Secret
Lin Yan, despite having a tall stature and long legs, was light to hold. When Song Yuhang lifted her, she was momentarily surprised by the weight, and then her lips tightened even more.
It was inconvenient for her to open the car door while holding Lin Yan, but fortunately, Fang Xin quickly came out and opened the door for her. Song Yuhang carried Lin Yan into the car, then turned and said, “Thank you.”
“No problem, Captain Song. You go ahead. We’ll immediately inform you if we have any leads.”
Song Yuhang ran to the driver’s seat, opened the car door, fastened her seatbelt, nodded slightly, and even leaned over slightly to carefully secure Lin Yan’s seatbelt.
As the car left the gates of the police station, they were met with a red traffic light. Song Yuhang turned her head to gauge her complexion, and all she saw was an unnatural paleness. Even her usually vibrant red lips had lost their color.
Her fingers brushed against her forehead and found it to be feverishly hot.
She had persisted in working the whole day like this despite being unwell?!
The more Song Yuhang thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She had never experienced such a prolonged red light before. In frustration, she stepped on the gas pedal, surpassing the queue of patiently waiting cars.
Yet, she had forgotten that she was driving her own car today. A traffic officer on a motorcycle chased after her, yelling at her to stop. By the time she reached the hospital entrance, she had naturally received a parking ticket and had six points deducted from her driver’s license. It was a typical case of knowingly breaking the law.
Carrying Lin Yan all the way, she rushed upstairs. She handed Lin Yan over to the doctor at the emergency department, watching as the doctor placed the stethoscope on her chest and instructed a nurse to administer fluids to her.
“What illness? Is it serious?”
“Unconsciousness due to high fever, possibly a form of pneumonia.” The doctor changed direction to listen to her heartbeat and removed the stethoscope after a while.
“But don’t worry, there’s no life-threatening danger. Help us move her onto the bed and then contact the imaging department for a brain CT scan.”
Upon hearing this, she gradually eased her worries. Together with several medical staff, they lifted the patient onto the bed and pushed the bed towards the CT room. Only after she had entered the chamber did she turn around to go to the medical office to pay.
When she returned to the ward, Lin Yan lay quietly on the bed, a soft tube attached to the back of her hand for intravenous fluids. Her long hair, like seaweed, spread across the snowy-white pillow. She was nestled under the covers, sleeping with her head turned, making her face look even smaller.
The nurse hung another bottle of liquid on the IV stand nearby. “When this bottle is finished, remember to ring the bell to call us for a medication change.”
Song Yuhang nodded. “Thank you.”
After the nurse left, she pulled out a stool from under the bed and sat down. She reached out to pull the blanket up to her chest, inadvertently catching a glimpse of a hint of spring beneath the opened neckline.
She inexplicably recalled the tattoo she had caught a fleeting glimpse of that night, and remembered how Lin Yan had shivered when her fingertip brushed over it.
It was like a secret, a secret known only to herself and her.
Song Yuhang swallowed, and as if compelled by some inexplicable force, gently pushed aside her strands of hair.
The porcelain-like white skin exuded its own allure silently, much like Lin Yan herself, often with an unconscious undercurrent of desire.
The air seemed to grow dry, and Song Yuhang licked her lips, fingertips resting on her collar, undoing the first button. Not enough. There was still some distance from that secret.
The second button offered a vague glimpse of the scenery beneath, but what she wanted to see was the full picture.
The full picture of the secret, the full picture of Lin Yan.
Who allowed her body to harbor so many secrets?
As Song Yuhang thought this, she undid the third button. When her slightly cool fingertips touched skin, a searing hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
The heat felt as though it scorched her, obliterating the unusual atmosphere and the foggy consciousness altogether.
Song Yuhang swiftly pulled her hand back, and her abrupt movement even caused the chair to tilt backward and collide with the bed opposite.
Lin Yan propped herself up, coughing into her hand a few times. Her complexion was pale, but her eyes were feverishly bright. “What’s this? After getting into a fight, are you now revealing your emotions?”
This question left Song Yuhang speechless, as she wasn’t skilled at hiding her emotions, and her embarrassment was evident on her face.
Lin Yan relaxed herself and tidied her disheveled collar. “No need to feel guilty towards me. Captain Song is a rare opponent. In freestyle fighting and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I truly wanted to determine a winner. I thoroughly enjoyed that fight.”
It could be said that she hadn’t felt so invigorated in a long time. She vented not only her blood and tears but also the anger and resentment in her heart.
She had once thought that Lin Yan was the type of person who wouldn’t spare anyone when she was in the right, someone who was stubbornly shadowed by madness. However, Lin Yan’s magnanimity in this matter far exceeded her expectations, even bordering on indifference.
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Song Yuhang paused for a moment, then also eased up. “While that’s true, I still owe you an apology. Rest assured, once you’re better, I’ll definitely spar with you as many times as you want.”
Would she be able to recover?
Lin Yan’s lips curved slightly, and she didn’t say anything more. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of movement near the door to the ward, but it was barely visible from Song Yuhang’s angle.
“I’m a little hungry,” she said.
Song Yuhang stood up. “What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it.”
“Anything is fine, just something light.”
“Alright.” She nodded and was about to turn and leave.
Lin Yan called out to her again, “Is it really okay for you to put aside your work and come here?”
She didn’t know why she added that extra question.
The person’s footsteps clearly hesitated. She thought that she wouldn’t receive an answer, but Song Yuhang slowly turned around, looking into her eyes. “It’s fine. There are other colleagues in the criminal investigation team, and solving cases isn’t an urgent matter for the time being.”
Her response was sincere, and Lin Yan’s lips curved slightly. She didn’t say anything more.
As Song Yuhang pushed open the door to leave, her attending physician was walking towards them with some X-rays in hand.
She stepped aside, slowing her pace, and as the person entered, she leaned against the wall and heard Lin Yan suppress a few coughs.
“The issue isn’t major. There’s some infection in the lungs. Once the fever subsides, we’ll use some anti-inflammatory medication and address the minor concussion…”
Song Yuhang lowered her gaze, recalling how she had thrown Lin Yan to the ground several times, always with the back of her head hitting the floor. Goodness, what had she done?
She couldn’t bear to listen any further. She hurriedly left the room as if escaping, her heart in turmoil as her pace quickened.
As the footsteps gradually faded into the distance, Lin Yan let out a subtle sigh of relief. She lifted her gaze and asked the doctor, “How is it?”
The doctor glanced at the door, confirming that there was no one outside, before changing the mode of address with a somewhat grim expression. “Ms. Lin, the situation isn’t very good. I think it’s best to inform Director Lin as soon as possible.”
Lin Yan’s eyes slightly narrowed, and when she opened them again, her gaze was as cold as ice. “No one can know about this matter, including my father. Otherwise…”
A thin layer of sweat appeared on the doctor’s forehead. “Yes, yes, of course. Ms. Lin, please rest well. Let us know if you need anything.”
******
“Freshly baked buns, one yuan fifty each, four for three yuan!”
“Authentic Sichuan spicy noodles, one big bowl for five yuan!”
“Qianjiang small crayfish, hey…”
The night had just fallen, and the entrance of the hospital was a gathering place for various street vendors. The air was filled with the aroma of spicy hot pot and barbecue smoke. Song Yuhang walked along the path in front of the hospital for a short distance and spotted a small stall selling congee.
She approached and examined the sign. The stall owner warmly greeted her, “Miss, what would you like to drink?”
Song Yuhang lowered her head and glanced at the assortment of congee in the insulated container. The stall owner scooped some up with a spoon, and there were only a few scattered grains of rice. The lighting was dim, causing everything to appear somewhat dark, and the hygiene conditions were naturally questionable.
She recalled Lin Yan’s memorable words, “Is this for humans to eat? Isn’t this pig feed?!”
Song Yuhang took a step back. “No, I changed my mind. Thank you.”
After a moment’s thought, she decided to drive a bit further until she saw a restaurant specializing in Chaozhou-style clay pot congee by the roadside. She turned off the engine and got out of the car.
******
When she returned to the ward carrying the purchased congee, there was a somewhat familiar man standing at the entrance.
Song Yuhang walked over quickly, “You…”
Lin Ge turned around and placed his index finger against his lips, signaling her to be quiet.
Understanding the gesture, Song Yuhang looked inside the room through the glass above the ward entrance. Beside Lin Yan’s bed sat a woman who looked younger than her but was flamboyantly dressed, resembling a stepmother from a soap opera.
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“Yan Yan,” the woman’s nails were longer than Lin Yan’s, and her flashy manicure was almost blinding under the lights. She lifted the lid of a food container with a sense of familiarity.
Although Lin Yan’s name wasn’t exactly pleasant, it had a distinctive character. However, the woman had managed to mispronounce “Yan Yan” as “Yan Yan,” which sounded like a clichéd name for a protagonist in a mediocre rural novel about a widow. The atmosphere was overwhelming.
Listening from the outside, Song Yuhang felt a sense of unease.
Lin Yan remained unfazed.
Seeing that Lin Yan didn’t react much, the woman grew bolder and extended the food container towards her. She raised her voice in an affected tone and playfully complained. Despite being young, she had the audacity to smudge her face with a bewildering array of makeup. As she spoke, Lin Yan watched in disbelief as the foundation on the woman’s face fell onto her own bedsheet.
“Your dad heard that you were sick, so he asked me to come and check on you. Look, Auntie even personally cooked seafood soup for you. Try it, it’s best to drink it while it’s hot.”
As the food container was opened, a strong seafood odor wafted out. Who would eat this while being sick?
Moreover, she had elevated her status just by opening her mouth.
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow slightly, unmoved. “Oh, did Lin Youyuan send you?”
The woman twisted her body, furrowing her brows and placing a hand over her heart as if deeply hurt. She squeezed out two non-existent tears and used her Hermès handkerchief to dab at the corners of her eyes.
“How could you call your dad that way, Yan Yan? He still cares about you. Look, you didn’t even come when your dad and I got married. We didn’t say anything. Your dad still sends you money every month on time. You also have shares in the company, and even several branch offices bear your name…” She spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction at the corners of her eyes and brows. “From both a moral and logical standpoint, I am the main wife of the Lin family. You should call me ‘Mom.'”
It was quite coincidental. In the morning, someone had wanted her to call them “Mom” at the entrance of the city public security bureau, and now in the evening, another woman was eager for her to address her as “Mom.”
Lin Yan gazed at her silently. She resembled Lin Youyuan, with beautiful eyes, slender phoenix-like eyes, and deep black irises that shone. Even when not speaking or smiling, she seemed to be looking at someone affectionately.
Lin Yan’s lips curved slightly, her voice light. “Oh? Your face seems to be well taken care of… nicely maintained.”
As she spoke, the woman placed her hand on her own face and smiled. “Right, I feel the same. The beauty salon in the eastern part of the city is excellent. I have a membership card. Let’s go together sometime. Personally, I think you’re older than me. You’re in your thirties, so you should take good care of yourself.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Ge covered his face with his hand. “It’s over.”
Song Yuhang raised an eyebrow, observing Lin Yan’s playful yet serious expression. “Indeed, I’m quite envious. I envy how you managed to maintain it so well.”
The woman burst into laughter with a “giggle,” but her laughter was abruptly cut off, resembling a rooster choking on its own throat. Her lips trembled, and her fake eyelashes fluttered, as if they could fall off at any moment.
“Who the fuck didn’t close the crotch door? How did this kind of trash leak out?” Lin Yan spoke deliberately, finally putting her streetwise vocabulary to good use, acquired from growing up in the alleyways of the city.
“Hurry up and see a urologist to check if there’s something wrong down there. You’ve never taken a good look at how much you weigh.”
“Thinking that wearing Chanel and holding an Hermès makes you a princess? You work at which KTV? You won’t say.”
“Wanna be my mom? Are you worthy? Worthy of holding the keys? Worthy my ass!”
“Want to be someone else’s mom so badly? Why not knock yourself out and reincarnate sooner? In the next life, you might have a chance to keep my mom company on the road to the netherworld.”
In terms of delivering profanity, Song Yuhang had never encountered anyone with a combat strength comparable to Lin Yan’s.
The two individuals outside the door exchanged glances, both displaying the same two words in their eyes: frightening indeed.
Although the woman might be a bit arrogant and malicious, she was still a C-list actress from a prominent family. She had never faced such a situation before and was instantly flushed with embarrassment. She wished she could rush forward and tear Lin Yan’s mouth apart. However, Lin Yan acted before she could, picking up the food container and throwing it at her with full force, unleashing a torrent of insults that was as fierce as her physical assault.
The woman was scalded by the piping hot soup, letting out a piercing scream that seemed to shake the heavens and earth. When Song Yuhang and Lin Ge rushed into the room, they found Lin Yan clutching an iron food container in one hand and yanking the woman’s hair with the other, pinning her to the bed and viciously assaulting her.
“Fuck your mother! Fuck your mother! Mentioning my mom’s name in front of me, do you even qualify? Spit on you!”
The IV stand swayed precariously, and Song Yuhang quickly stepped forward to steady it, while restraining Lin Yan with a stern shout, “Lin Yan!”
Taking advantage of the situation, the woman managed to break free, her hair disheveled like a chicken coop, her makeup smudged, and her head bearing the bruises caused by the iron container. Her false eyelashes had fallen off, making her appearance utterly pitiable.
Crying while stomping her feet in anger, she threatened, “Lin Yan, I’ll go back and tell Youyuan about this! Just wait for me!”
“Am I supposed to be afraid of that old bastard? Let him come. Let’s see if he dares to mention my mom’s name in front of me. Don’t think I’m scared of him, even if he’s limping now. I’ll finish him off if I have to!”
Lin Yan’s emotions escalated again. As her shoulder was held by someone and she couldn’t break free, she threw the iron container directly at her head, causing her to cough and struggle violently.
Due to the excessive force, the IV needle was dislodged, and the deep red blood climbed upward along the tubing, an alarming sight.
Seeing Lin Yan coughing severely, the woman avoided the iron container and continued to shout, while Lin Ge was furious as well.
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His clenched fists made cracking sounds, but he hesitated because the woman was officially married to Lin Youyuan. Considering their generational relationship, he had to address her as “Aunt” and refrained from resorting to physical violence.
There was another person who was quicker than her. Song Yuhang was strong and swift. She dashed forward, grabbed the collar of the woman’s clothes, and lifted her up like a little chicken. She pushed and shoved her as she dragged her backwards, eventually tossing her out of the room.
“Get lost! If you don’t leave now, I’ll also want to hit you.”
The woman was so infuriated that her whole body trembled. She shook off Song Yuhang’s hand and looked at Lin Yan, who was coughing repeatedly. Her tone was both sarcastic and sinister, “Alright, alright, Lin Yan, you sure have a good big brother and good friend. Let’s see how long you can stay arrogant. We’ll see!”
With a bang, Song Yuhang slammed the door shut, keeping the obnoxious hen out.
The woman flicked off the soup residue from her body with resentment and walked away. Just as she turned around, an elderly woman was heading in that direction as well.
The elderly woman had neatly arranged silver hair, wore an understated Tang-style top that didn’t reveal any prominent brand, and was assisted by a steward. In her hand, she held a bowl of soup.
At first glance, it was clear that the elderly woman was here to visit a patient. The woman adjusted her clothes and approached with a flirtatious demeanor, “Oh, sister-in-law, what wind blew you here?”
The elderly woman glanced at her absentmindedly, seemingly not recognizing who she was at all. She turned to her servant and asked, “Where did this wild chicken come from?”
The woman’s face turned green with anger.
The servant respectfully replied, “I don’t know, maybe it came from one of the private rooms at the nearby KTV. Madam, visiting the young lady is the priority.”
The woman nodded, and with the support of her servant, she walked towards the hospital room.
The other woman remained in place, seething with hatred. She clenched her teeth and almost shredded her handkerchief in her frustration.