Volume One: First Scroll
White Whale
Shocking! 《My Nemesis and I Are In Love》
“When was the last time you saw her?” Inside the City Bureau, Song Yuhang invited the woman to sit down and poured her a cup of hot tea.
The woman clutched the paper cup, dabbing the corners of her eyes with a tissue, sobbing too hard to speak.
The man accompanying her gently patted her back to help her breathe, coaxing in a soft, low voice, “Stop crying now. Tell the police officer what happened first.”
Song Yuhang remained unhurried, waiting for the family member to compose herself.
After crying for quite a while, the woman finally murmured, “Yesterday afternoon was the last time I saw her.”
“What time? What were you doing?” Song Yuhang conducted the questioning while a young police officer beside her scribbled furiously.
“Around five or six, I think. I went to bring her dinner, and also… also to discuss her repeating the school year1.”
Song Yuhang glanced up at her.
At the mention of “repeating the school year,” the woman seemed to open up: “I think girls should just study something ordinary like English or Chinese, it makes it easier to get into the civil service later. But she insisted on studying art, dead set on getting into the art academy. We argued about this constantly ever since she was little.”
Even with her daughter dead, she still had the mind to recall these past domestic trifles2.
Song Yuhang’s expression remained impassive3 as she steered the conversation away from complaints about her daughter and back to the case: “How long did you stay?”
“Less than an hour. We argued again, and I stormed out in anger.” The woman wiped her tears, sobbing, “If I had known she would kill herself after I left, I wouldn’t have gone even if she’d told me to get lost…”
The man, who appeared to be her current husband, put an arm around her shoulder, wiping her tears. “Stop crying, okay? It’s not your fault… Linlin… Ai…4”
He let out a long sigh, his face also etched with worry. “If you cry yourself sick, who will take care of Xiao Bao5?”
Only then did the woman manage to pull herself together slightly. Song Yuhang continued asking, “Had she shown any suicidal thoughts before? How were her relationships at school? What was her usual personality like?”
A look of utter despair crossed the woman’s face. “When the college acceptance letter came, I forced her to go to school. She cried and said, ‘If I can’t go to the art academy, I might as well die.’ I… I didn’t take it seriously… Who… who knew!”
The man interjected at this point: “You can’t blame her mother entirely. Her mom was just looking out for her. How can studying art be as stable as getting into the civil service later? She just wanted her daughter to live a steady, peaceful life. Who knew the kid would be so stubborn? In the end, we were the ones who compromised and agreed to let her repeat the year. So why… why did she pull this stunt? Isn’t she deliberately making her mother live the rest of her life in guilt?”
Guilty now, not before. If Lin Yan were here, she probably would have started cursing them out already.
But Song Yuhang merely calmly retrieved an evidence bag from the file folder, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards them.
“Take a look at this medicine. Do you recognize it?”
Inside the transparent bag was a small medicine bottle covered in English names and complex chemical terms. The two took it, peered at it for a few moments, and shook their heads.
The girl’s mother was still sniffling. “What… what medicine is this? I never heard about her being sick.”
“Sertraline Hydrochloride, also known as Zoloft. It’s a first-line treatment for depression,” Song Yuhang stated flatly. “We also found hospital reports in her home confirming a diagnosis of severe depression.”
It was like a bolt from the blue6. The girl’s mother dissolved into tears. “Why… why… Why didn’t you tell Mom you were sick… Silly child… You’re killing your mother!”
Song Yuhang collected her things and handed over a tissue. “My condolences.”
Years of criminal investigation work had left her with ample sympathy for victims, yet she consistently struggled to sympathize with their families.
When the avalanche comes, no snowflake is innocent.7
“When did you and your wife divorce?” The man sat in the reception room, frequently taking calls and sending messages.
Just as Song Yuhang spoke, another call came in. The man waved her off, indicating he’d talk later, and turned away.
“Hello? Company business? Isn’t Old Wan handling company business? Can’t things run for the short time I’m away? Then what do I need you employees for? What? The client says they’ll only accept the deal if the General Manager attends the meeting?”
The man looked annoyed. “Fine, fine, fine! Tell them I’ll make time to go over this afternoon!”
Song Yuhang waited for him to finish.
The man put his phone back into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. “Sorry, work is quite busy… Her mother and I divorced a long time ago, around junior high, I think. I basically left with nothing8; the house and assets were all left to them. It was supposed to be transferred to her name when she turned eighteen.”
“Did your daughter have any suicidal thoughts recently?”
The man shook his head, a trace of sorrow on his face. “That I wouldn’t know… My divorce wasn’t amicable, and I rarely saw them. We barely met a few times a year. How would I know about these things?”
…
Right, seemed like nothing useful would come from him either.
The woman at least knew how to cry. This man probably only had his business on his mind and in his heart.
The few junior detectives accompanying the interview exchanged glances and shrugged.
“According to regulations, you may go see your daughter one last time.”
Hearing this, a conflicted expression appeared on the man’s face. After a long pause, he finally gritted his teeth and said, “Forget it. I won’t look. It would only be upsetting.”
Song Yuhang stood up and shook his hand. “Thank you for your cooperation. We will contact you again if needed.”
“Okay, you’re welcome. Thank you for your hard work, thank you.”
“What?! The family refuses an autopsy? No way, I have to go—” Lin Yan started to rush out but was stopped by someone grabbing her arm.
“You go? Go do what, argue with them?”
Before Lin Yan could retort to Song Yuhang’s words, Zhang Jinhai walked in holding a teacup.
“We’ve discussed this case. Based on the crime scene investigation, interviews with neighbors, and surveillance footage analysis, we have ruled out homicide. It can be determined as a suicide.”
“The He Miao case was an exception, after all. Forensic Doctor Lin, don’t be overly suspicious9.”
“How am I being overly suspicious? Isn’t pursuing the truth the duty and obligation of the police?” Lin Yan shot back.
“Yes, but the problem is you conducted the autopsy yourself. Did you find any suspicious points? If there were suspicious points, no problem, we’d continue investigating without a second thought!”
The Criminal Investigation Brigade Captain and the head of Technical Investigation were locking horns10. Those below them instinctively lowered their heads, silent as cicadas in winter. Song Yuhang frowned as well.
“I—” Lin Yan choked for a moment. Indeed, the external examination hadn’t revealed anything suspicious—no external injuries, no signs of sexual assault, hymen perfectly intact.
She thought for a moment and rephrased, “There might be suspicious points that can’t be found through a simple external examination. I must perform a dissection.”
“Yes, public security organs have the right to decide on an autopsy and notify the family to be present. But that’s only when it’s confirmed as a criminal case or when clear suspicious points are raised. Right now, you have nothing. How can I bring this up with the family? Missy, investigating cases isn’t just about your personal whim. We have to respect the facts, the family’s wishes, and public opinion. The person is already dead; can’t you let them have an intact corpse11?”
Zhang Jinhai’s words were reasonable and well-supported, while also subtly pointing out her perceived spoiled and willful ‘Missy’ temper.
Someone in the crowd let out a soft snicker.
Lin Yan felt her pride wounded and was about to charge forward and get physical, but someone grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the meeting room.
“Let go of me! Let go!” Lin Yan struggled, dragged all the way to the rooftop before Song Yuhang finally let go, looking at her panting form.
“He’s right. Without finding suspicious points, it can’t be classified as a criminal case. The family doesn’t want an autopsy either. Forcing one would be illegal, and you’d have to bear the responsibility.”
For some reason, she could tolerate others advising her, but hearing even Song Yuhang say this made her anger flare up instantly.
“Me, illegal? What has the law done for the victims? It couldn’t punish Sun Xiangming, couldn’t save Ding Xue and Li Shiping, even Vulture who harmed He Miao is dead, and her uncle who sold her out will be released after three to five years to continue living happily ever after with his family of three!”
“What about the dead?! They only have this one life! Who will protect their rights?! If you ask me, Fan Lin’s death was caused by her parents’ long-term neglect. They are the indirect murderers!”
“Is the law useful?” Lin Yan spat fiercely. “It’s f%cking useless! No matter how much accountability is pursued, the cold, hard corpse lying in front of me won’t come back, can’t be seen again.”
“The law may seem useless, but conscience resides in the heart.” Song Yuhang placed her hands on Lin Yan’s shoulders, looking at her. “It’s true that not every parent in the world is qualified. Fan Lin is dead, and you didn’t see how miserably her mother cried in front of me. The mountain of guilt will follow her like a shadow for the rest of her life. How is that any easier than physical suffering?”
“Lin Yan, you can’t look at things so one-sidedly. Would you give up pursuing the truth just because the law seems useless?”
Lin Yan’s lips moved; Song Yuhang had already answered for her.
“You wouldn’t. The law is merely the final baseline of human society. No one can cross it. Crossing this line is a crime. The purpose of us police officers isn’t just to maintain social order, but also to bring these people who cross the line to justice.”
“You say the law is useless, look—”
Song Yuhang pulled her to the edge of the rooftop.
An era of peace and prosperity. Heavy traffic12, an endless stream13.
A white dove flew across the sky above their heads, dropping a single feather.
“You can stand here. How could the law be completely useless?”
Lin Yan pressed her lips together tightly. The cool rooftop wind blew through her hair, slightly dispersing the gloom in her heart.
She reached out, took out a cigarette, lit it, and held it between her lips. Leaning against the railing, she tapped her high heels on the ground.
“I just feel like… why don’t people need to pass a test to become parents? Even if a stranger died, one should still…”
“Empathy is a human instinct, true, but not everyone possesses it. We can’t demand or be harsh on others; we can only strive to have a clear conscience.”
She reached out and asked Lin Yan for a cigarette too, lowering her head slightly to lean in and light hers from Lin Yan’s.
Through the swirling smoke, Song Yuhang’s gaze met Lin Yan’s eyes and her lips, which were mere inches away. Song Yuhang quickly pulled back, taking several hard drags herself to get the cigarette lit.
“But I still think being empathetic is good. All things have spirits. It makes you feel like a living, breathing person, not just walking dead14. Empathetic people can experience joys and sorrows more deeply than others, and they also find simple happiness more easily.”
Lin Yan looked dismissive, leaning nonchalantly against the railing with the cigarette dangling from her lips. “According to you, then, I should find happiness more easily too. How come all I feel is pain?”
Song Yuhang blew a smoke ring, looking at her calmly. “Thinking about your father?”
Lin Yan turned around. Although she still had that same nonchalant, defiant look, Song Yuhang clearly read a trace of loneliness in her eyes.
“Nah, why would I think about him? I just feel like, if these people hate kids so much, why have them if they don’t plan to be responsible? If they don’t have the resolve to watch their kids grow up slowly and grow old together, why bother having them at all?”
There was a hint of mockery in her tone. “Might as well just cum15 on a tissue and be done with it.”
The cigarette in her hand was about to burn her fingers. Song Yuhang stubbed it out on the railing.
“I can’t judge what kind of person your father is, so let me talk about mine. My dad was a SWAT officer. Before he died, he received four third-class merits, two second-class merits, and one special-class merit. When I was ten, during an operation coordinating with the border anti-drug task force, he sacrificed himself to cover his teammates.”
“You could say that throughout my long adolescence, he was absent from almost all my parent-teacher conferences, big and small. He never took me to an amusement park even once. My middle school entrance exam, high school entrance exam, entering the police academy, starting work… all the important moments in life that require parental presence, he wasn’t there.”
“For a while, seeing others call out ‘Dad, Dad,’ acting cute with their fathers, being held on their laps and comforted, I also wondered why this person suddenly appeared in my life, why I had to call him Dad when he couldn’t give me any substantial companionship.”
“But it’s okay, Lin Yan.” She turned around and called her name.
“What you can’t figure out now, what you don’t understand, one day, time will give you the answer.”
Lin Yan froze, meeting her gaze. Those light brown eyes seemed to possess a kind of magic, effortlessly calming her turbulent emotions.
The cigarette burned her fingers. She flinched, ash falling from her fingertips, a large patch of her fair skin quickly turning red.
“Hiss… Ouch.”
Lin Yan seemed to snap back to reality, tossing the cigarette away like sticky candy16. Song Yuhang had already taken her hand, holding it near her lips and blowing gently.
“Are you okay? Why are you so careless?”
The warm breath brushed against her fingers, making the burned spot itch and sting even more intensely.
Lin Yan snatched her hand back as if electrocuted. “I’m fine…”
“I have burn cream on my desk. I’ll get it for you later.”
“No need, I’m not that delicate.” Lin Yan said, secretly taking deep breaths to calm herself, then steered the conversation back to the case.
“Don’t you think this case has some similarities with the He Miao case?”
“Both were suicides, both left notes at the scene, and…” She thought of the cartoon drawings He Miao had made, and the whale pictures in Fan Lin’s phone album.
“They both had a common interest: the ocean or whales.”
As expected of the Criminal Investigation Captain—meticulous thinking, able to infer other things from one fact17.
A faint smile touched Lin Yan’s lips, but she quickly suppressed it.
“I wonder if these suspicious points are enough to reopen the investigation and get the family to agree to an autopsy.”
Song Yuhang shook her head. “No, it’s too subjective and vague. We need to find concrete evidence proving these two cases are related before the higher-ups will agree to reopen the investigation.”
“Could it be related to that person in black, the one you saw at the Green Building?” Lin Yan asked.
Song Yuhang thought for a moment. “At first, I thought that person was Vulture or one of Vulture’s subordinates. But Operation Aurora was a huge success, the criminal gang was completely wiped out18. There shouldn’t be any stragglers19.”
Lin Yan hadn’t told her the test results yet.
“Have you ever considered, what if there really are?”
Song Yuhang looked up, meeting her eyes, and said only five words: “I trust Director Zhao.”
Lin Yan gave a sarcastic smile and said no more.
“I think we should simplify things first. Let’s not overcomplicate it yet. Start with this case, gather evidence that currently proves these two suicides are related, and then it won’t be too late to establish a case for investigation.”
Lin Yan nodded. “Alright, in that case, I’ll make a trip to Fan Lin’s alma mater.”
Song Yuhang stopped her. “You’d better stay here at the City Bureau.”
The previous assassination attempt still left her with lingering fear.
Lin Yan smiled. “Is it necessary? I’m really fine…”
A rare expression of helplessness touched Song Yuhang’s face. “Be good. I have something more important for you to do.”
Lin Yan pulled her arm back from Song Yuhang’s grasp. She didn’t know why, but she felt like ever since last night, this person seemed to want to initiate physical contact with her from time to time. And what was with this doting tone!
She wasn’t a child anymore.
Lin Yan thought this, but still found it somewhat agreeable. “Tell me, what is it?”
“Go to the archives room, look for all the detailed case files related to suicides from the last three months…” Song Yuhang frowned. “No, better make it a year.”
“Basically all of Fan Lin’s paintings are here.” Fan Lin’s art teacher handed her a large stack of sketchbooks.
Song Yuhang accepted them with both hands. “Thank you.”
The art teacher took off her glasses and wiped the fog from them. “Such a pity. That child worked so hard. She was just two points short. She could have tried again next year. Why couldn’t she think things through?”
Song Yuhang didn’t speak, flipping through a couple of pages. They were all gouache paintings: blue skies, white clouds, mountains, lakes, and also the boundless blue sea. She was indeed a brilliantly talented and intelligent child.
“She even painted the mural on this classroom’s blackboard. Looking at it really brings back memories!” The elderly teacher put her glasses back on and sighed deeply.
Song Yuhang’s gaze shifted towards the back, and she instantly felt a jolt.
On the huge blackboard, only blue gouache had been used to depict a turbulent sea, the waves rising and falling realistically.
Resting on the sea’s surface was a white whale blowing bubbles.
It was clearly an extremely serene and beautiful picture, yet it inexplicably gave her goosebumps.
Because she had seen this drawing in He Miao’s notebook too.
Song Yuhang took out her phone and quickly snapped a picture.
After asking the art teacher a few more brief questions, Song Yuhang stood up to leave.
Walking down the corridor, she saw several kids near the boys’ restroom at the end of the hall shoving a wastepaper basket onto another boy’s head, then kicking him.
“Trash is trash. Guy who came last in the monthly exam still wants to test into Ocean University? Dream on, loser, ptooey!”
“Hey—” Song Yuhang strode over.
Seeing someone approach, the boys exchanged glances and scattered like birds and beasts20.
“Quick, quick, someone’s coming.”
Before Song Yuhang could reach out to help him up, the bullied boy had already covered his face, picked himself up, and limped down the stairs.
“I’m fine, thanks.”
In a dim, cramped room, a computer screen glowed with an eerie blue light, the CPU fan humming.
A line of text appeared in the chat window before him: White Whale, I got beaten up again. I don’t want to live anymore. Why do they all bully me? I clearly didn’t do anything wrong.
The hand resting on the keyboard was rough, covered in wrinkles and age spots.
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s this world that deserves to die. It’s okay if you can’t figure things out, child. Come find me. White Whale will tell you the answer.”
When Song Yuhang returned to the City Bureau carrying the sketchbooks, Lin Yan was still immersed in the archives room, case files piled high on the table.
“Look, look! You don’t know until you look, but once you do, it’s shocking! The suicide rate in Jiangcheng has been terrifyingly high in recent years, and…” Lin Yan paused. She hadn’t slept well last night and had spent the afternoon without closing her eyes; her dark circles were as heavy as a panda’s.
“Almost all of them are adolescent students.”
Song Yuhang handed her the boxed meal she was carrying. “Thanks for your hard work. Eat something first. I’ll continue organizing.”
Going through case files was physically demanding work, requiring digging through mountains of old cases and then sorting them. Lin Yan’s head was spinning after looking through them all afternoon, and her stomach rumbled.
She looked at the boxed meal without moving, her gaze drifting. “Don’t tell me it’s from a street stall again. I’m not eating that.”
Song Yuhang smiled, sitting down opposite her, picking up the files Lin Yan had organized and flipping through them. “It’s not from a street stall. I specifically called home and asked my mom to make it.”
Lin Yan muttered, “Weren’t you at the school?”
Song Yuhang cleared her throat lightly. “Well, I was driving anyway. It was on the way.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, slacking off to go home for a meal during work hours. Dereliction of duty, neglecting your responsibilities.”
Lin Yan said this, suppressing the smile at the corners of her lips, but still lifted the lid of the lunchbox. The rice and dishes were packed separately, along with a small pot of corn and pork rib soup. Bright red, glossy braised prawns were arranged neatly on the rice.
Lin Yan’s appetite was instantly piqued.
Song Yuhang watched her expression, smacked her lips twice, and twirled the pen in her hand. “Tsk, if I knew you were going to slander me, I wouldn’t have brought it for you. I didn’t even have a bite myself.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a pair of chopsticks reached towards her, holding a glistening prawn.
Song Yuhang paused, thinking Lin Yan was offering it to her, a soft curve appearing on her lips. “No need, I don’t eat—”
Miss Lin wore an expression of perfect entitlement21 and fearlessness. “Who said I was giving it to you? Do you think these delicate hands of mine are suitable for peeling shrimp?”
Song Yuhang gritted her teeth. “My mistake. I shouldn’t have brought it for you.”
Despite her words, when Lin Yan handed over the disposable gloves, she still took them. Grumbling under her breath, she resignedly put down the case files and started peeling shrimp.
“Say, these aren’t the gloves you use to touch corpses, are they?”
Lin Yan shot her a glare. “Get lost! Am I that kind of sloppy person?”
While Song Yuhang peeled, Lin Yan ate. In the dim yellow light, Lin Yan sat sideways to avoid splashing soup on the files, her expression serious as she looked at the documents, yet her hands moved ceaselessly, placing the peeled shrimp into Lin Yan’s bowl for her.
Perhaps the lighting was too soft, casting a glaze over Song Yuhang’s profile.
Lin Yan savored the taste of Song Yuhang’s mother’s cooking, the thoughtful gesture of her bringing it back specifically for her. In the quiet archives room, there was an unexpected sense of peaceful, ordinary life22.
As Song Yuhang placed another shrimp in her bowl, Lin Yan picked it up. “Ah—open your mouth.”
She stretched her arm out to reach, cupping one hand under Song Yuhang’s chin.
Song Yuhang instinctively opened her mouth and swallowed as instructed. Before she could even gulp it down, the door to the archives room swung open with a shua.
The lights flickered on brightly. Under everyone’s gaze.
Shocking!
Jiangcheng City Criminal Investigation Detachment Captain Song Yuhang and Technical Investigation Section Chief Forensic Doctor Lin Yan openly sharing food!
《My Nemesis and I Are In Love》 Fang Xin had even thought up the headline for them, revealing a knowing, auntie-like smile23 that was utterly baffling24.
The two following behind them, however, looked heartbroken25.
“Lin… Lin-jie…” Duan Cheng looked ready to cry. “Do… do I have no chance anymore?”
Zheng Chengrui: “This is too much! How come you didn’t call us when eating good food!”
“…”
“…”
Lin Yan, who was still perched on the table, quickly dropped her hands. The chopsticks fell as she scrambled back into her chair, wearing an expression of “It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it, don’t talk nonsense” denial26.
Song Yuhang hadn’t swallowed the shrimp yet and felt like she was choking. She grabbed the cup on the table and started gulping water.
Lin Yan looked utterly distressed. “That… that’s mine.”
“Pfft—cough cough!” Song Yuhang turned away and started coughing, the tips of her ears turning red, further confirming the illicit affair between the two.
The three colleagues’ suspicious gazes shifted back and forth between the two. They spoke in unison27, “Since when did you two get along well enough to eat at the same table?”
The cup Song Yuhang had drunk from was still sitting there.
Lin Yan stood up to gather her things. “I-I’m full. You guys carry on. I’m heading back to the office.”
With that, she ducked her head, picked up the lunchbox separately, swept all the trash on the table into a plastic bag, and hurried out.
Song Yuhang watched her retreating figure, a faint smile touching her lips. She controlled it well, tapping the table with her pen. “Alright, hurry up and talk. What is it?”
“With so many case files, how long would it take the two of you?”
Fang Xin said, pulling out a chair and sitting down too.
Zheng Chengrui opened his laptop. “Let me see if I can use an algorithm to sort and organize these. It’ll be much faster than doing it by hand.”
Duan Cheng also sat down. “I… I can’t help much, but I can fetch you tea and water28.”
Song Yuhang looked at their faces, sensing the identical goal beneath their calm or teasing tones.
That was: to solve the case, pursue the truth, and leave no place for darkness to hide.
She smiled faintly, opening the case file in her hands. “Then let’s do it together. Let’s speed things up.”
LP: Re-translated on April 19, 2025
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