“In a while, when you meet Director Wang, try to behave better,” Wei Congjia earnestly advised, staring at Lu Hui. “If only you were mute.”
“Thanks for the compliment,” Lu Hui gave Wei Congjia a sidelong glance. “I want my team.”
“Why not cooperate with Zhongchuan City Bureau?” Wei Congjia frowned.
“Not good,” Lu Hui straightforwardly refused.
Frustrated, Wei Congjia wanted to hit him, “You know them!”
“Exactly because I know them, I want to avoid suspicion,” Lu Hui said. “For example, Shen Pei, I don’t want to see him.”
“He transferred from Zhongchuan City Bureau to Linhua City Bureau not because of you,” Wei Congjia argued.
“That doesn’t work either,” Lu Hui shook his head like a tambourine. “I want my old team.”
“I’ve never seen anyone beg for help and be so picky about it,” Wei Congjia teased, patting Lu Hui’s shoulder. “You talk to Director Wang yourself.”
“You just said I should be mute,” Lu Hui retorted.
“…,” Wei Congjia couldn’t be bothered to roll his eyes at him.
Lu Hui declined Lu An’s invitation; he didn’t want to add more danger to his sister. He had a house in Zhongchuan, but the keys weren’t in his possession.
“Where are we going?” Ji Fanyang asked.
“To get the keys,” Lu Hui said as he walked. He hailed a taxi, opened the door, and got in. “I left them with my lawyer.”
“You have your own lawyer?” Ji Fanyang sat in the back seat next to Lu Hui.
“Yeah, he handles my will and property distribution,” Lu Hui said, glancing at Ji Fanyang. “Don’t worry; everything is written in your name.”
“How many wills did you make?” Ji Fanyang laughed helplessly. “I’m truly moved.”
“It’s always good to have a few extra,” Lu Hui said. He fell silent suddenly, and the sunlight through the car window outlined the contours of his profile. The fine eyelashes covered his dark pupils, like black jade hidden beneath crow feathers.
Ji Fanyang stared at him, carefully choosing his words, “Are you worried about Du Huan Yue?”
“She’s too young,” Lu Hui said.
Ji Fanyang fell silent, unsure of how to comfort Lu Hui.
Du Huan Yue’s upbringing was unimaginable for children from ordinary families. Growing up near a pedophile father, the father was quietly replaced, life improved a bit, the new father sought revenge and died, and the mother died protecting her. At the age of seven, Du Huan Yue experienced the cruelest treatment from fate.
The taxi quietly drove, the closed windows blocking out the noisy sounds from the street, creating a stifling and depressing atmosphere in the cramped space.
“We’ve arrived,” the driver said.
Lu Hui got out of the car, and as usual, Ji Fanyang paid, even though the money was given by Lu Hui.
“Don’t look so gloomy,” Lu Hui broke the silence, his expression becoming lively.
Ji Fanyang noted it mentally and smiled along, “Let’s go; we still have to extort Director Wang.”
“Yeah, I need a big office,” Lu Hui walked to the elevator and pressed the button to go upstairs. “And my skateboard.”
The elevator ascended to the seventh floor, the doors opened, and a bunch of keys were thrown in. Lu Hui caught them steadily, “See you next time.”
“Until next time.”
The elevator doors closed.
Ji Fanyang was dumbfounded, “Efficient.”
“Lawyers are generally busy,” Lu Hui said.
Ji Fanyang muttered to himself, afraid that Lu Hui was annoyed by him.
“Don’t curse me silently in your heart,” Lu Hui teased Ji Fanyang.
“…,” Ji Fanyang walked out of the elevator, stood on the side of the road, and hailed a taxi. “Did you have a conflict with Director Wang?”
“A bit,” Lu Hui said.
“It seems serious,” Ji Fanyang got into the taxi. “You didn’t offend someone from the City Bureau, did you?”
“Offending Director Wang is like offending an entire City Bureau, right?” Lu Hui got into the car and closed the door.
At Zhongchuan City Public Security Bureau, Rao Feifei and Yang Jie were waiting at the entrance, chatting with several Zhongchuan City Bureau police officers.
“Everyone’s here,” Lu Hui got out of the car, and Ji Fanyang settled the bill inside the car.
“Team Leader Lu,” Rao Feifei affectionately called, and Yang Jie pulled Rao Feifei, “Call him Professor Song.”
“Oh, oh, Professor Song,” Rao Feifei suddenly remembered Lu Hui’s undercover identity.
“I am surnamed Song, named Qingchuan. I hope all the police officers will take care of me in the future,” Lu Hui said insincerely.
The Zhongchuan police officers stared at Lu Hui as if he were a spotlight, and he smiled effortlessly. This made Ji Fanyang speculate about what Lu Hui had done to incur such deep resentment even from a City Bureau.
At the end of the second floor on the right was Director Wang’s office. Lu Hui walked in and knocked on the desk, “Director Wang.”
Director Wang had to lift his head, squinting at Lu Hui, “Daring to come to Zhongchuan for work?”
“It’s assistance,” Lu Hui corrected.
“Assistance with this many people?” Director Wang sneered at him. “Are you trying to fool me?”
Lu Hui remained silent, seemingly admitting it.
This amused Director Wang, “So, what else do you want?”
“An independent office and a team with freedom of movement,” Lu Hui made his request.
“You can have the office, but the team is not possible. You have to cooperate with Team Six,” Director Wang said. “You can’t just pick and choose.”
“Let’s change it then,” Lu Hui negotiated. “Team Five is acceptable.”
“Why?” Director Wang asked.
“Team Six has someone surnamed Huang,” Lu Hui said. “Last time, he wouldn’t even lend me a car.”
“He lent it to you,” Director Wang emphasized.
“It’s a communication problem,” Lu Hui argued, “Don’t you want me to cause chaos in the City Bureau?”
Director Wang pondered for a moment and reluctantly nodded, “Team Five’s captain has a good temper. Don’t bully him.”
“How could I?” Lu Hui smiled playfully. “I’m such a kind person.”
“Hurry up and get lost. Don’t take advantage and act cute,” Director Wang waved them away. “The empty office farthest inside is yours.”
“Okay, thanks for taking care of us academic folks,” Lu Hui took a step back, pretending to be serious, and quickly turned to leave the office.
Ji Fanyang, Rao Feifei, and Yang Jie awkwardly smiled and gestured towards Director Wang, following Lu Hui out of the office.
Lu Hui briskly entered the office at the end of the corridor. There were four desks inside, and a whiteboard stood in the center. Lu Hui nodded in satisfaction, chose the desk by the window and closer to the side.
“Looks like everything went smoothly,” Ji Fanyang said.
“Oh, Captain Xu,” Lu Hui put his feet on the desk and looked at the detective who had just entered the office. “Long time no see.”
“Long time no see,” the middle-aged man in his forties seemed particularly good-natured. “I came to take a look.”
“Hello, Captain Xu. I’m Ji Fanyang,” the young man greeted, shaking hands.
“I’m Rao Feifei.”
“I’m Yang Jie.”
Captain Xu shook hands with Lu Hui’s team members one by one. “Hello, anything you need to tell me?”
“Okay, thanks, Captain Xu,” the three answered.
Lu Hui couldn’t stand the boring pleasantries, took out his phone, and started playing a game.
