Madness of the Heart

The festive atmosphere was strong. At the end of one of the programs, the host directed the actors to tear down a Christmas tree made of balloons and give it to the surrounding audience.

There were so many balloons that almost every child present had one, and they still hadn't finished allocating them at the end, so ladies and young people were also stuffed with balloons.

Ming Shu and Xiao Yu'an were far away from the stage, so they would not be stuffed with balloons, but a little boy with three balloons rushed over and handed one of them to Ming Shu's hand, "Handsome brother, here you are!"

Xiao Yuan laughed.

Mingshu saw that it was the brat who went to his back and swung a mace not long ago.

"I'm sorry!" The little boy bowed seriously, "I hit you just now. My mother has educated me. This is my heart, handsome brother, do you accept my apology?"

The balloon string is close at hand, and the bear boy is so sincere, Mingshu really has no reason to refuse, so he took it and said with a smile: "I accept."

The little boy immediately grinned, waved his chubby little hands and backed away and said, "Then I wish you all a happy day, eat well, have money to spend, have young ladies to watch, and have... ouch!"

It was too late for Mingshu to remind, the little boy hit the inflatable rake that someone left behind, lost his center of gravity, and sat down on the ground.

The child is short and wears thick clothes in winter, so it’s okay to fall, but the terrible thing is that when the little boy came to apologize, he was still carrying the mace that “caused the accident” on his back.

When he fell like this, the mace was placed under his buttocks, and he was suddenly crushed, making a heartbreaking sound——

"Zi..."

The little boy's mother ran over from a distance and helped the little boy up, dumbfounded for a moment.

Let me apologize to others, why did you crush the mace?

The little boy looked back at the mace that had shrunk into a puddle, bit his lip hard, and tears rolled in his eyes.

Mingshu wanted to laugh very much, but if he laughed at this time, he would be too bullying the children.

He had no choice but to hand the balloon to Xiao Yu'an, walked over and squatted in front of the little boy, handed over a pack of tissues, and was about to comfort him, when the little boy realized that he was being cared for, and the "Golden Bean" who was holding back just now rushed out immediately.

"Wow!"

Mingshu: "..."

The little boy's mother looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he is just like this, very naughty. Did he talk to you about cross talk just now?"

Mingshu smiled and said, "Very cute."

Being praised, the little boy peeked at Mingshu while crying, crying even harder.

"Don't cry, isn't it just a mace? Mom will buy you another one!"

"I'll take him to buy it." Mingshu said suddenly.

The little boy looked at Mingshu with wet eyes, with a look of disbelief.

"No need!" The little boy's mother hurriedly said, "I'll just buy it for him."

Mingshu stood up, "He gave me a balloon, I should return a gift."

"What an embarrassment, the balloon was originally given..."

The little boy wiped away his tears and snot, and said excitedly, "Thank you handsome brother!"

Mingshu took the little boy to buy a mace. The little boy's mother watched them, and Xiao Yuan also looked at them.

Said to "take" the little boy, Mingshu didn't lead him at all, like walking a dog, he walked in front, and the little boy ran happily behind.

Just looking at it like this, Xiao Yuan's eyes gradually became deep.

Mingshu may not even remember it, but he was very similar to this little boy when he was a child.

When he first came to Xiao's house, Mingshu was very polite and he was a well-educated "little master". But after a long time, the mischievousness of children still came up, and he secretly made trouble with Xiao Jincheng, and after the trouble After being educated, I immediately went back obediently, apologized honestly, and bowed to ask for forgiveness.

Xiao Yu'an remembered that one summer, the parents of the Xiao family and the Ming family repeatedly told them not to go swimming in the river. If they wanted to swim, they could only go to the regular swimming pool, and they had to be watched by someone.

Children are somewhat rebellious, so Mingshu came to beg a few times, "Brother, take me to swim in the river. The swimming pool is not exciting, and you can't cut through the waves."

"No." Xiao Yu'an said, "The river is not safe, where did you learn to 'cut the waves'?"

Ming Shu said, "Okay, I'm obedient, I won't go chopping the waves anymore", then turned around and made a temporary truce with Xiao Jincheng, an enemy, and colluded to go to the river.

They not only brought shorts for the water, but also tents and picnic tools.

At noon when everyone was taking a nap, the two of them just slipped away so quietly.

The incident did not happen, but no matter how two children carried adults down the river, it was a scary thing.It's good luck that nothing happened this time, so what if something happens?

In the evening, when Mingshu and Xiao Jincheng "triumphed", there was a whole room of adults waiting for them.

Xiao Jincheng was screwed away screaming, as for Mingshu...

Xiao Yu'an said, "I'll take him back to the Ming family."

The Xiao family and the Ming family are very close, Mingshu’s excitement on the road has not passed, and he really wanted to tell about his "heroic" deeds, but he peeked at Xiao Yu'an from the corner of his eye, and found that Xiao Yu'an was angry, so he had to put his mouth Swallow the words back.

But he really wanted to show off!

Two contradictory emotions stirred in his eyes, making his expression extraordinarily wonderful.

Suddenly, Xiao Yuan stopped.

Mingshu also quickly stopped, and whispered, "Brother?"

"Did I tell you that it's dangerous to swim in the river?" Xiao Yu'an frowned slightly, looking at Ming Shu seriously but somewhat distressed.

They were standing under the street lamp at this time, Xiao Yuan's shadow enveloped Mingshu.

Mingshu panicked suddenly, because he saw undisguised disappointment on Xiao Yuan's face.

"elder brother……"

"I told you, and more than once." Xiao Yu'an continued, "You promised well, but you didn't listen at all."

Mingshu shook his head anxiously, grabbed Xiao Yuan's wrist, "No, brother, I..."

Xiao Yuan pulled his wrist back, his eyes became more severe, "Mingshu, you are too disobedient."

Mingshu opened his eyes wide, stood helplessly, with his waved hands shrunk in front of his chest, and said aggrievedly, "Brother, I was wrong."

Xiao Yu'an said, "Since you are disobedient, then don't come here again. Xiao Jincheng is naughty, and you are also naughty. You two continue to stay together..."

Before he finished speaking, Mingshu rushed up regardless, and hugged Xiao Yuan, looking very pitiful, "Brother, I'm sorry! I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Don't chase me away!"

In fact, Xiao Yu'an was just trying to educate Mingshu, so that this disobedient brat would have a good memory, so how could he really drive him away, when he saw him apologizing in a hurry, his heart softened all of a sudden.

"Brother, I will never go swimming in the river again." Mingshu excused himself and at the same time couldn't help stepping on Xiao Jincheng's foot, "Xiao Jincheng dragged me there, I didn't do it on purpose!"

They all went down the river to cut through the waves, and they said they didn't do it on purpose?

Xiao Yuan was angry and funny, and wiped Mingshu's tears with a handkerchief, "Don't do this next time."

At this point in time, many people had already finished their dinner, and there were more and more people in the courtyard, and more and more children were buying toys.

When Mingshu and the little boy turned around, each was holding a mace in his hand.

The little boy happily waved to Mingshu—this time he didn't walk backwards while talking cross talk, "Handsome brother, goodbye Hou!"

Ming Shu raised his hands very chicly, and walked towards Xiao Yu'an.

"Buy one get one free?" Xiao Yuan joked.

"Suddenly want to play." Mingshu said.

When they returned to the restaurant, it was their turn. The waiter took them to a table for two people in a good location, put the menu and stood aside to wait.

Xiao Yu'an went to get the seasoning, and Mingshu ordered the dishes in less than a minute, which surprised the waiter with such a speed.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Wouldn't it be nice to let you stand for a while?"

As soon as the waiter took the order, "I like customers like you!"

While waiting for the food to be served, Mingshu chatted with Xiao Yuan, talking about the expressive little boy just now.

"This kid is so good at acting, he didn't intend to cry at first, but as soon as I coaxed him, he started crying, and tears came to my hands." Mingshu said.

"You too." Xiao Yuan pierced it mercilessly.

Mingshu was stunned for a moment, "Me? I don't have one, right?"

Xiao Yu'an said: "Who fought with Xiao Jincheng before, didn't cry during the fight, and didn't cry after the fight. As soon as I walked over and wiped his face with a towel, he burst into tears?"

Mingshu's face burned, "You still remember..."

Xiao Yu'an put the mixed seasonings in front of Mingshu, and the dishes were ready in a short time.

Shabu-boiled beef is light, and it pays attention to the word "fresh". Just throw it in the pot for a few seconds, and it will get old after a long time.

Neither of them spoke while scalding the meat, they were very focused on the scalding.

There was a lot of people around, talking and talking, and no one really cared about a second more or less.

There are several hanging TVs in the store, all of which are playing the theme song of "Red Dust and Rivers and Lakes". Mingshu heard a sudden scream from a table next to him, and several girls looked at the TV obsessively, "Lake Shadow! It's Lake Shadow!" !"

Mingshu also glanced at the TV.

This show is so popular that the craze still hasn't faded after it aired.When he was not so busy a while ago, he tried to watch an episode, but fell asleep halfway through.

He can't taste the wonderfulness of this popular drama.Rather than watching dramas in his spare time, he would rather go to the live broadcast platform to watch and chat with the anchors with goods.

Then buy buy buy.

I've been so busy these days that I don't have time to watch the live broadcast. It seems that the snacks in the serious crime team are no longer enough.

Xiao Yu'an put a piece of beef that was only blanched for 7 seconds in Ming Shu's bowl. Ming Shu picked it up and ate it. His mouth was burned, but fortunately he only took a bite and quickly put it back in his bowl.

There was a row of teeth marks on the beef, Mingshu looked at the row of teeth marks while chewing.

At the end of the year, the store will hold an event. If you spend over 100 yuan, you can draw a prize once, and if you spend over 300 yuan, there will be a small gift.Mingshu and Xiao Yuan spent 325 yuan and had three chances to draw a lottery.Mingshu went to the lottery draw, and Xiao Yuan received a small gift at the front desk.

Mingshu was just lucky, he got two packs of paper towels and a coupon for a limited time. On the other hand, Xiao Yuan had already received a small gift, which was a lipstick.

Mingshu took the lipstick over to have a look, "I know this brand."

Xiao Yu'an smiled, "Since when have you researched lipstick?"

"I saw it on the live broadcast. This color number is very popular recently." Ming Shu said, "But it would be a waste to give it to us."

Xiao Yu'an said, "It doesn't have to be a waste."

Mingshu turned his face sideways: "Huh?"

"Keep it away." Xiao Yu'an said, "What if it comes in handy?"

Mingshu said: "I suspect that you are plotting something wrong!"

Xiao Yuan said: "Ming team, the police pay attention to evidence in handling cases."

"You don't need evidence to suspect."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I can see through your heart."

"Too straightforward, Team Ming."

After returning home, Mingshu sat on the deck chair on the balcony, looked at the mace thoughtfully, and rubbed his fingers on the mace.

Xiao Yu'an took out a bottle of drink to help digestion from the refrigerator, and froze his cheeks.

"Hiss—" Mingshu took the drink, "Another surprise attack."

"What enlightenment did this mace give you?" Xiao Yu'an said, "I've been staring at it all night."

"Didn't I go all the way to weaving today? I didn't find any new clues. I kept thinking about the small hole in Huang Yan's chest. It has been confirmed that the small hole was caused by the ice hammer, but what the murderer wanted to express may not necessarily be related to the ice." Hammer.” Mingshu put the drink aside and picked up the mace again, “If these maces are reduced, they can actually form small conical holes. Of course, this kind of inflatable mace can’t hurt people. .”

Xiao Yu'an said, "Spike Fang."

Mingshu nodded, "Do those small holes represent tooth marks? And tooth marks represent gnawing. There can be many kinds of tooth marks. For example, when I ate a piece of beef just now, I also left my tooth marks on it. But that A small conical hole is the tooth mark of a beast. The murderer wants to say that Huang Yan was eaten by a wolf—no, by some kind of beast?”

Xiao Yu'an said: "A certain experience in Huang Yan's past caused her to be murdered this time."

Mingshu stood up from the reclining chair and took a few steps, "But the most likely cause of her death is the 'ghost card', and the line of 'ghost card' can already be ruled out. When she died, what did Lin Jiao do? Evidence of presence."

"When investigating a case, we tend to focus on the most obvious clues and ignore the important ones." Xiao Yu'an said, "Do you remember, Huang Yan's mother, Huang Yue, said that Huang Yan I went to the southwest border to raise Gu before."

Thinking of bugs, Mingshu felt his scalp tingling, "Huang Yan has not only messed with 'wild card'."

"Huang Yan has been to more than one backward village in Silin Town." Xiao Yu'an said, "Your idea is very interesting, and you can diverge a little more during the meeting."

Xiang Tao has been transferred to the general ward, and is recovering vigorously.

Mingshu went to see him with nutritional supplies, along with balloons and maces.

The ward is a single room, and there are colleagues from the Beicheng Branch to take care of it.Seeing Ming Shu, Xiang Tao was excited to get out of bed.Mingshu told him to lie down and put the things he brought on the table.

"Ming team." Xiang Tao said, "Why did you bring me toys back?"

"It's a gift from the mall. It's almost Chinese New Year, and it looks festive." Ming Shu fixed the balloon.

The balloon is pink with gold powder, which is really festive.

Although Xiang Tao is still recovering from his injuries, his heart is in Silin Town and the unsolved murder case, so he talked about the case without saying a word.Mingshu stopped being polite to him, and said, "You've been staying in the hospital for a while, have you ever thought about Huang Yan's case?"

Xiang Tao said: "I've been thinking about it all day! Excluding Lin Jiao's revenge, the most strange thing about her case is that she turned off the surveillance on her own initiative, and there are large holes in her chest. I think it should be based on her experience. Digging, since I learned about the 'job card' last time, I got into the 'job card' and didn't get to know her other information. In fact, now that I think about it, I still don't know enough about her. At least I don't know why she I'm going to turn off the monitoring."

"The murderer is someone she knows, a young man, she is looking forward to his arrival very much, and obeys his words." Mingshu said: "This is likely to be a man who is attractive in appearance-especially for women. .”

Xiang Tao pondered for a moment, "This profile is too broad."

"I know." Mingshu said, "So the key point is still the small hole."

With that said, Mingshu picked up the mace and lightly thumped it on his hand.

Xiang Tao didn't understand for a moment.

"I suspect that those small holes represent the gnawing of beasts." Mingshu said, "It may be wolves, or it may be other animals."

Xiang Tao was stunned, as if he was digesting the information quickly, and then suddenly patted the quilt, "Ming team, I remembered something. But I don't know if it has anything to do with Huang Yan's death."

"tell me the story."

"Didn't I go to Cai Xinyue when I first found out about the clue of 'Ghost Cards'? It was the girl who went to Silin Town with Huang Yan to buy 'Ghost Cards'." Xiang Tao said: "She was in the south I worked in the "Storm" Chamber of Secrets club in the city, and wrote plots for secret rooms. At that time, she took me into an unused room, which was an outdated scene of a secret room, and there were many outdated props piled inside."

Xiang Tao paused, "There is a wolf head among them."

Mingshu said: "Wolf head?"

"Mingshu, have you ever played Werewolf?" Xiang Tao asked.

Mingshu said: "Werewolves have never played the game of killing anyone."

"This game was very popular a few years ago, and it was right to say that it was the hottest board game. At that time, almost all secret rooms had werewolf themes." Xiang Tao said: "But it has stopped working in recent years. Werewolf killing is out of date, and werewolf-related ones. The Chamber of Secrets doesn't work either."

Mingshu suddenly felt that many clues flooded into his mind, but these clues were disordered, messy, without beginning and end, and even deceptive.

Xiang Tao worried: "Ming team, Huang Yan's case is related to the werewolf and the secret room?"

Mingshu smiled reassuringly, "You can heal your wounds at ease, turn your mind as much as you can, and contact me anytime you think of it."

Xiang Tao felt that these words were very contradictory - he needed to rest his mind and heal his wounds, and at the same time, he needed to turn his brain around more, and he couldn't have both.

Mingshu said: "Taking fun of me in your heart?"

Xiang Tao said, "Have you seen all this?"

Mingshu half-jokingly said: "If you want to come to our serious crime team, the ability to 'read mind' is essential."

"Really?" Xiang Tao didn't really believe it, "Then I have to work harder!"

"Okay, I won't bother you." Mingshu picked up his coat, "I'll see you later."

After learning of Huang Yan's murder, Cai Xinyue was frightened and suspicious, and quit her job at the "Storm" secret room club.She originally planned to leave Dongye City, but as the owner of the "ghost card", her actions were temporarily restricted and she had to cooperate with the police investigation.

"Have...haven't found the murderer who killed Sister Yan?" Cai Xinyue's spirit was on the verge of collapse, "Will I also be killed?"

"You said that you and Huang Yan met because of folk customs and spirituality. Huang Yan is an expert in this field. She once helped you design a secret room and provided you with a lot of inspiration." Although Xiang Tao was the one who found Cai Xinyue last time, Ming I have already listened to the recording, "Did Huang Yan mention werewolves to you, or the legends related to werewolves?"

Cai Xinyue was very nervous, but when she heard "Werewolf", there was a little disdain in her eyes, "No."

Mingshu's eyes sharpened, "So sure?"

"Because the theme of werewolves is outdated." Speaking of her profession, Cai Xinyue finally calmed down a bit, "The popular themes in the market now are usually researched by us for about a year. We, we must Standing at the forefront. Like the werewolf theme, it actually reached its peak before I entered the industry, and practitioners at that time basically understood the theme and began to explore new trends. It is impossible for me to talk about the werewolf theme with Sister Yan.”

Mingshu frowned thoughtfully, and asked after a while: "Recall, what inspirations did Huang Yan give you?"

Cai Xinyue found a notebook, "It's all on it."

Mingshu flipped through a few pages, but didn't see anything interesting, and said again: "The last time you and Huang Yan communicated was to go to a newly opened secret room?"

This clue was discovered by the Beicheng Sub-bureau in Huang Yan's online records, and Xiang Tao found Cai Xinyue because of this.

Cai Xinyue nodded uneasily, "Yes, in Dongcheng District, the style of the secret room is different from that of 'Storm'. I heard that it took the route of bloody violence. In our line of work, visiting the secret rooms of competitors is necessary for work, so I will make an appointment I went to Sister Yan to see it. But the secret room hadn’t opened yet.”

Dongcheng District, "Tianyun Chaodu" shopping center.

"Why are there so many people? Is there any activity?"

"I don't know, go and see?"

"Don't go, it's none of our business, a secret room has opened."

"What is a chamber of secrets?"

"You don't even know about the secret room? It's..."

A building resembling a medieval castle appeared in the newly opened hall D of the shopping mall. Young people dressed in trendy clothes lined up in a long serpentine line, some were chatting excitedly, and some stretched their necks to look ahead.

They are all fans of the secret room culture. Where there is a newly opened secret room, they will check in first, lest they will be later than their colleagues.

The "Ninth Battlefield" secret room club opened, with multiple rewards such as "the first passer", "the fastest passer", "the person who cleared the most secret rooms", which ignited the enthusiasm of fans.

In the middle of the serpentine procession, a woman wearing a khaki woolen skirt and a gray lambskin coat hurried over, while protecting the decorative hat on her head, she smiled and apologized, "I'm late, I'm sorry!"

"You must have slept in!" said one.

"No! I'll be here soon after I change shifts." The woman folded her hands together, "The social animal can't help itself!"

"Forget it, I'll forgive you this time." The man said, "You wait in line first, I'll go buy milk tea."

"Okay okay."

After walking a few steps, the man turned around and shouted, "Linglong!"

"Huh?" The woman quickly responded.

"What do you drink? Pudding or pearls?"

"Pudding." Linglong said.