Embarrassment

Special Affairs Bureau underground, interrogation observation area.

On the other side of the soundproof glass was a simply furnished interrogation room lit by cold white lights.

Li Fu sat in a fixed metal chair, his complexion slightly bluish under the harsh lights.

Across from him, an experienced old police officer with hawk-like eyes questioned him unhurriedly. The questions were tightly linked, covering his whereabouts that night, social connections, recent unusual spending, and suspicious people he had contacted. Every so often, the officer inserted blurry surveillance screenshots or excerpts of communication records.

The observation room was dimly lit.

Captain Wang and Hua Yin sat side by side, watching the interrogation through the one-way glass.

Captain Wang occasionally commented in a low voice on the old officer's interrogation techniques and control of the pace. Hua Yin listened quietly, observing every subtle shift in Li Fu's expression and body language, trying to distinguish truth from falsehood.

This was part of his training—how to deal with cunning opponents and piece together the truth from fragmented information.

As the interrogation reached a critical point, the old police officer began probing the specific details of the Spirit-Pattern Pillar's destruction that night. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Fu's forehead, and contradictions began to emerge in his answers.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the observation room door.

Sun Haoran pushed the door open. He first nodded to Captain Wang, then looked at Hua Yin with a complicated expression and lowered his voice. "Hua Yin, Chen Xu's parents are here. They're in Reception Room Three. Their emotions are... rather agitated."

After a pause, he added, "By the rules, Chen Xu is a suspect who directly attacked you while you were carrying out official duties, and you participated in his arrest. You have the right, as the officer involved, to take part in the follow-up interrogation, determination of responsibility, and even disciplinary recommendations. So... they asked whether you wanted to go over."

Captain Wang's brows immediately furrowed.

Of course, he knew about Hua Yin's family situation. He had read the background investigation report.

Letting Hua Yin face the biological mother and stepfather of the younger half-brother he had just arrested?

The very thought of it was a headache.

"I'll go."

Captain Wang rose to his feet, his tone decisive. "Hua Yin, keep learning here. I'll handle Chen Xu's matter."

Instinctively, he wanted to shield this young subordinate, who had already endured too much, from this awkward and even humiliating situation.

"Captain Wang."

Hua Yin stood as well. His voice was calm, but carried an unquestionable resolve. "I'll go."

Meeting Captain Wang's slightly worried gaze, he explained, "The rules say I have the right to participate. Besides, this started because of me, and in the end, they will need my testimony and stance. Avoidance isn't a solution."

More importantly, he wanted to know how those "parents" would react when faced with this situation.

Because deep inside Hua Yin, there was still a faint desire to verify something—one he was unwilling to admit even to himself.

Captain Wang stared at him for several seconds, reading determination in those calm eyes.

In the end, he nodded and patted Hua Yin on the shoulder. "Fine. Go. Remember, you are now White Butterfly, an Executive Department officer of the Ghost City Branch of the Special Affairs Bureau. You represent national law and the dignity of this department. When it's time to be firm, don't hesitate. Call me anytime if you need support."

"Understood."

Hua Yin straightened his crisp black tactical uniform, took a deep breath, and pulled open the observation room door.

The corridor was brightly lit, yet carried the chilly emptiness of an official workplace.

He walked steadily toward Reception Room Three, though his heartbeat quickened slightly.

It was not nervousness. It was more like the taut anticipation of an answer about to be revealed.

At the reception room door, Hua Yin could vaguely hear a woman's emotional voice thick with tears, along with a man's anxious attempts to calm her.

He paused. Rather than entering immediately, he glanced inside through the small window in the door.

Li Xiulin wore an elegant suit, though her hair was somewhat disheveled and her eyes were red-rimmed. She was gripping the arm of a duty clerk and speaking agitatedly.

Chen Xingfeng—the man Hua Yin had only seen in photographs from his mother's remarriage—stood beside her with an irritated expression, trying to calm his wife. Yet his eyes were also full of displeasure and anxiety.

Sure enough, they still didn't know who had made the arrest.

Hua Yin thought.

Looking at how unprepared they were, rushing here solely on the strength of their instinct to protect their child, it was clear that not one of those frightened rich second-generation heirs at the scene had been "helpful" enough to tell them beforehand—their second son had attacked an officer of the Special Affairs Bureau, and the one who had arrested him was their eldest son.

All the better.

Hua Yin no longer hesitated. He turned the handle and pushed the door open.

"Are you people even reasonable? My son is only fifteen! How could he possibly have attacked one of your people? This must be a misunderstanding! You—"

Li Xiulin's agitated voice stopped abruptly.

Chen Xingfeng's attempts at persuasion caught in his throat as well.

The two of them seemed to have been hit with a pause button. Every movement, expression, and sound froze.

Their eyes widened as they stared fixedly at the young officer entering through the door, dressed in black tactical gear with clear shoulder insignia and a cold, stern expression.

He stood tall, his features sharp, his gaze calm and undisturbed.

That face... they knew it incredibly well, yet it was utterly unfamiliar.

What was familiar was the outline of his features. They could still vaguely see traces of that silent, skinny boy from years ago.

What was unfamiliar was the aura surrounding him—cold, composed, carrying an inviolable sense of authority, as well as the unfathomable calm in those black eyes.

Standing there, he was no longer the "baggage" Li Xiulin occasionally remembered and grudgingly gave a little attention to. He was an... law enforcement officer representing a state agency with special powers.

Hua... Yin?!

Li Xiulin's mind buzzed, going completely blank.

Only a few days ago, she had still been upset over the figure who had looked suspiciously like Hua Yin when traffic had been jammed. She had still been waiting for this "insensible" son to take the initiative and admit his fault and apologize.

She never could have imagined that they would meet again here!

In this way!

Hua Yin... was actually with the Special Affairs Bureau?!

When had he... How was that possible?!

Chen Xingfeng was stunned too. He knew his wife had a son from her former husband, but he had barely seen him. In his memory, Hua Yin was just an introverted, unremarkable poor student from an entirely different world than their family.

How had he suddenly become an officer of the Special Affairs Bureau?

And... arrested Xiao Xu?

Seeing the undisguised shock, confusion, and even trace of absurdity on their faces, the last tiny speculation Hua Yin had retained—that perhaps they might have known—finally vanished.

Sure enough, no one had told them.

Facing their stunned, blank expressions, he walked steadily to the center of the reception room and took over the conversation, to the obvious relief of the duty clerk.

His voice was steady and clear, devoid of any personal emotion. It was purely an official notification:

"Ms. Li, Mr. Chen."

"I am White Butterfly, an Executive Department officer of the Ghost City Branch of the Special Affairs Bureau."

"Regarding Chen Xu's attack on a Special Affairs Bureau officer tonight on Longlin Mountain Road, I am responsible for explaining the circumstances to you both and hearing your opinions."

"White Butterfly..."

Li Xiulin murmured the codename, staring fixedly at Hua Yin as though she wanted to see through that uniform to the son she had once neglected.

After the shock came an even more complicated wave of emotions—panic, awkwardness, disbelief, and a desperate urgency forced out by the circumstances, as though she were trying to seize a lifeline.

"Hua Yin? How... how could it be you? You... when did you...?"

Her words came out incoherently. She took a step forward, as though she wanted to approach him, but Hua Yin's cold, calm bearing fixed her in place.

Chen Xingfeng finally recovered. His expression changed again and again. A businessman's instincts made him swiftly adjust it, and he tried to force out a reasonably appropriate smile, though the suspicion and scrutiny in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"Hua... Hua Yin? Oh, no, Officer Hua? This... this is really a family failing to recognize its own family! A misunderstanding, this must be an enormous misunderstanding! Xiao Xu is just a child who doesn't know better. He definitely didn't know it was you, he..."

"Mr. Chen."

Hua Yin interrupted him and calmly turned his gaze toward him. "Whether Chen Xu knew my identity does not affect the nature of his assault. At the time, I was in uniform and performing official duties. My identity was clear. More than twenty people witnessed his attack, and the entire incident was recorded by my body camera."

His words were like cold legal provisions, sealing off Chen Xingfeng's attempt to play the family card and smooth things over, word by word.

Li Xiulin's face turned even paler. Looking at Hua Yin's completely official manner, one even more distant than his treatment of strangers, she felt her heart sink continuously.

At last, she realized that the "son" before her was no longer the "baggage" she could casually ignore or mention with faint annoyance.

He was an officer of the Special Affairs Bureau.

He was the one who had arrested her precious son.

And she did not even know when he had acquired such an identity, or what changes he had gone through.

An enormous sense of absurdity and a belated, piercing terror clenched around her heart.