Miss Forensics – Chapter 11
by Little PandaVolume One: First Scroll
The Student
I appreciate beautiful things, regardless of gender
“Weren’t you supposedly uninterested in solving cases?” Song Yuhang tilted her head while fastening her seatbelt, as Lin Yan opened the car door and got in.
Her eyes were naturally beautiful, and when she smiled, her raised eyebrows gave off a somewhat irreverent air.
“But I’m interested in Captain Song. Wherever you go, I’ll follow~”
Song Yuhang shifted gears and started driving, clearly not taking her joke seriously. “Oh, I thought Forensic Specialist Lin was only interested in money and men.”
Lin Yan shook her head. Despite her wealthy background, she occasionally revealed a touch of street-smart charm.
“Not at all, not at all. I appreciate all beautiful things, regardless of whether they’re male or female.”
They hadn’t driven far when they got stuck at an intersection during rush hour. Lin Yan propped up her head, counting traffic light changes, and unconsciously said, “Turn left onto Changcheng Road, there’s a shortcut directly to Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.”
Song Yuhang glanced at her, maintaining a poker face: “That road was closed last year during street renovations.”
“Oh, really?” She shifted to a more comfortable position and closed her eyes to rest.
Thus, she missed Song Yuhang’s fleeting sharp gaze.
Just after early morning study session, the campus was full of vitality. At the height of summer, sunlight cast dappled shadows through the camphor trees. Students in blue and white uniforms either walked side by side, stood in corridors memorizing vocabulary, or ran past them in small groups, playing and joking around.
“Hey, what’s for lunch? There’s a new Yunnan rice noodle place that just opened by the school gate. Want to try it?”
“Yes, yes! I want the spicy flavor!”
“We just finished breakfast, and you’re already thinking about lunch?”
“Aiyo, isn’t that just like someone who starts looking forward to class ending the moment the bell rings?”
“How dare you talk about me like that, just you wait!”
“Hahahahaha”
A cool breeze rushed past her, someone bumped her shoulder, and she vaguely heard someone call “Lin Yan” near her ear.
She whirled around, hoping to see the person she’d been longing for day and night, but instead saw Song Yuhang standing at the end of the corridor, wearing a plain white shirt with slightly rolled-up sleeves revealing fair wrists, crisp black suit pants, with sunlight falling on her, highlighting her distinct features.
“This way.”
That somewhat intimate call of “Lin Yan” seemed like merely a delusion in her dazed state.
Lin Yan collected herself and followed.
“Hello, police.” Song Yuhang showed her police badge. “We’d like to learn more about what kind of person Ding Xue was.”
They were received by the third-year grade director, a middle-aged man with a balding head, who sighed upon hearing the name and led them to sit on the sofa.
“She was a good person. Though young, she was one of our school’s key teachers. If this hadn’t happened, in two more years she would’ve likely become the teaching group leader. She had such a promising future.”
“What was her usual temperament like? Were there any conflicts with students, parents, or colleagues?”
“Conflicts?” He paused for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. “Speaking of conflicts, which teacher doesn’t have some with students and parents? Most are just about wanting the best for students or differences in educational philosophy. That’s all understandable, but to kill someone over such things would be too…”
Lin Yan let out two cold “hehe” laughs: “I’ve seen someone slash another person more than ten times in the street over one yuan, each strike hitting vital points. It took me ages just to stitch up the body.”
“This…”
The grade director was at a loss for words, clearly a case of a scholar being stumped by a soldier [็งๆ้ไธๅ ตๆ็่ชชไธๆธ | xiรน cรกi yรน shร ng bฤซng yวu lว shuล bรน qฤซng | idiom meaning an educated person cannot win an argument against someone more street-smart].
Song Yuhang ignored her and continued questioning: “On the night of the incident, around 8-9 PM on Friday, the victim’s husband said she received a call from the school about some students fighting, requiring her attention. Is this accurate?”
The elderly grade director put on his reading glasses, checked his phone, and handed it to them: “Yes, yes, I made that call.”
Song Yuhang noted down the call time on paper: 9:10 PM, approximately 30 seconds long.
“Please tell us the details of that day’s events.”
“Alright, alright,” the man sat on the sofa, took a sip of tea, and slowly began to recall.
“You’re lying! Don’t talk nonsense! Teacher Ding isn’t that kind of person!” A thin boy in dirty school uniform, with closely cropped hair, clenched his fists, got up from the ground, and threw a punch at the speaker.
The other side had strength in numbers. After his sneak attack landed, he was quickly thrown to the ground, and the group began punching and kicking him.
The boy protected his head with his hands, gritting his teeth without making a sound, until a sharp shout came from the end of the corridor.
“What are you doing?! Stop immediately!”
The crowd scattered like birds and beasts [ๅฆ้ณฅ็ธๆฃ | rรบ niวo shรฒu sร n | idiom meaning to flee in all directions], and Ding Xue ran over to help the fallen boy up.
“Are you alright? Did they beat you again? Didn’t we just call the parents last time? I’ll go findโ”
“Teacher Ding,” the youth called out to her, his eyes dark in the night with a hint of tears, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth while forcing a smile.
“It’s fine. Sorry to trouble you to come out so late.”
“It’s no trouble, child. As your homeroom teacher, it’s my duty to protect you,” the woman said while taking tissues from her pocket and offering them, trying to help him up.
The youth somewhat stiffly refused her touch, taking the tissues himself, but held them without speaking, as if contemplating something.
“What’s wrong, Xiao Zhou [ๅฐๅจ | Xiวo Zhลu | informal way of addressing someone surnamed Zhou]?”
He lifted his head as if having made up his mind: “These three years of high school, you’ve been so good to me. If it weren’t for you, I might not even be able to attend school, probably working some job somewhere now. You said we’re friends, so as friends, could you tell me, youโ”
Before he could finish, footsteps approached from behind as the grade director and vice principal appeared in the corridor.
“Teacher Ding, is everything alright?”
Ding Xue turned around, helping the boy up: “It’s fine. Those kids were fighting again. We’ll need to call their parents in tomorrow for a proper discussion.”
Seeing others arrive, the boy fell silent.
“Thank you, teacher. Then… I’ll head back to the dormitory to rest.”
“Alright, let me walk you there,” Ding Xue offered, noticing his slight limp.
“Teacher Ding, what’s wrong with you?” the vice principal asked, noticing her poor complexion, the light sweat on her forehead, and her damp collar.
“If you’re not feeling well, we can arrange for some time off.”
Though these words came from a superior’s concern for a colleague, somehow, Ding Xue’s gaze wavered.
“It’s nothing. It was raining a bit when I came over. Even with an umbrella, I still got wet.”
She held a folding umbrella in one hand, and after speaking, covered her mouth to cough several times, truly appearing as if she had caught a cold.
The grade director came back to the present, placing his teacup on the table: “That was the last time I saw her.”
“I…”
“I…”
They spoke simultaneously, and Lin Yan paused: “You go ahead.”
Song Yuhang continued: “Could we meet that student?”
“Oh, yes, yes, no problem. I’ll make a call,” he seemed to hesitate for a moment before getting up to make the call by the window.
After hanging up, he walked back with slightly furrowed brows: “The substitute teacher says he didn’t come to school today. He’s taken leave.”
Song Yuhang immediately requested his home address. While the grade director went to check the student registry, Lin Yan stepped outside for some air.
Back in school days, she couldn’t smoke even when she wanted to, but now she had no such restrictions. She took out a cigarette from her pack, placed it between her lips, and clicked her lighter with a snap.
Passing students turned to stare, while Lin Yan blew a smoke ring, raised an eyebrow, and threw a flirtatious glance.
A bold student approached, catching a whiff of smoke: “Jiejie, let me have a drag too.”
Her eyes swept over him – slicked hair, powdered face, wearing a gold chain, school uniform zipper undone – clearly not a model student.
Most importantly, that chain was pure gold.
Lin Yan’s lips curved slightly as she removed the cigarette and placed it in his mouth, which the boy knowingly accepted.
“Interesting. Which class are you in, didi [ๅผๅผ | dรฌ di | informal term for younger brother/boy]?”
The cigarette was premium quality, still carrying the fragrance from the woman’s lips. The boy took two deep drags: “Class 3-16, jiejie. How about exchanging contact info?”
She glanced at his soft name tag, her expression turning slightly gossipy: “Class 16, huh? I heard that female teacher who died recently was…”
At the mention of this, the boy paused with the cigarette, taking a sharp drag: “She was our homeroom teacher.”
“Such a shame. I read in the papers she was a teaching expert,” Lin Yan naturally continued the conversation, clicking her tongue.
Unexpectedly, the boy snorted: “What’s there to be sorry about, she was just…”
He seemed to realize his impropriety mid-sentence and abruptly stopped, giving Lin Yan a suspicious look up and down.
“Wait, during school hours we have closed management. Who are you, and how did you get in?”
This kid was quite alert. Lin Yanโs face bloomed like a flower, deliberately batting her eyes while internally grinding her teeth in frustration.
Suddenly, the boy slapped his thigh: “Oh, I get it! You’re a reporter! We’ve had lots of people coming to interview at our school lately.”
“Ahem…” Lin Yan choked on her own saliva. “Yes, yes, yes, I’m a reporter.”
She nodded like pounding garlic [้ป้ ญๅฆๆ่ | diวn tรณu rรบ dวo suร n | idiom meaning to nod repeatedly]: “So tell me any insider gossip about your teacher – who were her close friends, which colleagues did she have conflicts with, which students did she get along with particularly well or poorly, and about her marriage, etc.”
Her lie hadn’t lasted even a minute when the class bell rang. The boy quickly finished the cigarette in a few puffs, stubbed it out on the railing, and turned to run to class, blowing a kiss as he went.
“Thanks for the cigarette, beautiful jiejie. See you next time!”
“Heyโ student!” Lin Yan stamped her foot. Damn it, this bell couldn’t have rung at a worse time.
Before she finished speaking, she saw the boy nearly collide with someone at the classroom door. He quickly steadied himself and bowed: “Hello, Teacher Li.”
Lin Yan looked over at the person called “Teacher Li,” who wore a black suit dress uniform and frameless glasses, looking exactly like the stereotypical teacher from TV dramas.
Song Yuhang pushed open the office door: “Let’s go, Great Reporter Lin.”
“…”
Lin Yan secretly gave her retreating back the middle finger.
LP: Re-translated on March 04, 2025
Their interactions are gold😂
Their interactions are gold๐
them bantering LMFAO