Passing the Torch (2)
“You? Where did you get lipstick…”
Before Lin Yan could finish, her eyes widened in surprise, her pupils focusing on Song Yuhang’s face coming closer and closer, until it finally covered her lips.
So that’s… how she’d fix it.
She didn’t have time to resist before Song Yuhang reached back with one hand and pulled down the curtains.
“Mm…”
Their lips and teeth intertwined until she could barely breathe.
Only then did Song Yuhang speak softly against her ear, “Yuhang-brand lipstick, a brand with twenty years of history, do you still like it?”
“Get lost.” Lin Yan’s face turned slightly red, as if blushed with rouge. She spat at her, but then buried her face into her neck, rubbing affectionately.
Song Yuhang smiled and gently stroked her back to comfort her.
“Haven’t you always wanted to go to Canada? We have time now, or Australia, Northern Europe, New Zealand… wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you.”
As the two enjoyed their rare moment of solitude, a police officer knocked on the door. “Director Song, the car is here.”
“Alright, have them wait a moment.” Song Yuhang raised her voice to respond, let go of the person in her arms, and tapped her nose.
“But for now, we need to attend the retirement ceremony first.”
Lin Yan tugged at her clothes. “Is my makeup smudged?”
Song Yuhang laughed. “No, you’re the most beautiful.”
Before leaving, Song Yuhang took a coat from the rack, while Lin Yan picked up her phone from the table to use as a mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a book titled 《Chief Female Forensic Doctor》 beside the computer.
For some reason, she felt the cover and title looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall where she had seen it before.
The word “forensic” caught her attention. Lin Yan picked it up and glanced at it. “You read this kind of stuff?”
Song Yuhang draped the coat over her arm and pulled her along. “Oh, Xue Rui just brought it over, said the author did a good job. They all are reading it, so I can pass the time with it when I have nothing else to do.”
Lin Yan casually held onto it and quickly flipped through a couple of pages. “Really? Suspense and detective novels like this usually have no factual basis. I can point out a hundred mistakes.”
Song Yuhang smiled as the two walked down the corridor, their figures gradually receding.
“You think it’s like writing an autopsy report? Ordinary people can’t access the cases we handle…”
Jiangcheng City Martyrs Cemetery.
Every year, the induction ceremony for new police officers is held here. At the same time, a batch of senior police officers retire after conferring ranks to the young ones.
Lin Yan still remembered many years ago, when Song Yuhang brought her here. At that time, she said, “This place is not only a separation of life and death, but also a transition between the old and the new. Generations of criminal police officers rest here, and generations of young officers step out from here…”
She was right. They had conferred ranks on many young people here, watching them gradually grow into excellent police officers, and had also bid farewell to many comrades. Those who could stand here to attend the retirement ceremony were only the lucky few.
After Song Yuhang led the group in sweeping the tombs of the veterans, everyone lined up again in front of the Martyrs Memorial.
The world was silent, the cemetery’s pines and cypresses stood evergreen, and the words “Public Security Martyrs” hung on the wall of the distant lawn. The prismatic stone pillar engraved with the heroes’ names stood alone, reflecting a cold light in the sunset.
Witnessed by the 512 public security martyrs who sacrificed over the years in Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau and the 97 soon-to-be-retired seniors, the young officers raised their right hands to their temples and solemnly swore.
“I swear: I am willing to become a People’s Police officer of the People’s Republic of China, dedicated to the noble cause of the public security of the people, and determined to be loyal to the Party, serve the people, enforce the law justly, and maintain strict discipline, unafraid of sacrifice! I will strive for a lifetime to maintain social stability, promote social fairness and justice, and ensure the people live and work in peace and contentment!”
No matter what they would face in the future, Lin Yan thought, at this moment, facing the police badge, the seniors, and the memorial, their hearts must be filled with aspirations, passion, and sincerity.
Because she and Song Yuhang were once among them, the difference being they had changed from those needing to be conferred ranks to those putting epaulets on others.
She followed Song Yuhang, helping the young officers with their epaulets and collar flowers, smoothing out their wrinkled collars.
Almost everyone had tears in their eyes, stood upright, raised their hands to their temples, and saluted solemnly, “Thank you, leader!”
Song Yuhang and Lin Yan stepped back, stood straight, and returned a standard military salute.
After the induction ceremony for the new officers, it was time for the retirement ceremony of the senior officers.
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Lin Yan had been annoyed by such formalities countless times, but when it was her turn, a police officer carrying a tray covered with satin approached her.
Xue Rui saluted her. “Comrade Lin Yan, we sincerely thank you for all you have done for the public security cause of our country. Please hand over your police badge, armband, epaulets, and collar flowers.”
Lin Yan stood motionless, letting them take off her armband and place it on the tray. The epaulets adorned with silver olive branches were also removed, followed by the collar flowers.
During this process, some veteran officers couldn’t help but silently shed tears.
Xue Rui stood still. “Forensic Doctor Lin…”
She took out her police badge from her pocket and handed it over, her movements always a bit slow.
The sunset danced at the corners of her eyes. Lin Yan stood backlit, and no one knew if she was crying.
Xue Rui only saw her hand pause when about to place the badge on the tray, her thumb gently brushing over the police badge before finally letting go.
He picked up the medal from the tray and pinned it to her chest. Then, along with two other officers, he stepped back and solemnly saluted. “Remove your hats!”
The row of soon-to-be-retired senior officers in front of her all simultaneously removed their wide-brimmed hats and tucked them under their arms. The young officers behind them followed suit, raising both hands, the past and future converging at this moment.
“Everyone, salute the veterans!”
After the retirement ceremony, Song Yuhang stayed behind alone. She carried a bottle of Moutai, pushed aside the weeds along the path, and walked slowly along the narrow stone steps.
Along the way, her comrades smiled at her. Song Yuhang stopped in front of Zhang Jinhai’s tombstone, poured a glass of good wine for him, then got up and continued walking.
As the grass grew denser, the dew dampened her trouser legs, and the scenery here was clearly more desolate than before. Song Yuhang paused, squatted down in front of an aged tombstone, and gently touched the peeling words with her fingers, getting a handful of stone debris.
Her throat moved slightly. She unscrewed the bottle cap, took a cup from her pocket, filled it, and raised it to her lips. One hand tilted, and the clear liquor splashed in front of the tombstone.
“Dad, brother, this one’s for you.” She said, then tilted her head back and drank it all, wiping the corner of her lips, her eyes burning.
“Today, I retired, with Lin Yan. Lin Xi and Song Yan are about to go to college. Mom is still in good health, though her legs are not as good as they used to be. Xiaowei and sister-in-law are doing well too. Oh, right, brother, sister-in-law remarried. Don’t be angry, Liang Shi treats her and Xiao Wei very well. She has had a hard time these years without you.”
Song Yuhang said, pouring herself another cup. Just as she was about to drink it all, someone grabbed her wrist.
She looked up to see Lin Yan standing in the grass, smiling.
“I knew you’d be here.”
Song Yuhang moved her lips, but before she could speak, Lin Yan took the cup from her, extended it towards the two tombstones, and said,
“Dad, brother, this one’s from me. We’re all doing well, don’t worry!”
With that, she raised her hand, downing the liquor in one go.
Lin Yan wiped the corner of her mouth, turned the cup upside down to show she had finished, and the wind brought the scent of early summer’s forest and the aroma of the liquor.
Song Yuhang poured the remaining liquor onto the ground, slowly stood up, saluted her father and brother, then took Lin Yan’s hand and started walking back.
“Today’s your birthday. 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, and buy you a few nice clothes.”
She thought Song Yuhang was joking, but once they got in the car, it indeed wasn’t the way home.
Lin Yan was suspicious: “Are you hiding something from me?”
Song Yuhang laughed and turned the steering wheel to the left, merging into the city traffic: “What could I be hiding from you? You can spot a single strand of someone else’s hair on me.”
Lin Yan snorted: “That’s right, I bet you wouldn’t dare.”
Song Yuhang chatted with her while driving: “I just feel like we used to focus all our lives on work. Now that we’re finally retired, I want to spend time with you and the kids, make up for the movies we didn’t watch, the streets we didn’t walk, and the dates we missed.”
The book signing event didn’t end until the evening.
Before the staff could find Jie Lanzhou to ask him out for dinner, he had already put on a mask and slipped out from backstage.
To avoid being spotted by fans still waiting at the bookstore entrance, he discarded his jacket in a trash can, wearing only a hoodie, pulling the hood over his head, looking around while making a call. As soon as he saw a taxi coming, he quickly hailed it.
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“Hey, sis? I’m coming back, I’m coming back! Just finished up and heading home now. Did you pick up Grandma…”
Before he finished speaking, he heard a cold voice on the other end: “Song Yan, why are you so slow, are you crawling back?” Then the call was hung up.
Song Yan was stunned, throwing his phone onto the seat.
Damn you, Lin Xi, you can’t go a day without scolding me, can you?
Despite his thoughts, the boy checked the time, unsure how long mom could delay, his expression showing a hint of urgency as he instructed the driver.
“Sir, to Qingshan Villa, please drive faster.”
During the two hours Song Yuhang took her shopping, she checked her phone every ten minutes, buying clothes, shoes, bags, perfumes, and jewelry—more than a dozen items, and still not stopping.
Lin Yan increasingly felt something was wrong, gritting her teeth and pulling her ear: “Tell me, what trouble have those two rascals caused this time? Is it fighting, breaking windows, or a teacher’s home visit, so you don’t want me to go home?”
“It hurts, it hurts… in public…” Song Yuhang winced, continuously smiling apologetically: “Really not… really nothing… they’re on vacation, how could the teacher make a home visit…”
As soon as she finished speaking, her phone buzzed, Song Yuhang’s eyes lit up, she nudged Lin Yan’s hand away.
“Alright, alright, let’s go home.”
Lin Yan walked while cursing: “You spoil them, you’re in cahoots, covering for each other. Last time, Lin Xi’s classmate’s parents came to the police station, didn’t you learn a lesson?”
Song Yuhang lamented: “Both the palm and the back of the hand are full of flesh…”
When they got home, and the villa’s lights turned on, Lin Yan finally understood that Song Yuhang’s meticulous effort was just to give her an unforgettable birthday.
Even though they had been together for over twenty years, cases were unpredictable, often getting called out in the middle of the night, throwing on clothes and leaving was common, let alone having a birthday with the whole family. More often, it was a candle on a small cake in the car, office, or wilderness, with a birthday song.
Moreover, birthdays were special for Lin Yan because her birthday was also Chu Nan’s death anniversary. While she enjoyed family blessings and cake, her best friend could only rest underground.
So, she avoided celebrating if she could, but today was an exception.
When Song Yuhang released her hands from covering her eyes, the room was brightly lit, decorated with balloons and streamers on the windows.
The dining table was covered with a white cloth, adorned with a bouquet of fragrant flowers, and a variety of dishes were prepared.
Lin Xi walked out with a cake, candles flickering, gently burning.
Ji Jingxing also pushed Mother Song out, Liang Shi and Xiaowei following beside her. Just like Lin Xi was close to Ji Jingxing, Xiaowei was particularly fond of this aunt.
Having studied and worked abroad for years, Xiaowei’s eyes were slightly red as she ran over to Lin Yan.
“Auntie!”
Lin Yan was caught in a warm embrace, slowly raising her hand to touch the back of Xiaowei’s head: “Xiaowei, you’ve grown up.”
Xiaowei let go and hugged Song Yuhang: “Uncle.”
Lin Yan’s facial expression collapsed: “Call her Auntie!”
Xiaowei covered her mouth and laughed, having grown much taller, becoming more beautiful and lovely.
“Still the same as before.”
Saying this, she pushed Lin Xi, who was holding the cake, towards Lin Yan.
Lin Xi struggled, full of reluctance: “Sis, don’t push me…”
“Hurry up, you arranged all this, you followed the recipes and cooked the dishes. You’ve done a good deed, your mom should know.”
Lin Yan smiled, seeing the flickering candlelight and her daughter’s height, almost as tall as her, standing there tall and graceful.
She had European skin and hair color, but inherited Lin Yan’s dark, bright eyes, with sharp, defined features, a bold and strong temperament, yet her fighting skills were like Song Yuhang’s—never losing a fight.
As Lin Yan looked on, her eyes grew moist. Before she could speak, she stepped forward, pulling her daughter into an embrace, gently patting her back.
“I’m sorry, Lin Xi, it’s been hard all these years, mom… loves you.”
Lin Xi was stunned. If Song Yuhang hadn’t quickly taken the cake, it might have been all over them by now.
She never thought Lin Yan would hug her first. She was born five minutes before Song Yan. In those five minutes, Song Yan was in a breech position, nearly dying, later staying in an incubator for over a month before recovering. Growing up, he frequently had colds, fevers, and headaches.
Because of this, Lin Xi felt her moms focused too much love and care on Song Yan, leaving her with just a tiny bit.
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She was angry, resentful, and felt wronged, acting out just like Lin Yan did as a child to get attention.
Lin Yan noticed this change but was powerless or too busy to address their feelings.
After all, she and Song Yuhang were very busy, but being busy was no excuse for neglecting the children, she knew.
When she wanted to get close to Lin Xi, the child had grown up, hitting rebellious adolescence.
She scolded and punished her, disappointed, and cried countless times, but Lin Xi didn’t know.
This was the first time she saw her mom cry. In her memory, Lin Yan was a strong woman. The seemingly tough Song Yuhang was much softer.
In the police station, high-ranking and efficient, she was also commanding at home, never asking for their opinions, always dictating under the guise of their good. Even a year ago, when Lin Xi put a boy in the hospital, and his parents caused a scene at the police station, Lin Yan didn’t shed a tear.
But now, this strong mom trembled slightly on her shoulder.
Those burning tears fell into her neck, making Lin Xi feel sour, raising her hands to gently hug her back.
“Mom… happy birthday.”
Lin Yan smiled through tears, the flow increasing, but not wanting to lose composure before her daughter, she wiped her eyes and let go.
“Thank you for your hard work today. You must be hungry, let’s eat. I bought you and Song Yan clothes and shoes while shopping, try them on later in your room.”
“Okay.” Lin Xi nodded, speaking little, and went to set the table.
