Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 100

Naturally, the two people who were being talked about didn’t know that they had been “criticized”.

The strong wind swept across the car, giving Wang Chao the illusion that he was about to be blown away. He sat in the front passenger seat and tightened his seatbelt in fear as he tremblingly said, “Captain, although we have police lights on and there’s a case, can’t you drive a little slower?”

Xing Conglian was holding a cigarette and of course didn’t answer his question.

Because the car windows on both sides were lowered, the strong wind blew away the smoke pretty quickly. Wang Chao stared at the cigarette butt that was quickly burning to the end and gulped as he continued, “Captain, are you afraid that dumbass Huang Ze will bully A’Chen? Don’t worry too much. He won’t dare. He’s like an ant in the palm of our hands that can be crushed at any moment!”

Xing Conglian continuously pressed out the cigarette butt to extinguish it in silence.

Seeing that his boss had just hung up the phone, it looked like he was in a bad mood. His aura was exuding “don’t mess with me”, which made Wang Chao extremely frightened. Currently, no matter how he persuaded him, Xing Conglian remained silent. The last time this happened, the extraterrestrial galaxy was destroyed…

Well, of course it wasn’t so exaggerated. Wang Chao desperately cleared the strange setting in his brain. Just when he was about to be suffocated by the wind, he finally found something more appropriate to say. “Captain, can you drive slower? I can open my laptop and show you the scene, okay?”

The traffic lights had just changed, causing Xing Conglian to slam on the brakes and stop steadily in front of the white line.

Wang Chao took a deep breath and thanked himself for his resourcefulness.

“Okay, okay. I’ll transfer the live video for you to watch, but it’ll be a little slow. After all, you won’t rent a satellite line for me to exclusively use to surf the internet!”

After he finished speaking, Xing Conglian narrowed his eyes slightly and turned to look at Wang Chao coldly.

Wang Chao quickly shut up. Taking the 75-seconds gap between the red light, he pulled up Ansheng International Mall on-site surveillance at unprecedented speed.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the video transmission was indeed choppy as it was stuck. After he entered the camera number where Lin Chen was standing, the picture was frozen at a strange moment.

In the blurred surveillance footage, Lin Chen was leaning against the railing, holding one hand against it, as if he were trying to retreat, while someone was in front of him, bowing his head slightly. The back of the person’s head blocked the angle of the surveillance camera, so…

So it seemed that the man was forcibly kissing Lin Chen.

The person who looked like he was kissing Lin Chen must, of course, be that dumbass Huang Ze!

Fuck Huang Ze. You fucking dare!

Wang Chao was petrified. Although he knew there must be something wrong, his young heart was severely traumatized. What the hell is he doing leaning over and bowing his head so close?!

He slammed shut his laptop and carefully looked at the driver’s seat. He saw that his captain was staring at the road ahead. Only the index finger of his right hand was gently tapping the steering wheel, and he seemed to have calmed down, as if he hadn’t witnessed the scene just now.

“Captain, this—Inspector Huang and A’Chen definitely don’t have this kind of relationship. At first glance, it’s just a strange angle… I’ll switch to a different camera, okay?”

Hearing this, Xing Conglian wasn’t angry but instead lightly responded, “No need.”

It stood to reason that Wang Chao should breathe a sigh of relief, but, being a good dog’s legs for over a decade, he immediately realized that there was a problem with the rhythm of Xing Conglian’s tapping on the steering wheel.

Two sections, one long, two long, one short…

He silently recorded the rhythm, picked up his phone, and quickly sent the recorded content to his former colleagues: [Emergency!!! Urgent!!! Waiting online!!!]

Soon, a text message responded in seconds.

[Hey, the captain’s so angry, but the earth isn’t destroyed, and we’re all still alive. What a miracle, Xiao Wang Chao!]

Wang Chao continued to swallow his spit and took a peek at Xing Conglian’s face, feeling extremely regretful.

……

Huang Ze took half a step backward. He felt he had nothing left to say to Lin Chen. When he looked at Lin Chen’s slightly raised head and stared at his face, for a moment, he wanted to lean over again.

However, reality didn’t allow him to do so. After all, he should hate Lin Chen, and Lin Chen should also hate him.

Ego was such a strange thing.

Huang Ze turned around without looking back. He walked slowly downstairs without even remembering how he got there. The pain in his back had already lost its feeling. Suddenly, he felt someone pulling hard on him, trying to say something.

He lowered his eyes and saw a fat face.

It was the general manager of Ansheng International, also surnamed Huang, one of his uncles.

Huang Ze pulled back his cuffs angrily. Although he didn’t know why he was angry, in fact, if it weren’t for this uncle who had called his father specifically, of course it wouldn’t be him who would be at the scene today; the person who was pushed down and trampled over wouldn’t be him; and the person whose life was saved by Lin Chen and Xing Conglian wouldn’t be him.

“Is there anything else?” he asked.

“Young Master Huang, look at what happened today. The police had blocked the scene and our shopping mall’s grand opening…”

Although his uncle spoke intermittently, Huang Ze roughly understood the meaning of his words.

There was such a big accident at the opening ceremony. Li Jingtian’s condition was unknown. No matter what shopping mall it was, this kind of event would be viewed as extremely unlucky and would make it extremely difficult for Ansheng International Mall to recover from.

But what the mall was most afraid of wasn’t the anger of fans, but the determination of responsibility when the police did their investigation.

The Hongjing police had sealed off the scene. If the mall was found to have any faults during the investigation, the results would be exposed online, and the mall’s fate would be sealed. It would close down as major brands began to withdraw.

Therefore, for the current plan, he hoped that the investigation party would be lenient…

“What do you want?” Huang Ze knew very well what his uncle wanted, but he still wanted him to say it.

He saw that his uncle was sweating profusely, and the bruises on his face were almost twisted into a ball. He finally couldn’t hold back anymore and plucked up the courage to say, “Young Master Huang, the police force still needs you… Can you please greet them a little.”

Greet?

Greeting naturally wasn’t a big issue. Huang Ze felt that his principles weren’t so strong, but before his eyes, Xing Conglian’s annoying face suddenly appeared, and he frowned.

Xing Conglian came faster than he expected. Before he had time to answer or make excuses, the man’s calm and indifferent voice sounded behind him.

It was so calm and indifferent to the point it made him want to vomit.

“Why is the person responsible for the accident still at the scene?” Xing Conglian asked.

Huang Ze turned around and saw Xing Conglian coming from a distance.

He didn’t walk quickly or slowly. His little sidekick was trotting behind him, holding a laptop. He was followed by two other police officers, looking mighty and majestic.

And the question he asked was, of course, to the two officers beside him.

Hearing this, one of them glanced at Xing Conglian, and the other at Huang Ze’s uncle, who was looking at them with fear.

How arrogant.

But Xing Conglian was more than arrogant.

“Do you still need me to teach you how to follow procedures?”

Seeing no reaction from his subordinates, Xing Conglian added another sentence indifferently and finally walked in front of Huang Ze.

Huang Ze stood straight. His gaze fell on Xing Conglian’s police rank. Naturally, he was waiting for Xing Conglian to salute him.

However, Xing Conglian was different from usual.

Although Xing Conglian despised him to the bone, he would still be humble and polite on the surface, but now he didn’t even see such courtesy.

When Xing Conglian was about an arm’s length away from him, Huang Ze saw him take out a cigarette with one hand and light it in front of him. Not only did Xing Conglian not salute him, but he also dared smoke right in front of him, as if he didn’t exist at all.

Smelling the choking tobacco smell, Huang Ze wanted to laugh.

He originally thought that Xing Conglian was quite aware, but he didn’t expect that in order to express his disdain for him, Xing Conglian would make such a mistake. He couldn’t help but sneer, “Captain Xing, police officers shouldn’t smoke while performing official duties. I’m afraid it’ll have a bad influence, no?”

“Who are you, and what qualification do you have to talk to me like that?” Xing Conglian replied as he continued to smoke his cigarette.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 99

“Parents with children at the entrance of the Good Decoration Specialty Store in Area C on the second floor, please pay attention and protect your children. Try to raise infants and toddlers above your head or have them ride on your neck so that the crowd behind you can see them.”

“The ambulance personnel are treating the wounded at the entrance of the TM supermarket chain in Area A on the first floor. Please pay attention and avoid that area.”

“For those who are going down from the escalator, please be careful not to push.”

……

Lin Chen would occasionally listen to the instructions and found that Xing Conglian’s reminders were always spot on. It was very much like a professional guiding traffic in a crowded subway, meticulous and patient; although Lin Chen was sure Xing Conglian had never done this kind of thing before.

Looking at the gradually empty venue, Lin Chen suddenly had a strange feeling in his heart that was similar to the joy felt after surviving a great disaster.

After all, from the time of the incident until now, he and Xing Conglian were far apart, but perhaps it was because his voice was always coming through on the phone that he felt Xing Conglian seemed to be present. This feeling was comforting and made him feel safe.

When he was thinking this, Lin Chen felt taken aback. He suddenly realized that he actually felt something like a sense of security.

He suspected it was an occupational disease and pondered the psychological motivation. He then realized that what he enjoyed and what made him feel satisfied wasn’t such a simple sense of security because someone was behind him, but what truly made him happy were some high-level needs that were gradually pursued after low-level needs were satisfied*. Generally speaking, they were a sense of belonging and love.

*This is referring to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Since he’s met the first two levels at the bottom, he’s now moved on to “belonging and love”.

People wanted to be with their companions.

There were fewer people stranded in the shopping mall now. People were supporting each other as they slowly walked out of the turmoil.

Lin Chen cast his eyes on the stage again. The police officers from the local precinct had already blocked off the scene, and there was a bunch of roses lying quietly on the scarlet carpet. Other than that, it was empty.

The voice of Xing Conglian could no longer be heard on the broadcast.

Soon, he heard Xing Conglian say “hey” a few times on the phone.

“I’m here,” Lin Chen replied.

“I’m coming right away. Wait for me. I’ll be there in a quarter of an hour.”

“Okay.”

As he said this, he suddenly heard the sound of leather boots tapping on the floor tiles from behind. There was no one in the mall anymore, so it could only be one person who would personally seek him out.

He turned around and saw Huang Ze walking slowly towards him from a distance.

“See you later,” he said as he hung up the phone.

Probably because of his leg injury, Huang Ze was walking very slowly and trying his best to keep his posture stable, but his knees that couldn’t be bent betrayed him.

When Huang Ze got closer, Lin Chen could clearly see the dirt and wrinkles on his suit, but Huang Ze didn’t stop and continued moving closer, forcing Lin Chen to take half a step back so that he bumped against the railing.

Huang Ze narrowed his eyes slightly and finally stopped.

He hadn’t seen him for a month, but Inspector Huang was as cold and ruthless as ever. People like Huang Ze were used to waiting for others to greet them first.

Lin Chen sighed and said, “Inspector Huang, how are you?”

“You clearly know that if you live well, I won’t be well.”

Lin Chen laughed. “Then I must be having a good time. I’m very sorry.”

Provoking a man who had been molested by so many girls was probably not a good idea. What was more, this was a man who hated him to the bone, and he just saved him. This kind of insult was probably more unbearable than killing him.

Huang Ze suddenly raised his hand, causing Lin Chen to subconsciously close his eyes.

However, he felt no pain on his cheek. Seeing as the plot wasn’t moving as expected, Lin Chen opened his eyes only to see Huang Ze’s hand was still raised in mid-air and remained frozen.

He thought for a moment, then asked, “Inspector Huang, are you planning to slap me? If not, I’ll go first.”

“Are you doing well?”

The current atmosphere became a bit strange. Lin Chen tried hard to bring the topic back to a less weird track, so he said, “It’s been a long time since I saw you. To be honest, Inspector Huang, I thought you would say, ‘Don’t think I’ll be thankful to you for saving me’. In fact, catching up isn’t suitable for you.”

Unexpectedly, even when he said this, Huang Ze didn’t hit him.

Huang Ze’s face was tense, as if he were holding something back. In the end, he slowly lowered his raised arms and asked a very strange question, “How did you break your arm?”

Lin Chen looked at the plaster and bandage in his hand and thought that because the Yongchuan case was still under investigation and the files were top-secret, Huang Ze wouldn’t be privy to this information, so he had no choice but to answer, “In order to protect people’s lives and property…”

“Together with Xing Conglian?”

“That’s right.”

“Why would he let you get hurt?” When Huang Ze said this, he actually seemed to be angry.

The conversation showed signs of becoming nasty. Lin Chen sighed and said, “Maybe because I prefer courting death?”

“You’ve already died once since you were connected with Xing Conglian, and now you have a broken arm.”

“So what?”

“So you still want to be with him?” Huang Ze said this methodically, as if what he said was reasonable.

And the meaning in his words made Lin Chen feel even more misunderstood. “Inspector Huang, I can only realize a little of the value of my life when I’m with him. After all, this is still slightly more important than survival.”

He thought that this was a very ordinary explanation, but after he finished saying this, Huang Ze opened his eyes wide. “You don’t know who he is. You think he’s just an ordinary criminal police officer. You think you can rest easy and just follow him, but you’ll pay with your life one day!”

“This line sounds familiar, Inspector Huang.” Lin Chen looked around. Fortunately, there was no one around. Otherwise, this conversation would be quite embarrassing.

Huang Ze took another step forward, forcing Lin Chen to lean back a little more.

“I checked on Xing Conglian’s file.”

“Oh? Then what?”

“Then, there is no then.”

“Xing Conglian was parachuted into Fengchun a year ago and later transferred to Hongjing as captain of the police criminal division. His file only has this year.”

Huang Ze probably really hated Xing Conglian so much that he would go to this extent to check his files.

However, Lin Chen wasn’t surprised that he couldn’t find anything on Xing Conglian. Lin Chen even thought not only would he not find anything on Xing Conglian but even the files on Wang Chao.

Sure enough, Huang Ze quickly mentioned Comrade Xiao Wang.

“Xing Conglian is very suspicious. Even the kid with him doesn’t have any files. Do you think normal people are like this? Are you dumb? You studied psychology, yet you don’t think there’s anything wrong with this?”

Huang Ze’s tone became more anxious. This kind of thing was actually not suitable for him to say. After all, Inspector Huang was always arrogant and cold, but suddenly he was anxious about matters like this. This was too unlike him.

Lin Chen thought, ‘Of course I know there’s a problem.’ After all, who would install cameras when they stay at a hotel? But to bring up such a topic would be too strange, so who would ask?

Therefore, he could only answer, “Isn’t this great? I’m very satisfied. Even you can’t find his file. This shows he’s quite powerful, right? I can’t be sure, but perhaps he has done great things for the country or is a member of the hidden front.” Lin Chen paused, looked up at Huang Ze, and smiled. “This means I should respect him more, no?”

“Are you trying to provoke me?” Huang Ze suddenly raised his voice.

Lin Chen didn’t know what was going on with Huang Ze today. Although the meaning in Huang Ze’s words could be taken as if he cared about him, this attitude didn’t seem like it, but was more like a strange, childish possessiveness. After all, for children, even if they hated the toy, if it was taken away by others, they would be unhappy, right?

Lin Chen didn’t really want to continue the conversation, but he still had to respond. “Inspector Huang, I just want to remind you that, first, it’s not honest and upright to investigate other people’s files privately. Second, I don’t think it makes sense for you to discuss the identity and background of Captain Xing with me here. After all, we’re just colleagues. It’s not like we’re planning to get married. I don’t need to know how many people are in his family or how much money he has in his bank account.”

“Honest and upright? Do you think he’s honest and upright? You’re so innocent and naïve, Lin Chen.” Huang Ze didn’t seem to hear his words at all and instead grabbed onto a word he said and sneered. “If he’s honorable, why didn’t he tell you how he managed to get you the consultant position?”

Despite Huang Ze’s rising anger, Lin Chen was calm. “Then Inspector Huang, should I say, ‘Please quickly tell me’ or should I say, ‘I don’t want to know’?”

“You don’t care at all, do you?”

“It’s not that I don’t care, but it’s easy to guess. There are only two ways that would force you to drop it and allow me to get official documents to approve my position. Either Xing Conglian smiled at you while holding the reporter’s videotape of the ‘Candy Bandit case’ and threatened that if you don’t drop it, he will publish the videotape on the internet and ruin your reputation, or Wang Chao sat in front of a laptop and showed you that he could break through various firewalls in a minute and make it so you can’t hide any of your personal privacy…”

Looking at Huang Ze’s swollen face, Lin Chen thought he probably guessed it accurately.

These two people really knew the law—and also how to break it.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 98

“I know you want to scream, but please hold back your screams and keep your current movements as they are now. Give me 30 seconds.”

After the gunshot that shook glass and trembled the audience, the voice of Xing Conglian came through.

Perhaps because the gunshot was so intimidating, everyone at the scene was in a momentary panic, and because of this panic, no one made a sound.

Lin Chen slowly put down his hand, covering his ears. His eardrums were hurting. Thinking about what happened just now, Wang Chao must have turned the volume to the max, and Xing Conglian had shot his gun through the broadcast microphone…

However, he wasn’t surprised that Xing Conglian would do this kind of thing. After all, he had a quarter of the blood of a fighting race, and he could indeed fight in a critical moment.

He gently squeezed the lower side of his ear, trying to relieve some of the symptoms of tinnitus while continuing to hold the phone close to his other ear.

The voice of Xing Conglian came out slowly from the earpiece and the broadcast.

He said, “My name is Xing Conglian. I am the captain of the Hongjing Criminal Police Division. I will be there shortly to ensure your safety, provided that you carefully listen to what I’m about to say.”

His voice was low and clear, with a bit of coldness and, more so, an irresistible, powerful aura.

He first identified himself, then appeased the masses, and finally clarified his goal. In any case, it was strange that some people were better at persuading or even ordering others. Though Xing Conglian had been talking non-stop, there wasn’t any panic after the gunshot sounded. Some people slowly got up, and more people started looking around for the source of the sound.

Xing Conglian was speaking to the audience while Lin Chen was talking to him.

“There’s a very important effect in social psychology called ‘diffusion of responsibility*’, which means that when a person is in a crowd, there will be too many bystanders, which reduces the individual’s willingness to lend a hand. The only solution is to ask for help. Please clearly indicate the person you want to ask for help. For example, the gentleman in the blue shirt and glasses, please help him. Like that. Since there are such a large number of people at the scene, words like stop, freeze, and don’t move are all meaningless. Please be sure to implement them to specific locations and address specific groups of people,” Lin Chen said quickly. He took a breath, then continued, “The most important thing now is to find someone to go on stage and check on Li Jingtian’s situation…”

*A sociopsychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when other bystanders or witnesses are present. Considered a form of attribution, the individual assumes that others either are responsible for taking action or have already done so.

Before he could keep speaking, he heard Xing Conglian’s voice resounding from the broadcast speakers again.

It was just that he didn’t hear Xing Conglian mention anything in the lobby of the first floor but heard him say…

“Friends in front of the Longyuan Milk Tea Shop on the fourth floor, please step aside. My colleague is at the scene. Please let him walk to the railing and survey the scene clearly so as to help everyone evacuate in an orderly manner…” Xing Conglian paused, as if he thought of something, then added, “Oh, he’s the one behind you wearing a white shirt and has a cast on his arm, and he’s on his phone.”

At that moment, eyes like a tidal wave cast their gaze on Lin Chen. He even wanted to compliment Xing Conglian a bit.

However, given the current situation, he naturally couldn’t do this. The flow of people divided into two sides, forming a gap between them. Lin Chen walked to the guardrail and looked down.

Wang Chao deliberately selected a location that had a really good perspective. Compared with standing on a chair, the angle now clearly allowed him to observe the situation in the lobby, especially the area around the stage. He saw Inspector Huang, who was pressed to the ground by several girls and was struggling to get up.

“Xing Conglian, let Huang Ze go on stage. Can you see him? He’s directly in front of the stage. There are some girls in red dresses… on him…”

The voice over the phone answered him.

“The girls in front of the stage in the lobby on the first floor, please pay attention. Please step back. You’re… stepping on another colleague of mine. Yes… the one in the black suit. I know you’re all very concerned about Mr. Li Jingtian’s situation, but right now he needs professional help… So, Inspector Huang, will you please get up and go on stage and check Mr. Li Jingtian’s condition? Thank you.”

Lin Chen could feel Huang Ze’s face as black as the bottom of a kettle when he heard Xing Conglian’s voice coming from the broadcast, despite the fact that he was far away and couldn’t see Huang Ze’s expression clearly.

Anyone who was saved by the person he hated most in his life would probably feel unhappy and depressed.

The girls who were surrounding the stage helped each other up and retreated slowly.

Huang Ze struggled to get up. His suit was crumpled, and his hair was a mess. Lin Chen saw that Huang Ze staggered a bit while getting up, as if his leg were injured. Most likely, it was a fracture. Huang Ze, however, didn’t go directly on stage but braced himself, turned around in the direction Lin Chen was standing, and cast a deep look.

Lin Chen stood by the handrail on the fourth floor, looking at Huang Ze’s wretched face, and said to Xing Conglian, “Huang Ze is about to go on stage.”

While Huang Ze climbed with difficulty on the stage to reach Li Jingtian, Xing Conglian spoke again.

“In order to ensure that Mr. Li Jingtian seeks timely medical treatment, I hope everyone can cooperate with the evacuation process. The police promise that they will report Mr. Li Jingtian’s condition in a timely manner and do their best to arrest the culprit. So now, for your safety and others’, including Mr. Li Jingtian’s life, please listen to my next instruction. After I say ‘start’, follow my request and leave in an orderly manner.”

Xing Conglian’s voice was calm and composed, firmly controlling the audience.

Lin Chen suddenly felt that Xing Conglian seemed to be more experienced than him in dealing with emergencies; or rather, what he had were just theories, while Xing Conglian had a wealth of experience.

“First, please stay where you are and observe whether there are injured people who have been trampled on. If there are injured people, please help move them gently to the nearest shop. Please note that everyone else remains where you are and don’t move.”

The entire mall finally heard groans, or rather, the wailing of people around them.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of movement came from all around. After a short period of panic, the crowd finally came to their senses and started helping each other, even without special instructions. They began to make their way to the injured in an orderly manner.

Lin Chen felt relieved and looked away toward the stage again.

Huang Ze kneeled beside Li Jingtian and saw him taking off his coat and pressing it tightly against the wound on Li Jingtian’s neck. Then, Huang Ze turned around and gave a thumbs up to where he was standing.

That meant that Li Jingtian was still alive.

Lin Chen was taken aback. Is Li Jingtian still alive?

He subconsciously glanced at the time on his phone. Three minutes had passed since Li Jingtian’s throat was cut. The time of death from a ruptured carotid artery was within 3-5 minutes, but after two minutes, the injured person would become unconscious. Not only could Huang Ze instantly determine that Li Jingtian was still alive, but it also meant he could still be saved?

“Xing Conglian, Li Jingtian is still alive, and his injuries may not be fatal.” He covered the mic as he whispered.

Although they were far apart and he couldn’t see Xing Conglian’s face, at that moment, Lin Chen seemed to be able to feel Xing Conglian nodding.

Xing Conglian’s calm voice sounded, and he said without any rush, “The evacuation will gradually advance from the first floor to the fourth floor. Friends on the second, third, and fourth floor, please wait patiently as we evacuate the first floor. If you’re in an empty hall on the first floor, please stay where you are and don’t move. Next, please let friends who are in the four corridors of north, south, west, and east leave slowly and orderly…”

“Then, please start.”

His instructions were short but concise. When Xing Conglian said “start”, Lin Chen clearly saw the flow of people in the four passages begin to move slowly. At first, the flow was slow, but as people walked out of the gate, more people began to pour out of the shopping mall. Presumably, Xing Conglian had already contacted Director Zheng before evacuating the crowds in the shopping mall, so the evacuation process was much smoother.

During the broadcast, Xing Conglian began to arrange for the most miserable spectators in the lobby to start leaving.

“All of you standing in the lobby, please make way for the passage between the ‘Lisen’ and ‘C&M’ shop. Medical staff will enter from this passage later, so please be sure to get out of the way and leave in an orderly manner from the remaining three passages.”

Xing Conglian’s voice gently divided the flow of people like they were in the palm of his hand.

As the crowd in the lobby decreased, the flipped seats and messy ground were gradually exposed, which meant that more people were leaving the hall. Medical staff carrying stretchers quickly entered from the only empty passage.

They climbed on the stage and quickly carried the injured away from the scene after providing emergency treatment.

Huang Ze pushed away a doctor who wanted to help him up and struggled to stand as he looked up.

Lin Chen avoided his gaze and turned to look at the backs of those faces he couldn’t clearly see that were exiting.

Among the people who were slowly leaving at this moment were worried fans, frightened customers, and, of course, the culprit who hurt Li Jingtian in full view of the public.

Perhaps the girl who was holding the bouquet of green roses and slit the singer’s neck was mixed into the crowd laughing at their incompetence.

However, this possibility was something they couldn’t take into account right now.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 97

When Zheng Cheng learned about the accident at Ansheng International’s opening ceremony, it wasn’t long after he received a call from his good colleague.

In fact, he never thought that Xing Conglian was like a nagging mother-in-law, but when it came to Ansheng International, he felt that Xing Conglian was being too cautious.

He held his phone and circled the office with some annoyance.

First, regarding the poster covering up the wide-angle camera, Xing Conglian actually specially asked his subordinate to call him to inform the mall to rectify it; then, regarding the flow of people on the scene, Xing Conglian, a captain from the criminal police division, even called the director of the police station in his jurisdiction to give an order on how to control the flow of people. The tension he felt was as if there was going to be a major terrorist attack at the opening ceremony of Ansheng International Mall, which was simply too outrageous.

So now, he had received a third call from Xing Conglian.

On the phone, Xing Conglian no longer used a tone of discussion or inquiry. The captain of the criminal police division spoke straightforwardly. “Lao Zheng, prepare to start evacuating the masses.”

When Zheng Cheng heard this, he was initially surprised, then perplexed, and finally irritated. Although they had a good relationship with each other, in the end, his administrative level was higher and Xing Conglian’s reach was too far.

In fact, the reason he was unhappy was not only because someone was telling him what to do in his jurisdiction but also because he sensed the hidden thoughts behind Xing Conglian’s action. Naturally, he knew that Xing Conglian didn’t mean to accuse him of his abilities.

In fact, regarding the poster, he had also notified Ansheng International to rectify it, but they didn’t comply and refused to take it down. Instead, they said they would take it off immediately after the opening ceremony and asked that he be accommodating. What reason did he have for not being so? Regarding the crowd flow at the scene, he was clear that it exceeded the standard, but for the grand opening of a well-known shopping mall, it was a once-in-a-lifetime event. It was impossible for the shopping mall to hold a second opening ceremony. Did he really need to stop customers from entering? What was more, everyone in Hongjing knew that the mall was under the Huang family, so people were eager to greet them at their mall’s grand opening. Zheng Cheng thought to himself that not everyone was solitary like Xing Conglian and was willing to do whatever without fear of offending others.

So how did he answer?

He said, “Lao Xing, you’re too easily excited. Isn’t the situation at the scene fine?”

Within a few seconds after he finished speaking, the door to his office was knocked on frantically. Before he could even say “come in”, a police officer rushed in and reported nervously. “Director Zheng, the situation on the scene isn’t good. I think something has happened.”

What do you mean by “You think something has happened?”

He was taken aback for a moment and then slammed the table. “What do you mean ‘you think’ something has happened? Are you going to use ‘you think’ when your report involves a human life?”

“It seems that Li Jingtian was injured, but the scene is so chaotic that we can’t assess the situation!”

“What?”

Both he and Xing Conglian blurted it out at almost the same time. However, his subordinate didn’t respond. After Xing Conglian had asked the same question, it seemed that someone on his end was explaining the situation on the scene to him.

In that short gap, he discovered that what he was most worried about was something else. He suddenly realized that the youngest Huang family member seemed to be present at the opening ceremony today. What if something bad happens to that young master?

A few moments later, Xing Conglian paused, said “Wait a minute” to the person on the other end, and then said to him, “Lao Zheng, I’ll make it clear. Organize the police officers to divert the crowd on the periphery. I’ll be responsible for controlling the infield and evacuating the flow of people, so the traffic diversion of North 4^th Road, He’an Road, Xiangping Road, and Chun’an Road will be handed over to you. We’ll contact you later.”

After Xing Conglian finished speaking, the word “Okay” was still hanging in his mouth, but the other party had already hung up. Zheng Cheng felt that he, as a director, seemed to be under the command of a captain.

But there was nothing wrong with someone taking responsibility.

He could only hope that everything was fine.

……

Lin Chen stood on a wooden chair as if it were a raft in the waves. The situation had undoubtedly deteriorated.

He tried his best to hold onto the wall so that he wouldn’t fall as he tried to observe the situation of the scene again.

On the stage in the lobby, Li Jingtian fell to the ground. His shirt was stained with blood, and a beam of white light shone on him like falling snow.

Under the stage, Li Jingtian’s fans screamed desperately. Some of the girls were trying their best to get on the stage. They didn’t know what they could or should do. They just wanted to climb up the stage and rush to their idol. The first of them were the mall directors who were being escorted by security guards and wanted to leave. Among them was Huang Ze.

The human wall of security guards was being pushed to the point of shaking. This was probably the most wretched moment in Huang Ze’s life. Many pairs of teenage girls’ hands were pressed on his head. The crazy fans didn’t care about Huang Ze’s police rank or how many stars he had. They just wanted to pass through those people in the front row and rush to the stage.

At the same time, there were more people on the scene screaming frantically because of the sudden appearance of a knife and blood. Human instinct made them want to quickly escape from this terrible place.

So the situation became one group of people wanting to rush forward while another group wanted to escape. The huge flow of people seemed to be like waves of an embankment or a fire sweeping through dead wood, and they all seemed to converge with force.

“Xing Conglian, is Wang Chao done?” Lin Chen asked coldly.

“I’m already trying to work as hard as I can. Damn it, when something happens, it’s not like it will give notice!” Before Xing Conglian could respond, Wang Chao shouted first. “A’Chen, it’s probably too late to try to reach the broadcasting room. I’ll cut the broadcast line to our side. What do you want to say to the Captain? I have about 30 seconds!”

“How’s the situation on the stage?” Xing Conglian asked. “What happened to Li Jingtian?”

“His throat was cut.” Lin Chen’s gaze immediately fell on Li Jingtian. He was lying on the empty red carpet. His face was pale, and it was unknown whether he was still alive.

“Holy shit! No wonder things got this crazy! Captain, what should we do? Can this be controlled?” The teenager’s voice also tensed up. Because of the tension, his speed of speaking became more rapid. “Shit, shit, shit. B4 and C5 are starting to hedge. Someone fell. What should I do? What should I do?!”

In crowded places, the most terrifying situation is the hedging of the flow of people and the sudden fall of someone. Hedging meant trampling and falling meant death. This left them a very short amount of time to control the flow of people.

Strangely enough, the more impatient Wang Chao’s tone became, the calmer was Xing Conglian’s voice. “I can see. Work on your own thing and don’t worry about it.”

He comforted calmly and even added “don’t worry” at the end.

The low tone came through the airwaves, like running water infiltrating dry gravel, which gave people a sense of trust.

“Do you have any good advice, Consultant Lin?” Xing Conglian asked him.

“A rioting crowd is no different from a rioting herd of animals. If you want to quickly control a group of animals, you can only use the most primitive instinctive reactions of humans. Then, in fact, there’s a very dangerous, but very useful method.”

“It doesn’t seem appropriate to be playing tricks right now, Consultant Lin?” Xing Conglian even had a slight smile when he said it.

This was probably a man who had done great things, so this kind of mental quality was incomparable to anyone.

Lin Chen paused, then replied, “No, I’m just considering its suitability.”

“What’s the result of your consideration?”

Lin Chen stood high up and looked down. The hall was a mess and chaotic, as if it had been bombarded by many shells. People were pushing, shoving, and tearing; some had fallen, and others were trying to help them up; and those in the front kept getting pushed by the flow of people from behind.

“Have you heard of the freeze response*?” Lin Chen jumped off the wooden chair. The crazier the crowd was around him, the calmer he became. “When human life is threatened, it will remain still for an instant. This is the most effective means of life preservation provided by our limbic system, but this freezing time is very short…”

*A reaction to specific stimuli, most common observed in prey animals. When a prey animal has been caught and completely overcome by the predator, it may respond by “freezing up/petrification” or in other words by uncontrollably becoming rigid.

“But you can control riots instantly, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But…”

Before he could continue, Wang Chao interrupted and shouted, “Okay, Captain!”

The mall broadcast made a soft sound when it was turned on, so no one seemed to notice it.

Lin Chen took two steps back. Although he didn’t know what method Xing Conglian would use, he still covered his ears and leaned close to the wall.

Immediately afterwards, as if rocks were cracking and thunder roared, a deafening gunshot exploded in the audience.

Lin Chen froze suddenly as the entire mall became silent.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Freezing response happens more often than you think. When put into a dangerous situation, one can lock up due to fear, shock, and other variables. Think about all those car accidents where a car is coming towards a person, and they don’t get out of the way. Some people just shut down because of this freezing response. Also, in situations like these, the most death often doesn’t come from the culprit, but from other people. This is known as crowd collapses and crushes.

Happy Lunar New Year.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 96

Wang Chao was really good.

This was something that Lin Chen felt many times. In fact, if there was no Wang Chao, they would spend a lot of time on useless data retrieval in the process of handling a case, and the efficiency would be much lower. But as long as there was a teenager with a high IQ who was always online, very often they only needed to ask questions or pose ideas, and they would quickly get an answer, which indeed was quite convenient.

And this was probably one of the reasons why Xing Conglian always brought Wang Chao with him.

“A’Chen, do you see any milk tea shops over there? On the southeast corner, there’s a Hong Kong-style milk tea shop. The perspective in front of that milk tea shop should be very good.”

The teenager’s brisk voice came through. Lin Chen couldn’t help but look at the time. The time he spent thinking and searching was only about twenty seconds. He truly didn’t know where Xing Conglian had found this African child.

“I see it,” he replied.

“I sent you a software to crack the Wi-Fi password to your email. If the owner of the milk tea shop doesn’t give you the Wi-Fi password, you can crack it yourself!” Wang Chao added.

“Aren’t you from Africa? How does a milk tea shop do business if they don’t provide Wi-Fi?” Xing Conglian scolded.

“It’s possible they won’t give it to you if you don’t buy something!”

“Isn’t it enough to show your ID?” Xing Conglian responded.

Lin Chen quickened his pace as he walked toward his destination. Listening to the two voices on the other end, he suddenly felt that even if there was a problem, it could be solved.

“But if you crack it, wouldn’t it be cooler and more technical?” Wang Chao retorted in dissatisfaction, and then proudly explained to him, “A’Chen, do you know why you need to connect to the Wi-Fi? In the event of a large-scale accident, with so many people at the scene, the cell signal would be easily clogged. However, if the internet facilities aren’t violently damaged, their speed will be smoother to use. If your phone signal doesn’t work, you can always use the internet. What do you think?”

“I think your worries are making me panic,” Lin Chen replied.

“Aiya, A’Chen, don’t be afraid. No matter how dangerous the situation is, our Captain has experienced it. You have to believe that I will protect you in this kind of trivial matter!”

Lin Chen tilted his head slightly and walked along the periphery of the crowd to the milk tea shop. Has Wang Chao ever been in a dangerous situation before?

After thinking for a bit, he asked in a low voice, “How dangerous?”

“For example, rescuing a group of precious cultural relics under the pressure of air raids, in the desert, or from terrorists all around the world!”

“What are you, writing a novel?”

On the other end of the line, Xing Conglian had given Wang Chao a smack.

Lin Chen smiled. It really was like a novel-like life.

Suddenly, he felt Li Jingtian’s singing stop.

At the end of the song, the singer stabilized his breath, and his panting sounded rough.

The audience began to scream, and the occasional excited shouts were particularly abrupt against the black background sound.

When the singer let out a low laugh, the scene instantly stopped.

He said, “Thank you very much for coming today…”

His voice was low. Although Lin Chen couldn’t see the stage clearly, he could clearly feel an unusual sadness of the scene.

Logically, he should have stopped now and listened carefully, but inexplicably, he began to jog towards the milk tea shop that Wang Chao had pointed out.

“Do you know which floor the mall’s broadcasting room is on?” He asked Wang Chao. “I need to get to the broadcasting room.”

“I don’t know. According to their website, Ansheng International doesn’t appear to have a broadcasting room. I’m also looking for it, but it’s either on the top floor or the negative first floor. Do we want to take a gamble?”

“Gamble what? Cut directly into the broadcasting system.”

“Captain, can you be more civilized? How can we just casually cut the broadcasting system? Do you think we’re hackers?”

The two of them continued to argue on the other end of the line again, but Xing Conglian obviously no longer had the intention of joking with Wang Chao. He said coldly, “Do whatever I tell you to do.”

“Okay, okay. No need to get so fierce.”

“Transfer the floor plan of the mall to another computer. I’ll take a look,” Xing Conglian continued.

At this time, Lin Chen no longer had the energy to listen to them. He found that no matter where the broadcast room was, he might not have time to get there.

Li Jingtian was still talking on stage, and he couldn’t see the specific situation on the stage because of the crowd.

“I know something happened recently that made you worry about me. I’m really sorry. Although the timing is out of place, I still want to come out and thank you all…”

The singer on stage was showing his true feelings.

Lin Chen looked around. Luckily, there was a row of dining chairs for people to rest on right outside the milk tea shop in front of him. He quickly dashed a few steps and climbed onto one of them. Because the shop assistants were all crowded around the railing to watch, no one stepped forward to try and stop him.

What was even more fortunate was that the Wi-Fi password of the milk tea shop happened to be written on the door of the shop. He connected to the wireless network and glanced at the signal, which became full again.

He hung up the phone and switched his communication method. As he stood on the chair, he looked down towards the lobby.

“Don’t say that. Don’t be like that, Jingtian!”

“Come on, we all know Jingtian!”

Taking advantage of his pause, the girls responded one after another.

As their tender and sincere voices rang out, flashing lights on the scene exploded like fireworks.

The singer suddenly looked up with a bright smile on his face. He grinned, showing a row of white teeth and a sweet dimple on his left cheek. He bowed sincerely, and said, “Actually, it seems that I have said too much, that it might feel deliberate. I just want to say you’re free to judge right or wrong. Thank you very much for your support. I love you, really.”

“Jingtian!!! Jingtian!!! We love you!!!”

The girls frantically waved their props as they shouted and screamed. Some even burst into tears in excitement.

The mall became noisy again as a brisk prelude sounded from the stereo. Unlike the previous two bitter songs, this seemed to be a light and sweet love song. Li Jingtian waved his hand to the audience and said with a smile, “This song is dedicated to you. It’s my confession.”

He gave them another sweet smile, which caused the fans to scream again.

The scene became loud. Some people were clapping in harmony with the rhythm, some bobbed their heads, while others continued taking pictures.

Lin Chen pressed his phone against his ear. Wang Chao seemed to be reporting something to Xing Conglian.

“Captain, it’s calculated. The flow of people on the scene is 200% over capacity.” The person on the other end of the phone paused, as if he had seen an incredible sight, and shouted, “Shit, why is Director Zheng letting people in again?!”

Hearing this, Lin Chen’s gaze moved to the stage. The atmosphere on and off the stage was good. The fans were singing briskly to the music.

Where is the problem?

He looked at the row of black-clothed guests in the audience. Huang Ze and the others seemed to be getting up and preparing to leave. At the same time, the fans in the audience were waving support lights. There was a girl in a red dress standing on stage with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She seemed to have been arranged by the staff to go on afterwards to dedicate flowers to the singer.

It was a bouquet of green roses, wrapped in pure black and gold paper. The girl wore a mask, and most of her face was covered by her long hair, making it impossible to clearly see her.

Wait a minute.

Why is the girl who’s offering flowers wearing a mask as if she didn’t want to be photographed by others?

Don’t fans occasionally go on stage? Is it normal for them not to want to take a photo while hugging their star? How is it reasonable for her to cover her face at such a moment?

“Xing Conglian, call Director Zheng right away!” Lin Chen restrained the urge to jump down from the chair and rushed to the railing as he shouted to the other end of the phone.

As he spoke, the girl in the red dress who was holding a bouquet of flowers in her hand stepped on the stage to the brisk melody.

The singer on stage saw someone walking towards him with flowers. During the interlude, he whistled along with the melody and looked gratefully at the girl in a red dress. His eyes gleamed, looking a bit shy.

The entire audience almost fell into the sweet atmosphere full of love.

The distance between the two was getting closer. The breathing between them seemed clearly audible. Li Jingtian saw a bunch of green roses that covered most of the girl’s face. He saw the girl’s eyes glowing, full of enthusiasm. His gaze fell on the bow hairpin on the top of her head. He thought to himself, if he hugged her, his chin would rest right on top of the hairpin.

“Thank you.” He took the bouquet of green roses handed to him by the girl and looked a little embarrassed in response. Before he could carefully observe the rose in his arms, he was hugged by the girl. As expected, his chin nestled right against the top of the girl’s fluffy, soft hair. Between his nose came a rich scent of refreshing lemon shampoo mixed with roses, creating an intoxicating smell.

He didn’t know if it was because of the sudden embrace of the two on the stage that there was a commotion under the stage. In the crowd, his fans began to scream. The way the girls expressed their excitement was only through screaming.

He put his arms around the girl’s back and felt that the person in his arms suddenly stood on their tiptoes. He was surprised to see slightly rose-scented lips approaching for a kiss. He wanted to avoid it, but it was too late.

The next moment, he felt something wrong with his neck. The girl’s white fingers slipped from his neck, and in a trance, he felt himself being pushed away by the girl. Despite being a big man, he became unstable when he was pushed.

Under the stage, chaos erupted as screaming filled the air, but the emotions from the scream changed.

No longer did they sound excited, but it shifted to fright and loss. The voices were harsh, like a giant hand was wrapped around those sweet throats, making the voice hoarse and scared.

Is it fear of death?

What happened?

Li Jingtian regained his senses and looked for the girl who had presented the flowers to him just now, but he only saw the girl’s figure jumping down to the back of the stage. Her black hair drew a graceful arc in the air, and then her figure disappeared into the emergency exit corridor.

He gazed back at the flourishing roses in his hand while the other hand touched his neck. As if he had touched something wet and slippery, he wanted to open his mouth, but suddenly felt he couldn’t make even half a syllable.

His microphone fell heavily on the ground, creating a deafening roar from the stereo. Countless people covered their ears.

A drop of bright red blood dripped down from his neck.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 95

“Hey, Lin Chen, what’s the matter?!”

Lin Chen was stunned for a moment until the anxious shout of Xing Conglian on the other end brought him back.

“Nothing. I just saw an acquaintance,” he replied as he looked at the straight and meticulous figure in the lobby.

“Who?” After asking this question, Xing Conglian paused.

Judging from Xing Conglian’s reaction, Lin Chen probably knew who Xing Conglian had guessed, but he still answered, “Huang Ze.”

“Who?” Xing Conglian raised his voice.

“Huang Ze.”

It was the grand opening of his family’s landmark building, so it was reasonable for Inspector Huang to be present.

On the other end of the phone, Wang Chao hurriedly shouted, “Damn it, A’Chen don’t greet that dumbass Huang Ze. His stupidity is contagious!”

But Lin Chen didn’t have time to reply.

On the stage below, the general manager of Ansheng International put down his phone and walked on stage. The man had the iconic look of a typical middle-aged man, with a beer belly and signs of balding. Lin Chen wasn’t sure if this was the manager the director of the police station in the CBD area communicated with, but judging by how the other party was acting, he was obviously obsessed with completing the opening ceremony.

Huang Ze sat at the bottom of the stage with his usual arrogant and indifferent face, seemingly like he was reluctant to be here. Of course, it was also possible that the surroundings were too noisy and the air too dirty, which displeased the young master.

“Welcome to the opening ceremony for Ansheng International Mall. I am Huang Wei. Today, we are extremely honored that our special guests and fans have attended. Please allow me to express my warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to everyone!”

Mr. Manager’s lines were truly short, which was followed by a round of loud applause from the audience. He subconsciously glanced in the direction where Huang Ze was sitting and then made a quiet gesture and said, “In order to repay you for your love, our shopping mall will strengthen management, standardize operations, and strive to make Ansheng International Mall a world-class, influential, elegant, and of course affordable shopping mall. I hope our service will satisfy everyone!”

The applause from the audience became sparse. Although his speech was short, it was so terribly cliché that the onlookers didn’t buy into it.

Seeing this, Mr. Manager looked around and suddenly smiled. Seeing his smile, the surrounding teenage fans seemed to realize something.

He paused again, then suddenly raised his voice. “Finally, once again, thank you all for coming. Let us welcome our Ansheng International Ambassador, Mr. Li Jingtian!”

The lingering sound was still there, echoing through the four walls as it rippled throughout the building.

But in an instant, the scene calmed down.

The girls around the stage seemed to sense something as they all took a nervous breath. Some even closed their eyes, leaving only the sound of electric waves in the air.

A deep male voice emerged from the silence, as if he were singing a song that sounded like black velvet rubbing against the rim of a glass. The sound was moist, and the air was damp and cold, wrapped around a soundtrack that was thin, sounding like hoarse whispers, as if they were in a dark bar and everyone was whispering to each other with wine glasses in their hands, but they were all strangers.

The pushing pressure behind Lin Chen suddenly became lighter, allowing him to stand up straight and listen carefully.

Suddenly, it seemed as if a window was gently pushed open and the sound of singing poured into the room like the tide, soaking every pore in moist sea water. The light shone down from the surface of the water, swelling everything as the sea reflected endless clouds and tree branches shot frantically out of it towards the sky. Everyone was so immersed in the song that suddenly came on that no one noticed someone was slowly stepping onto the stage.

It was an extremely thin-looking man. He was wearing a wide white t-shirt and simple light blue jeans, which was a stark contrast to his harsh and chilling singing just now. His face was soft to the extreme, and his body carried an aura of modesty and calmness, like a sparse wind or gurgling water, or rather, it was apt to describe him as a spring breeze.

Unconsciously, with the singing, Lin Chen felt his mood, which had become irritable due to the surrounding environment, gradually calm down. He looked at the singer, who was controlling the audience on stage and the people mesmerized by him and felt faintly uneasy again.

This was a very strange feeling.

It seemed that there was a dark tide hidden under the calm sea or hail in the spring breeze. Taking advantage of everyone calming down, he took a few steps back and squeezed out from the railing.

“Lin Chen, are you still there?” When he left the crowd, he heard Xing Conglian’s voice again.

“I’m here,” he replied.

“What happened just now. Has Li Jingitan started singing?”

“Yes.”

“Seems like he’s singing well. Has the crowd calmed down?”

“It’s not good, but also very good…” Lin Chen gripped the toothbrush in his pocket. There was no noise around him as all the fans seemed appeased, like a herd that was peacefully dormant.

He didn’t know how to describe his feelings. If it was like usual, he would be silent and observe for a while, but the other party was Xing Conglian, who had told him he could tell him anything and he would always be happy to listen.

“Do you believe in a sixth sense?” Lin Chen turned around and continued looking around at the railings on the fourth floor to find a location with a better perspective.

“Don’t you psychologists say that the sixth sense is the instinctive response of humans when they encounter danger since ancient times? It sounds reasonable…”

“Well, there’s no solid scientific basis to prove this, but my current sixth sense is telling me something will happen.” He thought for a while, then spoke truthfully. “I’m not sure what will go wrong. I don’t have any evidence. This is purely a sixth sense. The only thing I’m sure of is that this sixth sense started when I heard Li Jingtian sing.”

“Speaking of which, it wasn’t this that made you worried about the opening ceremony, so you used the pretext of buying Wang Chao his toothbrush to go to the mall and have a look, right?” Xing Conglian pointed this out mercilessly.

Lin Chen had no choice but to find an excuse. “Well, a more scientific way of putting it would be that my subconsciousness prompted me to come back here again.”

“Then going by what you said, A’Chen, my sixth sense started when I saw that poster?” Wang Chao suddenly inserted himself into their conversation.

“Then my uneasiness…” Xing Conglian suddenly stopped.

“Hm?”

“Then, my uneasiness started from knowing that you were in the mall.”

His voice was so gentle that it caused Lin Chen’s heart to skip a beat.

It was quite ill-timed.

……

Xing Conglian was sitting in front of the computer and found that Lin Chen hadn’t replied. He swept his gaze over the dense flow of people in the mall. Although the mall was crowded, because of the excellent performance of the singer on stage, the crowd had become much quieter.

His gaze then turned to the surveillance video of key passages outside the mall.

It could be seen that the traffic police around the CBD had to rush in for support, and they were able to ease the pressure outside the mall.

The crowd that had encircled the mall was gradually dispersing. Except for some girls in red shirts who still insisted on entering, the situation inside and outside the mall seemed to be moving in a good direction.

Thinking of Lin Chen’s words, he said to the teenager beside him, “Wang Chao, check on this guy, Li Jingtian. Why did the opening ceremony of the mall suddenly flood with so many of his fans?”

“Twitter!”

After a moment of silence, Lin Chen asked, “Do you have any explanations from Director Zheng?”

Although Lin Chen’s tone was calm, Xing Conglian could sense hesitation in his words.

The maintenance of order in public places was obviously not within the purview of the police criminal division. Furthermore, the situation on the scene didn’t show any signs of deterioration. That meant they weren’t in a position to speak, which was why Lin Chen phrased it like so.

“His phone is still busy.” Xing Conglian thought for a moment and then asked Lin Chen, “If there was a problem in this mall, where do you think it will be?”

“In densely populated places, whether it’s a sudden fire or any emergency, the highest fatality rate will be from a stampede…”

“Make an emergency response plan.”

Hearing what Xing Conglian said, Lin Chen suddenly stopped in his tracks. He never expected that Xing Conglian would propose such an emergency plan so simply.

It wouldn’t be out of place if the situation was urgent, but since Li Jingtian appeared on the stage, it seemed as though water had flowed into the magma, and the boiling scene became much calmer. Lin Chen believed that the CBD precinct police wouldn’t make such a judgment given the current situation.

At this time, if a criminal division police captain from a different precinct suddenly ordered an emergency response plan, not only would it look arrogant, but it would also seem superfluous and stupid.

Fortunately, only the three of them knew about this stupidity.

At this moment, Xing Conglian’s phone rang.

“It’s Lao Zheng. Wait a minute,” he said to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen took two steps back and walked to a relatively quiet place. He didn’t know what Director Zheng said to Xing Conglian and only heard Xing Conglian reply, “I suggest you evacuate the crowd as soon as possible, Lao Zheng. In case there’s a stampede, it’s you who will be held responsible. You don’t want to carry this pot for those businessmen, right?”

“How’s the situation now?” Xing Conglian’s voice was a little cold. “It’s okay now, but if it suddenly turns bad, can you control it? Ansheng International Mall has just opened. Have you organized emergency evacuation training for the employees there?”

Anyone who was questioned this way would be angry. Lin Chen guessed that Director Zheng probably hung up quickly after being questioned by Xing Conglian. Soon, Xing Conglian’s voice returned to their line.

No longer seeking his opinion, Xing Conglian said to Wang Chao, “Start estimating the flow of people and the overall load of the mall.”

“Fuck Captain, how can you be so rude? Aren’t you being a little too nosy?” Wang Chao interjected.

This time, Lin Chen didn’t hear any wailing coming from Wang Chao, who quickly silenced himself. Lin Chen thought most likely that his captain’s serious expression must be terrible right now.

“Consultant Lin, I have to trouble you to stay longer until the pressure from the crowd drops to 60%, then I’ll let you know when to leave.”

“No problem.” Lin Chen paused, then said, “Can you have Wang Chao tell me where the best view is or where the blind spots are? I’ll go and fill in that position.”

“Oh, I found a spot A’Chen!”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 94

When he received a call from Xing Conglian, Lin Chen was squatting in front of a shelf, staring at an entire row of toothbrushes.

There seemed to be a DJ specially tuning music in the hall downstairs, as dance music could be heard. The electronic beats that were mixed with the screams of fans were so imposing that, despite being two floors away, Lin Chen almost couldn’t hear what Xing Conglian was saying on the phone.

“Are you okay?” Xing Conglian’s voice sounded a bit cold.

This shouldn’t be a daily greeting. Lin Chen assumed that Xing Conglian was worried about something bad because of the tone of his voice and the meaning behind his words.

“Yes, for now. Is something wrong?” As Lin Chen replied, he carefully scanned the toothbrushes that were hanging on the shelves.

As expected of Maji, they truly deserved to be the favorite daily necessity brand among the bourgeoisie. Even their toothbrushes were dazzling.

The rows of toothbrush heads in front of him were all different sizes, and they even had distinct softness and hardness on their bristles. He picked up the label of each toothbrush and read it carefully, finding that he was at a loss. Truly Wang Chao was a rising Virgo*, which was quite troublesome.

*Describes people who have a strong ability to appreciate objects and discern subtle objects at a level far beyond what the average person can perceive.

“Here’s the situation. Our colleagues just returned from patrol and heard that the mall crowd exceeded the standard, which could make the situation quite dangerous.”

“I came to the mall twenty minutes ago. Since I walked in, the flow of people hasn’t reached the level of serious overcrowding. I can’t say if it’s a dangerous situation, but there are indeed a lot of people here.”

“Did you see anything suspicious?” Xing Conglian asked.

Hearing this, Lin Chen stood up from the shelf and looked outside the store through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

From his position, he could see a lot of people surrounding the handrails of the corridors on the third floor. There seemed to be a steady stream of people walking towards it.

Because there were so many people gathered, they formed a dense human wall. His sight was completely blocked by this wall, so he could only vaguely see the green canopy on top of the coconut tree in the hall on the first floor.

Looking at what was hanging under the canopy, he said, “There’s a problem.”

“What?” Xing Conglian’s voice sank.

“Hand Wang Chao the phone first.”

After he finished speaking, he heard silence on the other end, then the sound of the phone being handed over. “A’Chen, are you okay?” Wang Chao’s voice was even more serious than Xing Conglian’s. “You must tell me if anything’s wrong, and I’ll help you!”

“I’m fine. I just want to ask you, what model of toothbrush do you want, and what are the requirements for the hardness of the bristles?”

“Ahhhh! How can you still care about this?!” Wang Chao shouted.

Lin Chen squatted down and said to the teenager, “Well I would feel that it was pointless if I went through all this trouble and didn’t buy the right toothbrush.”

“Size S, medium hardness,” the other end replied.

After Wang Chao finished speaking, he let out another cry. It was obvious that he had been “educated” by Xing Conglian again.

Lin Chen plucked through the row of toothbrushes, then picked the one that Wang Chao designated and asked another question, “Are there any requirements for the color?”

“Indigo! Indigo!”

Sure enough, he guessed it right.

He looked at the indigo toothbrush in his hand, turned around, and walked towards the cashier. “Okay, don’t return the phone to your captain just yet. I have something to ask you. What did you say to the police chief yesterday?”

“Captain, did you hear? A’Chen asked me to answer something. Let go!” Wang Chao shouted on the phone. Lin Chen could hear a few running steps, as if he were avoiding Xing Conglian, and then he heard a gasp before a loud reply came through, “You mean Director Zheng? Director Zheng is very nice. He said he would notify the mall and rectify it immediately. What’s the matter?”

Lin Chen frowned.

He handed the toothbrush to the cashier, who scanned the price tag and said, “Hello sir. Your total is 99 yuan. Thank you.”

What an extravagant child.

Lin Chen took out a 100-yuan bill from his pocket to pay. He watched as the cashier gave him his change, then said to the person on the phone, “I’m afraid the effect of rectification isn’t very good.”

“Why isn’t it good? Didn’t Director Zheng call? Was the poster not taken off?” Wang Chao’s rapid-fire questions emerged again.

Lin Chen took the change handed to him by the cashier and put it in his pocket along with the toothbrush.

He tilted his head slightly and looked once again at the canopy of the giant coconut tree. Several steel wires vaguely passed through the canopy, indicating that there was something under it.

It was a huge poster that stretched across three floors. Lin Chen squinted his eyes and could even recall the face of the singer on the poster. He had many conjectures in his heart as he spoke to the person on the other end of the phone, “I think, maybe for some reason, Director Zheng’s order wasn’t executed immediately.”

There was another struggle for ownership on the other end of the line. After a while, Xing Conglian’s voice came through again. “The poster wasn’t taken off?”

“No.”

While he spoke, there was a dense sound of drums in the hall downstairs. He didn’t know what the host had said or what the people had come to see, but the violent bass sound made his internal organs vibrate.

“I’ll check with Lao Zhang. If you can, try to get out first,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen didn’t answer him.

The glass sliding door automatically slid open as he walked out of the shop. The oncoming people’s voices made him feel that the floor seemed to be shaking. The air seemed to be filled with something boiling, exciting and lively, anxious and irritable. It seemed that the opening ceremony of Ansheng International Mall should have achieved the desired effect.

“Hey, why is it so noisy?”

It wasn’t until he walked out of the Maji shop that Lin Chen discovered that his estimate of the flow of people had deviated.

In fact, he recalled that in order to choose a toothbrush just now, he stayed in the store for more than fifteen minutes. Within these fifteen minutes, because the opening ceremony was approaching, the flow of people in the mall increased at an exponential rate.

“Xing Conglian…”

Lin Chen walked a distance along the hollow corridor and chose a location with a better view.

From where he was standing, the entire four-story hollow corridor surrounding the lobby was packed with people along the handrails. There were only a few spots on the fourth floor that were slightly empty. He couldn’t see the situation in the lobby clearly because he couldn’t reach the handrails. Judging by the constant upward flow of people along the escalator, the situation in the lobby would only get worse.

“I’m here. Tell me.”

“I may not be able to get out for the time being.” He looked at a certain spot in the fourth-floor cloister that had a good view, then said, “I can’t get a handle on the situation in the lobby for now. I need to go upstairs.”

If this were an ordinary person, he would probably say, “Don’t go. It’s too dangerous.” Even Lin Chen heard Wang Chao yelling on the other end of the phone, but Xing Conglian was Xing Conglian after all. He pondered for a bit before replying, “Don’t hang up the phone. Stay safe.”

Lin Chen chuckled almost inaudibly.

He then continued to observe the situation on the scene. The escalator was severely overloaded, and judging by that, the situation at the elevator might be even worse. At this time, the emergency exit was the best choice.

He looked up at the signs and continued forward. “Just in case, please help me bring up a floor plan of the mall first.”

“Already done, A’Chen!” Wang Chao’s brisk voice came through.

Although he couldn’t hear the usual clacking keyboard sound because his surroundings were too noisy, he still imagined it. Just as he was looking at the signs to find a route, Xing Conglian had already thought of this in advance and switched the call to an audio power amplifier.

“Wait a minute. I have to bring up the camera. A’Chen, how much power does your phone still have? If it’s not good, go and buy a portable charger!”

“Don’t be too nervous. Nothing has happened yet…” Lin Chen said calmly. He turned left along the corridor and walked into the emergency exit passage. “And fortunately, I recharged my phone before I went out.”

There were relatively few people in the emergency exit corridor, so the surrounding area instantly quieted.

Lin Chen heard the sound of a tapping keyboard, and it gave him a strange sense of peace. “A’Chen, now’s not the time for jokes!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

Xing Conglian’s voice cut in again. “Consultant Lin, I just talked with Lao Zheng. He said that he had indeed notified the mall and it should be that the mall didn’t rectify in time.”

“How’s the lobby?”

“Judging from the cameras of several channels, the flow of people has indeed exceeded the standard. The wide-angle view of the lobby isn’t clear because the poster covers up the stage. What the hell is with this Li Jingtian? I see a ton of fans wearing uniforms and holding something in their hands.”

“That’s a fan prop for support, Captain!” Wang Chao interrupted.

“I don’t know much about this stuff either. Li Jingtian should be a famous singer, right? Are all the people at the scene fans?”

“Is he holding a concert in Hongjing? Why are there so many people?” Xing Conglian asked.

“I don’t know.”

Lin Chen quickly walked out of the emergency exit corridor and headed to the location he had staked out.

The feeling of his internal organs vibrating came again. As he got closer to the top of the hall, the feeling became more intense. Lin Chen touched his chest and clenched the phone tightly as he squeezed past several people and finally managed to touch the edge of a handrail.

Looking down from the fourth floor, there were densely packed heads as far as the eye could see. A large area around the front stage was surrounded by a barrier, with security guards standing shoulder to shoulder in a full circle outside the barrier. Inside the barrier were full of fangirls in uniform.

The girls had fair faces and were wearing uniformed red dresses. They looked like rose petals that were spreading out in separate layers as they chanted their idol’s name. Because there were so many overlapping voices, all the noise became indistinct on the fourth floor.

Most likely, they were shouting, “Jingtian! Jingtian!”

Due to the crowd inside the barrier being too large, the people outside couldn’t see the performance on the stage clearly, so there was a constant flow of people rushing forward trying to break through the wall of security guards.

“How’s the situation around the stage?” Xing Conglian asked.

“Very bad,” Lin Chen said coldly.

At this moment, the song ended, and the DJ on stage stopped moving as the host took the stage again.

“Is everyone high?!”

“High!” The fans in the audience replied frantically.

“Are you excited?!” The host pointed his microphone in the direction of the audience.

“Yes!” the fans replied in unison.

“Who are you here for today?!”

“Jingitan! Jingtian! Li Jingtian! Ahhhhh!”

The shouts of the girls rang out in unison, causing the transparent roof of the mall to tremble.

“Isn’t this crazy? How many people are here right now?”

The enthusiastic calls from the fans had already reached Xing Conglian’s ear. It seemed that the fans’ crazy voices alone were enough to frighten him.

“It’s hard to estimate. Does Zheng Suo have anything to say?” Lin Chen frowned. He raised his voice and was no longer speaking at a normal volume.

“Lao Zheng said that his men are already outside diverting the flow of people to prevent them from squeezing into the mall.” Xing Conglian paused. “Lao Zheng hung up on me after saying this. He’s probably overwhelmed right now.”

Unknowingly, Xing Conglian’s voice had also become louder, matching Lin Chen’s volume.

“If the police divert the flow of people on the outside and stop them from entering the mall, it will easily cause congestion on the outside, which means the people inside the mall will also be unable to get out, right?” He asked.

“That seems to be the case. Tell me more about the situation.”

Lin Chen could feel that more people were starting to crowd around him. He looked at the hollow cloister around the hall again. The places that were originally empty were now filled with people.

The host was still on stage, firing up the crowd. “I know who you are here for! Tell me, what’s his name again? Say it loudly!”

“Jingtian! Ahhhhhh! Jingtian! Ahhhhhh!”

Just as the girls were shouting, Lin Chen was pushed onto the railing as the people behind him continued to push forward. His upper body had unknowingly leaned out of the railing, which caused him to grip the railing tightly so he wouldn’t lean further forward.

The temperature at the scene became so warm that a thin layer of sweat appeared on the palms of his hands.

“Okay, I hear you. I know who you’re here for: Li Jingitan, right?”

“Yes!!!”

The voice of the host once again suppressed the screams of the crowd. He shouted, “But today, before that person shows up, you still have to give our mall a little time and let us finish the opening ceremony, alright? Answer me loudly!”

“Okay!!!”

The host’s ability to mobilize emotions was truly good. After several back-and-forth questions and answers between him and the girls in the audience, the atmosphere of the scene reached a new level.

When the girls finished shouting, the host held up his hand and made a quiet gesture, then said, “I promise the time we spend will be very short!” After he teased, he suddenly stood up straight and said respectfully, “Next, let us invite Mr. Huang Wei, General Manager of the Ansheng International Mall, to give a speech. Don’t worry, everyone. I have just seen the Boss’ speech. It’s very short!”

He made an invitation gesture to the bottom of the stage after he finished speaking. Following his gesture, Lin Chen saw, in front of the fangirls dressed in red, a row of elites wearing suits and ties. They looked like they were leaders and relevant people on the board of directors of the shopping mall.

Then, it was like a premonition coming true or an inevitability by chance.

Among the elites, he saw a figure in a suit that was very familiar to him.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 93

Working overtime on a rest day was naturally painful, and it was even more difficult for normal people’s biological clocks to overcome this pain.

When Xing Conglian got up in the morning, he could clearly hear all the electronic equipment of his little colleague next door beeping.

Rock music, electronic music, game soundtracks, and even the sound of sawing wood…

Why was there even sawing wood?

He walked out of the room in his slippers and was about to kick the door in when he saw another colleague standing in front of his room with his finger curled up and raised in the air, as if he was thinking about something.

“Are you going to knock on the door?” Xing Conglian asked.

“No, I haven’t knocked yet,” Lin Chen replied.

“Why?”

“I don’t think there’s any point in knocking.” Lin Chen pulled down his hand and answered back.

“Makes sense.” Xing Conglian glanced at his brand-new wooden door, looking it up and down, and felt that it wasn’t cost-effective to kick it open. The ringing inside the room was still blaring to kingdom come, but there didn’t seem to be any movement from the person inside.

“Well, it’s not my salary that’s getting deducted, right?” Xing Conglian said.

“Indeed.”

“So, breakfast?” Xing Conglian asked. He yawned and looked at Lin Chen, who was wearing neat clothes.

“Okay,” Lin Chen replied.

The so-called breakfast naturally meant going out to eat.

Even though the old streets and alleys in Yanjia Lane had been renovated, there were still many famous hole-in-the-wall places deep inside the alleyways, some of which had been passed down for several generations and were still bustling with people.

The morning was all clear blue skies.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Xing Conglian found that Lin Chen had already changed his shoes and was waiting for him at the door.

Lin Chen had good living habits. Perhaps this was because he used to be a dorm manager and had to routinely get up at six every day. When he had a task, he would get up early and analyze cases with Xing Conglian. If he had nothing to do, he would organize files. In short, Lin Chen didn’t like sleeping in.

Well, this was probably the natural life of a self-disciplined single dog.

“Where are we going today?”

Xing Conglian walked to the door and heard Lin Chen ask him as he stood under the eaves.

“It’s Consultant Lin that has more say in where to eat for breakfast,” he replied.

Thinking about what he thought earlier, Lin Chen’s taste had always been good. Although he usually had no requirements for lunch and dinner, he was frighteningly picky when it came to breakfast. He frowned and didn’t speak when he didn’t like the taste, so this made Xing Conglian afraid to choose a place to go for breakfast for them.

However, as a big fan of breakfast and a regular early riser, after Lin Chen had tried all the breakfast restaurants within two kilometers of Yanjia Lane, he no longer had to worry about where to go for breakfast as the person who led the way had already changed.

“Have something light?” Lin Chen asked as he walked.

“You decide. I’ll listen to you.”

“Okay. How about the bakery at the entrance on Lujia Alley?”

After walking a few steps, they passed by a gallery. Lin Chen nodded at the unruly painter who was squatting at the entrance brushing his teeth, then looked back at Xing Conglian and casually said, “Wang Chao likes their soymilk a lot.”

“Their soymilk does taste good, but why bring it to that kid?”

“Why else would we go so far?”

“I thought you wanted to take an early morning walk with me, Consultant Lin.”

“That’s indeed one of the reasons,” Lin Chen replied.

Although he was obviously teasing, upon hearing his answer, Xing Conglian suddenly felt his mood lighten.

Last night brought some spring rain, so the streets and alleys were clean and tidy. Even the river on the side was much clearer and bluer. This was a peaceful and comfortable life that didn’t make people feel bogged down by their lives.

“Are you really going to the mall to buy that toothbrush for that kid later?”

“Yes, is there a problem? After all, it’s true that I touched his belongings without his consent,” Lin Chen said.

“But why do you think he’s so obsessed over a toothbrush? Is this considered a fetish?”

“Not so much. It probably gives him a special sense of security, or it’s purely habitual.”

“No major issues?”

“Not that I can see for now.”

As they talked, they saw an old man in front of them leading a big yellow dog out for a walk. Most likely, it was a golden retriever mix, and it was old. It was lazily lying under a tree by the river, and they weren’t sure how the old man was going to drag it away from its spot.

Xing Conglian yawned and saw Lin Chen quicken his pace. After greeting the old man, he stretched out his hand and scratched the big yellow dog’s chin.

“Have you ever thought about what you’ll do after retirement?” Seeing Lin Chen squatting under the tree and happily petting the big yellow dog, Xing Conglian suddenly felt he wanted to ask him this question.

“Isn’t it more important for a person like me, whose life isn’t very good, to work hard to live until retirement?”

When Lin Chen answered him, his expression was calm, as if he wasn’t joking.

“Consultant Lin, I find you’re very pessimistic.”

It probably had something to do with the surrounding environment.

At that moment, under the willow tree, Xing Conglian listened to the sound of flowing water and the panting of the big yellow dog and looked at the calm and indifferent face of his friend and colleague underneath the rising sun. He suddenly wanted to ask him, ‘What happened that made you lose your sense of being alive and make you so pessimistic?’

What?

Why do you still insist on living now?

However, that thought was fleeting, as Lin Chen had stood up and answered his question about “retirement”.

Lin Chen said, “In fact, I think that my current life is my ideal retirement life.”

“Even if you have to go through cases and cases every day?” Xing Conglian found it interesting, so he inquired further.

“Well, even if my heart desires world peace, there won’t be such a thing in the world.” While they were talking, they had already turned the corner, and the faint aroma of fritters filled the air. There were already many people lined up in the alley in front of them. Lin Chen squinted, as if he were smelling the fragrance, then said, “So the cases that should happen will always happen. The things that should be handled by me will be dealt with. Things that are bound by fate will happen whether you retire or not.”

Xing Conglian laughed. “Why are you still blaming fate?!”

“Because life is too hard. If you don’t blame fate, you can only blame yourself, but blaming yourself will make you more prone to developing psychological issues, so it’s better to blame fate.”

Psychologists always had strange and reasonable theories of self-adjustment. Xing Conglian nodded and moved two steps forward to accompany Lin Chen as the line shifted.

The line to the bakery looked long, but it moved quite fast. When it was their turn, Lin Chen paid twelve yuan familiarly. The owner of the bakery glanced at Lin Chen and asked, “The usual?”

“Yes, please.”

Their conversation was familiar, and even the owner’s movements were even more familiar.

Xing Conglian suddenly remembered that sometimes when he didn’t get up in the morning, occasionally he would see the same configuration on the dining table after he washed up. Although sometimes Lin Chen would buy some other breakfasts, the proportion of these four items was the highest. It seemed that he was just using what Wang Chao wanted to eat as an excuse.

As he was thinking this, he saw Lin Chen sit down in the bakery with his meal.

With the bakery full of the smell of oil and fried dough, which was quite strong, not many people would sit inside the shop to eat. After all, how many people would find the leisure to sit in the shop and have a relaxing breakfast?

Except, of course, for those who had a special pursuit for breakfast.

Xing Conglian carried the bag with his breakfast and sat down opposite Lin Chen. He reluctantly inserted a straw into the soymilk container and lamented, “Consultant Lin, you really have a pursuit for breakfast.”

“Because having a good breakfast will make you feel good throughout the day.”

“This is an old saying. We young people generally don’t eat breakfast.”

Hearing what he said, Lin Chen paused, then looked at him with dark, bright eyes and asked, “Since Captain Xing thinks he’s young, why did he ask about retirement just now?”

When Xing Conglian heard this, he glanced at Lin Chen unexpectedly.

Lin Chen was quietly tearing open his fritter while remaining expressionless, as if he were just asking a casual question at random.

But his level of insight into the human heart was too high. If Xing Conglian wasn’t careful about his answer, he could be seen right through.

“I just want to exchange life views with Consultant Lin and promote friendship,” he said.

“What’s the result of the exchange?”

“Heh, I think it’s quite coincidental in how we think.”

“What do you think?”

“I also think that, presently, this is my ideal retirement life.”

—-

Too bland of a retirement life could make people feel that there were no expectations. He certainly couldn’t get through the days with just reading, drinking tea, playing chess, and walking the dog every day.

Then it was a good choice to go to work and occasionally deal with social evils to realize the value of life.

At least that’s what Xing Conglian felt.

That day, he didn’t take Wang Chao with him to work. After all, he couldn’t always spoil his children. Everyone had to pay a price for their actions and take responsibility for them.

He felt that he really resonated with Lin Chen in this regard.

When Wang Chao arrived at the police station, it was almost 10 a.m.

Xing Conglian had just come out of drinking tea in the director’s office when he saw the kid rushing into the office, groping at the fingerprint scanning machine, and finally almost passing out with a desperate groan.

It seemed that after he left, Lin Chen really didn’t wake Wang Chao up.

Tsk, how cruel.

“Captain, you’re too much!”

Seeing him walk into the office with a teacup in hand, Wang Chao threw down his backpack and flew over, pulling on Xing Conglian’s collar as he scolded him. “Do you know how crowded 227 Road is in the morning? How clogged up Zhongshan Avenue gets? Why didn’t you call me!”

“Comrade Xiao Wang, you can’t blame me for this. After all, your boss has to support a family, so I have to punch in on time.”

“Is there any connection between having to punch in on time and not waking me up? Why didn’t you wake me up?!”

“Your logic is good.” Looking at the flushed face of Wang Chao, Xing Conglian felt his mood got better. He took a sip of his hot tea and said, “Your brother A’Chen and I agree that a growing boy like you needs more sleep.”

“My brother A’Chen wouldn’t join forces with you!” Wang Chao said and took out the already cold fritters and sesame balls from his backpack. “My brother A’Chen still left me breakfast on the table.”

“That’s because you just don’t know him too well…” Xing Conglian said as he patted the teenager’s head.

“Piss off!”

As Wang Chao cursed, he knocked away Xing Conglian’s hand. Two patrolling officers had just walked into the room, saw Wang Chao fuming over the punch-in machine, and instantly guessed what had happened.

“Comrade Xiao Wang is late again. You young people are so energetic.” One officer patted Wang Chao on the shoulder.

“Lao Geng, what you said is wrong. It should be said that young people just need more sleep. When you get older, you can’t sleep even if you want to!” The other officer echoed.

This made Wang Chao even angrier.

Xing Conglian greeted his two helpful colleagues with satisfaction and asked, “How is it today?”

“Nothing big. What can happen in our area? However, I think the CBD is having difficulties.”

Thinking about Ansheng International Mall made Xing Conglian uneasy. He frowned and asked, “How difficult?”

“Isn’t there some kind of celebrity fan meeting at their opening ceremony? It’s said that the flow of people far exceeds expectations…”

“How could it exceed expectations? Isn’t the number of people in each gathering estimated in advance and then approved?”

“I don’t know about that. I was just listening to part of it in the car, as if they were asking for support, but for the time being they haven’t requested anything from us.”

Xing Conglian suddenly had a bad premonition. He turned around and was standing in front of Wang Chao, who had just punched in, and saw that his face had turned from red to blue.

Seeing Wang Chao’s reaction, he roughly knew, but he still held on to some sense of hope and asked, “When you went out, did you go with Lin Chen?”

“I, A’Chen…” Wang Chao started stammering.

“Speak slowly. Think clearly, then say it.”

“A’Chen and I went out together. He said he was going to buy me a toothbrush. I went out at a quarter past nine. Now it’s 9:50. It takes 20 minutes to walk from our house to Ansheng International Mall. A’Chen might be at the mall by now.” Wang Chao asked nervously, “Nothing bad will happen, right Captain?!”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 92

As policemen, they probably had the occupational disease that came with it. If it wasn’t a professional habit, when one was idle, who would care about the coverage of surveillance cameras?

Naturally, ordinary policemen didn’t have such leisure. Except for Comrade Xiao Wang Chao, who couldn’t stop his brain, no one would notice that a huge advertisement actually covered a wide-angle camera somewhere in the mall.

“Comrade Xiao Wang, I find that you care very much about public facilities. This is something to be praised,” Xing Conglian patted Wang Chao’s furry head and said with relief.

“Is that okay?” Wang Chao was a little puzzled listening to such relaxed words, so he tried to confirm as he looked at the camera above.

“Of course it matters.” Xing Conglian raised his head and circled around the huge coconut tree. “However, this matter isn’t in our jurisdiction. Then, now that you have this problem, Comrade Xiao Wang, think about it. Within the scope of your authority and responsibility, what is the solution to this matter?”

It was probably true that people’s mood would improve after eating. Xing Conglian didn’t scold Wang Chao to mind his own business but instead humored him.

After thinking carefully, Wang Chao replied, “Send a rectification notice to the security department of the mall so they can fix it?”

He didn’t say something like, “Captain, let’s drag the chairman out and educate him” or “Captain, let’s hack into their system and send a notice to the security department”…

Rectification notice…

It was indeed an appropriate method in terms of procedures.

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian and saw him smile at Wang Chao affectionately. It was obvious he thought the result of his education wasn’t bad, so he continued to ask Wang Chao, “Well… In whose name?”

“The safety supervision department?” Wang Chao answered tentatively.

Hearing this, Xing Conglian didn’t immediately rebuke but pondered for a while and then asked, “What reason?”

“Uh, security risks?”

“What are the security risks?”

“I… I…” Wang Chao started stammering. He held back for a long time and finally shouted to Xing Conglian, “Captain, I don’t know.”

Xing Conglian raised his head, looked at the smiling singer on the advertisement poster, and lengthened his tone. “Comrade Xiao Wang, look. There’s going to be a large-scale gathering here tomorrow. Isn’t the safety of the crowd a top priority? Shouldn’t the shopping mall do its best to maintain order at the scene and protect the safety of the public? So, if the wide-angle camera that overlooks the hall is obscured…”

“It’s a major security hazard for the gathering!”

Wang Chao snapped his fingers.

After he finished speaking, he happily followed Xing Conglian around, then suddenly stopped. “But Captain, the security supervision department isn’t under our control. Should I enter their system and send a notice?”

When Xing Conglian heard this, he almost choked. “What system are you entering? Can you be more civilized, Comrade Xiao Wang?”

“Then what should I do?”

“Think about it. Which department oversees security for large-scale gatherings?”

“The local police station?” Wang Chao suddenly realized. “We have to tell the local police station?”

Xing Conglian nodded and said, “I happen to know the director of the dispatch office in the jurisdiction here, so…”

“So you’ll call the director and ask him to tell the mall to take down the poster?”

Xing Conglian rubbed his chin and shook his head. “No, this problem was obviously discovered by Comrade Xiao Wang. Of course, I can’t take away your credit.”

Wang Chao pointed at his nose as he asked, “Me?”

Xing Conglian nodded. “Of course you.”

“I-I-I-I don’t want…”

“You’re welcome, Comrade Xiao Wang. Give him a call later.” Xing Conglian patted him on the shoulder and then walked forward. “Maybe he’ll even give you a pennant. In case you get a bonus, remember to invite me and your brother A’Chen for a meal.”

“Captain, you weren’t like this before!” Wang Chao was stunned for a second, then caught up to Xing Conglian. “Why are you being like a mother-in-law all of a sudden?”

Xing Conglian angrily responded, “How am I being like a mother-in-law?”

“You’re always nagging. Go through this procedure, go through that procedure… You used to do things very quickly.” Wang Chao’s complaints sounded from behind.

Xing Conglian ignored him.

Lin Chen suddenly felt someone standing beside him.

“What’s wrong?” the gentle male voice rang in his ears.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze from the huge poster and looked at the people beside him. “I don’t know.”

“It’s not some kind of bad intuition again, right?” Xing Conglian asked.

“No.” Lin Chen turned his head and looked at the troubled teenager behind him and said, “Your captain just wants you to try to deal with problems by yourself and communicate with other people.”

Wang Chao was momentarily shocked. “Why should I communicate more with others?”

“Because you’re human.”

“Yes, is there a problem?” Wang Chao said seriously.

“People are social animals.” Lin Chen smiled and looked at him. “But do you realize that in your life, there’s only me and your captain?”

“There’s also Uncle Wang and A’Huang!”

“Who’s that?” Lin Chen asked Xing Conglian.

“Uncle Wang’s big yellow dog. He’s our gatekeeper at the bureau. When you were off these days, he went to A’Huang for lunch every day at noon and ignored me.”

It seemed like such a thing existed.

Lin Chen understood the helplessness of Xing Conglian. The issue of education still had a long way to go.

“Let’s put it this way. Perhaps it isn’t appropriate.” Lin Chen paused, then continued, “Maybe one day, you encounter something that makes you unable to use the abilities you’re proud of, and your captain or I urgently need your help. You have to find a way to try and deal with other people for us.”

“For example?”

“For example, if your captain and I were kidnapped by someone and you have to rescue us.”

“A’Chen, are you putting up flags*?”

*Foreshadows, hints. Basically, he’s saying, are you foreshadowing something?

“Consultant Lin, it’s not good for you to say such scary things, right?” Even Xing Conglian had to chime in.

“It’s just an analogy.” Lin Chen thought for a moment and decided to change his words. “Or maybe your captain was kidnapped, and you couldn’t contact me.”

“Hey, this example doesn’t seem to be any better, no?” Xing Conglian sighed.

Wang Chao quickly answered, “Oh, to hell with him!”

“Uh… Hey!”

Xing Conglian reacted, but Wang Chao had already quickly ran ahead. Despite that, he was still caught by Xing Conglian after a while, and then there was another flurry of “full-time education”.

Lin Chen decided to ignore the two and looked back at the celebrity poster that stretched across the three-story building.

He really hoped that it wasn’t a flag.

—-

Although he was unhappy, on their way home, Wang Chao eventually asked Xing Conglian for the phone number and ran away alone, hiding under a small bridge, as he called it.

The alley was peaceful. Occasionally, they could hear laughter coming from both sides or the dialogue from a film or drama. Those sounds were mixed with the incoherent voice of the teenager as he spoke on the phone, giving the night a down-to-earth touch.

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

Lin Chen looked up at the moon and suddenly heard Xing Conglian ask him this.

He raised his head slightly and looked at the handsome face of the person next to him. Xing Conglian’s features were softened by the night, making Lin Chen a bit dazed.

Then, Lin Chen realized that Xing Conglian was continuing the unfinished question in the mall just now.

What’s wrong?

What were you thinking just now?

Is something wrong?

These simple words contained many questions. Lin Chen felt that he even wanted to say: “You need to be more honest with me, and you can talk to me about any problems you have.”

It wasn’t that he wasn’t being honest. He just didn’t think it was a big deal.

“The mall where we ate just now is called Ansheng International Mall.”

“What’s wrong with Ansheng International Mall?” Xing Conglian still looked confused.

“Have you heard of Huang Ansheng?”

“Who?”

“Huang, An, Sheng.” Lin Chen said each syllable slowly.

“Wait… Huang?” Xing Conglian was in disbelief.

Lin Chen nodded.

At this moment, Wang Chao hung up and ran back from the distance like a small animal, looking quite happy with himself. “Captain, Captain, I finished calling them. Your friend is so nice. He’s not like you at all. He said they would immediately notify the mall to rectify it!”

When he ran in front of Xing Conglian, he suddenly stopped and stared at him for a while, then said, “Captain, why do you look like you ate something bad? Was that rice noodle dish tainted?”

Xing Conglian curled up his finger and flicked Wang Chao’s forehead. “It’s your fault!”

Wang Chao rubbed his forehead and shouted incomprehensibly, “What’s my fault?”

“You’re the one who was clamoring to go get rice noodles.”

“But the rice noodles were delicious!” Wang Chao angrily said. “You even finished all the soup.”

Xing Conglian was speechless for a moment. He paused, then adjusted his tone and said slowly, “Then do you know who opened that shopping mall where we ate the rice noodles just now?”

“I don’t care who opened it. I just wanted to eat rice noodles. Who cares about who owns the mall. Just like when I eat eggs, do I have to care who raised the chickens that laid them?” Wang Chao spoke confidently, as if this logic was common sense.

“Oh, that mall is opened by your dear brother Huang Ze’s family.” Xing Conglian put his hand in his pocket and spoke righteously. He then patted the teenager’s shoulder and continued walking forward.

Wang Chao was momentarily stunned before he reacted. “Fuck. Huang Ze, that big dumbass!”

He took three steps forward and heavily slapped Xing Conglian on the back. “Don’t add the word “dear” before that dumbass Huang Ze’s name. Captain, why didn’t you say so earlier! I feel like puking now!”

“It’s your brother A’Chen who kept it from us.” Xing Conglian wanted to vomit blood when he was slapped so hard. He bent over and pretended to be seriously ill and coughed a few times.

“A’Chen, why didn’t you say it earlier!”

Lin Chen looked at the two people who were reacting as if they had just encountered a great catastrophe and said helplessly, “But it’s me who’s hated by Huang Ze, no?”

“No, no, no. It’s that dumbass Huang Ze that’s hated by everyone.”

“Your business is our business,” Xing Conglian agreed.

“A’Chen, you don’t know, but it took a lot of effort for us to get rid of that dumbass Huang Ze. The captain is a scheming dog. He asked me to drive Huang Ze away…” Before Wang Chao could finish, Xing Conglian glared at him, which made him obediently shut up.

Lin Chen’s gaze wandered past the secretive faces of the two of them. They were obviously hiding something from him.

Thinking of that day, he also asked Xing Conglian why Huang Ze would let him off so easily. Xing Conglian’s response at the time was that he had possibly found a conscience.

But how could “finding one’s conscience” just fall from the sky…

“Ah, let’s talk about the book list. A’Chen, when shall we go to the library?”

Seeing that Lin Chen was silent, Wang Chao hurriedly switched topics.

Although it didn’t feel good to be kept in the dark, the reaction of these two was unexpectedly cute. What was more, how many friends could he have that would share the same hatred with him and even secretly solve his annoying problems for him?

Truly, he was thankful.

Lin Chen looked at the two people bathing under the bright moonlight and decided not to delve further.

“Go tomorrow?” he asked.

“Not tomorrow. We have to work overtime!”

“Aren’t you off Saturday?”

“Speaking of which, Captain, we also have to blame that dumbass Huang Ze’s family for having their mall’s grand opening tomorrow and making us work overtime.”

Xing Conglian touched his chin. “It seems they are indeed to blame.”

“What a terrible coincidence.”

“Indeed,” Xing Conglian lamented.

—-

To put it another way, what should happen would inevitably happen in various forms.

Before going to bed that night, as Lin Chen was making the bed, he suddenly heard a scream from the bathroom. When he opened his door, Xing Conglian had already kicked the bathroom door open.

He saw Wang Chao squatting in front of the toilet, holding a toothbrush while crying.

“Brother, what’s wrong with you?” Xing Conglian asked impatiently.

“My toothbrush… My toothbrush has become like this!”

Wang Chao was holding a green children’s toothbrush with a small frog-shaped handle while he wailed.

Lin Chen was a little surprised. He didn’t know what the problem was. “I went to the supermarket and thought this toothbrush was cute, so I changed it for you.”

“No… A’Chen Gege… No…” The boy’s posture had changed from squatting to lying down as he called out Lin Chen’s name sadly.

Lin Chen frowned and glanced at Xing Conglian. He wanted to say what constellation this little brother was born under because he was so nitpicky with the things in his daily life.

“Pisces, rising Virgo.”

Before he could ask, Xing Conglian had already answered.

“The bristles of your toothbrush were already bald, so I changed them for you,” Lin Chen explained.

“My toothbrush belongs to Maji. There’s no place in Hongjing that sells it, so I haven’t changed it. My Maji!”

Wang Chao was still shouting in despair, causing Xing Conglian to lose his patience. “It’s just a toothbrush. What kind of man are you to be so particular about a toothbrush?”

“But Captain, I have used Maji since I was a child!”

“Oh, then from today onwards, you can change it.” Seeing that he still wasn’t getting up, Xing Conglian kicked Wang Chao in the ass. “I remember you saying you wanted to be independent when you were 18, so you went out and lived alone. Letting you come back so you can mooch off the elderly is a great mercy. Your brother A’Chen change your toothbrush for you, yet you’re still being picky and whiny.”

“No, this was indeed my own fault.” Lin Chen interrupted Xing Conglian. “Maji seems to have opened a shop in Hongjing. Shall I buy one for you tomorrow?”

“Really?”

Hearing this, Wang Chao resurrected quickly and with vigor. “Why don’t we go now?”

“Brother, have you seen the time? It’s half past ten now. What shopping mall is still open?” Xing Conglian kicked Wang Chao’s ass again, then turned to Lin Chen and said, “The newly opened Maji shop, is it in Ansheng International?”

“Yes. Is there something wrong?”

“No, no, no. Not that dumbass Huang Ze!” Wang Chao shouted from the ground again.

Hearing this, Xing Conglian nodded solemnly.

“It’s just a shopping mall. The shops that are open inside have nothing to do with Huang Ze himself.”

“But what if you get tainted by Huang Ze’s stupid aura!”

“Do you still want it?” Lin Chen lowered his head and asked.

“Yes, A’Chen Gege, please,” Wang Chao replied weakly.

---

The author has something to say:

I feel like people really don’t trust me very much…

Am I the kind of person who… gets into trouble at the drop of a hat?

---

Kinky Thoughts:

I mean, mentioning flags in the chapter itself… Can it be more obvious?

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 91

In fact, when the waitress mentioned Li Jingtian, her eyes darted, indicating she felt a little guilty.

Lin Chen didn’t have much idea about entertainment gossip, but he knew that Li Jingtian was a singer. A few days ago, because of some gossip, he was scolded by the fans of some big star.

He didn’t remember exactly why Li Jingtian was scolded. After all, when he was watching the news, he was sitting in Su Fengzi’s ward, enduring the other party’s long-winded ramblings that were far beyond any ordinary person. Gossip in the entertainment industry was nothing more than people being offended because someone said something, who was getting badly scolded by whose fans, or who and who did something bad and was photographed for it, causing an uproar among netizens.

In short, it was things that had nothing to do with him but would unintentionally attract him.

Lin Chen looked up and saw that the waitress was hesitant about trying to give out free tickets for a meal over 500 yen; he could only assume Li Jingtian’s popularity wasn’t very good.

“No, I still want this rice noodle platter.”

At this time, Wang Chao had finished flipping through the menu and waved his hand. He didn’t seem to have any intention of slaughtering Xing Conglian’s wallet for a meal.

As he spoke, he ordered the cheapest option on the entire menu, except for drinks, and then licked his lips, looking extremely happy.

The waitress’ face darkened. Only ordering staples at a restaurant was annoying behavior. However, seeing as the teenager had already closed the menu and had a firm attitude, she didn’t try to sell to him any longer.

Lin Chen was the next target. “Then, sir, what would you like?”

A certain someone with the most requirement for food had already made their choice, so following said person’s best choice, Lin Chen put down the teacup and simply said, “I’ll have the same.”

This time, the waitress couldn’t hold back herself. “Don’t you want to order more? Our specialty is Caiyun Zhinan. I highly recommend it…”

“No, no. I’ve already done some research. The other dishes in your store do not appear to be expensive, but the quality is quite low for the price. Simply put, it’s more about presentation than taste.” It was Wang Chao who spoke up rather than Lin Chen. “That Caiyun Zhinan is just some cut beef and sashimi that’s rolled up on some lettuce leaves to look like a peacock’s tail. What’s the use in making it look so fancy, unless you’re just trying to get reviews online…”

Lin Chen couldn’t help but want to laugh. Being too smart made it really easy to get into trouble. He stretched out his hand and tapped on the teenager’s head, motioning him to give the store some face.

Seeing this, the waitress turned directly to Lin Chen and asked him awkwardly, “Then, sir, would you like anything to drink?”

“A glass of orange juice,” Lin Chen replied.

“I’ll also have the rice noodle platter with a Coke.” Before the waitress could ask, Xing Conglian had rushed to answer in advance.

Seemingly defeated, the waitress didn’t bother to say anything else. She nodded, wrote down their order, and turned around and left.

Wang Chao was playing with the drinks menu. He opened and closed the transparent pages on both sides, seemingly having fun with it.

Perhaps it was because the three of them entered a fancy restaurant but only ordered staples that the couple sitting at the next table began to whisper to each other.

Anyway, it was mainly gossip.

“Are they saying that we’re poor?” Wang Chao closed the drinks menu as he asked Xing Conglian.

“Why are your ears so good?” Xing Conglian smiled and took a sip of tea.

“Because I grew up with all kinds of discrimination. I’m very keen on these kinds of cold remarks,” Wang Chao whispered.

“It doesn’t look like you’re mentally healthy. Who brought you up so well, Mr. Wang?” Xing Conglian continued to tease him.

“While they haven’t served the food yet, why don’t we just cancel the order and leave?” Wang Chao put down the drinks menu and suddenly tugged on Xing Conglian’s cuff.

“What’s wrong with you? Isn’t it because you want to eat rice noodles that you made a fuss to come here?” Xing Conglian stopped smiling and asked him seriously.

“Shit, what do you know? Don’t look into a teenager’s privacy, okay?” Wang Chao clutched his chest and shrank into the corner.

“Who’s the one that was watching a TV commercial and said excitedly, ‘Captain, that Caiyun rice noodle looks so good!’”

Xing Conglian vividly imitated Wang Chao’s mannerisms, causing the teenager to blush. “I-I-I’m not that greedy!”

“If you want to eat it, just eat it. We’re already here,” Xing Conglian said with a smile.

Lin Chen had been sitting quietly, listening to Xing Conglian’s comforting words. He raised his head and glanced at Wang Chao and asked, “Why do you suddenly want to leave?”

“I suddenly found them annoying.” As he spoke, Wang Chao began to fold the napkins on the table. “It’s fine to promote things, but I just want to eat rice noodles. She didn’t have to keep pushing it. Captain, I finally know why you like food stalls so much.”

After hearing this, Xing Conglian was left speechless. “Food stalls are good, but sometimes I want to eat with a bit of style, okay?”

“Why food stalls?” Lin Chen interrupted Xing Conglian.

“Food stalls don’t have so many people who care about what you eat.” Wang Chao folded his napkin into a rose and then unraveled it. “Captain, why don’t we just skip it?”

If this was an ordinary parent, they probably would have broken the baby bear’s legs, but Xing Conglian was actually happy. He rubbed Wang Chao’s head and said, “Finally, you know how to save money for dad. Dad’s very relieved.”

“Fuck off. Don’t take advantage of laozi.” The teenager knocked away Xing Conglian’s hand.

Lin Chen wanted to laugh. Wang Chao was like a poor child who was making a fuss to go to the restaurant but found that everything was too expensive when he saw the menu. Although the situation was different, the general mood was pretty similar.

Xing Conglian was also speechless. “So you’re now acting rebellious. Believe it or not, I will order every dish once.”

Xing Conglian spoke with such confidence that it made Lin Chen feel a rare moment of wanting to touch his forehead. He hurriedly interrupted Xing Conglian again and patted the teenager’s head. “Why do you care what others say?”

Wang Chao glanced back and said impatiently, “This makes me feel uncomfortable, as if someone is forcing me to make a choice.”

“Who’s forcing you? Isn’t the right to choose in your own hands?”

“I just think… Why do they care what I eat? If I’m happy just coming here to order a glass of orange juice… Why does it seem that if I order something less, I’ll get looked down on? What’s wrong with not ordering more?”

Wang Chao couldn’t continue.

“Yes, you’re right,” Lin Chen said. “If you think you want to eat rice noodles, then just eat it. This is a reasonable choice. For example, I think orange juice is good, so I ordered a glass. It’s the same principle. This is just eating, so just be casual about it.”

“But!”

“I say, Mr. Wang, have you been experiencing adolescent depression recently?” Xing Conglian tapped Wang Chao on the head with his chopsticks. “This is essentially a matter of ‘it’s none of my business’ and ‘it’s none of their business’. Most trouble in the world could be solved with just these two sentences. Why are you so entangled with this kind of thing? Is it because you’ve been reading less lately?”

Lin Chen thought Wang Chao would retort again, but the teenager took the sentence seriously and built on it. “So what you mean is, what I eat is none of their business, and what they say about me behind my back is none of my business?”

After he finished speaking, Wang Chao seemed to suddenly realize something and patted the table lightly. “Captain, how do you know I haven’t been studying recently? Have I become a bit dumber?”

“Indeed. Look at how long it’s been since you borrowed a book.”

The conversation between the two switched quickly. Lin Chen would be very confused now if he hadn’t gotten used to this style a long time ago.

The topic had shifted from rice noodles to library books.

Lin Chen was quite surprised. In fact, Xing Conglian didn’t really have any books at home, and Wang Chao seemed more into games than reading. Now that he heard them discussing the topic of books, he needed a moment to collect his thoughts before realizing that they were talking about reading.

“Are you monitoring my records on my library card?” Wang Chao suddenly sat up straight.

“I need to monitor it since all I see is you playing games. Every day and night, all I hear next door is pew pew pew,” Xing Conglian chided.

“Isn’t that because you haven’t given me a book list in a long time?”

“You’re blaming me?”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

At this moment, Lin Chen noticed Xing Conglian looking at him. He held his water cup to meet Xing Conglian’s gaze.

“In the future, let your brother A’Chen give you a book list. You’re not under my control anymore.”

Hearing what Xing Conglian said, Lin Chen raised his brows, indicating he didn’t understand. “What?”

“It’s just seven books a month. That’s it,” Wang Chao said.

Seven books a month would be a little over eighty books a year. Although that number seemed like a lot, it was within a doable range. The key point was that this number was the upper limit of the number of books that could be borrowed with a single library card per month.

“Your captain made you a book list for you to borrow from the library?”

“That’s right. Captain is stingy!” Wang Chao looked at his boss as if he had so many grievances that it couldn’t be written down. “But you can’t blame him too much. It’s mainly because we don’t live in a place for very long, so buying books would be wasteful. Moving is troublesome, so I usually go to the library to borrow them, but now…”

Xing Conglian coughed softly, interrupting Wang Chao’s words. He lifted his chin to see the waitress from earlier bringing them rice noodles.

Wang Chao rubbed his hands happily, reached out for the dish, and started eating, forgetting what he was about to say.

Lin Chen looked at the captain of the police criminal division sitting opposite of him and saw that the other party had slightly bowed his head, as if his attention was completely fixated on the rice noodles. He was gobbling it up, seemingly unafraid that it was too hot.

It was just that his actions weren’t sincere enough, and that interruption was so obvious that it made things quite awkward.

It was interesting that they had no fixed residence for several years, but he still thought about that child’s education.

Lin Chen shook his head. Everyone had their own secrets. No matter how close you were and how many friends you made, you would still have some things that you didn’t want the other party to know.

Perhaps this was the dark side of human nature, or maybe it was unspeakable desires. In short, having reservations didn’t mean that Xing Conglian didn’t trust him. If there was no trust, then they wouldn’t have such a close relationship.

Still, there were things that couldn’t be said, and everyone had their reasons for it.

Lin Chen was calm about this. He suddenly remembered that night at the lake. Xing Conglian still didn’t ask him about Huang Ze and his past with the Chen family, let alone about the case back then.

Although he said he would answer his questions when they go for a drink…

But…

Lin Chen suddenly felt that Su Fengzi was right in what he said.

—-

After the meal, the rain became heavier.

It certainly wasn’t a good choice to go home at that time. Unprecedentedly, Comrade Xiao Wang Chao didn’t clamor to go to the Great World Amusement Park on the third floor but instead dragged them to the shopping mall.

The smooth floor tiles reflected the soft light as they walked past spotlights in the glass window.

Wang Chao seemed exhausted as he walked very slowly. He occasionally would look around, then lower his head like he was counting, trying to figure something out.

“What’s wrong with him?” Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian and asked.

“There are many possibilities…” Xing Conglian sighed helplessly. “The first possibility is he’s playing Assassin’s Creed in his head. The second is that he’s calculating how to capture this mall in the shortest time, and…”

Truly, that kid couldn’t rest for a moment. Lin Chen asked, “What else?”

“And observing the cameras and calculating the coverage and blind spots.”

“Bingo. Captain, you’re so smart!” Wang Chao suddenly stopped in front of a huge coconut tree in the hall and looked up at it as he spoke.

The giant tree was under an atrium. The top of the tree reached the fourth floor. A huge poster was hung on it. On the poster was a man with a bright smile and an outstretched hand, as if greeting visitors from all over the world.

“On May 8^th, Li Jingtian invites you to come and watch the opening ceremony of Ansheng International Shopping Mall.” Wang Chao read the words on the poster. “It turns out this place is just in its soft opening… So this fan meeting is actually a gimmick for the opening ceremony?”

“Probably. What’s wrong?” Lin Chen asked.

“Nothing. It’s just that this poster is so big that it’s blocking the wide-angle surveillance.”

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