Paper Crane
Recently, the police in Binhai Province cracked a major case involving the use of psychological manipulation to interfere with and influence the suicidal behavior of teenagers. The individuals involved are Mr. Li, male, 44 years old, and Ms. Yu, female, 20 years old, a late-stage uremia patient. Over the course of ten years, they lured minors with suicidal thoughts through online posts, seriously harming the mental and physical health of young people through a series of methods including psychological suggestion. They also controlled the victims offline, manipulating them to take psychiatric drugs at their disposal to search for suitable kidney sources. Their actions seriously violated Article 232 of the 《Criminal Law》 of the People’s Republic of China…”
Song Yuhang reached out and turned off the in-car radio, opened the car door, and got out of the car. The media swarmed around her.
A few young police officers escorted her inside.
Camera flashes were going off everywhere.
Conference room.
On the deep blue background wall, the national emblem was embraced by the words “Serve the People, Enforce the Law.”
Below that was the insignia of the Binhai Public Security Bureau, Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, written in small characters.
The leaders took their seats in order, and Song Yuhang sat next to the deputy director. The plaque in front of her read “Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Jiangcheng City.”
One of her hands was still bandaged. Today, she had a neat appearance, wearing her uniform meticulously. Her hair was neatly tucked under her wide-brimmed hat, and the four-cornered star on her shoulder badge shimmered in the sunlight.
She was a female leader, and a female leader with exceptional appearance and temperament. Naturally, the camera lenses were mostly focused on her.
Song Yuhang remained composed, but occasionally, when answering questions from the media, her gaze would unintentionally glance at the table below.
That was the seat for the forensic investigators. There was an empty space on the right side, and on the table, there was only one nameplate: Dr. Lin Yan, Chief Forensic Physician of the Criminal Technical Investigation Department of Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau.
She still hadn’t arrived.
Song Yuhang’s eyes flickered slightly, and she took her seat.
The spokesperson continued, “Regarding the issue of teenage suicide, we appeal to families, schools, and the general public to work together to protect the mental and physical health of young people, especially parents. Spend more time with your children, listen to them, understand their daily lives at school. Don’t just focus on their academic performance, but also pay attention to their mental and physical well-being. Don’t give criminals an opportunity. Currently, suicide intervention hotlines have been gradually established in various provinces and cities nationwide…”
The press conference regarding the “White Whale Case” ended successfully, with thunderous applause erupting in the venue.
As Song Yuhang was about to leave after the event, she was called into Director Feng’s office.
He pointed to the brocade box on the table. “It’s for Lin Yan.”
Song Yuhang was taken aback. “This is…”
Feng Jianguo sat down and took a sip of tea. “It’s a medal of honor. After all, she was the one who first sensed that something was wrong, otherwise we wouldn’t have continued the investigation and suffered such serious injuries. The appropriate recognition should still be given. Take it and give it to her.”
Song Yuhang caressed the brocade box, lost in thought. After a while, she raised her right hand and touched her temple, giving a salute before turning around and leaving.
“Captain Song, Captain Song…” The passing detectives greeted her, but Song Yuhang nodded in acknowledgement and continued on.
She pushed open the door to the forensic investigation office directly. It was lunchtime, so there weren’t many people around.
Song Yuhang walked to her familiar desk, placed the brocade box down, and sat down.
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It was here that they had their first conflict.
Song Yuhang picked up the photo frame on the desk, dusted off the dust, and in the photo, Lin Yan seemed to rarely smile. She slightly raised her chin, with a somewhat rebellious expression.
As she looked at it, it was as if she could still hear her whispering in her ear, “Captain Song, is it appropriate for you to gaze at me with affection in the office?”
“Song Yuhang, are you even a human? No, are you even a woman?”
“Brother, I don’t agree with you being together!!!”
“Dr. Lin, do you really dislike me that much?”
“Isn’t it that I’m not interested in solving cases?”
“But I’m interested in Captain Song. Wherever you go, I’ll go~”
“You care about me?”
“Isn’t it the supervisor’s duty to care about subordinates?”
“He can’t afford a diamond ring, but I can give you one~”
……
Scenes from the past flashed through her mind.
Song Yuhang’s eyes were slightly moist, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips. She put the photo frame back in place, and in a casual glance, she noticed that there was a key inserted in Lin Yan’s drawer.
With a thought, she twisted the key, and with a soft “click” sound, the drawer popped open.
There were numerous forensic textbooks, her own notes, several bags of coffee for staying alert, and a bottle of chewing gum.
Song Yuhang took out the notebook and quickly flipped through a few pages, unable to help but sigh, “Impressive.”
She meticulously recorded all the cases she had handled, categorizing them by time, duration, and cause of death. Her handwriting was clean and neat. The red pen marked the difficult points discovered during the autopsies, and occasionally, there were sticky notes as footnotes or later explanations.
When she was in Wuli Town, she stood on the rooftop and wept, saying that it shouldn’t be her standing here as someone aspiring to be a forensic expert, but someone else.
However, in this moment, as Song Yuhang flipped through these manuscripts, she could sense the genuine passion for forensic medicine emanating from these delicate and neat writings.
Perhaps she wasn’t even aware herself. She chose to become a forensic expert, maybe initially driven by the desire for revenge for Chu Nan. But over the years, she had unknowingly embodied the motto cherished by all forensic professionals.
—To protect the rights of the living and speak for the dead.
Lin Yan was undoubtedly one of the best among them.
Song Yuhang closed the notebook, wiping away any trace of moisture from her eyes. Her gaze then fell upon the bottle of chewing gum.
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The first time she saw Lin Yan eating candy was on the night after dissecting Ding Xue’s body.
Lin Yan was wearing a tank top and shorts, with wet hair draped over her shoulders. She stretched out her arm towards Song Yuhang and said, “Chewing gum, want a couple?”
Later, when they occasionally went on field assignments, she saw Lin Yan carrying that bottle, until their time in Wuli Town.
Lin Yan offered it to her, and she initially thought she wouldn’t accept it. However, she reached out and took it. In that instant, Song Yuhang caught the fleeting panic in Lin Yan’s eyes.
Recalling that expression, Song Yuhang’s heart skipped a beat. She twisted open the cap of the chewing gum bottle, only to find two pieces left inside.
Two mint candies that seemed indistinguishable. Song Yuhang picked up one of them, popped it into her mouth, and immediately frowned. She grabbed a tissue from the table and spat it out.
It was so bitter.
This wasn’t candy at all; it was medicine.
How did she manage to eat them without flinching every time?
Song Yuhang grabbed the bottle of chewing gum and hurried to the laboratory.
Fang Xin started up the machine, put on gloves, and placed the two pills into separate petri dishes. “Captain Song, I’ll prioritize this for you in the afternoon, but the results won’t be available until tonight at the earliest.”
Song Yuhang nodded, the bitter taste lingering in her mouth. “Okay, thank you for your help. I’m sorry to make you work overtime again.”
“It’s no problem, just a small effort on my part.”
She was practically unfocused on work for the whole afternoon, but fortunately, there weren’t any major cases recently.
Song Yuhang felt a mix of relief and unease as she waited until evening. Fang Xin sent her a message, asking her to come to the laboratory.
She stood up and rushed, almost tripping over a chair.
Fang Xin held two pages of paper reports and returned the samples, which had been ground into powder, to her. “The two pills have different compositions. One of them is…”
She paused for a moment before saying, “It’s an experimental drug for treating Guillain-Barré syndrome. It hasn’t been released domestically yet. I specifically consulted my former university advisor for confirmation.”
Fang Xin handed her a thin sheet of paper, and Song Yuhang’s hands trembled as she looked at the listed side effects.
Insomnia, hair loss, vomiting, loss of appetite…
She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling a lump in her throat, and tried to calm herself down.
“What about the other pill?”
Fang Xin looked at her expression and hesitated before speaking, “This medication is also not available domestically. I asked my pharmaceutical classmates about it. It contains a large amount of gamma-hydroxybutyrate, commonly used to treat a range of complications caused by bipolar disorder, including insomnia, depression, alcohol dependence, and increased libido.”
Song Yuhang turned away, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Fang Xin pulled a tissue from the table and handed it to her. “Captain Song…”
Song Yuhang took it and waved her hand a couple of times. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Thank you. I hope you can keep today’s events…”
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“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
Song Yuhang shook her head, tightly clutching the two sheets of paper in her hand. “No, don’t tell Lin Yan that we know about this either .”
Fang Xin was momentarily stunned but quickly understood Song Yuhang’s good intentions. Lin Yan was such a stubborn person that she might not even be able to accept the fact that she had bipolar disorder. Otherwise, she wouldn’t resort to using a chewing gum bottle as a cover-up.
Not only did Song Yuhang treat her exceptionally well, but she also protected her dignity firmly.
Fang Xin suddenly felt a sense of emotion. “Alright, I understand.”
Song Yuhang forced a smile, holding the test report as she walked out. “Thank you. Let’s have a meal together with Duan Cheng and Old Zheng another day.”
She entered an empty office and turned on the paper shredder, feeding both sheets of paper into it. As she listened to the humming sound of the machine, she closed her eyes slightly, her shoulders trembling violently.
Only at this moment did she allow herself a brief moment of emotional indulgence.
LP: The past 2 days should have been rest days, but I ended up doing house work… I feel more tired then I was 2 days prior (-_-)