Miss Forensics – Chapter 52.2

Despair

“Open the door,” she coldly uttered those words.

“Captain Song, this doesn’t comply with the regulations. We found a large number of her fingerprints and footprints at the scene, and we even discovered clothing fibers identical to those on Li Bin in the rope on the ground…”

Song Yuhang adjusted her collar, rarely using her authority to pressure someone. “I told you to open it, so open it. Obey the orders from higher-ups.”

She emphasized the words “higher-ups,” and the junior officer dared not speak out, obediently taking out the key to unlock the iron door for her.

Song Yuhang opened the door, took a step forward, and rushed over to support her shoulder. “Lin Yan, Lin Yan, are you okay? Look at me…”

Lin Yan followed her movements without resistance, her eyes devoid of any luster, completely lifeless, as if the joys and sorrows of the outside world could no longer affect her in the slightest.

Song Yuhang’s gaze fell on the handcuffs she wore on her wrist, and an inexplicable anger surged in her heart. “Who the hell authorized handcuffing someone before the case was properly investigated?! Is this how your grassroots department conducts its work?!”

The junior officer received a severe scolding and hurried over to unlock Lin Yan’s handcuffs. The local police station chief also arrived to mediate.

“It’s a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. People in the same family don’t recognize each other. The mix-up was due to our lack of information. It turns out that she’s Dr. Lin from the City Bureau, and a friend of Captain Song…”

Song Yuhang helped Lin Yan to her feet, flinging the handcuffs to the side, and they made a loud clanging noise against the iron door.

She raised her head and said, word by word, “Lin Yan is not the killer. Last night, I was at the scene as well. When I entered, the assailant was in the midst of committing the crime. Dr. Lin, the forensic expert, arrived later, and if we’re talking about suspicion, I’m the most likely suspect. You can report this truthfully; I am willing to bear the legal consequences for every word I’ve said.”

The station chief’s expression tightened. Reporting it this way might cost her a promising career.

Before he could dwell on it too much, Song Yuhang had already turned away, supporting Lin Yan.

Her injured hand was tightly wrapped in gauze, and there were faint traces of blood seeping through. Song Yuhang felt a deep pang of sympathy.

“You said your hands are delicate. Why did you shield me? I have tough skin; a blow wouldn’t have harmed me.”

Lin Yan remained silent, her hair falling disheveled as she moved her throat slightly.

“Are you hungry? What would you like to eat? I’ll go get it for you.”

“Then… What would you like to drink? We probably only have beer here…”

“Or maybe I could catch a wild chicken and grill it for you? The chicken we had yesterday was quite good… You probably don’t often get to enjoy authentic farmhouse delicacies like that.”

She didn’t ask why Lin Yan had come here, nor did she inquire about her late-night meeting with Li Bin. She simply offered care and consideration, being gentle and empathetic towards her difficulties and feelings.

But precisely because of this, Lin Yan’s heart became increasingly uneasy. She had been chasing the killer for fourteen years, and this was the closest she had ever come to the truth, yet it had slipped through her fingers forever.

Li Bin was dead.

How many more fourteen years did she have to waste?

She even had a slight regret; if she hadn’t cared about Song Yuhang’s life last night and had let the killer do as they pleased, not wasting those precious seconds but instead had pounced on the murderer, would she have been a little closer to the truth, even just a bit closer?

She felt a deep hatred.

She hated her own weakness and incompetence, she hated her momentary kindness, saving Song Yuhang but ultimately failing to find the truth for Chu Nan.

How could she face her six years of friendship, how could she justify the times when Mother Chen had been so protective when she was getting into fights.

She was a beast, not a human.

Two drops of water fell to the ground.

Lin Yan halted her steps, and Song Yuhang also stopped talking, her eyes containing a hint of expectation as she turned slightly to look at her.

“You deserve to die.”

“What?” Song Yuhang thought she had misheard.

But she raised her head again, her eyes filled with bloodshot veins, and stared at her, saying each word with emphasis, “You… deserve… to… die.”

From the tone of this statement, Song Yuhang could clearly hear the deep-seated resentment, and her blood ran cold.

Duan Cheng couldn’t bear to watch any longer and rushed over, shouting, “Captain Song also saved a life. When we found her last night, she was lying on the side of the road, battered and barely alive, with a head wound! The doctor said if that bullet had deviated just a centimeter more, it would have penetrated her skull, and she would have died right there! Can you still stand here and curse her?! Huh?!”

A faint mocking smile tugged at the corner of Lin Yan’s lips. “Heh.”

Duan Cheng wanted to say more, but Fang Xin pulled him aside. “Don’t say anything.”

Song Yuhang’s hand was still supporting Lin Yan’s arm, and Lin Yan gently withdrew her sleeve from her grasp.

She addressed her as Officer Song, not Song Yuhang or Captain Song.

“Officer Song, now you’ve seen it clearly. I’m the kind of person who repays kindness with enmity. I beg you to stay away from me in the future. I don’t need colleagues, I don’t need friends, and I certainly don’t need your self-indulgent care.”

After Lin Yan finished speaking, as if unable to bear looking at her expression any longer, she turned her body and descended the stairs. She had only taken a couple of steps when her eyes welled up.

She forced herself to hold back her emotions, waiting until she was certain that no one was following her, and until she was sure that she couldn’t see her anymore. Only then did she allow her emotions an outlet. She covered her mouth with her hand, squatted down, and quietly sobbed.

* * *

The wind on the rooftop gradually grew stronger. Lin Yan’s hair was disheveled, her clothes rustled in the wind, and a pile of beer cans lay scattered around her. Cigarette butts littered the ground.

When Song Yuhang went up to find her, she was sitting on the edge of the railing, her legs swaying in the void. Her silhouette looked thin and lonely, as if she could be carried away by the wind at any moment.

Song Yuhang’s heart tightened, and she forced a smile. “You’re not thinking of doing something reckless, are you?”

Lin Yan’s hand, holding a cigarette, paused, and a faint smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. She exhaled a smoke ring slowly.

Of course, she wasn’t thinking of that. She still had unfinished business – she would only consider such a thing after settling the score with the killer.

Despite their harsh exchange in the afternoon, Song Yuhang couldn’t help but worry about her. “Come down. Come over to me. You haven’t slept for a day and a night, and you’re injured.”

Lin Yan extinguished her cigarette on an empty can. “Do you have no ears or eyes?”

“Do you remember the nickname you gave me?”

Lin Yan was taken aback.

“Song Silly.” She called it out for her, “I don’t have many virtues, but I do have a lot of tenacity.”

“You can talk to me, scold me, it’s better than this afternoon, Lin Yan…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Yan picked up an empty can and threw it at her. “Get lost!”

Song Yuhang raised her hand to block, and the can rolled away, clanging against the wall.

“Fine, you don’t want to hear these things. Then, I’ll tell you something you might find interesting. In 1994, you were eighteen, just graduated from high school. That year, Jiangcheng City had a shocking case, the ‘Fenyang Dock Dismemberment Case.’ The brutality of the murderer’s methods, the convoluted and mysterious nature of the case, and the absence of any clues left at the crime scene frequently made it to the front page of the newspapers, becoming a hot topic for people’s conversations. At that time, I was still in police academy and had heard about it. I knew it was a major case under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Public Security.”

“Solving such a high-profile case is a source of pride for every police officer, including myself. Even while I was still in school, I attempted to analyze it, but I got nowhere. At the time, our technological capabilities were limited, and the detectives in charge of the case were at a loss. They couldn’t even find all the body parts…”

Song Yuhang spoke methodically, but Lin Yan was gradually clenching her teeth.

“Later, they arrested many people, and the entire city was turned upside down. Nearly all males who fit the profile of the killer were blood-typed, including government employees, and that included my father and brother.”

“Lin Yan,” she took a step closer, calling her by her name. “The police did make efforts. Fourteen years ago, there was no internal police network, no surveillance footage, no trace analysis, no DNA testing… The only suspected criminal that was captured died in custody due to illness. Consequently, this case was left unsolved and became a headless cold case that spanned fourteen years.”

“I believe that every police officer with a conscience and integrity wouldn’t want to see this kind of outcome…” Song Yuhang spoke with a pained expression, reaching out as if she wanted to touch Lin Yan.

“I also didn’t expect that fourteen years later, I would stand with the person involved in this case. Believe me, I swear on my police uniform, within my lifetime, I will solve this case and provide you, the victims, and the victims’ families with a satisfactory answer.”

“Lin Yan, you’re not fighting this battle alone.”

In the distance, the mountains concealed most of the view, and sporadic stars shone. The wind in the wilderness produced a mournful howling as if someone were weeping.

Just as her hands were about to touch her, Lin Yan slapped her hand away. Song Yuhang still wanted to approach, but Lin Yan covered her face. With a cigarette pinched between her trembling fingers, she gestured for her not to come closer.

Lin Yan sniffled intermittently, tears falling in large drops. She covered her lips, choked silently, and fumbled to adjust her breathing. She shakily attempted to reach for a beer can but ended up knocking down several.

She wanted to pick up her cigarette but realized it had already gone out. She trembled as she reached for a lighter along the edge of the rooftop, but her hand was shaking so much that she couldn’t even ignite the lighter.

Song Yuhang watched her panic, break down, and show her vulnerability, feeling a heart-wrenching pain.

She took a lighter out of her pocket, wanting to light a cigarette for her. Lin Yan turned her head slightly, and she was abruptly pulled down from the railing.

Then, ass if a fuse had ignited all the bitterness, sorrow, hatred, and resentment she had accumulated over the past fourteen years,

Lin Yan pushed her away, tears streaming down her face, and screamed, “You understand nothing?! You know nothing! All this talk about technical limitations and dead suspects is just an excuse! Fourteen years, fourteen years…”

She pointed to her own chest, clenched her fist, tears streaming, “Do you know how I’ve survived? Do you know how Chu Nan’s mother survived?! Not a single day of peace, not a single night of rest!”

“As soon as I close my eyes, Chu Nan’s face appears before me. Sometimes she’s smiling at me, and other times she turns into a pile of mangled flesh on the autopsy table. I want to dream of her, yet I’m afraid to dream of her. I’m caught in this constant tug-of-war, and it’s been going on for fourteen years, fourteen years!”

“Do you know why I studied medicine, why…” Lin Yan spoke, choked up, covered her mouth, bent down, and tears flowed through her fingers.

“I just wanted to find the truth, just the truth… Others should be the one standing here, those who are pursuing a career as a forensic pathologist, but not me, not me…”

Lin Yan felt drained, and she knelt down with her hands on the ground. She was then pulled into someone’s arms.

Song Yuhang gently stroked her soft hair, tears falling into it, and sniffled. “I know, I know it all. Cry if you need to, it’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here with you. We’ll investigate together, okay?”

Lin Yan pushed her away repeatedly, and Song Yuhang came back every time. Until eventually, Lin Yan grabbed her clothes and began to tear into her, demanding that she leave, but Song Yuhang remained unfazed.

Lin Yan lay in her arms, gradually losing her strength, and Song Yuhang held her tightly. She couldn’t break free, so she bit down hard on her shoulder.

Song Yuhang winced, her whole body tensing, her throat tight, but she still pressed Lin Yan’s head into her shoulder, allowing her to bite.

She knew that if this pain wasn’t released, Lin Yan would eventually lose her mind or end her life after the truth was revealed.

The only thing that had kept her going all these years was the determination to uncover the truth.

Song Yuhang looked up at the empty sky. She knew it was inappropriate and excessive, but she couldn’t help feeling a tinge of envy, envy for that stranger named Chen Chu Nan.

Do you know? She didn’t forget you.

After you left, she lived her life for you.