Cinephile hustle

He walked out of the car with a cold snort, slammed the door, came to Ian's car window, and knocked hard, "Are you really a federal agent? To be honest, I don't believe it at all! Hunter just wanted to put I'm just going out the door!"

Ian rolled down the car window without hesitation, and shook his finger at him.

Shemer's head leaned over.

Ian said unhurriedly: "I finally know why Hunter is impatient with you and why he doesn't want his sister to approach you so much."

"Oh why?"

"Because you are so annoying."

"What did you say?"

Shemer's hand reached out to Ian's collar, and the next moment, his hand was inexplicably thrown away, and before he could react, his head had already been pressed against the window glass by the other party.

Shemer was completely stunned, he didn't even realize what happened.

Ian's cold voice sounded in his ears: "First of all, you cross the car in the middle of the road, which is a violation of traffic regulations. Second, I said you are too annoying, if you are not willing to accept it humbly , then it is impossible for Hunter to accept you. And the last point, I am indeed a federal agent. If you understand the above three points, please nod your head, and I will let you go. "

Shermo wanted to nod, but his head was held down by Ian, why did he nod?

"I... I understand... I really understand!"

Ian let go, pushed Sheamer's head out of his car, stepped on the accelerator, walked around his car, and walked away.

When Ian returned home and turned the key, he saw Karona from the Child Welfare Department sitting on the sofa with her arms folded.It was only then that Ian remembered that the other party had said that he would come to evaluate his father's "competence" every once in a while.If Ian fails Corona's assessment, it is very likely that he will lose custody of Evan.

Cliff shrugged his shoulders at Ian, while Evan quietly played his chocolate chess pieces.

"Miss Corona." Ian put the key on the shoe cabinet, and he could see her displeasure from Corona's expression.

"Agent Connor, I'm glad you came home so early today."

On the table in front of Corona was a pile of thick documents.

"Recently, there is a difficult case. I am sorry that I did not pay enough attention to Evan."

Ian glanced at Cliff, and Cliff's mechanical butler training made it impossible to see his emotions.

"You really didn't give him enough care. I don't mind if you hire an old man who has nothing to do with Evan to look after Evan, and I don't mind if you don't find a suitable educational institution for this child, but I heard that you still take him Going out to handle a case? Your case is not only difficult, but also a murder case! Evan already has a communication barrier! How much fear do you want him to have about the world?"

Corona's questioning made Ian feel guilty.

"I'm sorry, I'm too busy, I can only bring him with me. But I didn't bring him to the murder scene, please believe me..."

"This is not the point, Mr. Connor. I understand the nature of your work, and the original intention of entrusting Evan to you is because you are his father, and Evan's mother also hoped so before she died... But It's all my fault, I didn't make the most comprehensive consideration. Mr. Connor, if you still want to keep Evan by your side, I hope you can do better. Otherwise, I can only consider for him Find a more suitable family."

At this moment, Evan, who had been playing with chocolate beans, suddenly pushed everything on the table to the ground.

The chocolate beans bounced off the ground and crackled.

The entire room was silent, and all eyes were on Evan.

Corona turned her face sideways and was taken aback, "E... Evan?"

Evan raised Ian's arm silently, got into his arms, and buried his head in it.

Ian was stunned, hugged him, and patted Evan on the back lightly, "I'm here, boy, it's okay, it's okay."

Corona came to Evan's side, lowered her body and comforted softly: "Evan, I'm sorry... I just wanted Ian to spend more energy on taking care of you, not to separate you."

Evan still hugged Ian and didn't speak.

At this time, Cliff spoke slowly, and said in the tone of an old British gentleman: "I think Miss Corona, it's time for you to leave. Sometimes stepping back is to leave space."

Corona froze for a moment, got up and bid farewell to Ian.

Ian rubbed Evan's little head, and said with a smile: "Okay, boy, Miss Corona has left. Your chocolate beans are gone, and the chess game is gone."

Only then did Evan let go of Ian slightly, and he started to flip his Rubik's Cube. Ian saw "hungry" and laughed immediately.

And when Corona got down to the door of the apartment, she saw a handsome and elegant man sitting leisurely on her front hood.

The gentle night wind passed between the man's brows and eyes, exuding a dangerous and alluring aura.

Like a flower quietly blooming from a wildly entangled thornbush.

Corona couldn't restrain her heartbeat, because the other party was looking at her with teasing eyes.

That is a fatal invitation to demagoguery.

"Sir...that's my car." Corona said tentatively.She didn't know how such a man with outstanding appearance would appear in front of her.

"Of course I know, Miss Corona."

The man's voice was soft and lingering, and Corona felt that all this was like her hallucination.

"you know me?"

"Of course I know you. Ian Connor is my partner. I'm Hayley Russell."

Corona showed a clear expression, "Oh, so you are also a federal agent?"

"Yes."

"Then you should persuade Agent Connor to spend more time communicating with the child."

Haley laughed, as if hearing some ridiculous joke.

"As far as I know, Evan is not an ordinary child, and it is not ordinary people who can communicate with him, right?"

"That's why I think Agent Connor should spend more time with Evan." Corona showed a serious expression.

"Ten thousand words of ineffective communication are not as good as one sentence that penetrates Evan's heart. You know very well in your heart that no matter you give a special child like Evan to any family that is perfect and happy in the eyes of ordinary people, in the end Both will cause trouble. Because Evan can't feel those 'ordinary' perfect happiness. You want to lighten your burden, so you hand him over to his biological father. Anyway, Evan can't speak and express himself to others emotions, and Ian looks guilty about Evan and his son. You used his sense of responsibility to get rid of your own baggage, didn't you?"

The last rhetorical question, like the sharpest blade in a gentle scabbard, picked Corona's nerves, and her thoughts suddenly began to feel restless.

"What do you mean?" Corona swallowed.

"What I mean is..." Haili jumped down lightly, walked in front of Corona, and raised her chin with one hand, "You came to Evan in order to make yourself look not so irresponsible to Evan." En's family, pointing fingers at him, and transferring his irresponsibility to Ian. In this way, whether Evan's life is good or not, it is Ian who is responsible, not the original decision to hand Evan over to Ian on you."

Obviously Haili's fingers didn't use force, but Corona raised her face subconsciously. Her gaze was dragged into the bottomless abyss in Haili's eyes. Her fear and anxiety seemed to be the food of the other party, being swallowed by the other party, and she couldn't get rid of it. .

"You...you say that too much...you..."

"I just want to tell you, stay away from them. Don't use your standards to measure what Evan needs. If you really plan to take even a little responsibility for this child, stop trying to get close to their father and son. If anyone , trying to disturb my partner's life, I will stop at nothing to make him disappear."

After speaking, Haili walked past Corona with his pocket in his pocket.

Corona raised her head halfway, the sense of oppression Haili brought to her still hasn't dissipated.

Ian coaxed Evan to fall asleep, and then sent Cliff to the door.

"Thank you very much, Cliff."

Cliff nodded politely, "I'd be happy to help you. By the way, Mr. Russell said that he plans to go to Boston tomorrow to learn about Dr. Megan's life before his death. Mr. Russell has a premonition that from Dr. Megan's We must be able to find the connection between the case 15 years ago and the present."

Ian had already planned this in his heart.

"OK, Got it."

"Tomorrow at nine o'clock in the morning, I will send Mr. Russell to you. The gentleman said that you are not going to Boston to investigate murders. You might as well bring Evan with you."

"Thank you."

When the door closed, Ian raised his head and smiled.Does this count as a tacit understanding between him and Haley, who feels that the origin of all events has something to do with Dr. Megan?

Early the next morning, Ian took Evan to the downstairs of the apartment, and Haili waited there early as usual.It takes more than three hours to drive to Boston from here. Cliff prepared a basket of snacks, so that Ian felt that he was taking Evan on an outing instead of investigating.

Evan in the back seat was playing with the Rubik's Cube at first, but fell asleep with his head on one side after a while.

Haili glanced at Evan with a smile, and said slowly: "Have you read Dr. Megan's research report?"

"I have seen it. It is precisely because I have seen it that I have doubts about him. His most in-depth research is the reaction of people to the loved ones around him in a crisis situation. In his project, he specially studied some cases that were reported by the news. For example, when an earthquake strikes, the wall collapses, leaving only a narrow crack, and the newly married husband pushes his wife to squeeze through first. Another example is the cable car falling from a high place, and the young couple lifts the baby in their arms high. And when the car Because he accidentally knocked off the bridge and fell into the water, the husband abandoned his wife who was stuck in the co-pilot in order to be rescued."

"Oh, it seems that you have done a lot of homework." Hailey's fingers stretched out, but they stopped before touching Ian's cheek.

It's like when the upstairs neighbor takes off one shoe and makes a noise before going to bed at night, but doesn't take off the other shoe for a long time.

Ian didn't want to admit that he had been waiting for Haili's finger to touch his cheek for a few seconds, but this guy withdrew his hand, and he was a little upset.

Could it be that he was really used to Haili's harassment, and when this guy stopped harassing him, he still wasn't used to it?

"His research must be based on quantification. It is difficult to get enough cases from newspapers and magazines alone, which is why his thesis has been criticized by the industry. The theory he believes is that when a person's When life is threatened, the probability of sacrificing one's loved ones is higher than self-sacrifice. He analyzed the known cases very thoroughly, but the biggest problem is that these cases do not represent all people, and even the base of most people is Not achieved. So in academia, his theory is controversial."

"But in fact, we are very clear in our hearts that his analysis is not subjective, but rather calm. He broke away from the emotions of an ordinary person and analyzed all cases from the perspective of a bystander. I personally really appreciate his research."

"Maybe it's because you're the same kind of person."

Haley laughed, "Are you sure you know who I am?"

"I really don't know what kind of person you are. It's just the case 15 years ago. The murderer didn't send the video to the victim's family. Our analysis at the time was that the murderer's purpose was to 'enjoy', but if it was placed on Dr. Megan , I think it is not 'enjoy' but 'research'. He is studying the behavior of the victims, using them as his own research data. Before the paper and opinions are presented, the data used for research should be kept confidential. So Dr. Megan No video of the victim will be sent. Of course, this is all based on our belief that Dr. Meghan was responsible for a series of murders 15 years ago."

"Ian, don't you feel that you are getting closer and closer to the murderer's thinking?"

"Maybe it's because I've been with you too long."

"The time you spend with me is still too far away from the term 'long time'."

The car stopped at a gas station.With an hour's drive back to Boston, Ian decided to take Evan for a bite to eat at the gas station's fast food joint.And Evan sat on the seat and laid out his chocolate jelly beans.

Hailey looked at him with his head propped up, observing the pattern of each chocolate bean he moved.

When Ian came over with the plate, he found that Hailey was moving the red jelly beans.

Ian handed the beef burger to Haley, "Do you understand his rules?"

"You know he has a 'rule' that says you dad should have an IQ over 130," Haley said jokingly.

Most parents don't think their children are playing chess, but blame them for wasting candy.

"Can you remember what each jelly bean represents?" Ian observed for an hour or two, while Haley only spent a few minutes.

If Haley thinks Ian's IQ is over 130, what about himself?

"Of course, I have a photographic memory." Haley said enthusiastically.

Half an hour later, their chess game was still going on, and Evan's expression was very focused. It seemed that Haley was a formidable opponent.

Hailey propped his chin, and put his fingers leisurely by his ear.It feels like this chess game, which tests memory, logic and counting skills, is a piece of cake for Haili.

Finally someone stumped Evan.

Ian didn't bother them, because the way little Evan frowned made Ian feel that he finally looked like an ordinary child, and he even had the urge to pinch Evan's face.

An hour later, Ian got up and went to the bathroom.

Only Evan and Haley were left at the table.

"Actually, you know that you are not Ian's child, right?" Hailey said slowly.

Evan on the opposite side didn't show any expression, as if he didn't hear what Haili said at all.

"You are very smart. Not only smarter than the average person, but much smarter than others. You don't talk to people because you can easily see through their thoughts. With a frown and a look, their thoughts are like A book being opened. So in your heart, you are above them. You look at them like ordinary people look at pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep. You have an inherent sense of superiority. Right?"

Evan still didn't respond.

"It's easy for a kid like you to learn anything. It's also easy to learn how to guide other people's emotions if you want to. So you think the whole world is boring. Right?"

Evan put down the jelly beans in his hand, leaned back on the back of the chair, raised his eyes, and looked at Haili coldly.

The smile on Haili's lips deepened, "It's this look, which makes it interesting. Are you curious why I saw through you?"

Evan tilted his head, still silent.

"Because we are so similar. Did you know from the first moment you saw Ian that he would protect you, connect you with this vulgar world, and make you less empty? So you put all your effort into Thoughts to stay with him."

Evan's fingers clenched slowly.

"But he's mine." The corners of Haili's lips curled up with a hint of cruelty.

Evan pursed his lips, the jelly bean in his hand had been crushed.

"But I don't mind you staying by his side. Just don't let him see through you and pretend to be weak and harmless forever, then he will at least protect you and love you forever. Don't let him down, Evan." Haley said He picked up the Coke and made a gesture of clinking glasses.

And Evan grabbed a handful of jelly beans and threw them at Hailey.

At that moment, his wrist was firmly strangled, and Ian's voice fell.

"Evan, candy is for eating, it's wrong to hit people."

Evan let go of his hand, and then rubbed into Ian's arms, the small figure looked extremely aggrieved.

Ian rubbed his head and said to Haili coldly, "Let's go."

"Don't you ask me, why did Evan do this?"

"Because you said things he didn't want to hear, or did things he didn't want to see."

When they came to the car, Evan trotted open the co-pilot's door, got in, and quickly put on his seat belt.

Hailey smiled with his pockets in his pocket, "Ian, your little one is already planning to separate us."

"I'd appreciate it if you were honest." Ian opened the car door.

They came to Boston and passed several world-renowned universities, Ian told Evan while driving.

Although Evan kept his head down and held the imitation in his hand, Ian knew that he was listening to himself.

They came to Dr. Megan's old apartment.

It is his widow who lives there now.

Mrs. Megan opened the door and invited them in.Ian was found holding Evan in his hand, and Mrs. Megan, who had never had children, brought many biscuits and candies to entertain him. Evan sat quietly at the table and continued to arrange his chocolate beans.

"Mrs. Megan, we are here to get to know Dr. Morgan." Ian said.

"I don't know what you want to know. He is a good man, a serious scholar and a considerate husband." Mrs. Meghan's eyes are full of infinite miss for her husband.

"Please don't get me wrong, what we want to know is Dr. Megan's research. He has interviewed victims of serial cases for academic research. We just want to know if he has left any interview records or research manuscripts? If we can find These things will be of great help to our analysis of the case." Haley never mentioned that they suspected that Dr. Meghan was the mastermind of the murder 15 years ago, but spoke in a tone of appreciation and respect, unloading Mrs. Meghan's Be wary.

Mrs. Meghan really cooperated, "My husband's research results during his lifetime have been handed over to his students. As you can see, the only legacy he left to me is this apartment."

"Who are his students, do you know?"

His students probably kept all of Dr. Megan's research videos, data, interviews, and manuscripts.

"Of course I know that I come here often. Just wait a moment, I'll look for his address book when he was alive."

Haley and Ian glanced briefly at the names in the address book, and a few caught their attention.

For example, Dr. Mende, a professor of social behavior at Columbia University, Hunter happened to be studying at that university.

Ian picked up his phone and walked aside, making a call to Jessica.

"Jessica, can you check some news for me?"

"Huh? I paid for it."

"I'll buy you coffee."

"Coffee is not enough, you have to send me flowers and candlelight dinner."

"Yes. Please help me find a Dr. Mende from Columbia University. Are there any similarities or similarities between his published papers and opinions and Dr. Meghan's?"

A few minutes later, Jessica replied: "Of course! Dr. Mende is a student of Dr. Megan. In the past, Dr. Mende's name was listed as the third or fourth author in all of Dr. Megan's papers. By the time of Dr. Megan's last two works, Dr. Mende has been promoted to the second author!"

"Thank you."

"Don't forget my flowers and candlelight dinner."

"I try my best."

"Do you try your best to be satisfied or try your best not to forget?"