Suddenly, there was chaos on the balcony, followed by a crisp sound of flesh striking flesh, and then Spicy Girl cried out, "Marina, how dare you hit me!"
Shi Nian could no longer stand by idly.
She took a deep breath and pushed the door open, walking in, "What are you doing?"
Shi Nian understood that if she was merely here to handle the case, she should have stayed outside the door. Standing outside represented a more objective position and perspective, making it easier for her to see everyone connected to the case clearly.
However, she was a woman, and she couldn’t maintain such "professional cold-bloodedness."
Although Dad had taught her that during the process of reasoning and solving a case, emotional involvement was strictly forbidden.
Dad had also shown her detective novels, pointing to them with a smile: "Even in detective novel creation, there’s an unwritten rule: there should be no elements of romance. Otherwise, it would impact the rationality and professionalism of solving cases. For instance, if there were a romantic relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, or if Watson were a woman... then the ’Sherlock Holmes Collection’ wouldn’t become a classic but rather a farce."
This was the traditional viewpoint in the detective novel world, and given Dad’s age, he probably couldn’t imagine that one day, in TV series, Watson actually became a woman (American series ’Elementary’); or even if Watson wasn’t a woman, there could still be some bromance going on between them (British series version of ’Sherlock’).
The two adaptations and the latest Sherlock series each had their own followers, and there was quite a bit of mutual disdain between the followers of each camp—however, no matter how you looked at it, the serious detective novels finally stooped to meet the secular aesthetics of audiences by appropriately introducing elements of emotion—of course, those emotions were still limited to a vague and audience-improvised level, never overtly stated, thus continuing to adhere to the principles of detective work creation.
Unfortunately... Dad is no longer here.
If Dad were still alive, she would definitely bring out both of these series for him to watch, the father and daughter sitting on the sofa, cross-legged, analyzing the case along with the protagonists while eating drunken snails. After watching, they would have a good discussion about the necessity of including romance in detective work...
How harmonious that would be.
No matter how "cold-blooded" a detective Dad was, behind the seriousness and calmness, he still harbored a tender heart. And as a woman, she couldn’t let go of this sentiment even more.
The three people on the balcony froze, and all looked up at Shi Nian together. Discover more novels at novｅlfire.net
Ignoring the guarded expressions in S and Marina’s eyes, Shi Nian walked straight to Spicy Girl, examining her face closely, "Are you alright? Shall I accompany you to the medical room?"
Only then did Spicy Girl cover her face and burst into tears, throwing herself into Shi Nian’s arms.
Shi Nian glared at Marina, "No matter what happened, there’s no reason to resort to violence. Besides, this seems like an issue between S and Xue Ping, so why did you get involved?"
Marina stared at Shi Nian, eyes slightly narrowed.
S snorted coldly, arms crossed, filled with mockery in her eyes, "You’re still protecting her, huh! Once you know what kind of person she really is, you’ll regret it!"
Spicy Girl tugged at Shi Nian’s arm, sobbing quietly, "Forget it, let’s go."
Shi Nian escorted Spicy Girl back to the dormitory, where Spicy Girl finally felt slightly better.
Shi Nian fetched some ice from the fridge for Spicy Girl to apply to her face. Gratefully, Spicy Girl said, "Na, you’re amazing. You figured out this morning that Marina is S’s enforcer. The two of them, colluding, have bullied others often at school. Many have been victimized by them."
Shi Nian looked at her, "Should we notify the school, or report it to the police?"
"Forget it," Spicy Girl swallowed a tear, "They already have it out for me. If I report it, they definitely won’t let me go, and it’ll only get worse. We still have to see each other for a whole year. I’ll bear with it."
She smiled ruefully, "Na, you know how hard it is for me to study abroad, coming from China. My mom and dad even sold the house to gather the money for me..."
Shi Nian nodded deeply.
She understood the pressure faced by children from ordinary working-class families who want to study abroad.
She patted Spicy Girl’s hand, "Alright, let’s consider it a blessing to suffer a loss this time and let it be. However, if they escalate things again in the future, you can’t endure it anymore; you must protect yourself, understand?"