Chapter 37: One Must Accept Aging

Shen Yan had always believed in the existence of geniuses.

Because she was one.

During the National College Entrance Examination, Shen Yan was the runner-up in Haizhou City for that year.

Her score was sufficient to enroll in the best university in the country, but due to family influences, she resolutely applied for the forensic medicine major at the Public Security University.

Furthermore, she rejected her parents' career arrangements and started from the bottom as an ordinary forensic pathologist in the Criminal Investigation Detachment.

Due to the specialized nature of the work, the proportion of female police officers in this profession was far lower than in other industries.

From her time at the Public Security University, Shen Yan had been one of the most brilliant students in her year, if not the entire school.

The boys chasing her included no shortage of "princelings" and "rich second generations."

As for the handsome ones...

Was the Public Security University lacking in handsome men?

Shen Yan could say without exaggeration that she had seen them all: the wealthy, the powerful, and the beautiful.

Not to mention the young talents her family had introduced to her over the years.

However, in all those years, it seemed that none of the men she encountered were like Lu Chuan—someone she could never truly see through or pin down.

The Criminal Investigation Detachment was large, yet it was also small.

Only a few college graduates joined every year, so it was impossible not to know them.

Shen Yan had long heard that a handsome man had arrived in the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) office.

It was impossible not to hear about it; he had caught a wanted criminal right after joining and was even awarded a personal third-class merit.

That was something the entire detachment had been commended for during a general meeting.

She had initially thought it was a flash in the pan, a stroke of temporary good luck.

As it turned out, just a few days later, Lu Chuan discovered a major clue in the Zhang Wen murder case, directly helping the special task force lock onto the suspect.

Then, before the murder case was even fully solved, the guy independently cracked a cold case of robbery and assault from the previous year.

On his way home that very same day, he even caught a thief who had stolen the wallet of an investor's secretary.

While he was at it, he also solved a theft case involving the family of the Bureau Chief's father-in-law.

She thought that would be the end of it, but then, in the reservoir body-dumping case, Lu Chuan was once again the first to lock onto the clues.

During that period, she also heard he helped Task Force Two solve an arson case in the southern suburbs.

And now, he could actually perform skeletal analysis reports!

That was forensic work.

CSI, trace evidence, forensics, arrests...

Was there anything this guy couldn't do?

That was Zhang Yuanchao, after all. Shen Yan had heard Zhang Yuanchao lecture back when she was a student.

He was a true expert, not a "pseudo-expert."

A woman's fall for a man often begins with curiosity.

Of course, men are much simpler; they aren't curious, they are just lustful.

Quietly following behind the three of them, Shen Yan also headed to the CSI office.

Beautiful women are hard to pursue, and handsome, talented men are equally hard to catch—not to mention, Lu Chuan was also wealthy.

The feeling of riding in a Bentley was indeed comfortable.

Naturally, Shen Yan was not the only female officer interested in Lu Chuan.

***

In the CSI office.

Lao Bai and Yang Sen were chatting. Things had been relatively quiet lately; they had finished what they could do for the skeletal case, and the rest was up to the tactical teams.

Lu Chuan was currently tending to the Anthuriums by the window. These flowers couldn't be exposed to direct sunlight for too long, otherwise, their color would fade.

However, appropriate light exposure could make the leaves a deeper green.

Much like solving a case or falling in love, cultivating flowers required a sense of timing.

*Bang.*

The Bureau's division leader and the Detachment Chief arrived together, so there was no need to knock.

As a result, when the office door opened, they were met with this harmonious and warm scene.

Wang Kai gave a dry cough. After all these years, the atmosphere in the CSI office remained exactly as it was when he was there.

*Snap!*

Liu Guodong stood up from behind his computer and immediately saluted.

Although Wang Kai had come from the CSI office and maintained good private relationships with everyone, a leader was still a leader. Coming at this time accompanied by Qin Yong clearly wasn't for a social visit.

Lu Chuan and the other two were momentarily stunned before quickly saluting.

"Greetings, Deputy Bureau Chief Wang!"

Wang Kai waved his hand. "Don't be so formal. I'm mainly here to get some information from Lu Chuan."

Lu Chuan?

The expressions of Liu Guodong, Yang Sen, and Lao Bai shifted slightly. Wang Kai indeed held Lu Chuan in high regard.

It had been evident during their last meal together.

But coming to find Lu Chuan to "get information" while accompanied by Qin Yong?

What kind of situation was this?

Looking at the questioning and confused gaze in Liu Guodong's eyes, Lu Chuan was also somewhat bewildered.

As a mere newcomer, he didn't think he was on the same level as a Deputy Bureau Chief.

At a time like this, it was up to Old Liu to hold the floor.

"Bureau Chief Wang, Captain Qin," Liu Guodong stepped forward. "Has something happened?"

Although Wang Kai was in charge of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, he rarely visited, except for murder cases or Spring Festival visits.

To come personally for Lu Chuan meant something was definitely up.

One should never underestimate how busy a leader is; the entire Bureau consists of over twenty departments.

If a department holds just one meeting a week, a leader is busy enough.

Not to mention meetings at the Provincial Department and the Municipal Government.

Most of Wang Kai's time was spent either in meetings or on the way to them.

Qin Yong waved his hand and got straight to the point. "Xiao Lu, did you complete a skeletal identification and analysis report last night?"

Lu Chuan nodded, having nothing to hide. "Yes. It was the skeletal remains found in the hotpot restaurant last night. I used the instruments in the forensic lab to perform the identification and analysis."

"Then, I submitted the report via the technical platform to the Provincial Technical Identification Center for review."

"Captain Qin, how did you know?"

It was no wonder Lu Chuan was puzzled. As the head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, how could Qin Yong have the energy to care about technical platform updates?

Although submitting to the Provincial Department required his account approval, everyone in CSI and Forensics knew that account.

Qin Yong had authorized its use long ago.

Qin Yong and Wang Kai exchanged a glance; only now were they completely certain.

The "expert" Zhang Yuanchao had mentioned was indeed Lu Chuan.

"Where is the report? Let us see it."

Up until now, neither of them had actually seen the skeletal analysis report Lu Chuan had produced.

It wasn't a big deal; Lu Chuan acknowledged them and could print it directly from his computer.

In less than two minutes, two copies of the report were handed to Wang Kai and Qin Yong.

Although neither of them were forensic pathologists, Wang Kai had experience in CSI, and Qin Yong was a veteran of countless battles.

They had seen the skeletal analysis reports Zhang Yuanchao had produced in the past.

But after reading Lu Chuan's report, they finally understood why Zhang Yuanchao had said his work was no inferior to his own.

After a long silence, Wang Kai closed the report and looked intently at Lu Chuan. "Xiao Lu, how did you produce this report?"

"Oh, I just used the instruments in the forensic lab, measured things, analyzed the data, and just tinkered it together."

"I did some research in this area back in university. This was my first time officially doing a skeletal identification."

Lu Chuan scratched his head. "Deputy Bureau Chief Wang, is something inaccurate? Did the higher-ups raise an objection?"

Lu Chuan's words...

*Just tinkered it together... did some research... first time doing it...*

Listening to this, Wang Kai felt like he wanted to grit his teeth in frustration.

*I damn well wish I could just "tinker" things together like that.*

*If only my skills allowed it.*

For some reason, Old Wang thought of the small, colored pills his wife had bought him.

*Sigh...*

*One must accept that they are getting old.*