My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"What did the doctor say about his condition?" Ru Meiqi asked all the while handcuffing Jin Renguang's wrist to the bedrail otherwise the man would take every chance to get back to work, disregarding how his injuries hadn't even dried properly yet. 

The members in the room pretended they saw nothing. Except Qin Weizhe who wouldn't pass up the opportunity to snicker at Jin Renguang in schadenfreude. The latter tried to lift his arm halfway only to get stuck by the handcuff. In the end, he sighed in defeat and continued to lie down obediently.

"He should be waking up soon." Ke Shao said. "After all, his wounds aren't even as severe as Jiang Jinyan. The other man woke up a few days ago, so there isn't any reason for him not to. He doesn't get a concussion anyway."

Wang Chengbing munched on potato chips and gave Ke Shao a glance. "Aren't you too harsh?"

Ke Shao scoffed. "What? You want me to be buddy buddy with him? He's a serial killer, for God's sake!"

"But from Mr. Si Zhening's statement," Luo Ning chimed in gingerly. "He said that Nan Xukun has dissociative personality disorder. Does that mean that he actually has no idea that he's the serial killer? I can't help but imagine…what if he wakes up later and doesn't have any recollection of what he has done?"

Ke Shao replied in a sarcastic tone. "So what? Does being mentally unsound give him the reason to kill people?" 

It was ruthless but what Ke Shao said was true. So what if he had no idea? It was like the moment when one sleepwalked and accidentally fell down the stairs. When that person woke up, they still had to deal with the pain and injuries because the act had been done on their own, whether they were conscious of it or not.

Xu Binchen, who had been silent, asked all of a sudden. "I don't really get how dissociative personality disorder works. But is it possible for one of the personalities to not have the slightest idea what the other does?"

"You haven't been listening, have you?" Qin Weizhe grumbled. "He consumed antipsychotic medication periodically so it might have some effect on his brain. Or it might be his coping mechanism to forget about everything."

Xu Binchen frowned. "So it means he's aware of it one way or another, right?" Turning to Ru Meiqi, he asked. "What do you think, Senior Ru? I assume you're the one who understands the most among all of us here."

Ru Meiqi pondered briefly. "Have you ever read the novel 'The Minds of Billy Milligan'?" The sudden English title caused everyone to be confused. Ru Meiqi elaborated further. "It's a nonfiction book portraying Billy, the first person in US history acquitted of a major crime because of multiple personality disorders. Billy has 24 different personalities."

Everyone was shocked. "Twenty four?!"

Wang Chengbing shuddered in fright. "So, is it like 24 people in one body?"

"What I mean is," Ru Meiqi emphasized. "In that book, all of Billy's 24 personalities live in harmony. They created a systematic schedule to decide who will appear on which day. Among his personalities, there is one leader who's in charge of monitoring everyone. In Billy's case, each personality recognizes each other but they indeed have no idea what the others are doing. My point is, it's totally normal for Nan Xukun to not know what the serial killer has done in detail but at least, he ought to know that there's another consciousness in his body."

Everyone slowly mulled over her words, baffled. Why was this so damn complicated?! If he was a serial killer, then he was! Period!

Qin Weizhe concluded. "In other words, we only have to wait for him to wake up and confront him directly, right?"

They nodded at his words.

"So in the end, what happens to Billy?" Wang Chengbing asked curiously.

"He was monitored in a psychiatric institution as their law stipulated that he's not guilty." Ru Meiqi said. "In our case, this is the first time that a person with dissociative personality and possibly schizophrenia has committed severe crime in our country so I'm certain there hasn't been a law specifying the effective method to deal with it yet. Moreover, Nan Xukun's identity is a bit thorny." She sighed and shook his head. "It's really not easy… now that we have caught the serial killer, we can't even apprehend him directly."

Then, as if on cue, everyone's eyes turned to Jin Renguang simultaneously. 

"What?" The man responded offhandedly.

"Nah, it's just a bit unusual for you to stay silent, Captain." Ke Shao scratched his head. "I almost can't get used to it."

Jin Renguang scoffed. "I am not even granted permission to take part in the mission so why should I put my thoughts into it?"

They were rendered speechless. Was this… the way Captain Jin threw tantrums? 

"Captain, are you angry?" Wang Chengbing asked naively, his eyes landing on the handcuff around Jin Renguang's wrist.

Jin Renguang's face abruptly darkened.

"Ai—Aiyah!" Ke Shao exclaimed. "I suddenly remember that I still have something to do. Please give me a call when Nan Xukun wakes up later!"

"Me too!

"Oh, me three!"

The crowd instantly diminished until the end, Qin Weizhe slung his arm around Luo Ning's shoulder and dragged him out, whistling. Seeing that, Xu Binchen also stood up and left while dragging his IV drips along. In less than ten seconds, the room was only left with Jin Renguang and Ru Meiqi.

Ru Meiqi started to peel an apple expressionlessly.

"Are you really going to ignore me until the end?" Jin Renguang asked in an exasperated tone. 

"Are you still going to get off the bed?" Ru Meiqi retorted.

He lifted his right hand, the handcuff clanking with his movement. "I can't even get off the bed like this. Come on, you know that I should do this. I am the one who has been chasing after the serial killer from the start. If anyone has to interrogate him, I am the best option there is." Seeing Ru Meiqi unmoved, he gave a small smile. "You know how thick my body is. Nothing can pierced through it—"

Bang! Ru Meiqi put down the knife harshly. "You still have the gall to joke about something like this?! It hasn't even been a month since you're hospitalized. You are really—" She choked on her words, her eyes reddening. "—so infuriating and annoying."

She really hated him; hated how he had no idea how much effort she exerted to keep calm and continued working as he was unconscious, he had no idea how she felt when she sat days after days by his bedside, gazing at his sleeping visage and regretting how careless she was. He didn't have the slightest idea how guilty and scared she was. 

If—If something really happened to him, she…

"I'm sorry, Qiqi." He held her hand in a tight hold. "I was sure I would survive, that's why I did what I've done. I know I'm wrong. See, I'm repenting now…"

Ru Meiqi glared. What kind of shabby excuse was it?! Look at that smug smirk on his face. Exactly which part of him that looked like he was repenting?! 

"Here." He brought her hand to his chest. "If you're still angry, you may hit me, punch me, or even kick me. You're free to do whatever you want. It's a good deal, right?"

—Good deal, his ass. 

The place where he led her hand to was his injured part that was still covered in bandage. This sneaky man, Ru Meiqi gnashed her teeth. She should've known that a leopard wouldn't change its spot as easily as that. He knew perfectly that Ru Meiqi couldn't bear to hurt him, that's why he acted like this.

"Bastard, jerk, idiot." Ru Meiqi cursed under her breath, eliciting a deep chuckle from the other. The chest underneath her palm rumbled along with his laugh, sending numbness up her entire arm. Enraged, she grasped his chin and fiercely mashed her lips onto his, taking the man totally off guard.

A moment later, Jin Renguang closed his eyes, lips curling up into a smile. The sight provoked Ru Meiqi further and she started to bite and gnaw on his lips like a wild cub, tasting the blood on the tip of her tongue. Still, Jin Renguang gladly welcomed the sweet, delicious pain. His hand reached out and…

"Ah! For the sake of my barren love life, oh shit, my eyes!" Wang Chengbing suddenly appeared on the door and covered his eyes as if he had been burned, groaning and grimacing incessantly.

Jin Renguang and Ru Meiqi naturally separated, both looked totally calm and unruffled as if they hadn't been caught making out in a hospital room. That is...if Jin Renguang's lips didn't have bloody bite marks on them and Ru Meiqi's breath wasn't so hurried as if she had just ran a marathon. 

"What's wrong?" Jin Renguang asked coolly as he wiped his lips. Even a blind could see that he was currently in an excellent mood. 

"That…" Wang Chengbing said without taking the hand off his eyes. "Nan Xukun has regained consciousness and his mental condition doesn't look very good. Right now, Qin Weizhe and Xu Binchen are with him as we speak. Oh yes, one more thing! He wants to see Shi Nian."

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A/N: 'The Minds of Billy Milligan' is a very great and mindblowing book. You should read it if you're interested on how 24 personalities can cope in one body :)