Parting

In this world, some people were blinded by greed, taking bribes and bending the law; others lacked all decency, indulging in unbridled debauchery; still others threw their weight around and abused their authority...

But there were also those who spent their entire lives faithfully carrying out their duties. Even in dangerous circumstances, they never wavered in their resolve to benefit the people they served. And even after retiring and growing old, they remained firmly etched in the memories of Dongji's four hundred thousand residents.

That meant you, Old Yan!

Zhou Yi could, of course, place his complete trust in a superior like that.

Ring... ring...

Zhou Yi's phone suddenly rang.

"Let's leave it here for today. Zhou, remember what you just said. If you forget, I'll help you remember."

Yan Xiangyu ended their brief but productive conversation with those meaningful words, which carried an unmistakable warning.

"Goodbye, County Chief."

Zhou Yi politely said his farewells, rose, and left the county chief's office, answering his phone in the corridor.

"Hello, A Yi. Tian Tian and I are leaving. Take good care of yourself. If you ever get a chance to come to Capital City, remember to call us beforehand..."

Hearing how much more subdued Jian Shuyue sounded than usual, Zhou Yi felt an inexplicable sadness rise within him. He sighed softly and said, "Don't worry. Once I retire, I'll definitely go to Capital City to find you. If I'm still unmarried then, and neither of you has married, we can make do and share a life together."

"Oh, get lost."

"Keep dreaming, old man."

Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian's laughing retorts came through the phone, instantly dispelling the melancholy atmosphere.

"Where are you now? At the department store? Give me fifteen minutes. We should at least meet up, say goodbye, and have a hug. Wait for me!"

Zhou Yi put away his phone. He was just thinking of asking the director for permission to leave early when Director Lei approached from the other end of the corridor. Smiling, he patted Zhou Yi on the shoulder and said, "Go downstairs and tell Xiao Deng to drive you to the department store first, then come back for me."

"Thank you, Director."

Zhou Yi snapped off a salute to the director, then hurried excitedly down the stairs.

Watching Zhou Yi rush away, Lei Ming thought that this was how a young man ought to behave. It wasn't that being mature and composed was a bad thing, but too much maturity made Zhou Yi's mindset seem out of step with his age.

He entered the office and looked at the county chief, who was holding a cup and drinking water. "What did you think?" Lei Ming asked tentatively.

Yan Xiangyu nodded and gave a succinct assessment. "Not bad."

Neither servile nor arrogant, articulate, and with substance to his views.

He certainly deserved that assessment.

"The key question is whether he can be trusted!" Yan Xiangyu voiced his concern.

"I don't think that's an issue," Lei Ming said with conviction.

"Why are you so certain?" Yan Xiangyu asked, frowning.

"A sense of justice and professional pride. Those two things set a lower limit on a person's character." Lei Ming's meaning was clear: how bad could a young man with a sense of justice and honor possibly be?

Yan Xiangyu pondered for a long time, then slowly nodded.

Lei Ming had persuaded him.

"We can use him?"

"We can!"

"And Zhang Liping, too."

"Liping is even less of a concern."

"Then start making preparations."

"Xie Zhaolong, Fu Yu, Zeng Xuehua-which one do we start with?"

"Go after the easiest target first."

"Zeng Xuehua, then?"

"I'll call Comrades Xinsheng and Fengnan over right away so we can discuss the details of the plan..."

And so, the sweeping crackdown on organized crime that Zhou Yi remembered began a month ahead of schedule. But would it still end in failure this time?

The Old Third Department Store.

A white BMW sat quietly by the roadside.

Bai Haoxuan, seated behind the wheel, checked his watch impatiently. Zhou Yi had said fifteen minutes, but it had already been sixteen minutes and twenty-three or twenty-four seconds, and he still hadn't arrived.

"Call and hurry him up," Xu Heng told his younger sister.

Tian Tian turned her head away, pretending not to hear.

"He's here." Jian Shuyue, who had been keeping an eye on the surrounding cars, spotted Zhou Yi just as he stepped out of a black Passat.

She immediately opened the car door and got out with Tian Tian to meet him.

"Why leave in such a hurry? Stay a couple more days." Zhou Yi glanced at Big Sister Jian, radiant in an elegant, understated long dress, then at Second Sister Tian, irresistibly sexy in a short spaghetti-strap dress, and made a halfhearted attempt to persuade them to stay.

"Come on, let's do the math. Over these twenty days, we spent at least a week in Dongji, didn't we? And how much time did our Captain Zhou manage to spare from his busy schedule to hang out with us? Not even two whole days! Ha! And you still have the nerve to ask us to stay another two days?" Tian Tian scolded him with a disdainful look.

"I was wrong. So wrong I'm ashamed to show my face. Please don't ignore me. I don't want to be someone even a dog won't give the time of day," Zhou Yi apologized sincerely.

"Keep that up and I'll bite you to death!" Tian Tian said fiercely.

"Enough fooling around. We really do have to go. Didn't you say we should meet up, say goodbye, and have a hug? Hurry up, we're short on time." Looking at the tall, straight-backed man in his police uniform, Jian Shuyue slowly opened her arms, even as she feigned impatience.

Well, a hug it is.

It wasn't as if we'd never... huh? We really haven't hugged before!

Click, click, click.

Inside the BMW, Bai Haoxuan reacted swiftly, picking up his digital camera and taking three shots in quick succession.

Heh. More material to tattle with.

Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue shared a gentle embrace, drawing envious looks from countless men and women passing by. His subsequent hug with Tian Tian prompted another round of the same envy.

"Take care."

"You too."

After they said their goodbyes, Zhou Yi watched Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian get into the BMW, then watched the car recede into the distance until it vanished from sight.

Life was full of unpredictable meetings and partings. Sooner or later, everyone had to say goodbye.

Some said that true affection could transcend time and distance, but more often than not, lovers and friends living far apart eventually drifted away from one another, separated by those very barriers.

Zhou Yi stood motionless for a moment, then sighed softly and turned to leave.

But just then, a white van suddenly shot out of a traffic lane against the flow of traffic. With its tires screeching against the road, it hurtled straight toward Zhou Yi.