Love you, dear self

After days away, he returned to work to a warm welcome from all his colleagues.

Before he could catch his breath, the work came piling in.

Thanks to that Rottweiler, the property management executives had called an emergency meeting and issued orders the very next day for a thorough inspection of the residential complex.

By the time Cheng Yue returned from leave, his colleagues had already spent several days run ragged. What the security department needed most now was manpower, which explained their enthusiastic greetings.

Cheng Yue's burning enthusiasm vanished in an instant.

After the routine morning meeting, everyone split up and got to work. The normally orderly complex stirred with unease as squads of grim-faced security guards descended on it.

Since something had nearly gone wrong before, most residents were willing to cooperate. But there were also stubborn ones who believed the guards were using the inspection as an excuse to pry into their private lives.

"You say you're just keeping records, and I'm supposed to believe you? How do I know you won't sell our information and make things easier for criminals?"

The colleague assigned to Cheng Yue's team tried to explain. "Everyone's going through this, not just your household. A thorough inspection is for everyone's safety."

The older woman planted her hands on her hips, refusing to buy it. "If other people are willing, that's their business. You're not doing it in my home!"

With that, she slammed the door in their faces.

If the resident refused, they couldn't force their way in. The two exchanged a helpless glance and could only move on to another home.

After talking himself hoarse all morning, they still hadn't finished inspecting even one building. Near noon, Cheng Yue dragged himself back to the security department, exhausted in body and mind. He picked up his insulated cup and drained it in one go, finally feeling alive again.

"Honestly, sometimes I really want to call the police. They're the ones with the proper authority to do this. As it is, we're doing all the work and getting no thanks."

Quite a few people thought the same way as that older woman. Compared with everyone's safety, they were more concerned about the risks to their own households.

There was nothing wrong with that. Everyone had the right to protect their own interests, after all.

But if an oversight left them harmed, could they guarantee they wouldn't hold the property management responsible?

Cheng Yue shook his head with a quiet chuckle. Ultimately, those were problems for the higher-ups to consider. Workhorses like them only had to get the job done.

"All right, go eat."

Zhao Li closed the list in his hands and swept a sharp gaze over them. Everyone fell silent at once.

There was a staff cafeteria. Cheng Yue went to take a look, but the watery food looked bland, so he promptly pulled out his phone and ordered delivery.

Having overused his voice these past two days, he ordered himself a bowl of snow pear and snow fungus soup, with a few goji berries floating on top.

The afternoon sunlight crept quietly into the room. Alone in the duty room, Cheng Yue narrowed his eyes and savored this wonderful moment all to himself.

Of course, before enjoying lunch, he made sure to take a photo as a keepsake and post it to his Moments.

[Love you, dear self.]

After eating, he rested with his head on the desk for a little while, then set off for another round of battle.

Before they left, Zhao Li stopped them. A cigarette hung from his lips, white smoke curling upward and blurring the scar on his face.

"Just do your jobs. No need to waste your breath."

In other words, carefully record the information of anyone willing to cooperate. For those who refused, mark them all down and submit the list so the higher-ups could deal with the headache.

The little duty room erupted with voices. Deputy captain Wu Haifeng led the cheer: "Long live the captain!"

No longer having to argue with people cut out most of their workload. Even Cheng Yue couldn't resist joining in with a few cheers.

Perhaps swept up by the atmosphere, Zhao Li's stern expression softened a little. He stubbed out his cigarette and scolded them with a laugh. "All right, that's enough. Get back to whatever you're supposed to be doing."

His long-established authority still held sway, so no one dared take it too far. They scattered, leaving amid laughter and chatter.

Without all those tedious procedures, their work went much more smoothly. Before four that afternoon, they had finished as much work as had taken them the entire morning.

"Not bad. Just a few more households and we can call it a day."

Whether by coincidence or otherwise, the building where Ji Huaijin lived happened to fall within Cheng Yue's assigned area.

After checking the information, his colleague suddenly suggested, "The residents on the twentieth floor emigrated, so no one's home. Let's just start from the nineteenth. That way, we can leave as soon as we finish."

He recalled the sunset photo a certain someone had sent him on a whim. The tall, majestic Statue of Liberty in the picture hadn't escaped his eagle eyes.

He swore he had only glanced at it by accident. He absolutely hadn't enlarged the photo and scrutinized it over and over!

Caught off guard, Cheng Yue gave a dry cough and awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Let's start from the eighteenth floor. The nineteenth... should be away on business."

His colleague noticed nothing. Looking down at his notebook, he said casually, "Then there should still be someone else at home."

Cheng Yue's mouth moved faster than his brain, and he answered instinctively, "No, he lives alone!"

The instant the words left his mouth, Cheng Yue regretted them so much he wanted to slap himself twice.

"Oh, really?"

His colleague added a note and pressed the elevator button. "Great. That'll save us plenty of talking."

Cheng Yue gave a couple of dry laughs and clamped his mouth shut, afraid to give anything else away.

The elevator soon reached the seventeenth floor, and his colleague finally caught on. "Hang on, Cheng Yue. I'm the one who's been recording all the information. How do you know so much?"

Ha-ha, exactly. How do you think I'm supposed to explain this to you?

He obviously couldn't reveal the real reason. Cheng Yue could only laugh it off, saying that he had helped out a few times for various reasons, and that was how they had gotten acquainted.

Seeing understanding dawn on his colleague's face, Cheng Yue pretended to wipe away sweat and turned aside, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

He had pulled a little trick, explaining only how they had met, but not how he knew the man lived alone or was away on business.

Luckily, his colleague was eager to finish work and clock out. Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have let him off so easily.

Their residential complex was fairly large, with twenty or thirty buildings in all. The work kept them busy for several days, and they only wrapped things up hastily once the cicadas had begun to sing.

The property management company did everything it could, even contacting the local police station to hold an awareness session on public safety.

Though the audience consisted entirely of older men and women holding fans, along with a bunch of little children still too young to understand much.

"Careful!"

With quick eyes and quicker hands, Cheng Yue caught a child who had nearly fallen. His gaze swept over the boy, and he crouched down to mercilessly confiscate the candy in his hand.

"You can't eat while you're running, understand?"

The little guy didn't understand. All he knew was that his sweet had been snatched away.

"Waaah!"

The deafening wail made Cheng Yue's head throb. "Stop! Stooop!"

"As long as you promise me you won't eat while you're running, I'll give your candy back."

The little guy wouldn't listen. He cried his heart out!

"Close that little mouth!"

Cheng Yue rubbed his temples. Something caught the corner of his eye, and inspiration suddenly struck. "See that man over there?"