Chapter 28: Humiliating Dr. Qin (1/2)

After the case was over, I rested for two days. Then, Dali rushed into my room with a newspaper in his hand.

“Dude, dude!” he yelled. “We’re in the paper!”

“What? Let me see!”

I read the article that was supposed to be about the case and didn’t know if I should laugh or cry in response. The whole case was simplified into the murder of two students as personal revenge due to the loss of a scholarship grant. There was no mention of the cursed piano, probably because the police thought it was too bizarre and outlandish to disclose to the public.

Huang Xiaotao was mentioned by name, but I was merely ‘an enthusiastic college student with the surname of Song’ who provided the police with some help. As for the rest of the article, it was just some nonsense about college students being unprepared psychologically to withstand the stress and how terrible it was for the families to lose their children.

“What a ridiculous article,” I said.

“Yeah,” replied Dali. “I think even I could do a better job! And they didn’t even mention my name at all! By the way, you must have more than ten thousand fans on Weibo by now, right dude?”

“Nah,” I said, “I closed my account. Who’s got the time to answer all those stupid questions they sent me?”

“Shit, dude. Why didn’t you use this golden opportunity to develop your fanbase? If you became famous on the internet, maybe I can share some of that attention too…”

There was no way I would dare to be famous in any way, not even if it was just on the Internet. How many members of the Song family had lost their lives due to being well known for their skills in solving cases? No, I had to remain under the radar no matter what.

Then I received a call from Huang Xiaotao who said that I should go to the police station. I asked her if it was because we were getting a bonus.

“That will come out in two days…” she muttered. “It’s um… It’s Dr. Qin. He’s trying to report you.”

“What?” I said, almost cursing. How shameless was this old man? I should be the one to report him instead!

Not only was he unable to solve the case before us, but he was even trying to harm us!

“What did I do now? What is he reporting me for?” I asked.

“You’ll see when you get here,” said Huang Xiaotao. “And make it quick! He’s pestering Captain Lin right now. If you don’t get here soon there’ll be a police car going to your college to escort you here!”

“Okay, I’m on my way!”

Dali asked me what happened.

“I’m going to the police station for a while,” I said. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Should I go too?”

“No.”

I got dressed in a hurry then got a cab to the police station. Huang Xiaotao was waiting at the entrance. She was wearing her full uniform that day, and she looked really cool in it.

“I’m sorry, Song Yang,” she said. “I got you in trouble again.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said, “it’s that shameless old man. Let’s go find him.”

We went straight to an office, where I could clearly hear Dr. Qin’s deafening voice. “Captain Lin, if it wasn’t for Huang Xiaotao who brought in that little brat, do you really think that someone with my experience can’t solve such a simple case like this? Nonsense! You have to punish her!”

I wanted to laugh at this logic of his. Did experience automatically mean capability to him?

“All right, Old Qin,” said the other voice, probably the Captain Lin that Huang Xiaotao mentioned before. “There’s no need to get carried away. Let’s hear what he has to say first.”

Huang Xiaotao knocked on the door. Captain Lin said come in and so we both entered the office.

“Captain Lin,” said Huang Xiaotao after a salute, “I’ve brought Song Yang here.”

Dr. Qin held a cigarette between his fingers, and he was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. When he saw me, his nostrils flared and he let out a loud harrumph.

Captain Lin was a lean and muscular man around the age of forty or so. He looked a bit like an actor in an action movie for some reason.

“So, you are Song Yang?” he asked, his eyes inspecting me.

“Yes,” I said with a nod.

“You look very young,” he said, “yet you managed to solve a case like this in less than twenty-four hours. Do you come from a family of police officers?”

“No, sir,” I said. “I come from a long line of civilians. It’s only an interest of mine. I’ve been reading books about criminal cases and investigations since I was very young.”

“So you are indeed a rare young talent, very impressive!” Captain Lin praised.

“Captain Lin!” said Dr. Qin. He tossed his cigarette butt into the ashtray and got up from his seat, fuming in anger. “Why are you praising this impudent brat? He’s been desecrating dead bodies and interfering with our investigation!”

“Old Qin,” said Captain Lin with a laugh, “he was just examining the dead bodies, you can’t accuse him of desecration for that! Besides, didn’t he end up helping us solve a case?”

“How can you say that?” said Dr. Qin. “He’s not a police officer! He’s a completely random outsider! How can you take his side like that?”

“I’m only being reasonable,” said Captain Lin. “From what I’ve seen, there’s really no need to make a big fuss about this. No need to report him at all.”

“Wait, I have something else to say!” interjected Dr. Qin, staring at me with darkened eyes. “This brat stole a crucial piece of evidence and destroyed it!”

I froze for a moment at this allegation, completely clueless about what the old man was talking about.