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"Brother, you can't keep taking Brother Song's side like this," Pei Qingyu muttered. His throat still couldn't handle much talking. Pressing a hand to his chest, he tried to hold back, but finally turned his head and coughed a few times.

Pei Qingyan opened his mouth to argue, only to hear Pei Qingyu's faint coughing through the phone again. His heart ached for him after all. He sighed and said seriously, "All right, don't be upset. I actually have something to tell you. A case has been opened into those two wealthy men's deaths, and the higher-ups specifically ordered the Special Case Team to investigate as quickly as possible. Get some more rest these next few days. In a couple of days, you'll have to come back even if you don't want to leave the hospital."

"Then, Brother, can you send me the case files now?" Pei Qingyu pushed his luck.

"In your dreams. I just sent them to Xun Yin. Have him bring you up to speed once you're discharged and back home." Pei Qingyan refused outright, then teased him, "You're always complaining about staying in the hospital. Got your wish this time, didn't you? Behave yourself, too. Listen to Little Mo in the hospital and Xun Yin once you're out. Stop making those two call me eight hundred times a day."

"Okay, Brother," Pei Qingyu answered with a smile, only for Song Xuanmo to suddenly take the phone from his ear.

"Qingyan, Xiao Yu can't leave the hospital yet. You're sending him back to investigate a case just days after surgery?"

Song Xuanmo stepped back twice and turned away, asking in a low voice. He didn't understand how things had turned out this way, and for once, he was a little angry. "If Xiao Yu goes straight back to work now, it'll only wear his body down faster. You..."

"Little Mo." Pei Qingyan interrupted him, lowering his voice as well. "I tried to stop it. I really did. But this is what the higher-ups demanded-someone specifically insisted that he handle it."

Song Xuanmo froze for a moment. Helplessness seeped into Pei Qingyan's voice. "He's my own little brother. How could I not worry about him? But I..."

"Sorry..." Song Xuanmo fell silent for a while, and in the end, that was all he said, his voice subdued.

"Little Mo?" Pei Qingyan frowned, sensing something off about Song Xuanmo's mood.

Song Xuanmo was too softhearted. Even after studying medicine and growing accustomed to life, death, and human indifference, certain things could still leave him upset for a long time. Pei Qingyan awkwardly tried to comfort him, but before he could, Song Xuanmo said, "It's nothing," and hung up.

"Does that say... Brother Yan?"

Song Xuanmo turned back to find Pei Qingyu smiling and pointing at his phone. "Brother Song, you call my brother Brother Yan?"

Song Xuanmo's face instantly flushed. He stumbled over his explanation. "No, Qingyan set that himself. He said it would make him easier to find... It wasn't me."

"Okay, okay, I know." Pei Qingyu smiled and squeezed Song Xuanmo's hand. "Brother Song, don't overthink it. I'm fine. Besides..."

He turned his head. At some point, Xun Yin had entered the hospital room and was standing silently by the door, watching him. He smiled at Xun Yin and continued, "I still have Xun Yin."

A few days later, at the police station.

"The deceased, Zhou Fu, male, sixty-one, ranked first on this city's rich list, held controlling stakes in several large companies. The deceased, Zhang Bu, male, fifty-seven, owned several talent agencies. Many

entertainment industry

stars came out of his companies..."

Song Ranran turned a page of the files and quickly scanned it, looking somewhat stunned. "God, the assets under their names..."

"What? What? Let me see."

Wang Yu rushed over from beside her with a cup of instant noodles. He took a quick look and exclaimed, "Oh my god, their income for one day is as much as my..."

"As much as your lifetime's salary."

A disdainful voice suddenly came from the doorway. Wang Yu turned with noodles hanging from his mouth and saw someone swagger in.

He wore sunglasses and had a tall, well-proportioned figure, yet there was something unpleasant about his demeanor.

The man frowned as he surveyed the Special Case Team's furnishings, then removed his sunglasses with one hand and said in disgust, "Look, instead of sitting here envying money you'll never earn in your entire lives, why don't you hurry up and do some actual work? Find more clues and solve the case sooner. Maybe after slogging away for a few decades, you'll earn a fraction of what we have."

"Who are you?" Song Ranran paused at the sight of his face once he took off his sunglasses. Before she could comment, the contempt in his tone angered her. "This is the Special Case Team. Unauthorized people aren't welcome here."

"Your salaries come from our taxes. That makes us your bosses, and the boss is God. Don't you understand that?" The man with the sunglasses had a handsome face, but the words coming out of his mouth were arrogant and overbearing. "As for me, my name is Zhou Yang. Zhou Fu was my godfather."

"Yangyang, that's enough." The person who had been following silently behind Zhou Yang stepped forward and tried to dissuade him helplessly, then turned to the others. "Sorry for the trouble. I'm Mr. Zhou Yang's assistant. You can call me Lele. We're here today to cooperate with the investigation."

"All right, please come with me. I'll get things arranged for you." Lin Shichu held out a hand to stop the fuming Song Ranran and smiled.

Lele gave an apologetic smile as well. He had just turned to look for Zhou Yang when he heard him say arrogantly from behind, "Hold on-"

"I'm a victim's family member. Given how tragic my circumstances are, can't you find somewhere better to question me?" As he spoke, Zhou Yang moved several steps farther away in disgust from Wang Yu, who was happily eating his instant noodles nearby. "At least somewhere better than this filthy dump."

"We have a separate meeting room where we can..."

"I don't want to walk that far." Zhou Yang cut Lin Shichu off and suddenly pointed at Pei Qingyu's office. "That place looks fine to me. We'll use that."

"That's Captain Pei's office. It isn't open to visitors." Lin Shichu smiled good-naturedly, but his expression was firm. "Please come this way with me instead."

"Then just have your Captain Pei invite me in. I heard he was there when my godfather died. I specifically requested him to handle this case. Where is he now?"

"Captain Pei was injured during our last operation and is still recovering." Lin Shichu stepped forward to block Zhou Yang's path, still smiling. "If you're in a hurry, please come this way with me..."

"If he isn't dead, tell him to get over here now." Zhou Yang folded his arms and said viciously, "I'm a victim and a taxpayer. Don't I even have the right to choose which officer questions me?"