...

But as of today, the count is no longer zero.

After a long while, once everything was settled, Li Jianye, who had been getting some fresh air by the window, turned to face the others.

He took a deep breath, forcing down the bile that rose in his throat at the memory of the images on the screen.

He said in a heavy voice:

"Let’s go!"

...

...

「January 2nd.」

「8:00 AM.」

At the Jiangsan City courthouse, Xu Huo and his team met with Liu Li again.

Initially, they explained the full story of the case to Liu Li so that she would no longer be kept in the dark.

Unfortunately, their explanation was met with an even more hysterical outburst of rage from Liu Li.

"Impossible!"

"You’re lying to me! Spit it out, how much did that vixen pay you off!?"

"It’s fake! It’s all fake! All of it!"

"You’re in on it with that vixen!"

In the interview room, Liu Li’s face was a mask of fury. She pressed herself against the partition glass, her features contorting in extreme anguish as she watched the video Xu Huo and the others played for her on a laptop.