Just Watch It When I Tell You To. Enough of the Backtalk

When Zhao Jianguo opened his eyes, it was already broad daylight.

Sunlight squeezed through a gap in the curtains, drawing a golden line across the floor.

He rolled over. The spot beside him was empty. He reached out and touched it—it was cold. Shen Jing must have been up for quite a while.

Zhao Jianguo stretched in bed, his joints cracking a few times. He felt thoroughly refreshed.

The ancients really knew what they were talking about. Harmony between yin and yang was the true secret to good health.

He got up, washed, and shaved.

He checked himself in the mirror. He looked lively, much better than he had a few days earlier.

As he headed downstairs, a delicious smell drifted from the kitchen—fried eggs with a hint of scallions, wafting straight into his nose.

The corners of Zhao Jianguo's mouth lifted, and he turned straight into the kitchen.

Shen Jing stood by the stove in an apron, her low ponytail hanging behind her head, exposing a stretch of pale, slender neck.

She was transferring fried eggs onto a plate. Beside it sat three bowls of millet porridge, a small dish of pickles, and several steamed buns.

Zhao Jianguo stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around his wife from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"You're up?" Shen Jing turned her head toward her husband, smiling.

Zhao Jianguo said nothing. He lowered his head and kissed her.

Shen Jing's mouth still tasted of mint toothpaste, and her lips were soft.

She was still holding the spatula aloft, oil dripping from it, but Shen Jing no longer cared. She leaned back, pressing herself tightly against her husband's chest.

"Mom, is breakfast ready? I'm going to be late for school."

The voice came from the kitchen doorway, clear and urgent.

Zhao Jianguo and Shen Jing both stiffened. Their lips parted instantly, and a barely perceptible trace of embarrassment crossed both their faces.

Standing in the doorway was a strapping young man over six feet tall: their son, Zhao Mingyuan.

He was eighteen and looked exactly like Zhao Jianguo in his younger days, with thick eyebrows and a square face. But he had Shen Jing's eyes, large and bright.

He wore his school uniform, his hair neatly combed, his backpack slung over one shoulder, and an impatient expression on his face.

Seeing his parents like that, he rolled his eyes.

"What's there to be embarrassed about?" Zhao Mingyuan walked in. "It's not like this is the first or second time I've seen it."

Zhao Jianguo and Shen Jing exchanged a glance. Shen Jing's face was slightly flushed as she turned back to the eggs.

Zhao Jianguo cleared his throat and glared at his son.

"You little brat. Making fun of your old man now?"

Zhao Mingyuan picked up a steamed bun and took a bite, saying unhurriedly, "I'm not making fun of you. I'm just stating a fact."

That left Zhao Jianguo momentarily speechless. He pointed at his son and said,

"Let me tell you, we do that because your mother and I love each other. We have a good relationship. It's a good thing for a married couple to be close. You'll understand when you get married."

Chewing his bun, Zhao Mingyuan nodded, his expression plainly saying, "Sure, whatever you say."

"I know, I know." He glanced at the smartwatch on his wrist. "Hurry up. I really am going to be late."

"You won't be late. When has your old man ever made you late when he's driving?"

Zhao Mingyuan stuffed the rest of the bun into his mouth in a few bites, picked up his porridge and gulped some down, then got up and headed outside.

"Mom, I'm off!"

Shen Jing hurried after him, holding a food storage bag with an egg inside. "Take this. Eat it on the way."

Zhao Mingyuan took it and shoved it into his backpack, already out the door.

Zhao Jianguo wiped his mouth and followed him out.

At the door, he looked back at Shen Jing. She stood in the kitchen doorway in her apron and waved to him.

"Drive carefully."

"Mm."

As the car emerged from the underground garage, sunlight struck the windshield, dazzling his eyes a little.

Zhao Jianguo lowered the sun visor and glanced at his son.

"Are your mock exam results out?"

"Yes."

"How did you do?"

"Thirty-eighth in the city."

Zhao Jianguo glanced at his son in the rearview mirror. The kid wore no particular expression, as though he were discussing something utterly ordinary.

Thirty-eighth in the city. Shenzhen High School had over two thousand students in its final year, and he had placed thirty-eighth. A top-two-hundred provincial ranking was practically assured. Qingbei University might be a stretch, but Huawu would be no problem.

"Not bad."

Zhao Mingyuan murmured an acknowledgment and kept looking out the window.

When the car stopped outside the school gates, there were four minutes left before class. Zhao Mingyuan pushed open the door and hurried out with his backpack.

"See you, Dad."

"Wait." Zhao Jianguo called him back.

Zhao Mingyuan turned around.

Zhao Jianguo picked up the food storage bag from the passenger seat and handed it over. "You forgot your egg."

Zhao Mingyuan took it, shoved it into his pocket, and ran off. After a few steps, he turned back and waved at Zhao Jianguo, then disappeared into the crowd.

Zhao Jianguo smiled in that direction and drove away.

It was just past eight thirty when he arrived at the police station.

Zhao Jianguo parked and walked inside. People greeted him in the corridor—"Morning, Chief Zhao," "You're here, Chief Zhao"—and he nodded to each of them.

When he reached the office area, he saw Liu Ming sitting at his desk, holding a cup, his legs crossed as he looked at his phone.

"Liu Ming."

Liu Ming looked up and quickly uncrossed his legs. "Director Zhao."

"How did you handle yesterday's case involving Chen Yuan and Zhang Xiu'e?"

Liu Ming smiled, looking rather pleased with himself. "Sent them straight to the Second Detention Center."

Zhao Jianguo frowned. "You sent them to detention? That quickly?"

"Of course."

Liu Ming leaned back in his chair.

"Director Zhao, you don't know this, but our station is near the bottom again in this month's performance assessment. Wang Dahai and the other two were hurt pretty badly. The medical reports are out, and the injuries qualify as minor bodily harm. Sending those two in was just the thing to boost our numbers this month."

"Liu Ming." Zhao Jianguo's voice darkened. "Did you investigate? Are you sure they were the ones at fault?"

Liu Ming froze, his smile stiffening.

"Director Zhao, does this even need investigating?"

He pointed at the statements on his desk.

"Wang Dahai, Sun Deming, and Li Yan all said Zhang Xiu'e tried to seduce Sun Deming. When he rejected her, she lashed out in humiliation and hurt them. That younger brother of hers was even worse. He charged in and started attacking them. All three gave the same account. What else is there to investigate?"

He paused, then scoffed.

"Women these days will do anything for money. A country girl like her sees a rich man like Sun Deming, and of course she throws herself at him. When that doesn't work, she makes a scene. When that doesn't work either, she calls someone in to beat them up. I've seen plenty of cases like this."

Zhao Jianguo stared at Liu Ming for several seconds, anger slowly burning inside him.

"Liu Ming, you copied the Shangri-La Hotel's surveillance footage, didn't you?"

Liu Ming paused. "Yes. It's saved on the computer."

"Watch it."

Liu Ming hesitated. "Director Zhao, is that necessary? We've taken the statements and had the injuries examined. We have witnesses and physical evidence..."

"Just watch it when I tell you to! Enough of the backtalk!"

The shout made Liu Ming's shoulders hunch. He quickly sat up straight. "Okay, okay. I'll watch it. I'll watch it."

Zhao Jianguo glared at him, then turned and went into his office.

The office was small: a desk, a chair, and a bookcase. On the desk sat an insulated cup, a folder, and a family photo.

In the photo, Shen Jing had her arm around their son, Zhao Mingyuan, while he stood behind them. The three smiled at one another, radiating warmth.

He picked up his cup, poured some tea, and sat in his office chair. After taking a sip, he set it on the desk.

Then he took out his phone and opened the video Lei Zhen had sent him the day before.

An intersection under a gray sky. A black sedan lay overturned on the ground, smoking. Flames shot from the front of the car, growing fiercer. The crowd backed away while one person ran toward it.

Zhao Jianguo brought the phone closer.

The person ran to the car, crouched, and pulled at the door. It wouldn't open. He stood, gripped the edge of the door with both hands, and heaved—the door was wrenched open.

Zhao Jianguo's eyes widened abruptly!

He rewound the video a few seconds and paused it.

The image froze on the person's profile.

A young man in a T-shirt and baggy shorts, looking no more than eighteen or nineteen.

He stared at that face for several seconds, then resumed the video. The young man dragged someone out of the car, hoisted them onto his back, and ran. After he had covered a dozen or so meters, the car exploded. He lowered the person to the ground and stood beside them, panting.

Zhao Jianguo paused the video and zoomed in.

Although the footage showed only his profile and his back, that build, that age, those clothes—

He remembered.

It was the young man who had stood beside the sofa at the hotel yesterday.

Chen Yuan!

Zhao Jianguo sat frozen, holding his phone, and didn't move for a long time.

Just then, someone knocked on his office door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Liu Ming walked in. All his smugness was gone. His face was a little pale, the corners of his mouth drooping, as though he had swallowed a fly.

"Director Zhao." Standing in front of the desk, he rubbed his hands together. "I may have made a mistake."

Zhao Jianguo put down his phone and looked at him. "What happened?"

"That video..." Liu Ming swallowed. "I watched it. The Shangri-La surveillance footage, from the corridor and outside the private dining room. I watched all of it."

He paused, his voice dropping.

"Zhang Xiu'e didn't initiate anything. Wang Dahai and the other two... dragged her out of the private room. The woman covered her mouth so she couldn't shout. A server asked about it, too, but they sent the server away."

Zhao Jianguo said nothing. He simply watched him.

Liu Ming's head sank lower and lower. "Director Zhao, I... before I watched the video, I..."

"What else?"

"And..."

Liu Ming took a deep breath.

"The corridor camera also picked up some of what Wang Dahai and that Sun fellow said inside the room. They... that really was what they intended. They'd booked a room and were going to..."

He didn't finish.

Zhao Jianguo sat with both hands on his armrests, his expression growing darker and darker.

"Those scumbags."

Liu Ming stood before the desk, hardly daring to breathe.

Zhao Jianguo stood, picked up his phone from the desk, and slipped it into his pocket.

"Liu Ming."

"Yes."

"Go to the hospital now. Take Wang Dahai, Sun Deming, and Li Yan to the Second Detention Center."

Liu Ming paused. "Take them to the detention center?"

"Yes. Take them straight there."

"I'm going to the Second Detention Center now to get them released. I'll personally bring Chen Yuan and Zhang Xiu'e out."

Liu Ming opened his mouth to say something, but seeing Zhao Jianguo's expression, he swallowed his words.

"Yes, Chief Zhao. I'll go right away."

He turned and headed out, but stopped at the door and looked back.

"Director Zhao, about that... I..."

"Go do your job. We'll talk when you get back."

Liu Ming nodded, opened the door, and left.

Standing in his office, Zhao Jianguo picked up the insulated cup from his desk, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip. Then he put it down, grabbed his car keys, and headed outside.

As he drove out of the police station, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

"This is Zhao Jianguo from the Lotus Police Station. Is this the Second Detention Center? There's a case I need to come over and release people for. Yes, two of them, Chen Yuan and Zhang Xiu'e. I'm on my way now."