Miss Forensics – Chapter 35

Volume One: First Scroll

Freedom

She is destined to fight for the truth she relentlessly pursues for the rest of her life.

Because of her physical condition, Song Yuhang’s request to join the task force¹ ultimately wasn’t approved.

Zhao Junfeng indicated she would be commended for this incident. The person sitting on the bed listened for a long moment, then pressed her lips tightly together.

The hospital bed creaked noisily as Song Yuhang pulled out the IV needle herself and sat up, bracing her arms on the edge of the bed, wanting to get down.

Zhao Junfeng turned back around and, in one stride, pressed down on her. “You’re barely recovered! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

Song Yuhang raised her eyes, meeting the old Director’s gaze, pushing against his hand as she struggled to get up. “I have no face² to accept this award. Lin Yan came out with me. How can it be right that I receive an award while she receives punishment? Furthermore, in terms of police rank, I am the superior officer. Incorrectly judging the situation, underestimating the enemy, and failing to request firearms from superiors was my mistake. If we had taken guns, perhaps we wouldn’t have fallen into such a difficult situation.”

“Besides, the situation was critical back then. How could we confirm the criminal had truly lost the ability to resist? She did it for me… I am willing to bear this responsibility.”

She had only just gotten out of the ICU and was far from being able to get out of bed and walk around. Zhao Junfeng didn’t dare stop her anymore, afraid that if she struggled, her wounds would reopen. So, he loosened his grip.

Song Yuhang leaned on the bed frame and slowly stood up, her face pale, beads of sweat the size of beans breaking out on her forehead.

She clenched her teeth, her legs trembling. Slowly, she raised her right hand, fingertips shaking, but her voice was firm: “I am willing to undergo investigation alongside Lin Yan. Requesting the Organization’s³ approval!”

Zhao Junfeng’s lips trembled, hating iron for not becoming steel⁴. When these two got stubborn, they were practically carved from the same mold!

He clasped his hands behind his back and paced back and forth. Seeing her swaying precariously, he finally couldn’t help but order, “Sit down! That’s an order!”

Song Yuhang remained stock-still, even standing a bit straighter.

Zhao Junfeng was furious, pointing at her nose as he scolded, “What kind of bewitching potion⁵ did Lin Yan give you?! Everyone from Tech Investigation⁶ comes running one by one to plead for her! What’s the point of me being Director? I might as well take off my official’s hat⁷ and quit! Wouldn’t it be better just to arrest and release people based on your preferences?! Besides, with so many eyes watching from above and below, is this something I can decide all by myself?!”

Above the Director, there’s the Provincial Committee⁸, and the police force’s supervisory department⁹.

He really couldn’t make the final call on this matter alone.

But Song Yuhang’s eyes lit up, and a hint of a smile touched her lips. Her hand remained held ramrod straight; though her face was pale, her eyes were as bright as myriad stars.

“Report! Lin Yan didn’t give me any… be… bewitching potion. I was lying in the hospital, completely unaware that others from Tech Investigation were pleading for her. Trying to interfere with judicial justice through personal feelings is simply wishful thinking¹⁰! Director Zhao’s impartiality¹¹ is truly a model for our generation!”

Zhao Junfeng was so exasperated by her words that he laughed, swinging the wide-brimmed hat in his hand straight towards her head. “I…”

It was as if they were back in their student days; whenever she made a mistake, she would stand ramrod straight like this to be scolded. One after another, he’d rap them on the head like knocking on winter melons, giving each a rap.

“Admit you were wrong!”

A group of them, faces long, would reply listlessly, “We were wrong.”

Zhao Junfeng: “Louder!”

Song Yuhang would lead the shout: “Report, Instructor¹², we know we were wrong!”

Now, looking at the head before him, the young woman had already grown taller than him. Ten years to sharpen one sword¹³—she had rapidly grown into an outstanding criminal police officer, shouldering the heavy responsibility of protecting home and country with her own strength.

This hand just couldn’t bring itself to strike anymore.

Zhao Junfeng resentfully withdrew his hand, put the hat back on his own head, and straightened his tie. “Alright, stop sucking up¹⁴. How did I end up teaching such a traitorous¹⁵ person like you? She naturally has people behind her who care. Is it your place to be worrying unnecessarily about other people’s business¹⁶?! Focus on healing your own injuries first!”

Hearing this, Song Yuhang gently lowered the arm that ached from being raised. Unable to support herself any longer, she leaned against the bed and sat down, clutching her chest and gasping for breath as she looked up at him.

“S… Since it’s like this, I have one last request.”

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Three days later.

Lin Yan was lying on the bed, peeling a banana and eating it with relish. The prison doctor had just inserted the needle for her IV when the iron door clanged open. Two prison guards walked in, holding a string of gleaming keys, and unlocked her handcuffs.

Lin Yan raised her eyes slightly. “Yo, what’s up? Did the higher-ups have a change of heart? Gonna let me out?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw two young men in suits pushing Lin Youyuan in. Her expression changed instantly; she stopped eating the banana and threw it straight into the trash can.

A prison guard who seemed to hold some rank followed beside Lin Youyuan, bowing and scraping¹⁷. “These days, Forensic Doctor Lin has been recuperating here, hasn’t eaten well or slept well. It’s right she should go home soon, yes, go home soon.”

Lin Youyuan smiled, his expression amiable, and actually took the guard’s hand personally to express thanks. “We’ve troubled you, the Municipal Bureau, and the various leaders at the Provincial Department. Another day, I will definitely pay a personal visit to express my gratitude.”

The Lin family was wealthy and influential¹⁸. To avoid suspicion, none of them held office in government departments—Lin Yan was an exception—but tracing back three generations, they all had intricate connections¹⁹ with official circles.

These officials had, more or less, received the Lin family’s support or favors in the past. Who would dare accept such thanks?

“We wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare! You’re too kind, sir. The higher-ups have already issued a red-header document²⁰ proving Miss Lin’s innocence. She really suffered these past days.”

Lin Yan watched this political-business game impassively, the display almost making her teeth ache.

Lin Youyuan smiled his fill, then kindly withdrew his hand, finally ready to end the conversation. “I’ll just have a few words with Lin Yan…”

The guard tactfully told the prison doctor to leave as well. “Okay, please, go ahead. Just call us when you’re finished. Then sign the paperwork, complete the procedures, and she can leave.”

Lin Youyuan smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, watching them leave. The aristocratic manner was displayed vividly in him, yet it only made Lin Yan want to vomit.

She wasn’t even willing to look this father of hers directly in the eye.

Of course, he didn’t have much to say to her either. As soon as the others left, his smile vanished, and he got straight to the point²¹. “I’ve already had someone write your resignation letter. You sign it.”

The young man accompanying Lin Youyuan handed over a piece of paper and a pen. Lin Yan glanced over it briefly, completely uninterested.

“Which branch company am I being assigned a nominal post²² at this time?”

Lin Youyuan rubbed the green thumb ring²³ on his thumb. On the matter of dealing with each other, the father and daughter were indeed identical²⁴ in their shared impatience.

“CEO of Jingtai Group. To take over from me in the future.”

Jingtai Group was the Lin family’s main business; this position was certainly not small.

The corner of Lin Yan’s lip curled into a sarcastic smile. “Not going. Not signing. Get lost.”

Lin Youyuan smiled without smiling²⁵, as if he had long expected this outcome.

He stopped rubbing the thumb ring. Without even giving a signal, the two young men accompanying him moved forward, intending to help Lin Yan off the bed.

No one saw clearly how she moved. The soft tube for the IV dripped steadily, but the needle head was already gone.

Lin Yan tilted her neck up slightly, a cold glint flashing at her fingertips. Her voice was casual but laced with sharpness.

“Don’t move. I’m a forensic doctor. Whether I can kill you in ten seconds, I’m not sure. But killing myself is definitely no problem.”

Against skin so delicate it seemed it would break at a touch, she pressed a steel needle, ready to pierce inward at any moment.

The two young men looked at each other.

Lin Youyuan quietly watched her performance and smiled. “Got guts. Worthy of being my, Lin Youyuan’s, daughter. Go on, stab yourself. Today, even if I have to carry a corpse, I’ll carry you back to be buried in our Lin family’s ancestral tomb.”

Lin Yan still had an injury on her shoulder; she couldn’t maintain this posture for long.

She began to breathe heavily, her wrist starting to tremble, his words provoking a surge of blood and emotion²⁶ within her.

The father and daughter stared at each other silently. Lin Youyuan, after all, was someone who had weathered great storms. Lin Yan’s little trick, before him, was like an ant trying to shake a tree²⁷—utterly insignificant.

He didn’t need to say anything at all. He didn’t even need, like Lin Yan, to put on various indifferent smiles to hide his true thoughts.

Just that indifferent gaze, tinged with a trace of disgust, was enough to be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Lin Yan’s hand began to tremble; she could barely hold the steel needle. She started to swallow frequently.

This was a sign of nervousness and fear.

Lin Youyuan remained nestled in his wheelchair, sitting calmly and composedly. If not for the iron-barred windows on all four sides, add a cup of hot tea, and he could have sat there drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

But Lin Yan’s trembling hand caused the needle tip to pierce about two fen²⁸ deep. Those two bodyguards began to watch intently²⁹, ready to rush over and grab her at any moment.

Lin Youyuan, however, remained indifferent. He even began to tap his foot impatiently, as if urging Lin Yan: If you’re going to die, hurry up about it. Don’t waste time.

Lin Yan swallowed, understanding his body language.

Her lips curved, revealing the first smile she had shown since he arrived.

“Since it’s like this, why bother giving birth to me at all?”

After saying this, she slowly closed her eyes.

Lin Youyuan’s pupils contracted—it was already too late to stop her. The moment Lin Yan let go, a column of blood spurted from the end of the needle, instantly dyeing her patient gown red and splashing onto the floor.

Lin Youyuan’s lips trembled, his jaw muscles twitching. The green thumb ring in his hand stopped moving.

He watched helplessly as Lin Yan fell backward onto the bed. She had been ruthless, hitting an artery; that thin stream of blood spurted out like a showerhead, impossible to staunch even by pressing down.

And she lay there on the bed, hair disheveled, yet her eyes were still bright, staring fixedly in his direction, as if wanting him to remember: who caused her death today, and who forced her to it.

It was as if time and space overlapped; that woman back then had also fallen before him just like this, dead but unyielding.

An identical face, identical integrity.

His right hand began to tremble violently, as if he had Parkinson’s or was shivering with malaria.

The two bodyguards rushed forward to support him. “Boss Lin, Boss Lin!”

The last sight before the world went dark was him maneuvering the wheelchair, abruptly turning and leaving. Lin Yan knew she had won.

Her first half-life had been unremarkable, drifting with the current³⁰. Choosing the profession of forensic doctor was the first decision she made for herself—and it was the only, and final, decision.

She would not compromise again.

The result of compromise was that she had already lost Chunan forever.

She is destined to fight for the truth she relentlessly pursues for the rest of her life.

It’s just…

She thought of that name, that person’s face, and felt a trace of regret.

What a pity, she and Song Yuhang hadn’t yet determined a winner between them.

---

During this period of recuperation, Song Yuhang made quite a few calls to the detention center. But every time, without exception, she received the reply: “The case is still under investigation; outside inquiries are not accepted.”

This was a case directly under the Provincial Department, and the higher-ups attached great importance to it. With her rank, even if Song Yuhang wanted to intervene, she lacked the power³¹.

For a month, Song Yuhang couldn’t see Lin Yan or get any news about her. It was as if this person had vanished into thin air.

She was burning with anxiety.

If it was really as Zhao Junfeng said, that the Lin family had stepped in to get her out³², it was impossible that there would be no movement at all by now.

Her informant stationed at the detention center gate also hadn’t seen Lin Yan come out.

Which link in the chain had gone wrong?

With Zhao Junfeng’s rank, directly intervening to get someone out wasn’t impossible, but impermissible. All he could do was return the physical evidence to its owner.

Song Yuhang stroked the rust-speckled mechanical baton, almost becoming obsessed.

She had never missed its owner so much.

Had Lin Yan’s injuries healed? Was it hot in the detention center? Was she getting used to it? She was so picky, could she even eat the food there? Were the guards giving her trouble? Were the inmates bullying her?

Thinking this, Song Yuhang’s lips curved slightly in a smile. Forget it, it would be good enough if she didn’t bully others.

But why hadn’t the Lin family bailed her out? Or had something else happened?

The more Song Yuhang thought, the more restless she became. Just then, the nurse knocked on the door to come in and change her dressing.

She stuffed the mechanical baton into the backpack placed by the head of the bed. “Come in.”

“Officer Song, you’re recovering well. You should be able to leave the hospital after a few more days in bed. This is the last IV bottle for today; when it’s finished, just press the call bell for us. Let us know anytime if you need anything.”

The young nurse finished setting up her IV, helped her lean back comfortably against the headboard, and tucked a thermometer under her arm.

Song Yuhang was very cooperative, a gentle smile appearing on her face. “Thank you.”

Seeing the communicator on the young nurse’s uniform constantly flashing, she said, “You go attend to your work. I’ll call you when I’m done here.”

It was truly rare to see a police officer who was so good-looking, gentle, and good-tempered.

The young nurse was flattered³³. “Okay, I’ll go then. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

With that said, she pushed the medicine cart out.

When she returned to the room five minutes later, in the large hospital room, the IV was still dripping, the thermometer lay on the table, but the bed was already empty.

Song Yuhang, wearing a mask and hat, squeezed out of the crowded outpatient hall and ran to the hospital entrance in large strides, hailing a taxi. “Binhai Provincial Detention Center.”

Running from the fifth floor of the hospital to the main entrance in five minutes was still a bit too much for her current physical condition.

The driver glanced back at her while driving, noticing her pale face. “Are you alright, miss?”

Song Yuhang coughed twice, clutching her chest as she leaned back against the seat, gasping for breath. “I’m fine… cough… Please drive faster.”

---

The day Song Yuhang went to see her happened to be the seventh day of Lin Yan’s hunger strike.

Not long after she woke up from her suicide attempt, she was put in handcuffs again—this time not for fear she would run away, but for fear she would self-harm again.

Lin Youyuan’s meaning was clear: Bail was possible, if she went home.

He no longer came personally.

The day after Lin Yan woke up, Lin Youyuan’s personal head steward came.

Lin Yan smashed her rice bowl right in front of him, pressed a ceramic shard against her wrist, and declared, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”³⁴

The Lin family’s head steward left.

Lin Yan began her hunger strike.

On the third day, Lin Ge’s mother came. Through the iron bars, the elderly woman looked at the gaunt Lin Yan and almost burst into tears.

Lin Yan couldn’t stand the scene and simply pulled the blanket over her head.

On the fourth day, Lin Ge came personally. Lin Yan said only one sentence before telling him to leave: “If you’re here to persuade me, we can’t be brothers anymore.”

On the fifth day, the Warden came personally. Looking at Lin Yan lying on the bed, refusing food and surviving solely on IV fluids, he almost knelt before her. “My dear young lady³⁵! Please, just take one bite!”

If this person really died in the detention center, would he get to keep his official’s hat?!

Lin Yan had injuries on her body, her neck was wrapped in gauze, and she had become much thinner overall, her face deathly pale, seeming on the verge of death.

Hearing his words, the only part of her body she could move was her hand, which slowly reached for the indwelling needle on the back of her hand.

The Warden reacted as if he had stepped on a landmine, retreating with his entourage and waving his hands frantically, signaling her to calm down. “Okay, okay, we’ll leave! Forensic Doctor Lin, don’t get agitated! Just lie down properly, lie down and rest.”

On the sixth day, she finally won herself a moment’s respite.

She just lay quietly like this in the sunless cell, nestled on the damp, cold bed, eyes open, waiting for dawn.

The seventh day.

The iron door sounded again.

Lin Yan was already so weak she couldn’t even lift her fingers.

She could barely move only her eyeballs; her gaze was still unfocused.

The guard called her name over and over again but couldn’t seem to rouse her.

“Quick, get a shot of cardiotonic³⁶!”

Amidst a flurry of frantic activity, she heard the sound of a medical tray overturning, felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and finally became a bit more lucid—just enough to hear someone’s name mentioned.

“Who… Who wants to see me?” As soon as she spoke, her voice was hoarse and gravelly, no longer sounding like her own.

“Captain Song from the Jiangcheng Municipal Bureau, Officer Song.”

Lin Yan turned slightly, burying her face in the pillow. Clenching her teeth, she rasped, “Not seeing her… Tell her to get lost.”

How could she let Song Yuhang see her in this wretched state³⁷?

But… she can already get up and walk? That’s good.

Song Yuhang, still carrying the backpack she arrived with, stood outside under the scorching sun, sweat covering her forehead, waiting for the guard to come out and call her in. Who knew that what she’d get instead was the news that Lin Yan had told her to get lost.

Song Yuhang bit her lower lip tightly, her expression darkening unpleasantly. Uncomfortably, she asked, “Did she really say that?”

“Absolutely true³⁸.” The young guard looked exasperated, as if he’d repeated this many times. “Many people have come to visit Forensic Doctor Lin these past few days. She says the same thing to all of them.”

The iron gate was heavily guarded, with Armed Police³⁹ carrying live ammunition standing on all sides. Song Yuhang couldn’t possibly force her way in.

She retreated a few steps, then looked back again, her eyes resolute. “Please tell Forensic Doctor Lin—”

“I’ll wait for her.”

On the way back, she hung up one by one on the calls and ignored the messages coming into her phone, finally turning it off.

When she caught sight of an outdoor supply street out of the corner of her eye, she called out to the driver to stop, tossed some bills onto the seat, grabbed her bag, and got out of the car.

The shop owner examined the bent mechanical baton, tapped it lightly with a small hammer—chipping the paint—and shook his head.

“Can’t be repaired. It’s not domestically made, is it? It’s not just a technical problem; this aerospace aluminum alloy alone is expensive to produce. For the cost of fixing it, you’d be better off just buying a new one.”

Even a new one couldn’t compare to the unique significance this one held for Lin Yan.

Song Yuhang carefully took it back with both hands and placed it back in her bag. “Thank you.”

That afternoon, dragging her still-recovering body, Song Yuhang went all over the entire outdoor supply street but couldn’t find a single shop owner willing to repair the mechanical baton for her.

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LP: Re-translated on April 06, 2025

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