Miss Forensics – Chapter 112.1

Reminisce

After everyone left, Liu Zhi looked at Wang Qiang lying on the ground and said, “Sister Hong, what should we do now?”

Lin Yan raised her finger to her forehead and said, “We at least had a passionate affair. Let’s find a place to bury him properly.”

“Okay.” Several strong men wearing gloves came in and dragged Wang Qiang out. The remaining few people brought buckets of water to clean the bloodstains on the floor.

Liu Zhi threw the bloodstained carpet into the bonfire, watching it burn.

Lin Yan sat in the car, absentmindedly tapping her knee, contemplating the next steps.

Wang Qiang is dead, this news must be sent back as soon as possible. Her position in the Huange Nightclub is now unshakeable, bringing her closer to the core leadership of this mysterious organization.

The next step is to find the source. Behind such a huge amount of new drugs, there must be a massive production factory hidden. Without pulling this factory out, investigating any number of batches of goods would be in vain.

“Sister Hong, everything has been taken care of,” Liu Zhi knocked on the car door and ran over to report.

Lin Yan came back to her senses, saw the sweat on his forehead, slightly smiled, and handed him her handkerchief.

“Here, wipe it off.”

Working with Wang Qiang, one would never receive this kind of warm and considerate treatment.

Liu Zhi hesitated, seeing her hand stretched out and feeling it was rude to ignore it. Her wrist was delicate and fair.

A warmth surged in his heart. He took the handkerchief by its corner, pretending to wipe his sweat. He noticed a pleasant scent on it, making his face turn slightly red.

“Thank you, Sister Hong.”

Lin Yan closed her eyes again to rest, Liu Zhi took his place in the passenger seat, instructed the driver to start the car, and then turned his head to ask in a low voice.

“Sister Hong, about that batch of goods…”

Lin Yan didn’t open her eyes: “Just give it back to Tiger.”

A little impatience can ruin a big plan. It seems this Supreme Lord is even tougher to deal with than she had anticipated.

Liu Zhi was startled: “Understood.”

Upon returning to the Huange Nightclub and locking the door, Lin Yan slumped against it, sitting down with her hand propping up her forehead. The events of the night had left her feeling utterly exhausted.

Whether she was dealing with ruthless drug dealers, engaging in insincere dealings with Wang Qiang, or facing life and death directly, none of these experiences drained her as much as meeting Song Yuhang again.

When she revealed she was “Pei Jinhong,” the shock and pain fleeting through Song Yuhang’s eyes did not escape her notice.

Her lover was by her side, yet they couldn’t acknowledge or embrace each other; her heart ached as if it were her own suffering.

Lin Yan bit her teeth tight, warning herself not to cry, she must not cry, yet her eyes warmed up, biting her arm with her teeth and emitting a sob from the depth of her throat.

After a long while, the weak, cub-like whimpering stopped.

Lin Yan rose from her bed and poured herself a glass of red wine from the cabinet. She pressed a hidden compartment next to her bedside table, revealing a wooden box.

From it, she retrieved several white pills and dropped them into her wine. Bubbles formed on the surface and quickly disappeared.

Lin Yan swirled the glass gently and emptied it in one gulp, intending to take a shower afterward. However, she suddenly felt something was amiss.

Sitting back up from the bed, she saw that everything was exactly as she had left it before; the pillow was neatly placed, and not a single wrinkle marred the blanket.

Turning on the bedside lamp, Lin Yan lifted the blanket and carefully searched inch by inch. Her fingertips finally caught something fine and soft. Bringing it under the light for a closer look, she found it was a strand of black short hair.

She had been here.

In an instant, Lin Yan’s heart swelled with emotions, and her eyes reddened again. She clutched the strand of hair, lips trembling, motionless.

How desperately she wanted to rush out to find her, to tell her she was still alive, to hug and kiss her again, to draw even a trace of warmth from her embrace. This place was so cold, constantly on edge, walking on thin ice.

Not a night went by that she could sleep peacefully. Even in the sweltering nights of summer, she would wake up drenched in a cold sweat, chilled to the bone.

The doctor said it was a normal stress reaction post-major surgery, but only she knew that what she suffered from was a condition named “Song Yuhang.” A yearning deeply engraved in her heart.

After returning the mechanical stick, she had nothing left that belonged to her, not even something to remember herself by.

Struggling repeatedly, Lin Yan eventually decided to take out a lighter and burnt the strand of hair.

The raging flame also engulfed her fingers. In this near-phoenix-like process, Lin Yan experienced heart-wrenching pain, finally letting two streams of tears roll down the corners of her eyes.

It rained all night, and she didn’t sleep a wink. Early the next day, she arranged for people to help her move. Originally, living closer was only for the convenience of managing the club, but now, with Wang Qiang dead, everyone assumed she was moving due to being reminded of painful memories, making her relocation seem reasonable and not arousing suspicion.

Lin Yan was pondering over this, firstly because Song Yuhang already knew that place, which might not be safe as she could come looking for her.

Secondly, with so many people coming and going in the nightclub, it was easier to pass messages while staying outside. As for the movements inside the nightclub, Liu Zhi would naturally keep an eye out for her.

The apartment she had moved into was also a private property owned by Pei Jinhong, located in a high-end duplex in a residential area of Jiangcheng City, with 24-hour security and surveillance cameras in the elevators and hallways.

Lin Yan was very satisfied. Standing in the hallway and watching her subordinates bustling around, she thought to herself: This human trafficker has quite good taste.

“Sister Hong, everything’s been taken care of,” Liu Zhi said, wiping sweat off his forehead as he came out.

“Take a look and see if there’s anything else we need to add. We can take care of it.”

“Hard work, huh.” Lin Yan pulled out a few red bills from her wallet, holding them between two fingers and handed them over.

“Please treat the brothers to a good meal.”

The others also chuckled, “Sister Hong is always the best to us.”

The room, spanning two floors, was probably around 200 square meters, a bit smaller than her previous villa, but it was barely livable.

Lin Yan looked around, picking up a photo frame that was turned upside down next to the TV cabinet. Inside was a black-and-white photo that seemed ancient, with one corner torn off, leaving only a little girl in the picture. She looked like Pei Jinhong.

For some reason, she felt a familiar sensation when looking at this photo.

Lin Yan frowned.

Liu Zhi’s words interrupted her train of thought.

“Sister Hong, everything is packed up, so we’ll be heading out now.”

Though he said he was leaving, he stood there without moving, while the others were nowhere to be seen, likely sent away by him.

Lin Yan sneered inwardly, putting down the photo frame.

“Alright, go back and rest.”

Liu Zhi didn’t move but stepped forward instead, his expression somewhat urgent: “Sister Hong, Brother Wang is dead, and I…”

Lin Yan looked up at him, her smile sharp and pointed.

“Then I am still your sister-in-law.”

“No, I mean…” Looking at her face, dressed in a spaghetti strap dress, with her pale, bare shoulders exposed, Liu Zhi swallowed hard, drawing closer to her, his hand landing on her shoulder.

“You know what I mean. I will treat you even better than Brother Wang did.”

As he gently pulled down her strap, Lin Yan didn’t react outwardly, still smiling at him.

But just as Liu Zhi was about to further his advances, a small knife pressed against his heart.

Lin Yan’s bright red nails brushed his chest, her voice soft.

“I called you brother-in-law because I saw you as a brother. I didn’t expect you to be as despicable as your brother, blinding my damn eyes.”

As she spoke, her voice grew icier, and the knife point penetrated an inch deeper, causing Liu Zhi to break out in cold sweat and his face to pale.

“You might have forgotten, I’m not just your sister-in-law, I’m also Sister Hong, the ruthless ‘Golden Pheasant’. Don’t take my kindness for granted and push your luck. Remember how your Brother Wang—”

Lin Yan smiled sweetly, buttoning up his shirt for him.

“—died.”

Liu Zhi wasn’t a fool; he was simply blinded by his passions. Lin Yan’s warning was pointed but brief; there was still use for him.

After she sheathed her knife, Liu Zhi also stepped back, panting heavily, looking at her in disbelief.

Lin Yan offered him a tissue, “Don’t be so surprised. Anyone who has died once tends to change.”

“You…” Liu Zhi clenched his teeth, wanting to say more.

Lin Yan cut him off, “Right, you haven’t been home in years, have you? There’s nothing much going on recently. Take a break, go back to your hometown, and visit your parents.”

Liu Zhi’s pupils shrank. “You, how could you…”

How could she know about his parents? Ever since he started working with Wang Qiang, he had claimed to be an orphan to avoid dragging his family into this.

How could she know? Naturally, it must have been information from the police.

Lin Yan gave a forced smile, offering him a hollow support.

“I consider you a brother, so your parents are naturally my uncle and aunt. It’s only right to look after them when possible.”

She stuffed another bank card into his hands.

“Following Wang Qiang, those scraps were barely enough to fill your teeth, but now it’s different. Ten percent of the transaction amount is no small sum. Work hard, and you won’t lack money or goods.”

Lin Yan’s words were both a threat and a temptation, sending chills down his spine.

Liu Zhi held the card, feeling as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

“What do you want? Just don’t touch my parents.”

“Of course, I, your sister, am not so heartless and ungrateful.”

Lin Yan said as she settled down on the sofa, reaching for a cigarette.

“As for what I want…”

She flashed a charming smile, lighting the cigarette with a flicker.

“Guess.”