Physical Evidence
Her lips quivering, body shaking uncontrollably, she resembled a mad person who had lost all reason, desperately seeking an answer. Thus, she gritted her teeth and tore open her clothes.
With a crisp “Rip—”, Lin Yan’s sanity abruptly returned. Tears rolled down from the corner of her eyes as she pushed her away, hugging her own shoulders.
“No… don’t… I am not… not…”
A flash of lightning illuminated her tear-streaked face and eyes through the window.
Seeing her in disarray, tears threatening to fall, she too felt like a culprit tonight.
Song Yuhang’s heart ached as if being cut by knives, weakly dropping her fingertips, her voice hoarse.
“I’m sorry for the intrusion.”
She averted her gaze from the sight of her wet hair and clothes clinging tightly to her body.
“However, I think it might be better for you to take off your wet clothes. There’s a blanket here, clean. I’ll go outside to find something to start a fire… you should take them off yourself.”
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She said, reaching for a slightly damp blanket on the bed to hand to her.
Lin Yan shrank back, the terrified expression on her face causing Song Yuhang another pang of heartache.
Song Yuhang placed the blanket beside her and got up to leave the room, looking around for any usable firewood.
After she had finished gathering and stood at the door in the rain for a while, waiting until the rustling sounds inside had settled, she then knocked on the door as a sign before pushing it open and entering.
Lin Yan curled up with her knees hugged to her chest under a blanket, her wet clothes laid out beside her.
Song Yuhang walked over to tend to the brazier. Fortunately, some of the firewood behind the room was still dry. She quickly managed to create sparks using friction, placing dry grass among the kindling.
Before long, the flames roared to life.
Lin Yan watched as she took her clothes, setting up a makeshift rack with sticks beside the brazier to dry them. She swallowed, but ultimately said nothing.
After finishing these tasks, Song Yuhang fiddled with the embers, not looking up.
“Get some sleep, you’re still feverish.”
How could Lin Yan dare to sleep? Afraid that she might talk in her sleep again and arouse her suspicion. Despite being so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open, let alone continue to suffer from a high fever.
The room, small as a sparrow but complete in every detail, also had an iron kettle for boiling water. Lin Yan watched hazily as Song Yuhang went out and returned to set something over the fire. Shortly, the sound of boiling water gently filled the room.
Cradled by these earthly noises and watching the firelight blurring her vision, Lin Yan finally drifted off into a deep sleep.
Song Yuhang got up, straightened Lin Yan, and tucked the blanket around her snugly. As the water boiled, she took it out to cool in the creek water. After blowing on it to cool it down, she gently raised Lin Yan up and fed her the water in small sips.
Swallowing the warm flow of water, Lin Yan felt a relief from the parched irritation in her throat, her body warming up considerably.
She drank a little too eagerly, coughing a few times, with droplets slipping from the corner of her lips. Song Yuhang used the back of her hand to wipe them away and carefully laid Lin Yan down after setting the water jug aside.
“Sleep.”
She heard her whispering gently beside her ear. Lin Yan wanted to respond, but she was so weak she couldn’t even lift her fingers.
Blearily opening her eyes, Lin Yan saw Song Yuhang gently placing a wet cloth on her forehead.
It was cool and comfortable.
Unable to resist the exhaustion any longer, Lin Yan was completely engulfed by darkness and fell into a deep sleep.
After Lin Yan had fallen asleep, Song Yuhang didn’t rest either. The rain-dampened jungle was cold and wet; she had to make sure the fire didn’t go out throughout the night to keep the room warm. She also went out periodically to rinse the cloth and reapply it to Lin Yan’s forehead to reduce her temperature.
By the latter part of the night, Lin Yan’s face had lost its flush, and her temperature gradually returned to normal.
Only then did Song Yuhang let herself relax, sitting down beside the bed, rubbing her nose and sneezing.
Observing her sound sleep, she felt somewhat embarrassed as she lifted her arms to remove her clothes and placed them by the fire to dry, sitting on the ground in just a black tank top and crossing her legs.
In reality, Lin Yan wasn’t sleeping as soundly as it seemed. Firstly, she was coming in and out of sleep; secondly, the rapid rainstorm outside kept waking her; thirdly, she had been half-asleep and half-awake while cleaning her wounds earlier.
She struggled not to speak, unsure of what to say, so she simply chose to continue sleeping.
However, she was suddenly awakened by her sneeze and then saw her undressing and sitting down with her back to her, revealing her long, muscular arms and the perfect lines of her shoulders and neck.
Lin Yan couldn’t help but linger on the sight for a few moments longer than necessary.
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Song Yuhang, unaware of Lin Yan’s awakened state, took a shiny ring out of the pocket of the clothes she had just removed.
She had taken it off to avoid losing it during a fight.
Fingering the diamond ring, Song Yuhang was lost in thought about Lin Yan and Pei Jinhong, fluctuating between the memory of Lin Yan smiling at her and Pei Jinhong’s cold, hostile expressions.
Her reason and emotions were being torn apart, leaving her mind in complete chaos.
Lin Yan was dead. Song Yuhang had seen her body with her own eyes; there could be no mistake.
However, Pei Jinhong appeared, a person whose appearance and temperament were strikingly similar to hers, except for the color of her hair. The teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of her eye, the scars on her body, Lin Yan had them, and so did she.
Could there really be such a coincidence in the world?
Song Yuhang buried her head in her arms, doubting for the first time.
Lin Yan was lying down, but she started to become restless ever since she took out that diamond ring.
Rustling sounds came from behind.
She woke up.
Song Yuhang still didn’t move, lifted her head from her arms, caressing the ring, with a slight smile and reddened eyes.
Lin Yan turned her head to look at her, her voice hoarse.
“Are you… married?”
“Hm.”
Song Yuhang snapped back to reality, inserting the ring into her ring finger.
Lin Yan felt a pang of heartache, struggling to keep her voice from sounding choked and jealous.
“Then, your husband?”
Song Yuhang shook her head: “I don’t have a husband.”
“Then…”
She caressed the diamond ring, smiling.
“It’s my wife.”
A bitter taste suddenly surged in Lin Yan’s heart, rushing to her eyes. She was thankful she didn’t turn her head back to speak, which allowed her to conceal this moment of vulnerability.
She quickly raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye and sniffled, asking like a stranger.
“I didn’t expect you to be… gay. Where is your wife then?”
The smile on Song Yuhang’s lips turned bitter.
“She’s gone.”
Lin Yan turned away, burying her face in the musty-smelling blanket.
Song Yuhang turned her face towards her back.
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“You look a lot like her.”
Lin Yan laughed coldly while tears fell.
She didn’t turn around.
“Is that so? No wonder you’ve been so nice to me. But remember this, my name is Pei Jinhong, not someone’s substitute.”
“Alright, I’ve got it. But can you face me, look into my eyes, and say that again?”
Song Yuhang’s voice was calm but carried an edge.
She was stubborn, needing an answer and vowing not to give up until she got one.
Lin Yan knew her character better than anyone, especially when it came to herself. She showed great obstinacy, even to the point of being somewhat paranoid.
Whether it was back when she was pursuing her or even now.
She sat up, wrapped in a blanket, her black hair draping over her shoulders, her expression returning to its usual sternness.
She looked at Song Yuhang as if she were looking at an archenemy, a nemesis, a competitor, even with a hint of camaraderie that friends might share. But there was absolutely no love, not even the slightest bit.
She didn’t even frown, unlike Song Yuhang, who hadn’t spoken yet but already had tearful eyes.
She didn’t repeat her words; she simply said,
“Today, you saved me, and I saved you. Life for life, we’re even. Next time we meet, you’ll have your stance, and I’ll have my persistence.”
“We…”
Lin Yan paused slightly, then looked directly into her eyes.
“Are enemies.”
But that’s not enough. She had to be even more ruthless, destroying all her love and faith.
“There are many brothers in the nightclub who have seen you. I guess you’ve been looking for me all along. It’s nothing more than wanting to know about those brothers. Yes, they came to me, asking me to help them sell the kidnapped children to Southeast Asia…”
“I agreed, so in a way, you… your wife’s death is also related to me.”
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There was only a momentary pause. Lin Yan blinked her eyes, forcing back the tears, revealing no flaws.
“The enemy is right in front of you. Don’t you want revenge? Won’t you regret saving me? Don’t you want to extract more information from my mouth?”
A rapid barrage of questions made Song Yuhang tightly clench her fist, her eyes bursting with anger, bloodshot and teeth grinding. The diamond ring in her hand caused pain in her palm, but it couldn’t compare to the one percent of the pain in her heart.
For a moment, Lin Yan almost had the illusion that she would throw herself at her and twist her own neck, but after a few breaths, she held back.
Song Yuhang released her grip, leaving a bloody mark on her palm.
“You’re right. The reason I’m not doing anything to you right now is because you saved me. I’ve always been clear about debts and grudges. Until we meet again–“
She paused briefly, her tone gradually growing colder.
“I will not hold back any longer.”
As the two conversed, the day had already brightly dawned outside, the fire had died, and anything that could bring warmth had vanished.
Lin Yan felt as if she had been in an unreal dream; now awakened, she had to return to that cutthroat world of deception and thin ice.
She no longer avoided it, lifted the blanket, got out of bed, and started picking up her clothes to dress, all in front of her.
The scars from a previous gunshot wound and the marks she herself had made with a knife had disappeared without a trace.
Lin Yan let her see clearly, even deliberately dressing somewhat slowly, taking a good while to slide her arms through the sleeves, her fingers clumsily tying the buttons.
Barefoot on the floor, her black hair draped over her shoulders, she carried a demeanor of openness, yet her entire being emitted a languid and seductive aura.
It was Song Yuhang who first turned her face away.
Lin Yan smiled lightly: “Had enough?”
Song Yuhang stood up and put on her coat, diligently extinguishing the fire with sand and stones.
“Not as pretty as my wife.”
The previously tense atmosphere shattered instantly.
Lin Yan’s mouth twitched, almost letting slip a curse.
“Let’s go.”
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This time, the two maintained their distance without any more intimate contact, except for when Song Yuhang briefly took her hand to help her over a dirt hill.
Despite achieving the outcome she wanted, neither of them seemed happy, remaining silent on the way back.
Song Yuhang escorted her to the roadside and flagged down a returning bus.
As the bus door opened, Lin Yan boarded, giving a faint nod without intending to sit together.
“Goodbye, Officer Song.”
Song Yuhang said nothing, hands in her pockets, as she watched her gradually disappear into the distance, eventually vanishing from sight.
It was only after the car had completely turned the corner that she opened her palm, revealing a piece of fabric she had been clutching tightly.
It was carefully cut from the clothes she had dried for her, still stained with glaring blood traces.
Lin Yan was unaware.
Collecting physical evidence is an instinct for every detective.
LP: I hope Yuhang learns the truth and then help Yanyan in secret •ᴗ•
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