With Aunt Chen's help, Lin Yilin and she quickly cleaned up the mess in the house.
After they finished, Aunt Chen left, citing other commitments, leaving behind the woman she had brought.
As the office door closed, Lin Yilin extended her hand to the somewhat bewildered woman and invited, "Please sit anywhere. Let's begin the consultation. How may I help you, ma'am?"
The woman cautiously sat on the large sofa. The sofa was spacious, but she still chose to huddle in a corner.
Lin Yilin sat on the single-seater sofa, not immediately pressing for details. For clients lacking a sense of security, being too aggressive could scare them away.
Once the other party had settled in a bit and her posture visibly relaxed, Lin Yilin asked, "Please tell me, how can I help you?"
"I... my name is Kaibisi..." The woman spoke very cautiously.
"Married woman, with a mix of old and new injuries on her body. Despite the warming weather, she still chooses thick, long clothing to hide them, unwilling to be noticed by outsiders. There are signs of childbirth. She has two young children at home. Her clothes are of high quality but appear worn after multiple washes. There are traces of long-term jewelry wear, but she isn't wearing any now, or rather, hasn't for some time."
As soon as the woman spoke her name, Lin Yilin's mind was already in motion, directly analyzing most of the clues on the other party in her head.
"Domestic abuse." Zheng Fan, leaning against the back of the sofa behind her, was practically attached to Lin Yilin's shadow, in a semi-attached state. He easily read Lin Yilin's superficial thoughts and blurted it out. After possessing Jiang Si, his understanding of this aspect was even clearer; he could now achieve this kind of semi-attached sharing.
"Originally a family with some assets, but something changed. So depressed and disheartened. Her husband has changed a lot; he's the source of the domestic abuse," Lin Yilin's thoughts continued.
"There's a lingering smell of alcohol, but she hasn't been drinking. It's from her husband," Zheng Fan shared Lin Yilin's keen senses.
"Remnants of mid-to-high-end alcohol mixed with strong, low-quality liquor. Their economic situation is deteriorating rapidly."
Thoughts quickly organized, and finally, while Kaibisi was still hesitating and pondering, Lin Yilin spoke directly: "What happened to your husband?"
Kaibisi's eyes widened instantly: "How did you..."
"Please don't be afraid. Although I am aware of most things in Xixikeke Street and even the surrounding areas, I have no interest in the trivial lives of ordinary people. As for how I know, you can understand it as me demonstrating my capabilities. I hope you can confidently tell me everything; I will do my best to help you solve it."
When Lin Yilin spoke seriously to someone, her eyes never wandered. She looked straight ahead, combined with her unchanging tone, creating an imposing presence.
However, for someone lacking a sense of security, perhaps such a strong reassurance was exactly what was needed.
"Yes, it's my husband, Lind... he... he wasn't like that originally..." The woman's eyes immediately reddened. The easy exposure of information probably made her feel a desire to spill everything, like a broken pot.
Zheng Fan glanced at Lin Yilin.
This girl is too professional.
Both in her thinking and in her ability to adapt to different people.
Kaibisi slowly recounted her story.
Her husband was originally a successful merchant on Xixikeke Street, fully capable of ensuring the family's well-being and a good future.
But some time ago, due to business failure, he incurred debts, and his breakdown was swift.
Up to this point, there was no problem.
Kaibisi originally believed that she and her husband could work together to overcome the difficult times, and there was still hope for the future, as her husband still had excess connections and assets accumulated over many years in business.
Her husband started drinking to drown his sorrows, but it was temperate and had not reached the point of alcoholism.
Until one day, her husband went out looking for an opportunity and came back very late that night.
He returned very excited, saying he had found a new good job and had made a large sum on his first day. He then showed Kaibisi a large amount of cash.
At that time, her husband's eyes were bloodshot, as if they were red, which made Kaibisi a little afraid. But no matter what, things had suddenly taken a turn for the better; it seemed like a good thing, and as a wife, she should be happy too.
However, that money was used by her husband for other purposes, saying it was for future startup capital, and not much was left for the family.
After that, her husband spent less and less time at home, leaving early and returning late, or even not returning at all without a word. The deficit in this "startup capital" grew larger and larger with his strange behavior.
With little income at home, Kaibisi could only support them by working various odd jobs, barely making ends meet and even selling off their belongings to cover her husband's expenses.
Even the most foolish person would know something was wrong.
She wanted to contact her husband, but most of the time, she couldn't get through. When she occasionally connected, there were only some unclear sounds before the call was impatiently hung up.
At night, her husband always came home reeking of alcohol. When she said a few more words, she was beaten.
After that, the domestic violence became more blatant and frequent, as if her husband had found a way to vent.
She felt her husband was becoming more and more unfamiliar, almost like a different person.
And every day after he drank, when he came home and sat in the dark living room with no lights on, he would constantly mutter to himself, "I'm rich, I'm rich, I'm rich..."
This made Kaibisi completely afraid to approach him. Her husband was most terrifying at these times, like a beast hiding in the dark, waiting to devour someone.
What finally pushed Kaibisi to the brink of collapse, and her fear to its peak, was one night not long ago.
Her husband came back carrying a briefcase, completely unlike his previous gloomy self, and for a moment, he seemed to have returned to his former gentle and refined appearance.
She was somewhat at a loss, but when she heard her husband say that his business had truly succeeded and that all this cash would be for the family from now on, so she and the children wouldn't have to suffer, she still believed him.
She cooked a few dishes for her husband, and the family enjoyed a long-awaited, harmonious meal together.
Before they started eating, her husband, smiling, said he wanted to show them his achievement. He brought over the large briefcase and slowly opened it.
The result made her scream and take the children to hide in the room.
There was, of course, no money in the briefcase.
Inside were only sticky blood and bone fragments... from some unknown creature.
Her husband was perplexed but didn't pay much attention to their panic. He just looked at the contents of the briefcase, his eyes filled with fanaticism, holding the blood and flesh in his hands, happily repeating, "I'm rich, I'm rich, I'm rich..."
... ...
..."Honestly, until the last scene, I thought it was just a cautionary tale about gambling," Zheng Fan commented, crossing his arms.
"In fact, I thought so too, but now it's definitely something in our field," Lin Yilin responded in her thoughts.
"I left home with the children early this morning. I used to work at Ms. Chen's shop, and she temporarily took me in. When she heard I had this kind of problem, she said she knew an office and brought me to ask..." Kaibisi finished, her face pale and her body still trembling, clearly recalling frightening things.
"All right, I generally understand the situation. So, what are your needs?" Lin Yilin finished her memo, tapping her phone screen lightly with her fingernail, her tone still unchanged.
"Uh, needs... I, I just..." Kaibisi was stumped, suddenly unsure how to describe it.
Make her family's life go back to normal? Is that something an office can handle?
Make her husband go back to normal... He's already become like that. Even if he recovers, could Kaibisi herself forget everything from this period and interact with him as if nothing happened?
Lin Yilin continued, "If you don't make it clear, I won't know how to proceed with my work, so I hope you can frankly state your request."
Kaibisi was silent for a long time before saying, "At least let Lind, let my husband, return to normal, and let me know what exactly happened to him... I guess."
"Okay, received. I can take this commission."
Upon receiving the request, Lin Yilin said without hesitation.
