Miss Forensics – Chapter 18

Volume One: First Scroll

Truth

The more honest and dutiful a person is, the more monstrous they become when they turn abnormal.

“Speak, what were you doing on the night of May 14th?”

“Haven’t I already said? I was working at home.”

They had brought him back for over two hours, changing interrogators and repeatedly questioning him. This was a standard interrogation tactic. Under intense psychological pressure, if he were lying, repeated questioning about the details would eventually reveal inconsistencies.

Sun Xiangming spoke until his mouth was parched. He licked his lips, but no one offered him water.

“Police Comrade, may I ask why you suspect me?” Seizing an opportunity, he took the initiative to speak, still maintaining an appearance of honesty and integrity.

The criminal investigators sitting opposite exchanged glances: “No comment. Don’t change the subject.”

“Yes, I admit that Xiao Xue and I would argue sometimes, but isn’t it normal for couples to argue about their child’s education or trivial matters?”

“Police Comrade, have you never argued with your wife at home?”

This question rendered Zhang Jinhai momentarily speechless. He could only pick up his teacup and take a sip. The criminal investigator beside him slammed his pen down: “Confess honestly! Must we find irrefutable evidence before you give up?! Let me tell you, not only will this not reduce your sentence, but the court will also hand down a harsher judgment! Life imprisonment would be a light sentence!”

Song Yuhang watched the surveillance feed outside, frowning constantly. She knocked on the door, signaling for the two to switch out.

Zhang Jinhai emerged, his face ashen: “Team Leader Song, wasn’t this a bit impulsive? According to regulations, we can only hold him for 24 hours. If we don’t have concrete evidence pointing to him as the murderer within 24 hours, we have to release him.”

The implication was that if this were to get out, arresting and releasing him repeatedly would damage the Municipal Bureau’s reputation.

Director Feng also arrived, sitting to the side and skimming the foam from his tea, his brow furrowed in a deep frown.

If they wanted to convict and sentence him, this case lacked eyewitnesses, so both a confession and evidence were indispensable.

Song Yuhang looked at him, but addressed Director Feng: “Within 24 hours, I will definitely get a confession from him for a capital crime. As for evidence, I trust Forensic Doctor Lin.”

Fang Xin sprayed luminol reagent on the coffee table. To observe the luminescence reaction for latent blood, the lights were off, and the room was dim, everyone’s faces indistinct.

Discouragingly, they had practically turned the entire living room upside down, but hadn’t found any valuable fingerprints or bloodstains.

Lin Yan walked towards the bedroom, flashlight in hand: “Continue searching.”

Less than 18 hours remained of the 24-hour deadline.

Song Yuhang entered the interrogation room, notebook in hand, and sat opposite him.

Sun Xiangming drooped his head and yawned, clearly exhausted from the questioning. Without even looking up, he said: “I really didn’t kill anyone…”

Although his eyes were drowsy, his expression was frank, without a single superfluous movement.

Song Yuhang pushed a glass of water towards him: “Don’t be nervous. I’m just here to chat with you.”

Sun Xiangming’s gaze drifted towards the glass. He licked his lips but didn’t move.

Song Yuhang leaned back in her chair, a relaxing posture: “Drink it. It’s alright. We’re a society ruled by law; we won’t mistreat a suspect.”

Only then did Sun Xiangming slowly take the glass, taking two sips before downing the rest in one gulp.

Song Yuhang gestured for someone to refill it.

Sun Xiangming wiped his lips and set the glass down: “I really didn’t kill her…”

Song Yuhang sat even more relaxedly, legs naturally apart, her heroic brows softening, and the sharp aura around her dissipating. This posture made her appear much more approachable.

“Let’s not talk about this today. Tell me about how you met her.”

Click—The bedroom light switched on. A child’s bed was placed beside the larger bed, occupying most of the walkway. Lin Yan carefully squeezed past.

The room wasn’t large, crammed full of things. The child was already three years old and still sleeping with the parents. How did the couple manage to have a sex life?

Lin Yan lifted the blanket. A pungent, milky smell characteristic of children wafted into her nostrils. She reached out and touched the bedding; it was damp and cold, suggesting the child had wet the bed a while ago.

Summer days were dry and hot. It must have been wet for a long time to be in this state.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust, straightened the blanket, and then went to examine the adults’ bed, lifting the blanket and pillows one by one to collect hair samples. However, she still didn’t find any valuable clues.

Meanwhile, Song Yuhang’s conversation had reached an impasse.

It wasn’t that he refused to say anything. Sun Xiangming was very clever, much more cunning than he appeared. He knew that saying too much in front of the police could be detrimental, so he answered Song Yuhang’s questions succinctly, neither resisting nor cooperating actively.

“We met through a matchmaking introduction.”

“I heard from Ding Xue’s mother that you were very fond of her back then and pursued her for a long time.”

When there were no questions, he remained silent.

Song Yuhang wasn’t anxious. She took a sip of tea and refilled her cup: “Do you know Ge Jun? The principal of their school?”

Sun Xiangming raised his eyelids slightly: “Yes, I heard he’s been arrested.”

“Yes, he harassed your wife. His record is appalling. He got what he deserved.”

She saw him subtly curve his lips, his expression quickly returning to its usual calmness.

That smile seemed less of happiness and more of sarcasm.

“The man who harassed your wife for so long has finally been brought to justice. Aren’t you happy?”

Sun Xiangming didn’t speak, his jaw tense. He noticed Song Yuhang scrutinizing him, and then said: “Happy, of course I’m happy.”

Song Yuhang shook her head: “You’re not happy, because the person who truly harassed her for so long wasn’t Ge Jun.”

Sun Xiangming’s hands, clasped together beneath the table, tightened. He was struggling, thinking, yet his outward appearance remained calm and collected, without a single crack.

This type of person was difficult to deal with.

If it were anyone else facing experienced criminal investigators, let alone repeated rounds of questioning, even surviving one round would be considered a feat.

Of course, there were exceptions—those who weren’t lying. No matter how much you questioned such a person, the result would always be the same.

However, all signs indicated that Sun Xiangming’s relationship with his wife had broken down, and he was the most likely person to have killed Ding Xue.

He had been unwilling to confess. Was there another hidden truth, or had he truly not killed her?

This question lingered in her mind.

Ding Xue’s cause of death was drowning, but precisely when and where she drowned remained a mystery.

“I’ll search the bathroom myself.” Lin Yan took the luminol reagent from Fang Xin, lifted the shower curtain, and went in.

Floor tiles, sink, bathtub… every conceivable corner was meticulously examined.

Lin Yan lay on the floor, turning off the light and using a flashlight to illuminate the crevices under the bathtub, still finding nothing. It was too clean, excessively so.

She felt somewhat discouraged. Just then, she received a call from Song Yuhang.

Time was of the essence. Neither of them wasted words. Song Yuhang got straight to the point: “What’s the situation?”

Lin Yan held the phone between her shoulder and jaw, her hands still busy: “Haven’t found any valuable clues.”

There was a pause on the other end. Lin Yan heard the pitter-patter of rain. Song Yuhang must not be in the interrogation room, which meant the questioning was still making no progress. If she couldn’t find any crucial evidence here, they would have to release him after 24 hours. No one was willing to accept that.

Lin Yan cleared her throat, about to speak.

Her slightly husky voice came through: “It’s okay, just do your best.”

“Yo, Team Leader Song, you’ve changed your tune today. I’m quite surprised to see this side of you,” Lin Yan said, running her hand along the inside of the bathtub.

Outside the interrogation room, Song Yuhang stood facing the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the rainwater snake down the glass, a cigarette between her fingers.

She rarely smoked, unless absolutely necessary to calm down and think.

Such occasions were infrequent.

“Actually, there’s something I find strange. Sun Xiangming doesn’t deny that his relationship with his wife had broken down, but he keeps denying the act of murder. It’s not so much a denial as it is him believing he didn’t kill her.”

Lin Yan’s hand paused. Something flickered in her memory, vague and fleeting, too quick to grasp.

Song Yuhang was about to hang up. The cigarette was almost burning her fingers. She stubbed it out in the ashtray.

Seemingly sensing something, Lin Yan stood up: “Wait, although I can’t find any definitive evidence pointing to him as the murderer, we’ve made some discoveries. See if you can use this to pry open his mouth.”

“Tell me.”

“I’ve discovered that Sun Xiangming may have a tendency to abuse his child.”

“She said she didn’t want a second child, so she shouldn’t have one!”

“Married for years and still can’t produce a son, a hen that doesn’t lay eggs!”

“Good riddance!”

Sun Xiangming’s mother’s words from that night at the funeral home suddenly flashed into Song Yuhang’s mind. She abruptly turned and strode towards the interrogation room.

“Alright, I understand.”

The criminal investigators, busy for most of the night, hadn’t yet had a chance to eat or drink. Sun Xiangming, on the other hand, was already eating, holding a cup of soymilk in his hand, with two steamed rolls in a plastic bag in front of him.

He took a bite of a steamed roll and swallowed. Seeing someone enter, he extended his arm and offered her the remaining ones: “Officer Song, haven’t eaten yet, have you? Have a couple?”

Song Yuhang sat down opposite him: “No need. Are you full? If not, I can have someone get you more.”

Sun Xiangming devoured the remaining two steamed rolls and finished his soymilk, instantly feeling invigorated and much more comfortable.

He burped and glanced up at the clock on the wall: “I’m full. When can I rest?”

“No rush, it’s still early. I still have some questions for Mr. Sun.” Song Yuhang straightened her back, abandoning her relaxed posture. Her expression became somewhat cold and serious.

“Ding Xue was having an affair.”

She used a declarative sentence. Sun Xiangming’s pupils contracted, but he remained silent.

“The reason you’re unwilling to tell us who that person is, is because you don’t know, right?”

“Let me guess. He’s richer than you, more considerate than you, smarter than you, better at making girls happy than you, and more importantly, you can’t compare to him in bed.”

“Has Ding Xue refused to let you touch her for a long time, ever since you had the child?”

Her voice was low, and the wind and rain outside made it sound rather ominous.

When her voice trailed off, Sun Xiangming’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“I’m guessing you were very fond of Ding Xue when you first got married, but influenced by your mother, as time went on, you felt that although Ding Xue was good in every other way, she couldn’t bear a son. You finally had a child, but it was a girl. You wanted her to have a second child, but she refused, correct?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” For the first time, Sun Xiangming vehemently refuted her: “Yes, I admit, I do prefer sons over daughters, but I really didn’t kill her. If you don’t believe me, go investigate. She was perfectly fine when she left the house.”

Song Yuhang smiled faintly: “You finally said it.”

Sun Xiangming was stunned: “You—”

But she leaned back again, relaxing in her chair: “The key lies in her panicked escape from your house that night. I couldn’t understand what she was so afraid of. It turns out, she was afraid of you.”

“You didn’t kill her directly, you did it indirectly!” She took a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit it. Through the swirling smoke, she saw Sun Xiangming’s expression change.

Unlike Lin Yan’s seductive smoking style, when Song Yuhang smoked, her aura became even more powerful and confident, exerting an intense psychological pressure on her opponent, as if nothing could escape her keen eyes.

“Let me guess. You wanted to have sex with her that night, but she refused, saying she had an appointment. You argued fiercely in front of your child. The child kept crying, and in your rage, you slapped her.”

“Ding Xue questioned why you were taking your anger out on the child, calling you a good-for-nothing loser who couldn’t earn money and wasn’t a good father, never caring for the family. Did she also say—”

“Someone like you, wanting a second child? Dream on!” Song Yuhang mimicked Ding Xue’s condescending tone with remarkable accuracy.

Sun Xiangming’s breathing became rapid. His clasped hands beneath the table dug into his fingers, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

“When women get angry, most of them will bring up old grievances. No matter how gentle and refined a woman may appear, it’s the same when facing someone they don’t love.”

“She likely berated everything from your rural background to your unambitious job, from your honest and taciturn personality to your mother’s preference for sons. She might have even said—marrying you was the worst misfortune of my life.”

A hint of pity flickered in Song Yuhang’s eyes, though it was unclear who it was directed at. She slowly exhaled a smoke ring before continuing.

“Unfortunately, she forgot that the more honest and dutiful a person appears, the more monstrous they can become when they turn abnormal.”

As she said this, she couldn’t help but recall the incident the previous night, when she had placed her hand on the back of Lin Yan’s neck. She unconsciously frowned and stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray.

The entire process took less than three seconds, executed with remarkable fluidity.

Neither the accompanying criminal investigators nor Sun Xiangming across from her noticed anything unusual.

Sun Xiangming’s perfect disguise finally showed a crack. His clasped hands gripped the edge of the table, unknowingly digging out splinters of wood.

Song Yuhang leaned in slightly, delivering the final, fatal blow: “You loved her so much, spent everything you had to marry her, but she never loved you. Even your daughter, you forced her to have her, didn’t you?”

A trace of pity surfaced in her eyes, which seemed particularly piercing to Sun Xiangming.

“You’re so pathetic. Even in her dying moments, she didn’t tell you who that man was.”

Bang! Handcuffs slammed onto the table. Sun Xiangming abruptly stood up, eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at her and roaring: “She was the one who didn’t care about the family! She was the one who had the affair! She deserved to die! She deserved to die!”

Song Yuhang calmly watched his outburst, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Several criminal investigators rushed in and wrestled him back into his chair. Sun Xiangming then covered his face and began to cry.

“Hehehe…” A chilling sound escaped his lips. Song Yuhang thought he was crying, but he moved one hand, revealing a bloodshot eye, and looked at her, smiling.

The officer sitting beside her, assisting with the interrogation, felt a shiver run down his spine. He yelled: “What are you laughing at?! What’s so funny?!”

Sun Xiangming, still in a frenzied state, continued to laugh behind his hands for a while. The clock on the wall struck midnight, beginning to chime.

He lowered his hands, his composure miraculously restored. Now he was relaxed, while Song Yuhang sat upright and tense.

He looked at her, his eyes filled with mocking amusement.

“So what if you know? Fingerprints, bloodstains, hair… any evidence that points to me as the murderer, feel free to look for it. If you can’t find any…”

He also leaned in slightly, closer to Song Yuhang: “As soon as dawn breaks, you’ll have to let me go.”

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LP: Re-translated on March 15, 2025

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