Dusk was approaching, and the sky was filled with the colors of the setting sun.
The aroma of food from the cafeteria grew stronger, drifting into the office from time to time.
But at this moment, everyone’s focus was entirely on the case. Even Liu Haoran, normally the most enthusiastic about meals, didn’t notice the smell; his eyes were fixed intently on Jiang Ling.
The term psychological profiling was still fresh and new to them.
Even Ying Songmao, who had long been engaged in criminal investigation techniques, was hearing it for the first time.
Unlike physical features, a person’s psychology is dynamic and changeable—how could one possibly “draw” it?
Ying Songmao stayed calm, but his assistant Zhao Jingxin couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked directly, “What exactly is a psychological profile?”
Jiang Ling replied, “I saw this term in a foreign paper. A criminal’s behavior is influenced by environmental conditions and reflects their daily habits and personality traits. By examining the psychological traces and the ‘psychological scene’ present in physical evidence, we can apply principles and techniques of psychology to analyze the offender’s appearance, behavior, motives, psychological processes, and traits. This analysis provides a basis for narrowing down the pool of suspects. That process is what we call a psychological profile.”
Everyone in the office was a field practitioner in the police system, not specialized in theoretical research, so Jiang Ling’s explanation felt overly academic; they were all confused.
Li Zhenliang scratched his head. “Xiao Jiang, could you explain it in simpler terms?”
Zhou Wei added, “Yeah, I’m having trouble understanding too.”
Even Liu Haoran, who had taken courses in criminal psychology, found Jiang Ling’s words too obscure. “Foreign papers are really hard to understand once translated. Maybe you should explain it using the case itself—it would be easier to follow.”
Ying Songmao, however, seemed to understand. “You mean deducing a criminal’s psychological traits from their behavior, right?”
Jiang Ling nodded. “Exactly! Psychological profiling doesn’t mean literally drawing a person. It’s about describing the offender based on the clues we have, including their physical traits, psychological traits, social traits, and criminal history.”
As she spoke, Jiang Ling wrote the four categories—Physical, Psychological, Social, Criminal History—on the whiteboard.
“Earlier, Captain Ying already used physical evidence to determine that the offender is under 145 cm tall, frail, inexperienced in theft, and uses hair clips to commit the crimes.”
“Next, I will begin the psychological profiling of the offender.”
Jiang Ling paused briefly to observe everyone’s reactions.
All of them nodded in agreement.
“I get it now. When you say ‘profiling,’ it’s not really drawing a picture—it’s describing the person.”
“The more detailed the description, the easier it will be to find the offender.”
“Xiao Jiang, go ahead. I’m taking notes.”
Jiang Ling pulled out the first file.
“This is a case of a stolen bicycle bell from November 1992, which was also the offender’s first crime. The incident occurred at a textile factory. As we discussed earlier, first-time offenders usually commit crimes close to home, but this case is different—the first location in this series of eleven incidents is the farthest from home.”
The discussion, previously interrupted by Wei Changfeng and others, finally returned to the main point. Li Zhenliang’s mind raced. “Could it be that she just happened to be near the textile factory that day and grabbed a bell on the spur of the moment?”
Liu Haoran shook his head immediately. “No, it couldn’t be a coincidence. The first time someone commits a crime, they are the most nervous and scared—they usually choose a location near home. Look closely at the incident map: the later the case number, the farther it is from the towel factory. Only the first case is an exception.”
Li Zhenliang leaned over the map and gave Liu Haoran a thumbs-up. “Looks like there really is a pattern. You’re sharp!”
Zhou Wei suggested another possibility. “Could it be that she wasn’t alone the first time—that someone living near the textile factory brought her there?”
Liu Haoran shook his head again. “Impossible. Stealing isn’t something to show off, so she would definitely avoid people. There’s no way she would do it with someone else.”
“This isn’t it, that’s not it,” Zhou Wei shrugged. “Then what do you think it is?”
Liu Haoran, thinking clearly, said, “One possibility is that the bell she wanted to steal initially belonged to an employee at the textile factory.”
Li Zhenliang and Zhou Wei considered this. “Hmm, that makes sense.”
“You’re right, Haoran,” Jiang Ling nodded approvingly. “Anything that seems illogical often becomes the most crucial clue.”
Liu Haoran felt a swell of satisfaction at her confirmation.
Jiang Ling continued: “If the motive were for money or a compulsion to steal, the offender would have chosen a location close to home for the first crime. Using the process of elimination, I deduce that the offender’s motive is revenge. She uses bicycle bell theft as a way to exact revenge. Naturally, the first victim of the stolen bell is the person she wanted to target.”
Liu Haoran still found it strange. “Stealing a bell for revenge… isn’t that a bit childish?”
Jiang Ling raised her voice. “Exactly! Childish. The offender is just a young girl; she lacks the ability to use violence, report someone, or damage property. She can only quietly steal the other person’s bell. The first victim is the person she wants revenge on.”
Liu Haoran opened the first report. “This case was reported by the factory’s administrative secretary, but the bell actually belonged to Qian Jianshe.”
Hearing Qian Jianshe’s name, everyone frowned.
“Why does he pop up everywhere?”
“This guy’s trouble.”
“When Qian Darong got into trouble, the factory criticized Qian Jianshe. Now he’s suspended and reflecting. A person like him getting his bicycle bell stolen… Well, he deserves it!”
Ying Songmao reminded Jiang Ling, “This is just speculation.”
Physical evidence indicates the offender is a small, weak woman, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a young girl; there’s also no established criminal theory saying a first-time offender can’t commit a crime far from home.
Jiang Ling’s deduction seems reasonable, but it is highly subjective.
She couldn’t tell everyone that hearing the words “bicycle bell” had triggered memories of Shen Xiaomei’s files, indicating Shen Xiaomei must be connected to the case.
Shen Xiaomei had said she had been wandering and begging since age six, which didn’t match the offender living primarily in the towel factory.
The bell that Shen Xiaomei had was left behind by Xiaoyue, so the little girl who stole the bells was most likely Xiaoyue.
Aside from the fact that Xiaoyue was frail, malnourished, and died of tuberculosis, Shen Xiaomei had once said that Xiaoyue only had her mother—but her mother had been killed by a villain who possessed a very “dirty” bell.
If solving a case were an exam, Jiang Ling held the answer sheet and was figuring out the reasoning process.
Although her psychological profile lacked direct physical evidence, Jiang Ling knew she was headed in the right direction. She looked at Ying Songmao, her tone calm: “Captain Ying, this is my intuition.”
Their eyes met briefly.
Jiang Ling’s gaze was clear, glowing with amber in the light of the setting sun.
In her eyes, Ying Songmao saw persistence and determination.
After a brief silence, Ying Songmao nodded slightly. “Alright, continue.” Jiang Ling’s profiling process was still somewhat raw, but it was clever. He decided she deserved more chances—perhaps she could pioneer a whole new path in criminal investigation.
With Ying Songmao’s approval, Jiang Ling circled the word “revenge” heavily on the blackboard.
“The reason I say the perpetrator is a little girl is threefold: first, her height under 145 cm, frailty, and weakness all match the traits of a young girl; second, hair clips are mostly worn by little girls; third, girls in their teens are emotionally sensitive, and when stimulated by certain events, they are prone to childish acts of revenge.”
“Earlier, Haoran mentioned that the crimes mostly occurred on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings, at intervals of about one month, which suggests that the stimulus the girl experienced happened on Sundays, involved Qian Jianshe, and recurred monthly.”
At this point, everyone looked at each other, all with thoughts they wanted to voice.
Li Zhenliang spoke first: “Qian Jianshe is lecherous—could it be…”
His first thought was that the little girl had been sexually assaulted by Qian Jianshe. The idea made Li Zhenliang’s chest tighten painfully. As a father, he couldn’t bear to imagine how a teenage girl would feel after such a violation.
Revenge? He thought stealing bells was far too mild a way to retaliate.
Zhou Wei interrupted, “No. Qian Jianshe may be lecherous, but his lovers are always adult women.”
Li Zhenliang exhaled with relief. “So not the worst.”
Liu Haoran continued, “Then… perhaps the girl’s relative was harmed by Qian Jianshe?”
Exactly what Jiang Ling had been waiting to hear. She nodded firmly: “Yes, the relative was most likely her mother—after all, mothers and daughters are closely connected. The girl witnessed her mother being involved with Qian Jianshe and felt powerless to stop it. She was filled with rage and sought revenge, stealing his bell. After repeated triggers, she continued stealing, gradually developing a pathological pattern.”
Ying Songmao had never expected that Jiang Ling could reconstruct an entire criminal process just from the time, location, and physical evidence.
So this was criminal profiling?
Li Zhenliang had once worked with Jiang Ling and witnessed her analysis of Qian Darong’s criminal psychology; he had long trusted her abilities. Hearing this, he immediately stood up: “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s find her!”
A teenage girl who had suffered such psychological trauma—he felt deeply heartbroken for her.
Even if she was a thief, she had been driven to it by that shameless man, Qian Jianshe!
Jiang Ling raised her hand, pressing down gently to signal Li Zhenliang to stay calm: “Don’t rush. The psychological profile isn’t complete yet.”
Li Zhenliang urged her, “Then go on quickly.”
Jiang Ling continued: “If the girl had a father, she would have sought his help. Her mother could not have had such a regular connection with Qian Jianshe. If she had siblings, she would have someone to confide in, and her psychology wouldn’t be so affected. Therefore, I deduce she is an only child, with her father deceased or her parents divorced, living with her mother in a separate dormitory.”
This time, Liu Haoran and Zhou Wei could no longer remain seated—they both stood.
The girl: height 140–145 cm, in elementary or middle school, frail and weak, living with her mother.
—This information was already detailed enough. There were over 300 households in the towel factory dorms; filtering for the perpetrator would take just one day.
Finding the girl would confirm Jiang Ling’s profiling was accurate!
The two of them spoke in unison: “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s find her.”
…
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