After over an hour of conversation, it abruptly ceased.
Yi Jiayi received permission to leave and didn’t want to stay a second longer.
She pushed the door open forcefully, not caring about anything else, just wanting to go back to rest.
Fang Zhenyue, who had been silent throughout, quickly followed her. As she turned around guardedly, he met her gaze and suddenly leaned in close, whispering:
“Yi Jiayi, what case was I working on on the 6th last month?”
“…” Yi Jiayi stiffened. Madam had asked a hundred difficult questions, all of which she had answered, but she was stumped by Sir Fang’s simple question.
After an awkward few seconds, she forced a smile, pointed towards the other end of the corridor to change the subject:
“Sir Fang, I’m rushing back to work.”
Having said that, seeing that Fang Zhenyue was just watching her with a faint smile and had no intention of stopping her, she quickly said goodbye and hurried through the corridor, taking the stairs in a light jog back to the administrative support office.
Liu Jiaming and others looked puzzled at Yi Jiayi’s retreating figure, then peered at Fang Zhenyue, only to see Sir Fang wearing a playful smile.
Just as everyone was about to ask what was going on, Fang ZhenBrother Yuestured with his hand and then retreated back into Qiu Sushan’s office, slamming the door shut once more.
Leaving Liu Jiaming and others outside the door, even more curious!
…
“Transfer to the major case squad.” Fang Zhenyue stood at the door, gazing at the backlit Qiu Sushan behind the long table.
Qiu Sushan was bent over drafting paper, writing and drawing.
She was still analyzing Yi Jiayi’s words, untangling her logic bit by bit, not even noticing when Fang Zhenyue had returned.
She snapped back to reality and solemnly nodded: “Of course.”
Fang Zhenyue immediately pressed further: “When will the transfer order be issued, Madam?”
Qiu Sushan shook her head helplessly: “I’ll write the report right now, I’ll make sure it’s done. Don’t worry, no need to rush; a talent like this, it’s not just you who’s eager, I’m determined to have her too.”
“OK.” Fang Zhenyue nodded and then stepped out of the door.
Qiu Sushan looked down again at the writing on the paper, unable to help but sigh:
“Even though the case has been solved, and we all know who the murderer is and how the murder happened. Revisiting Yi Jiayi’s approach to solving the case, it’s still… quite astonishing.
“This kid, could really be called a genius detective, huh…”
…
Fang Zhenyue had just left Qiu Sushan’s office when Liu Jiaming and the others surrounded him.
Seeing it was almost noon, he simply took a group of subordinates, tormented by curiosity and unable to think of food, to eat in the alley next to the police station.
“What do you think she said?” Fang Zhenyue organized his chopsticks, took a sip of soup before digging in, swallowed his food, and then asked slowly.
Liu Jiaming’s eyes had already become bloodthirsty, as if he would disown his relatives if Sir Fang dared to beat around the bush any longer.
Fang Zhenyue chuckled and began to summarize Yi Jiayi’s words.
Liu Jiaming and the others’ eyes grew bigger and bigger as they listened, their mouths also widening in shock, even forgetting to eat their food, completely absorbed in astonishment.
“Really? Is that true?”
“Are you kidding me? Impossible, right?”
“Is she really that strong?”
“Amazing, I’m totally stunned.”
“Wow!”
The detectives occasionally expressed their amazement, as if Fang Zhenyue was telling some kind of dramatic story.
“Brother Yue, is it really true? She can recite everyone’s file by heart, without missing a single word?”
“Yeah, Brother Yue, don’t play tricks on us.”
Liu Jiaming and Gary were the first to protest, it sounded too incredible to be true.
Especially since everyone goes to work with Yi Jiayi, that blonde girl, every day, and she’s always around, helping to order meals, arranging flowers, all delicate and dainty; how could she resemble a great detective?
“Like Sherlock Holmes, so impressive!” Sanfu said, half-joking, half-serious:
“What do you know! She’s hidden her capabilities well. You think she’s like you guys, needing to shout about every little achievement for the whole police station to know.”
“She’s always been a sweet, innocent girl, and then suddenly she’s smart?”
“Yeah, young people today are the laziest, is she really reading files in the office every day? So boring. With that capability, why didn’t she go to the University of Hong Kong instead of becoming a cop?”
“Want to know if it’s true? Just ask Sister Yin.” Fang Zhenyue took a sip of tea and nodded towards Sister Yin, who was buying coffee at the counter.
“I’ll go!” Liu Jiaming immediately volunteered enthusiastically, raising his hand and shouting, “Sister Yin, Sister Yin, buying coffee?”
Sister Yin had just paid and was waiting for her coffee when she suddenly heard Liu Jiaming’s voice. She walked over to the table with a smile, “You guys are having a feast today?”
“We’ve solved the case, no need to eat boxed meals at the police station anymore.” Liu Jiaming laughed heartily and couldn’t wait to ask:
“Sister Yin, does Yi Jiayi usually read case files in the office?”
“Yes, how did you know? When those case files were uploaded to the internal network, some were jumbled, and some were found to be worm-eaten. We just need to sort them out by time and case, clean them up, add some insect-repellent pellets, and then they can be sent to the archive. Jiayi insists on checking them over and over again, which is so slow,” complained Sister Yin, then added:
“However, Jiayi is very thorough in her work, and even if she’s slow, she rarely makes mistakes.”
“…”
“…”
Listening to Sister Yin’s words, Liu Jiaming and the others had no doubts left.
It seems what Brother Yue said was true… So, Yi Jiayi is really that impressive!
“What? Did Jiayi do something wrong?” Sister Yin glanced nervously across Sir Fang’s face, the fiercest at the table.
“No, no, Jiayi has done very well, and she has helped us a lot,” Liu Jiaming quickly explained with a smile.
Just then, the coffee was ready, and Sister Yin cheerfully said goodbye to everyone, taking her coffee back to the police station.
The table fell silent for a few seconds.
“It must be luck, right? Despite being slow, she happened to read it, and it just happened to be related to the King’s Park case…” Gary scratched his head, unable to believe that such incredible people existed in the world.
Liu Jiaming had stopped joining in with Gary’s jeering, scratching his cheek, unsure whether to believe in Jiayi’s impressive skills or just chalk it up to good luck.
Then, everyone started a heated discussion, meticulously analyzing whether the reasoning Jiayi provided was indeed true.
It was even more intense than their usual case-solving.
“…So noisy,” Fang Zhenyue frowned, often feeling out of place because he wasn’t as foolish as the others.
Seeing that only Lin Wangjiu had been quiet until Liu Jiaming and the others had finished arguing, he then methodically said:
“I neither agree with Gary that Jiayi is just lucky, nor do I agree with Sanfu who firmly believes in Jiayi’s detective skills, even treating her like a deity.”
Both sides instantly stopped bickering, all eyes on Uncle Jiu, waiting for him to give a clear explanation.
Uncle Jiu flexed his fingers, raised his eyebrows, and looked over everyone:
“The only logical explanation isn’t that it’s magic, but possession. Do you understand?”
“…”
“?”
“…”
They didn’t understand!
Fang Zhenyue burst out laughing, and Gary and the others, initially stunned, joined in the laughter.
Lin Wangjiu argued logically:
“Before the body was with the coroner, someone had already drawn a circle around it. This means that when the body was in the police station, there were ghosts around. We caught Yi Jiayi drawing the circle—what does that tell us? Yi Jiayi has a unique constitution; perhaps she can communicate with the deceased. This is quite sinister. She might be worried that we would fear her or ostracize her, or even take her to drink sacred ash or perform rituals, so she claimed it was her own case solving.”
Gary slapped his thigh, laughing and nodding.
It all sounded very plausible to Uncle Jiu.
Fang Zhenyue was impatient with their chatter and quickly ate his meal.
“Finish up and get back to work. Wrap up the King’s Park murder case. Notify the public relations department, report what needs to be reported, promote what needs to be promoted. If the coroner’s office has gathered all the evidence, notify the family of the deceased to collect the body.”
He stood up, threw down the money, and left.
Liu Jiaming and the others looked at each other in confusion, then started whispering after a while:
“Being possessed by a ghost sounds more convincing than that young girl actually being a detective genius, right?”
“I think you just don’t want to admit that, despite her young age, she’s better at solving cases than you.”
“Well, you didn’t find the murderer before her, either.”
“I can’t make heads or tails of it anymore, whatever… Anyway, it’s still Yi Jiayi. Possessed by a ghost? I’m not afraid.”
“Hey, why don’t you bring her a milk tea? She looked exhausted after being summoned by madam and Brother Yue this morning.”
“Sure, I’ll go and comfort her, so she doesn’t think they were interrogating her.”
…
In the afternoon, Yi Jiayi was in her office organizing files and replenishing her brain energy with afternoon tea when a figure suddenly appeared at the door, blocking most of the light from outside.
Yi Jiayi glanced back and immediately stood up, somewhat apprehensively saying, “Sir Fang.”
The office was already small, and with him standing there, it seemed even more crowded.
Sister Yin, who had just returned from gossiping in the archives room, saw Fang Zhenyue blocking the door and wisely tiptoed away.
Yi Jiayi tightly closed her lips, showing her determination not to answer any more questions.
Fang Zhenyue couldn’t help but smile, pulling out 4000 yuan from his pocket, “This is your reward for helping solve a few cases.”
Yi Jiayi looked at the thick stack of cash, hesitating to accept it.
“Take it. It’s more troublesome to apply for a reward through the administrative support department. I just took it directly from the major cases group’s reward fund. You don’t mind it being a bit less, do you?”
“Of course.” Yi Jiayi quickly responded, instantly revealing her true eagerness, and her face turned red.
Poor people crave money; it’s just the way it is.
Fang Zhenyue couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking the money in his hand towards her.
Yi Jiayi awkwardly accepted the money, muttered a “thanks,” felt it was insufficient, and then added another “thanks.” Ending up saying “thank you” four times in succession, not only did Fang Zhenyue laugh, but she also smiled brightly, unable to suppress the joy of receiving the bonus.
Fang Zhenyue cleared his throat and, looking seriously at her lush, voluminous black hair, declared solemnly:
“Report to Major Cases Team B tomorrow, Detective Yi.”
Yi Jiayi, head bowed, slowly twisted the newspaper wrapping the money with her fingers, and it took her a few seconds to process what Fang Zhenyue had just said.
She stared at him in disbelief, suddenly looking up at him as if she had seen a ghost.
She parted her lips to speak, but no sound came out.
What did he mean? Could it be what she was thinking?
Pleased by her expression, Fang Zhenyue took it as a pleasant surprise.
“No need to wear a uniform or tie your hair back anymore. Take your salary and bonus and buy some new clothes,” he continued, pointing at her uniform.
“The internal review interview is scheduled for mid-next month, start working first.”
He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost time to get off work. Jiaming said he’s arranged to meet your older brother for dinner tonight. Wait for us in the office after work, and we’ll go together later.”
After speaking, he tapped his fingers on the door frame, surveyed the administrative support office, and proudly declared:
“No need to squeeze in this tiny office anymore. The vacant spot by the window in Team B is yours. Apply for a computer tomorrow. You’ll write the report on the King’s Park massacre case. If you don’t understand something, ask Liu Jiaming.”
He then looked at Yi Jiayi and frowned:
“You haven’t exercised since graduating from the police academy, have you? Your muscles are atrophied. Starting tomorrow, get up early and run. It’s fine if you can’t catch the criminal, but if the criminal chases you, you should at least be able to run away.”
Yi Jiayi listened to Officer Fang’s ramblings, and suddenly, a spark of excitement almost made her jump up.
A comeback against the odds!
She had passed the ‘three court hearings’ this morning!
“Yes, sir!” Yi Jiayi saluted vigorously, unable to control the pitch of her voice, her tone rising sharply.
Fang Zhenyue jumped.
“In the Major Cases Unit, you can’t be so easily startled,” Fang Zhenyue scolded her.
“Understood, sir.” Yi Jiayi moved to the door, looking up at Fang Zhenyue with adoration, as if looking at a god of fortune descending.
Major Cases Unit! Major Cases Unit! She heard the salary was over ten thousand!
And now, there’s no need to secretly inquire about cases anymore, I can solve them alongside Sir Fang.
The policewoman with a gun, wow, she’s so cool!
So impressive.
She just wants to run back home now and loudly tell her brothers and sister!
The two little ones are definitely going to jump through the roof with excitement.
Fang Zhenyue watches her joy and inexplicably feels a warmth in his heart.
How can this girl, who becomes as happy as a ten-year-old child, actually be a reasoning genius like the female Sherlock Holmes?
Anyone who meets her would find it hard to believe.
He pokes her forehead with his finger, shakes his head, and turns to leave.
Leaving Yi Jiayi alone, bouncing around joyfully in her cramped office.
yayyy promoted!!