The Nonsense Mystery

Prologue

"Jie Jie!!" A petite girl dressed in a heavy coat flinches and makes herself seem smaller as a young teen about her age runs past her. The girl in a fashionable jacket hugs the arm of another young woman who seems like she would be in college. They happily greet each other and walk out of the clothes store together. The girl in the coat gave a relieved exhale while securing her sunglasses she peeks at the two girls she froze. That girl... She scrambles to put away the clothes in her hands. "W-Wait!!" Stumbling over her heels and crashing into someone, she apologizes quickly without stopping. In an almost mad dash, she tugs at the sleeve of the college girl. Confused, the two girls turn to look at her, the girl in the coat was red in the cheeks and seemed almost panicky. Although weirded out, the older one asks her somewhat concerned. "A-Are you ok? Can I help you?" The girl in her coat, ignoring the eyes on her for the scene she was making, hastily reaches into her purse.

 Stuffing a can of pepper spray in the young woman's hand, she explains quickly. "I am part of an association called Self Defense For Young Women, and I wanted to give this to you. We are very enthusiastic and dedicated to our work in making sure weak girls like ourselves can stay safe in a big city like this." She bows twice quickly at the still befuddled girls, "I was new, and I didn't have the courage to give it to you when you first arrive. Sorry for making a scene and I apologize for being so unprofessional!!" Hearing her sincere apology, the two girls couldn't find it in themselves to be mad at her. The young teen hurriedly pulls her up from her bow as it was truly starting to get embarrassing. "Hey it's fine to get up, there's no need for this. It's normal to be nervous your first time doing something like this." The older girl smiles and tries to comfort the nervous and anxious-looking girl. "Thank you for your hard work, I'll take this gift and use it wisely."

 The girl in the coat blushes, giving off a delicate but clumsy vibe that seemed very adorable and trustworthy. So after exchanging goodbyes and encouragement to the young woman to keep it up, the two girls left amiably. Pepper spray in hand. After seeing them off, the girl in the coat watches them with a somewhat dark shadow in her eyes. Her brows furrowed lightly as the two merrily walk away, carefree and ignorant. Pushing up her sunglasses again, she returns to the large crowd of people and does her best to once more blend in with the bland and busy city sidewalks. Her heart was wavering. But in the end, she resigns and runs away like a coward. Refusing to accept the terrible and scary truth before her.

Hours later~

A woman in what used to be a beautiful jacket held onto the blanket wrapped around herself tightly. She sobs in the arms of a paramedic who was soothing her as they wait for her family to arrive. Her heart-wrenching cries could even be heard over the sounds of the sirens of the police who were observing the crime scene. They talk amongst themselves while shaking their head with confused expressions. They seemed frustrated, "We can't just push a victim for answers! Obviously, she's in a very bad mental state right now, and if we try to even give her a tiny nudge, she might break down even more."  His partner scowls at him, "I know that! But she is the only one who has seen this man and is still alive to tell the tale! Are we going to just let him get away with this again?!" The third seeming to be helpless tries to mediate before they fought each other. "Let officer Lan talk to her, she may be more open to talking to a woman instead." They grumble and glare at each other, but reluctantly agree to their colleague's suggestion.

 The man raises a hand to the radio on his shoulder. "Officer An, this is Feng Li, can I have you come over, please? Over." A young woman seemingly in her mid-twenties walks over. She was voluptuous and attractive looking, but she was professional in every way. From the stern, serious glint in her smoky eyes to the thin red tint of her lips. But used to her glamour, the three men only go back to their work while the one called Feng Li talks to her alone. "You called?" He massages his temples, seeming troubled by the situation. "Can I have you question the victim for more details about the attack? We need fresh information while it still exists in her mind. Having a woman talk to her will be better than a man, seeing as she has recently been attacked by a person of the opposite gender." She was professional with her reaction, understanding why he would call her out, and only furrows her brows out of concern for the girl before nodding.

 She takes in the seemingly traumatized young woman in front of her. Her expression softens, kneeling in front of her. Officer An spoke firmly but gently, "Hello, miss Xia is it? I'm officer An, I know this is a bad time but..... Can you tell me more about exactly who it is that assaulted you?" The woman sniffles pitifully and wipes her red-rimmed eyes. She seemed frightened but seeing the reliable and gentle officer in front of her. She held the surrounding blanket tighter and spoke with in a hoarse whisper. "...ok." Officer An began to ask her a few simple questions, simple yes or no questions. Then she asked what the man looked like, to this, the woman shook her head. "I didn't see it... He had a hood on and was tall. While he was trying to muffle my scream, he also forced my head into his chest and tried to d-drag me away."

 She shivers, clearly trying not to relive the horrible event that had just taken place. Her voice cracks with remaining hysteria, still remembering the feeling of those rough hands around her. Her nails digging into her own neck, which the female officer hurriedly removes with worry. The paramedic scowls at her, but Officer Lan holding back the victim from hurting herself seemed to calm her down enough to finish her recount of the terrifying situation. "He-He didn't even stop when I tripped over my heels. He just kept-kept dragging me!! He was choking me!!" Officer Lan pats her back, murmuring encouragement as the girl went limp, sobbing into the blanket. Obviously still frightened when recalling she had just escaped possible death only out of luck. "You're ok now. It's all over, you're ok."

 She sniffles while wiping her overflowing tears. "If-If it weren't for that g-girl I-I would of-(sob)!!" Officer Lan's eyes flicker with confusion, "Girl? Another person was there?" Hearing about her unsuspecting savior, the girl calms down a bit to explain with an anxious but grateful look. She looks at the officer and squeezes the woman's hand tightly. "Officer Lan! Please help me look for a young girl from an organization! She was the only reason I managed to get away! At first, I found her silly, but I never thought the pepper spray she gave me would actually come in handy. She saved me!" Young girl? Organization? Seeing the sincere and worried college student giving her a desperate-looking expression, Officer Lan reluctantly agrees. "What organization?" The college student thinks to herself for a moment before answering her. "The "Self Defense For Young Women" organization!!"