Chapter 52 Episode 52: Awarding Honors and Considering a Career Change

  Wang Yong left anyway. When I saw him off, I told him that with my personality and profession, I had long been used to death, so it didn't matter. Finally, I asked him "Will you keep in touch with me?" He remained silent for a long time before finally saying "I'll try".

  Just leave then. Wang Yong said something very right after getting drunk, if you want to break up with me just give me a look and I'll roll far away from you instantly.

  I'm actually not outstanding in any way, no wealth or impressive background, ordinary looks, height... cute? If I say intelligent, my IQ is not even 120; emotional intelligence is slightly higher, but it seems too high and I need to take medicine...

  The only thing I can take pride in is my self-respect.

  Because there's nothing, can't lose the only self-respect. Don't remember which movie said "Even if this self-respect is extremely ugly, in the days to come, I will still need it to be with me like a shadow."

  Besides, we haven't even started formally yet.

  What kind of person am I? If I take a few less pills, I won't have any feelings for him in just a minute!

  Who has time to think about him? I still have work, parents, and things in this life that need to be figured out. I'm too busy!

  …………

  Something big happened, I rested at home for about 10 days, and only after the attending doctor and psychologist signed could I go back to work. On the day I returned to the provincial hall, I coincidentally ran into Auntie Xie from downstairs. I hastily greeted her: "Auntie, I haven't seen you in these few days. Weren't you going to ask me to introduce that boy to you? Now I've figured out who he is..."

  Bang!!

  Auntie didn't even let me finish speaking before she rushed into the house, and the anti-theft door slammed shut. That speed is so fast! Auntie, don't be afraid, I still want to discuss my height with you...

  Relatives and neighbors are still polite to my parents, even with a sense of reverence, but the reverence is accompanied by distance. Often seeing people in the distance stealing glances at my parents, when we pass by they stop talking, and who knows what they're saying behind our backs.

  In a small town, it's big news when a few cars in the parking lot are scratched. But suddenly, there are submachine guns and terrorist explosions involved, and the neighborhood is instantly packed with police, even fully armed bomb disposal units. No matter how hard they try to keep the message under wraps, rumors still fly around like little flies.

  I don't care how I am, since I chose to be a forensic doctor, if I can't get rich then so be it, and I couldn't care less about getting married. If there's trouble or revenge, I'm confident I can handle it. If one year my luck is bad and I get killed, then I'll just get killed, after all, it's just "dying again".

  But I couldn't harm Mom and Dad.

  I thought of a ruthless and cold-blooded killer being brought back home by me, I thought of the bullets possibly piercing through my parents' chests, I thought of my parents lying in a pool of blood... Every time I think about it, I almost freeze up, I'm completely unable to move, even my heartbeat seems to stop.

  I was out of my mind back then, with Wang Yong, Wang Yong, Wang Yong on the brain! ... and I even got followed all the way home still thinking about Wang Yong... What's so great about Wang Yong? Even if there were ten Wang Yongs, each one treating me ten times better, could they compare to Mom and Dad? They're the ones who gave birth to me, gave me life, and raised me!

  Maybe I can find a reason to say that this IQ 180 is hard to deal with from the start, and I can also use "this madman has gone too far and it's hard to detect" as a reason. But in the end, if I hadn't done this job from the beginning, none of this would have happened!

  My mother later pondered the taste and cried for several days, crying while beating me: "I told you not to do this line! I told you not to do this line! In those years, your father and I stopped you like that! Like that...…

  My dad's hands trembled as he fished for the float, "Alright, it's come to this. My daughter has done a good job, isn't there a saying that in the police force, only those who do well will have people coming to their door seeking revenge."

  "My mom turned around and scolded my dad: 'You're always helping her, you only know how to help her, it's all because of your spoiling! It's all because of your spoiling!...'"

  At that time, my parents advised me in various ways not to be a forensic doctor. I was ill at the time and insisted on doing it. Being a laboratory forensic doctor would also be much better. I still want to be a criminal investigation forensic doctor.

  Maybe it's time to consider whether the initial decision was correct.

  It's already mid-January, and after another month it will be Chinese New Year. Maybe because of the long break, people tend to become lazy, Chen Lao had asked me to visit his home when I'm free, but I kept putting it off and only went a few days later.

  My elder brother was also there, and Madame Chen pulled me to ask about my well-being. Old Mr. Chen solemnly called me into the study, handed me a box, and when I opened it, I found a first-class medal of honor inside.

  First-class merit medal is not easy to get in peacetime, the army requires at least a division-level approval for second-class merit; our police department has more collective second-class merits, but individual second-class merits are only considered when the situation is extremely urgent, and you must have fought with thugs, been injured, solved the case, and caught all the thugs. Otherwise, it's considered an unauthorized action without discipline, don't even think about getting a medal, and if you're lucky, you might just get a disciplinary action despite being injured.

  This is still considered second-class merit for individuals, and first-class merit for individuals is basically not considered at all.

  "You're too young to have a first-class merit, it's too showy. I've applied for several second-class merits for you, which are easy to get approved. You can take this and show off to your family and friends, and swallow the grievance without saying anything. Later, at the commendation meeting, go on stage and receive the second-class merit medal, I'll personally put it on you!"

  I politely expressed my gratitude and accepted it. I don't attach much importance to honors, if they were made of gold and could be sold for money, I would get excited, unfortunately not.

  Chen Lao said: "What's wrong, are you not satisfied with the first-class merit? Do you want special merit? Then you have to continue working hard and crack another big case!"

  "Not necessarily," I said, "I just don't want my parents to be threatened."

  "Chen sighed: 'I see!'"

  "Chen Lao, is that position at the school you mentioned still available?" I asked.

  Mr. Chen and Brother Chang were both surprised but also very understanding.

  "Ah, thinking of changing careers?" Chen Lao said with a tone of disappointment. "Well, it's good to change careers, anyway, this line isn't suitable for women, the sooner you switch, the more development you'll have in another field."

  "I'll just ask casually," I said, "Old Chen, if you were me, what would you choose?"

  "Look at your aunt now, she's fine... but she has only one kidney..."

  I was shocked: "No way? With Aunt's qualifications, the whole thing is worth more money!" Mrs. Chen is a very elegant and generous woman, although she is old now, I think even now she can still sell for a good price.

  Old Chen glared at me, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. If he had a beard, it would have stood on end by now. "Who taught you to be so glib?"

  I bowed my head and clasped my hands: "I was wrong, you continue."

  "Ah..." Chen sighed and continued, "That year we had just gotten married, I cracked a case of a small gang fight. It wasn't really a gang, just two groups of kids fighting. From the length and angle of the knife wounds, I pointed out that one of the kids had stabbed himself and was framing someone else. That kid threatened to stab me at the time, but I didn't pay attention to it. He was only 13 years old, just a child, and no one took his words seriously."

  "Who knows, he really escaped from the hospital and hid in a small alley at the provincial government building waiting for an opportunity to stab me. Alas... it just so happened that I was working overtime that day and didn't leave the office all day. It just so happened that your aunt came to deliver dinner to me that evening, and it just so happened that when I sent her off, he saw us. He stabbed me with a knife... Your aunt still has a 7-centimeter-long scar on her body now..."

  The memories were too painful, and Old Chen couldn't go on.

  "Didn't you ever think of changing jobs at that time?" I asked.

  "Chen Lao was different back then," explained Zhang Sheng. "Jobs were assigned, there was no choice. Since you have the opportunity now, think carefully about it."

  I said, "If you want to change jobs, you can always change, selling sweet potatoes on the street is also okay, now selling pancakes can earn 10,000 yuan a month, and it's possible that it's even higher than Old Chen's current salary."

  Chen Lao said seriously: "Whether to sell sweet potatoes or pancakes is not a problem, Xiao Qin. If you want to change careers, you must consider two things: First, you've been a forensic doctor for several years, and I think you've sent in quite a few cases. You need to consider that without the backing of the police station and the deterrent power of your public office, how many people will dare to seek revenge against you, and you need to think about how to deal with it. As long as you handle this problem well, other problems are not a problem."

  I nodded, "Thank you, Old Chen. What's the second one?"

  "Secondly, find a family that supports you, not suitable for your situation, there's another chance to talk about it later," said Old Chen. "Let's get down to business, report on the progress of (the Big Corpse Pit case)."

  Going out