Overly Intense [Criminal Investigation] 161

Chapter 161: The End (Part 1)

The Spring Festival was often a peak period for criminal cases. Shen Yiyi wished she could split herself in two. One moment she was at the hospital for an injury examination, and the next she was called to an autopsy.

Assault after drinking, carbon monoxide poisoning, traffic accidents, and fake New Year’s goods causing harm. Even watching a movie could lead to a fight.

The small holidays that Shen Yiyi hated the most, besides the summer vacation, were the Spring Festival period.

On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, Shen Yiyi, who was busy on duty, was sitting in front of her computer, typing up a case. The cafeteria had a traditional team-building meal. Lin Puping came into the office with an unfinished bowl of eight-treasure rice and took out two bags of beef jerky from his pocket, placing them on the table, saying that he was afraid she would be hungry on her night shift.

It was rare for Director Shen to be in a good mood. Not only did she smile at him, but she also took out a few autographed photos of internet celebrities from her drawer. “The ones you asked me for last time. I’ve always forgotten.”

“Ahhhhhhhhh.”

Lin Puping held the warm autographed photos, his mind blank. For a moment, he forgot to say thank you. It was Director Shen who spoke first. “Happy New Year.”

Only then did he grin. “Thank you, Director! Happy New Year!”

It was not yet evening, but he had already started to fiddle with the spring couplets and was pasting them on the doors of the various labs.

Especially Old Jia, who had personally written a couplet:

“A skillful hand and a discerning eye distinguish the true from the false.”
“A benevolent heart and a cold knife clarify life and death.”
“Identification for the public.”

“Director is truly a man of letters.”
“Yes, his calligraphy is also quite good.”

The people in the department all chimed in with praise, but Shen Yiyi crossed her arms and secretly clicked her tongue at the couplet, thinking that he would not go to the autopsy table, but his skills were not lacking at all.

“Thank you to all the comrades who are on duty tonight.”

Director Jia had specially brought some comfort gifts. In the bag were ginger tea, dried tangerine peel, and some warm packs that could be used for fieldwork. “Especially our Director Shen, who has taken the lead in staying on the front line. It’s really been hard on you.”

Shen Yiyi said coldly, “It’s what I should do.”

In the past few years, when Shen Yiyi had said this “it’s what I should do,” she had just been being perfunctory. But this year was different. As long as she thought of Qin Luo and her father having a reunion dinner at home, while she had to rush to the scene to examine a corpse, she would feel a sense of unhappiness in her heart.

“I’ve given a strict order this year. No more burning yellow paper at the entrance of the funeral home.” Director Jia looked at a few of the old comrades and emphasized.

Different identification centers have different traditions.

Shen Yiyi, a forensic pathologist, had followed many senior experts and knew that they had the habit of going to the funeral home to burn some paper before the Spring Festival, to show their respect for the deceased, and to “clear the field of the wronged souls” of the old year.

But their younger generation had their own way of mourning. For example, she herself preferred to go to the equipment room to do a major cleaning of the tools, which had the meaning of clearing away the dirt.

Including all the departments of criminal investigation, there were taboos. During the New Year, everyone would not mention the words “corpse” and “life.” They would mostly be replaced by “case” and “incident.” If it happened to be around New Year’s Eve and there was an autopsy task, it would often be tacitly assigned to the unmarried young people.

Shen Yiyi was this kind of person.
But this year, she was different from usual, and she was also very superstitious.

She had had Qin Luo buy oranges and pomelos in advance and had placed them in a corner of her office on the morning of New Year’s Eve, for good luck and peace. She had even hung a peace talisman that her father had gotten from a temple in her car.

At night.

Shanghai, which banned fireworks, was different from a small town. There were no firecrackers, no fireworks to watch. The city was quiet, and nothing was happening. Shen Yiyi was bored and was looking at her phone. Two hours ago, Qin Luo had said that she and Shen’s father were starting to cook. The message had come and then there had been no news. She had sent several messages asking what they were eating, but Qin Luo had not replied.

In the past, she would have flipped through old files, checked for system errors, and at worst, would have thought about the progress of her mother’s case.

But that night, she had just been staring blankly at her computer.

Until Qin Luo had called her on video.

The sound in the video was very noisy. She didn’t have to think to know that it was her dad’s TV volume turned up because he was hard of hearing. Qin Luo was not annoyed and had actually allowed her ears to suffer this kind of torture.

“You’re not here. We’re having eight dishes and a soup.”

After Qin Luo had finished speaking, she had turned the camera. She had seen her uncle stir-frying fish in a wok, and her aunt helping on the side.

Shen Yiyi had forced a smile. “My uncle is also here.”

Qin Luo had taken the initiative to explain. “Your dad meant to go to your uncle’s, but the place is small, and there’s not enough room.”

At this, her aunt had happened to hear.

“Paopao, I’ll have your uncle bring you some fish later. You have to have a couple of bites of the New Year’s Eve dinner.”

Perhaps her nickname had been covered up by the liveliness of New Year’s Eve. Shen Yiyi had not been stressed by this and had instead forced a smile and had been perfunctory. “No need. I’ve already eaten at the unit’s cafeteria.”

“How can the unit’s cafeteria be as good as home-cooked food…”

She had originally wanted to talk to Qin Luo for a while longer, but her phone had been snatched by her aunt. They had talked for almost half an hour, and by the time Qin Luo had gotten her phone back, Shen Yiyi’s mouth was already dry.

New Year’s Eve had been spent at work. It wasn’t until the third day of the New Year that Shen Yiyi had been able to be free.

The three of them had gotten up early. Shen Yiyi had said that Qin Luo had to rush back to be with her mother for the New Year, and the journey could not be delayed, so they had set off in the dark. Qin Luo had arrived home just in time for lunch. When Jiang Yan had learned that her daughter was home, she had prepared a table of food.

Ever since Qin Luo had not wanted her mother to meddle in the Qin family’s affairs, they had had fewer and fewer dealings during the New Year. There were no other people during the New Year, and the mother and daughter did not have much to say at the dinner table.

But as soon as Jiang Yan had opened her mouth, she had asked the key question:

“You came back together. Why didn’t you keep Shen Yiyi for dinner?”
“She went back to see her grandmother.”

“Oh.” Jiang Yan put down her chopsticks. The words in her mouth made it difficult for her to swallow her food. She hesitated for a long time and then said, “You’re not young anymore. Isn’t it time to find someone to live with?”

Qin Luo, who had been looking down, looked up in surprise.

Ever since she had bought a house in Shanghai, Jiang Yan had rarely mentioned the topic of marriage to her. One was that Qin Luo was annoyed and sensitive about it, and the other was that Jiang Yan knew that it was difficult for Qin Luo to find a partner with her conditions. To reduce the conflict between the mother and daughter, she had rarely cared.

To suddenly bring it up today, Jiang Yan must have guessed.

Qin Luo wiped her mouth and also put down her chopsticks. “I’m living a good life now.”

Qin Luo did not have the courage to come out, but her words were very evasive.

She thought that perhaps it was a habit from her upbringing that had made her subconsciously answer like this. After all, Jiang Yan could not help her solve her problems, nor could she help her bear the consequences.

Therefore, to her, troubles had to be suppressed in front of her family. Maintaining a calm and peaceful state would at least give her more breathing space.

“But I’ve seen a lot of people online saying that you and Little Shen…”

Qin Luo nodded. “Yes.”

The vague answer made Jiang Yan helpless. “What do you mean, yes?”

“What they’re saying online is true.” Qin Luo was a person who would only answer when she was asked by her mother. But she was still careful with her words, so as not to stress the other. “Shen Yiyi and I are living together now.”

…
Silence…

Jiang Yan silently picked up her chopsticks again and then nodded at the food. “Let’s continue eating.”

The second half of the meal was very quiet. The mother and daughter tacitly filtered out this matter. Even when Qin Luo was clearing the dishes and had mentioned that she was going to Shen Yiyi’s in the afternoon, Jiang Yan had just nodded.

She didn’t know if her mother was being too cautious, or if Qin Luo was deliberately avoiding it. The two were as polite as if they were visiting relatives, and both of them maintained their composure.

Qin Luo did not wait for Shen Yiyi to pick her up and had gone out early. She had taken a taxi to the riverside walkway and had sat on a bench under a stone bridge, smoking.

The Spring Festival in the small town was a headache.

The dragon lanterns from more than a decade ago were still in use, but there were more varieties of snacks on the street stalls. Qin Luo could no longer find the radish cakes she had loved back then, nor had she seen any sugar figurines.

By the time Shen Yiyi had found her, Qin Luo had been sitting for almost two hours.

Shen Yiyi pulled Qin Luo’s hand, and her fingers were cold.

Shen Yiyi was a little annoyed. She turned and bought a cup of hot milk tea and stuffed it into her arms. “You just got over a cold, and you’re going to catch a cold again.”

Qin Luo moved closer to her. “Isn’t this just reminiscing about the bitter and sweet?”

Nonsense!

“What reminiscing about the bitter and sweet?” Shen Yiyi snorted coldly. “I think you’re just looking for trouble.”

It was still early, and it was still in time to visit the graves in the evening. Shen Yiyi sat in the cold wind, her gaze on the commercial street on both sides of the walkway, her hand unconsciously holding hers tightly.

She had been silent for a long time before she asked, “Did you have an unpleasant time with your aunt?”

Qin Luo shook her head. “Not really.”

“Ever since my father passed away, we’ve rarely argued.” Qin Luo said calmly, “She rarely participates in the major choices in my life, such as my studies, my work, and my business. She basically lets me do whatever I want.”

With that, Qin Luo looked down.

“I feel that she and I are not that close. The arguments, the cold wars, the suppression that a mother and daughter would have… have never happened to me. It’s as if she’s been watching me grow up from a distance.”

A mother and daughter should have the most intimate connection, but it was as if it had been blocked in them.

There was both the connection of family and the barrier of strangeness. It was not as extreme as indifference or a complete break, but rather like a perennial dampness, a cold and indifferent penetration into the soft but dull corners of a person’s heart.

Shen Yiyi held her hand back tightly.

“When I was a child, it was so tiring to watch her live.” Qin Luo’s fingertips touched the back of her girlfriend’s hand, gently stroking it. “To me, she has no name, no language, and her face is blurry. I don’t know what she likes, only that she likes money.”

In her memory, the source of the family’s arguments was for money.

“But when I had money, she didn’t seem to be very happy.” Qin Luo didn’t understand, so she was puzzled. “I always feel that she’s like an inflatable doll, and she pins her emotions on my dad or me. As I grew older, I could feel that she was gradually letting go of her anger.”

Gradually shriveling.

“Who said that?” Shen Yiyi shook Qin Luo’s hand. “Even if you don’t get along, you still have to have time to get along. You tell me, how many times have you gone home these past few years, and how many times have you chatted with her?”

Qin Luo was not convinced. “Aren’t you the same?”

“Then we’ll go back more often when we have time. If that doesn’t work, we can have your aunt come and stay for a few days.” Shen Yiyi pointed to a small stall not far away. “Are you hungry? How about I buy you some radish cakes?”

Qin Luo was pulled up from the bench. “I’ve already looked. They’re not selling them anymore.”

“I don’t believe you.” Shen Yiyi’s hand was naturally in her trench coat pocket. Their clasped hands were still warm, and Qin Luo was being pulled forward.

They were the same as in the past, crossing the most crowded intersection in the small town. Some memories can be remembered because they are passed by repeatedly.

On this road, they had once agreed to go to the same city. Qin Luo had held a grudge for many years and had not yet forgotten that palpitation.

“I love you.”

This was the first time Qin Luo had said this on the street, in a plain and unremarkable way.

“But I love radish cakes more.”

Although Shen Yiyi said this, the hand in her trench coat had changed to interlocking their fingers.