Chapter 45

"Love Lake 1, Another Person"

That afternoon, Wang Yao was returned to the hospital. The police contacted her relatives; she had an aunt and uncle who always adored Wang Yao and were more than willing to adopt her. Anger left his phone number with Wang Yao, telling her to call if she needed help, and invited her to visit the gallery often, as her aunt's house was just a few minutes away from Anger's gallery.

After ensuring Wang Yao was well-settled, Mo Fei and Anger returned home, only to find Jiu Yi sitting at the doorstep with his luggage.

Angler frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"

Jiuyi replied, "I checked out of the hotel. I was planning to leave, but then something occurred to me. I want to commission a case."

Angler and Mofei exchanged glances. Mofei asked, "A case commission?"

Jiuyi shrugged, hands in his pockets, and said, "Yeah, so I want to stay here for a while."

Angler raised an eyebrow and looked at him, saying, "Fine, but the fee will be double."

Jiuyi looked at the small mouse on his shoulder, feeling somewhat helpless, and said, "Elisa, they're ripping me off."

Elisa looked at him sympathetically, patting his shoulder as a form of comfort.

Angler and Mofei went back to the gallery, while Jiuyi temporarily stayed in Mofei's room... Staring at the dizzying tiger-striped walls and bedding, Jiuyi was truly astonished... Elisa clung desperately to the doorframe, refusing to enter - there were traces of feline creatures!

Mofei took out a marble cake from the freezer, offering it to Jiuyi and Angler to tide them over. Then he started cooking steaks, with red wine for the evening.

Jiuyi, lounging with crossed legs on the sofa, cut a small piece of cake for Elisa and remarked, "Angler, you live in a veritable earthly paradise."

Sipping tea and stroking Ace's neck fur, Angler said leisurely, "I never expected you'd have a case to commission."

"Well, to be precise, it's for a friend of mine," Jiuyi said with a hint of helplessness. "She's out of town but will arrive tomorrow morning. The case is quite bizarre, but I thought you might surprise me with your insight... so I decided to give it a try, especially since my friend urgently needs help."

"What kind of case?" Angler asked curiously. "You're a competent person, so what has left you feeling so helpless?"

Jiuyi smiled cheerfully and said, "It's an honor to be praised by you. But honestly, I'm at a complete loss."

"Details," demanded Angler.

"Well..." Jiuyi organized his thoughts and continued, "I have a childhood friend, a woman. Three years ago, she fell for a rich young man... or more accurately, he fell for her. After a long entanglement, the young man finally had his wish fulfilled and successfully proposed."

"Hmm," Angler nodded. "And then?"

"Afterward, they honeymooned at a place on the China-Myanmar border called Love Lake," Jiuyi explained. "I went there myself; it's a picturesque paradise. It's said to be a sacred spot for honeymooners, with an interesting phenomenon: couples who honeymoon there don't get divorced. In fact, they rarely even argue, living in utmost harmony. Hence, Love Lake is hailed as a sanctuary of love."

"So, it's named Love Lake because of that?" Angler inquired.

"Yes, that's the story I've heard," Jiuyi nodded in agreement.

However, Angler shook his head and said, "The origin of that name is baseless. There must be another story behind it."

Puzzled, Jiuyi asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Well," Angler pondered for a moment, "the naming of places is often a unique, localized phenomenon, not a universal, generalized one."

Jiuyi couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and looked at Elisa, "Elisa, do you understand what he's saying?"

Elisa, having just finished the last bite of her cake and savoring it with a lick of her lips, extended a paw towards Jiuyi's teacup, gesturing for a drink.

Jiuyi lifted the teacup for her to drink and said, "Angler, would you care to explain, or should I continue with my story?"

At this moment, Mofei finished preparing dinner and brought out the steaks. Everyone sat down to eat and chat.

"Hmm," Jiuyi nodded appreciatively, "They say steak is the true test of a chef's skill. Mofei, your cooking gets full marks."

Mofei smiled and carefully cut Angler's steak into manageable pieces, so Angler only needed to use a fork to eat.

Jiuyi watched Elisa with a hint of envy, and she patted him—continuing to offer comfort.

"What are you discussing?" Mofei asked Angler.

"An intriguing story, we've just begun," Angler said, glancing at Jiuyi to prompt him to continue.

"They spent a week at Love Lake for their honeymoon, utterly sweet, and upon return, they were as affectionate as the rumors suggested. But about a month after the wedding, my friend came to me looking terrible," Jiuyi said. "She had lost a lot of weight and her complexion was sallow and quite pale."

Angler frowned and shook his head, saying, "That's not how a newlywed should look."

"Exactly," Jiuyi agreed, "I asked her what was wrong, if her husband was treating her badly, but she said no, that her husband was almost too good to her."

Angler furrowed his brows slightly and remained silent, listening as Jiuyi continued.

"That made me even more worried. Could it be an illness? She looked seriously ill, but she told me it wasn't sickness, it was fear. She said she's been unable to sleep properly most nights," Jiuyi explained.

"Fear?" Mofei asked, puzzled. "Afraid of what?"

"I asked the same question," Jiuyi said with a smile. "She told me that the person who has been living with her since returning from Lake of Love is not her real husband."

Anger couldn't help but laugh, finding the situation quite intriguing. He asked, "What does that mean?"

Jiuyi shrugged and replied, "She believes that something has taken over her husband’s body and returned with him. As for her actual husband, she has no idea where he might be."

Anger put down his fork, pondering Jiuyi’s words, and asked, "Didn’t you clarify what she meant by that?"

"I did," Jiuyi responded. "Her explanation is that something has occupied her husband's body, seized control of his mind, and is now loving her in his place. Meanwhile, her real husband is missing, and what's living beside her now is a monster wearing her husband's corpse."

Mo Fei frowned slightly after hearing this and looked at Anger.

"That’s quite a disturbing analogy," Anger mused, then asked, "Could it just be some kind of post-marriage sensitivity?"

"I said the same," Jiuyi remarked. "It might be due to some discomfort after getting married... However, she showed me some evidence."

"What kind of evidence?" Anger asked with interest.

"Two photos," Jiuyi said, pointing to the suitcase and speaking to Elisa, "Elisa, do me a favor and fetch the photos."

Elisa hopped off his shoulder, scurried to the suitcase, deftly unzipped it slightly with her claws, dived into a pile of clothes, and soon emerged dragging two photos. She ran to Jiuyi's side, clambered onto the table.

Jiuyi took the photos and handed them to Anger, saying, "I've always kept these with me. Take a look."

Anger took them but instead of looking at the photos, he stared at Elisa and muttered softly, "That's really convenient."

Mo Fei picked a small piece of beef from his plate and offered it to Elisa, who took it in her mouth, wiped her paws on a napkin, then climbed back onto Jiuyi's shoulder to sit and continue eating.

"These are their pre-wedding and post-wedding photos," Jiuyi explained. "Look at the two men in the photos and see if you notice any differences."

Anger took the photos, and Mo Fei also leaned in curiously. As they compared the two, both furrowed their brows.

In both photos, a man is seen embracing a woman's shoulders. The woman looks lovely and is smiling in both, with the only difference being a slight weight loss in one. However, the man... he appears handsome and suave, tall, with a distinguished look, also smiling in both. Yet, the same man in the two photos... gives off a completely different vibe. In one, he seems normal, but in the other, there's an indescribable malevolence.

Anger, holding the photo with the malevolent vibe, asked Jiuyi, "Was this taken after they got married?"

Jiuyi nodded, "See? I started to suspect after seeing these photos."

Mo Fei pondered for a moment and asked, "Could it be a mere coincidence, or is there something peculiar about this particular photo?"

Jiuyi shook his head and said, "My friend gave me a hundred photos to choose from, fifty from before the marriage and fifty from after. I identified all of them correctly. I just randomly kept two with me to help her figure things out whenever needed."

Anger stroked his chin and remarked, "Hmm, that is indeed quite intriguing."

"Furthermore, under her husband's insistent request, they've now moved to the China-Myanmar border, close to the Lake of Love," Jiuyi continued.

"What about other aspects?" Anger inquired. "Any difficulties, or peculiar occurrences?"

"Quite the opposite," Jiuyi shook his head. "Her husband used to be somewhat of a prodigal son, not bad in character but frivolous. However, post-marriage, he's like a changed man, ambitious, balancing career and love, and much smoother in his dealings with others. His parents are exceptionally fond of her, claiming that marrying her transformed their son completely."

"That is indeed ironic," Anger nodded and asked, "Why doesn't she divorce him?"

Jiuyi gave a wry smile and explained, "That man loves her to the point of madness, and his crazy life seems to revolve solely around her... She once left briefly, and he bombarded her with a call every minute. Even weirder, she said he strokes her every night while mechanically repeating 'I love you' until she falls asleep."

Anger raised an eyebrow and said with a slight laugh, "This clearly demonstrates that excessive love can be more terrifying than no love at all. Haven’t they discussed this issue between themselves?"

"My friend spoke to her husband about it, asking him to stop, but he replied, 'Isn't this what every woman dreams of?'"

"Hmm," Anger mused thoughtfully. "Every woman, huh... And then? Did she come here alone this time?"

"She said she came with her husband," Jiuyi replied. "I haven't been in contact with her for half a month. In our last phone call, she shared a particular detail with me."

"What was it?" Anger asked.

"She told me that one night, as her husband was declaring his love as usual, she couldn't take it anymore and snapped at him. In that moment, a terrifying expression flashed in his eyes as he approached her. Just when she thought he was going to hurt her, he suddenly began writhing in pain on the bed. My friend went to check on him, and he suddenly looked up at her and said, 'Drive him away.'"

"'Drive him away?'" Anger frowned and asked, "Then what happened?"

"My friend said that was her real husband speaking. Then he said, 'Don't defy him,'" Jiuyi continued. "After that, the man started thrashing again. When he woke up, he was back in that malevolent state and asked my friend if he had said anything strange. She pretended to still be angry and said he was just expressing his love."

Anger nodded in understanding.

"The man then embraced her and lay back down, continuing to declare his love," Jiuyi said helplessly. "She told me that since then, she has been very cooperative and stopped resisting. Her original husband hasn't appeared since."

Anger frowned and said, "It sounds like a case of a simple split personality."

"I've consulted psychologists about this, and they say it's hard to tell. However, personality dissociation evolves gradually. No secondary personality, no matter how dominant, emerges overnight. There's always a process of evolution. In essence, after a lengthy and obscure explanation, those experts couldn't provide a definitive answer," Jiu Yi sighed. "But when I asked a friend, she insisted that her husband's body had been taken over by another entity."

An Ge nodded slightly and said, "Hmm, quite interesting."