Chapter 189
Watching Bai Jing's retreating figure, Mu Mian sighed, "Ah, I really am not good at fishing for information."
Fang Rui rubbed his forehead. Could this even be called fishing for information? It was more like straightforward, sincere questioning.
Mu Mian asked, "Fang Rui, what do you think they'll do if we keep investigating?"
"If Chen Shu was killed inside the police station, there must be someone on the inside working for them," Fang Rui replied. "Before we expose the mole, we shouldn't reveal our progress to anyone. Let's pretend we've stopped investigating this case for now and find a way to uncover the mole."
Mu Mian speculated, "Could it be Wang? Did Chen Shu lead him astray? But how could Wang get his hands on rat poison?"
Fang Rui wasn't entirely sure either. If there really was a mole planted by the mastermind, who could it be? Was it Wang? He had been in the interrogation room and had contact with Chen Shu, making him the most likely suspect. But many people had interacted with Chen Shu that day, and all of them were under suspicion.
Suddenly, Mu Mian had an idea. "Maybe it wasn't bought but stolen! When Lin Qianjie died, we retrieved a bag of rat poison from Lu Tian's house. Could someone have stolen some of it then? If so, that person must have planned this long ago. Oh no, what if they're planning to poison me? And you too, since you always eat my cooking."
"It's unlikely, but we should be more careful from now on," Fang Rui said.
At that moment, Shen Xiyin finished her consultation. She was surprised to see Mu Mian and Fang Rui waiting for her.
"Mu Mian, why are you here to see me?"
Shen Xiyin had been very busy lately. The psychology department at Jiangzhou University was conducting a research project: a cognitive ability survey of adolescents in Jiangzhou City. They had designed a series of tests to assess the cognitive abilities of primary and secondary school students and were collecting data.
Basic cognitive abilities included attention, memory, perception, reasoning, and cognitive flexibility. These tests were based on psychological experimental paradigms and had been computerized to improve data collection efficiency, but organizing the data was still a massive task.
Mu Mian asked, "Sister, why did you stop letting Bai Jing be your assistant?"
Shen Xiyin replied, "Because I caught her snooping through my computer. Although there wasn't anything important on it, I don't like people invading my privacy. She crossed a line."
Fang Rui asked, "Why would Bai Jing snoop through your computer?"
"I suspect someone put her up to it. She wasn't randomly searching through my files; she went straight to a specific folder on my D drive. I tend to store important files there, and only a few close friends know about this habit of mine, but none of them know Bai Jing."
Mu Mian pouted, "I didn't know you had that habit either."
Shen Xiyin smiled helplessly, "That's because you're not interested in my work."
Fang Rui asked, "Do you suspect someone you know instructed her?"
"Yes, I suspect it was Jiang Yinian. He knows me well. He could probably guess my computer password, and he knows where I like to store important files."
Mu Mian added, "I know your password too—it's my initials plus your birthday."
Fang Rui asked, "What kind of information would Jiang Yinian want from you?"
"I'm not sure. I don't have much research data. I focus on psychotherapy and rarely engage in research. The only research-related material I have is part of the data from our cognitive ability survey. Other than that, there's nothing significant."
Fang Rui probed, "Could it have something to do with your parents' research?"
Mu Mian countered, "Jiang Yinian was Dad's favorite student. He probably knows more about Dad's work than you do, Sister. What could he possibly get from you?"
"My father was developing a drug to treat Alzheimer's disease, but their research failed. At the time, they couldn't figure out why. A few years ago, the foundational paper on Alzheimer's was exposed as fraudulent, and I think that's why their research failed," Shen Xiyin sighed. "I never imagined my father and his team would waste over a decade because of a fake paper."
Mu Mian, worried Fang Rui wouldn't understand, explained further, "The Alzheimer's research community widely accepts the 'amyloid hypothesis': Alzheimer's is caused by the accumulation of Aβ plaques. Based on this hypothesis, my father's team developed a drug that could repair a certain protein, reduce Aβ*56 deposits, and slow the progression of Alzheimer's. But since the paper supporting this hypothesis was fraudulent, my father's drug failed in clinical trials.
Of course, my father wasn't the only one unlucky. Almost every Alzheimer's researcher wasted over a decade of their lives because of this flawed hypothesis. This shows how important honesty is in the scientific community. I, for one, am very honest."
Fang Rui chuckled, "So that's why you've never been good at lying?"
"I've gotten a little better now because the real world requires a lot of white lies."
Shen Xiyin added, "A friend told me that Jiang Yinian's Jiangmiao Group has replicated many expensive foreign drugs over the years. They've been sued multiple times by foreign pharmaceutical companies, but they've managed to evade legal consequences by tweaking the formulas and adding traditional Chinese medicine components. Many companies haven't been able to hold them accountable."
Mu Mian said, "Jiang Yinian once told me that innovation is the most important thing in research, and copying others' work is shameful. Why would he do something like this?"
"Maybe, for him now, making money is more important," Shen Xiyin said sarcastically.
Fang Rui looked into Jiang Yinian. He was the largest shareholder of Jiangmiao Group, but the company's operations were managed by professional executives.
Jiang Yinian had invested heavily in building a private laboratory, hiring many young medical graduates from prestigious universities, but he had never publicly announced any research findings.
Jiangmiao Group was founded by Jiang Yinian's cousin, who had been a criminal psychology expert before inheriting the family fortune and switching careers to establish the medical group. A few years later, he and his wife passed away, and Jiang Yinian inherited all their assets.
In addition to private hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, Jiangmiao Group frequently funded various research projects and collaborated with universities, giving it a good reputation and significant influence.
Fang Rui increasingly felt that Jiangmiao Group was shady. He even suspected that Jiang Yun's death had been orchestrated by Jiang Yinian so that he could gain control of the Lin family's assets as Lin Qianyan's guardian.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Fang Rui asked Mu Mian, "What kind of person is Jiang Yinian?"
Mu Mian thought for a moment and said, "Dad said he was a genius. He loved research and once said he would give everything for his work. But he's changed now. He probably loves money more." Her tone was tinged with regret.
Fang Rui realized that investigating Jiangmiao Group wouldn't be easy. First, there was no legitimate reason to do so, and second, if they alerted the company, they might destroy all evidence immediately.
For now, their priority was to uncover the killer of Chen Shu—the mole within the police station.