Chapter 23: Don't Say I Didn't Warn You

"Long time no see." Han Ling greeted with a smile.

Behind him, Zhang Silei, who was inseparable from the injured man, glanced at Yang Rui, guessing that she must be a classmate of Han Ling's. Within a single city, police officers are typically classmates, or upperclassmen and underclassmen. After all, recruitment is restricted to the province, and with residency requirements, those from within the province cannot leave, and those from outside cannot enter. Zhang Silei felt a pang of envy, regretting that he had not applied to the police academy himself.

Han Ling shifted his gaze to the other woman in the room, who appeared to be in her thirties. The branch bureau's forensic department had four examiners: two men and two women. Yang Rui introduced her as her mentor, the chief forensic examiner of the bureau. A female mentor for a female apprentice—that made sense.

"He is the injured party. Do we need to step out?" Han Ling asked, handing over the application for the medical injury assessment. Yang Rui took it.

The chief examiner approached and said, "No need, it will only take a moment. You, come over and sit here."

The examination began, and Han Ling and Zhang Silei waited to the side.

Ten minutes later.

"What the hell?! A minor injury? Are you mistaken?" Haozi exclaimed, his emotions running high as he pointed to his head. "I had my skull cracked! My ear is deaf! That’s a ten-centimeter gash!"

The chief examiner, unfazed, calmly began writing her report. "Yang Rui, you explain it to him," she said.

Yang Rui nodded and began, "There is a minor fracture of the cranium, and the scalp laceration is seven centimeters, not ten. The traumatic perforation of the eardrum requires more than six weeks to heal on its own. There are no other injuries. This meets the criteria for a minor injury, but it does not reach the threshold of a serious injury."

In 2009, injury assessments were categorized into minor injury, light injury, and serious injury; there were no classifications like Grade I or II, which would only be introduced five years later. Han Ling was not an expert in forensics, but he was familiar with the basic terminology.

"No, you guys..." Haozi was unwilling to accept this, knowing that the more severe his injury, the worse the punishment for his assailant.

Yang Rui interjected, "A light injury already constitutes a criminal offense; the other party will be held criminally liable."

The printer hummed to life, and the assessment certificate was printed. Yang Rui handed it to Han Ling. "It's done. The criminal investigation division is on the second floor."

Since a light injury constitutes a crime, it would normally be handled by the bureau's criminal investigation division. She thought she would inform Han Ling ahead of time to save him the trouble of asking. However, the chief examiner criticized her: "Yang Rui, focus on your own work. The rest is none of your business."

Whether a case from a local police station is reported to the criminal investigation division depends on the circumstances. Rules are rules, but actual operations are flexible—they do whatever is most convenient.

Yang Rui looked embarrassed. "Understood, mentor."

Han Ling took his leave. "Sorry for the trouble. I'm going outside to make a call. You two carry on."

With that, the three of them left the forensic room. In the hallway, Han Ling pulled out his phone and dialed Zhu Yue’s number to inform him of the assessment results and ask if they should report it to the bureau's criminal investigation division immediately. Zhu Yue replied that it was unnecessary. The case was simple and had not resulted in severe consequences; they just needed to wait for the final assessment to compile the files for the bureau’s legal department to review before transferring it to the prosecutor's office.

There was no need to involve the criminal investigation division. They were far too busy to deal with such minor, already-resolved cases. As for the settlement agreement, that would depend on the attitudes of the two parties; it could be signed at the local station or later at the prosecutor's office.

"Understood." Han Ling hung up.

Just as he was about to leave, someone called out from behind, "Han Ling!"

Han Ling turned around, and seeing it was Sun Yujie, he told Zhang Silei to take the injured man outside and wait. Zhang Silei, realizing the two were going to catch up, nodded and left.

"What’s the situation? Got a case?" Sun Yujie walked up to Han Ling with a smile. It was natural for them to be friendly; local stations and the bureau had frequent professional dealings, so seeing Han Ling here was not unusual.

Han Ling smiled. "Assault, light injury. The victim is also a suspect for illegal activity, so we had to come over."

Sun Yujie nodded. The cases encountered in the bureau's trace evidence lab were much more serious than those at a local station. Forget minor injuries; serious injuries were common, and occasionally, an unnatural death would crop up.

"Was that a reserve officer earlier? The uniform looked like one," he asked.

Han Ling nodded. "Yes, a reserve officer."

Sun Yujie was surprised. "You're doing well at the station. For the leadership to let an intern officer like you bring a reserve officer to the bureau, they must really trust you. I still have people teaching me everything I do."

Han Ling laughed. "The criminal investigation team is short on staff; we have to make do with what we have."

"You're being modest," Sun Yujie patted Han Ling’s arm. "With over a hundred people at the Wanglou station, they could have picked any full-time officer. The leadership clearly values you."

Han Ling replied, "Alright, so you stopped me just to butter me up?"

Sun Yujie laughed heartily. "We were both on the Blue Team at the film studio, we defeated the 'enemy' together, and now we’re colleagues in the same jurisdiction—we have to stay close."

He was right; as classmates in the same jurisdiction, their paths would inevitably cross. If things went well, they would likely become good friends.

Han Ling was about to speak when the door to the forensic room opened. Yang Rui stepped out, likely having heard their voices. Seeing her, Sun Yujie reined in his smile and straightened up. Such details were exactly why Han Ling was so certain Sun Yujie liked Yang Rui; his accuracy rate for such observations was usually very high.

"Han Ling, since we're classmates and colleagues, let's exchange contact info so it's easier to stay in touch," Yang Rui said as she reached for her phone.

Han Ling didn't refuse and reached for his pocket.

"Wait a second!"

Sun Yujie’s smile vanished, and he let out a sudden shout that startled Yang Rui.

"Are you dying, Sun Yujie? Are you sick?" Yang Rui said, annoyed. "Come here, let me give you an examination."

Sun Yujie looked sheepish. He made an excuse about having a private matter to discuss with Han Ling and pulled him aside.

"Han Ling, what do you think you're doing?" Sun Yujie whispered.

Han Ling feigned confusion. "What? What did I do?"

Sun Yujie glanced back at Yang Rui and said, "Why are you adding Yang Rui's contact information?"

In terms of looks, he considered himself inferior to Han Ling, and in terms of ability, Han Ling had pulled off a major feat at the film studio and was doing well at work. Subconsciously, he saw Han Ling as a threatening competitor.

Han Ling found it odd. "I’m not adding her. She’s adding me."

Sun Yujie insisted, "And you’re going to accept it? Look, you’ve already got Lin Rong. She’s the school beauty; she’s definitely the jealous type. You need to keep a distance. If Lin Rong finds out, don't say I didn't warn you."

Han Ling was speechless. "Since when do I have Lin Rong? Can you stop bringing her up?"

"Huh?" Sun Yujie was confused. "Didn't she say she’d accept your pursuit if you won? Did you get played? Well, that's normal, makes sense."

Han Ling: "..."

Sun Yujie took his silence as agreement and gave him a sympathetic look. "Man, that’s rough. But... as long as you're single, you still have a chance. Still, if Lin Rong finds out you're flirting with a forensic examiner from the bureau, don't blame me for not warning you."

He repeated the same warning twice. Han Ling didn't know what to say; he was truly defeated by this lovestruck fool.

"Hey! What are you two chatting about? Can we do this now?" Yang Rui was getting impatient.