Miss Forensics – Chapter 86.2

Direction

“Are you gonna finish eating?”

Lin Yan pulled out a pair of disposable chopsticks from a bamboo basket and opened them. “Whether I finish eating or not is my own business. If you don’t serve me, I will complain to the Consumer Protection Bureau and make sure your business shuts down for good.”

Guo Xiaoguang gritted his teeth, feeling helpless against them, and limped into the kitchen.

After a while, he angrily slammed two bowls of sweet soup onto the table.

“Here, eat up and get out!”

After a day of traveling, Lin Yan was actually quite hungry. She took a sip and found it to be not bad. She loved drinking these kinds of soupy desserts, so she squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

“Not bad, give me another serving to take away.”

Song Yuhang chuckled and scooped some purple sweet potato from her own bowl and gave it to her. “Alright, hurry up and eat. Stop teasing people.”

Lin Yan grimaced at her, signaling her not to interfere.

Guo Xiaoguang served one dish, and Lin Yan added another dish, deliberately ordering them one at a time to test his patience, making him run back and forth with his lame leg.

In a fit of anger, the young man finally slammed the menu down. Aware of the presence of other customers, he lowered his voice and yelled, “What exactly do you two want? The police wouldn’t bully people like this, would they?!”

They had ordered too much food, and even though Song Yuhang had only taken a small bite of each dish, she was feeling a bit full. She burped and wiped her mouth with a low-quality napkin, placing it on the table.

“We’re not doing anything. We’re just asking you something. If you keep avoiding us, we have plenty of patience to stay here and wait.”

One played the role of the angry one, and the other played the role of the reasonable one. Song Yuhang was responsible for reasoning with him, while Lin Yan was the one who threw tantrums and acted shamelessly.

“That’s right. If you don’t tell us, we’ll come today, tomorrow, and every day. I have plenty of time and money. Or maybe, we could just go and ask…”

She pursed her lips towards the inside of the restaurant. “The old lady in there.”

Guo Xiaoguang turned around and shouted, “Don’t you touch my mom, or I’ll fight you!”

Lin Yan shrugged indifferently. “Do you think you can beat me? Or do you think I’ll listen to you?”

Guo Xiaoguang clenched his fist, his chest heaving up and down. Just as he was holding his breath and had nowhere to vent, the sound of someone slamming the table to pay the bill came from a table near the entrance of the restaurant.

He had no choice but to leave them and hurried over.

“Brother Mao, four bottles of beer, five bowls of sweet soup, two plates of lobster, one plate of edamame, a total of 142 yuan.”

He nodded and bowed, and the young man with tattooed arms sucked on his cigarette and blew the smoke rings in his face.

“What? I didn’t hear clearly, say it again.”

Guo Xiaoguang, with a timid face, repeated: “Brother, it’s a total of 142 yuan.”

The young man became furious, throwing the cigarette butt at him.

“F*ck your mother! You dare to ask your Brother Mao for money!”

Guo Xiaoguang was scalded, a hole burned in his clothes. He staggered back a few steps and bumped into the table and chairs on the opposite side.

“No, Brother Mao, I… The profit margin of the restaurant is small. You haven’t paid last month’s bill yet…”

Several young hooligans also stood up, pointing and gesturing at him, poking and prodding.

“What? Brother Mao coming to eat here is giving you face. Don’t be ungrateful and dare to ask Brother Mao for money?! Have you paid the protection fee this month, you punk?!”

A yellow-haired guy with a cigarette noticed that there were a few loose bills stuffed in Guo Xiaoguang’s apron pocket. He reached out and took them, counting.

“Hey, 200 yuan. Business is good today. Hand it over.”

Guo Xiaoguang’s face turned red, and he reached out to snatch it back. “Don’t… don’t… Brother Mao, Brother Mao, I still have to pay rent, utilities, and my mother’s medical expenses. I beg you to leave me some, delay the protection fee a bit, please.”

The tattooed young man kicked him in the stomach. “It’s always the same excuse. Can’t you come up with something different?”

The group of hoodlums burst into laughter. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans formed on Guo Xiaoguang’s forehead as his hand touched the nearby chair. Before he could make a move, someone had already swung a baton at him.

He stared blankly as the woman smashed the back of the young man’s head with a blow, causing him to collapse onto the table. Bottles, bowls, and dishes were knocked over and shattered on the floor.

The young man groaned, holding his head. “F*ck… f*ck… Who’s the crazy b*tch? I’ll f*ck her!”

Others grabbed bottles and rushed forward, only to be dealt with one by one by Song Yuhang, subdued and thrown out of the door.

She walked over, snatched the money from the yellow-haired guy’s hand, and gave it back to Guo Xiaoguang. “They’ve been extorting protection money from you. Why haven’t you reported it to the police?”

Guo Xiaoguang counted the money carefully, not missing a single yuan, and cautiously tucked it into his apron pocket, smiling bitterly. “I did report it, but it’s useless. I’m a cripple, my mother is blind, and we’re outsiders. Those local thugs were caught and released after a few days, and they came back even more ruthless, demanding protection money. If we refuse, they smash the shop and beat up customers. It’s better to endure and live a few peaceful days, swallowing our pride.”

Lin Yan clenched the baton tightly, the joints turning white.

“F*ck, they’re really scum.”

Song Yuhang turned away and made a phone call. Before long, a nearby patrol car arrived.

Several police officers jumped out and, seeing the fallen hoodlums on the ground, expressed their disgust. “Why is it you guys again…”

“Hey, his head is all busted up. Who did this?” One of the police officers turned over the young man’s head and took a glance.

Song Yuhang walked over with an expressionless face.

“I did it. I also called the police.”

The police officer looked at her strangely, as if thinking she was meddling in other people’s business, and lazily took out a notebook.

“Name, ID number. You’ll be held responsible for beating someone up like this.”

Song Yuhang tugged at the corner of her lips and took out her police officer’s badge, handing it over.

“You are also responsible for your long-standing inaction and even tolerance towards criminal activities.”

Upon seeing the black notebook, the police officer glanced at her and said, “Hey, a colleague. You’ve got some skills.”

He thought she was a new rookie officer, but when he opened the notebook, he saw that her badge number actually started with a 0!

Instantly, he broke out in a cold sweat, comparing the person and the photo back and forth several times. He raised his hand and saluted, stuttering and unable to speak fluently.

“S-Song… Captain Song, hello!”

“No need for formalities.” Song Yuhang took out a cigarette from her pocket, flicked it a few times, and lit it.

“If you’re here for a vacation, then stop calling me ‘Captain Song.’ These thugs and hooligans have been extorting protection money, engaging in usury, running up long-term debts, and vandalizing shops, assaulting customers. Each of these charges is enough to put them away for a few months. I will report this matter truthfully to Director Zhao. Handcuff them.”

The police officer was on the verge of tears. “No, Captain Song…”

She gave him a cold glance. “What? Do I have to take matters into my own hands and reimburse them for medical expenses as well?”

She rarely used her authority to pressurize others, most of the time she was approachable. But with just one cold glance, even Lin Yan felt a bit intimidated.

The small police officers’ scalps tingled, knowing that she was genuinely angry. They had all heard of her reputation for cracking the “Aurora Case” and the “White Whale Case.” She was Director Zhao’s favored protégé and the deputy head of the Jiangcheng City Bureau. They didn’t dare to offend her any further. They each took out handcuffs and handcuffed the small-time hooligans and put them into the police car.

At this moment, the leader handed her a cigarette as he approached. “Captain Song, you see, the Dragon King Temple has been flooded. Even family members don’t recognize each other. Tonight’s incident…”

He tapped her wrist lightly. “Forget it, my brothers and I invite you to dinner.”

Lin Yan put away the baton like a massage stick and patted his shoulder. She looked at him and gently tugged at the corner of her lips, smiling. But the words that came out were stern and impartial.

Song Yuhang pointed at his body camera. “No way, treating superiors to a banquet, that’s an even more serious offense.”

The police officer’s face turned pale, knowing that this person wouldn’t be swayed by bribery. He gnashed his teeth in frustration, turned around, and took the suspects away.

“Damn it!”

Song Yuhang finally walked over and helped him pick up the fallen tables and chairs. “Sorry, we will compensate you for the damaged items.”

Guo Xiaoguang stared at her in a daze, then looked at Lin Yan. He felt that they were different from ordinary police officers.

“You…”

Due to this incident, all the customers had left the shop, and tonight he had essentially made no profit.

Lin Yan pulled out a stack of yuan from her wallet and placed it on the table. “I’ll cover the bill. It’s on me, for everyone tonight.”

Guo Xiaoguang looked at the stack of money and swallowed his saliva. Not only could this money cover today’s sales, but it would also leave him with more than enough for this month’s rent.

He reluctantly shifted his gaze back. “Even so, I won’t tell you.”

Song Yuhang’s face grew solemn, and she patted his shoulder. “Do you really want to carry the burden of being the ‘killer’s’ son, living on thin ice for the rest of your life?”

“Tell us what you know, and we will make sure to clear your name and your father’s.”

Guo Xiaoguang clenched his teeth, his eyes turning slightly red. He pushed her away. “Where were you all fourteen years ago?! My dad is already dead! Dead! He can’t come back! He could never have committed murder! Why didn’t you investigate thoroughly?! Why?!”

“For the past fourteen years, I’ve been hiding, afraid to go to school, afraid to fall in love, afraid to get married! I’m scared… scared of being recognized as the killer, as Zhu Yong’s son! My leg was broken by those people!”

“When my dad was wrongly accused and humiliated, when everyone treated me like a pariah, where were you?! Now you come out, pretending to be righteous, acting all high and mighty. It makes me sick! Bah!”

As she watched his distraught appearance, Lin Yan didn’t know which sorrowful matter had touched her heart. She turned her face slightly away and sniffled.

Song Yuhang’s throat moved slightly, her eyes lowered, red-rimmed, and she bowed her head.

“On behalf of the entire police force of Jiangcheng City, I offer you our most sincere apologies. At the same time, I assure you that the tragedy of fourteen years ago will not be repeated. Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent.”

“Because…” Her gaze shifted to Lin Yan. “Beside me stands someone who was also involved in the ‘Fenyang Wharf Dismemberment Case’ back then. What I want to say is that even though hope may seem bleak, there are still some people willing to fight for justice and righteousness throughout their lives.”

Like a firefly flickering in the darkness, even if alone and insignificant, it will eventually become a guide for the lost.

With such a spark, the torch of justice will never be extinguished.

Lin Yan straightened her posture and looked at him. “That’s right, the one who died back then… was my best friend. Not long after her death, her mother went mad because she couldn’t bear the blow. For fourteen years, I have also lived like you, never having a good day. I have to rely on medication and alcohol to fall asleep. I deeply empathize with your feelings. But if this incident wasn’t caused by your father, why should you pay with your youth and suffer the price of destruction and loss?”

“The one who deserves to die, who should pay the price, is the murderer.”

Lin Yan’s remark struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

Guo Xiaoguang clenched his fists. A real man doesn’t shed tears easily. He gently wiped the corner of his eye, about to speak, when the curtain in the inner room was lifted.

The elderly woman stood trembling at the doorway. “Xiaoguang, close the shop and let the guests in to talk.”

LP: If only majority of police are like this in real life…