In the evening, before Jiayi got off work, Yi Jiadong called her to ask what time she would be home.
All the citizens of the port city had seen the news; Yi Jiadong had been restless all afternoon, wanting to call but worried about disturbing his sister’s work. Finally, as it was nearly the end of the workday, he dared to make the call.
Jiayi said she could leave work on time today, so Yi Jiadong then called her and asked her to bring the other officers to Yi Ji restaurant. He had learned that Fang Zhenyue and Sanfu were both moderately injured, and Jiayi had also scraped her arm and neck. He had simmered chicken soup with pig’s stomach, preparing several dishes to help them recover from the shock.
Even Sun Xin had made brown sugar triangles and beef stew with radish, a dish said to be a famous Sichuan cuisine, which was also very nourishing.
Jiayi happily agreed and after hanging up, formally invited all of Team B to dine at Yi Ji that evening.
Upon hearing there would be delicious food, everyone was moved to tears.
Although Brother Yue had always been generous, their Team B lived more luxuriously compared to other CID groups. But they were all rough men with no one to plan for them; they always ate whatever they came across and often lamented not knowing what to eat, even with money to spend.
Now how wonderful it was, hearing the dishes Jiayi listed, the daily struggles of the detectives mixed their tears of emotion with drool.
Moreover, after tonight’s nourishing feast, Madam was planning to treat them to lunch for a week.
Had their Team B been celebrating too much recently? Why did it feel like they were celebrating a festival every day?
Could it be that the recent cases they had cracked were particularly splendid?
After some reflection, Liu Jiaming suddenly felt a burst of colorful light behind him—it was the light of pride!
At five o’clock, as soon as Jiayi picked up her bag, he quickly came over and offered his arm: “Come on, Gun God Yi, let Jiaming carry your bag!”
Gary laughed at him for a while, then turned to grab Brother Yue car keys. “Brother Yue, you’re injured, I’ll take care of driving.”
Then, everyone helped each other, politely finished up their work on time, and eagerly headed to Yi Ji for a great meal.
Passing by Argyle Old Street, they could still see traffic police motorcycles and patrol cars. Although the big case had ended quickly, the subsequent wrap-up was still complex and numerous; the departments probably had to struggle with this case for a long time before it could be thoroughly resolved.
Waiting for the traffic light, Fang Zhenyue and the others looked toward the much quieter Argyle Old Street with deep emotion.
Who would have thought that the people now casually heading for a big meal were, just a few hours ago, risking their lives amidst gunfire.
When the green light signaled, Jiayi leaned her chin on her hand, looking out the car window as Argyle Old Street was left behind, becoming a part of the past.
“Are we going for psychological counseling tomorrow?” Liu Jiaming suddenly asked.
“Yes, the forensic officer, Mr. Xu, helped me contact a counselor, Dr. Bai. Hasn’t everyone been counseled by him?” Jiayi also had her curiosities.
Liu Jiaming fell silent, regretting asking Jiayi about psychological counseling. Wasn’t this like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet?
In the car, it seemed like he was the only one who had never killed anyone nor visited Dr. Bai.
Why did he suddenly become the bottom of the office food chain?
Is not having killed someone now a weakness?
Hmph, if I keep quiet, no one will know that my gun is one of kindness.
“Hey, Jiaming, you haven’t killed any robbers yet, have you? That time when we were with Brother Yue, staking out in Big Circle, during that shootout at the abandoned vegetable market, we all fired our guns and killed some bad guys. You hadn’t joined Team B yet, right?” Gary suddenly spoke up, poking Liu Jiaming in the head with his finger.
“Hey! Don’t hit the face, bro!” Liu Jiaming turned his head and glared in indignation.
“Hahaha.” Sanfu was amused and laughed.
“Focus on driving.” Fang Zhenyue watched Gary retract his hand and hold the steering wheel properly before he finally relaxed, annoyed by those who don’t focus while driving.
“Not having fired a gun is a good thing, lucky Jiaming handsome.” Sanfu patted Jiaming’s shoulder, offering faint consolation.
The well-behaved Liu Jiaming was comforted and teased all the way until they arrived at Yi Ji, where he finally cheered up seeing the food.
While eating, he couldn’t help but mutter, “Brother Jiadong is my real family! The others, huh.”
Yi Jiadong seemed restless in the kitchen tonight. After the table started their meal, he simply handed the kitchen over to Sun Xin and came out to talk to his sister.
Fang Zhenyue invited him to sit, and he didn’t hesitate, repeatedly asking questions and scrutinizing everything until he was absolutely certain his sister was fine, which finally calmed his anxious emotions.
He had been nervous all afternoon, but his heart finally settled.
The two younger siblings, Jiaru and Jiajun, weren’t as fearful as Jiadong. Seeing their elder sister swagger into Yi Ji on her own legs, they knew she was fine and immediately became excited.
While selling milk tea, Jiaru bragged about their elder sister.
“Does the coconut milk tea come with a milk foam top?” a customer asked.
“Ah, are you talking about the big heist on TV today? The brave policewoman who shot the gang leader, that’s my elder sister! My real sister!” Jiaru answered.
“Little sister, add some more sugar for me,” the customer said.
“You mean the sharpshooter policewoman from the Baojin Bank heist? Hahaha, yes, that’s my sister alright!”
Listening to Jiaru boast so much, even Little Jiajun felt too embarrassed to speak up.
As he passed Jiaru, carrying a tray for Sun Xin to the table, he couldn’t help but whisper a reminder:
“Second sister, you shouldn’t say that!”
“?” Jiaru raised an eyebrow, why can’t I say that?
“You should say, she is our eldest sister!” Jiajun lifted his head proudly, hinting that not only Jiaru represents the Yi family, but also the heroic and spirited eldest sister Yi Jiayi, huh!
“Jiajun, the mapo tofu is coming, I’ve been holding my chopsticks ready for a while now,” Liu Jiaming, who had been eyeing the dish in Jiajun’s hands, finally couldn’t resist and started to shout.
“Here it comes.” Jiajun hurriedly walked over and carefully placed a steaming plate of mapo tofu on the table.
As the plate settled, the tofu pieces bounced uniformly, looking tender and delightful.
The saucy tofu with its red meat sauce was a perfect pair. Picking up a piece with chopsticks could also scoop up some meat bits and sauce, creating a burst of spicy, fresh, and aromatic flavors in the mouth, followed by the soft, bouncy, and smooth texture of the tofu mixing with the meaty aroma, making it even more satisfying than eating meat alone.
Liu Jiaming, despite being scalded, couldn’t help but keep eating.
Gary mocked him for eating like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit, and demonstrated what he thought was the right way to eat. A piece of tofu covered in sauce placed on rice, mixed with minced meat and chopped green onions, pressed into the rice, and eaten together to avoid the heat while adding the soft and fragrant rice, truly delicious.
The two argued about whose eating method was better. Suddenly, the TV started showing today’s major heist at Baojin Bank, and everyone immediately shifted their attention to the TV installed at the corner of the Yi Ji restaurant’s rooftop.
Sun Xin, originally smiling happily after being praised, couldn’t help but wipe his hands and come out to watch TV. Ding Baoshu, who was helping to wash vegetables, stopped washing, not even caring about the dripping water.
Those lining up to buy coconut milk, milk tea, or a Yi’s Iced Delight, whether eating inside or outside, all squeezed into a spot where they could see the TV, looking up.
The sound of chairs being dragged was incessant. No matter what everyone was doing, their eyes were fixed on the TV. Even when bumping into each other, apologizing with a “sorry” without turning their eyes away, they were utterly absorbed.
The detectives of Team B eating around the table also all looked up, with Jiaming quickly grabbing a lot of food into his bowl and turning around to face the TV.
Today, there was much to see on the news, with most visuals focusing on the aftermath or the tail end of the incident, and of course, everyone wanted to watch the complete onsite recording.
At this moment, everyone’s expressions turned solemn.
……
“Our reporter in Taiwan bought a DV from a local in Shanghai right before the incident occurred, and recorded the entire robbery. Next, let’s see how the robbery at Baojin Bank unfolded and how it ended,” the host said, sitting in the studio. After finishing his statement, he nodded towards the camera, and the scene switched.
Everyone held their breath and prepared to watch.
But the screen switched to a commercial: “On a dark, windy night, perfect for pest control, the Black Tornado Ninja eradicates pests for the people. No need for swords, just use Black Tornado—Black Tornado is truly powerful, really effective!”
“Ugh~”
“What the heck!”
“Unethical TV station!”
Everyone complained in unison. Just a few words in, the commercial ended, and the scene switched to the streets of Shanghai.
The content of the tape was obviously edited. It seems the people merely bought the DV and randomly started filming before the first shot of the robbery was fired. The camera swayed erratically, and the framing was all over the place. Despite professional editing by the TV station, there were still many issues making it difficult to watch.
But the incident was sensational and explosive, and the usually picky viewers didn’t complain at all; they were completely engrossed.
“Turn it up, Mr. Yi!”
“Ah, there were so many people on the street at the time…”
When the uniformed officer who was killed appeared on camera, everyone started to get nervous. They breathed a sigh of relief when he safely left the Baojin Bank.
From a bird’s-eye view, everyone was still scared and frightened, let alone those who experienced it firsthand.
When they saw Ye Yongqian firing the first shot in front of the bakery and then cunningly blending into the crowd pretending to be a passerby, even the most mild-mannered person in the bakery, Sun Xin, couldn’t help but curse in Mainland slang: “Fuck! Damn dog shit!”
The neighbors in the bakery were furious, slamming the table:
“Why doesn’t he just die! Trash!”
“Fuck your mother!”
“Drop dead! Go die!”
Seeing the officer fall, the bakery filled with feelings of regret and sadness, and a tender-hearted granny began to wipe her tears.
The camera shook violently, showing the filmer running away, and it took a long time before it stabilized again. However, there was a layer of glass in front of the lens, likely taken from inside a store across the street through a window.
The robbers quickly took control inside the store, and as they left the bank carrying big and small bags, everyone started shouting, “Oh no, what do we do?”
The next moment, a black jeep came flying in diagonally. The vehicle hadn’t even fully stopped before Fang Zhenyue jumped out and fired the first shot without waiting for everyone to react.
“Wow! Officer sir is so strong!”
“Such a fierce officer!”
“Ah, isn’t that you, officer?”
After the customers shouted in awe, they quickly realized that Fang Zhenyue himself was sitting at Yi Ji.