Chapter 754: Gu You’s Secret

Gu You looked at Chen Shi in surprise and asked, “Did you investigate me?”

“No, I observed your reaction. Your concern for Chen Fengde didn’t seem like that of a psychologist for a patient. Plus, when we asked about his daughter, you seemed a bit nervous.”

Gu You broke into a smile. “Nothing escapes your eyes, Mr. Chen… Yes, Chen Fengde is my biological father. My mother and he never married. Their relationship ended when I was ten. My last name is my mother’s. She said that with Chen Fengde, it felt like she had no privacy. He could see through everything she did and even what she was thinking. It made her uneasy, so they broke up.

“My mother and I moved to another city. Later, a car accident took her life. With no one else to turn to, I went to find Chen Fengde. Although he showed no lingering feelings for my mother, he always thought about me, his daughter. He dreamt of me often and made me his dream signifier. The ‘X’ was me! He thought he would never see me again, but one day, I appeared before him, crying. He treated me well, but my presence blurred his line between dream and reality. I believe I am the cause of his madness. I’ve always felt guilty, trying to prove that he wasn’t insane and that Dream Abyss was real. It’s a contradiction, I know, and it sounds absurd.”

Tears welled up in Gu You’s eyes as she took the tissue Chen Shi offered.

“Do you need me to keep this secret?” Chen Shi asked.

“No, there’s no need. I kept my relationship with him hidden, fearing you wouldn’t help me.”

“You’re overthinking it. I’ve known you long enough to trust you and, of course, will help you… Why doesn’t Chen Fengde want to see you?”

“I don’t know. He refused to see me or anyone else a year ago.”

“Have you dreamt of him?”

Gu You smiled. “Mr. Chen, are you starting to believe this ‘nonsense’?”

“I’m just curious.”

“I dream of him often. In my dreams, I’m always twelve. He takes me to amusement parks and gives fatherly advice. It’s strange, whenever I’m troubled, he appears in my dreams. Maybe it’s my subconscious seeking comfort, but these dreams do give me a lot of encouragement and courage. I write down everything that happens in those dreams. If I ever see Chen Fengde again, I plan to verify these dreams with him. If he can recount them, it would prove…”

“Prove he can really enter others’ dreams?”

“Yes!”

Chen Shi pointed to the screen. “Look at his expression. He genuinely believes what he’s saying. Whether Dream Abyss is real or not, it is real to him.”

Gu You, resting her chin on her hands, stared at the screen. “I have a deep-seated insecurity. My father is a death row inmate who killed many people, and the newspapers painted him as a demon. I’ve never mentioned him to anyone. Even in my relationship with Captain Peng, I’ve kept it a secret, fearing he would judge my background.”

“Old Peng didn’t have a great family life either, and it shaped his complex personality. You can talk to him. It’s a blessing to have someone to share your burdens with.”

“He is a perfect person, able to turn his dark side into strengths, handling his life with grace and maintaining his beliefs without imposing on others. He seems perfect to me, often making me feel inadequate.”

Chen Shi laughed. “We have something in common; we both like him.”

Gu You laughed too, her mood lifted. Chen Shi said, “I’ll keep your secret about Chen Fengde. If it needs to be revealed, it should be by you.”

“Thank you.”

They continued watching the interrogation videos. Throughout the recordings, Chen Fengde spoke about dreams, using Dream Abyss and the Dream Master to answer all questions.

An hour later, Lin Dongxue and Xin Bai returned. “Any discoveries?” they asked. Chen Shi shook his head. “No valuable clues. He lives entirely in his own world.”

“Actually, I live in my own world too,” Xin Bai said. “For most people, fantasy is just a diversion, but for me, it’s everything.”

“Haha, solving cases is my everything,” Chen Shi laughed.

As they left, Lin Dongxue looked at Gu You’s face curiously. “Miss Gu, were you crying?”

“We talked about some things, and I got emotional,” Gu You answered frankly.

“Let her have some privacy!” Chen Shi said.

“Did you make her cry?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Absolutely not.”

Lin Dongxue gave Chen Shi a suspicious look.

On the way back, Xin Bai talked about how fascinating it was to visit the workshop where prisoners worked, mostly doing electroplating and parts processing. Work was an important part of prison life, earning points for necessities and even reducing sentences.

“Any clues?” Chen Shi asked.

Lin Dongxue shook her head. “There were too many fingerprints and footprints. They should have contacted us immediately after the escape. They hoped to catch him on their own and missed the best time for investigation.”

“Who was the last person to see Chen Fengde?”

“Inmates A, B, C, D, etc. We asked each one, and they all claimed to know what happened, just wanting an excuse to get out and talk. Their information was worthless… But one mentioned that Chen Fengde had gotten very thin recently, often skipping dinner, yet he always had plenty of energy. He also mentioned that no one slept better than Chen Fengde, who often laughed in his sleep.”

“How thin?”

“They said his legs were thinner than most people’s arms, practically skin and bones.”

“Starve himself thin to slip through somewhere? Seems impossible,” Chen Shi pondered.

“My brother is examining his personal items.”

They went to an office where Lin Qiupu had a large box of Chen Fengde’s belongings. As he took items out, Chen Shi found one and held it up.

It was a soap sculpture of a woman with tentacles for legs, covered in strange symbols. It looked eerie.

“Is this the Dream Master?” Chen Shi said. “Hey, doesn’t the face of this statue look familiar?”

Lin Dongxue leaned in, surprised. “That little girl!?”