Unexpected

Tong Haojing and the other three returned to Tangdu, back to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Tangdu, with a permanent population of 300,000, is currently undergoing large-scale old city renovation. A corner of the city, bathed in neon lights, is mottled and prosperous, intoxicatingly hazy. Looking at the myriad of lights, Tong Haojing felt a surge of emotion. Perhaps this city would have a place for him in the future, and his dreams would set sail from here!

The daytime streetscape of Tangdu was somewhat hazy and chaotic, but beautiful under the streetlights at night.

Tong Haojing stood by the steps in the center of the street, looking forward to a bright future. A few fashionable young men and women, laughing and chatting, walked past him. Tong Haojing liked this feeling; perhaps this would be his future battlefield.

It was past eleven o'clock at night. Tong Haojing, who had slept soundly all day, was strolling with Su Feiya, Long Xing, and Wang Chongyang under the hazy streetlights. Tong Haojing suggested they go for a drink, and the other three readily agreed. Su Feiya mentioned a small restaurant called "Good Fortune" across from the street garden, run by a middle-aged woman she knew well, which had long operating hours. In fact, only this restaurant was still open at this hour.

As the four walked over, the female owner, upon seeing Su Feiya, greeted them with a smile and gestured for them to sit. She warmly handed the menu to Su Feiya. Su Feiya looked at the menu and said they would each order a dish to go with their drinks. Tong Haojing and the others didn't stand on ceremony, each ordering their own: a plate of peanuts, a plate of dried beef, and a plate of braised goose. Tong Haojing also ordered his favorite vinegar chili. The four dishes made a table that didn't look shabby. The proprietress brought out a case of Tsingtao beer from behind the screen, one bottle per person. Before the dishes even arrived, they had already drunk more than half the bottle. After a few drinks, the four began to talk more. Their conversation started from their intense studies for college and went all the way to the end of their training. Su Feiya, Wang Chongyang, and Long Xing became animated, all talking about their respective majors—computer science, anti-drug work, performance, and so on—and actively expressing their ambition to achieve great things in the public security field.

Tong Haojing remained silent, focusing on his drink. He felt like a professional soldier born into the military, needing to start everything anew. Only his experience in psychology allowed him to guess what his companions wanted to express—their unspoken question of why he had made such a deep impression from the start of his military service, becoming a well-known young man remembered by the director.

The four engaged in another round of finger-guessing games, and the 24-bottle case of beer was nearly empty. Su Feiya, with a belly full of complaints, lamented, "After entering society, it's not about your major, but your connections! If you have good relationships, things go smoothly, you have more avenues, and a broader perspective..."

"Exactly! Exactly! How you handle yourself is crucial. Emotional intelligence is far more important than IQ. Where did you get all these social theories? You have to share some secrets with us!" Wang Chongyang chimed in.

"You're afraid of choosing the wrong people. There are plenty of examples of elementary school dropouts being bosses and college graduates being employees, right? Look at the 'Li'an Department Store' next door. Do you know who the boss is? Brother Hua, who didn't even finish elementary school, has over 200 employees, many of whom are college graduates working as white-collar professionals in his company. Those who fail are right beside us..." Long Xing's words had a hidden meaning, clearly referring to someone. Everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Everyone's gaze fell on Tong Haojing, who was only drinking. The conversation, without them realizing it, turned back to him.

"Right, you probably already know where you'll be assigned, don't you?" Su Feiya said mysteriously, like a know-it-all who knew everything about the bureau. He suddenly felt he had let something slip. Perhaps it was the excitement of the alcohol that made him careless and less vigilant, leading him to speak without restraint.

"Impossible, is there inside information?" Wang Chongyang asked with a look of surprise, trying to pry some information out of Su Feiya, his voice slurred with drink.

"How about this, let's lay it all out. Who among us has relatives or acquaintances? Don't hold back. Can you put in a good word for all of us? What do you say?" Su Feiya was quite drunk and spoke without thinking. In reality, this was a trap he had set for the others.

"You can even think of this? Is it possible?" Long Xing squinted, looking half-drunk, and immediately expressed his skepticism.

Tong Haojing, being straightforward, had no relatives or acquaintances to speak of. He wasn't afraid to tell the truth. "I agree too!" Tong Haojing's alcohol tolerance was arguably the highest among the four. He saw through Su Feiya's feigned expression but didn't want to expose him, as they were all classmates.

"Then I'll go first. I have a relative in the Public Security Bureau, and he's spoken to a certain leader!" Long Xing was truly drunk and spoke without any reservations, revealing everything. "N-next is you," he said, looking at Wang Chongyang, a proud gleam in his eyes.

"As for me, my parents asked a friend to help. I don't even know who it is!" Wang Chongyang had clearly held something back and didn't reveal specific names.

Su Feiya looked at Tong Haojing, confident. "You don't need to say anything. Director Gao definitely has a connection with you!" He was supposed to talk about himself but suddenly changed the subject, pointing at Tong Haojing.

Tong Haojing wanted to say no, but they wouldn't believe him. He remained silent, perhaps thinking this was the best answer, letting them guess. Tong Haojing fundamentally detested such crooked paths. Revealing that he had influential relatives would be showing off and wasn't worth mentioning.

When it was Su Feiya's turn to speak, he was the first to collapse onto the table, pretending to vomit continuously. In reality, it was all an act, and he played it convincingly.

Wang Chongyang and Long Xing, groggy, felt that Su Feiya and Tong Haojing hadn't revealed anything. Angrily, they cursed the cunning fellows and then slumped onto the table, snoring.

It was late, and there was no one left on the street. The traffic lights at the intersection had all turned yellow. Tong Haojing hailed a taxi and sent the three of them back to the Public Security Bureau.

The next day, the sun shone through the window. The four of them woke up one after another. Wang Chongyang and Long Xing, realizing they had been tricked by Tong Haojing the night before after getting drunk, grumbled, "The kind are bullied, the good horses are ridden! If you're too honest, you'll be taken advantage of!"

In fact, they were mistaken. The real trickster was Su Feiya. Only then did Su Feiya, with a sleepy, dazed expression, pretend to ask, "What happened?"

Tong Haojing no longer covered for Su Feiya and exposed the truth of their drunken conversation from the night before. "Only you could have seen through it!" Su Feiya said with a relaxed, triumphant smile.

Tong Haojing stood by the window, looking out, and muttered to himself, "I hope what the three of them said was just drunken talk."

A few evenings later, the Party Committee meeting room of the Tangdu Municipal Public Security Bureau was brightly lit.

Director Gao Weimin sat in the center of the meeting room, flanked by Director Hu, the Political Commissar, and three other members of the Party Committee. Opposite Director Gao Weimin sat Director Wu, who had prepared a thick stack of reports.

Wu Dean introduced the basic situation and performance during police training for Tong Haojing, Su Feiya, Wang Chongyang, and Long Xing to the Party Committee one by one, and provided a proposed assignment plan: Tong Haojing to the Municipal Bureau's Economic Investigation Detachment, Wang Chongyang to the Anti-Drug Detachment, Long Xing to the Criminal Investigation Detachment, and Su Feiya to the Municipal Bureau's Office.

Director Hu, sitting next to Director Gao Weimin, had a grim expression. He immediately realized that Wu Dean's "rejection" must have been due to Director Gao Weimin's alternative arrangements. A few days prior, someone had asked Deputy Director Hu to inquire about the assignment of the new police officer, Long Xing. Deputy Director Hu had conveyed the intention to Director Wu. Unexpectedly, the position favored for Long Xing was rejected outright by Director Wu, who only agreed that Long Xing wouldn't be assigned to a police station. Today, Director Wu announced the assignment plan, and Long Xing not being assigned to a police station did, in a way, fulfill his intention. Now, it seemed that other bureau leaders had no excessive objections, with only Gao Weimin expressing his opinion, which surprised the leaders present.

Director Wu was adept at handling matters. He noticed that Director Gao Weimin particularly admired Tong Haojing, and Tong Haojing himself had performed well. Thus, he intended to assign him to the Economic Investigation Detachment (a place many police officers aspired to) to cater to the director's wishes. He had even rejected Director Hu's suggestion to assign Long Xing to the Economic Investigation Detachment for this reason. But who would have thought that Director Gao Weimin would propose an unexpected choice that left everyone stunned?

He disagreed with assigning Tong Haojing to the Economic Investigation Detachment, instead wanting him to go to the West City Police Station, which had the most complex public order issues. Director Gao Weimin stated, "I have said many times that, in principle, young people should all be trained at the grassroots level. Some say this Tong Haojing has a connection with me; I will let everyone see if he does!" Director Gao Weimin's face turned pale, clearly showing his anger.

Director Wu also hadn't expected that he hadn't fully grasped Director Gao Weimin's intentions and had done the wrong thing despite his good intentions. Fortunately, the others were in adjacent departments and were still considered "grassroots."

Finally, everyone voted democratically. Apart from the change regarding Tong Haojing, all other assignments were unanimously approved. As soon as the meeting ended, Director Gao Weimin summoned Director Wu Dean of the Political Department to his office. Director Wu felt a pang of anxiety, unsure if he would face any criticism. He braced himself and knocked on the door: "Director Gao, I'm here!"

"De'an, last time I asked you to visit Old Tang at the West City Police Station, how was the situation?" Director Gao's words had a hidden meaning. He hadn't expected Director Gao Weimin to bring up Director Tang instead of reprimanding him for today's events. Wu Dean's eyes lit up; he finally understood a little. Could it be...? He recalled that some time ago, Director Wu had specifically visited Officer Lan, who was injured while apprehending "Scarface," on behalf of Director Gao Weimin. Tang Changan had complained to him then, saying, "Why didn't the Criminal Investigation Team allow the police officers at the station to conduct the initial interrogation of Scarface before taking him away? The police station also assisted, and they didn't even consider the station's role."

"Old Tang is doing well. His work has improved significantly recently, especially with increased efforts in cracking down on drug use in his jurisdiction. He has particularly intensified the crackdown on social ills in the Minsheng Market area, apprehending a group of drug users, pickpockets, and fraudsters. The public order environment around Minsheng Market has greatly improved, and the public's sense of security has significantly increased!" Director Wu's words surprised Gao Weimin. "Is that so?!"

"Yes!"

"Then I can rest assured! This afternoon, you will escort Tong Haojing. He might have some reservations, so you need to do some ideological work!"

"Okay, I guarantee the mission will be completed!"

As soon as Director Wu left the office, Gao Weimin read the public security incident analysis materials sent by Director Qiao Xi. A piece of information about a gang fight in West City caught his attention, and he summoned Qiao Xi.

"What's going on? West City again! Was the West City gang fight reported by the West City station?"

"No, we discovered it in the public security command center's incident analysis materials as something worth reporting. We called Director Tang and he said the matter had been resolved."

"How was it resolved?" Director Gao Weimin asked urgently, showing particular concern.

"They didn't say. We checked the public security network, and there was no record! However, the 'Incident Handling' column noted that the case had been resolved through mediation."

"Nonsense, how can this be resolved through mediation!" Director Gao Weimin, a graduate of the Public Security University, was well aware of how to handle cases involving drug users intentionally causing harm, and he was proficient in such matters.

Director Gao Weimin thought about the dissatisfaction expressed by committee members regarding the public order in West City at a recent political consultative conference. Coupled with today's incident information and Deputy Director Hu's report on the West City station, where he only spoke of the good aspects, he perhaps had a clear answer in his mind.

"There are problems with public order in West City. I see the reason lies here!" Director Gao Weimin suppressed the anger in his heart, nearly losing his composure.

At the same time, Deputy Director Hu also received the public security incident analysis materials from the office. The information about the West City gang fight made his face change drastically. Gritting his teeth in anger, he picked up the office phone on his desk and called Tang Changan.

"Tang Changan, you've done a fine job! How did the fight among those few drug-addicted hoodlums in West City get reported to the bureau? Didn't I tell you to handle minor matters at the station?" His tone was stern and questioning, his breathing heavy with anxiety. It was as if he could see Deputy Director Hu's frightening face. A cautious frown appeared on Tang Changan's face. He had long expected Deputy Director Hu to fly into a rage and blame him, as the police officers at the station would all know that such an oversight was intentional.

Director Tang didn't shy away from the accountability, taking direct responsibility himself. Officer Lan in the next office heard everything clearly, and a sense of admiration arose within him.

"It's my fault for not properly managing the reporting of incident responses. Punish me!"

"What good is a reprimand? Director Gao definitely knows about this!" From the other end of the phone, Deputy Director Hu's heavy breathing could be heard.

A muffled "smash" sound came from the phone. Director Tang concluded that Deputy Director Hu must have been so angry he'd thrown a cup.

"Ah, Director Gao knows? Then what should we do? How about you just say the full responsibility lies with me!"

There was no more sound from the other side of the phone.

Director Tang sensed the sensitivity of the matter among the bureau leadership. A stern reprimand awaited him, yet he displayed a calm ease.

In the afternoon, Tong Haojing got into Director Wu's car, silent, his eyes