Miss Forensics – Chapter 117

Volume Two: Second Scroll

Agreement

“Dad, I want to apply to the police academy, to become a police officer in the future.”

Song Yuhang took the next return bus back to the city area, found a public telephone booth near the passenger transport station, looked around in all four directions, picked up the receiver, and turned the rotary dial.

One hour later.

In the afternoon fast-food restaurant, customers sat in twos and threes¹. Song Yuhang had first returned home, hastily washed up, and only then came out with the items to wait for her. Even so, there was a weariness on her face that could not be washed away, not to mention she was bruised and swollen, and there was also an injury on the corner of her forehead.

The moment Fang Xin saw her, she was a little startled: “Captain Song……”

“It’s nothing, come and sit.” Song Yuhang beckoned to her and instructed the waiter to serve the food.

The two of them made small talk while eating. When the people in the restaurant had almost all left, the waiters also went into the back room to rest.

Only then did Song Yuhang take out two transparent PVC bags from her pocket, place them on the table and push them over, speaking in a low voice.

“I don’t know who else I can find, after thinking it over and over, you are the only one who can do it. Help me test if the DNA on this piece of cloth is consistent with this strand of hair.”

That lock of brown hair was, naturally, Lin Yan’s.

Fang Xin stared with wide eyes and her tongue tied: “This is……”

Song Yuhang shook her head, her whole person was extremely haggard, with dark circles under her eyes and chapped lips.

Fang Xin couldn’t bear to ask further: “Alright, I’ll do it secretly after I get off work today. The results will be available in three days at the earliest.”

A touch of gratitude filled Song Yuhang’s eyes: “Thank you, thank you……”

“What is there to thank me for, Lin-jie was also my friend. Her death was mysterious², and we are all very upset. If there is anything you need help with, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

It was better not to mention these things; once mentioned, Song Yuhang couldn’t help but get red-eyed. The waiter was about to come over to clear the dishes, so Fang Xin put the test materials into her own bag.

Song Yuhang wiped the corner of her eyes: “Then let’s leave it at that for today. I’ve troubled you.”

Fang Xin looked at her watch and stood up: “Alright, the lunch break is almost over, I’ll head back first.”

She took two steps, then finally turned around again to look at her face.

“Captain Song, I think it would be better for you to go to the hospital.”

Song Yuhang smiled and shook her head: “It’s nothing, just a minor injury. You should hurry, don’t be late.”

After Fang Xin left, she took out her wallet from her pocket to pay the bill. Without waiting for the waiter to finish giving her the change, she put on her hat and went out the door.

---

She drove straight to the Lin residence.

Lin Youyuan, who was undergoing treatment, heard the news and struggled to raise his body. The butler helped him remove his respirator.

“No, not seeing her……” Lin Youyuan panted heavily, his lips trembling.

“Alright, alright, Old Master, lie down, I’ll go and tell her right away.”

The Lin family’s old residence. This was the first time Song Yuhang had come here. The last time she picked up Lin Yan, she had only glanced at it from a distance at the gate. The splendid and magnificent sight at that time had left a deep impression on her. More than half a year later, it was not as bustling with visitors as she had imagined. The plant nursery in the garden had even grown weeds due to lack of care, presenting a scene of cold desolation.

Song Yuhang’s gaze swept around briefly, and the butler came out.

“Miss Song, please go back. The Old Master does not want to see you.”

“I have something important to ask the old gentleman. Please be so kind as to announce me again. If that’s not possible, then I can only……”

She took a slight step forward, tilted her chin up slightly, and looked down at him from a commanding position.

“Force my way in.”

Butler Lin sighed a long sigh, helpless.

“Why must you do this!”

The corner of Song Yuhang’s lips hooked up, and she began to make a scene and act shamelessly.

“I was just one step away from calling him ‘Dad’. Uncle Lin wouldn’t refuse to give me this little bit of face, would he? It’s just a meeting. Just consider it as me fulfilling some filial piety on behalf of Lin Yan.”

As she spoke, she took out the prepared gift from the car and handed it to the butler.

Applying both soft and hard tactics³, plus making a scene and joking around, who knows who she learned it from.

Butler Lin’s one head felt as big as two⁴. How would he dare to accept her things? Lin Youyuan was wary of it.

Wouldn’t accepting her things confirm that she was the Lin family’s “son-in-law”? Pfft, no! Daughter-in-law? Why does that feel even stranger???

The two of them pulled and tugged back and forth, exchanging words. The butler finally couldn’t take it anymore and stomped his foot, saying: “Alright, alright, alright, I’ll go announce you one more time. Whether he sees you or not is up to the Old Master to decide.”

By the time he returned to the room, Lin Youyuan had already gotten up and was sitting propped up against the headboard, having taken in everything that had just happened through the floor-to-ceiling window.

“Old Master……” Butler Lin gently pushed the door open and entered.

Lin Youyuan closed his eyes for a moment, then a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. His whole body was skin and bones, his facial skin was sagging, and his muscles were slack.

I thought she wouldn’t come.

“From what I see, she truly treats the Young Miss well.”

“Good for what, what a pity……” As Lin Youyuan spoke, he began to cough violently again, covering his lips with a handkerchief.

“Cough cough, let her in. Have her wait for me in the reception room.”

“Yes.” Butler Lin gave a slight bow, went out to lead the person in, and upon returning, intended to help him up, but was stopped by a wave of his hand.

Lin Youyuan looked towards the wardrobe: “Pick out a well-fitting suit for me.”

---

The basement was dim. Several girls were kneeling in the not-so-large room.

Lin Ge lifted their chins one by one to have a careful look. The person following beside him was bowing and scraping.

“President Lin, they were found according to your instructions. What do you think?”

Slender fingers lifted the last girl’s chin. An unremarkable face came into view.

He withdrew his hand, feeling uninterested.

“Don’t call me that. Not yet.”

“It will be soon, soon. Once…… dies, won’t it all be yours?”

He mumbled the name and moved on.

Lin Ge smiled lightly, took off his gloves and threw them on the table, then casually pointed at one girl.

“Alright, it’ll be you. You can dispose of the others as you please.”

“Good, good.” The man’s face showed a smile like a pug’s as he pushed and shoved the other girls out of the room.

Before coming, she had been taught what to do upon seeing him.

The girl was sensible. She crawled over on her knees and used her teeth to undo his zipper.

Lin Ge tilted his head back slightly, his hands on the table clenched into fists.

The girl worked very hard, but she became more and more terrified, because she discovered……

When he felt tears fall on his body, Lin Ge grabbed the girl’s hair and forced her to lift her head.

“Useless.”

He said coldly, tears spilling from those eyes that were somewhat similar to Lin Yan’s, as she cried and begged him.

“Young Master, no, no……”

The words had barely left her mouth when her neck was grabbed, and she was lifted up, her feet leaving the ground.

The girl struggled futilely in mid-air, her face gradually turning ashen.

After a long while, her arms dropped, and her head lolled limply to one side.

Lin Ge dragged her by the hair towards the depths of the basement. After verifying his fingerprint, he entered a door. The room inside was a whole new world, filled with all kinds of medical equipment and dissection tools.

It was a biochemical laboratory that, although small as a sparrow, had all the vital organs⁵.

Before long, there was one more specimen for display in the glass cabinet.

---

Song Yuhang had been sitting and waiting for a while before Lin Youyuan was pushed in by the butler and took a seat at the head of the table. He opened the door to see the mountain⁶.

“What is it?”

During Lin Yan’s funeral, Song Yuhang’s injuries had not yet healed, and she was bedridden, so she couldn’t make it to see her one last time. Naturally, she also didn’t get to see Lin Youyuan. This was their first meeting after her death.

Lin Youyuan had clearly aged a great deal. Perhaps he was afraid of being exposed to the wind, as he wore a simple flat cap. His eyebrows were tinged with white frost, and his beard was a bit stubbly. His whole body was enveloped in a loose-fitting suit. No matter how properly his appearance was tidied up, there was still a sense of incongruity, like a child wearing adult clothes.

At that time, Song Yuhang did not yet know that this incongruity stemmed from the fact that he was already seriously ill and as thin as a stick.

She gave a dry cough and, to show respect, stood up to hand over the gift.

“These are health supplements I brought for you.”

Lin Youyuan glanced at it and sneered: “Take her and the things and throw them out for me.”

The words had just been spoken when several burly men burst through the door to grab her.

Song Yuhang dodged to the side, pushed the bodyguard closest to her backwards, and that person immediately staggered back three or four steps.

“Regarding Lin Yan’s death, I have some leads. Don’t you want to hear about them?”

Lin Youyuan covered his lips with a handkerchief and coughed a few times. He looked up at her, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if sizing up her intentions.

After a long moment, he suddenly frowned and moved his fingers.

The bodyguard closest to her suddenly erupted, smashing his elbow into the small of her back, forcing her to bend over.

The others swarmed forward and pinned her down in front of Lin Youyuan.

The tip of the old man’s cane poked at her forehead. He made a sound of clearing phlegm from his throat, panting heavily, and gritting his teeth.

“What right do you have to mention her in front of me? If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have died!”

Song Yuhang looked up, neither dodging nor evading, letting the tip of the cane rub her forehead red.

“Yes, I owe her a life, so I must find the real culprit for her. I can’t let her die a mysterious death.”

“Even if it means dying, you wouldn’t regret it?”

Song Yuhang’s lips curled into a smile. “Then just consider it as me returning this life of mine to her.”

Lin Youyuan began to cough violently, viciously raising his cane and swinging it towards her head: “Even if you return it to her, Lin Yan won’t come back!”

A strong gust of wind approached. Song Yuhang closed her eyes, tilted her head slightly, and resigned herself to her fate.

This was what she ought to bear.

She had fully prepared herself mentally, but she did not feel the cane land. When she looked up, the bodyguards holding her down had all disappeared, leaving only Butler Lin gently patting his back to soothe his breathing.

It seemed that his coughing hadn’t stopped since he entered the room.

Song Yuhang was puzzled: “You……”

Lin Youyuan waved his hand, signaling for Butler Lin to go out as well.

“Old Master……”

Lin Youyuan covered his mouth with the handkerchief and coughed hard twice before he could catch his breath. “It’s nothing, go.”

After the person had left, Lin Youyuan didn’t tell her to get up. It was Song Yuhang who stood up on her own. Seeing a pot on the table, she poured him a cup of hot water.

Lin Youyuan didn’t take it. He huddled in his wheelchair, coughed once, and his deep-set, cloudy eyes looked at her.

“Tell me your thoughts.”

“When I speak, please don’t be angry.”

Lin Youyuan snorted coldly but didn’t reply.

Song Yuhang began to speak her mind, and the more she spoke, the uglier his expression became.

Especially when she said, “For so many years, Lin Yan was secretly investigating a case and was constantly obstructed by an unknown force. I think this force must have come from you. I also once suspected whether she was your biological daughter, or perhaps, for some unspeakable purpose, a vicious tiger would eat its own cub⁷.”

Lin Youyuan’s lips trembled, his chest heaving up and down due to his agitation, his hands gripping the armrests of the wheelchair tightly.

Song Yuhang didn’t stop, blurting out all of her speculations at once.

“As for why you tried so hard to stop her from investigating Chunan’s case, I think it must also be related to you. Since everything started from this, I came today because I want to know the truth of what happened back then. After all……”

She paused slightly: “You were also a party involved, weren’t you?”

If she hadn’t asked, Lin Youyuan would not have wanted to recall the day he and his daughter had a falling out.

A night in June, with a torrential downpour.

Lin Yan returned home, soaked to the bone, and knelt before him.

“Dad, I want to apply to the police academy, to become a police officer in the future.”

He picked up a teacup and smashed it at her. The broken porcelain grazed the corner of her eye and eyebrow, and crimson blood slowly seeped out.

“Get out! I’ve already filled out your application for you. You’ll apply for Business Administration at the University of Finance and Economics. What’s not good about being a CEO in the future!”

Lin Yan looked up and mocked him coldly. “Like you, who only knows how to earn some stinking money, be a good-for-nothing for a lifetime, and accomplish nothing?”

Lin Youyuan’s cane struck the ground fiercely, making thumping sounds.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you want to do. You want to avenge that friend of yours?”

He sneered, trampling the young girl’s self-esteem until her body had no intact skin⁸.

“Stop dreaming. Look at yourself, who can you beat in a fight? The clothes you wear, the food you eat, the things you use, which one of them wasn’t bought with the stinking money you talk about? If you look down on the Lin family so much, look down on the Lin family’s money, then get out! Get out of here, and don’t come back.”

The young Lin Yan’s eyes suddenly turned red. She had been met with a cold reception at the police station, and now she was being coldly mocked by her father at home.

All she wanted was to find out the truth for her good friend.

Lin Yan knew that once she walked out of this gate, no one would know her, no one would give her face. Everyone who was good to her, close to her, and flattered her, did so on account of Lin Youyuan.

At that time, she was a solitary body, had nothing, and was nothing.

Even though she hated the halo and shackles this family brought her with all her heart, she still had no choice but to bow her head to this father.

It was the first time she opened her mouth to call him “Dad,” and also the first time she knelt down and kowtowed to beg him.

“Dad, Dad, I was wrong, I beg you, please help me. They won’t tell me how Chunan died. I just want to find out the truth for her. She came to our house before, you’ve met her. She was just eighteen years old. Her grades were excellent, she could have gotten into Tsinghua or Peking University⁹. She was so outstanding, so kind, she shouldn’t have died in vain……”

Lin Yan kowtowed, kneeling before him, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Don’t you know a lot of people? Please help me, alright? I’m only asking you for this one thing, just this one thing.”

As she spoke, she crawled over on her knees and hugged his leg.

That was the closest the father and daughter had ever been.

Seeing her crying so hard, Lin Youyuan’s hand trembled. He actually wanted to pat her head. Just then, someone gently pushed the door open, looked at the scene in astonishment, and called out, “Uncle Lin.”

The hand that was reaching for Lin Yan’s head dropped down again.

He nodded slightly: “Ge’er, you’re back.”

He then put on a stern face towards Lin Yan and kicked her away with his cane. “You can go. On this matter, I can’t help you.”

Lin Yan fell to the ground and couldn’t get up for a long time.

It was Lin Ge who quickly walked over and helped her up: “What’s wrong? What is this?”

Lin Youyuan pointed with his cane: “You ask her. Instead of attending the perfectly good University of Finance and Economics, she wants to apply to some police academy.”

Lin Yan’s lips curved slightly, her heart filled with despair. She brushed off Lin Ge’s hand and turned to leave.

“I’ll make my own decisions about my own affairs. I will never beg you again.”

“I’ll give you two choices. One, obediently follow my arrangements and apply to the University of Finance and Economics. Two, if you walk out this door today, you will have no relationship with the Lin family anymore.”

Lin Ge panicked when he saw this situation and tugged at the corner of her clothes.

“Say something!”

Seeing that she didn’t answer, Lin Ge turned to plead with Lin Youyuan: “Uncle, no matter what mistake Yanyan has made, she is still our family. Let’s talk things over properly. Whatever has happened, we can discuss it slowly. Don’t drive her away.”

Looking at the sincerity and anxiety on his nephew’s face, a trace of gratification finally appeared on the corners of Lin Youyuan’s lips.

“Don’t you worry about it. You just got back from the United States, aren’t you still jet-lagged? Go and rest.”

Lin Youyuan strove for perfection in all his dealings. To the outside world, he was a charitable entrepreneur; within the family, he was a good uncle who raised his brother’s widow and nephew. Only to her, he was not a good father.

Lin Yan sneered, clenching her fists.

“Lin Ge, this has nothing to do with you. Get lost.”

She turned to face the middle-aged man’s sharp gaze.

“I am definitely walking out this door today!”

“Good, good.” Lin Youyuan couldn’t help but applaud her courage. He ordered someone to quickly draft an agreement and handed it to her.

“Sign it. Sign your name, then add a thumbprint. From now on, everything related to the Lin family will have nothing to do with you. You will have nothing but this name. Of course, you are an adult, whether you change your name or not is your own choice.”

Signing her name meant that Lin Youyuan would never give her another cent. Her four years of university tuition, living expenses, funds for studying abroad, and daily expenditures would all have to be figured out by herself.

At that time, she was still a few days away from her eighteenth birthday.

Lin Yan clenched her jaw, her eyes red-rimmed.

Lin Youyuan looked at her, full of hatred like a furious wild beast, yet holding it back, and said faintly.

“And your watch, the Green Water Ghost¹⁰ worth ninety thousand RMB. The gift I gave you on your birthday last year.”

“The sneakers on your feet, the latest model, bought for you on June 1st.”

“And the clothes on your body. What child your age gets to wear Armani haute couture¹¹? It was all bought with the Lin family’s money. Take them off before you leave.”

Truly father and daughter; both knew how to infuriate the other to the greatest extent.

Lin Yan only made one last request.

“Give me back the application form. I’ll fill it out myself.”

Lin Youyuan waved his hand, and the butler handed over the materials, almost as if completing some kind of handover ceremony.

Lin Yan signed her name quickly and urgently, the sharp tip of the pen tearing the paper. Then she tossed the paper and pen aside, took the watch from her wrist, and smashed it fiercely at his feet.

“Here, take it back!”

“Lin Yan!” Lin Ge lunged over to stop her hand as she was about to take off her jacket.

“Just apologize to Uncle Lin, and this will all be over. Be good!”

“What’s it to you!” Lin Yan viciously shoved him away, took off her jacket and threw it on the ground. With her black hair loose, she walked outside barefoot, wearing only a thin tank top, and was once again drenched in the pouring rain.

In her hand, she clutched that application form.

She turned her head one last time and asked him, who was high up above.

“Am I your biological daughter? Dad, have you ever loved me?”

Compared to a questioning with a hoarse voice and exhausted strength, such calmness was more alarming.

After a long while, Lin Yan, who had not received an answer, shook her head and smiled, as if mocking her own act of making herself sentimental.

In that instant, he saw her mother’s shadow in her. The girl stood in the rain with her hair disheveled, slender and frail. The short little girl he had brought back had now grown to be almost as tall as him. Her features had also blossomed; her face was beautiful, exquisite, and unconventionally refined.

A clap of thunder split the sky, and only then did he realize with a start.

His daughter had grown up. She was no longer under his control and coercion. She even had the courage to rush out of her cage, even if it meant breaking her wings.

Just like that, step by step, Lin Yan walked towards her unknown future, never looking back.

Lin Youyuan wanted to chase after her. He stumbled for two steps and fell to the ground, along with his cane.

This, of course, was something the later Lin Yan never knew.

What she also didn’t know was that the agreement to sever ties had not been signed and stamped, which meant it had no legal effect.

She was still a member of the Lin family, and Lin Youyuan was still her father.

When the old man tremblingly took out this well-preserved piece of paper, even Song Yuhang was somewhat moved.

“You still kept it.”

“I’ve kept it. Actually, for all these years, I’ve been waiting for her to come back and take this agreement away, but she……”

Can never come back.

Song Yuhang’s eyes reddened slightly. She squatted down and held his rough hand, for the first time feeling sympathy for this old man in his declining years¹² from the bottom of her heart.

In a way, they were the ones who could feel as if they had experienced it themselves.

“What happened after?” Song Yuhang pressed, still wanting to know more about her past.

“Later……” Lin Youyuan smiled slightly and placed the yellowed paper on the table.

“How could it be so easy to get into the police academy? Her physical fitness couldn’t pass the test. That’s why she switched her application to medical school.”

After hearing so much, Song Yuhang still had a doubt.

“Why did you try so hard to stop her from applying to the police academy? Is there something wrong with being a police officer?”

When she asked this, the smile on the old man’s lips gradually faded. A hint of nostalgia for the past appeared, and he gently caressed his green thumb ring¹³, no longer making a sound.

---

After Song Yuhang left, Butler Lin came in again.

“Old Master, everything is ready. A portion of the money has been transferred to an overseas account, and the rest has all been laundered.”

Lin Youyuan coughed a few times, specks of blood staining his handkerchief. He tremblingly handed the agreement to him.

“Keep it safe. When the dust has settled, return it to her.”

“Old Master……” Butler Lin couldn’t bear it.

“Why didn’t you tell Miss Song the truth?”

Lin Youyuan’s coughing and wheezing became even more violent.

“Didn’t, didn’t you hear her? Last night she was in danger…… This is…… this is someone…… cough cough…… cough…… who still doesn’t want to let them go……”

Butler Lin became anxious. He patted his back to soothe his breathing and quickly pushed him back to the sickroom, connecting the respirator. It took a good while for him to recover.

Lin Youyuan tremblingly raised his hand. “Go, go call Lin, Lin Ge here. I…… have something to say to him.”

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LP: The males of the Lin family are really… <(ㅍ _ㅍ)>

Re-translated on August 17, 2025

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