Miss Forensics – Chapter 24
by Little PandaPart One
Jingxing
“Heartbroken?” “No”
“So your parents funded the house purchase at the time, correct? Was it fully paid off? No—” The woman was sitting in front of her computer, answering the phone while tapping on her keyboard to take notes. When she heard a knock at the door, she walked over to the entryway, phone in hand. Peeking through the peephole, she quickly switched hands to hold the phone and turned sideways to open the door.
“I’m sorry, I have an urgent matter to attend to right now. I’ll contact you again later.”
After she hung up, Song Yuhang stepped inside and changed into the guest slippers. She looked up with a wry smile. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. Bothering you again so late.”
Seeing that she was completely drenched and her face was covered in black and blue bruises, Ji Jingxing fetched a clean towel from the bathroom and handed it to her. “Look at you. No wonder you didn’t dare go home.”
If Mother Song saw her like this, she would definitely nag her to death. After all, with the tragic precedent of her father and older brother, she was terrified of anything happening to Song Yuhang.
“It’s nothing… just got into a fight with someone,” Song Yuhang said, rubbing her wet hair with the towel. She glanced through the half-open door into the bedroom.
“Is Xiaowei asleep?”
“She’s asleep. Otherwise, if she knew you were here, who knows how wild she’d get.” As Ji Jingxing spoke, she poured a cup of hot coffee from the kitchen to help her warm up.
Song Yuhang sat on the sofa with the towel draped over her head, lost in thought. Ever since she walked in, Ji Jingxing had felt that something was off about her. This was a person who rarely spaced out, let alone looked so lost and soul-shattered.
Over the years, the number of times Song Yuhang had come to her place could be counted on one hand. The last time was when her brother passed away.
“Are you really okay?” Still uneasy, Ji Jingxing pulled the first-aid kit out from the cabinet, opening it to search for iodine and cotton swabs.
“Should we go to the hospital? Who on earth hit you this hard?”
The corner of her eye had been gouged by Lin Yan’s fingernail, leaving a bloody, torn scratch. The blood had almost reached her eye; if she had gone even a hair further, that eye would have been lost.
Song Yuhang touched it, only now feeling a delayed, dull ache. She could not help but wonder… she had struck Lin Yan so many times, hitting her until she couldn’t even stand. Did she feel pain too?
She must have. After all, she had cried.
At the thought of those tear-drenched eyes, a sour, stinging ache welled up in her heart again.
She suddenly felt a pang of regret for her own impulsiveness.
Ji Jingxing stopped what she was doing, feeling that there was an indescribable, subtle shift about her today.
“Heartbroken?” she teased intentionally.
The other woman suddenly snapped her gaze over, her tone rigid. “No.”
That was a bit too fast. Ji Jingxing laughed, handing her the gauze. “Alright, I know you’ve never been in love. But it really is about time you found someone and had a proper relationship. I’m heading to bed. I have to wake up early tomorrow to take Xiaowei to school. The guest toiletries are on the shelf in the bathroom. Don’t sleep on the sofa tonight—go sleep in your brother’s room.”
Xiaowei was a posthumous child. When her brother sacrificed his life seven years ago, the whole family had urged Ji Jingxing to get an abortion, but she had insisted on keeping the child, raising her all on her own. Being a single mother was indeed hard.
Song Yuhang respected and loved this sister-in-law deeply. They were close in age, and their bond was more like that of kindred spirits who cherished each other.
She stood up to watch her walk toward the bedroom, her lips moving slightly. “Jie… thank you.”
Ji Jingxing waved her hand, holding her coffee cup. She wore loose loungewear, her feet slipped into a pair of simple gray slippers.
The cartoon print on them was already faded and blurry. They had bought them together seven years ago when she and her brother first got married; Song Yuhang had been there that day, too.
Ji Jingxing gestured with her chin and mouthed, “Goodnight.”
Song Yuhang mouthed back, “Goodnight.”
“Check.”
“Block.” On the board, the battle was already locked in a fierce, inescapable struggle. The black piece moved an Advisor1 down.
His opponent stroked his red piece, hesitating.
“Old Master, it’s time for your medicine.” The woman brought over a soup bowl, blowing on the dark medicine to cool it before feeding it to his lips.
The man was no longer young. White hair had crept into his temples, wrinkles creased his face, and there were a few faint age spots, but his beard was neatly trimmed. His face bore a resemblance to Lin Yan’s, making it easy to see how handsome and dashing he must have been in his youth. Although confined to a wheelchair, his shoulders remained broad, and his limbs were long.
He turned his head and gulped it down, frowning at the bitterness. The woman popped a candied fruit into his mouth. He chewed, spat the pit into her open palm, and turned back to the chessboard.
“Cannon.”
His opponent didn’t show a hint of impatience, deftly removing a piece and capturing his general in the process.
“Checkmate. You lose.”
The two men burst into laughter. Lin Youyuan tossed the remaining pieces onto the board. “No more, no more. You are as devious as ever.”
“President Lin.” A black-clad man knocked and stepped into the room quickly.
As if sensing something, Lin Youyuan calmly lifted his teacup and took a sip. “What has the young lady been up to lately?”
The black-clad man leaned down and whispered in his ear, making a throat-slitting gesture. “Should we…”
He looked at the man sitting across from him, then raised his hand to stop his subordinate. “That won’t be necessary. Lin Yan has never been one to take a loss lying down. This isn’t a bad thing.”
“Yes.” The black-clad man bowed respectfully and withdrew.
The woman crouching beside him gave a playful roll of her eyes and clung coquettishly to his knees. “Old Master, it’s getting late. Didn’t you say you’d take me to buy a bag tomorrow?”
Lin Youyuan stroked her chin, a smile filtering into his affectionate eyes—which were identical to Lin Yan’s. “When has Old Master ever lied to you? Someone, see our guest out.”
Water droplets slid down her arm, pooling into a pale red bloodstain on the floor before draining into the floor drain.
The shower was running at full blast. Through the thick steam, the woman’s wet hair hung down her back like a sheet of fine satin.
She held the handleless knife, faced the mirror, and carved into her shoulder, stroke by agonizing stroke.
Droplets of blood splattered into the sink, looking like red spider lilies2 blooming on pure white snow.
She threw her head back, gasping heavily, forcing her choked agony down her throat. Her lips trembled as cold sweat beaded on her forehead. One hand gripped the edge of the sink as her entire body shook, until she had added another fresh, bloody stroke to the tattoo on her chest.
Clang—
The knife in Lin Yan’s hand clattered into the sink. Completely drained of strength, she slid down to the floor, leaning against the side of the bathtub. She sat there with her head hanging, silent, as if she had fallen asleep.
Yet, from her tightly closed eyes, two lines of hot tears rolled down, quickly merging with the water on the floor and vanishing.
“Auntie! School lets out early today. Can you pick me up so we can go to the amusement park? Mommy hasn’t taken me out to play in forever…” Ji Weiyi sat in her child safety seat, stretching her arms out for a hug.
Ji Jingxing drove, glancing back. “Hey, sit properly. What did Mommy tell you? Auntie is very busy, don’t bother her.”
“It’s fine, Jie. The case is closed anyway. I’ll pick up Xiaowei after school.” Song Yuhang reached out awkwardly with her left hand to pat Xiaowei’s head, a rare, soft smile appearing on her face.
“Is your arm still stiff?” Ji Jingxing caught it in her peripheral vision. “I think you should go to the hospital and get it checked.”
Yesterday it had only felt painful, but this morning it was swollen high and hard to even lift.
Song Yuhang moved her shoulder, grimacing. “Alright, I’ll drop by the hospital in a bit.”
“Close call. Your arm was almost fractured.” The doctor examined the X-ray for a moment, then walked over to gently press her swollen shoulder, moving her arm around. Song Yuhang bit her lip, her face turning pale.
“I’ll write you a slip. Go to the treatment room to get it bandaged. Change the plaster once a day, and take your oral medication on time.”
Song Yuhang stood up, put her coat on, and nodded. “Thank you, Doctor.”
Midway through the bandaging, her phone rang. Song Yuhang awkwardly fished it out of her pocket with one hand. “Hello?”
Before the person on the other end could finish speaking, her expression changed. She pulled her clothes up and ran outside. The young nurse shouted behind her: “Hey! Why are you running?! The bandage isn’t finished yet!”
Song Yuhang ran through the crowded corridor, casually looped the loose end of the bandage around her arm, bit it with her teeth to tie a secure knot, and said as she walked: “Give me the case details. What’s the situation?”
The alarm rang shrilly. Lin Yan poked her head out from under the covers, fumbled around on the nightstand, and slapped the alarm away as soon as she found it.
The world finally fell quiet. She pulled the blanket back over her face, but not even a minute later, the piercing ring tone started up again. The young heiress rolled over in a rage, covering her ears with a pillow.
By the time she was suffocating, the agonizing noise finally stopped. Lin Yan let out a sigh of relief and lay flat. She felt terrible—her eyes were heavy, her body was sore, and her throat felt like it was on fire.
She swallowed and reached for the glass on her nightstand, but that soul-summoning call started ringing yet again.
Unable to take it anymore, she bolted upright, grabbed the phone to throw it, but got dizzy and tumbled right out of bed.
“Sss, it hurts.” She rubbed her forehead as she sat up. Her head was a complete mess today, and her heavy limbs refused to cooperate. But when she saw the number flashing on the screen, she still pressed answer.
“Hello, Lin-jie, it’s me.”
“I know it’s you. What is it?” Lin Yan licked her dry, chapped lips and dragged herself up from the floor, leaning heavily against the wardrobe for support.
“We’re currently next to Gelin Building in the West City District. We found a highly mutilated corpse…”
Duan Cheng was cut off mercilessly before he could finish.
“What do you mean by highly mutilated? Give me specific postmortem physical features!”
Duan Cheng looked at the ground a short distance away, still shuddering. The area was covered in mashed flesh, bone fragments, and brain matter—red, white, and yellow mixed together. It looked exactly like a fresh plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes3.
He dry-heaved. “Urgh, you should just come see it for yourself.”
Song Yuhang arrived first, and Lin Yan arrived shortly after. Today, the young heiress had uncharacteristically foregone her high heels for a pair of soft, comfortable flat shoes. She walked with a stiff, unnatural gait, and despite the cloudy sky, she wore oversized sunglasses and put on a mask the moment she stepped out of her car.
Duan Cheng hurried over to greet her. “Jie, why are you…”
Her outfit looked incredibly bizarre on a rainy, overcast day.
Lin Yan rolled her eyes. “So what if it’s cloudy? You still need sun protection on cloudy days, don’t you?”
As she limped toward the crime scene carrying her forensic kit, Song Yuhang was leaning against her car door, one hand in her pocket as she made a phone call.
“Be good, Xiaowei. I won’t be able to pick you up after school today. Listen to Mommy, okay? We’ll make plans for another day.”
Even from a distance, Lin Yan could see the gentle smile in her eyes, her expression soft and warm.
Her voice drifted over through the wind, muffled and faint.
“Be good, Xiaowei… we’ll make plans for another day.”
Ugh. Lin Yan shivered. Who was she flirting with? It gave her goosebumps.
The Gelin Building was actually just an unfinished construction site, roughly the size of half a football field, enclosed by a wire fence with piles of rubble and debris at the base.
The police line was stretched outside the fence. Lin Yan lifted the tape. Under normal circumstances, she would have stepped right over the low pile of stones. But today she had no energy, her forensic kit felt incredibly heavy, and she could barely lift her arm, leaving her with no choice but to climb up slowly.
The rain had made the stones wet and slippery. Her foot slipped, dislodging a few rocks, and she began to fall backward.
“Careful!” A familiar voice sounded in her ear, and a strong arm wrapped around her waist, catching her securely.
Lin Yan fell back into her embrace. Whether from the fright or something else, her heart began to beat wildly.
Song Yuhang held her steady but didn’t let go immediately, her eyes filled with worry. “Are you alright?”
She seemed to be asking about her fall, but she was also asking about last night.
Lin Yan snapped back to reality and pushed her away like a sticky piece of candy. “I’m fine. I think you should worry about yourself instead.”
Her armbar from last night was more than enough to give her trouble.
At those words, Song Yuhang felt her bandaged shoulder throb. She smiled wryly, took the forensic kit from Lin Yan’s hand, and walked ahead without another word.
Lin Yan’s expression turned slightly complicated, as if she was annoyed that she had just walked off like that—though she found her own irritation baffling. But then, after climbing the pile of stones, the other woman turned around and reached her hand down.
“Come up.”
She hesitated, looking away to avoid her gaze, trying to find another way over.
Song Yuhang repeated patiently: “Come up.”
Under her mask, the corners of Lin Yan’s mouth curved slightly. Only then did she reluctantly place her hand in Song Yuhang’s.
The moment their fingers touched, Song Yuhang gripped her hand firmly. Her palm was broad and warm, calloused from years of handling guns and batons.
Lin Yan’s mind wandered back to last night, to the shiver that had run through her when Song Yuhang’s rough index finger lightly brushed her scar.
The gloom hid the panic in her eyes, just as it hid the fleeting tenderness in Song Yuhang’s.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Lin Yan pulled her hand free and walked ahead. Song Yuhang followed closely behind, carrying her forensic kit.
When she had pulled her up, Lin Yan’s hand was freezing cold and clammy with sweat. Song Yuhang was worried, the guilt that had hung over her since last night tightening its grip.
“Lin…”
She wanted to call her name, but Lin Yan turned around and reached out her hand, acting as if nothing had happened.
“Forensic kit.”
Song Yuhang handed it over. Lin Yan squatted, pulled out a pair of gloves, snapped them on, and stepped onto the forensic stepping pads to approach the corpse.
The author has something to say:
【Doge】 Right now Captain Song is carrying the forensic kit; in the future, she’ll be carrying her purse.
I’m in a bit of a bad mood today and not quite in the zone, so this chapter is on the shorter side. I’ll make up for it tomorrow.
Thank you for reading.
I love you all.
Footnotes
- An Advisor (shi) is a defensive piece in Chinese chess (Xiangqi) that moves diagonally within the palace boundary to protect the general.
- The red spider lily (Lycoris radiata) is a flower heavily associated with death, reincarnation, and painful departures in Buddhist folklore.
- A highly popular and comforting Chinese homestyle dish made of stir-fried tomatoes and scrambled eggs, commonly served over steamed rice.
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