He got to show off again!

"Xiaofan, I hate to criticize you, but we agreed to go shopping together, and what happened? You've been glued to that laptop the whole time."

In the café, Demon Tian sipped her coffee while lecturing her college roommate with the air of an elder.

Today, she wore a short lotus-pink dress. Her skin was fair and soft, whiter than snow, and her long hair, deliberately dyed burgundy, fell loosely over her shoulders.

Perhaps because of the heat, a faint blush colored her fair, oval face. Her dewy, peach-blossom eyes wandered casually, radiating effortless allure.

"I don't want to, either, but what choice do I have? Boss Jing from our newspaper went to a meeting at the publicity department this morning, came back, and went nuts. Now we're all working ourselves to death!" Zhou Xiaofan sighed as her fingers rattled across the keyboard.

"Tiantian, stop bothering her. Xiaofan's work comes first. Besides, we have all afternoon. We can go shopping once she finishes her article." Jian Shuyue stepped in to uphold justice and promptly corrected Demon Tian's misguided thinking.

"You're the one who really loves me, Shuyue." Amid her frantic work, Zhou Xiaofan cast Jian Shuyue an affectionate glance.

"Hmph!" Tian Tian lifted her chin in defiance.

That adorably haughty expression left a man sitting opposite her staring blankly.

Only when his girlfriend stomped hard on his foot beneath the table did he snap out of it and sheepishly look away. Yet within seconds, his gaze drifted back of its own accord.

Hmph, you little vixen!

Liu Lu silently cursed her.

She admitted that this little temptress could make men unable to look away and even set women's hearts fluttering.

But your looks don't do anything for me.

I... God, save me. I think I've fallen in love again!

Liu Lu stared unblinkingly at the short-haired woman beside that little temptress.

Striking, elegant features, a model's height, and an androgynous outfit of a shirt and trousers gave her an air of refined sophistication. She was gorgeous and cool, equally capable of being sweet or edgy.

Especially those almond-shaped eyes, carrying "three parts coldness, three parts mockery, and four parts nonchalance." A casual glance sent Liu Lu's heart racing, making her want to drown in that gaze as deep as the sea.

The men in the café could only lament that they didn't have two pairs of eyes. Whenever their gazes settled on one woman, they couldn't help wanting to look at the other. The struggle was agonizing.

Zhou Xiaofan was long since used to this.

She wasn't bad-looking herself. Never mind being the prettiest woman at the entire daily newspaper-she turned plenty of heads on the street, too. Yet beside these two impossibly beautiful women, she was as inconspicuous as a foxtail weed.

"Tian, my darling, come help your little sister out. How should I word this part?" In a voice sweeter than Tian Tian's name, Zhou Xiaofan appealed to her roommate, who had also majored in journalism.

Tian Tian curled her luscious red lips and smugly shifted her chair closer.

"Let your big sister lend you a hand..."

Her peach-blossom eyes swept across the draft on the screen. The first thing she saw was an impressively lofty headline-In the Name of the People's Police.

(On the front lines of public security, there is one such young man.

He once put down roots at the grassroots level, steadfastly serving in an ordinary post; he once stood alone and bravely captured a Class A fugitive; he once risked his own safety to save a young girl's life... He is Zhou Yi, commander of the Public Security Management Brigade of the Dongji County Public Security Bureau.)

Tian Tian read while pointing things out. Hmm, a conventional opening. Nothing outstanding, but nothing wrong with it, either.

Oh, so it's a publicity piece about a police officer.

Oh, so he's with the Dongji County Public Security Bureau.

Oh, and he's a Public Security Management Brigade commander... Zhou Yi?

Tian Tian took a closer look. Once she confirmed she hadn't misread it, she reached out and pulled Jian Shuyue over.

"Look at this! Our little Zhou is doing pretty well for himself. He's even got Xiaofan writing a news release just for him!"

Jian Shuyue read carefully and immediately spotted the key detail.

They knew about his grassroots service, and they knew about his brave capture of a dangerous criminal. But they knew absolutely nothing about his saving a girl's life.

So when had that happened?

"What's going on? You know Zhou Yi?" Zhou Xiaofan asked in surprise.

"He was our classmate in middle school and high school. We told you about him before," Tian Tian replied.

"Really? I don't remember..." Zhou Xiaofan gave an awkward smile.

Then realization struck. Her smile instantly turned ingratiating, and she reached out with both little paws, taking Jian Shuyue's and Tian Tian's hands and shaking them incessantly.

"My two darling big sisters, I want to interview Zhou Yi. Could you put in a word for me?"

Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian exchanged a look and asked in unison, "What do you want to interview him about?"

Zhou Xiaofan hurriedly switched to the desktop and clicked open a video file.

"This is the part I want to interview him about. I want to know how he felt at the time, what he was thinking, and how he managed to reach that suicidal girl's inner world so precisely in such a sudden, critical situation..."

Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian watched the screen intently.

In perfect unspoken agreement, each took an earbud and put it in. With the same coordination, they reached out and shoved Zhou Xiaofan away from the computer.

"Now, in the name of the people's police, and in the name of your brother Shen Mo..."

On-screen, the young police officer's resolute face, solemn gesture, and powerful voice combined to create an intensely striking effect, both visually and aurally.

And at his final words, "Are you willing to trust me?"

His voice shifted into a heart-stirring tenderness, and his eyes softened with compassion.

Then there was the hand he slowly extended through the drizzle.

Who could resist that?

Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian would have bet that if anyone else had attempted the rescue, the outcome might well have been different.

This guy really did look his best in uniform!

At some point, Bai Haoxuan and Xu Heng had quietly appeared behind the two women.

Watching the video on the screen, both men's expressions grew complicated.

Damn it, he got to show off again!

No, they'd have to tattle on him later to soothe their nerves.

"Then let's call it provoking trouble!"

Standing before the mirror, Cai Xiaobo delivered the line in a detached tone.

Then he covered his eyes, unable to bear looking at himself any longer.

When their commander said those very same words, he made them sound so effortless and natural, handling the situation with ease and radiating an invisible aura of absolute authority.

And then there was him. He'd practiced several times and still looked like a dumbass!

Comparisons really were the death of a man, just as inferior goods deserved to be tossed out.

Someone like him would, at best, be a named extra in a novel. Commander Zhou was the protagonist, blessed by fate and born with a halo.

So, to live longer and live better, he had to remain unwavering in his resolve to cling to the commander's coattails for a hundred years!

"Cai, what's so urgent?" Shao Mingbao strode into the office and asked in puzzlement.

"I heard something. Li Xiugui, the dean of students at Second Middle School, has been visiting the Golden Coast Bathhouse at night these past few days. That's your jurisdiction. So? Are you in? If not, I'll lead a team there myself. Just pretend you don't know anything."

Cai Xiaobo didn't keep him guessing and got straight to the point.

Shao Mingbao's eyes flickered before he declared with righteous conviction, "Why wouldn't I be? When it comes to easing the commander's burdens, I'm duty-bound to step up."

The commander had once said, "Doesn't our Public Security Management Brigade have any dignity?"

For those words alone, they had to teach the people at Second Middle School a lesson.

Ten that evening.

Without sirens or flashing lights, three police cars slipped toward the Golden Coast Bathhouse under cover of darkness.

At Shao Mingbao's command, more than ten public security officers charged straight through the bathhouse entrance.

But the scene before them left Shao Mingbao and the officers of the Second Squad utterly stunned.

Amid the chaos, Deputy Brigade Commander Zhu Jianping was leading several officers downstairs from the second floor, escorting a handful of disheveled men and women.

Who else could that fat, big-eared fellow among them be but Li Xiugui?

At the sight of this, what the hell was there left to say?

Clearly, someone had beaten them to the punch.

"Zhu, what kind of bastard move is this? Huh? Sneaking onto my turf to arrest people-did you ask me first?" Nearly beside himself with anger, Shao Mingbao marched up to confront him.

"Sorry, Shao. It's my bounden duty to ease the commander's burdens," Zhu Jianping replied with righteous solemnity.