“Hahaha, what’s up, schoolgirl?”
“Why, have you really run out of clothes to wear, digging out a school uniform from ten years ago?”
“Haha, so youthful! What are you playing at? You could go undercover at a school now.”
Yi Jiayi blushed and didn’t respond.
“How come I end up running into you guys even when I’m just out here for fun?” she complained weakly.
“Hahahaha…” Liu Jiaming and the others were unabashedly masculine and far from sympathetic to the young beauty, they couldn’t stop ridiculing the young policewoman.
She was just… too cute and funny!
“It’s just about dinner time; let’s go to Yi’s Restaurant, my treat,” Fang Zhenyue quickly changed the subject, tilting his chin at Yi Jiayi and asking in a playfully suave manner:
“Schoolgirl, will you do me the honor?”
Yi Jiayi was amused by Sir Fang’s bizarre expression and was thinking about how to respond in equally amusing fashion when her younger sister Jiaru couldn’t wait to jump in:
“I’d love to, I’d love to! Sir Fang, can I sit in the passenger seat of the jeep?”
She had never sat in the passenger seat of any large vehicle before!
Like in the TV shows, riding in a super cool car, maybe even driving past the seaside… though she only dared to think about it.
Jiaru’s laughter revealed a row of small white teeth, looking foolishly happy.
“Sure, but don’t stick your head out the window!” Fang Zhenyue laughed and nodded, taking from Jiaru the large and small packages in her hands. A quick glance was enough to know they were things Yi Jiayi had bought for her siblings and brother.
“I’m not a kid anymore!” Jiaru shouted excitedly.
Seeing Sir Fang’s gentlemanly action, Liu Jiaming and the others realized the two girls were carrying a lot of stuff and quickly helped to lighten their load.
On the way, Fang Zhenyue left the group for a moment to visit the restroom.
When everyone reached the parking lot and was waiting, Jiaru, clinging to her sister’s arm and seeing that no one else was paying attention, whispered:
“Big sis, I think Sir Fang is quite good, gentlemanly and handsome, and he’s a CID detective, just like Aunt Mi described as a promising young man. I’d support him as my brother-in-law.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I heard Sir Fang is the son of some building tycoon or jewelry magnate, incredibly wealthy with high standards!” Yi Jiayi couldn’t help but shush her sister.
“That’s even better then, a golden bachelor, perfect!” Jiaru nodded enthusiastically.
It’s as if she can pick any man in the world at will.
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch; stop daydreaming,” Jiayi quickly grabbed her sister’s arm as Officer Fang approached, worried she might blurt out something inappropriate.
Jiaru glanced at her sister and then at the strikingly confident Officer Fang striding towards them. She couldn’t help thinking: My sister is being too modest. Who wouldn’t like her? She’s like a fairy-tale beauty. Is she really that clueless about flirting? What a waste of an elder sister, even a 16-year-old like me knows better.
Jiaru got into the passenger seat, looked back at her elder sister with a sigh of exasperation, as if to say “you could do better.”
The two cars headed straight for Yi’s Place, Jiaru contentedly enjoying the ride with the window down, as happy as a puppy that just got a treat.
Upon arriving, she was completely satisfied.
At night, the new bright signboard was so luminous that Liu Jiaming couldn’t help but exclaim loudly.
Fang Zhenyue and Lin Wangjiu got out of the two cars, followed by two young girls.
As the customers at Yi’s Place were eating, they saw a group of burly men, carrying bags and escorting two schoolgirls into the already cramped tea house.
No matter how much these strong men ate, they definitely made a grand entrance!
Jiaru, bubbling with energy, ran to help her brother make milk tea, sharing the joy of her recent car ride as she worked.
She ran into a classmate who came to buy something:
“You and your sister looked so imposing just now. Those guys looked like your bodyguards!”
“Don’t be silly; they’re not bodyguards.”
“Oh, right.” How could a classmate have so many bodyguards, she’s not the wealthiest in Hong Kong.
“They’re all my sister’s boyfriends.”
“Really?”
“My sister is amazing. Each one of them thinks he’s her only boyfriend, but she’s actually dating all of them. In the end, the one who treats her best and is the most generous will be the one she keeps.”
“Wow! That’s so impressive! I’m so envious~”
“Hmph.” With pride, “Here’s your Yi’s Iced Delight.”
“Cool!” The schoolgirl was still in awe and admiration, completely captivated.
…
When Yi Jiayi got home and started sorting out the gifts, she discovered two expensive shirts and a pair of brand-name white sports shoes among her purchases.
Initially, she had bought more items for her siblings and brother, but now, with her own purchase of a grey casual suit, she ended up having the most new clothes for herself today.
She sat for a while, then ran off to call Fang Zhenyue.
“How did you know it was me?” Fang Zhenyue’s voice became playful after hearing her thanks.
“The items were expensive; only rich people shop without looking at prices. The richest is Brother Yue. Also, only Brother Yue went to the restroom in the middle and disappeared for quite a while,” Yi Jiayi seriously explained her analysis to him.
Fang Zhenyue’s deep laughter came through the phone, showing his agreement and satisfaction with her reasoning.
“How did Brother Yue know my shoe size?” Jiayi couldn’t help but wonder, was it Jiaru who told him?
“Your foot was close to Liu Jiaming’s, about half a finger shorter. Liu Jiaming’s foot is one size smaller than mine, so I calculated from there.”
“Brother Yue is really impressive!”
“You’re not too bad yourself.”
“Hehe. But Brother Yue, I can’t accept your gift, after I start working—”
“No need to pay me back. Consider it a project bonus from a leader,” Fang Zhenyue interrupted Jiayi, then reassured her, “I also treated Liu Jiaming and the others to a big meal today, all from the project bonus. Everyone eats and wears on my account, they have to work for me, it’s all part of my capitalist schemes. Don’t worry too much.”
“Thank you, Brother Yue!”
“Bye now.”
After hanging up, Yi Jiayi dashed back to her room, quickly tried on a few shirts, and paired them with her new shoes. She admired herself in the mirror for quite some time, unable to stop praising.
“Big sister, you look really beautiful,” Jiaru spoke on behalf of Yi Jiayi, expressing what she was thinking.
“Right? Haha,” she replied proudly.
“Big sister, out of them all, who do you really like?” Jiaru looked anxiously at her big sister, starting to feel conflicted on her behalf.
Each one seemed like a good choice, but which one to pick?
“Who?”
“Jiaming, Officer Fang, Gary, or Sanfu—who will you choose? You better choose carefully; I’ve heard many people say that a woman choosing the wrong husband is like choosing the wrong path for the rest of her life. Actually, I still prefer Officer Fang. It’s not about the money; he’s the most handsome and impressive, truly a man of distinction.”
“Pfft! If any of them pursued me, then I might consider it. If they don’t pursue, why bother thinking about it?”
“I see they really dote on you; you should have some preferences too. Big sister, times have changed, happiness is something you have to fight for yourself.”
“Is that so?” Yi Jiayi hugged herself, tilting her head as she fell into deep thought.
Could being beautiful really lead to such dilemmas?
Humph… Hehe, hehehe…
“Alright!” Yi Jiayi quickly stopped her own wandering thoughts, shoving a gift into her sister’s arms, “Quickly organize these, don’t just leave them everywhere!”
“Okay!” Yi Jiaru took the gifts and happily started arranging them.
The sisters, in their cramped room, bumped elbows and knees while organizing, yet they remained cheerful.
Next door, in the boys’ room, a similar scene unfolded with occasional chit-chat between the brothers:
“How do I look in this?”
“Brother, you look so handsome!”
“Wow, this racket looks so powerful.”
“I’m going to be unbeatable in tennis!”
“Um…”
The sounds of Jiajun swinging his tennis racket vigorously and the accidental painful cry of Yi Jiadong could be heard.
…
In the quiet of the night, the playful noises from the day still seemed to echo in the small village house.
Jiayi lay in bed, looking around the small room.
The window frame was rusty, the curtains old and patched—sewn by Jiaru.
The tiny desk, only 90 centimeters long, had to be shared with her sister when she wanted to read or take notes at night. The desk, cluttered with a lamp and several books, was a tight fit.
As Jiaru changed clothes in the hallway, Jiayi could only sit on the bed; the room was simply too small for two people to move around simultaneously. With everyone wearing thicker clothes in winter, it felt even more cramped.
The bunk bed they shared felt even smaller with thick winter blankets that inevitably fell to the floor, luckily neither she nor her sister were overweight.
The boys’ room next door was even more crowded, and that was before Jiajun hit his growth spurt; once he reached seventeen or eighteen, he might be as tall as their older brother.
Such a small room could hardly accommodate two grown men.
How great it would be to move into a house with four bedrooms.
Preferably with a bright kitchen, and a spacious living room where the four siblings could comfortably watch TV together…
A house like that, close to Yi’s Tea House, would probably cost a few thousand in rent each month.
If most of her salary went towards rent, she wouldn’t be able to help with family expenses anymore, and the pressure for food and clothing would fall entirely on her elder brother.
Just when she had started to earn money, it would still end up burdening her brother so much…
Jiayi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, continuing to do the math.
Now that she was in the Major Crime Unit, her salary was about ten thousand. If there were bonuses for solving cases, she could still contribute to the family expenses and even save some for emergencies.
Even though Yi’s place now had Ding Baoshu and Sun Xin, and you had to count Ding Baoshu’s grandmother for meals, both Sun Xin and Ding Baoshu were a big help. Her brother could relax a bit, have the energy to create new dishes, and entertain more customers.
Like these past few days, many people were queuing up to buy Yi’s Iced Delight. Regular customers brought new ones, and there would be even more coming. Even if people got tired of the current offerings, they could still develop more varieties and have many variations in snacks and desserts. There was great potential in this area.
Turning over, she felt that moving houses wasn’t an impossible dream.
She heard that detectives in the Major Crime Unit made several tens of thousands.
As an inspector, Madam’s salary was close to a hundred thousand…
When could she be as impressive as Inspector Fang? She heard that he was already preparing for the internal promotion exams and interviews, and he might become an inspector next year.
Tomorrow, she needed to visit the bookstore to look for professional books: criminal psychology, crime studies, law, forensic science, scientific evidence, and so on—slowly start learning.
At the same time, she still needed to help sort out materials for Sister Yin, must review more detective case reports, read carefully about their methods and thought processes, and learn from their experience.
Yes, she needed to review as well.
Starting with the Bi Street murder case, and for every future case. How did Inspector Fang solve the cases, how did he manage the whole team, how did he analyze clues, integrate case details, pinpoint key aspects, conduct investigations, and make judgments…
She also had to find a way to build her own presence; she couldn’t always be the nice, easygoing one who everyone thinks is easy to bully, not looking like a capable detective.
She needed to have a demeanor, a stern brow, a solemn face, chest out, head up, deep and wise eyes… Also, she couldn’t just smile foolishly all the time, how could she act like a clueless girl, Yi Jiayi…
As she thought about it, Jiayi gradually surrendered to the god of dreams and fell into a deep sleep, her dreams filled with solving cases.
…
While Jiayi was dreaming, Fang Zhenyue was still working overtime.
After leaving Yi’s place, he returned to the police station, reviewed all the case reports he had completed earlier, and signed them to submit to Qiu Sushan.
He then read through a few old cases handed to him by Qiu Sushan, pondering where to start and how to find new breakthroughs.
It wasn’t until he was extremely tired that he looked at the clock—it was midnight. Confident that he could drive home and fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed, he finally picked up his car keys and prepared to leave work.
Working night after night, day after day, and always finding ways to entertain his team might not mean he’s a workaholic or extravagant, but perhaps because he’s the most lonely person in the world.
Maybe he can’t stand being alone, afraid that the quiet atmosphere might drive him mad.
There is always another answer in this world.
The lazy Lin Wangjiu might once have been the most diligent detective, only to have fallen hard after being deceived and never managing to muster the energy to return to his former passionate self.
And that work-loving, generous-to-a-fault officer, maybe he’s just a child most dependent on the crowd, trapped in a certain image, relying on an outwardly tough, admirable, dependable, rebellious, and intelligent hard-man facade to mask another answer, the real answer.
The lights in the Major Crime Team B office were turned off, and Fang Zhenyue silently stepped out of the darkness into the brightly lit corridor.
The reporting center’s call area was still lit, with someone manning the station 360 days a year, day and night.
He glanced inside, and as he turned around, he encountered Qiu Sushan stepping out of the bathroom from the other side.
The two tired individuals then walked side by side to the car park, making small talk to avoid awkwardness.
“When you get promoted to probationary inspector, who do you think would be suitable to take over as the officer in charge?” Qiu Sushan wanted to start training the team members as early as possible.
If he had someone in mind for promotion, it was best to start observing that person’s organizational, managerial, and case-solving skills now, to avoid being too rushed when the time comes.
“…I’ll keep observing,” Fang Zhenyue thought for a moment and didn’t reply immediately, “bye.”
Qiu Sushan’s car started a bit slow, and when she looked up again, all she could see was the rear of Fang Zhenyue’s car.
She sighed.
It seems uncertain who will take over as the officer in charge of Team B.
Anyone could be the one, everyone has a chance.