My Dear Miss Medical Examiner

Red Brocade

Better to seize the day than pick the perfect one.

It was she who suggested eating hot pot, yet she’s also the one who’s distracted.

Song Yuhang quickly finished the rice in her bowl: “I’m full, going out for a bit.”

Mother Song stood up, her voice filled with sorrow as she called her name: “Yuhang, don’t go again, don’t… you’ve made us worry.”

Song Yuhang turned back to look at them, the electric hot pot on the stove was still bubbling, steaming, and the aroma was wafting through the air.

The freshly washed vegetables lay on the plate, still dripping with water.

Everything was so beautiful and serene.

Lin Yan should be sitting here too, enjoying this warmth.

But she’s gone now, never again to taste the hot pot she loved so much.

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Song Yuhang shook her head: “Mom, I’m sorry, I can’t do it. I can promise you I won’t harm myself and that I’ll live well, but to be indifferent, to act as if nothing happened, I’m sorry, I just can’t do it.”

After Song Yuhang left, Mother Song stared at the closed door for a long time, until Ji Jingxing picked up a pair of chopsticks and put some blanched greens into her bowl.

“Mom, let her go. What else can we do? There’s always something to look forward to in life.”

Xiaowei bit on her chopsticks. Although she couldn’t understand what they were saying, seeing her mother add vegetables to her grandmother’s bowl and her grandmother crying, she too shared a piece of the meat from her bowl with her grandmother.

She was still not much of a talker, but this sweet gesture was enough to turn Mother Song’s tears into laughter.

“Good child, eat up. There’s still so much food. Jingxing, you eat too.”

“Alright, Mom. Try this.”

Huange Nightclub.

Hidden in the bustling city is a two-story antique building with green tiles and flying eaves, magnificent and splendid. The walls are adorned with colorful lights and neon, almost brightening the entire street.

The signboard, carved out of pear wood, hangs high at the front of the building.

A few well-dressed, slick young men stand at the door; their faces powdered and hair slicked back. They spring forward to open the car doors as vehicles approach, bending slightly at the waist as they welcome guests inside.

Song Yuhang stands across the road, finishing a cigarette. After stubbing out the butt, she walks toward the club.

Just as expected, someone stopped her.

“Hello, miss, please present your membership card,” said the well-dressed young man with a touch of aloofness.

Song Yuhang responded, “Do you need a membership card just to listen to music?”

“Yes, our club operates on a membership basis; you must have a card to enter.”

It seems Feng Jianguo was right; this place only caters to regulars.

Song Yuhang looked up at the glittering sign and asked, “How much to get in?”

The young man sized her up, noting her plain clothes and lack of expensive jewelry. Even her messy hair, casually worn jacket, and undone bootlaces screamed “down and out.”

Clearly a pauper, contempt flickered in the young man’s eyes.

“You need to pay 100,000 yuan for a membership card, and there’s a minimum charge once inside.”

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Song Yuhang had thought at most it would cost 5,000 yuan, but the number thrown at her was astronomical.

Is this f*cking place a recreation club or a highway robbery?

She shoved her hands into her pockets and felt her police badge, then let go.

Forget it, can’t tip them off.

“I’m just going in to find someone, surely I don’t need that much money for that.”

She had intended it as a probe, but the young man grew wary the moment he heard she was there to find someone.

With a quick glance, the other bouncers subtly surrounded her.

“If you’re not going to spend, sorry, please leave.”

Annoyed, Song Yuhang turned to walk away. The young men dispersed, and as she glanced back, she suddenly spun around, shoved the man she had spoken with, and charged straight inside.

She didn’t even reach the doorway before being overpowered; outmatched, she was beaten until her nose was bruised and her face swollen, and then she was thrown out.

Song Yuhang lay in the middle of the street, vehicles honking as they passed by. Clutching her shoulder, she limped up, walked across to the other side of the road, and spotted a convenience store where she bought a pack of cigarettes and some baijiu (alcohol).

The cigarettes were Marlboro, Lin Yan’s usual brand.

Shivering and with tears welling up in her eyes, Song Yuhang lit one, finding a bit of warmth in tasting something familiar to her.

Hugging the wall as she walked, tears streaming down her face, she quickly found her way to the back door of the nightclub.

A few people were standing guard there, looking at her with unfriendly expressions.

She took a swig of baijiu, wiped her lips, then turned back, feeling the perimeter wall, wondering whether she could climb over it.

A patrol car on the roadside eyed her, police lights flashing.

Song Yuhang’s lips curled into a mocking smile; she let go of the wall and staggered forward, clutching the liquor bottle.

The police car followed her for a few hundred meters, then drove off when they saw she wasn’t doing anything unusual.

There she was, walking aimlessly, with a pack of cigarettes in her pocket and a bottle of baijiu in her hand. Without realizing it, she had reached the gym where she usually practiced boxing.

It was well past closing time and on a weekday evening, there weren’t many people around; only a dim wall light was on in the venue.

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Song Yuhang climbed onto the ring, stumbled over it, spilling baijiu all over herself, but she didn’t care. She finished off the remaining liquor in the bottle in a few gulps and casually threw the bottle onto the ground.

Her eyes fixed on the swaying punching bag; she got up, clenched her fists, and launched at it, throwing punches and kicks while letting out an angry roar from deep within her throat.

The punching bag swayed, tirelessly bouncing back after each heavy punch.

Like the bag, Song Yuhang seemed tireless, continuously unleashing her pain with punch after punch.

The alcohol nearly drove her to madness.

Soon, sweat had soaked her clothes through, and her black hair, damp and sticky, clung to her forehead, dripping water down.

She punched out, her arm trembling slightly, and droplets of water on the punching bag trickled down as well.

Song Yuhang gasped for breath, her head bowed, tears dropping one by one onto the floor.

Her fist rested against the punching bag without moving, and in the empty venue, only her heavy breathing and sobs could be heard.

“Over the years, you’re the only friend she’s ever brought before us and tacitly acknowledged.”

“The young miss once told me a long time ago that she had fallen in love with someone, a woman named Song Yuhang.”

“She said that her only purpose in living was for revenge, and she didn’t know how long she would live, so she didn’t dare to get emotionally involved.”

“The People’s Procuratorate of Jiangcheng City, in accordance with the law, has sealed the assets under the name of Lin Yan, the deceased forensic doctor of the Municipal Public Security Bureau…”

“This is the young miss’s personal belonging; it’s being returned to its rightful owner.”

“Captain Song, please accept my condolences for your loss.”

……

She remembered the last words Feng Jianguo said to her.

“After your vehicle plunged into the sea, Lin Yan jumped in after you, and we… we couldn’t stop her.”

“Actually, when she came up from the seabed, she was already in very bad shape. You know… her illness meant she couldn’t afford to get hurt. Before the ambulance arrived, she insisted on performing effective CPR on you for half an hour.”

Feng Jianguo’s eyes were still moist when he recalled that scene.

As Lin Yan worked on resuscitation, every time she exerted force with her arms, the wound on her shoulder began to ooze blood.

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In the bitter cold of early winter, she knelt on the icy, damp sand, shivering from the cold wind that turned her lips purple.

It was only when the paramedics arrived that they learned she was in critical condition due to excessive blood loss, not solely from the cold.

“She refused to hand you over to anyone else. It wasn’t until she saw your chest rise and fall, and felt the pulse in your carotid artery, that she handed you over to the doctors who arrived shortly after.”

“She herself, however… never managed to stand up again.”

In the darkness, someone leaned against the wall, peering through a crack in the door to see her punching the sandbag, until finally, strength failing, she knelt down, embracing the sandbag and sobbing uncontrollably.

Her heart died along with her, and she had to use all her strength to tightly clench her fists, her fingernails sinking deep into her flesh. She bit her lower lip hard, tasting a hint of blood on her tongue, barely restraining herself from rushing in and embracing her with an impulse.

In the past, there had been heart-wrenching moments of separation and farewell, but she had never seen her cry so heartbreakingly.

In her impression, Song Yuhang had always been restrained, calm, and rational. Any hint of indulgence was reserved for moments of physical intimacy.

Song Yuhang had a fierce temperament, always wanting to embed her deep into her bones. But as long as she showed the slightest hint of teary-eyed expression, she would soften and comfort her.

She rarely lost control completely, let alone in such a distressed and disheveled state as she was in now.

The woman dared not look any longer; hastily, she averted her gaze, leaning against the wall, covering her lips as tears streamed down her face, crying and laughing simultaneously.

She bent over, stifling her sobs to prevent them from being heard.

Unexpectedly, the noise inside ceased.

Song Yuhang’s voice called out, “Lin Yan, is that you?!”

Before she could push the door open, the woman turned on her heels and ran.

By the time she stumbled out, there was not a soul outside the door.

Like a cornered animal, she spun in circles on the spot.

“Lin Yan, come out! I just… just now… I clearly heard your voice… It was you… It was you crying, wasn’t it?”

The empty gymnasium offered no reply.

Song Yuhang gritted her teeth and kept running until she reached the street, where traffic lights flashed, vehicles streamed like a procession, and pedestrians jostled against each other.

She reached out and tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of her: “Lin—”

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“What the hell?! Are you crazy?!”

“Sorry, I mistook you for someone else.”

She had seen someone wearing the same dress as her and excitedly tapped the person’s shoulder.

“Lin Yan!”

This drew the angry glare of the person’s boyfriend: “What do you want?! Looking for trouble?”

“Sorry, I got the wrong person.”

She ran down the long street, across the overpass, past the zebra crossing, onto the sidewalk. She encountered many “Lin Yans,” but none of them were the Lin Yan she was looking for.

When she was shoved to the ground once again by someone’s boyfriend, Song Yuhang smiled, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

She picked herself up; her clothes were torn, and she was covered in dirt. With indifference, she walked forward under the pointing fingers and whispering gazes of the passersby.

This time, she didn’t bother anyone else.

She didn’t know where to go and didn’t want to just head home and worry her mother. As she walked, a bus stopped in front of her.