Probe
“When I was abroad, I handled a death investigation case of this nature. The murderer was a psychologist who induced murder, directing her patients to follow her steps. Starting from the most basic, such as staring unblinkingly in the mirror until they felt a sense of unfamiliarity, to the eventual cruelty of torturing animals and setting fires. Step by step, she cultivated a regular person into a deranged killer who ultimately murdered her own husband.”
“We must take this case seriously; otherwise, if it continues unchecked, the number of casualties will only increase. Who knows if the next victim could be one of your children?”
Lin Yan spoke with authority, her voice, though soft, carried weight. It was as if she had tossed a stone into a calm lake, causing a stir among the crowd, which buzzed with excitement.
Duan Cheng rubbed the goosebumps on his arm, saying, “Th-this… what Forensic Doctor Lin just said really sent shivers down my spine. Can I trust anyone’s words from now on?”
Fang Xin gave him a sidelong glance and said, “You? You’ve been around the block. You’re not afraid of what people say. It’s the ones who don’t accept criticism who should be.”
Zheng Chengrui couldn’t help it and let out a chuckle. When he looked up, he saw the meeting room’s door being pushed open, and he immediately composed himself, saying, “Take your seats, take your seats, Director Feng is here.”
On the stage, Song Yuhang and Lin Yan took their seats, with Lin Yan fully engrossed in the case. She didn’t notice that Director Feng had already stood at the door as she continued.
“In addition, we’ve not only organized data on suicide cases from the past year but also data from the past five years. You all can take a look.”
Song Yuhang pointed with her pen, saying, “It shows a significant upward trend in a bar chart, and the intervals between incidents are getting shorter, from dozens in a year to just a few in a month. It’s all related to this pattern. We have reason to believe that behind these extensive cases of adolescent suicide, there might be some secretive organization at work. Their motives remain unknown to us, but adolescents are the future of our country, and any criminal force that harms them will be eradicated in its infancy.”
As she finished speaking, a round of applause came from the door, saying, “Well said!”
The crowd stood up one by one, calling out, “Director Feng, Director Feng…”
Feng Jianguo waved his hand, gesturing for them to sit back down, and walked to the front of the stage. Song Yuhang set down her pen and stepped aside.
“Now, I announce, with the approval of the higher authorities, the “9.27 Fan Lin Case” and the “6.1 He Miao Case” will be reopened for investigation. A special task force will be established, with Song Yuhang appointed as the head of the task force and Zhang Jinhai as the deputy head of the task force. All departments of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau will fully cooperate with the task force to solve these cases.”
Feng Jianguo called out loudly, mentioning the names of the two individuals, “Song Yuhang, Zhang Jinhai!”
“Here!” Both of them stood up simultaneously, their hands firmly by their trouser seams, standing at attention.
“The higher authorities have given us a one-month deadline to solve the case. Do you have the confidence?!”
“Yes, I guarantee the mission’s completion!” Song Yuhang raised her hand to her temple, with a steadfast determination in her gaze from beginning to end.
* * *
After the meeting, they dispersed for lunch.
A person who usually avoided the cafeteria cautiously carried their tray over and slowly moved to Song Yuhang’s side, displacing Duan Cheng in the process.
“Uh, Sis Lin, I got here first—”
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Lin Yan smiled with gritted teeth, “I’ve, taken, this seat.”
“Aren’t you avoiding the cafeteria?” Duan Cheng questioned, looking puzzled, but he had already been dragged away by Fang Xin.
“Let’s go, let’s go, we’ll sit over there.”
“Why, I just found this seat.”
Fang Xin said, “Old Zheng bought a big chicken leg and is waiting for us…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Duan Cheng had already grabbed her sleeve, saying, “Alright, alright, let’s go. Where’s he sitting?”
Song Yuhang seemed oblivious to everything that was happening until a pleasant aroma wafted by, prompting her to scoot aside.
“Participating in the task force is non-negotiable, and it’s a rule that forensic experts don’t go to the front lines. Just stay honestly at the municipal bureau.”
One sentence from Song Yuhang cut off all her retreats. Lin Yan, gritting her teeth, picked up a piece of braised pork from her bowl and offered it to her.
“Can Captain Song be a bit more accommodating? It’s not a big deal, right?”
Song Yuhang watched her transferring braised pork into her own bowl as if she didn’t care about money or life, feeling deeply exasperated.
“Enough, I won’t eat it. I really don’t eat fatty meat!!!”
Lin Yan froze for a moment, then picked up a piece of duck meat with her chopsticks and offered it to her, saying, “Then have a piece of duck meat, just a piece, it’s all lean.”
Looking at the mountain-like bowl of food in front of her, Song Yuhang felt hopeless and shifted aside, saying, “I won’t eat it, I really won’t.”
Lin Yan pushed her plate and followed her, saying, “Come on, eat. All of this is prepared for you.”
She blinked, showing a somewhat innocent and harmless expression.
I fell for your trick.
If she hadn’t seen Lin Yan’s resolute side, she might have fallen for it.
Can’t she fight back or hide?
Song Yuhang moved her tray further in, and Lin Yan closed in step by step.
Half of the cafeteria’s occupants turned to look at them.
Duan Cheng, with a piece of half-chewed noodles in his mouth, swallowed it with a gulp and asked, “What’s… what’s going on there?”
Zheng Chengrui adjusted his glasses and concluded, “The cat catches the mouse.”
Fang Xin added the next sentence, “There’s no escape when disaster strikes.”
“What about the horizontal scroll?”
Lin Yan tossed her chopsticks and directed her words at the cafeteria crowd, saying, “Eat your meal!”
The three of them tacitly lowered their heads.
Song Yuhang was squeezed into a corner, and she couldn’t bear it, especially considering that she often wore just the standard uniform shirt underneath her police uniform, with the buttons often left undone, revealing a bit of alluring charm.
The softness rested against her arm.
She couldn’t help but recall the sensation of several skinship moments, feeling embarrassed yet simultaneously savoring the memory. This led to her ears turning slightly red as she lowered her voice to scold her, “Move over!”
Lin Yan remained unyielding, holding her arm in a way that prevented her right hand from moving, saying, “I won’t move. If you don’t let me join the task force, I’ll stick to you every day.”
She emphasized the word “every day.”
Song Yuhang felt a tingling sensation on her scalp. She couldn’t resort to violence in front of so many people, so she suppressed her anger and said, “Let go first.”
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Lin Yan, noticing her irritation, was aware that this was a playful situation. With a hint of teasing in her eyes, she looked at her.
“I won’t let go. If I do, you’ll run away. Song Yuhang, Officer Song, Team Leader Song~” She intentionally drew out her voice when calling her, looking affectionate. “What exactly about me displeases you?”
It wasn’t clear who had a sore throat and coughed suddenly. Out of nowhere, the entire cafeteria was filled with people coughing, the sound echoing in waves.
Song Yuhang could feel the veins on her forehead pulsating. She was testing the limits of her patience.
In various senses.
The two of them were close, and the scent of her perfume surrounded Song Yuhang. Their conversation was almost within arm’s reach. Red lips opened and closed before her, eyes filled with hints of ambiguity, desire, and a touch of supplication.
Lin Yan sensitively noticed her evasion, hesitation, and her body’s tension.
She was too skilled at manipulating others, including herself. She practically leaned in, getting so close that she was practically breathing into her ear, saying, “Officer Song, I’m begging you.”
If it were any other time, when Lin Yan first flirted with Song Yuhang in the file room, her response would have been more vehement, pushing her away with a single motion.
Lin Yan had once mocked her: “Clueless about the art of seduction.”
Now, Song Yuhang and she had a rather deep personal relationship, and they had come to understand each other’s personalities quite well.
Lin Yan had expected her to react with impatience, push her away, and then, amid a string of insults, reluctantly agree to the matter.
But Song Yuhang laughed.
This was entirely unexpected.
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow and saw her approaching, lowering her voice in a hidden corner where no one could see.
“It can be arranged, but I have one request.”
Lin Yan lowered her gaze, and then she felt Song Yuhang grasping her hand tightly, preventing her from struggling.
Lin Yan tried to pull her hand away but couldn’t break free. Gritting her teeth, she asked, “What do you want?”
“Weren’t you the one who willingly came to me?” Song Yuhang held her hand and pulled her closer to herself, following the pattern of two close friends, draping her arm over Lin Yan’s shoulder and sliding it down along her shoulder.
Her tone was soft and gentle, but her voice had a hint of hoarseness.
“What do you think?”
The moment those words left her mouth, Lin Yan felt like slapping her. She was flustered and furious, her face turning red as her lips moved up and down.
With fair skin, she tended to get red at the corners of her eyes when agitated, giving her an alluring yet hard-to-define appearance of resistance and allure.
Song Yuhang was momentarily stunned. The look in her eyes was tantalizing, and she hadn’t had time to fully register it. Lin Yan tossed her chopsticks, pulled her hand away, and turned to leave without hesitation, clearly genuinely angry.
She was joking, and she was serious.
Song Yuhang sighed and couldn’t help but say, “Come back. I’ve agreed, you can go, but you have to stick with me and not act on your own.”
Lin Yan paused, didn’t turn around, still angry, not looking at her, her lips pouting high.
Song Yuhang, feeling helpless, reluctantly set down her chopsticks, pulled Lin Yan back, and made her sit next to her. She then picked up a piece of meat from her own bowl and handed it back to her.
“If we do find a mastermind behind this, that person will be extremely cunning and difficult to deal with. So, not letting you go is for your own good.”
Lin Yan sneered and watched as she handed all the lean meat to herself, saying, “I can take care of myself, no need to worry about me.”
Song Yuhang put down her chopsticks and said, “Alright, you can go. I take back what I said earlier.”
Lin Yan was almost tempted to pounce and scratch her, gritting her teeth as she said, “Song Yuhang, are you ever going to stop?!”
Is she addicted to teasing her?!
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She used to think of her as a fierce tiger when she got angry, but now she was no more than a playful kitten, showing her claws.
Song Yuhang had Lin Yan’s character figured out very clearly, and it was time to soften her stance a bit. “I’m not joking with you. I’m genuinely concerned about you. If you want to go, you can, but I have—”
Lin Yan stared intently at her. If she dared to say that sentence, she was ready to dump the entire dish of food on her face and angrily declare, “Shameless!”
Song Yuhang blinked innocently and added, “We’ll have three rules.”
Lin Yan breathed a sigh of relief, not bothering to respond to her. “Go on, speak your piece.”
“First, you can’t leave my line of sight.”
Lin Yan lazily nodded. “Alright, I can do that.”
“Second, no throwing tantrums.”
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“For example, if you get tired and can’t walk, we’re here for a case, not a vacation.”
Lin Yan gritted her teeth in frustration. “You really do understand me. What’s the last one?”
Song Yuhang thought for a moment and said, “I haven’t decided on the last one yet. We’ll figure it out later.”
Lin Yan was about to say something, but Song Yuhang had already buried her head in her rice, stopping her with a hand.
“Let’s eat. We don’t have much time left, and you’ve already wasted fifteen minutes of my time.”
Lin Yan turned around, and most of the people in the cafeteria had already left.
She was slightly taken aback and said, “Once the case is over, I’ll treat you to—”
Before her sentence was finished, Song Yuhang handed her a piece of spicy chicken. “Try it. It may not be as refined as what you make at home, but it’s definitely clean, hygienic, and authentic.”
Lin Yan, with some hesitation, picked up the chicken and put it in her mouth.
Song Yuhang watched with satisfaction as the word “delicious” seemed to radiate from every pore on her face. She smiled contentedly.
“Is it good?”
“It’s… alright.”
“Then eat up.”
“Okay.”
Cute