He scanned the room, saw some new faces, but mostly familiar ones like assistant commissioners and inspectors.
He was there to support Team B on behalf of the Major Crime Unit, and under everyone’s gaze, he boldly took a seat in the middle of the front row.
After settling down, Liu Jiaming grinned proudly and even winked at Jiayi.
Later, Qiu Sushan also chose to sit next to Liu Jiaming. The two of them sat there daydreaming while sneaking glances at those around them every few seconds.
After sitting down for a minute, Liu Jiaming finally couldn’t withstand the pressure any longer. He smiled at Qiu Sushan, then moved over one seat and softly called out “madam,” gesturing that the central seat should be for Inspector Qiu.
Qiu Sushan could feel that every move they made was being watched by those seated behind them, so she simply nodded at Liu Jiaming without changing her seat.
When she had entered, she had already scanned the room. The representatives from other departments were mostly police sergeants, likely intending for their team leaders to attend the lecture and then teach it to their team members afterwards.
Besides the sergeants, she even noticed several administrative staff who report to higher-ups, including a senior inspector who works in an office! It seems this inspector often has to prepare various reports and communicate up and down the chain of command, so a higher-ranking police superintendent who heard about such a sharing session by Yi Jiayi had also sent this senior inspector.
Qiu Sushan was fairly certain that there was no one in the meeting room of a lower rank than Yi Jiayi.
Even among her peers, the agents were probably much more experienced than Yi Jiayi.
Looking up at the young policewoman on stage, who was bowing her head to look at her notes and not at the ‘students,’ Qiu Sushan felt a mix of emotions.
The proverb always says “the waves behind drive on those before,” but in her view, there hadn’t been a newcomer as consistently surprising as Yi Jiayi.
Just as her mind wandered, the meeting room suddenly buzzed—Superintendent Huang had arrived.
Everyone in the room stood up to salute, and seeing that everyone at the table and Madam Qiu had saluted, Yi Jiayi quickly stood at attention and saluted the senior officer with her palm facing forward.
Superintendent Huang smiled and spoke a few lighthearted words, then headed to the central seat in the first row, waving to the three inspectors seated at the back to join him.
Liu Jiaming, very considerately, gave up his seat and, under Yi Jiayi’s pitiful gaze, moved to the last row.
Thus, Yi Jiayi had to lecture over a kind of ‘table of inspectors’ and ‘bench of sergeants’ to reach Liu Jiaming. Looking towards the back of the room gave the impression to those in front that she was looking far into the future.
Yi Jiayi was very warmly invited by Superintendent Huang to start her sharing session. The young policewoman swallowed dryly, heeding Superintendent Huang’s words, and looked past the audience at the front row and made eye contact with Liu Jiaming and Qiu Sushan in the back.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she finally began in the way she had rehearsed countless times in her mind.
The people sitting below listening quickly realized that her way of explaining a Word document was actually based on the logic of case analysis.
“When you need to emphasize or highlight a particular sentence, is there a function for that? Yes, there is, and it’s located right here in the document, called ‘bold’,” said the young policewoman.
“You might think of the document as a crime scene. When you need evidence, you would certainly think, could I find it somewhere? You come up with such ideas, and so did the designers of this software.”
“At the crime scene, we search towards our target and often find evidence at certain locations, which might just be called fingerprints.”
“So, the bold function is like a fingerprint. They are both tools.”
“One is used to complete a document, making it clear and understandable at a glance for the reader.”
“The other is used to solve a case, ensuring the criminal is apprehended, leaving no room for rebuttal.”
All the students understood, even Sergeant Lao who had hardly used a computer before. Following this line of thought, and looking again at the annoying document interface, suddenly his mind conjured a clear and structured visual.
Each button and function were connected by lines, making it less overwhelming.
Jiayi, fearing her explanations might be poor or boring, or still hard to comprehend, was nervous and sought some feedback.
She would glance at Liu Jiaming after a few words.
Brother Liu was truly an excellent student; with every sentence she spoke, he would show a look of sudden realization, his eyes bright as if her explanations were fascinating, insightful, and inspiring.
The young policewoman was frequently encouraged, gradually regaining her confidence, her voice growing louder and her gestures more relaxed.
As she spoke, her expression became more animated, her tone varied with emphasis, beginning to speak freely:
“The title is the focal point, at the center of the reader’s vision, with all subsequent content revolving around it.”
“Just like the body is the focal point in a detective’s view, with all subsequent evidence gathered around it…”
Skilled at using examples, Jiayi broke down all the Word functions, reinterpreted them, and reassembled them.
The detectives were occasionally amused by her witty analogies, gradually letting go of their disdain and resistance to learning something they initially considered trivial.
Adopting an attitude of ‘it doesn’t sound so difficult,’ ‘it’s not that boring,’ and ‘since we’re here,’ they became more settled, focusing their attention between Jiayi and the whiteboard instead of looking around.
From time to time, under Jiayi’s guidance, they would glance at the wooden board document report she had prepared.
They discovered that the young policewoman had seemingly used every function at least once. Although there were many variations that seemed elaborate, under her clear logic, these changes were organized, not only preventing the reader from feeling confused but actually enabling clearer understanding of the content provided.
A quick scan was enough to grasp the key points, knowing what they were looking at. With a clear goal in reading, they could easily capture the essentials, not only increasing the reader’s focus but also speeding up the reading time.
At that moment, the more intelligent ones who were accustomed to reading suddenly realized that reading is a three-dimensional act, not merely a flat activity of reading from top to bottom or from right to left.
A person can glance down and extract the most prominent information, regardless of its position on the page. Then, the brain decides where to start reading next, focusing on the content of interest and necessity.
After listening to Jiayi’s sharing, Superintendent Huang also realized why he found reading Jiayi’s report so smooth and quick.”
Those who passively listened and came just to muddle through gradually became serious, increasingly active and proactive.
Thirty minutes into the course, some even started raising their hands to ask questions.
Jiayi also heard inquiries like, “Can we include images? Wouldn’t a report with both text and pictures be more incisive?” “Can we add tables?” “According to what you’re saying, can I also use this thing to draw? Ha ha…” These were almost like suggestions for developing a Word document.
The actively participating ‘students’ almost predicted, with their own imagination and logical reasoning, many of the practical features that would be added in countless future versions of Word documents over the years.
Initially, Jiayi was the only one speaking at the meeting, but as everyone’s participation intensified, even Jiayi couldn’t help but admire these inspectors’ formidable logical abilities and their sharp skills in identifying blind spots, among others.
Any important feature she missed would inevitably be pointed out in someone’s question.
Her accidental slips of the tongue were also caught, and the role of Word in everyday work that she hadn’t considered was supplemented.
Gradually, as everyone became more enthusiastic, Jiayi had to use her trump card to calm these ‘rebellious’ students.
She swiftly wrote several lines of English on the whiteboard:
Ctrl+c;
Ctrl+s;
Ctrl+b…
Then turning back, Jiayi stood tall, looking down at the students like a proud little lion.
Sure enough, aside from a few trendy folks who were adept at using Word documents, most of the older folks fell silent, frowning and pondering what all this meant—people who usually avoided computers, even if someone had told them about shortcuts, had long forgotten about them after neglecting to use them.
Jiayi cleared her throat, smiling proudly, it took a good while before she revealed the puzzle:
“These are shortcuts, they can greatly save everyone’s precious time, helping you make efficient reports and documents faster.”
That’s right!
That’s how amazing it is!
She even knew how to use shortcuts!
Thus, sitting below were inspectors and senior inspectors, scribbling notes like students.
For those just starting to use computers, all buttons are unfamiliar, this one they dare not touch, that one they dare not press, afraid of accidentally crashing the machine or even damaging it.
Many features and buttons, along with many new concepts like ‘window,’ ‘software,’ ‘hardware,’ ‘save,’ ‘page,’ etc., can be overwhelming and confusing.
But once the logic is explained clearly, and once they get the hang of it and develop a habit of using it, everything becomes interconnected.
The attendees gradually opened their minds and systematically understood the entire usage logic, realizing that although it’s more complex than TV remotes, refrigerators, or air conditioners, it’s still a human-made device, and not too difficult to master.
With the understanding unlocked, there was a sense of clarity as if one begets two, two beget three, and three beget everything. Everyone was even restless, wanting to return to their offices, open up a Word document, and fully showcase their skills.
At the 40-minute mark of the lecture, many had already forgotten that Yi Jiayi was merely a junior detective in the Major Crime Unit. Even when Sergeant began asking questions, they unconsciously addressed her as “expert,” which left the young policewoman blushing, unable to tell if she was excited, proud, or embarrassed.
As the course neared its end, Jiayi reviewed all the learning points, distilled the key functions, and pondered how to conclude when suddenly a series of drum-like footsteps approached from the corridor outside.
Jiayi seemed to sense something, turned her head towards the door, and the next second, Fang Zhenyue’s tall figure appeared at the doorway.
The man paused, knocked politely on the door, and his gaze swept across the meeting room before settling back on Jiayi’s face.
His expression was calm and solemn as he announced:
“There’s a case.”
Jiayi’s eyebrows furrowed, her muscles instinctively tensed, the flamboyance from her lecture instantly subdued. The casual pride and satisfaction she had in front of her ‘students’ vanished.
Facing Fang Zhenyue, she retracted her hands from the podium, standing upright and formally said, “Yes, sir!”
Then, Fang Zhenyue apologized to the senior officers in the front row, “Sorry, I’m taking this person with me.”
Jiayi also bowed slightly to the audience, “Sorry, that concludes today’s lesson.”
She then left behind the group of detectives, inspectors, and even a police superintendent, not hesitating to trot down from the podium and follow Fang Zhenyue.
In the blink of an eye, the podium was empty, and only a fleeting glimpse of a hemline and the tip of a hair could be seen at the doorway.
Listening intently, one could hear a series of heavy and steady drumbeats accompanied by a trail of soft, delicate piano notes fading into the distance.
It was the ensemble of justice heading into action.