Miss Forensics – Chapter 23

Rainy Night

When Lin Yan returned to the villa, it was already late at night, and the rain showed no signs of stopping. The bodyguard held an umbrella for her, escorting her out of the car.

She hadn’t expected anyone to be waiting for her at this hour.

Through the curtain of rain, the dim light at the villa entrance cast the reflection of her slender figure on the pooled water.

Song Yuhang stood quietly under an umbrella, her face typically devoid of expression. However, Lin Yan sensed a suppressed atmosphere emanating from the tight corners of her lips.

The newcomer had an unfriendly air about her.

She didn’t want to linger. Her mood wasn’t great today, and she didn’t bother with any greetings. Encounters with Chu Nan always left her mentally and physically drained, especially on this somewhat special day.

As she walked past with the bodyguard’s protection, Song Yuhang made her move. No one had expected her to strike suddenly, her punch swift and fierce, targeting a vital spot on her abdomen.

Lin Yan took a few steps back, supported by the bodyguard, and coughed while bending over.

The two well-dressed bodyguards immediately stepped forward to shield her. Song Yuhang shook her hand, seemingly unsatisfied.

“Isn’t Forensic Doctor Lin supposed to be skilled? How come you couldn’t even dodge a simple straight punch?” She flexed her wrist, producing a cracking sound of bones. “Or perhaps, summon the one who can fight to come out and play with me.”

The two bodyguards seemed ready to make a move, but Lin Yan stood upright and waved her hand, signaling them to step back, while also handing over her coat.

“This is something between her and me.”

The Lin family’s servants seemed naturally obedient to her, even though they were aware of the unfriendly visitor. They followed their master’s orders and retreated.

For a moment, all was quiet, with only the sound of rain splashing on the trees and their heavy breathing.

The moment Song Yuhang’s umbrella hit the ground, she sprung into action!

Her agile figure was reflected in the puddle before her, and with lightning speed, she executed a crafty and fierce left front kick, hitting Lin Yan’s soft abdomen. The vital area was struck repeatedly, causing her to wince in pain and spit out a mouthful of blood.

Before she could fully regain her defensive posture, Song Yuhang leaped in place and drove her right leg straight towards Lin Yan’s face.

Instinctively, Lin Yan raised her elbow to block the strike. If she hadn’t, she would have been sent crashing to the ground with her head hitting the concrete.

Despite her formidable strength, the impact pushed her back several steps. With a loud “clang,” she collided with the villa’s iron gate. Her arm ached, bearing the marks of the thick-soled combat boots in the form of bruises that she couldn’t even lift.

Song Yuhang closed in on her, her attacks swift and unstructured, landing blow after blow. Lin Yan dodged defensively, but a right hook found its way to her cheek, instantly causing a bruise to form around her eye.

Song Yuhang grabbed her collar, panting heavily. Rainwater trickled down her chin, and perhaps due to the heavy rain, her eyes glistened with moisture.

“Attack already!” She pinched Lin Yan’s neck and lifted her slightly, pressing her against the iron gate. “If you don’t strike, you’ll die.”

Lin Yan looked into those typically dim eyes, now bloodshot and aflame. Her calm composure from before had vanished the moment she had arrived.

She suddenly burst into laughter, “Hahaha…”

Her smile was both enchanting and resolute.

Song Yuhang froze, her hand around Lin Yan’s neck trembling slightly. Lin Yan climbed up like a determined parasite, her voice resolute, “Then kill me. I’m heinously guilty, unforgivable for my ten sins. If you kill me, you’ll avenge Li Shiping, you’ll be upholding justice.”

She half-closed her eyes, as if sighing, “Just do it already. I can’t wait any longer.”

Rain poured down relentlessly, drenching both of them. Song Yuhang had never felt so cold, to the extent that her teeth chattered with a “chuckle.” For a while, she couldn’t tell if she was shivering or grinding her teeth in anger.

“That person who went to Li Shiping’s house that night was you.”

She remembered the glass placed on the countertop.

“Ding Xue is your junior.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, Ding Xue should be two years younger than Lin Yan. The day she drove to Jiangcheng First High School, her familiarity with the roads was no less than that of a local.

“So what if she is?” Lin Yan looked at her indifferently, lips curved in a smile, as if being choked didn’t matter to her at all.

Song Yuhang applied a bit more pressure with her fingertip, forcing Lin Yan to tilt her head back to catch her breath, her toes suspended off the ground.

“All the initial clues in this case were provided by you. Forensic Doctor Lin, so skilled, had us spinning in circles. You knew who the killer was.”

She stated it as a certainty, looking down at Lin Yan. The heavy rain had sharpened her features as it washed over her.

Song Yuhang was soaked through, her shirt clinging tightly to her body. Rainwater trickled down her chin and seeped into her collar. The taut muscles of her neck and the protruding veins constantly displayed her wild beauty.

Different from men, and even more so from ordinary women.

She always seemed to be the exception, to the point that Lin Yan couldn’t categorize her.

While the rain was chilly, the hand gripping her neck was scalding hot. For some reason, she recalled the heat when her lips had touched her ear that night.

She found herself giggling as she thought about it. She knew how to provoke her, just as Song Yuhang knew how to step on her sore spots.

How could they understand each other so well, even though they had only recently met?

Lost in these thoughts, she had already started speaking, “Yeah, I know, I know Ding Xue was drowned by Sun Xiangming. I know it was Li Shiping who killed him. I even know how Li Shiping died, poisoned with arsenic, a lethal toxin.”

She giggled, her tone both sinister and despairing, “Bleeding from all seven openings, dying swiftly, not much pain. Do you want to know what she told me before her end?”

“Shut up!” Song Yuhang suddenly exerted force with her fingertip, lifting Lin Yan off the ground. Lin Yan coughed violently, struggling to kick her knee against Song Yuhang’s, causing her to lose her balance. The two of them tumbled into the bushes next to the villa.

Branches snapped and cracked as a large section was crushed. Rain and mud splattered everywhere. Two tall, long-legged adult women grappling with each other wreaked havoc on the landscape.

One punch after another, they targeted each other’s vulnerabilities. Song Yuhang grabbed her collar and roared, “You’re the one in black!”

“Yes, it’s me. So what?” Lin Yan fiercely used a knee strike to send her flying, then flipped over and caught her by the neck.

She laughed, both enchanting and flirtatious, a watery quality emanating from the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.

“Go ahead and report me, Officer Song. Do you have evidence? Will the prosecutor’s office believe you? Can you get an arrest warrant? It’s quite the coincidence. If you had arrived a moment later, you might not even have found a whole corpse.”

Song Yuhang’s eyes were bloodshot, a surge of hot blood rushing to her head. Without hesitation, she bent her knee and delivered a knee strike, simultaneously grabbing the back of Lin Yan’s clothes, forcefully shoving her and flipping her over.

Lin Yan went from the flowerbed’s thicket of shrubs to landing directly on the concrete, hitting the back of her head hard. It was painful, and her entire body felt like it might fall apart.

The wounds on her hands soaked in water, revealing faint traces of red blood.

Song Yuhang stumbled to her feet, pulling Lin Yan out of the mud and water. She looked at the face right before her, so attractive yet sending shivers down one’s spine.

“Since you know that Sun Xiangming killed Ding Xue and have crucial evidence, why didn’t you tell me?!” She shook Lin Yan’s collar, her voice hoarse and vehement. “I can personally arrest him. I won’t spare any scum who has taken someone’s life!”

Lin Yan’s coughing intensified as she was shaken, “Cough… cough cough… It’s useless… You know, right?”

Suddenly, she raised her gaze, her eyes shimmering with watery light. “Before the child was born, Ding Xue wanted a divorce. Sun Xiangming was abusive; the most severe incident put her in the hospital with a ruptured spleen. She stayed there for a month.”

The hand gripping her stopped, and a sardonic smile curved Lin Yan’s lips again. “Encouraged by Li Shiping, Ding Xue filed for divorce. Sun Xiangming disagreed, and they ended up in court. They mediated three times, but in the end, the divorce was denied. It was around this time that Ding Xue discovered she was pregnant.”

Song Yuhang released her grip, and Lin Yan fell to the ground. The makeshift rope of braided hair had long been torn apart, her long hair flowed out like seaweed in the water. There were blood marks on her face from tree branches and bruises inflicted by Song Yuhang, yet she still appeared breathtakingly beautiful.

It was a kind of beauty that was haunting in its imperfection.

The prolonged standoff had nearly exhausted the physical strength of both individuals. Lin Yan lay quietly on the ground, letting the rain wash over her body. She was so weak that she couldn’t even lift her fingers, yet she felt a sense of release and satisfaction. It was as if the harder she fought, the easier it became to release the things that had been weighing on her heart.

She was almost struggling to breathe. She often wondered, why do those despicable creatures who have harmed others get to live well?

Why was she still alive and kicking?

Why did it have to be her Chu Nan?

So, when Li Shiping proposed that deal, she didn’t refuse.

Lying on the ground, Lin Yan’s eyes were blurred by two lines of tears. She had to thank this rain for preserving her last shred of dignity.

Song Yuhang looked into those eyes, where there was a dead stillness. There were no stars and no reflections of herself.

Driven by alcohol, she had vented, but was she truly happy now? Not really.

She couldn’t quite put a finger on what she was feeling – a mixture of anger and injustice, tinged with a faint sense of disappointment.

She was angry because she breached professional ethics by revealing clues to others, indirectly causing Sun Xiangming’s death. She was angry because she used her professional knowledge to create a flawless alibi for herself, skirting the edge of the law.

The sense of injustice was fueled by why she could stand above the law, why she could feel no remorse, and why she could be beaten to the point of not being able to stand up and still grit her teeth without uttering a “sorry.”

Lin Yan’s bones were truly strong.

Song Yuhang let go of her completely, slumping down in the mud and water. Perhaps the palpable disappointment in her eyes was too apparent. Lin Yan turned her head slightly and unexpectedly tugged at the corner of her lips.

“You might wonder, someone like me who was born into a life of ease, with wealth and power at home, why didn’t I use my influence to put Sun Xiangming behind bars if I wanted to uphold justice?”

Lin Yan’s gaze turned vacant, and raindrops the size of beans stung her skin slightly upon impact.

She spoke softly, “Besides myself, I trust no one.”

A subtle movement in Song Yuhang’s throat, the dim light making it hard to discern her expression. But Lin Yan seemed to know what she wanted to say, a somewhat grim smile tugging at her lips.

“Officer Song, don’t hold any expectations for me. I’m capable of anything.”

“My name is Lin Yan, and I was born as an unpleasant child.”

That faint glimmer of hope was easily extinguished.

The time at the provincial hall wasn’t actually the first time Song Yuhang saw her in an interview.

She had many occasions where she could see her.

As long as she was willing.

On television, in the news, in newspapers, gossip magazines, and even at academic conferences.

She could be seen navigating various situations with ease—elegant, composed, calm, or sharp. On one occasion, she would challenge the media in front of the camera, leaving them speechless. On another, she’d roll up her sleeves and hurl curses in the middle of the street. She could even stand under the national emblem at the entrance of the police station, openly kissing her lover.

Her life was unlike Song Yuhang’s orderly existence. She even envied the naturally free and unrestrained spirit she possessed.

She lived on her own terms, never caring about others’ opinions.

The night she mourned with a bowed head in the forensic room after dissecting Ding Xue was the first time Song Yuhang caught a glimpse of the softness and kindness hidden beneath her tough exterior.

However, she had to admit that Lin Yan was a deceiver, perhaps even the highest caliber of deceptive expertise, making her impenetrable.

“And the motive? Tell me… why?” Song Yuhang wiped her face, wiping away even the slightest trace of moisture in her eyes.

Lin Yan’s gaze returned, and she looked up at the gray-black sky, as if she could see that person waiting for her in the sky.

“No motive, that’s the kind of person I am.”

“Is that so?” Song Yuhang’s lips curled slightly. “What were you looking for in the file room that day? 1990, if I’m not mistaken, Forensic Doctor Lin was just turning eighteen that year, in her senior year of high school…”

Before she could finish her sentence, that person suddenly looked over. The expression in those eyes changed abruptly, becoming somewhat hostile.

Propping herself up on her elbows, Lin Yan struggled to lift her upper body. “Shut up…”

The moment she heard that year, she almost felt a physical pain that choked her. Memories flooded back.

Song Yuhang turned her head slightly to look at her, his gaze carrying a hint of knowing. “Skills and appearance can be disguised, but temperament and personality can’t be faked. Forensic Doctor Lin probably doesn’t know, but you always use humor to cover up your guilt. And when I hit a nerve, you get defensive.”

“See, just like now.”

Lin Yan tried to lift her upper body by pushing off the ground, but her arms wouldn’t cooperate. Her fingers clawed at the ground in vain before she fell back, splashing mud onto the cuffs of Song Yuhang’s pants.

Watching her panting and glaring fiercely, her usually fair skin had a tinge of redness due to agitation—even the corners of her eyes were tinged with red.

The slender and fragile neck was exposed before her, like a wild beast revealing its softest fur.

The wet clothes clung to her body, rising and falling with her breath. Lin Yan was different from her in the end—both fragile and strong. Like a blooming Morning Glory flower on a cliff, she radiated her beauty at every moment.

She couldn’t help but recall the softness she had felt when their fists and feet collided earlier. At that moment, she hadn’t thought too much about it, but now she realized that while Lin Yan’s skill was impressive, it was mostly finesse. Her own well-trained, solid muscles were a different story altogether.

Song Yuhang’s throat moved slightly as she slowly reached out her hand.

Lin Yan’s body could only move her fingers and her head. Her mind was foggy, and she felt a bit cold.

Just as her fingers touched her own clothes, Lin Yan suddenly shivered all over. She remembered what she needed to do—her tattoo!

Halfway through unbuttoning, that hidden place finally revealed a hint. Just as Song Yuhang was planning to memorize the pattern, Lin Yan took action!

She hadn’t expected Lin Yan to still have the strength to retaliate. In an instant, Lin Yan’s seemingly fragile legs wrapped around her neck, and her waist and abdomen arched, executing a perfect escape from her grip. Not only that, but she also expertly disarmed one of Song Yuhang’s arms.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s signature move: the Armbar!

In the blink of an eye, she had no time to react. Lin Yan hadn’t given her any time to respond either. As she fell to the side, her arm was already pressing against Lin Yan’s lower abdomen. With her right arm straightened and a tremendous force applied, the sound of muscles and bones breaking was audible. A surge of intense pain made sweat beads the size of beans appear on Song Yuhang’s forehead.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu truly deserved its reputation as the best ground fighting technique. Once countered and brought to the ground, it became difficult to escape.

However, how much longer could she hold on in her current state?

Suppressing the pain, Song Yuhang smirked, “I really misjudged Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts and above.”

“Forgive me for being blunt… cough…” Lin Yan gasped heavily, her words incomplete, “cough… Your judgment has never been that good.”

No wonder.

While she had agility, her strength was lacking. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was precisely about winning against the strong with the weak, using flexibility to overcome strength—a comprehensive combat style specializing in control and grappling. It suited her well.

However, in the face of absolute strength, especially when Song Yuhang held the advantage of endurance, Lin Yan in her prime might have held her own against her, but now—

A glint of determination flashed in Song Yuhang’s eyes. Relying on her formidable upper body strength, she forcibly attempted to turn over with one hand on the ground. Amidst her struggle, bones emitted an unsettling sound, and she nearly contorted her entire body into an eerie curve.

Lin Yan was startled, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Was she going mad?! If she kept struggling like this, would she lose her right hand?!

In that split-second distraction, Song Yuhang’s right elbow bent, hitting Lin Yan’s abdomen. Lin Yan’s fingers lost their strength and she slumped heavily to the ground. She closed her eyes, expecting the pain to follow suit.

Just as the critical moment approached, Song Yuhang slipped her palm beneath Lin Yan’s head, and the two of them collapsed together into the pooling water.

“A snap—” a crisp sound echoed as the object Lin Yan had fought so hard to conceal was revealed to the world.

Fuming with rage, Lin Yan trembled uncontrollably, “Song Yuhang, you… you… motherfker! I… I… fk…”

She couldn’t even manage a coherent sentence, repeatedly uttering those profanities. While catching her breath, she desperately attempted to evade, her arm pinned over her head in a reverse grip. As she tilted her head back, her slender neck was exposed once again to her gaze.

Moreover, they were so close to each other.

Song Yuhang could almost confirm that the piece of fabric before her was hers.

Similar to how a forensic doctor could identify the type of drug poisoning solely by its smell, a detective could detect the scent of drugs solely by its odor.

Furthermore, human beings had a keen memory for scents.

She might forget the person, but she would never forget the scent on her.

That vivid red tattoo resembled a birthmark. Song Yuhang raised her hand and gently traced over it, feeling the rough texture and uneven grain under her fingertips.

It was Lin Yan’s most haunting past.

This wasn’t a tattoo; it was… carved on with a knife!

In astonishment, she lowered her gaze and met Lin Yan’s eyes. However, she saw Lin Yan gently close her eyes, her throat moving slightly, and tears sliding down from the corners of her eyes. It was as if she didn’t want Song Yuhang to witness her in such a disheveled state.

Lin Yan turned her head away, biting her lower lip and reddening her eyes, “Seen enough? If you’ve seen enough, get up.”

As if awakening from a dream, Song Yuhang realized what she had done. This situation was completely inappropriate.

On a night of pouring rain, in darkness so thick one couldn’t see their own fingers, she had, with overwhelming victory, pinned Lin Yan’s hands over her head, and even…

Song Yuhang felt like giving herself two slaps.

Tonight, she wasn’t a police officer; she was a criminal. Lin Yan had every reason to cry, and those tears were scalding her. Startled, Song Yuhang quickly stood up, wiping the rainwater off her face. Her heartbeat pounded like a drum.

She turned her back, feeling it improper to continue watching. Yet, she felt that this approach wasn’t appropriate either; after all, she was the one who had caused Lin Yan to end up like this. So, gritting her teeth, she turned back around and extended her hand to Lin Yan.

“Get up.”

Lin Yan pushed away her hand and slowly propped herself up on the ground, pulling her fallen clothes back onto her shoulders.

She felt as if her body had fallen apart, her head throbbing and swollen, and her fingers trembling uncontrollably, making her movements extremely slow.

Rainwater trickled down her chin, making her palm-sized face appear even smaller. Song Yuhang couldn’t help but recall how she had cried earlier, causing her heart to ache and feel bitter at the same time.

This was a strange feeling, something she had never experienced before, leaving her somewhat perplexed.

However, the rain was too heavy, and she still wanted to send her back.

Song Yuhang squatted down slightly, “Lin…”

Lin Yan raised her gaze, her eyes vacant, devoid of any luster. Trembling, she tucked her lips back, recoiling slightly.

In her heart, Song Yuhang quietly sighed with relief, “Then wait here, I’ll go call someone over.”

Her villa’s gate wasn’t far away.

The butler ran over with people and took Lin Yan under the umbrella, wrapping her in another blanket. Along with a few servants, they helped her inside.

Song Yuhang watched as she was about to disappear behind the iron gate.

Lin Yan’s footsteps paused, as if she sensed something. She turned around and stared at the puddle of accumulated water in front of her.

She spoke her final words to her for tonight.

“Whether you believe it or not, I didn’t kill Sun Xiangming, and I didn’t kill Li Shiping either. I’m just a witness, putting a not-so-perfect end to their love story with Ding Xue.”

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TL I’m back! Sorry, I was sick this entire time. I hope i won’t get sick again for at least a few years, I hate it 🙁

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