Miss Forensics – Chapter 11

Student

“Isn’t it that you’re not interested in solving the case?” Song Yuhang, tilting her head, fastened her seatbelt while Lin Yan also opened the car door and got in.

She had beautiful eyes, and when she smiled, there was a hint of playfulness in the arch of her eyebrows.

“But I am interested in Captain Song. Wherever you go, I’ll follow~”

Song Yuhang shifted gears and started driving, seemingly not taking her playful words to heart. “Oh, I thought Dr. Lin was only interested in money and men.”

Lin Yan shook her head. Despite being born into a prominent family, she occasionally showed a touch of charm from the lanes and alleys of the common people.

“Not at all, not at all. I appreciate all beautiful things, regardless of gender.”

As the car drove a short distance, they encountered the morning rush hour and got stuck at a crossroads. Lin Yan propped up her head and counted the traffic lights subconsciously, then said, “Turn left and take the Longcheng Road. There’s a small path that goes directly to Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.”

Song Yuhang glanced at her without changing her expression. “That road was sealed off last year during the street renovation.”

“Oh, I see,” she adjusted her posture to get more comfortable and closed her eyes slightly to rest.

In doing so, she missed the sharp glint in Song Yuhang’s eyes as they flickered by.

Just after finishing the morning self-study session, the campus was bustling with vitality. It was the height of summer, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the camphor trees, creating mottled patterns of light and shadow. Young boys and girls, dressed in blue and white uniforms, walked together side by side, some reciting vocabulary on the corridors, while others ran and played around in groups.

“Hey, what should we eat for lunch? There’s a new Yunnan rice noodle stall just outside the school gate. Shall we give it a try?”

“Sounds good! I want the spicy and fragrant flavor!”

“Seriously? We just had breakfast, and you’re already thinking about lunch?”

“Haha, isn’t it like someone eagerly waiting for the bell to ring during class just to be excited about the end of the class?”

“Hey, dare you talk about me! Stop right there!”

“Hahahaha!”

A refreshing breeze rushed past her, and someone bumped into her shoulder. In a daze, she heard someone calling “Lin Yan” in her ear.

She turned her head abruptly, thinking she might see the person she had been longing for, but instead, she saw Song Yuhang standing at the end of the corridor. She wore a simple white shirt, with the sleeves slightly rolled up, revealing her fair wrists. Her black trousers were neatly pressed, and the sunlight cast a sharp silhouette on her.

“Over here.”

The somewhat intimate “Lin Yan” calling seemed to be just her vague illusion.

Lin Yan collected herself and caught up with Song Yuhang.

“Hello, officer,” Song Yuhang presented her police identification card. “I’d like to know more about Ding Xue, what kind of person she is.”

They were received by the senior head teacher of the third grade, a middle-aged man with thinning hair. As soon as he heard the name, he began to sigh and invited them to sit on the sofa.

“She’s a really good person. Although she’s young, she’s considered one of the teaching backbones in our No. 1 High School. If she doesn’t get into trouble, she will probably become the head of the teaching department in a couple of years. Her future is boundless.”

“What is her usual personality like, and is there any conflict with students, parents, or colleagues?”

“Conflict?” He paused for a moment, then sighed with a bitter smile, “If you talk about conflicts, which teacher doesn’t have some conflicts with students, parents, or colleagues? Most of them are just due to being strict or having different educational philosophies. These things can be understood. But if someone resorts to murder over such issues, that’s just…”

Lin Yan chuckled coldly, “Haha, I’ve even seen someone brutally stab another person multiple times on the street over a measly sum of money. Every stab hit a vital spot. I spent quite a while just stitching up the corpse.”

“This…”

The senior head teacher was taken aback, clearly at a loss for words in the face of such brutal realities.

Song Yuhang didn’t pay any attention to Lin Yan and continued to ask, “On the evening of the incident, which was Friday around eight or nine o’clock, the victim’s husband said that she received a call from the school, informing her about a fight between some students and that they needed her to come and handle it. Is this information true?”

The senior head teacher put on his reading glasses and checked his phone before passing it to them. “It’s true, it’s true. The call was made by me.”

Song Yuhang noted down the time of the call on the paper: 9:10 PM, lasted for about thirty seconds.

“Could you please tell us in detail about the situation on that day?”

“Sure, sure.” The man sat on the sofa and took a sip of tea before slowly recalling the events.

“You’re lying! Stop making things up! Teacher Ding is not that kind of person!” A thin and frail boy, wearing dirty school uniform and with short-cropped hair, clenched his fist and got up from the ground. He threw a punch towards the person who was talking.

The other side had more people, and after the surprise attack, he was quickly overwhelmed and thrown to the ground. A group of people started punching and kicking him.

The boy protected his head with his hands and gritted his teeth, enduring the blows without making a sound. It was only when a stern shout echoed from the end of the corridor.

“What are you doing?! Stop it now!”

The crowd dispersed like frightened animals, and Ding Xue ran over to help the boy who was lying on the ground.

“Are you okay? Did they attack you again? Didn’t we just involve the parents last time? I’ll go find–“

“Teacher Ding,” the young boy stopped her. In the darkness of the night, his eyes were pitch-black, and there seemed to be a hint of glistening moisture. He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and managed to force a smile.

“I’m fine. It’s too late for you to bother coming here.”

“It’s not a bother. As your homeroom teacher, it’s my responsibility to protect you,” she said, taking out a tissue from her pocket and handing it to him, wanting to help him up.

The boy hesitated and politely declined her touch, taking the tissue himself. He held onto it but remained silent, as if contemplating something.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Zhou?”

He seemed to have made up his mind and raised his head, saying, “You’ve been exceptionally kind to me during my three years in high school. If it weren’t for you, I might not have been able to go to school. Now, I still don’t know where to work. You said we’re friends, so as a friend, can you tell me about you–“

Before he could finish his sentence, footsteps were heard from behind. The senior head teacher and the vice principal appeared in the corridor.

“Teacher Ding, is everything okay?”

Ding Xue turned around and helped the male student up from the ground. “Everything’s fine. Those kids just started a fight again. Tomorrow, I’ll have to call their parents to the school for a serious talk.”

The male student fell silent when he saw others approaching.

“Thank you, teacher. Then… I’ll go back to the dormitory to rest.”

“Alright, I’ll walk you back,” Ding Xue offered as she noticed he was still limping a little.

“Teacher Ding, are you okay?” The vice principal noticed that she didn’t look well. There was a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, and her collar was damp.

“If you’re feeling unwell, we can arrange for you to take a break.”

This exchange was a display of concern from the superior towards their colleague. However, for some reason, Ding Xue’s gaze evaded for a moment.

“It’s nothing. It was raining when I came here, and even though I had an umbrella, I still got wet.”

She held a folded umbrella in one hand, and after speaking, she covered her mouth and coughed a few times. She genuinely looked like she had caught a cold.

The senior head teacher snapped back to reality and placed the teacup on the table. “This was the last time I saw her like that.”

“I…”

“I…”

Both of them spoke simultaneously, and Lin Yan paused before continuing, “You go ahead.”

Song Yuhang picked up the thread, “Can we meet that child?”

“Sure, sure, no problem. Let me make a call,” he hesitated for a moment, then got up and went to the window to make the call.

After hanging up the phone, he walked back with a slight frown. “The substitute teacher said he didn’t come to school today. He took a day off.”

Song Yuhang immediately asked for the student’s home address. While the senior head teacher searched for the information in the student roster, Lin Yan stepped outside to take a breath.

Back in school, she used to want to smoke but couldn’t. Now, she had no inhibitions. She took out a cigarette from the pack, placed it between her lips, and lit it with a snap of her lighter.

Passing students looked at her curiously, and Lin Yan even blew out a smoke ring, raising an eyebrow and giving a seductive look.

A bold student approached and said, “Sis, can I have a puff too?”

She glanced at him with a teasing gaze. He had greasy hair and a powdered face, with a gold chain hanging around his neck, and his school uniform was unzipped. Clearly, he wasn’t a good student.

Most importantly, that chain was made of pure gold.

Lin Yan slightly curved her lips and handed the cigarette to the boy, who cleverly took a puff.

“Interesting. Which class are you in, little brother?”

The cigarette was of good quality, and it carried the fragrance of a woman’s lips and teeth. The boy took two deep drags and said, “I’m in Class 36 of Grade 12. Can I get your contact information, sis?”

She glanced at his name tag on the school uniform, and a curious expression crossed her face. “Class 16, huh? I heard that the female teacher who recently passed away was…”

As she mentioned that, the boy, with the cigarette between his fingers, froze for a moment and then took a big drag, saying, “She was our homeroom teacher.”

“It’s a pity. I read in the newspaper that she was an excellent teacher,” Lin Yan smoothly took over the conversation, smacking her lips.

Unexpectedly, the boy snorted, “A pity? Not really…”

He seemed to realize he had said something inappropriate and abruptly stopped himself. Suspiciously, he scrutinized Lin Yan from head to toe.

“Wait a minute. During class hours, it’s closed management here. Who are you, and how did you get in?”

This kid was quite vigilant. Lin Yan smiled charmingly, intentionally throwing a seductive glance. Internally, she was seething with frustration.

Little did she know, the boy suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Oh, I got it! You’re a journalist! Many reporters have been coming to our school lately for interviews.”

“Cough…” Lin Yan choked on her own saliva, trying to play along, “Yes, yes, yes, I’m a journalist.”

She nodded, pretending to be eager for gossip, “So you know all the inside information, like who are her close friends among the staff, who had conflicts with her, and which students she had good or bad relationships with, or even details about her marriage. Please share everything with me.”

Her lie barely lasted for a minute as the school bell rang. The boy quickly finished the cigarette and pressed it against the railing. He turned and rushed towards the classroom but not before turning back and blowing a kiss.

“Thanks for the cigarette, beautiful sister. See you next time!”

“Ah, classmate!” Lin Yan stomped her foot, damn it, the school bell couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Before she could say anything, she saw the boy nearly bump into someone at the classroom door. He quickly steadied himself and bowed, “Hello, Teacher Li.”

Lin Yan’s gaze followed his and saw a person dressed in a black suit with a uniform skirt. She wore a pair of rimless glasses that made her look like a typical teacher character from a TV drama.

Song Yuhang emerged from the office and said, “Let’s go, Reporter Lin.”

“…”

As Song Yuhang walked away, Lin Yan secretly raised her middle finger at her retreating figure.

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