Dentist
“What’s this? You come to the provincial capital and don’t even say hello, and upon arriving you immediately show my people a slap on the wrist. And now, you can’t even be asked to join your teacher for a meal?”
On the other end of the phone, the old man’s voice was full of vigor.
Song Yuhang glanced at Lin Yan beside her and responded with a wry smile, “This isn’t a vacation, it just happened to overlap. Since it’s not official business, I didn’t report it to the department.”
Zhao Junfeng snorted coldly, “I don’t care. It’s the weekend, and your teacher’s wife has already gone out to buy groceries. Come to our house for lunch at midday; that’s settled then. If you don’t come, you’re disregarding my feelings.”
With that, he hung up the phone with a click.
Song Yuhang, feeling helpless, took her phone and went over to discuss with her.
“How about it, let’s drop by Director Zhao’s place.”
In the heart of the park, Lin Yan, with a cigarette in her mouth, turned her back and stood watching the ducks swim about on the lake surface.
“No, I won’t go. If you want to go, go by yourself.”
Song Yuhang thought it over and decided to tell it like it was.
“I think it’s better we go. He’s the head of the department; to overturn the case, we must gain his support.”
An old case like this, once flagged as a high-priority by the Ministry of Public Security, can’t be overturned just by a few low-ranking officers with some casual words.
The implications are far-reaching; any mistake by one of the three giants of the justice system is as tough to deal with as ascending to the heavens.
That’s why Song Yuhang is so keen on getting Zhao Junfeng’s backing.
Lin Yan leisurely blew a ring of smoke, with a hint of lost hope in her eyes: “But how can you be sure he’ll help us? What if—”
Song Yuhang furrowed her brows, grasping the unfinished implication in her words.
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“Do you suspect this case is related to him too?”
Lin Yan tugged at the corner of her mouth, “I didn’t say that, did I? The reason this case became an unsolved case today is due to the detectives who led the investigation, the prosecutors in charge of oversight, and the presiding judges back then; none could break free from involvement.”
Song Yuhang shook her head: “As far as I know, Director Zhao hails from narcotics control; he was in the drug enforcement squad back then. This case wasn’t handled by him; it has nothing to do with him.”
Whether it’s the craving for a smoke or something else, Lin Yan seemed somewhat restless and agitated.
“It doesn’t matter? What do you mean it doesn’t matter? The state this case is in should be a shame that weighs heavily on the conscience of every police officer in Jiangcheng City!”
But it’s just ignored by everyone now.
Since the victim is dead anyway, and since the “murderer” has already been caught, that the death occurred in the detention center due to his own actions has nothing to do with the police. During the years Lin Yan accompanied Mother Chen on her petitions, and all these years she investigated on her own, numerous were those who harbored such thoughts.
Song Yuhang gently placed her hand on her shoulder, trying to offer comfort, but it was briskly shrugged off.
Lin Yan turned and walked away. She followed a few steps, “Where are you going?”
“Find an internet cafe, play some games.”
She kicked a can on the ground away in irritation.
Song Yuhang followed step by step: “Really not coming with me? I’m worried about you being alone.”
Lin Yan gave a half-smile: “What’s there to worry about? All the evidence is with you, isn’t it? Internet cafes are crowded, and it’s broad daylight, who would dare to kill someone there?”
But Song Yuhang blocked her way: “But—”
Lin Yan brushed her off: “Get lost, I’m giving you two hours. Come back quickly, or I’m heading back to Jiangcheng on my own.”
“Okay.” Song Yuhang didn’t let go of her, her fingertips pressing into the palm of her hand, and she accompanied her: “That’s settled then. I’ll go feel out Director Zhao’s intentions. You find an internet cafe nearby and wait for me, and we’ll leave together afterward.”
“Little Song, come, try the fish soup I made.” As soon as she entered the house, lunch was already prepared. Her teacher’s wife pulled her to sit down enthusiastically and then went back to the kitchen to bring out the hot dishes that had been stir-fried.
“Ma’am, let me help you.” After washing her hands, Song Yuhang stood up, ready to help in the kitchen, but was pressed down by someone.
“No need, no need, you go keep Old Zhao company and have a drink. It’s rare for you all to have a day off today.”
Saying this, her teacher’s wife pushed her back to her seat.
Song Yuhang had no choice but to sit down again.
“Pour it, pour it, fill it up.” Zhao Junfeng only told her to stop when the wine glass was about to overflow.
Looking at the brimming glass, Song Yuhang felt a twinge in her teeth.
She still had to find Lin Yan later; how could she do that drunk?
“I’ll toast to you first, to you.” She lifted her glass first, and while Zhao Junfeng finished his in one go, she only wet her lips slightly. Even so, a warm flush spread across her face, and her stomach started to burn.
“Don’t just drink, eat some food, eat some food.”
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Her teacher’s wife served her a chopstick full of braised pork.
Song Yuhang smiled and used the communal chopsticks to pick up a piece of tendon meat for her.
“Besides my mom’s cooking, your dishes are the best.”
“Oh my, aren’t you a sweet talker? Come on, eat more. I said from the start how good it would have been for Old Zhao to place you in the provincial office – better salary and prospects, surely better than a prefecture-level city, right? And if you miss my cooking, you could always come by.”
Zhao Junfeng took a sip of his drink and picked up some food to accompany his liquor, his face slightly flushed.
“Enough already, if someone wants to go home, why are you fussing so much?”
During the meal, her marital prospects inevitably came up.
“What about that guy you met on your blind date last time?”
“It’s over,” said Song Yuhang as she picked up some food, without even lifting her head.
Zhao Junfeng put down his chopsticks, looking at her thoughtfully: “I heard, you’ve been quite close with that Lin Yan from your city bureau lately.”
When Feng Jianguo reported to him, his spit was flying, saying, “That’s not just close, that’s zero distance!”
Song Yuhang was caught off guard and choked a bit, dabbed her lips with a tissue as an indirect response.
“Well, I quite like her.”
Zhao Junfeng frowned and scolded: “Foolish! Initially, it was because of her expertise that she was exceptionally recruited to your bureau as a forensic doctor. Had I known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have signed that document! Why jeopardize your promising future by getting involved with her? Even if she’s outstanding in her work, the organization won’t offer her any official promotion or advancement, you get it? At best, she’ll always just be a grassroots forensic doctor! But you’re different, you come from a family of martyrs, just because of this fact alone, you won’t miss out on what’s yours! Jiangcheng is just a stepping stone, not your final destination, understand?!”
Song Yuhang understood and appreciated his concern but would rather not sacrifice her love with Lin Yan for a future that comes at its cost.
“Even if I’m just an ordinary person, merely a small-time cop, I still have the confidence that I can climb up the ranks with my abilities. My not competing or striving in the past doesn’t mean I lack the capability to compete.”
“Teacher, I raise this glass to you, but please don’t try to persuade me about this matter. You know what I’m like; once I’ve set my mind on something, not even ten bulls could pull me back.”
Having said that, Song Yuhang proactively lifted her glass and drank it all in one go.
Of course, he knew Song Yuhang’s temper well. When she was in the police academy, she wasn’t the one with the best physical strength during her first year.
After being scolded by him on the training field for holding her teammates back, the barely eighteen-year-old girl would get up before the wake-up call and go to sleep after lights out, pouring her sweat on the training field.
A year later, at the final exams, she managed to complete 201 pull-ups in five minutes, shattering the school athletic meet’s record, far surpassing her male counterparts of the same period.
Zhao Junfeng seriously acknowledged this girl with the bright eyes for the first time.
When they sparred for the first time, Zhao Junfeng didn’t hold back, knocking her teeth out.
Three years later, when she graduated, Song Yuhang pinned him down on the boxing ring and gave him a beating, sending the onlooking school leaders into a frenzy until the referee blew the whistle and raised her hand to declare her victory.
It was only then that the girl, with a bloodied face, finally showed a hint of relief.
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She possessed a resilience and fierceness just like her father.
Zhao Junfeng found himself somewhat entranced by the face that bore such a striking resemblance.
Such similarity had also been remarked upon by his old buddy.
“Why not? Just because I’m an ordinary person, it has to be this hard to stand out?! I refuse to accept this. I’ll show everyone who looks down on me that, even without money or connections, as long as I have time, I’ll make a name for myself. One day, the entire public security system of Jiangcheng City will know my name!”
“I’ll have my own office. Team leader, squad leader, bureau chief, department head, what are they in the grand scheme of things?!”
“One day, my name will be engraved on the Monument to the People’s Heroes, admired by thousands!”
The youth who had drunk at the riverside was wildly defiant in those days.
Now, only his lone shadow remains.
Zhao Junfeng tilted his head back and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.
He slammed the glass down: “Have it your way. But mark my words, I can’t make anything easier for you here. Once you don the police uniform, we’ll have nothing but a superior-subordinate relationship. If you want glory, you’ll have to sharpen your wits and climb your way to the top, fight with your blood, with your life.”
Song Yuhang filled his cup to the brim and poured one for herself as well.
“I understand, thank you.”
“There’s another thing.” Song Yuhang hesitated for a moment, then decided to lay it all out there while the alcohol loosened her tongue.
She handed the bowl to her teacher’s wife and found a way to clear the room.
“Ma’am, I’d like another bowl of rice.”
“Sure, sure, let me get that for you.” Understanding they needed privacy, she took away Zhao Junfeng’s bowl as she left.
Song Yuhang began.
“I want to ask about the details of the ‘Fenyang Wharf dismemberment case’ from 1994.”
In the silence where you could hear a pin drop, Zhao Junfeng’s face changed.