Miss Dong continued, “I was so frightened when I woke up that morning. Can you guess how many missed calls I had?”

“How many?”

“More than five hundred!”

“That's too scary!”

“He was calling me on the cell phone all night without closing his eyes, and I didn’t even count the text messages. It was all ‘Answer my calls! Answer my calls’. My WeChat was all full of his messages as well. He said that for every hour I didn’t answer the phone, he would cut a stroke on his arm. He sent a picture every hour and made ten full strokes!”

“My God!” Lin Dongxue felt like she was enlightened.

“He's like this. When we argue, he won’t hit me or break things. Instead, he’ll harm himself! Have you ever seen someone who would take pliers and pull out his teeth to throw them at you? He can do this kind of thing. When we don’t argue, he said that he loved me too much and didn't know how to express it, so that was the only way for him. I forgave him many times, but I later understood that he couldn’t change himself. He’s a control freak!”

“Why are you with him then?”

“At first, he chased me very enthusiastically. It was like he would do anything for you. What girl wouldn’t be moved by that?”

“I think people who enthusiastically pursue people have a bit of extremity in their personality!”

“In addition, my family talked about how good his family background was and how good the conditions were. I wasn’t attracted to him at first, but I was gradually moved.”

“Let me ask you a question. Is your mother your biological mother?”

Miss Dong laughed. “Did my mother look like she wasn’t my biological one? She and my dad met years ago and they have been arguing for decades. They can quarrel over such trivial matters. The things my father likes, my mother doesn’t at all. She would find random things to argue about. My dad loves me a lot, so my mother hated me ever since I was a child, yelling and beating me.”

“The older generation feels that marriage is just like this and that other marriages aren’t happy either.”

“Yes, yes!” Miss Dong agreed. “External conditions and family backgrounds aren’t that big of a deal. If two people can get along with each other, that’s what’s important. But my family can never understand that. I once had a boyfriend I really liked before, but because his family background wasn’t that great, my mother advised me to break up with him. She even called a bunch of aunties to persuade me. I cried all night, and then finally broke up with him... Miss police officer, do you like anyone?”

“There is one!” Lin Dongxue flushed red at the thought of that person.

“Does your family interfere with that?”

“I'm an orphan. Sometimes I envy people who have parents, but compared to you, I actually feel lucky.”

“You are really lucky. I actually envy you.” Miss Dong sighed. “Since that night, he has said everywhere that I cheated on him. He has talked so much about it, turning white into black. Now, the whole world thinks I’ve cheated on him. I don’t actually dare to go home. I’m afraid of what he’d do to me. I've been hiding in my friend's house for the past few days. My biggest worry is my Mimi. I didn't expect this monster to do this kind of thing!”

Lin Dongxue gently patted the back of her hand and said, “Don't be afraid. Give me the key for a while. I’ll go in and persuade him.”

“But just in case ...”

Lin Dongxue showed her credentials. “I'm a criminal police officer. He can't beat me.”

Miss Dong was still weighing it when Xu Xiaodong sent a WeChat message to Lin Dongxue that read, “Have you watched the breaking-up-cat-man online?”

Lin Dongxue typed “I'm on the scene” and was hesitating whether to send it, but her hand trembled and she hit send.

Xu Xiaodong responded in surprise, “Really? You went to the scene? Has the matter been resolved yet?”

“Nope!”

“Give me the address. I’ll come and join the commotion too.”

“Don't come over. I'll be back in a while.”

“Are we friends or what?”

Lin Dongxue didn't bother to respond. After a while, Xu Xiaodong said, “Haha, I found it myself. The bastard on the Internet has already been found by the public. I'll come right away.”

Lin Dongxue wondered. What would you even do even if you got here?

There was a commotion outside. Miss Dong went forward and asked, “What's wrong? Is something wrong?”

“Let’s go and see.”

The two arrived at the community and saw a media car. A reporter stood in front of Ma's apartment with a microphone and was speaking to the camera. “...We are at the scene now. The other party, Miss Dong, has chosen to call the police. Let's interview Police Officer Luo at the scene right now.”

The camera and the lights turned around and targeted Luo Haifeng next to him. He said awkwardly, “The police came to negotiate one hour ago, but Mr. Ma was unwilling to open the door and we could only talk through the door. I asked him not to be so impulsive as everyone here is an adult. I persuaded him to solve the problem in a rational way…”

Before waiting for Luo Haifeng to finish, the reporter retracted the microphone. “Police Officer Luo, has Mr. Ma violated the law yet?”

Seeing this, Miss Dong hid behind a tree and whispered to Lin Dongxue, “Don't let them see me! I don't want to be interviewed.”

“Why are there reporters?!” Lin Dongxue was surprised.

The two left the area for the time being. At this time, Xu Xiaodong's car entered the community and he greeted with a smile. “Wow, great! Reporters are here! Have you been on TV yet?”

“No. Hurry up and stop in the middle of the road.”

“Wait for me.”

Xu Xiaodong stopped the car and saw Miss Dong. Then, he pretended to say in surprise, “Wow, a beauty. Are you Dongxue's friend?”

“She is the victim, Miss Dong.” Lin Dongxue introduced, “This is my colleague Xu Xiaodong, a criminal police officer who isn’t too reliable.”

“Who introduces people like that?”

After listening to Lin Dongxue retell the story, Xu Xiaodong sighed angrily. “How can you kill a cat? Cats are so cute! He’s scum!”

Lin Dongxue said dismissively, “You only have cats in your eyes?”

“I represent a kind of public opinion. Human affairs involving cats is wrong… Did you see him?”

“No, the door was closed.”

Miss Dong suddenly said, “Oh no, my bag!”

“It isn’t in the Japanese restaurant, is it?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Can I trouble you to pick it up with me?”

Lin Dongxue accompanied Miss Dong back to the Japanese restaurant. The bulky waitress handed the bag over and asked, “Looking for this?”

Miss Dong checked it and everything was in the bag. She thanked the waitress and asked if she could have a glass of water.

Miss Dong took some pills and said, “I'm sorry. My health isn’t good. I can't stay up at night... And there are reporters too. I don't want to show my face, and the whole Internet is scolding me as well.”

“Give me the keys. I'll take care of this and I promise to get you the cat back.”

Miss Dong took out the key chain and handed it to Lin Dongxue. “Thank you.”