Since Yi Jiayi received Fang Zhenyue’s approval, her enthusiasm for work has significantly increased.
Besides reading the reports and files being organized, she took every spare moment to visit the Major Crime Team B.
Everyone in the police station knew that Sir Fang had won over the clerical staff member, little girl Yi. Not only was he not worried about food or drink, but his office was also decorated daily with fresh flowers and various snacks and teas.
Qiu Sushan normally didn’t frequent the Team B office often, fearing that Fang Zhenyue, a self-confident man with a strong sense of territory, might misunderstand that she didn’t trust him.
However, ever since his office started to have all kinds of various snacks, she found herself visiting more frequently.
No one could resist a sweet sister and her gentle treats—these desserts, drinks, and flowers might seem trivial, but the accumulation of these pleasant little things could bring immense happiness.
“Madam, if you keep eating like this, you might end up too plump to marry,” Fang Zhenyue joked as he returned from the coroner’s office and saw Qiu Sushan selecting her favorite flavors from the egg tarts, wife cakes, and mooncakes at their specially reserved table.
“It’s rumored in the station that Yi Jiayi has a crush on one of the detectives in your team. If this continues, it might affect her marital prospects. Try to teach her some substantial skills instead of just ordering her around,” Qiu Sushan retorted as she looked up.
“How do you find the afternoon tea?” Fang Zhenyue asked indifferently.
“Why would I come if it wasn’t good?” Qiu Sushan grabbed two of Yi’s favorite egg tarts and poured herself a cup of irresistible silk stocking milk tea, planning to quietly enjoy them back in her office.
“I paid for these, you know, Madam. Since you’re enjoying them, perhaps hold back the criticism,” Fang Zhenyue leaned against the windowsill desk, stretching his legs while flipping through the forensic report and enjoying the sun.
“Thanks, though.”
“You say the tea is delicious and the flowers smell wonderful. Our Team B office is now the best working environment in the station,” Fang Zhenyue glanced at Qiu Sushan’s retreating figure. “Having tasted such days, how can you refuse them?”
Qiu Sushan was already at the door but turned back to glare at him, “Be decent, and share half of your bonus this month with others as bonuses.”
“Of course,” Fang Zhenyue responded without looking up, his hands flipping through the report loudly.
The air conditioning was strong, making the whole office as cold as winter, but unlike before, the air was now also filled with the fresh scent of flowers, the clear fragrance of fruits, and the sweet aroma of pastries and milk tea.
Fang Zhenyue looked up, glanced at the communal desk, stretched his arm to grab an egg tart, and savored its crispy bite, which contrasted with the soft, bursty inside, enriching the feeling of happiness that good food brings.
He sighed, suddenly feeling that this, indeed, was life.
As Liu Jiaming and others collected reports related to the case from other departments like Forensic Sciences, Fang Zhenyue approached the whiteboard, thought for a moment, then walked over to the phone to call Yi Jiayi’s office.
After the other party picked up the phone, he hesitated for a moment and did not openly ask her to come down for afternoon tea. Instead, he spoke casually and indifferently:
“Do you still have those sunflower seeds you bought last time?
“Uh, then bring some over, we’re having a meeting.”
Two minutes later, Yi Jiayi came running down with a pen and notebook, and a small bag of sunflower seeds.
Sitting for nearly half an hour, she was the only one in the corner, listening to them sort out clues and brainstorm, while having her afternoon tea. The Mr. Fang who had asked her to bring the sunflower seeds did not eat a single one.
It wasn’t until the meeting ended that she began to realize that perhaps Mr. Fang didn’t call her just for the sunflower seeds.
…
After running up and down like this for a week, most people at the police station began to speculate.
Given that she spent all her spare time studying, reading books from the police academy, and borrowing professional books on detective work from the library, rumors started to circulate that because Yi Jiayi had distinguished herself in the Bi Street case, someone in the station wanted to train her to switch to a police uniform.
There are many circles that chat about gossip, but at one ‘Sunflower Seed Meeting’ that only Sister Yin participated in, she proposed a bold idea:
“Switching to a uniformed police officer is tough, exposed to the sun and wind and also dangerous. Why would Jiayi want to keep patrolling the streets every day? Her legs are getting thicker from all the walking.
“Since she played a meritorial role in solving the Bi Street case and assisted the Major Crime Unit, why not just transfer her directly to the Major Crime Unit?”
As soon as Sister Yin finished speaking, others immediately jumped in to argue:
“The Major Crime Unit isn’t easy to get into. Sister Yin, do you think it’s a vegetable market?
“CID, huh? The danger level is even higher, dealing with major and serious cases. How could they let a rookie girl just mess around? She might encounter a street gunfight like last time. A slow reaction, and she could lose her life.”
“Right, I remember Team A went to catch a criminal, searched the mountains overnight, and Ah Qiang accidentally stepped on a trap, breaking his leg, nearly lost his life. Zhang Sha encountered a gangster and got stabbed twice. Too dangerous, too dangerous, that delicate girl who gets out of breath after running a few steps, how can she handle cases?”
“It must be that she’s switched to uniformed police. Didn’t you see the public relations department asking her for photos? They want her in the police uniform. Female street cops, that’s quite a gimmick.”
Listening to everyone’s heated discussions, Sister Yin tried several times to argue back but held back in the end.
People treat Jiayi like a spinning top every day, these folks really think Jiayi is just a minor errand girl, suffering and laboring, right?
Really a bunch of naive kids who don’t understand the world. There’s a saying, right? Taking advantage is actually gaining an advantage.
If Mr. Fang didn’t have that intention, why would she be running to Team B all the time? Do they really think Team B is a vegetable market?
This is a huge backdoor!
How many girls in the station have tried to curry favor with Mr. Fang Zhenyue over the years, and which one has ever gotten close to him?
Just the other day in the office, she received a personal call from Mr. Fang, looking for Jiayi.
Men, whenever they need you for something, either you’re his mother, or you’re his wife.
As Sister Yin cracked sunflower seeds, listening to the others’ senseless babble, she gradually felt a sense of superiority as if she was the only sober person in a world of drunks.
Before leaving, she stuffed two pockets full of sunflower seeds to take back for Jiayi.
In the future, at the police station, Jiayi will surely be more successful than her. She needs to make a good impression early and can’t afford to be clueless.