Qian Darong and Liang Jiushan’s mediation was finally completed, and Li Zhenliang let out a huge sigh of relief.
As he walked out of the interrogation room, he happened to run into Wei Changfeng and his group, who had just finished the case filing procedures for the robbery.
Li Zhenliang grinned, his eyes curving, as he patted the mediation agreement signed by both parties and the guarantee letter signed by Qian Darong: “Look! As soon as Comrade Jiang got involved, the Qian family was completely stunned. Not only did they pay 1,700 yuan in compensation, but Qian Darong obediently signed the guarantee letter. Even Qian Jianshe and Zhao Yanhong’s attitudes changed—they said they’d definitely educate their son properly when they got home, and if he misbehaves again, they’ll have him transferred.”
Wei Changfeng carefully read through the mediation agreement, looking at Jiang Ling with a hint of admiration in his eyes: “Not bad, not bad. As expected from a Police School graduate, your mediation skills are impressive.”
Standing beside Wei Changfeng were two other officers, Liu Haoran and Zhou Wei, who both gave Jiang Ling a thumbs up: “Comrade Jiang, well done.”
A gust of warm wind blew in, carrying the scent of jasmine.
Jiang Ling glanced calmly at the two pots of jasmine at the end of the corridor and replied coolly, “Mediation is just the beginning.”
Liu Haoran was a chubby guy with a round face. He’d been at the police station for three years and was still full of energy. He asked curiously, “Isn’t it over already?”
Jiang Ling handed a notebook to Wei Changfeng and explained seriously, “I majored in criminal psychology in college. This is my criminal psychological assessment of Qian Darong. The conclusion is…”
She paused for a moment, her tone low: “Qian Darong has a high likelihood of committing sexual crimes. Liang Qiqiao is in danger.”
Wei Changfeng flipped through Jiang Ling’s notebook. On the first page, it read:
“Jinwu Road Police Station Criminal Psychological Assessment Archive
Case: 93—Textile Factory Children’s School Bullying Case
Number: JW-1993-09
Subject: Qian Darong (Male, 15 years old, third-year junior high student)
Assessor: Jiang Ling
Special Note: Weekly follow-up required”
The handwriting in the notebook was neat and elegant, with graceful strokes and a hint of flourish at the turns. Wei Changfeng, along with Liu Haoran and Zhou Wei, who had come over to look, couldn’t help but sigh.
“Such neat notes—Jiang must have been a model student at school.”
“Even the assessment has a cover and a serial number. That’s really professional.”
“Just hearing ‘criminal psychological assessment’ sounds high-level. She’s definitely a trained professional.”
As they flipped further, the sections were neatly categorized: “Basic Information Collection,” “Analysis of Criminal Motivation,” “Behavioral Pattern Observation”…
Wei Changfeng knew each category, but the detailed tables, nine-square grids, and association diagrams inside made his head spin a bit. He’d transferred from the military and relied purely on experience as a police officer, so he asked directly, “Tell us, what’s your conclusion?”
Jiang Ling knew that in the 1990s, criminal investigation didn’t pay much attention to psychological assessment yet. What she’d written was based on professional theories from later generations, so most people wouldn’t really understand.
She pointed to a few lines in the notebook: “Here, the trauma marks refer to Liang Qiqiao. She dresses conservatively, is ashamed to show her skin, and has injuries on her arms. I checked—they’re all scratch scars, mottled with blood, of varying depths and ages, crisscrossed. This is a stress response after experiencing sexual harm.”
Wei Changfeng exclaimed, “Qian Darong did that?”
Jiang Ling nodded, “Yes. I asked her quietly. She said Qian Darong not only harassed her verbally but also sexually harassed her multiple times on the way home from school. Liang Qiqiao is still young, and with no mother to guide her, she constantly blames herself, which led to self-harming behavior.”
There were things Jiang Ling didn’t say aloud.
Actually, Liang Qiqiao didn’t just have injuries on her arms—there were quite a few scars on her chest as well. At eighteen, a girl’s body is still developing, but Liang Qiqiao hated her own full chest. Faced with Qian Darong’s sexual harassment, she was too shy to tell anyone, so she vented by hurting herself, scratching at the arms and chest that Qian Darong had touched, until blood streamed and the pain became unbearable.
Li Zhenliang scratched his head, “Liang Qiqiao had injuries? How did you notice?”
Jiang Ling glanced at him, “When Liang Jiushan grabbed her arm, Liang Qiqiao’s body stiffened—she showed clear psychological avoidance.”
Li Zhenliang tried to recall but couldn’t remember any details. He sighed, “As expected, women are more observant. Jiang, your attention to detail is amazing!”
Jiang Ling didn’t react to Li Zhenliang’s praise. Her focus remained on her notebook: “As for Qian Darong’s motive for sexual crime, look here. Tracing it through compensation mechanisms, the maternal role deficiency index is three stars, paternal authority distortion is also three stars, and Qian Darong’s motive may involve power fantasies. As for cultural contamination, he’s exposed to illegal videos for more than three hours daily. His father has an affair, so imitation is possible.”
The string of technical terms left the four police officers wide-eyed—even if they didn’t fully understand, it certainly sounded impressive.
Jiang Ling also realized she wasn’t being direct enough. She pursed her lips and gave the conclusion plainly: “Based on a juvenile detention case from the Magic City in 1989, it’s likely to develop into substantial sexual assault within six months.”
Li Zhenliang, Liu Haoran, and Zhou Wei exchanged glances, all seeing the word “admiration” in each other’s eyes.
Wei Changfeng looked at Jiang Ling seriously, genuinely feeling, “A scholar who’s changed in three days deserves a new look.”
Normally, Jiang Ling was very reserved, rarely speaking unless necessary. Even in the cafeteria, she’d sit in a corner, trying to minimize her presence.
But today, not only did she take the initiative, she acted methodically, maturely, and even shared her thought process and conclusions with everyone. It was a real surprise for him.
No matter what made Jiang Ling step out of the Archive Room, Wei Changfeng was very gratified: “We must intervene early and never let your prediction come true. Jiang Ling, the follow-up on Qian Darong’s case is yours—are you willing?”
Jiang Ling stood straight, lifting her head and chest: “Yes!”
Wei Changfeng smiled, “Jiang, come join our case team.”
After saying that, he thought for a moment and added, “You’ll still be responsible for the Archive Room work.”
Jiang Ling remained upright: “Yes!”
The more Wei Changfeng looked at Jiang Ling, the more he admired her efficiency. He raised his hand, wanting to pat her shoulder, but Li Zhenliang quickly pulled him back: “Old Wei, your hands are strong, take it easy.” Jiang Ling didn’t like people getting close, and Li Zhenliang felt it was his duty to protect her a bit.
Wei Changfeng looked at his own broad palm, then at Jiang Ling’s slender frame, and said to Li Zhenliang, “From now on, when we go out on duty, you’ll be teamed with Jiang.”
Li Zhenliang usually handled more community work and was the case team’s flexible member. He was happy to partner with Jiang Ling: “Sure, from now on, I’ll team up with Jiang.”
Jiang Ling and Li Zhenliang’s two-person team soon had their first field assignment.
The next day, September 11th, Saturday.
There were no two-day weekends yet, and the Textile Factory Children’s School still had classes on Saturdays.
Boston ivy leaves sprawled thickly, covering the walls of the school building.
“Ding ling ling…” As the class-ending bell rang, students poured out of the classrooms, laughing and chatting as they filled the corridors.
Jiang Ling instinctively wanted to check her phone for the time, but quickly realized that it was 1993 and cell phones weren’t common at all. She thought to herself that she should buy a watch soon. She turned to Li Zhenliang, “What time is it?”
Li Zhenliang glanced at his Shanghai watch, “It’s eleven forty, just after the fourth period. Let’s wait a bit before going up. It’s lunchtime dismissal right now.”
With the appointment with the dean approaching, Jiang Ling and Li Zhenliang waited ten minutes until the campus gradually emptied before stepping forward and entering the school.
Yan Cheng Textile Factory was a well-established state-owned enterprise with thousands of workers. From kindergarten to elementary and middle school, everything was provided. The Textile Factory Children’s School had only one three-story teaching building, with both junior and senior high departments. Each grade occupied one floor, and the six classes of senior three and junior three were all on the third floor.
Since they were coming to the school, Jiang Ling and Li Zhenliang both wore plain clothes. When they reached the third floor, they saw a large slogan on the blackboard at the end of the corridor: “301 days until the college entrance examination.” Seeing the number written in red chalk, Li Zhenliang muttered, “They’re already starting the mobilization now. Isn’t that a bit early?”
“Not early at all. Senior three students need to get into the right mindset as soon as possible, or else they’ll slack off.” A stern voice sounded. The strict-looking, white-haired dean, Huang Qiming, came out of a classroom.
Li Zhenliang smiled and went up to shake his hand, “Director Huang, it’s good that the school is strict.”
Huang Qiming looked at Jiang Ling, “And this is?”
Jiang Ling clasped her hands behind her back and nodded slightly, “Jiang Ling.”
Li Zhenliang felt her introduction was too brief, so he added, “This is Jiang Ling, a Police School graduate who just joined our station. The Qian Darong case is assigned to the two of us.”
Having worked at the Textile Factory Children’s School for over thirty years, Huang Qiming was very familiar with the police station officers. He reached out to Jiang Ling, “Officer Jiang is very young.” In his eyes, the twenty-year-old Jiang Ling was still a child.
Jiang Ling’s brow twitched, and she forced herself to endure the discomfort as she quickly shook his hand.
She had chosen the job of archive manager back then to avoid contact with people. Now, living a second life and determined to work on the front lines of criminal investigation, she had to change.
But in reality, Jiang Ling only let her fingertips brush lightly against his.
With years of experience in education, Huang Qiming didn’t mind Jiang Ling’s restraint and got straight to the point: “Officer Wei already told me the situation yesterday. The school is taking this very seriously. This morning, we called a meeting with the class advisers of Junior Three Class 3 and Senior Three Class 1, and selected three outstanding students to form a supervision group to keep an eye on Qian Darong.”
Li Zhenliang looked at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling pressed her lips together, her gaze resting on the photos of educators and scientists hanging on the corridor wall. She wanted to overcome her fear of physical contact, but old habits died hard. Her fingertips were burning, and her temples throbbed uncomfortably.
Li Zhenliang spoke up, “Qian Darong’s father is the deputy director of the Textile Factory. The family is well-off, but Qian Darong’s behavior at school is poor, and he’s bullied Liang Jiushan several times. The police station has handled it twice, but the problem was never really solved. We hope the school will take this seriously, since while we can punish him, education is the school’s responsibility.”
Huang Qiming’s face darkened.
When students caused trouble and the police came knocking, it made him feel embarrassed.
Qian Jianshe, the deputy director, was in charge of logistics. All school funding required his approval, so the school leaders treated him with great deference and repeatedly told the teachers to look after Qian Darong.
Because of this, even though Qian Darong’s behavior was bad, he was always let off lightly.
Huang Qiming was actually very dissatisfied with the school leaders interfering in student discipline, but he was close to retirement and didn’t want to cause trouble, so he kept quiet.
Now that the police were here, Huang Qiming couldn’t help but complain, “Yes, students like Qian Darong really need strict discipline. But this is a children’s school, and Director Qian holds a lot of power. With the school leaders’ orders, what can I do?”
While Li Zhenliang and Huang Qiming talked, Jiang Ling slowly adjusted her breathing, trying to shift her attention away from her fingertips. After a few minutes, the burning sensation faded and she returned to normal.
Hearing Huang Qiming’s words, Jiang Ling said, “Based on my assessment, Qian Darong not only has violent tendencies but also the potential for sexual crimes. We’re here today to further understand his behavior at school and prevent any tragedy.”
Huang Qiming was stunned, “Sexual crime? No, that can’t be! He’s only fifteen.”
Jiang Ling shook her head, “It has nothing to do with age. His harassment of Liang Qiqiao wasn’t just verbal—he acted on it too. Liang Qiqiao is already deeply traumatized and has self-harmed multiple times.”
Huang Qiming was instantly furious, “Shameless! Absolutely shameless! Don’t worry, we’ll deal with this seriously and responsibly. Liang Qiqiao has good grades. If she performs well this year, she’ll definitely get into a top university. She’s the school’s hope—we can’t let Qian Darong ruin her.”
After making his promise, Huang Qiming started walking forward as he spoke, “Come! I’ll take you to Junior Three Class 3’s classroom.”
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