While Sanfu and Gary were halfway through their investigation, they suddenly received a message from Uncle Jiu. After making a phone call, they learned from Uncle Jiu and Liu Jiming about the list of Zhao Dongsheng’s lovers and romantic interests, which included the name Gu Xiaolan — one of the buyers of the fourteen suits.
This discovery allowed them to skip checking each individual who had purchased designer suits and go directly to Gu Xiaolan.
However, even for a rising star like Gu Xiaolan, making contact was not easy. Sanfu and Gary spent a considerable amount of time confirming her schedule and eventually traveled all the way to Ocean Park in the Southern District of Hong Kong Island, where they finally met her during a break in her filming.
Although Gu Xiaolan always claimed in interviews that she was just friends with Director Zhang Jing and the wealthy Zhao Dongsheng, during the questioning, she personally admitted her relationship with Zhao Dongsheng.
“I’ve never met Zhao Dongsheng’s wife. He said she’s in poor health and their relationship is very cold. They are husband and wife in name only, living separate lives, their marriage is practically dead.”
“But honestly, I don’t care; I don’t intend to marry him anyway.”
Gu Xiaolan sat back in a comfortable soft chair, glanced at Sanfu with a smirk, and said:
“He bought me a large house in Happy Valley…”
There was no need to say more; their relationship was typical—a transactional exchange of wealth for companionship.
“This suit, yes, I bought it for him. He has spent so much on me; I ought to return the favor.” Gu Xiaolan looked at the photograph of the suit with a bullet hole, furrowed her brow slightly, and quickly looked away, as if reluctant to dwell on its current sorry state.
Sanfu took back the photo, sizing up Gu Xiaolan. She was indeed a young and attractive woman, no wonder she was sought after by the wealthy elite.
Yet, when she sat there silently, she seemed like an exquisite sculpture without a soul, lacking vibrancy.
“May I ask where you were from 5 PM to 9 PM on the 22nd?” Sanfu proceeded with the usual questioning.
“I was filming in Tseung Kwan O, the whole crew can vouch for that,” Gu Xiaolan averted her gaze.
“When was the last time you saw Zhao Dongsheng?”
“The evening of the 21st, we had dinner together, and he spent the night at my place,” Gu Xiaolan was quite forthright, showing no intent to conceal anything about her relationship with Zhao Dongsheng.
“How is your romantic relationship going? All smooth?”
“What’s there to be smooth or not? If he asks me out, I happily accept. If he doesn’t, I keep busy with my own things. It’s that simple, sir, don’t overthink it. There’s no grudge or love affair between Mr. Zhao and me. Since he’s in trouble, you might want to start looking into his wife, instead of wasting time on me.” Gu Xiaolan took a sip of juice and sighed, “If I were his wife, and he was always flitting from one to another, I might hate him too.”
Sanfu did not pick up on Gu Xiaolan’s remark and proceeded to ask a dozen more questions, also acquiring Gu Xiaolan’s upcoming itinerary before bidding farewell.
Upon returning to the police station, Sanfu and his colleagues from other teams bumped into each other. Hearing that Sanfu and Gary had gone to meet a popular idol actress, they couldn’t help but howl in envy:
“Why do you guys get to meet pretty girls, and we still have to go out searching for bodies?”
Returning to Team B’s office, Sanfu and his partner found Uncle Jiu and Liu Jiaming already there. They joined in for a casual chat while waiting for Jiayi to return for a meeting.
The conversation unintentionally drifted from the current foggy case to the upcoming personnel changes in Team B. Sanfu, remembering the military police officer that Qiu Sushan had her eye on, couldn’t help but ask:
“Hey, have you seen that young guy assigned to Sister Eleven?”
“Yeah, saw him. Tall and handsome. Our detectives in Team B are all charming and dashing, and Xu Shaowei certainly doesn’t drag us down,” Liu Jiaming chuckled.
“With a face that screams rebel, didn’t you guys scold him a bit, give him a warning, teach him a lesson?” Sanfu asked, leaning on the desk, raising an eyebrow.
“Why should we scold and lecture him? He’s just started working on tasks with Eleven, and it’s time for them to build mutual trust. Eleven surely knows how to handle it, whether it’s to intimidate or to win over by virtue. We shouldn’t meddle carelessly; it might disrupt Eleven’s rhythm or accidentally offend Xu Shaowei on her behalf. If that kid holds a grudge and purposely sabotages her, it would be counterproductive,” Uncle Jiu explained patiently, showing the prudence of an experienced comrade.
“…” Sanfu felt slightly awkward, oh, is that so?
“You didn’t go off and try to scare him, did you?” Uncle Jiu raised an eyebrow.
“No! Of course not. Uncle Jiu, do you think I’m that reckless?” Sanfu laughed, quickly changing the subject: “Hey, how’s your investigation going? Smoothly?”
As everyone began to share their experiences from investigating, Sanfu turned away, pretending to drink water to hide his embarrassment.
After setting down his tea cup, he touched his nose, pondering over life: Could it be that he really was making things worse for Eleven? What if so…
A few minutes later, Jiayi also returned to the station, followed by that rebellious Xu Shaowei.
Sanfu glanced at them, noticing no signs of discord. As Xu Shaowei entered Team B’s office, displaying a restrained and awkward demeanor, Sanfu took a deep breath and finally decided to act as a goodwill ambassador for Eleven’s sake.
He waved Xu Shaowei over, pointing to the coffee, milk tea, and afternoon tea snacks on the desk, and tried to smile affably, “Take a look and see what you’d like to drink or eat. Don’t be shy, all these are from Yi Ji’s, Sister Eleven’s family-owned Restaurant; they all taste quite good.”
Xu Shaowei and Sanfu locked eyes in a silent contest for a moment before Xu cracked a smile, “Thank you.”
He walked over and picked up a cup of coffee, quietly sitting down to drink it, observing his surroundings with his eyes while keeping silent. His whole demeanor was guarded and distant.
Uncle Jiu raised his eyebrows at Jiayi, who responded with a similar expression, as if they had exchanged some secret signal, then both unconsciously smiled.
From her expression, Uncle Jiu could tell that Little Eleven’s interaction with Xu Shaowei was probably okay, without any uncontrollable situations. He patted Jiayi’s shoulder and sat down in another chair, chewing on his little wooden stick.
Quitting smoking was tough; needing something to keep his mouth busy, he didn’t engage in gossip but chewed on a stick instead. He looked like a rabbit, but at least it kept his mind off smoking.
Fang Zhenyue arrived the latest, his demeanor somber, as if his internal assessment had gone without issues.
Everyone knew Brother Yue had matters to attend to today, they all discreetly observed his expression, but he was an old hand at controlling his emotions, maintaining a solemn and composed demeanor.
Fang Zhenyue glanced at Xu Shaowei and formally introduced him to everyone, mentioning that Xu would temporarily join them on this case. He praised Xu’s past heroic deeds.
“He’s worked with the police to catch criminals, even dived into the sea to apprehend someone. He’s skilled in combat and precise in shooting, a truly courageous officer.”
Everyone greeted him and introduced themselves, officially acknowledging each other.
Then it was time to share information. Sanfu and Gary briefed everyone on the relationship between Gu Xiaolan and Zhao Dongsheng.
Uncle Jiu and Liu Jiaming listed all the women linked romantically with Zhao Dongsheng, including Gu Xiaolan, but those who had received valuable gifts from Zhao Dongsheng, like houses, weren’t limited to her alone.
After all, Zhao Dongsheng was in the real estate business, and anything slipping through his fingers was likely a property, big or small.
“If only I had been born a pretty woman, dealing with Zhao Dongsheng could’ve been more beneficial than several years as a detective. I don’t know how long I’d have to work to afford a house like the one Zhao gave to Gu Xiaolan,” Gary leaned back in his chair, his feet propped up on Liu Jiaming’s chair, sighing in resignation.
“Try your luck with the lottery, or maybe horse betting,” Uncle Jiu suggested, shrugging while still gnawing on his stick.
“I’ve never even won a bottle of milk in my life; luck isn’t in the cards for me,” Liu Jiaming shook his head, sighing bitterly. Today, it seemed everyone was more prone to complain than Uncle Jiu.
Fang Zhenyue tapped the whiteboard, prompting Jiayi to report their findings. After she finished, she spoke up:
“Brother Yue, I think Zhou Xinhui is definitely up to something. I want to start surveillance on him tonight to see if he engages in any suspicious social activities.”
“Do you suspect he’s hiring someone to commit murder?” Fang Zhenyue raised an eyebrow.
“When Zhao Dongsheng was in trouble, Zhou Xinhui had a perfect alibi. But someone as wealthy and influential as him wouldn’t personally commit murder. Plus, his youth involved mingling with gangs, so having the right connections in that world isn’t surprising; hence, I indeed have my suspicions,” Yi Jiayi nodded, each time she spoke, Brother Yue could guess her next words, truly a clever superior.
“Alright. Who is closest to Zhou Xinhui?” Fang Zhenyue didn’t immediately give an order but instead posed a relevant question.
“His assistant, Datou,” Jiayi answered immediately. After questioning Zhou Xinhui, she and Xu Shaowei had also interrogated Datou and others connected to him, confirming that the person who knew Zhou best was Datou, who also arranged for his alibi at the entertainment venue.
“Then we’ll monitor Datou as well,” Fang Zhenyue said, then turned to Sanfu, “Monitor Gu Xiaolan along with him, right?”
“Yes, sir.” Sanfu had obtained Gu Xiaolan’s itinerary for this very reason.
“Sanfu and Gary in one team, Eleven and Xu Shaowei in another, Uncle Jiu and Jiaming in another, I’ll arrange another team with a uniformed officer. Sanfu’s team and Uncle Jiu’s team will take turns monitoring Gu Xiaolan, while Eleven’s team and my team will take turns watching Datou,” Fang Zhenyue continued, pointing across the office, “I will ask madam to lead a team with a uniformed officer, plus borrow a detective and another officer from Team A to rotate watching Zhou Xinhui.”
Rubbing the pen in his hand, he pointed at Sanfu, “Sanfu, you’ll lead the team on Gu Xiaolan, and madam will lead the team on Zhou Xinhui. As for the team on Datou…”
His gaze swept over Jiayi and Xu Shaowei, unexpectedly announcing, “Eleven will be the team leader.”
“Brother Yue?” Jiayi stood up, nervously rubbing her fingers, shouldn’t Brother Yue be the one coordinating everyone’s shifts, surveillance focuses, and the like?
“Don’t think about slacking off, let the old guy rest easy,” Fang Zhenyue nodded at Jiayi, clapping his hands, “Let’s start arranging, get it done tonight. Solve the case quickly.”
“Yes, sir,” Jiayi responded respectfully.
Xu Shaowei sat in the corner, his gaze unconsciously shifting between Fang Zhenyue and Yi Jiayi, the extent of the officer’s importance clearly exceeded his expectations.
Could it be that in this world, there really is a place that purely values capability, disregards gender, and doesn’t underestimate the young?
Afterward, everyone divided into teams to finalize the plans. Xu Shaowei went home to change into casual clothes; they would cover the first half of the night, with Fang Zhenyue and his summoned uniformed officers covering the second half.
Pretending to be a couple merely going through the motions while strolling the streets, tailing Datou, Jiayi was grateful that Hong Kong had warmed up these past few days. The evenings weren’t very cold, and she even saw a hot-blooded man in a tank top drinking and walking the streets.
To avoid appearing too ‘disconnected’, she and Xu Shaowei forced themselves to converse, ending up testing each other on English sentences and vocabulary.
It was like a study group from their school days.
“What could we be running into? Zhao Dongsheng’s body must have been disposed of by now, right?” Xu Shaowei, after reciting some vocabulary for a while, suddenly asked with a hint of doubt.