Miss Forensics – Chapter 70

Volume One: First Scroll

Paper Cranes

To fight for the rights of the living, to speak for the dead.¹

“Recently, Binhai Provincial Police cracked a major case involving the use of psychological suggestion to influence suicidal behavior in adolescents. The suspects, Li XX, male, 44 years old, and Yu XX, female, 20 years old, a late-stage uremia patient, had for ten years lured minors with suicidal thoughts by posting online. Through a series of methods including psychological suggestion and verbal control, they seriously harmed the physical and mental health of these adolescents. They also controlled victims offline, making them take psychoactive drugs and leaving them at their mercy, in order to find suitable kidney donors. Their actions seriously violated Article 232 of the 《Criminal Law》 of the People’s Republic of China…”

Song Yuhang reached out and turned off the car radio, then pushed open the car door and got out. The media swarmed her.

A few young criminal police officers escorted her inside.

Flashbulbs flashed everywhere.

Conference room.

On the deep blue backdrop wall, the eight characters “立警为公, 执法为民”² surrounded the national emblem.

Below it, in a smaller font, was Binhai Public Security, and then a line of even smaller text: Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau.

The various leaders took their seats one by one. Song Yuhang sat next to the deputy director. The nameplate in front of her read: Captain, Jiangcheng City Criminal Investigation Detachment.

One of her arms was still in a sling. Today, her makeup was neat, her uniform worn impeccably, and her hair was tucked neatly into her wide-brimmed cap. The four-pointed star insignia on her epaulets shone brightly in the sunlight.

She was a female leader, and one with exceptionally striking looks and presence at that. The cameras inevitably focused more on her.

Song Yuhang remained expressionless. Only when occasionally answering media questions would her gaze inadvertently drift to a table below.

That was the seat for the technical investigation department. The one on the right was empty. On the table was only a nameplate: Lin Yan, Chief Forensic Pathologist, Criminal Technical Investigation Section, Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau.

She still hadn’t been able to come.

A flicker crossed Song Yuhang’s eyes. She sat down.

The spokesperson continued: “Regarding adolescent suicidal behavior, we hereby call upon families, schools, and the general public to work together to protect the physical and mental health of adolescents. Parents, especially, should spend more time with their children, listen to what they have to say, and understand their daily lives at school. Don’t just focus on their academic performance; pay more attention to their physical and mental well-being. Don’t leave opportunities for criminals to exploit. Currently, suicide intervention hotlines have been successively launched in provinces and cities across the country…”

The press conference on the “White Whale Case” was a complete success. The venue erupted in thunderous applause.

As the conference ended, Song Yuhang was about to leave when Director Feng called her to his office.

He pointed to a brocade box on the table. “It’s Lin Yan’s.”

Song Yuhang paused. “This is…”

Feng Jianguo sat down and took a sip of tea. “A medal of merit. After all, such a big case was cracked, and she was the one who first felt something was wrong. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have continued investigating. Plus, she was so seriously injured. She’ll get the recognition she deserves. Take it to her.”

Song Yuhang stroked the brocade box, her thoughts unreadable. After a long moment, she raised her right hand to her temple, saluted, and turned to leave.

“Captain Song, Captain Song…” Passing criminal police officers greeted her one after another. Song Yuhang nodded briefly to each of them.

She directly pushed open the door to the technical investigation office. It was lunchtime, and there weren’t many people around.

Song Yuhang walked to the familiar desk, placed the brocade box down, and sat.

It was here that their first conflict had erupted.

Song Yuhang picked up the photo frame on the desk and brushed off the dust. Lin Yan never seemed to like smiling in photos. Her chin was slightly raised, her expression a little rebellious and untamed.

As she looked, she could almost hear Lin Yan’s voice in her ear: “Captain Song, isn’t it a bit inappropriate to be looking at me so affectionately in the office?”

“Song Yuhang, are you even human? No, are you even a woman?”

“Ge, I don’t agree to you two being together!!!”

“Forensic Examiner Lin, do you hate me that much?”

“Weren’t you uninterested in solving cases?”

“But I’m interested in Captain Song. Wherever you go, I’ll go~”

“Worried about me?”

“Isn’t it natural for a superior to care about a subordinate?”

“If he can’t afford a diamond ring, I’ll give you one~”

…

Scene after scene from the past flashed through her mind.

Song Yuhang’s eyes were slightly moist, but a smile touched her lips. She put the photo frame back. Inadvertently, she noticed a key still in Lin Yan’s drawer.

A thought struck her. She turned the key. With a soft “click,” the drawer popped open.

Inside was a dazzling array of forensic science books, her own notes, a few bags of coffee to stay awake, and a bottle of chewing gum.

Song Yuhang took out a notebook and quickly flipped through a few pages. She couldn’t help but marvel: So impressive.

She had recorded every case she had handled, categorized by date, year, and cause of death. Her handwriting was neat and tidy. Difficult points discovered during autopsies were written in red ink. Occasionally, sticky notes served as footnotes or later explanations.

In Wuli Town, she had stood on the rooftop, crying her eyes out, saying, “The one who wanted to be a forensic examiner, the one who should be standing here, isn’t me, but someone else.”

But in this moment, as Song Yuhang flipped through these handwritten notes, she could feel from the elegant and neat handwriting Lin Yan’s genuine love for forensic science.

Perhaps Lin Yan herself hadn’t realized it. She might have chosen to become a forensic examiner initially to avenge Chunan, but over so many years, she had unknowingly, through her actions, embodied the words revered as a motto by all forensic scholars.

—To fight for the rights of the living, to speak for the dead.

Lin Yan was undoubtedly one of the best among them.

Song Yuhang closed the notebook and blinked away the slight shimmer in her eyes. Her gaze fell back on the chewing gum bottle.

The first time she saw her eating “gum” was the night after Ding Xue’s autopsy.

She had been wearing a tank top and hot pants, her hair damp and draped over her shoulders, and she had stretched out her arm towards her: “Chewing gum, want two pieces?”

Later, she occasionally saw her carrying this bottle during fieldwork, until Wuli Town.

Lin Yan had offered it to her. She had thought Song Yuhang wouldn’t take it, but to her surprise, Song Yuhang reached out and took one. The fleeting panic in Lin Yan’s eyes at that moment didn’t escape her notice.

Song Yuhang recalled that look, and her heart skipped a beat. She twisted open the gum bottle cap; only two pieces were left inside.

Two mints, they looked no different from ordinary ones. Song Yuhang picked one up and put it in her mouth. She immediately frowned, grabbed a tissue from the desk, and spat it out.

So bitter.

This wasn’t gum at all; it was medicine.

How did she manage to eat it every time without showing any change in expression?

Clutching the gum bottle, Song Yuhang ran towards the lab.

Fang Xin started the machine, put on gloves, and placed the two “pieces” into separate petri dishes. “Captain Song, I’ll run an urgent test for you this afternoon. The results will be ready tonight at the earliest.”

Song Yuhang nodded, the bitter taste lingering in her mouth. “Okay, sorry to trouble you and make you work overtime again.”

“No problem, it’s just a small effort.”

---

She could barely focus on work the entire afternoon. Luckily, there were no major cases recently.

Song Yuhang waited until evening, feeling both relieved and anxious. Fang Xin sent her a message asking her to come to the lab.

She shot up and ran, nearly tripping over her chair.

Fang Xin held two pages of a paper report and handed her back the samples, which had been ground into powder. “Two pills, different ingredients. One is…”

She paused, then said: “A specific drug for treating Guillain-Barré syndrome. It’s not yet available in the country. I had to consult my former university professor to confirm it.”

Fang Xin handed her a thin sheet of paper. Song Yuhang’s hands began to tremble as she looked at the listed side effects.

Insomnia, hair loss, vomiting, loss of appetite…

She closed her eyes for a moment, her throat tight, trying hard to calm herself.

“And the other one?”

Fang Xin looked at her expression, hesitating for a moment. “This drug is also not available domestically. I asked a classmate from pharmacy school. It contains a large amount of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, commonly used to treat a series of complications caused by bipolar disorder³, including insomnia, depression, alcohol dependence, hypersexuality, and others.”

Song Yuhang turned away, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Fang Xin pulled a tissue from the desk for her. “Captain Song…”

Song Yuhang took it and waved her hand. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Thank you. About today’s matter, I hope you…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Song Yuhang shook her head, clutching the two papers tightly. “No, and don’t tell Lin Yan about this. I know.”

Fang Xin paused, then understood her kind intentions. Lin-jie was so stubborn; she probably couldn’t even accept the fact that she had bipolar disorder herself. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have used a gum bottle as a disguise.

Song Yuhang not only treated her extremely well but also fiercely protected her dignity.

Fang Xin suddenly felt a wave of emotion. “Okay, I understand.”

Song Yuhang forced a smile and walked out with the lab report. “Thanks. I’ll treat you, Duan Cheng, and Old Zheng to dinner some other day.”

She walked to the empty office, turned on the paper shredder, and fed both sheets into it. Listening to the machine’s whirring, she closed her eyes slightly, her shoulders shaking violently.

Only then did she dare to let her emotions overwhelm her for a moment.

---

She didn’t drive, nor did she call for a designated driver. Instead, she boarded a bus heading home.

During her student days, whenever she didn’t do well on an exam or felt down, Song Yuhang would sit alone like this on a swaying bus, watching the city’s flowing neon lights, as if it could take her far away.

But this time, sitting in the last row, she didn’t look out the window. Instead, she stared at her phone.

“What causes bipolar disorder to develop?”

“Can bipolar disorder be cured?”

“Do bipolar disorder patients have to take medication for life?”

…

Her fingertips scrolled across the screen, through various search pages, and posts where bipolar patients shared their experiences and feelings.

Song Yuhang pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose and squeezed hard. The driver announced they had reached the terminal station.

She was taken aback. Had they reached the end of the line so quickly?

Song Yuhang got off the bus with her bag, stunned by the familiar surroundings. Memories came flooding back.

She had never imagined that the terminal station for this bus route would actually be Lin Yan’s home, Qingshan Villa.

Walking up the long mountain road, the cluster of villas was nestled amidst green hills and clear waters. She and Lin Yan had even had a fight here.

That rainy night was the beginning of everything.

Song Yuhang had witnessed her skills, her courage, her allure, her sexiness.

And for the first time, she had seen the softness beneath her hard shell.

When Lin Yan lay in the puddle, silently crying; when she sat up, trembling, trying to adjust the clothes Song Yuhang had torn.

Song Yuhang’s heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat’s paw.

She thought, perhaps it was from that moment on that she had started to develop feelings for her.

She would unconsciously notice her, care for her, look after her. At the time, she had always thought it was guilt from having hit her, but she never expected…

Song Yuhang shook her head, once again feeling immense regret for her own slowness.

The flowerbed in front of the villa, crushed during their fight, had been replanted with new plants – thriving sunflowers.

Song Yuhang walked over, plucked a sunflower seed from a full sunflower head, shelled it, and popped it into her mouth. So sweet. The bitterness from the medicine finally faded a little.

She shelled a few more, wrapped them in a tissue, thinking she would bring them to Lin Yan when she saw her later, even though Lin Yan couldn’t eat them.

What she didn’t know was that on the morning after their fight, when Lin Yan got up, the housekeeper had run over to ask her, “Miss, what should we plant in the garden?”

Lin Yan looked at the sky outside. The morning sun leaped above the horizon, casting dappled light on the floor.

There’s always sunshine after the storm.

She said casually, “Sunflowers, I guess.”

As she said this, for a moment, she thought of the police officer’s face, her gentle, though not dazzling, smile, and the faint scent of sunshine on her clothes.

Lin Yan paused, wanting to change her answer, but the housekeeper had already hurried off. She smiled and continued buttoning her shirt.

Never mind, sunflowers it is. That’s quite nice too.

Song Yuhang knew that no one would be at Lin Yan’s home in the evening, and she should head back. Yet, as if guided by an unseen force, she walked to the villa’s front door and pressed the doorbell.

After a long beep, a mechanical voice came from the intercom: “Hello, the owner is not home. Please leave a message after the tone.”

It even repeated the message several times in both Chinese and English. Just how much did Lin Yan hate being bothered?

Song Yuhang chuckled, turned to leave, but then saw the fingerprint scanner below the intercom.

Not knowing what possessed her, she placed her index finger on it.

“Beep-beep—” With a soft sound, the gate swung open.

Song Yuhang paled.

She clearly remembered that after spending the night at Lin Yan’s house, she had gotten up early to get ready for work.

Curious, she had been examining the door and placed her index finger on the scanner.

Lin Yan had turned pale with alarm. “Don’t press it randomly! It saves automatically!”

Saying that, she had quickly brushed Song Yuhang’s hand away, but her fingerprint had already been registered on the electronic display.

Delete or Save?

Lin Yan had been flustered and exasperated. “Who told you to touch my door? Who told you to touch my door? What, are you trying to leave your fingerprint to trespass later?!”

Song Yuhang had looked innocent. “Sorry… it’s so high-tech, so…”

That fingerprint… she thought Lin Yan had deleted it, but it had been saved after all?

So, all that time ago, Lin Yan had already given her the greatest trust she possibly could.

Back then, they were nothing to each other.

A warmth spread through Song Yuhang’s eyes. She lowered her head and walked inside.

She didn’t know what she hoped to achieve by following Lin Yan’s traces today.

Lin Yan had taken a photo by the pool and even sent it to her.

Song Yuhang had wanted to set that photo as her screensaver but ultimately decided against it, her possessiveness getting the better of her.

She didn’t want others to see Lin Yan looking so alluring, sexy, and coolly beautiful, so she made it their chat background instead.

Song Yuhang walked further in, pushed open the glass door, and stepped into the living room.

On the left was the cloakroom where she had once stood looking for her uniform.

On the right was the open-plan kitchen where Lin Yan had made her a bowl of tomato and egg gravy noodles.

She had eaten it with great relish.

Song Yuhang felt a little ashamed. She thought, I need to learn to cook from Mom these days. I have to make sure she eats better in the future.

Song Yuhang walked up the stairs, remembering how she had carried Lin Yan from the sofa up these stairs. Lin Yan had her arms around her neck, whispering sarcastic remarks in her ear to provoke her.

“You’re so weak. I’m not even a hundred jin⁴, and you can barely carry me. Last time, a naked man carried me up and down the stairs in a loop…”

Song Yuhang chuckled and shook her head. She pushed open Lin Yan’s bedroom door. If it were now, I wonder if she’d still dare to say that?

But, if she really did say it…

Song Yuhang’s eyes darkened slightly. Given my temperament, I’d probably carry her up and down the stairs ten times or so.

Can’t help it, I’m used to being competitive.

The bedroom was quite minimalist; she had noticed that on her last visit. There were no extra slippers, nothing duplicated or holding any emotional significance.

The media all said she was promiscuous, fickle, a philanderer…

But if someone were truly promiscuous, their bedside table would be filled with condoms, not medical books and magazines.

Song Yuhang felt a whirlwind of emotions. She closed the door and stepped back out.

Next to it was her study. Song Yuhang pressed the light switch on the wall, and the room lit up, feeling bright and spacious.

The study was even larger than her bedroom. By the floor-to-ceiling window, there was a treadmill and other simple fitness equipment. One could easily imagine her coming here to relax for a bit when tired from work.

A gentle smile touched Song Yuhang’s lips. She picked up a fountain pen that had fallen on the floor and placed it on the desk.

A thick stack of memo pads on the desk caught her eye. Beside it was a transparent glass jar. Song Yuhang picked it up and shook it.

Paper cranes. Did she have such a girlish hobby?

Song Yuhang chuckled, unscrewed the lid, and accidentally dropped one. As she picked it up to put it back, she suddenly froze. Held against the light, she could vaguely see writing on it.

Her heart tightened. She quickly placed it on the desk and unfolded it. A strange name was written on the crumpled paper.

It was Lin Yan’s handwriting. Not understanding, she poured out a few more from the jar and unfolded them one by one.

Now she understood.

“Ding Xue.”

“Li Shiping.”

“He Miao.”

“Wu Wei.”

“Wei Lin.”

…

Her hands trembled as she held these crumpled, different-colored memo papers. Her lips quivered, and tears fell.

These… these were all names from cases she had handled, bodies she had autopsied.

She seemed aloof, cold, and harsh, but she had used the most basic, simple way to remember them, to keep their names alive.

There were many more such glass jars, big and small, in Lin Yan’s cabinet. Song Yuhang couldn’t bear it any longer; she turned and ran out.

She had never felt such an intense urge to see her—right now, this very instant—never before.

Song Yuhang ran all the way to the foot of the mountain without stopping, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the hospital.

---

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner that you were sick?”

Lin Yan was leaning against the bed. She had been lying down, but when the caregiver saw Lin Youyuan enter, she felt it was disrespectful to the Chairman and cranked the head of the bed up.

She still had a nasogastric tube in, and an IV catheter was attached to the back of her hand. She was quietly folding paper cranes.

Lin Youyuan watched her movements. In her current state of recovery, she couldn’t even fold a piece of paper properly.

“Go back to Jingtai for treatment. Don’t go out to work anymore. I’ll talk to your superiors at the Jiangcheng City Bureau.”

A commanding tone.

Lin Yan ignored him, but her paper-folding movements became a little agitated. No matter how she tried, her fingers were too weak to even make a proper crease.

Lin Youyuan looked at her state with disgust in his eyes. “Look at you, looking half-dead, just like your mother. I should have let you die outside. Living is just a disgrace to our Lin family.”

Lin Yan’s fingers began to tremble. Cold sweat broke out on her skin. She had only been conscious for a few days and was far from being able to speak easily.

Lin Youyuan, seizing on her vulnerability, used a mix of threats and persuasion. “I’ve asked Professor Wang; Guillain-Barré isn’t hereditary. When you’re a bit better, I’ll arrange for the General Manager of Xingye to meet you. If it works out, get married quickly. After marriage, don’t go stirring up trouble anywhere. Just obediently stay at home, be your CEO, support your husband, and raise children.”

As soon as Lin Youyuan finished speaking, the paper in Lin Yan’s hand tore in half with a ripping sound. She snapped her head to look at him, her throat too choked to speak, her eyes red and bloodshot as she stared daggers at him.

Her gaze was fierce, cold, as if it could tear him to shreds.

Lin Youyuan smiled. “The arm can’t out-twist the thigh⁵. Didn’t you learn that fourteen years ago? If you insist on resisting, I don’t mind making you go through what you experienced fourteen years ago all over again.”

Lin Yan gritted her teeth, tasting blood on her tongue. She panted heavily, her breath as labored as a bellows.

She forced out a few words through gritted teeth: “You. Don’t. Touch. Her.”

Lin Youyuan’s face once again showed that smile of complete assurance. To others, he was a kind boss, enthusiastic about public welfare. To her, he was a devil, a demon crawled out from hell.

Lin Yan gritted her teeth, watching him maneuver his wheelchair to leave. “Then it all depends on what you do.”

The moment he left, the data on the medical monitor fluctuated wildly. Lin Yan fell back onto the bed, her whole body convulsing, the paper between her fingers fluttering to the ground.

“Miss, Miss! Someone, quick!” The caregiver, seeing things were bad, rushed out to call a doctor.

---

LP: Re-translated on May 27, 2025

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