"That son of a bitch thinks I can't handle him!?" Liang Bo slammed his fist against the table with a loud bang, stood in place for a moment of thought, and said again, "Little Zhao isn't heading to Zhaonan for a couple of days, right?"
"Uh, Brother Zhao is supposed to report to the Zhaonan border the day after tomorrow. If I remember correctly, his train is today." Zhou Jiaxing scratched his head and said, "I just don't know what time today. What do you mean..."
"Reporting the day after tomorrow and leaving today? Call him!"
"Right!" Zhou Jiaxing immediately whipped out his phone and dialed the policeman surnamed Zhao's number, getting through before long.
"Hello, Brother Zhao!"
"..."
Without saying much, Zhou Jiaxing turned to Liang Bo and said, "Captain Liang, Brother Zhao says his train is this afternoon, and he's about to head out to the railway station."
"Those sons of bitches, they won't even cover a plane ticket over there?" Liang Bo frowned. "Tell him to reschedule for tomorrow and come over right now. If there are no tickets, just cancel it. I'll find someone down at the railway to put him straight on!"
"Got it!" Zhou Jiaxing continued talking to the policeman surnamed Zhao on the other end of the line, hanging up after just a couple of sentences.
"He's grabbing a cab over right now, Captain Liang."
"Good!"
Only then did Liang Bo sit back down and drink another glass of water. Before long, he stood up and instructed Zhou Jiaxing, "Go to the convenience store next door and buy some peanuts, dried fruits, and stuff, plus a case of canned beer. I'll go out and buy some cold dishes... After all, we've worked together for so many years, and the kid is transferring out. No matter how busy we are, we still have to symbolically have a couple of drinks."
"This office..."
"Never mind that!"
Zhou Jiaxing grinned broadly. "Done!"
"Oh right, bring some soft drinks. There are still a few female comrades in the office, and they're awfully squeamish!"
"Right!"
Zhou Jiaxing and Liang Bo walked out in opposite directions.
Zhou Jiaxing was young, tall, handsome, stride-long, and full of upright righteousness. Liang Bo, however, was middle-aged; although sturdy in build, his vigor ultimately couldn't match a youth's. Having pulled all-nighters for days like this, his pace inevitably seemed a bit light-headed, though for some reason he always appeared a bit roguish.
Just as Cheng Yun and Heroine Yin's statements were about to be finished, the police station's old computer ran into some trouble, delaying them quite a bit. By this time, Zhou Jiaxing and Liang Bo had already bought the things and returned.
Before long, a man of about thirty with a medium build also walked in.
"Captain Liang, Mad Dog, Old Chen, you're here too."
"You made it?" Liang Bo glanced at him and pointed at a nearby stool. "Sit down. You're not working here anymore, so stop calling me Captain Liang."
Zhao Lin caught sight of the several packs of peanuts, dried fruits, and cans of beer on the table at a glance, falling silent for a moment.
Coming back to his senses, he said to Liang Bo and the others, "This is my fault. I saw everyone running around busy lately, going from head to toe without a single break all day, and I was embarrassed to bother everyone. I figured... I'd just leave like this!"
Zhou Jiaxing hurriedly waved his hand. "Don't say that."
Old Chen also nodded and said, "We've worked together for so many years, everyone understands, everyone understands. Nobody blames you."
"Alright!" Liang Bo waved his hand and said, "We really have been busy these past two days and didn't have time to bother with you. Originally, Mad Dog even said he'd throw you a farewell party or something, but that fell through either. Calling you over so hastily today is partly because we wanted to see you—otherwise, once you go to Zhaonan, who knows when we'll meet next. On the other hand, we also have a small favor to ask..."
"What favor?" Zhao Lin said, figuring it out after a brief moment of thought. "Did some particularly annoying bastard show up?"
"It's that case inside Yida recently. It dragged a bunch of stuff to light, and that asshole is still kicking up a fuss inside," Liang Bo said, waving a hand. "Let's eat some food first. One can each just to quench our thirst, no heavy drinking and no more talk!"
With that, he pulled the tab first.
"Fizz!"
Silent, Zhao Lin pulled his tab as well. Looking around the room, the majority of the people actually held a can of beer, while the girls or those who couldn't drink due to work duties had Sprite.
"A toast to everyone first!" Zhao Lin said, raising his can. "Thanks for the company these past few years."
The others livened up all at once.
"To soaring career heights!"
"Safe journey!"
"Watch out for your safety over there!"
"Remember to come back for karaoke together!"
Zhao Lin answered them one by one, looking somewhat quiet.
The reason he wanted to slip away quietly, aside from the criminal police detachment being truly swamped these past few days, was another reason: he didn't want to face this scene. The criminal police detachment was completely different from district sub-districts—there wasn't all that human politeness, nor were there so many twists and turns. A criminal police officer's duties were far more direct, crude, and vastly more exhausting and troublesome than those of ordinary or beat police officers, so their relationships with each other actually resembled those of comrades-in-arms more.
Seeing this, Heroine Yin couldn't help quietly whispering in Cheng Yun's ear, "Well, look at that, we even caught these runners drinking a farewell cup!"
Just as she finished drinking a single can of beer, tossing a few pieces of chicken meat and peanuts into her mouth, Zhao Lin picked up the baton Liang Bo had left on the table and said, "I'll go inside and get things done, then come back and keep drinking!"
"Go ahead!" Liang Bo nodded. "With me here, don't worry, this matter won't follow you to Zhaonan!"
"I'm going to Zhaonan to bust drugs, I'm not afraid of these guys!"
"Mad Dog will show him the way."
"Done!"
When Cheng Yun and Heroine Yin finished their statements and wanted to leave, Old Chen walked over, forcefully thrusting a can of beer and a can of Sprite into Cheng Yun's hands. Patting Cheng Yun's shoulder, Old Chen said, "About that night's business, I still have to thank you two."
"It's only right," Cheng Yun said, taking the opportunity to ask, "What on earth did that guy do?"
"Smuggling and reselling Arabian tea, raping and murdering a female student from Yida," Old Chen said flatly. "If not for regulations, I'd want to go inside and give that bastard a harsh beating!"
"A Yida female student?" Cheng Yun paused.
"You've heard of it?" Old Chen asked, then muttered to himself, "Right, your place is close by."
"So he's the one who did it!" Cheng Yun dawned with realization.
"Yeah." Old Chen nodded and said, "That college student knew him outside, probably a kind of boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Later on, she somehow got pregnant, and the female student was foolish enough to insist on marrying him. He refused, and the two had a conflict. The female student threatened to spill the beans about his smuggling Arabian tea, which probably stirred up his murderous intent. And before strangling the girl to death, he also had sexual relations with her, finally faking it to look like a hanging suicide. Ha, he probably thought the rest of us ate for free."
"..." Cheng Yun didn't know what to say.
Walking out of the police station with the heroine, Cheng Yun still held the two cans in his hand. He looked up at the blazing sun outside and said to the heroine, "Which can are you drinking?"
"This one!" The heroine took the beer. "I saw all those guys drinking this!"
"Fine."
"Right, after we get back to the hotel, you need to start practicing boxing." The heroine popped open the can, tilted her head back, and heroically chugged a huge mouthful. Then she paused, actually spitting it out with a puff!
"What on earth is this stuff!?"
My thesis defense is tomorrow, yet today they tell me to redo the formatting—the leaders must have water sloshing around in their brains!
Before you continue