Chapter 106: Oh No, An Old Flame

If what Chen Lie said earlier was like sweeping through an army, then the captain’s last remark was like a plow, ruthlessly turning over the soil of the two young men’s hearts.

There wasn’t much left to begin with—after that plowing, it was even cleaner.

The two of them were stunned, their minds blank. What did he mean, saying they were just here to coast through their jobs?

“I’m not here to slack off! I applied to the police academy because I’ve always been determined to be a police officer! How can you say that about me?!”

“I got in on my own merit, I—”

Before they could finish, the captain waved his hand. “Alright, enough with the grievances. That’s what your families told me. You two haven’t taken the initiative to learn from anyone else—if you’re not here to just muddle along, then what are you doing?”

The captain headed back to the station, suddenly remembering something the deputy captain had mentioned to him. He wiped his face helplessly and hurried back.

Before he even got there, the three were already together. His two subordinates had been scolded by Chen Lie until they were speechless...

He’d originally given them the cold shoulder to toughen them up, hoping they’d muster the courage to come protest to him. But today, Chen Lie had already stripped a layer of skin off them.

Well... all he could do now was add fuel to the fire.

“By the way, your parents are your parents, and you are yourselves. Don’t blame your own lack of drive on your parents.”

Chen Lie smiled. “Let’s go, time to head back.”

The captain nodded and strode off toward the guesthouse.

The two rookies, still dazed from the scolding, silently followed behind, doing their best not to fall behind the two men’s pace.

====

Guesthouse.

Su Qinghu and Sister Li were reviewing the interview outline, going over each interviewee’s answers, circling anything they were unsure about, and trying to fill in any gaps while the details were still fresh.

“This word—” Su Qinghu looked at Sister Li. “Do you remember it? What exactly did we decide he meant by that? I only have a vague impression.”

Sometimes the interviewees would slip in a few local dialect words, and what they meant wasn’t always the same as the literal meaning. Sometimes, the difference between northern and southern dialects could be huge.

“I only have a vague impression too. Just circle it for now, and we’ll check with Yuan Hang later.” He’d been to the south and had a few friends from there—this shouldn’t be a problem for him.

As she spoke, she wrote the word down in her notebook, trying to capture the faint sense she had in her mind.

Su Qinghu lowered her head, her profile glowing softly in the lamplight. Sister Li glanced at her and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

The old saying is true—comparison is the thief of joy. Some people really are just blessed by nature.

“Sister Li, take a look.” Su Qinghu finished filling in the details she remembered clearly and handed her notes to Sister Li. “See if there’s anything different from what you remember.”

Sister Li skimmed through, then looked more carefully at the circled parts. She read those slowly, then said, “Aside from the local dialect bits, there’s nothing wrong. Given the context, some things were intentionally left out.”

“Let’s check with Yuan Hang first. If there’s anything we can cut, we’ll cut it. If not, we’ll ask his assistant.” Su Qinghu stood up, stretched, massaged the area around her eyes, and instinctively rolled her shoulders and neck.

Sister Li saw her squinting in comfort and couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Su, is that a routine you do?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Su Qinghu explained the key points.

Sister Li tried it out. “Hmm, it really does feel good.”

The two chatted as they tidied up their notes. Since there was no rush, they left the lights on, locked the door, and gently knocked on Yuan Hang’s door.

Yuan Hang wasn’t asleep—not that he didn’t want to, but after what happened that afternoon, he was on alert, ready to respond if anything happened.

Seeing the two of them at his door, he was a bit surprised. “Sister Li, you two—?”

Didn’t seem like anything urgent.

“Come on, let’s strike while the iron’s hot and go over the interview content again,” Sister Li said with a smile.

Yuan Hang immediately pulled a long face. “Sister Li, you know I—”

“What do I know? I know you have a few friends from the south who can help us clear up some questions.” Sister Li smiled, gesturing toward the room.

Yuan Hang had no choice but to let them in, but he didn’t close the door. “You’re not asking me to comment on your notes, or to review your interview records, right?”

Su Qinghu smiled as she followed them in, just as Sister Li said, “What are you so afraid of? I see you studying those thick photography books without a hint of fear.”

She waved her notebook. “Ours is just a dozen pages, and the font is way bigger than a newspaper’s.”

“I’m just like Xiao Su, running off as soon as work’s done.” Yuan Hang dragged Su Qinghu into the fray. “Ask her if she’s afraid of working overtime!”

Su Qinghu raised an eyebrow. “Enough already, don’t drag me into this!”

As they joked, a heavy thud suddenly came from the next room. Su Qinghu glanced at Sister Li and Yuan Hang, not particularly nervous. Instead, that absurd dream popped into her head again.

Yes, that one—the one where Big Egg was a spider demon, showing his belly and spinning silk from his navel; Second Egg was a Calabash Brother, hands on his hips, spitting water, both of them begging her to let go of their father.

Now, sometimes she felt like she was the tender, tasty Tang Monk being chased by a horde of spider demons, and sometimes she felt like the snake demon, with a bunch of Calabash Brothers out for revenge...

She twitched her lips, at a loss for words. Meeting the other two’s odd looks, she shrugged. “The sound came from mine and Sister Li’s room, I think.”

Yuan Hang: “I think it’s not ‘I think’—it definitely did.”

“We locked the door from the outside,” Su Qinghu blinked, walked to the door, checked that the door was still secure, and said, “What I’m worried about now is—did you lock your window?”

“Even if it’s locked, it can be pried open.” Yuan Hang glanced at the window, then at the door. “The window’s easier to guard. Even if the glass is smashed, just grab a stool and whack whoever pops up. Want to switch?”

Su Qinghu shook her head. “You go. You’re stronger—just swing for all you’re worth. As for me—”

She paused, then chuckled. “I’ve got the door—good for both offense and defense.”

Sister Li had been nervous, but hearing the two of them so calm, her anxiety faded away.

“What about me?” Sister Li said, half-laughing, half-crying. “What am I supposed to do?”

Su Qinghu: “If someone really bursts in, you yell ‘Help! Fire!’”

“Are you serious?” Sister Li couldn’t help but laugh, but was also confused. “Are you messing with me?”

“I’m serious. If you just yell for help, maybe no one will care. But if you shout fire, usually a few people will come out to look.”

As soon as Su Qinghu finished, she noticed Sister Li and Yuan Hang’s expressions change. Following their gaze, her heart leapt into her throat.

Oh no!

Wasn’t that her “old flame” in the legal sense—Chen Lie?"