The Grand Finale
Firewood and Fire are Passed On (2)
Eighteen years later.
“And in the time that followed, the little medical examiner became a chief medical examiner who could hold up a side on her own1, the teacher surnamed Duan who had led her into the profession became an authority in the industry, and her master’s master, that famous, independent, and unconventional beauty of a medical examiner, also began to see white hairs at her temples. Through the joint efforts of two generations, the Technical Investigation Division of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau transformed from a department of just a few people into an outstanding multi-disciplinary team with dozens of elite members and top-tier national DNA laboratories, standardized physical and chemical laboratories, video investigation laboratories, and more. In this age of highly advanced technology, where the methods of crime are changing with each new day and passing month2, it has become a sharp sword that cuts through the darkness.”
“Speaking of which, we must mention that Chief Song. During the more than twenty years she was in office, every single murder case in Jiangcheng City was solved, without a single instance of an unresolved case or an unjust, false, or wrongful conviction.”
“Today is the day they are set to retire.”
The newsstand owner, wearing glasses, was engrossed in a thick book in his hands when several young girls ran over, chirping excitedly.
“Boss, boss, do you still have the book 《Chief Female Medical Examiner》?”
The owner hurriedly put down his book and brought out new copies for them from the newsstand. “Yes, yes, yes, they just arrived yesterday. The final volume, the grand finale.”
“I want one, I want one!”
“Me too, boss, give me two copies.”
Colorful bills were passed over, and the owner smiled so widely he couldn’t close his mouth3. He collected the money and placed the books in plastic bags for them.
“Let’s go, let’s go, the signing is about to start. If we’re late, there won’t be any spots left.”
The girls took the books, hugged them to their chests, and took two steps in three strides4 onto the bus that had just arrived.
The city park was vibrant with life on this early summer morning. A young man wearing headphones jogged past the fountain, and the rising mist turned into a seven-colored rainbow.
The old men practicing Tai Chi, the aunties doing square dancing, the children running and playing, the vendor hawking hydrogen balloons, the students practicing singing and warming up their voices, and all the ordinary people of every shape and color formed the most bustling smoke and fire of the human world5.
The hour struck, and the clock chimed eight times. The giant LED screen in the square lit up.
“That concludes the morning news broadcast. Friends in the audience, thank you for listening. Next up is entertainment time. The novel 《Chief Female Medical Examiner》, which has been serialized on several popular domestic literary websites for six years, announced its conclusion last month and has published its final volume. As a popular IP6, 《Chief Female Medical Examiner》 has not only been translated into multiple languages for sale overseas, but its film and television rights have also been sold for tens of millions. We believe that in the near future, Officer Song and Medical Examiner Lin will surely be presented to the audience in another form. Today also marks the first time in six years that the author, Jie Lanzhou7, has appeared at a book signing. Now, let’s follow our camera to see the grand occasion of the 《Chief Female Medical Examiner》 book signing…”
The screen switched, showing a long line of people, a sea of mountains and a sea of people, at the entrance of the Xinhua Bookstore8.
The green light at the intersection turned red. A BMW drove from a distance and slowly pulled over to the side of the road. A fair, slender hand extended from the car window.
“Boss, give me two copies of today’s paper.”
“Hey, you got it.” The owner took the money and handed over the newspapers. The woman closed the window again, and he only had time to glimpse half of a beautiful side profile.
The red light quickly turned green again. Song Yuhang shifted gears and set off, glancing at the passenger seat beside her.
Lin Yan was rustling through the newspaper. In the bottom right corner of the 《Legal Daily》, a brief news item was printed: This paper has learned that the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau will hold the 2030 Police Officer Honorable Retirement and New Cadre Induction Ceremony at the Jiangcheng City Public Security Martyrs’ Cemetery at 14:00 today.
She folded that page over and sighed softly.
Song Yuhang freed a hand to pat the back of hers. “Last day of work. Not used to it, are you?”
Hearing her, Lin Yan immediately snorted. Decades had passed in the snap of a finger. Although fine lines had appeared at the corners of the woman’s eyes, she was still well-maintained, and her charm still remained9.
“Ha, what’s there for me to not be used to? I’ll never have to wake up early for work again. I’ll wake up laughing from my dreams, okay?”
As she spoke, the woman’s voice lowered, tinged with a hint of regret. “It’s just… I don’t know about Song Yan10 and Lin Xi11 today…”
Early in the morning, one had said he had things to do and would only be back at night, while the other said she had a date with a classmate and wouldn’t be back either.
Although they were her own children, because she and Song Yuhang were always busy with work, the siblings Song Yan and Lin Xi had spent more time with their grandmother growing up than with them. Consequently, they were even closer to Ji Jingxing than to her.
This had always been a sore spot for Lin Yan, especially with Lin Xi, whose temper and personality were extremely similar to her own. She didn’t want their parent-child relationship to end up like hers and Lin Youyuan’s.
As they spoke, they were already approaching the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Song Yuhang parked the car by the roadside. Seeing no one around, she unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to kiss Lin Yan’s forehead.
“Don’t overthink it. The kids are grown up now, they have their own thoughts and ideas. Let them be.”
“Hey, have you read the latest chapter of 《Medical Examiner》? It’s been six years, the case of the corpse hidden in the housing development is finally solved.”
“Of course, I read it, I read it, sobs, the signing is today, I really want to go too.”
“I heard this is the author’s first public appearance. I wonder if they’re a man or a woman, handsome or not. If it’s a super handsome guy…” A female officer clutched the book, looking intoxicated, her eyes turning into starry eyes12.
“What if it’s a beauty?” a colleague teased.
“A beauty? A beauty would be great too. Just look at our Chief Song and Medical Examiner Lin to know. Tsk tsk, especially our Lin-jie, that skin, I’d believe it if you told me she was in her early thirties.”
Several colleagues were gathered together chatting. A lively male officer hopped onto a desk.
“Hey, hey, hey, speaking of them, don’t you guys think the prototypes for the medical examiner and the criminal investigator in this book are, like, them…”
Several people met each other’s gazes, their eyes lighting up simultaneously. The male officer licked his lips, just about to spin a tale of heavenly flowers falling in disorder13.
Duan Cheng, with a notebook tucked under his arm and a cup of coffee in hand, walked past the doorway. “What are you all doing, what are you doing? Stop crowding around. Tidy up and prepare for the meeting.”
The male officer slid off the desk, stood up straight, and gave a sloppy, grinning military salute.
“Understood, coming right away!”
When Song Yuhang came out of the locker room after changing, Lin Yan was also approaching with her people.
The woman wore the standard-issue white short-sleeved shirt for high-ranking police officers, the top button still undone, revealing her slender collarbones and a hint of enchanting spring scenery14. The short skirt cinched her waist so slender it couldn’t fill a grasp15, and her legs were straight and long. She walked in high heels, creating wind with every step16.
In the instant they passed each other, Lin Yan, as usual, slapped the folder against her chest.
“One last time. A pleasure working with you.”
A smile appeared on Song Yuhang’s lips. Also as usual, she lightly supported Lin Yan’s elbow before letting her go.
“A pleasure working with you, Medical Examiner Lin.”
That day, Lin Yan attended meetings as usual, listening to her subordinates’ case reports. The last case she handled was also closed. At the invitation of the new medical examiners, she gave them one final dissection class.
Facing the body teacher17, she, as before, placed the scalpel vertically against her chest, closed her eyes slightly, and observed a moment of silence.
Someone turned on a camera.
After a long moment, Lin Yan still hadn’t opened her eyes.
“Teacher Lin…” someone called out softly.
In the instant she closed her eyes, Lin Yan’s heart actually felt a trace of reluctance and a secret pain.
Is it time… to say goodbye to the dissection table?
Lin Yan opened her eyes and looked at the pairs of eyes before her, thirsty for knowledge. A smile touched her lips.
But it was okay. She believed that someone would carry on this profession, just as she had all those years ago.
“You can stand closer to observe. Don’t be in a hurry to make an incision. Observing external postmortem phenomena is also of the utmost importance in forensic medicine.”
“After meticulously recording the body temperature, livor mortis, rigor mortis, and degree of decomposition, carefully observe the condition of all parts of the body’s surface. The general requirement is to examine and record in detail from head to toe, from front to back, from left to right. This includes but is not limited to: the condition of the scalp and hair (any hematomas, lumps, or alopecia scars); whether the pupils are dilated; whether the conjunctiva is congested; whether there is fluid discharge from the nasal cavity and external auditory canal; whether teeth are missing or have undergone orthodontic surgery; whether there are injuries on the back; whether lymph nodes are swollen; whether there are injuries to the limbs; whether there are deformities or tattoos on the body surface. All of these can become important clues in solving a case.”
“None of the above examination steps can be omitted. In fact, in practice, even more will be done. After you have examined the external postmortem phenomena, if there are any points of doubt or if the cause of death cannot be determined from the external phenomena alone, you may apply to a higher department for an autopsy.”
“During the autopsy, I have already explained the methods and techniques countless times. Today, I will only speak on the most important point——”
She suddenly raised her head, her gaze under the goggles so sharp and scorching that it jolted everyone.
“Respect the deceased.”
“Lying before you now is not a cold body teacher, but a once-vibrant life. He, like you, had parents, a spouse and children, siblings, and friends. He, like you, once lived full of hope.”
“The first time you see a corpse at a crime scene, you will feel physiological discomfort, nausea, vomiting, cold hands and feet, a pale face, and break out in a sweat. This is all normal. As the number of autopsies increases, the feeling of discomfort will lessen significantly. But I hope that no matter how many scenes you have been to, no matter how many bodies you have dissected, you will never, ever become numb.”
“You must always remember the nervousness, fear, worry, and terror you felt when you first saw a deceased person. Remember that feeling, and then go find the truth for him.”
Lin Yan spoke as she demonstrated, her movements swift. After completing the full demonstration, she removed her gloves and, as usual, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and prepared to write.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for her conclusion. But the person wrote eight large characters, one stroke at a time:
For the rights of the living, speak for the dead.18
A student was moved. “Teacher Lin…”
“Teacher Lin, don’t go, please stay.”
“That’s right, you can be rehired after retirement.”
“Lin-jie, we’ve been together for so long. We can’t be without you.”
Some even had tears in their eyes.
She turned to look at the faces before her, some young, some mature. A smile rose in her eyes. She gently put down the pen, turned, and left with a wave.
“Goodbye.”
The future of forensic medicine is in your hands.
By the time she had arranged the work on hand and completed the handover with Xue Rui, it was already afternoon. A few rays of sunlight sprinkled onto the desk through the blinds.
Song Yuhang remained nestled in her office chair.
Xue Rui moved his lips. “Chief Song——”
She seemed to snap back to reality. “Oh, I’m at ease entrusting the work to you. In the past, leaders from other regions came to poach you, but I never let them. I was thinking that only if you took over my post could I retire in peace.”
Xue Rui’s expression was a bit troubled. “It’s not really my place to say this, but it’s the brothers below… everyone is reluctant to see you two go. You clearly still have a few years left…”
Song Yuhang waved her hand to stop him. “My mind is made up. You can go out first. Close the door for me on your way out.”
Xue Rui was helpless. He could only put on his wide-brimmed hat, salute, and turn to leave.
After he left, Song Yuhang watched the light spots on her desk shrink smaller and smaller, and she zoned out for a while.
She didn’t know if it was because she was getting older, but she found herself reminiscing about the past more and more easily.
Those days at the police academy, the days of going to Zhao Junfeng’s house for dinner and drinks, the days of fumbling, crawling, and rolling through the ranks19 as a rookie after graduation, the days of exiting life and entering death20 with Lin Yan.
Time flowed by slowly. The photo on her desk went from one person to two, and then to a family of four.
Those heart-startling, soul-shaking21 years as a criminal investigator had all turned into medals of merit in a drawer and certificates of award on the wall.
Song Yuhang’s gaze moved over them one by one. There was the commendation from the Ministry of Public Security for solving the “Fenyan Wharf Dismembered Corpse Case”, the title of “Most Outstanding Police Officer” of the year awarded to her by the Binhai Province Public Security Department, and also the silk banners22 given to her by the common people.
On one was written: Upright and Never Fawning, Enforcing the Law Like a Mountain23; Guardian of Justice, Conscience of Society.
The inscription read: Presented by the family of the victim in the case of so-and-so to Chief Song Yuhang and all police officers of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau.
There were silk banners like this every year.
Song Yuhang walked over, carefully took it down from the wall, rolled it up, and placed it in a cardboard box.
Lin Yan had actually been standing there for a while. She had heard the conversation with Xue Rui just now. Peeking through the crack in the door, she saw Song Yuhang bathed in sunlight, bending over to pack her things. The few strands of white hair at her temples were particularly glaring.
Two people who were once like a needle point against an awn24, locked in a you-die-I-live25 struggle, had actually walked a not-so-short journey together and even had the crystallization of their love. It was truly a marvelous thing.
As Lin Yan thought this, her eyes grew hot. She pushed the door open and entered. “I think Xue Rui is right. If you don’t want to retire, you can totally…”
In the entire bureau, only she would enter her office without knocking or announcing herself.
Song Yuhang straightened up and looked at her lover.
No matter how decisive and unsmiling she was on the outside, no matter how the name Song Yuhang was enough to make criminals lose their gall upon hearing the wind of her name26, in front of Lin Yan, she always revealed the beast’s softest side.
Song Yuhang put down her things, a curve forming on her lips. She walked towards her, opened her arms, and pulled the person into her embrace, resting her chin on her shoulder.
Even after being together for so many years, being held by her still gave Lin Yan a sense of peace and security.
Her occasional hugs and kisses were enough to move the aging woman.
Lin Yan froze for a moment, then slowly returned the hug, burying her head in the hollow of her shoulder. Her voice was a little muffled. “Yuhang…”
Song Yuhang gently patted the back of her head. “It’s nothing. I just want to spend more time with you and the kids. After summer vacation, it’ll be time for them to leave home too.”
Those two little troublemakers had given her no shortage of grief since they were small.
Lin Yan sniffled. “Good that they’re leaving. When they’re gone, it’ll just be you and me at home. Nice and quiet.”
Song Yuhang held her face, their foreheads touching, her arms wrapped around her waist. She teased, “Then what are you crying for?”
“I’m not, I’m not crying…” Lin Yan stubbornly argued, but the redness of her eyes completely exposed her vulnerability. As she spoke, she began to choke up.
“It’s just… it’s just… I raised the kids this big and they won’t even come to their own mom’s retirement ceremony. It’s my birthday today, too. Lin Xi is closer to Ji Jingxing than to me, sob sob sob.”
Song Yuhang chuckled, pulling a tissue from the desk for her and holding her in her arms to comfort her. “Lin Xi was mischievous when she was little, and we had no experience raising children. Saozi27 helped take care of her a lot. Besides, we’re all family. What kind of flying vinegar28 are you eating now?”
Lin Yan: “I don’t care. I’m just unhappy in my heart. I feel awful. Why are those little turtle bastards29 so disobedient? If I had known, I wouldn’t have had them back then. It’s all your fault…”
It seemed she wasn’t the only one who had developed the habit of reminiscing and grumbling in old age.
Song Yuhang was caught between laughter and tears. While wiping her tears, she coaxed and persuaded, “Alright, alright, you still have to attend the retirement ceremony later. Your makeup is all smudged.”
Alarm bells instantly went off in Lin Yan’s head. She shot up. “Where? Where is it smudged? Is it obvious?”
Song Yuhang pulled her to the window, turned her towards the sunlight, and gently lifted her chin, studying her carefully. “Your lip color is a bit faded, but it’s fine. I’ll touch it up for you.”
“You? Where did you get lipstick…”
Before Lin Yan could finish, her eyes widened abruptly. In her pupils, her own face grew closer and closer, finally covering her lips.
So… that was the touch-up method.
Before she could resist, Song Yuhang reached a hand behind her and pulled the curtains shut.
“Mmph…”
Their lips and tongues intertwined until she was almost out of breath.
Only then did Song Yuhang speak against her ear. “Yuhang-brand lipstick. A twenty-year-old brand. Do you like it?”
“Get lost.” Lin Yan’s face was slightly red, as if colored with rouge. She spat at her playfully, yet buried her face in the crook of her neck, rubbing against it with deep affection.
Song Yuhang smiled, gently stroking her back to comfort her.
“Haven’t you always wanted to go to Canada? We finally have time now. Or Australia, Northern Europe, New Zealand… wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you.”
Just as the two were enjoying their rare moment alone, a police officer knocked on the door. “Chief Song, the car is here.”
“Okay, have them wait a moment.” Song Yuhang raised her voice in reply, then let her go and tweaked her nose.
“But right now, we have to go to the retirement ceremony first.”
Lin Yan tugged at the corner of her shirt. “My makeup isn’t smudged, is it?”
Song Yuhang smiled. “No. You’re the most beautiful.”
Before leaving, Song Yuhang took her jacket from the coat rack. Lin Yan picked up her phone from the desk to use as a mirror. Her peripheral vision caught a book on the desk next to the computer titled 《Chief Female Medical Examiner》.
She found the cover and title strangely familiar, but couldn’t remember where she had seen them.
The words “Medical Examiner” caught her eye. Lin Yan picked it up and glanced at it. “You read this kind of stuff?”
Song Yuhang draped the jacket over her arm and guided her out. “Hah, Xue Rui just gave it to me. Said the author writes quite well and they’re all reading it. I can use it to kill time when I have nothing to do.”
Lin Yan casually took it with her, even flipping through a couple of pages. “Really? This kind of suspense and reasoning book usually has no factual basis. I could probably pick out a thousand mistakes.”
Song Yuhang smiled, their figures receding down the hallway.
“You think you’re writing an autopsy report? How could ordinary people have access to the kinds of cases we handle…”
Jiangcheng City Martyrs’ Cemetery.
The induction ceremony for new police cadres was held here every year. At the same time, batches of veteran police officers would leave their beloved posts after conferring ranks upon the young people.
Lin Yan still remembered many years ago when Song Yuhang had also brought her here. At that time, she had said, “This is not just a place where the living and the dead are separated, but also a place of transition between the old and the new. Generations of criminal investigators are laid to rest here, and generations of young criminal investigators walk out from here…”
She was right. They had conferred ranks on many young people here, watching them slowly grow into outstanding people’s police officers. They had also bid farewell to many comrades-in-arms here. Those who could stand here alive to attend their retirement ceremony were just a small, lucky portion.
After Song Yuhang led the group in sweeping the graves of the old predecessors, everyone lined up again in front of the martyrs’ monument.
Between heaven and earth, ten thousand sounds were all still. In the cemetery, the pines and cypresses were evergreen30. On a lawn wall not far away hung the four large characters “Public Security Martyrs.” Diamond-shaped stone pillars engraved with the heroes’ names stood solitarily against the sky, reflecting a cold light under the setting sun.
Witnessed by the five hundred and twelve public security martyrs who had sacrificed their lives over the years in Jiangcheng City and the ninety-seven veteran predecessors about to retire, the young people raised their right hands to their temples and solemnly swore an oath.
“I swear: I volunteer to become a People’s Police Officer of the People’s Republic of China, to dedicate myself to the noble cause of the people’s public security, and to resolutely be loyal to the Party, serve the people, enforce the law with impartiality, and be strictly disciplined. I will not fear sacrifice! I will strive for my entire life to maintain overall social stability, promote social fairness and justice, and ensure that the people live and work in peace and contentment!”
No matter what they would experience in the future, Lin Yan thought that at this moment, facing the police emblem, their predecessors, and the monument, their hearts must be full of hope, passion, and sincerity.
Because she and Song Yuhang had once been among them. The only difference was that they had gone from being the ones who needed ranks conferred upon them to the ones who pinned epaulets on others.
She followed Song Yuhang down the line, pinning on the epaulets and collar insignia for the young people, smoothing out their wrinkled collars.
Almost every one of them had tears in their eyes, their bodies tense, their hands raised to their temples as they gave a solemn and sacred salute. “Thank you, leaders!”
Song Yuhang and Lin Yan also took a step back, stood straight, and returned a standard military salute.
After the new cadre induction ceremony was the retirement ceremony for the veteran police officers.
Lin Yan had countless times been annoyed by such tedious formalities and ceremonies31. When it was finally her turn, an officer walked to her side holding a tray covered with satin cloth.
Xue Rui saluted her. “Comrade Lin Yan, we sincerely thank you for all you have contributed to the motherland’s public security cause. Please hand over your police ID, armband, epaulets, and collar insignia.”
Lin Yan stood motionless, allowing them to remove her armband and place it on the tray. The epaulets adorned with silver olive branches were also taken off, and finally, the collar insignia.
During this process, some of the old comrades couldn’t help but silently tear up.
Xue Rui stood still. “Medical Examiner Lin…”
She took her police ID from her pocket and handed it over, her movements ever so slightly slow.
The setting sun danced at the corners of her eyes and brows. Lin Yan stood with her back to the light, and no one knew if she was crying.
Xue Rui only saw that just as her hand was about to place the police ID on the tray, it paused again. Her thumb gently swept over the police emblem on it before she finally set it down lightly.
He picked up a medal of merit from the tray and pinned it to her chest, then stepped back with two other officers and gave a solemn salute. “Hats off!”
The row of soon-to-be-retired old police officers standing before them took off their wide-brimmed hats in unison and tucked them under their arms. The young people behind them followed suit. They raised their hands at the same time; the past and the future converged at this moment.
“All personnel, salute our veteran predecessors!”
After the retirement ceremony, Song Yuhang stayed behind alone. She carried a bottle of Maotai32 and walked slowly along a narrow stone path, pushing aside the weeds on either side.
Along the way, her comrades-in-arms smiled at her from their photos. Song Yuhang stopped in front of Zhang Jinhai’s tombstone. After pouring him a glass of good wine, she stood up and left, continuing forward.
As the grass grew deeper, dew dampened her trouser cuffs. The scenery here was clearly much more dilapidated than before. Song Yuhang stopped and knelt before a weathered stone monument. Her fingers slowly traced the peeling characters on it, feeling bits of crumbled stone.
Her throat moved. She unscrewed the bottle cap, took a cup from her pocket, filled it to the brim, and raised it to her lips. With one hand, she tilted it, and the clear liquor splashed before the tombstone.
“Dad, Gege33, this cup is for you.” After speaking, she tilted her head back and drank it all, wiping the corner of her mouth, her eyes scorching hot.
“I retired today, together with Lin Yan. Lin Xi and Song Yan are about to start university too. Mom’s health is still pretty robust, but her legs aren’t what they used to be. Xiao Wei and Saozi are also doing well. By the way, Gege, Saozi remarried. But don’t be angry, Liang Shi34 is very good to her and Xiao Wei. In the years you’ve been gone, she’s really had a hard time.”
As Song Yuhang spoke, she poured herself another cup. Just as she was about to drink it all, her wrist was caught.
She looked up. Lin Yan had found her at some point and was standing amidst the green grass and azure sky, a smile on her lips.
“I knew you’d be here.”
Song Yuhang’s lips moved, but before she could speak, Lin Yan had already taken the cup from her and extended it towards the two tombstones.
“Dad, Gege, I offer this cup to you. We are all doing well, so please don’t worry!”
With that, she raised her hand, and the strong liquor went down her throat.
Lin Yan wiped the liquid from the corner of her mouth and turned the cup upside down to show it was empty. The wind carried the scent of grass and trees from the early summer mountain forest, along with waves of alcohol fragrance.
Song Yuhang poured out the rest of the bottle, slowly stood up, saluted to bid her father and brother farewell, and then took Lin Yan’s hand to head back.
“It’s your birthday today. What do you want to eat?”
Lin Yan: “Anything is fine. Let’s go home first.”
Song Yuhang smiled. “That won’t do. Let’s go shopping. I’ll buy you a few more nice outfits.”
She thought she was joking, but once they were in the car, she realized they were indeed not heading home.
Lin Yan was suspicious. “Are you hiding something from me?”
Song Yuhang chuckled, turning the steering wheel to the left and merging into the city traffic. “What could I possibly hide from you? You can spot a single strand of someone else’s hair on me.”
Lin Yan snorted. “That’s true. Not that you’d dare.”
As she drove, Song Yuhang chatted with her idly. “I just feel that in the past, I focused my life on work. Now that I’m finally retired, I want to spend quality time with you and the kids, to make up for all the movies we didn’t watch, the shopping trips I didn’t accompany you on, the dates we didn’t have.”
The book signing didn’t end until evening.
Before the staff could find Jie Lanzhou to invite him to dinner, he had already put on a mask and slipped out from backstage.
To avoid being spotted by the fans still waiting at the bookstore entrance, he took off his jacket as he walked and threw it into a trash can. Wearing just a hoodie, he pulled the hood over his head and looked around while making a phone call. Seeing a taxi approach, he quickly hailed it.
“Hello, Jie35? I’m back, I’m back! Just finished up and I’m on my way home. Did you pick up Nainai36…”
The words had barely left his mouth when a cold voice came from the other end: “Song Yan, you’re so slow. Did you crawl back?” Then the line went dead.
Song Yan was dumbfounded. He threw his phone onto the seat.
Damn you, Lin Xi. You’re not happy unless you curse me out once a day, are you?
Despite his thoughts, the young man looked at his watch. He didn’t know how long his mom could stall. A hint of anxiety crossed his face as he instructed the driver.
“Master37, Qingshan Villa, please drive a little faster.”
During the two hours Song Yuhang took her shopping, she checked her phone every ten minutes on average. They bought everything from clothes and shoes to perfume and jewelry, more than a dozen items in total, yet she still wasn’t done.
Lin Yan felt more and more that something was wrong. She gritted her teeth and pulled her ear. “Spit it out. What trouble did those two little turtle bastards get into this time? Was it a fight? Did they break someone’s window? Or is a teacher coming for a home visit, so you’re not letting me go home?”
“Ow, ow, ow… in public…” Song Yuhang yelped in pain, forcing a smile. “It’s really not… really nothing… they’re both on vacation, why would a teacher come for a home visit…”
Just as she finished speaking, the phone in her pocket vibrated. Song Yuhang’s eyes lit up, and she pulled Lin Yan’s hand away.
“Alright, alright, let’s go home, go home.”
Lin Yan grumbled as they walked, “You just spoil them, colluding in the same foul breath38, a wolf and a jackal working together for evil ends39. Did you learn no lesson last time when Lin Xi’s classmate’s parents came to the Public Security Bureau to complain?”
Tears of an inner bull streamed down Song Yuhang’s face40. “The palm and the back of the hand are both flesh…”41
When she returned home and the villa lights came on, Lin Yan finally understood. Song Yuhang’s bitter heart and solitary effort42 was all to give her an unforgettable birthday.
Even though they had been together for over twenty years, you could never tell when a case would come up. It was common to be woken by the phone in the middle of the night, throw on clothes, and leave. A birthday with the whole family present was even rarer. More often than not, it was celebrated squeezed in a car, in the office, or in the middle of nowhere, with a single candle lit for her, a small box of cake thrust into her hands, and a birthday song.
Moreover, birthdays were a somewhat special occasion for Lin Yan. After all, her birthday was Chu Nan’s death anniversary. While she was enjoying her family’s blessings and eating cake, that girl, her best friend, could only sleep eternally underground.
So she avoided celebrating if she could, but today was an exception.
When Song Yuhang removed her hands from her eyes, the room was brightly lit, and the glass windows were decorated with balloons and colorful ribbons.
The dining table was covered with a snow-white tablecloth, on which sat a bouquet of fragrant flowers and a variety of prepared dishes.
Lin Xi walked out holding a cake with lit candles, which flickered in the breeze, slowly burning.
Ji Jingxing also came out, pushing Mother Song in a wheelchair. Liang Shi and Xiao Wei were by her side. Just as Lin Xi was close to Ji Jingxing, Xiao Wei was also particularly close to this gugu43.
She had been studying and working abroad for years. The moment she saw Lin Yan, her eyes grew moist, and she rushed over with red eyes.
“Gugu!”
Lin Yan was caught in a full embrace and slowly raised a hand to pat the back of her head. “Xiao Wei, you’ve grown up.”
Xiao Wei let go and went to hug Song Yuhang. “Gufu.”44
Lin Yan’s facial expression management collapsed. “Call her Gugu!”
Xiao Wei covered her mouth and smiled. She had shot up in height and grown more and more beautiful, charming and lovely.
“Just like back then.”
With that, she pushed Lin Xi, who was holding the cake, in front of her.
Lin Xi struggled, her face full of reluctance. “Jie, don’t push me…”
“Hurry up. You organized all of this today, and you cooked the food yourself following recipes. When you do a good deed, you should let your mother know.”
Lin Yan smiled, watching as the candlelight flickered on her daughter, who was now almost as tall as her, standing there exceptionally, tall and graceful45.
She had European skin and hair color, but her pupils were as dark and bright as her own. Her features were distinct, grand, and three-dimensional. Her temper and personality were also like hers, except, well, her fighting skills were like Song Yuhang’s—for instance, she never lost a fight.
As Lin Yan watched, her eyes grew moist. Before Lin Xi could finish speaking, she took a step forward and pulled her into her arms, gently patting her back.
“I’m sorry, Lin Xi. It’s been hard on you all these years. Mom… loves you.”
Lin Xi was stunned. If Song Yuhang hadn’t been quick enough to take the cake, it probably would have been smeared all over both of them by now.
She had never thought Lin Yan would hug her voluntarily. When she was born, she came out five minutes earlier than Song Yan. In those five minutes, Song Yan was in a breech position and nearly died. He later spent over a month in an incubator before slowly recovering. Even growing up, he frequently caught colds and fevers, suffering from headaches and illnesses.
Because of this, she always felt that her two mothers poured too much care and love into Song Yan, while she only received a tiny bit.
She was angry, unwilling, and aggrieved. Thus, like the young Lin Yan, she used mischief and nonconformity to attract the adults’ attention.
Lin Yan had noticed this change but was powerless, or rather, had no time to tend to their feelings.
After all, she and Song Yuhang were too busy. But being busy was no excuse for neglecting one’s children, she knew that.
By the time she wanted to get close to Lin Xi, the child had grown up and entered her rebellious teenage years.
She had hit her, scolded her, hating iron for not becoming steel46, but she had also shed silent tears countless times over it. Lin Xi knew none of this.
This was the first time she had seen her mother cry. In her memory, Lin Yan was a superwoman. Her other mother, who appeared tough on the surface, was actually much softer than her.
The woman who was high and mighty, decisive and swift at the police station was also authoritarian in front of them, never asking for their opinions, commanding with her chin and breath47 under the banner of doing what was good for her. Even a year ago, when she beat a male classmate into the hospital and his parents carried him to the Public Security Bureau to cause a scene, she had not seen Lin Yan shed a single tear.
Yet this strong mother was now, at this moment, leaning on her shoulder, trembling slightly.
Those hot tears fell into the crook of her neck, making Lin Xi’s heart ache. She also raised her hands and slowly hugged her back.
“Mom… happy birthday.”
Lin Yan’s lips curved into a smile, but the tears flowed even more freely. Not wanting to lose her composure in front of her daughter, she wiped her eyes and let her go.
“Thank you for your hard work today. You must be hungry. Let’s eat. I bought clothes and shoes for you and Song Yan while shopping. Go try them on in your rooms later.”
“Okay.” Lin Xi nodded. Never one for many words, she went to set the bowls and chopsticks after her reply.
Song Yuhang put an arm around her wife’s shoulder to comfort her. “I know today is a somewhat special day for you, but if Chu Nan were alive, she would definitely want you to live well.”
Lin Yan placed her hand on top of hers and smiled gently. “I know. Let’s eat.”
There were eight people in total, but Lin Xi had set out nine sets of bowls and chopsticks. This was a Lin family rule. During holidays and festivals, an extra set of tableware would always be set out, even if nothing was placed in it.
A black and white photo of a young girl also hung in the living room. The incense table was kept spotless, and Lin Yan changed the candles and offerings daily.
As a child, she had been puzzled and didn’t feel it was right to ask Lin Yan, so she went to ask her other mother.
“Mami, the girl in the portrait in the living room, is she a relative of ours?”
Song Yuhang shook her head. “No.”
Lin Xi was bright and precocious, and a little confused. “Is she Mom’s ex-girlfriend? Like you.”
A gentle smile appeared on Song Yuhang’s lips as she lovingly stroked her head. “No, not that either. Your mom and I, whether in the past or now, have only ever had each other.”
The child was even more perplexed. “Then who is she? Why is her photo hanging in our living room?”
Song Yuhang knelt down to be at eye level with her, held the child’s shoulders, and said firmly yet gently, “She is a good friend of your mother’s. A very, very good friend.”
“How good?”
Song Yuhang thought for a moment. “Although they weren’t related by blood, they were like you and Song Yan. They grew up together, played together, as close as sisters. It’s a bond that can never be broken.”
Hearing this, little Lin Xi nodded as if she understood.
But Song Yuhang stroked her head again. “Lin Xi, her name is Chen Chunan. Remember this name. Even if one day your mom and I are no longer here, her portrait is not to be moved from our living room. You and Song Yan must continue to remember her for us, and place more offerings during holidays and festivals, understand?”
The little girl nodded crisply. “I understand, Mami!”
Only then did Song Yuhang smile, taking her hand to walk out. “Let’s go. Mom is working overtime today. Call Song Yan, let’s go get pizza!”
From that moment on, Lin Xi had kept Song Yuhang’s words in her heart.
Lin Yan watched her place a set of tableware at the empty seat, her eyes growing hot, a gratified smile gracing her lips.
“Let me, Lin Xi. You sit. I’ll serve the rest of the rice.”
Song Yuhang stood up and took the rice paddle from her hand. “I’ll do it, I’ll do it. You sit down too.”
“Mom, your teeth aren’t good. Let me get you some soup to mix in.”
Mother Song sat in her wheelchair. Although her legs were not very mobile, her spirits were high. Most of her teeth were gone, which made her smile seem even more kind and amiable.
“Good, good. Get some soup for Yanyan too. This soup today, I watched over Xiao Xi as she stewed it this afternoon.”
Saying she watched probably meant she did a fair bit of helping herself.
Lin Yan complained, “Mom, it’s such a long trip for you to come here and back. Why go to all this trouble?”
“It’s different, it’s different. It’s a birthday, after all.”
Song Yuhang chimed in, “Exactly, exactly. Anyway, in this family now, my status is the lowest. If it weren’t for basking in Lin Yan’s light, it’s been years since I’ve had Mom’s stewed soup.”
Ji Jingxing stood up, took the bowl of rice she had served, and passed it to Liang Shi. “Never mind you, it’s been years for me too.”
Under the warm yellow light, the whole room burst into laughter.
Song Yuhang finally served herself and sat down. Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks, Lin Yan looked around, frowned, and suddenly felt something was not right.
“Where’s Song Yan?”
Song Yuhang and Lin Xi exchanged a look, about to speak up for him. “Um, Song Yan, he…”
Before they could finish, the boy burst in with a backpack on, panting. “Jie, the book signing ended late, and the organizers invited me to dinner. I didn’t go, didn’t come back…”
The whole room stared at him. Song Yuhang covered her face; Lin Xi facepalmed. Lin Yan scanned him from head to toe, then from bottom to top. When she saw his newly dyed green hair, her expression changed.
The word “late” got stuck in Song Yan’s throat as if his neck had suddenly been squeezed.
Coincidentally, the evening news started playing on the TV.
“Today, the up-and-coming suspense and reasoning novelist Jie Lanzhou appeared for the first time at a signing event for his new book, 《Chief Female Medical Examiner》. As we can see, a long line has already formed at the bookstore entrance, and many readers are holding banners to cheer for Lanzhou and encourage him, hoping he can write even better works.”
The audio was accompanied by the screams of fangirls: “AHHHH, LANZHOU-DADA48 IS SO HANDSOME! I LOVE YOU!!!”
“Jie Lanzhou, marry me! Marry me!”
…
The reporter adjusted her earpiece and took two steps to the side. “Truly a new-generation super-popular author. It’s said that Lanzhou-dada just turned eighteen this year. Let’s interview him.”
The camera moved to Jie Lanzhou himself.
“Hello, Lanzhou-dada, I’m also a fan of your books. I’d like to ask, is the 《Medical Examiner》 series really over? Will there be a sequel?”
Song Yan calmly adjusted the microphone, crossed his hands under his chin, and smiled slightly.
“The 《Medical Examiner》 series is over, but that doesn’t mean their story is over. If there’s an opportunity, I might consider a sequel.”
The reporter, as if sensing a huge secret, was full of excitement. “‘Their’? Does that mean the characters of Officer Song and Medical Examiner Lin have prototypes?”
Before Song Yan could answer, Lin Yan had already started grinding her teeth.
Jie Lanzhou, Jie Lanzhou. Zui Jie Lan Zhou.
Can’t keep the person from leaving. Drunkenly untying the magnolia boat to depart, one oar on the path of green waves and spring water. Past all the places where the morning orioles sing.49
A poem by the Song dynasty poet Yan Jidao. This little turtle bastard really knows how to play with words!
And what’s with that head of green hair? He doesn’t look like a good person!
Song Yan watched her grab the chopsticks from the table and started to shrink back. “Mom, Mom, stop, listen to me, listen to me! I really didn’t mean to come back so late, Jie Lanzhou, he, he, he…”
Lin Yan slammed the table and shot up. “You, get over here! Wasting your time all day instead of studying properly, writing some suspense novel. I see you’re just bored with nothing better to do. And using your mom as a character prototype, you’ve got some nerve, huh? With your skill level, is the stuff you write even readable?!”
Song Yan was on the verge of tears, grabbing Song Yuhang’s sleeve. “Mom, save me.”
Lin Yan threw a pack of tissues at her. “Song Yuhang, did you also know about him writing a novel behind my back?!”
Song Yuhang had no choice but to part with her beloved, prying her son’s hand off bit by bit. “Yanyan, listen to me, I really didn’t know…”
Song Yan was heartbroken. “Mom, you’re not being fair.”
Seeing that head of green hair bobbing in front of her, Lin Yan’s anger flared. She grabbed her chopsticks and gave chase. “You, get over here! And what’s with your hair? Not learning anything good all day, learning to smoke, drink, and perm your hair from others??!”
Song Yan shrieked, darting around the room, specifically hiding behind Mother Song. “Nainai, Nainai, save me! Mom, Mom, listen to me, this was for the signing today, it’s a style the makeup artist did…”
“Besides, how old am I? I can’t even perm my hair? You dyed yours too, and it’s brown! What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others50. Mom, don’t just stay silent, do something about her! What’s wrong with me writing a novel? Why are you so angry? Is it menopause?”
The little turtle bastard ran fast. As he dodged, Lin Yan threw things, chasing him until she was out of breath. Hearing his words, she nearly choked on a mouthful of old blood. “How old am I and how old are you? Can you compare yourself to me?! Serializing for six years, for six years you didn’t study properly and just wrote novels for me. What was your score on the college entrance exam?! And you say I’m in menopause? Let me tell you, this old mother51 is far from it!”
Just as her palm was about to land, Song Yan closed his eyes and pulled an admission letter from his pocket, holding it above his head with both hands, one step short of kneeling.
“Mom, I got in. Beijing Film Academy, Department of Literature. I want to be a screenwriter.”
Lin Yan froze slightly. The raised palm could no longer fall. A hint of gratification appeared in her eyes. She wanted to pat her son’s head but stopped herself, snatching the admission letter from his hand and opening it.
It was real. Seeing the official seal of the Beijing Film Academy, most of Lin Yan’s anger dissipated. She smacked him on the head.
“You little turtle bastard. Sit down and eat first. After dinner, go dye that green hair of yours back!”
Song Yan sat down with his head hanging low, muttering, “Uncle Jingzhe even dyed his red. What’s wrong with me dyeing mine green? If you want life to go on, you have to wear some green on your head52…”
Song Yuhang nudged his arm and put food in his bowl. “Eat.”
Looking at everyone in front of her, Lin Xi hesitated for a long moment, then put down her chopsticks. Steeling herself, she took out her admission letter as well.
“Mom, I got in too.”
Lin Yan was overjoyed. “You got in too? Where? Beijing Film Academy?”
She was already dreaming of having a big celebrity daughter in the future.
Lin Xi shoved the admission letter into her hand and shrank back as if afraid of being hit. “People’s Public Security University of China, Department of Criminal Investigation.”
Lin Yan’s facial expression management collapsed for the third time tonight.
The chair beside her moved. Before she could fly into a rage, Song Yuhang picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom, retreating from the battlefield.
Still holding her chopsticks, Lin Yan roared, “Song Yuhang, put me down! Of all the things to study, she had to go and study criminal investigation, to be a police officer in the future, hanging her life on her waistband and never being home!”
“Aiya, alright, the kids are grown up and have their own choices now. You and I are both police officers. It’s dangerous, yes, but as long as she practices her martial arts well and protects herself, it’ll be fine.”
“You are her mother or not? Can two fists beat four hands? Drug traffickers are how cunning, cruel, and ruthless you are not know?!”
“I know, I know…”
The bedroom door closed, and their voices gradually faded.
Song Yuhang poked her head out again. “Mom, Saozi, Liang Shi, Xiao Wei, you all eat first. We’ll be out in a bit.”
“Song Yuhang!” Lin Yan had just shouted when her mouth was covered, and she was pushed onto the bed.
“Mmph…”
The younger generation looked at the tightly shut door and then at each other, the corners of their mouths twitching.
It’s been decades. Aren’t you guys sick of it?
Lin Xi shivered, goosebumps covering her skin.
Ji Jingxing cleared her throat and served some food from a dish. “Eat, eat up. Try our little Xi’s cooking.”
A roomful of people seemed to snap back to reality, eating and chatting cheerfully. Song Yan’s little mouth was very sweet, calling out “Nainai” and “Jiuma”53 until the two women were beaming with joy.
“Nainai, you take good care of your health. In a couple of years, I’ll bring you to Beijing to have fun.”
“Jiuma, you’re still so young and beautiful. In a couple of years, when my sister gets married and gives you a big fat grandson, you’ll be the youngest grandmother in history.”
Lin Xi, as always, had to dig at him with a comment that was neither salty nor bland54. “You? You’ll be lucky to establish yourself in Beijing. Jiuma, don’t listen to him. He’d praise an eighty-year-old lady for being young and beautiful.”
“Hey, I’m telling you, Lin Xi, is there no end to this?”
“No respect for your elders. Call me Jie!”
The two engaged in lip-guns and tongue-battles55, back and forth, creating a lively scene that made the whole family roar with laughter.
Song Yan and Lin Xi had lived at Ji Jingxing’s house for a long time when they were little and were also very close with Xiao Wei, so there were few reservations between them. Song Yan asked curiously.
“Jie, I asked you last time, don’t you have a boyfriend? Why didn’t you bring him back?”
The whole room’s attention once again turned to Xiao Wei.
Ji Weiyi smiled, cutting the steak on her plate with a knife and fork. “Broke up.”
“Why? I remember his situation was pretty good, wasn’t it?” Lin Xi also paused her chopsticks.
“He said I was bi, couldn’t accept me sleeping with girls.”
Ji Jingxing, who hadn’t yet swallowed a mouthful of soup, burst into a world-shaking cough.
“Ji Weiyi! You learn the bad but not the good. What kind of messed up things have you been learning from Lin Yan!”
Ji Weiyi sighed. “Aigh, Mom, I’m an adult. Free love. As long as it doesn’t go against another person’s will and doesn’t hurt anyone, I have the right to choose what kind of life to live and who to be with.”
“I…” Ji Jingxing had a breath stuck in her throat and nearly couldn’t get it out. Liang Shi quickly served her food to help her calm down.
“Eat, eat. The child is grown up, why are you trying to control her? I believe Xiao Wei has her own sense of propriety.”
They were halfway through the meal when Song Yuhang finally brought Lin Yan out to eat birthday cake and blow out the candles.
“Mom, make a wish.”
The two kids held the cake in front of her.
Song Yuhang turned off the lights. Lin Yan looked at the smiling faces before her, and her eyes grew moist.
How fortunate she was. She had always thought of herself as a person without roots, only to realize after meeting Song Yuhang that she didn’t lack roots, she lacked soil.
Song Yuhang had irrigated her soil with day after day, year after year of faithful love, allowing a towering tree to grow from the barren land. After having the siblings Song Yan and Lin Xi, this tree grew even more lush and leafy.
They were all her roots, her family.
Lin Yan gently closed her eyes amidst the birthday song and silently prayed: May Lin Xi and Song Yan be safe and successful every year. May Mom be healthy and live a long life. May Ji Jingxing and Liang Shi grow old together and have all their wishes come true. May Xiao Wei find her soulmate soon.
As for her and Song Yuhang…
It seemed she had made a few too many wishes.
Lin Yan opened her eyes and smiled at her, her pupils sparkling even in the darkness.
Song Yuhang leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Happy birthday. I love you.”
During the cake-eating part, a food fight broke out, smearing cream everywhere.
Lin Yan hadn’t finished venting her anger from earlier. Seizing the opportunity for public revenge, of everyone in the family, Song Yan ended up with the most cream on his face.
The young man shrieked as he ran around the room, getting cream everywhere, even on Mother Song.
When the group was tired from playing, Song Yuhang went to clean up the kitchen, and Lin Yan followed her in.
“I’ll help you.” She said, rolling up her sleeves to get to work. Song Yuhang pushed her away and tied on an apron.
“No need, no need. Go play with the kids.”
Lin Yan pursed her lips and smiled lightly. “The three of them are playing games, and Ji Jingxing and Liang Shi are playing cards with Mom.”
Song Yuhang glanced out the glass window. The three kids were huddled on the sofa with controllers, engrossed in a video game, shouting and yelling.
Mother Song and the others were gathered around the other side of the coffee table playing cards, with tea and melon seeds by their side, also full of laughter.
Song Yuhang suddenly felt a bit emotional. “It’s been so long since our family has been all together like this.”
Lin Yan wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, resting her head on her back. “Yuhang, thank you.”
Song Yuhang put down the plate in her hand, turned around, and gently called her name. “Lin Yan…”
“Hm?”
She looked up at the sound of her voice. On an early summer night filled with the chirping of insects, on a day of family reunion, under the warm yellow lights, a gentle kiss full of love descended.
The window reflected their embracing figures.
The three kids turned their heads back with blank expressions, picked up their controllers, and continued their game.
Lin Xi & Song Yan & Ji Weiyi: Sooner or later I’m going to choke to death on their dog food.jpg56
Late at night, Song Yuhang settled Ji Jingxing’s group in their rooms, then took a shower and dragged her heavy steps upstairs.
She tiptoed open the bedroom door, thinking Lin Yan was asleep, but the desk lamp was still on. Lin Yan was leaning against the headboard, a pair of glasses perched on her nose, flipping through the book in her hands—it was 《Chief Female Medical Examiner》.
Song Yuhang lifted the covers and got into bed: “Still awake?”
Lin Yan turned a page. “Not sleepy. Are they all asleep?”
“They’re asleep.” Song Yuhang put an arm around her shoulder, letting her lean into her embrace, and pointed at the book.
“What do you think? How is it written?”
Lin Yan looked up at her and scoffed, “The writing is commendable, but the professional knowledge is riddled with errors.”
Song Yuhang pinched her nose. “Someone’s being dishonest, oh. How old was he six years ago? He’s practically a child prodigy.”
Lin Yan’s lips hung with a proud smile, her fox tail could have been sticking straight up, but she remained stubborn.
“So what? With two police officer mothers, being exposed to it day in and day out, and he can still write like this.”
“You’re used to writing autopsy reports. If I asked you to write a novel or a screenplay, you might not be much better than him. A different profession is like a different mountain57, you know.”
Lin Yan lay in her arms. Song Yuhang gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said softly, “I think, more than my praise, the children would prefer your encouragement.”
Lin Yan shifted to get more comfortable. “I know. They’ve already gotten in, we can’t possibly make them drop out. You’re right, the kids have grown up. Maybe it’s time for us to let go.”
Song Yuhang leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I know you can’t bear to part with them.”
“I don’t, I wish they would…” Before she could finish, her ear was bitten.
A rustle of clothing.
Song Yuhang’s hands began to wander, her voice growing a little deep and husky. “Let’s not talk about this. They’re all asleep. Why don’t we… do something…”
She paused slightly, accurately grasping Lin Yan’s weak spot, then drew out her words meaningfully, “…else.”
Lin Yan’s face flushed slightly, her breathing a little ragged. Not wanting to let her succeed so quickly, she pressed against her shoulder.
“Song Yuhang, at our age, how are you still so…”
Song Yuhang grabbed the hand on her shoulder and pinned it above her head. “This kind of thing, one never gets tired of it, no matter the age. Especially with you.”
Lin Yan couldn’t bear it anymore and kicked her with her foot. “The kids are sleeping next door…”
Song Yuhang pressed down on her, covering her mouth. “Then you be quieter.”
“Mmph…” Lin Yan was still struggling, but she couldn’t win in a fight and couldn’t curse out loud. Under Song Yuhang’s relentless assault, she soon surrendered and let herself be arranged at will.
Song Yuhang didn’t dare to torment her too much, leaving some room for recovery. By the time everything was over, two hours had passed.
Lin Yan was lying in her arms, her eyelashes misty with moisture.
Song Yuhang picked her up. “Want to go take a bath?”
The head resting on her shoulder gave a small nod. Song Yuhang couldn’t help but smile, lifting her up.
Lin Yan mumbled, “Can you still carry me?”
“You’re underestimating the results of my years of fitness. Or should we… try again?” Song Yuhang felt she had been greatly insulted, especially since the en-suite bathroom was just a few steps from the bedroom.
Lin Yan quickly wrapped her arms around her neck, hanging onto her, and shook her head like a rattle drum. “No, no, I want to take a bath and sleep. I’m sleepy.”
She really couldn’t stand it when this woman acted cute. Song Yuhang’s heart melted into a puddle. She squeezed the nape of her neck.
“If I can’t carry you, I’ll give you a piggyback. If I can’t give you a piggyback, I’ll support you. If I can’t support you, I’ll hold your hand. If I can’t hold your hand, I’ll walk shoulder to shoulder with you, or stand still with you. No matter what, I won’t leave you alone.”
Lin Yan was not a person who would listen to love with her ears58, but she knew that Song Yuhang was not a person who made empty promises either.
She had already used the rest of her life to give the best interpretation, showing her what good love should be like, and in a short span of twenty-odd years, had completely filled all the missing parts of her life.
She and her were not just partners; they were comrades who had gone through life and death together, tacitly coordinated partners, and inseparable family. All kinds of complex emotions were intertwined, causing Lin Yan’s eyes to redden. Sitting in the bathtub, she took the initiative to wrap her arms around her neck.
Song Yuhang was taken aback, then hugged her back, gently patting the back of her head to comfort her.
“Alright, hm? Weren’t you sleepy? Let’s wash up and go back to sleep.”
“Okay.” Lin Yan answered in a muffled voice. She was already tired, and the warm steam made her even drowsier.
Song Yuhang rinsed the shower gel foam off her body, wrapped her hair in a clean towel, and picked her up.
Lin Yan’s body felt light as she was placed on the bed, and then the buzzing sound of a hairdryer started.
She groggily grabbed her hand and asked, “Song Yuhang, where’s my tactical baton?”
Song Yuhang stopped the hairdryer and asked again before she heard clearly what she said.
“It’s in the bottom drawer of the wardrobe. Why are you suddenly thinking of it?”
There was no answer. Song Yuhang looked closely and saw that she had already fallen asleep. She chuckled, tucked her in, turned off the lamp, and lay down as well, pulling her into her arms.
“Goodnight, Yanyan.”
The next morning, Lin Xi was still not awake. She had played online games with Song Yan until midnight after returning to her room last night and was now at her most tired. The door creaked open.
She groggily turned over, thinking it was Song Yuhang waking her for breakfast. “Mom, I’m not eating…”
The person didn’t speak but placed something by the bed. As they were about to turn and leave, they saw her quilt wasn’t properly covered, so they pulled it up and tucked in the corners.
Lin Xi was sleeping soundly and only frowned in her dream.
Lin Yan looked at the face so similar to her own, couldn’t help but stroke her head, a gentle smile on her lips. She kissed her forehead and then left.
When Lin Xi woke up with the sun three poles high59, she discovered a brocade box on her bedside table.
She reached for it and opened it. A note fell out. Lin Xi picked it up and smoothed it out:
Xiao Xi, this tactical baton is called “Sentinel.” It was a token of love your mother gave me. It has accompanied me through countless storms and has also saved my life. I am now passing it on to you, hoping that you too can be a good police officer in the future.
The signature was Lin Yan.
The young woman let out a disdainful “Tch,” but her eyes reddened. She took the jet-black tactical baton from the box, stroking its cold metal contours. The bloodstains in some of the grooves could no longer be washed clean and had turned into dark brown stains.
Just holding it in her hand, it felt as if a storm of blood was rushing towards her, making the girl shudder.
Lin Xi’s lips gradually tightened. She silently recited in her heart: I will, Mom. I will be like you, to stand between heaven and earth with a clear conscience60, and be an upright and kind police officer.
Time flowed by slowly. On a rare, leisurely afternoon, Lin Yan sat in a wicker chair and finished reading the book her son had written.
At the end of the book, Song Yan wrote as follows:
“As of 2030, in the past six years, 24,890 public security police officers nationwide (including active-duty public security soldiers) were killed or injured in the line of duty. Among them, 3,160 officers died in the line of duty, and 21,730 were injured. On average, 526 officers sacrificed their lives each year.”
“Among the 21,730 injured in the line of duty over the years, more than 10,000 were injured in violent attacks while fighting against criminals, accounting for more than half of the total number.”
“Among them, officers from local police stations, public order police, criminal investigators, and narcotics police accounted for the top four in terms of sacrifices and injuries.”
“On the list of public security martyrs who tragically sacrificed their lives nationwide, the oldest was 65, and the youngest was only 19.”
“Of course, there are also some informants and undercover police officers whose names cannot be revealed and thus cannot be included in this list, so the actual total number of sacrifices is only higher than what is statistically recorded.”
“We live in this world, and nothing is born from a vacuum. If you stand in the light, there will be a shadow behind you. If you stand in the darkness, there may be light in your heart. We must admit that some people may have lost their original intentions, but there are also some who use their lives to fulfill their promises, just like Officer Song and Medical Examiner Lin in the story.”
“With this, the six-year serialization of 《Medical Examiner》 officially comes to an end. But I believe this is not the end, and the story of Song and Lin will not end, because there are still ordinary people like them who hold fast to their posts and swear to defend justice to the death.”
“May the deceased rest in peace, and may this world become better and better.”
Jie Lanzhou, 2030.3.3.
Lin Yan closed the book. In just one short afternoon, it was as if she had lived through a long dream. Those days of a forest of guns and a rain of bullets61, of exiting life and entering death, resurfaced before her eyes, causing her own to become moist, and she couldn’t snap out of it for a long time.
Until a voice startled her from her nightmare.
Song Yuhang stood in the courtyard, waving at her, bathed in sunlight. Behind her was a nursery of sunflowers.
The family’s seven-seater SUV was parked at the villa entrance.
“Yanyan, are you ready? We need to catch our flight.”
Lin Yan remembered. After Song Yan and Lin Xi finished their college entrance exams, the family planned to go to Australia for a trip during the summer vacation.
Before she could speak, the two siblings also came downstairs with their suitcases.
Song Yan carried two suitcases, swaying as he walked and complaining, “This is killing me. Mom, my sister put her game console and boxing gloves in my suitcase again. Are you guys going to do anything about it?”
Lin Xi kicked him from behind. “You’re a grown man, what’s wrong with carrying a little more?”
“Hey, hey, hey, watch your wording. My lunar birthday has passed, but my solar birthday hasn’t. I’m not an adult yet.”
Lin Xi postured as if to hit him but saw Lin Yan watching them intently and stopped. “Mom?”
Song Yan also felt something was off and put down his suitcase. “Mom, what’s wrong? I brought your luggage down for you too.”
Lin Yan stood up and looked at them, tears welling in her eyes. She smiled gently. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Song Yuhang came in from outside, pulling a suitcase with one hand and putting the other around her shoulder, hurrying the two dead kids62 out the door.
“Hurry up, hurry up, you two are dawdling. We’re about to board.”
“It was clearly Song Yan who took forever to pack. He was already leaving and then went back to put on his hair gel. It looks so ugly.”
“Ha, I’m ugly? Why don’t you say that you go around with a bare face every day? No boys at school like you at all, you tomboy!”
“Pah, you sissy!”
“Tomboy!”
“Sissy!”
…
Lin Yan couldn’t take it anymore. She turned around and gave each of them a knock on the head. “Both of you, be quiet for this old mother!”
Song Yan clutched his head, feeling extremely wronged, and was about to lean over the front seat to seek justice from Song Yuhang.
Before he could speak, Song Yuhang, who was driving, waved her hands repeatedly. “Don’t drag me into your arguments.”
She didn’t want a fire at the city gate to bring disaster to the fish in the moat63.
To Song Yan’s dumbfounded expression, she freed a hand to gently take Lin Yan’s and kiss the back of it, her smile brighter than the sunflowers outside the car window.
“My wife is right. The two of them are just too noisy. Next time we go on a trip, we’ll have a world for two and not bring them.”
Song Yan and Lin Xi simultaneously: Gag, let me out of the car!!!
The vehicle carried this family towards a new journey.
The setting sun descended upon the mountains and also shone on the floor-to-ceiling window. The wicker chair where Lin Yan had just sat was still there. The wind blew the white gauze curtains, and the book on the coffee table flipped its pages with a rustle, stopping at a passage on the title page.
“What is it that brings forth an endless radiance? The human heart. What is it that creates a boundless darkness? The human heart as well. Light and darkness are entwined, they slay one another. This is the mortal world that we are so attached to, and yet so helpless in.”
——《Les Misérables》Victor Hugo [France]
More than a year after 《Chief Female Medical Examiner》 concluded, someone posted an experience on an anonymous forum.
A few fans of suspense and reasoning novels had guessed the burial location of the female corpse that the medical examiner had used to perform the golden cicada shedding its shell64 trick to confuse the criminals. On a moonless, windy night, they went to the cemetery with their tools. On one hand, they were driven by curiosity; on the other, they wanted to dig up the ring that the police officer had placed on the female corpse’s hand, which was said to be priceless.
The group rubbed their hands together, eager to start. Before long, the intact coffin was dug up. When they excitedly opened it, they were dumbfounded. The person lifting the coffin lid fell to the ground on his butt, trembling all over, unable to speak.
A few of the bolder ones went closer for a look and were instantly scared out of their wits. Forgetting their tools, they turned and fled.
There were no white bones in the coffin, no female corpse, and no ring. There was only a bloody head with its eyes gouged out, staring at them sinisterly.
The author has something to say:
I’m very sorry, but today I have to say goodbye to everyone, instead of “see you tomorrow.” As I write these words, 《Medical Examiner》 has received a total of 25,740 reader collections, 28,128 comments, and 51,012 bottles of Nutrition Fluid65. This is the best result I’ve achieved since I started piling up characters66 on Jinjiang (JJWXC) back in ‘15.
I sincerely thank everyone for your support, encouragement, tolerance, and patience, which have allowed me to walk further on this path.
Of course, some friends have also offered suggestions, including issues with non-standard punctuation in the first twenty-something chapters, switching perspectives, personal pronouns, and so on. Starting today, all of these will be——revised. As for the little friends who couldn’t accompany Song and Lin to the very end, I want to say, I will keep working hard! I hope that the next time we meet, I can write even better works and give you a better reading experience.
For now, I apologize.
Finally, it seems that the thing I’ve said most along this journey is “sorry.” Today, please allow me to praise myself a little!
Another long novel of 860,000 characters is finished. Gu Huaijiu67 is the fattest!
And last but not least, happy 24th birthday to me. My wish is to be able to climb over one higher mountain after another, to go and visit a star.
I also wish all the little buddies who have read this far good health, peace, and joy. All little buddies who leave a comment today will receive a red envelope68 of a random amount~
Gu Huaijiu
2020.3.3
Note: The statistical data, forensic examination details, and other related information in the text are sourced from reference books and Duniang69, China News Network, CCTV News, Baidu Baike, Zhihu, etc., with some modifications. Everything is for literary effect. Please do not take it too seriously or as fact. Thank you.
LP: Re-translated on November 05, 2025
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