Significance
Lin Yan crouched on the ground and finished a cigarette before getting up. She said, “Since it’s being handled as a separate case, I’m going to the provincial capital.”
Song Yuhang, glanced at her indifferently, the red dot at her fingertip blinking on and off. She remarked, “You have no real connection with the deceased, so why put in so much effort?”
Lin Yan responded, “Well, you could say that while she was alive, we might have had no reason to cross paths, but now that she’s dead and I conducted the autopsy, I feel obligated to finish what she left unsaid.”
Song Yuhang smiled and extinguished her cigarette on the railing. She said, “That doesn’t sound like something a forensic expert like you would normally say.”
As the sun began to set, the first hints of darkness descended, and Song Yuhang’s expression became somewhat elusive.
“Rather than those, I would prefer to believe that Forensic Examiner Lin has seen her own past in He Miao, or perhaps her experiences have touched on your own sorrows. Your urgent desire to know the truth is simply seeking justice for your past.”
It was a test, but Lin Yan chuckled self-deprecatingly, “If you want to interpret it that way, it’s not entirely wrong. However, I’m not seeking justice for my past self; I’m seeking justice for all those who have earnestly struggled in life.”
Song Yuhang fell into a prolonged silence before acknowledging, “What you’re saying is correct.”
A 15 year old girl in her blossoming youth, her mother had passed away early, her father’s whereabouts unknown, and she had endured the hardships under her aunt’s care. Despite poverty, it had not broken her spirit. She still aspired to study, finding ways to earn tuition fees herself. In her spare time, she would draw in her textbooks—a girl so resilient and filled with poetry.
She should not have died in vain.
“What about Captain Song? Why is she so determined to crack this case?”
She recalled the rumors circulating in the investigative department. Song Yuhang had more seniority than Zhang Jinhai, and when the previous head of the criminal investigation team retired, it should have been her turn to take over. However, someone higher up parachuted in Zhang Jinhai instead. Song Yuhang had been in the position of deputy team leader in the criminal investigation team for almost ten years.
Did she have no grievances during those ten years?
No frustrations?
No sense of being stifled?
However, Song Yuhang looked at her and simply said, “Solving cases, seeking justice for the deceased, that’s the whole purpose of my existence.”
Even though their ideologies clashed, and they often argued, they surprisingly found rare consensus on this matter.
In the darkness, Lin Yan’s lips curved ever so slightly.
Song Yuhang led the way down the stairs, saying, “Let’s go to the provincial capital.”
She waited for a moment but didn’t see her following. She paused and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Yan turned to look at the cluster of buildings below the rooftop garden. The lights in the West City district began to illuminate one by one, creating a beautiful scene. However, she furrowed her brow slightly.
“Do you ever feel like someone is watching us?”
Song Yuhang turned around and walked to the railing. She had never mentioned the incident with the person in black to anyone.
“When did you start feeling that way?”
“Today, as I entered this place.”
Song Yuhang retrieved a pair of binoculars from her bag and scanned the surroundings. The vantage point here was excellent, offering views of boys doing their homework in the houses across, women washing clothes, quarreling couples, and the diverse tapestry of life.
However, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
She furrowed her brow slightly and said, “Let’s go. We should head to the provincial capital for now, and be cautious these next few days.”
Lin Yan shrugged nonchalantly, “Forget it. I have plenty of enemies, maybe it’s just another one looking for a chance to retaliate. One comes, I’ll give them a beating; two come, I’ll handle them together.”
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Song Yuhang sighed in resignation, put away the binoculars, and descended with her. “You’re certainly optimistic.”
“Then what’s the point? Is my Baguazhang1 just for show? Not to brag, but at least in Jiangcheng City, I’m unbeatable.”
“Oh, if that’s the case, why bother carrying a baton?”
After all, using a baton was likely a way to compensate for a lack of physical strength.
Lin Yan suddenly became somewhat irritated. “Would you die if you stopped talking?!”
Song Yuhang, hands in her pockets, walked ahead of her. “Only dead people don’t talk.”
“Phew!” Lin Yan followed, muttering curses under her breath.
“You’ve grown up to be quite the character. No wonder you have no friends or a partner…”
……
After they left, a light turned on in a specific unit of a residential building across the street. The occupant retrieved the astronomical telescope from behind the curtain.
* * *
“I can’t believe it, who the hell punctured my tire?!” Lin Yan touched the deflated tire and let out a frustrated cry.
Residents from nearby buildings began to stick their heads out, and Song Yuhang sighed while holding her forehead. “You drive such a nice car while we’re on a case; isn’t that just asking for envy?”
Lin Yan remained expressionless. “This is already my worst car.”
“Fine, I didn’t say anything.”
Song Yuhang turned to leave, and Lin Yan had already started calling a towing company. “What?! You can only come in two hours?! And you don’t even have Mercedes tires to replace it? What kind of repair company are you running? I might as well get my electric car serviced. Am I not paying you enough for your so-called premium customer service?”
Seeing Miss Lin’s increasingly vehement tone, verging on personal attacks, Song Yuhang hesitated, and then turned around, suggesting, “How about… you ride with me?”
It was approximately over 200 kilometers from the city center of Jiangcheng to the provincial capital. After getting off the highway, they would have to navigate winding mountain roads with seven or eight bends. Lin Yan was already feeling drowsy, and she let out a yawn.
“How much longer until we get there?”
Song Yuhang checked her watch. “A little over two hours.”
Lin Yan calmly closed her eyes. “Alright, wake me up when we arrive.”
As they exited the last service area, they delved deep into the mountains. The night brought a drop in temperature, and with her arms exposed, it felt chilly. Song Yuhang rolled up the car window slightly and glanced at Lin Yan, who had already fallen asleep.
She shook her head slightly, feeling a bit helpless, and then turned on the air conditioning.
Suddenly, the phone placed in front rang. Song Yuhang saw that it was from Xiao Wei, so she immediately slowed down and pulled over to the emergency lane before answering the call.
Lin Yan was awakened by the noise, her brow slightly furrowed. Her voice was still somewhat drowsy as she asked, “Hmm… who is it?”
Before Ji Jingxing could even speak, they heard a soft, seductive female voice. Who’s Song Yuhang with this late hour?
She held Xiao Wei’s warm body, momentarily unsure of how to respond.
Song Yuhang got out of the car with the phone in her hand and asked, “What’s wrong, sis?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ji Jingxing finally collected herself. “Xiao Wei… Xiao Wei has a fever… My car is in the repair shop, and I can’t get a taxi right now…”
Her delicate sense of pride made it difficult for her to say, “Can you come over right now?”
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Considering the voice she had just heard, Ji Jingxing chose different words. “Are you outside?”
Song Yuhang responded with a quick acknowledgment, sensing the urgency in her voice. It was late at night, and there was a hint of concern in her tone.
“What’s her temperature?”
“It’s 39 degrees,” Ji Jingxing replied anxiously. “I’ve been applying a cold towel, and I even gave her fever-reducing medicine, but there’s no improvement…”
Lin Yan got out of the car while donning her coat and let out a sarcastic chuckle. “When someone has a fever, you should call an ambulance. What’s the point of calling her?”
Ji Jingxing clearly heard that comment, and it only added to her distress. She was on the verge of tears, feeling a mix of anger and helplessness.
“Yuhang, I…”
Song Yuhang gave her a cold glare, covered the receiver, and lowered her voice. “It’s okay, don’t worry. Wait for me to get back. I’ll be there in about an hour or so. When I’m close, I’ll let you know. Remember to dress warmly, bring your medical insurance card, and make sure Xiao Wei is dressed warmly too. Wait downstairs, and we’ll go to the hospital.”
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yan leaned against the car door, speaking with an indifferent tone. “Well, isn’t it the good cop serving the people? Will you choose the beauty over the nation?”
Song Yuhang shot her an irritated look. “Basic courtesy dictates that you don’t interrupt when someone is on the phone.”
Lin Yan chuckled, but her gaze gradually turned cold. “Think it through. If you turn back now and waste time when we’re almost there, the suspect might catch wind of it and escape.”
Song Yuhang opened the car door and sat down. “I can have our colleagues in the provincial capital bring the person here first.”
Lin Yan sneered, “Don’t stir up trouble unnecessarily.”
“Whether you go or not, I’m leaving,” Song Yuhang lifted her gaze to look at Lin Yan, and her eyes turned cold as well.
A threat?
Song Yuhang was actually threatening her?!
An unexplainable anger surged within her. All of this fuss for that white lotus who had a fever in the middle of the night?
Lin Yan, seething, slammed the car door shut and took a step back. “Go ahead, do I really need you?”
She pulled out her phone to call for a ride.
Song Yuhang, noticing her unreasonable attitude and feeling a trace of anger, inserted the key into the ignition to get ready to drive off. However, she realized that even when she pressed the gas pedal, the car remained still.
Lin Yan wandered around, searching for a phone signal. When she turned back and saw Song Yuhang still standing in place, the car’s engine roaring but not moving, she almost burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, it seems like it’s fate, and the heavens don’t want Captain Song to play the hero and save the beauty.”
Song Yuhang twisted the car key, trying to start the engine again, but the car remained motionless. Her anger was ignited by Lin Yan’s sarcastic tone, and she gradually tightened her lips.
“Are you done yet?”
Lin Yan leaned against the car window. “Not at all, of course not. It seems Captain Song is destined to spend a delightful night with me.”
Ignoring her, Song Yuhang got out of the car and lifted the hood, tinkering with the engine. Lin Yan stood by the car, her clothing disheveled and exposing a portion of her fair and delicate shoulder, watching her busy herself.
“Hey, I mean, what’s so special about that white lotus? Is it worth your late-night back-and-forth? Women can be so melodramatic. It’s just a fever; who hasn’t had one? She could have gone to the hospital herself, or at the very least called an ambulance.”
As Lin Yan finished speaking, there was a loud bang, and Song Yuhang closed the hood, striding over.
In the moonlight, her complexion didn’t look too pleasant, and a hint of anger crept onto her tightly pressed lips.
With no one around, Lin Yan swallowed hard and took a step back. “Wha… what are you doing?”
Song Yuhang clenched her fist. “You can insult me, but don’t insult her.”
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Except for that rainy night, she rarely displayed such a serious and earnest expression, and there was even a hint of suppressed anger. All of this, just for that melodramatic woman?
As Lin Yan thought this, she felt an indescribable sense of injustice welling up in her chest, and her lips gradually tightened.
“Alright, let’s consider those words on the rooftop as if I never said them,” she said, “Captain Song has never mentioned anything about the significance of solving cases or anything like that. We still have different paths and different goals.”
Song Yuhang was taken aback. “That’s not what I meant. Solving cases is important, but Xiao Wei…”
“Enough, enough,” Lin Yan said impatiently. “Give me your phone and the address.”
Seeing that she wasn’t moving, Lin Yan added, “My phone has no signal.”
Song Yuhang understood what she intended to do. After providing the address, she handed her phone to Lin Yan, who walked to an open area to make the call.
“Hello, yes, I need someone to be taken to the hospital. The address is…”
After giving all the necessary details, Lin Yan tossed the phone back to her. She didn’t take the passenger seat but instead went straight to the back seat, lying down and covering herself with a blanket.
Song approached and lightly tapped on the car window. “Um, thanks…”
Lin Yan casually picked up her clothing and threw it at her. “Scram, don’t disturb This Lady’s sleep!”
Footnotes
- Baguazhang or Pakua chang is one of the three main Chinese martial arts of the Wudang school, the other two being tai chi and Xingyiquan.