Episode 2 Past and Present

  "Why are you so good to me?"

  The girl's head gradually leaned on Rus's shoulder.

  Lus felt at a loss, even his ex-girlfriend two years ago had never been so close to him.

  "If I said I liked you... would you believe me?"

  Episode 2: Past and Present

  1 month 20 days ago · New York · Manhattan ——

  "If I said I liked you... would you believe me?"

  Rus's voice trembled, not because he was cowardly, but because he himself wasn't sure if he really liked the girl beside him. He didn't know if the subtle feelings between them should be considered as liking each other. The girl shook her head, "You're lying to me." Yet, her head still leaned on Rus's shoulder. "...How can I make you believe...I'm being serious..." Rus's face turned red, he hadn't had this heart-pounding experience in two years and didn't know how to react to the current situation. His hand wrapped around the girl's back, he was hesitant, wondering if he should hug her. His hesitation was because he once told himself "never fall in love again." This was something he said two years ago, actually, three years ago he also said it. But not long after that, the vow became a joke. Rus liked to fantasize but didn't like deceiving himself. Since he had deceived himself once, there shouldn't be a second time; however, from another perspective, since he already deceived himself once, why bother with the second time? The struggle and conflict were mental states everyone had experienced, Rus was no exception. He was just one of the 6 billion ordinary people.

  Finally, Rus gave in and hugged the girl, who snuggled up close to him. Rus didn't know what he had given in to or whether it was right, but the fact was that he had done it, and their relationship had been established from this point on. Actually, Rus preferred the ambiguous feeling between men and women before they officially started dating; official dating was just a manifestation of a sense of accomplishment. If he could have both the ambiguous feeling and the sense of accomplishment, wouldn't that be the perfect love he was pursuing? Although he still didn't dare say he knew what love was at this point. On the pedestrian bridge, the two walked together, planning to go eat steak at a steakhouse where Rus had taken many girls before, a place that held all his understanding of love. They walked very close but didn't hold hands; Rus didn't dare, but hoped the girl would take the initiative to hold his hand. Rus was this kind of person who even when dating someone wouldn't dare hold their hand; deep down he felt that as long as he could touch a girl's hand while arm-wrestling her, he would be very happy. The two went down the bridge and into the steakhouse. In the end, they still didn't hold hands.

  "How would you like your steak done?" the waitress asked them. "Ten points, I guess," the girl replied innocently. "Ten points? How do you eat that... seven points would be better." Russ suggested. "I'll still have ten points, I don't dare to eat it too rare." The girl said shyly. The female waiter smiled and said, "Sir, how about you?" "Five points - I always eat five points!" Russ said proudly. In fact, he had only eaten a five-point cooked steak once, which was last week when he came with friends and ordered seven points, but the waiter or chef made a mistake and it became five points. That time, he pulled his stomach for an entire afternoon. Now he dared to say so, just a manifestation of a common male psychological phenomenon - men like to show their uniqueness in front of women, regardless of the form. "I need to tell you that five points are bloody," the waitress said. "Of course, American men always eat steak no more than five points!" Russ boasted, actually he had already prepared himself for another stomachache. When the steak arrived, he found out that the waiter had made a mistake again and gave him a three-point cooked steak... He bit into the "raw meat" with tears in his eyes, thinking to himself that maybe this restaurant always makes mistakes with the cooking points of the steak... At this time, he really wanted to die, watching his girlfriend eating her fully cooked steak (actually seven points) with relish, he was speechless.

  At the dinner table, the two of them chatted about many things, and even the normally reserved Russ gradually opened up. Russ was a very talkative person, although he didn't understand much, but in other people's eyes, it seemed like he understood a lot - this was also one of the reasons why he had a good relationship with women despite his average looks. "You said you liked criminal psychology?" the girl asked curiously. "Yes, I'm already very proficient," Russ said proudly. "To what extent? Give an example." "For example, I can collect fingerprints using chewing gum, and I can tell where someone has been by looking at their clothes. In fact, I also have some knowledge of graphology." "Is this criminal psychology? It sounds a bit like detective work to me?" "Ah... they're related, they're related. Detective work is one branch of criminal psychology. You know, criminal psychology is an interdisciplinary field that involves many sciences." "I see... so you want to be a police officer in the future and protect New York's unsung heroes?" "Actually, I'd rather be a detective, like Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was proficient in many professional fields." "Hehe, then you really need to work hard!" The girl's smile was very sweet, and Russ felt dizzy when he saw it. He began to think that his decision to get along with the girl was correct.

  All the girlfriends that Rus had were girls who took the initiative to confess to him, and this time could be counted as such. So, he basically had no experience in chasing girls, because every time it wasn't necessary for him to chase them. But he didn't know that with the passage of time, there would be fewer and fewer girls who would take the initiative to chase those who looked very knowledgeable. Perhaps this was his last one. Therefore, Rus decided that he couldn't just look like a knowledgeable person anymore; he had to become a truly knowledgeable person.

  That day, after eating steak and sending the girl home, he walked into a paid library for the first time and borrowed a book called "Exploring Criminal Psychology". Even if he didn't know whether the book was really written by a well-known criminal psychology expert, he still borrowed it. As for the reason, probably because the book was thick enough. At least on a certain day in the future when the girl visited his home, she could see that there was such a thick book about criminal psychology on his bookshelf.

  That was the first time Russ had formally come into contact with criminal psychology; the first time he had formally learned about the late 19th century London prostitute serial murder case known as "Jack the Ripper"; and the first time he used the name "JACK" on his own Falling Man Forum.

  Three years ago, Wuhan, China

  "Is Li Ming first again?" "Yes, he's so handsome!" "Handsome? His math is second to last!" "But even if only liberal arts are good, it's still handsome!" "Useless, liberal arts are just memorization, boys have to be good at science to be considered smart." In the school corridor, several boys and girls were discussing Li Ming. At this time, a voice interrupted, "My understanding is exactly the opposite, liberal arts pay more attention to understanding, I'm not just memorizing an English dictionary to pass the English level 4 exam!" "Li Ming, you passed the English level 4 exam?" A girl looked at Li Ming in surprise as he walked up. Li Ming was holding his newly obtained public English level 4 certificate. "Hmph! What's the use of English level 4 now? I don't know how many people with level 6 can't find a job!" The boy who had been badmouthing Li Ming earlier said. "You're talking about university English, this is public English, there are only five levels in total, it's different. And I didn't say it was useful, I don't think passing the English exam to a certain level can find a good job in China. I took the exam early so I can go to America later." Li Ming said calmly. "You're a traitor who worships foreign things, everyone in America has guns! There are always terrorist attacks and gay black people! And I saw on a website yesterday that Jack the Ripper will be resurrected in New York in five years!" The boy continued to argue. "Heh heh, I'm not a prostitute, what's there to fear?" Li Ming smiled. "What are you talking about? What's this about Jack the Ripper?" The girl asked. "It's about the serial killer who killed many prostitutes in London in the 19th century, his methods were extremely brutal, and he was never caught by the police or detectives, making it a legendary unsolved case! If Jack really comes back to life in New York...who knows if his target won't become males of Li Ming's age?" The boy intentionally spoke in a scary tone, causing the girl to take a few steps back. "Don't listen to him." Li Ming maintained his smile, "How can there be such thing as resurrection? You must have seen it on some boring spiritual website. And Jack the Ripper was said to have been abandoned by his prostitute mother when he was young and developed a psychological disorder called female depreciation syndrome, so his target wouldn't change to men! These things are all in the book 'Exploration of Criminal Psychology'." "Wow, Li Ming, you're really knowledgeable!" The girl looked at him with admiration. "Hmph, these are nothing, Li Ming, even if you're good at liberal arts, it's useless, if your math score is low on the middle school exam, you'll have trouble graduating from junior high!" The boy said disdainfully. "Yes, but I don't need to take the middle school exam - my international essay award is enough for me to get into a top high school!" "You...you...even so, when it's time for the college entrance exams, you won't be able to get in! That's six subjects! Your Chinese and English are useless, math, physics, chemistry, biology will crush you!!" "You don't know that high school has separate liberal arts and science tracks? I'll only take Chinese, math, English, politics, history, and geography if I choose liberal arts." "Hmph! Even if it's just math and geography, it's enough to crush you!" The boy was at a loss for words and finally said this before entering the classroom. "Hmm? Isn't geography a liberal art?" The girl asked. "It is, but some people say it's a subject that leans towards science in liberal arts, I think even if it's placed in the science track, geography might be more difficult than math and science." "Ah...forget it, Li Ming, don't mind what he says, you'll definitely be able to go to America and attend a good university!"

  That day, the argument in the corridor was clearly won by Li Ming. However, after returning home, that person's words lingered in his ears and couldn't be shaken off. "When it comes to the college entrance exam, you won't even get into university!" Yes, Li Ming knew this sentence was correct. The college entrance exam tests six subjects, but only emphasizes four of them, and giving up any two subjects means losing at least 200 points before the exam has even started, making it impossible to get into a good university; perhaps not even an ordinary one. If middle school students can be admitted to high school, how do they then get into university? Thinking about this, Li Ming felt a chill run down his spine - the cruelty of China's education system could kill off any talented student who excels in only one subject, and there were precedents for this. It was time to think of a backup plan; Li Ming didn't like admitting defeat and couldn't be forever barred from university. He had to come up with a way to get into university even if he only relied on his scores in four subjects.

  That day, Li Ming started writing, writing in class, writing after class, and even thinking about it when he got home. He was doing all this so that one day, after publication, he could open the door to university, which had seemed impossible for him. Once published, he was confident that his book would be a bestseller; but as for whether it would be published at all, he didn't have much confidence. Because China's publishing industry is like its education system - the many layers of obstacles can't be overcome with just some money and personal connections.

  And his subject is a series of stories about the London murderer Jack the Ripper.

  Now New York Manhattan——

  "It's all over... everything is over." Russ gazed at the broken phone on the ground, continuing to smoke. This was his second pack of cigarettes today. "Why do I still remember that day when we had steak? Ha... what an irony, happiness will never find me, what am I dreaming about!" Russ tapped the ash into the ashtray and continued staring at his computer screen. The Falling People Forum was still bustling with activity as usual today. Fortunately, the forum's popularity wouldn't fluctuate with the administrator's mood, which was a fortunate thing.

  "Jack, did you get dumped? What's going on? Let's talk about it!"

  A forum private message suddenly appeared in Rus's inbox.

  That was sent from an IP address in China.