Lu Guang Ming buried himself in a mountain of documents piled across several large cardboard boxes, his brows tightly furrowed, sweat pouring down his face as he rummaged noisily through them, muttering under his breath. One colleague from the same team could no longer stand the rustling noise and walked over with a cup of coffee.
“Sunny, need a hand?”
“What for? Trying to steal my credit?” Lu Guang Ming asked without even raising his head.
The colleague suppressed the urge to dump the coffee over his head and turned away. Another coworker whispered, “Ignore him. You know what he’s like.”
“The whole office gets along just fine—he’s the only one acting like a mad dog all day long!” the coffee-holding colleague snapped loudly.
Lu Guang Ming straightened from the pile of files, flicking a thin sheet of paper in his hand, his eyes curving into a smile. “A mad dog can catch rats—you can’t. Instead of sipping coffee and playing nice, you’d be better off going out and cracking a few cases.” With that, he turned and headed toward the office of their superior, Chief Investigator Xu. “Chief Investigator Xu! I found it!”
Behind him, the colleague’s face turned pale with anger. “You—!”
“Forget it, forget it. When it comes to investigations, no one risks their life like he does. He’s young, and Chief Investigator Xu dotes on him—don’t bother arguing with him.”
……
After coming out of Chief Investigator Xu’s office, Lu Guang Ming plunged straight back into the pile of documents, working from morning until evening without even stopping for lunch. When he had first transferred to the Operations Unit, his colleagues used to reserve a portion of takeaway for him—but he neither appreciated it nor touched it, and of course paid nothing. After a few rounds of that, no one bothered extending him kindness anymore. Lu Guang Ming did not care. Only in the late afternoon, around three or four, did he pull out a piece of dry bread from his bag, chewing on it while continuing to cross-check data.
His brick phone rang on the desk. He frowned, craning his neck to glance at it—then suddenly, his eyes lit up!
“Heh heh,” he chuckled, eagerly grabbing the phone and checking it again carefully. It really was Xie Jia Hua calling.
A miracle—iron tree blooming!
Grinning, he answered, “BB, did you miss me?”
“……” On the other end, Xie Jia Hua fell silent. After three seconds, he hung up.
Lu Guang Ming glanced around at his colleagues who had all perked up their ears, then got up and walked to a secluded corner, persistently calling back. On the third try, the call finally went through. Knowing when to yield, he quickly admitted fault.
“Inspector Xie, my mistake—I didn’t know you were so shy. What do you need from me?”
Xie Jia Hua suppressed his anger before finally speaking, irritation lacing his voice. “Come to the police station after work today.”
“Huh? Are you arresting me? Just because I said we should be bed partners?”
“Lu Guang Ming! Cut the nonsense! Are you coming or not?!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming—no need to be so fierce…”
Beep—beep—
The moment he agreed, Xie Jia Hua hung up. Lu Guang Ming couldn’t figure out why he was being summoned, but returned to the office smiling all the same. After all, Xie Jia Hua wouldn’t trick him into being sold off—he simply found that tone of voice just now rather adorable.
Habitually kneeling on his chair with his backside raised, he quickly finished the afternoon’s work, and the moment he got off work, he hurried happily to the police station. Xie Jia Hua had sent a subordinate to meet him at the entrance. The moment he entered, he was led straight into… an interrogation room?
The subordinate told him to wait—Boss would arrive shortly—then left. Lu Guang Ming sat inexplicably on the lone chair meant for suspects in the holding room, turning his head to look at the large mirror on the wall.
Was he being interrogated? Was Xie Jia Hua behind the mirror?
Thinking this, he flashed what he believed to be a devilishly charming smile at the mirror.
The door opened—Xie Jia Hua stepped in, only to see Lu Guang Ming pressed up against the mirror, striking poses and fussing with his eyelashes.
“……” He endured it for a moment. “There’s no one behind it.”
Lu Guang Ming turned around and blinked. “Oh? What a pity. I thought you were back there.”
“This is a police station. Kindly conduct yourself properly,” Xie Jia Hua said with a dark expression. “Sit down.”
Lu Guang Ming obediently sat back on the suspect’s chair, only to see a group of burly men file in behind Xie Jia Hua. They were all upright officers in uniform, standing like towering mountains around the chair—stern-faced, exuding an air of “leniency for confession, severity for resistance”.
Lu Guang Ming blinked in shock. What was this? Violent interrogation?
Subconsciously, he spoke, “I’m not saying anything until my lawyer arrives…”
“Attention!” Xie Jia Hua barked.
The men straightened instantly.
“Apologize!”
The burly men bent at a forty-five-degree angle and shouted in unison like thunder, “Investigator Lu! Sorry! We are very sorry!”
“…Huh?” Sir Lu.
After shouting, the men looked wilted, standing pitifully with their heads lowered, staring at their own toes.
“These are the ones who beat you that day,” Xie Jia Hua said. “I collected their DNA and matched it with the blood on the brick—it’s confirmed to be them. Listen carefully,” he said to the officers. “I’ve confirmed with ICAC senior management—Inspector Wang was indeed involved in bribery and misconduct, and has now been formally detained, with prosecution to begin next week. Investigator Lu’s investigation was compliant and lawful, and his evidence was sufficient—Inspector Wang was not wronged in the slightest. You assaulted an ICAC officer. What laws and police regulations you’ve violated—you know it yourselves. Ask Investigator Lu what should be done!”
A’Huang, the one in front, spoke in a subdued tone. “Investigator Lu, Inspector Wang has always treated us well. We didn’t know about his bribery, so we misunderstood you and took revenge. We truly know we were wrong. We’re not young anymore—we all have families, and we love this job. Please forgive us.”
Lu Guang Ming blinked blankly. Police apologizing to the ICAC—this was a first in his not-so-long career. After a moment, he put his smile back on.
“What’s all this, everyone? I didn’t take it to heart in the first place. Besides, that day—you all got beaten up pretty badly by me too, didn’t you?”
The group of burly men turned green at that—indeed, Investigator Lu had aimed only for their faces, swinging the brick straight at their heads. Every one of them had left with visible injuries that night—otherwise, how would Inspector Xie have noticed?
“Alright, alright, I accept everyone’s apology,” Lu Guang Ming said amiably. “Police and ICAC are one family—we’re all brothers here, no need to be so formal. Next time I come to arrest someone, I’ll post the evidence on your notice board beforehand—then you won’t misunderstand me again.”
The men turned pale and green from his sarcasm. With Xie Jia Hua stepping in to ease things over, they filed out awkwardly. Xie Jia Hua closed the door, crossing his arms as he sighed at Lu Guang Ming.
“They’ve already apologized sincerely—why say such unpleasant things?”
“I’m the one who got beaten,” Lu Guang Ming smiled. “Assaulting ICAC—serious cases mean prison, lighter ones mean dismissal from the force. Inspector Xie is clever—bringing them here to apologize, you’re trying to protect them, aren’t you? Do you think I’m someone who holds grudges over the smallest grievance?”
Xie Jia Hua sighed again. “If you were that kind of person, that night you would’ve forced me to open a case. You live in such a terrible place, and even when injured you won’t go to the hospital—is it because you donate all your money back to orphanages? I’ve checked—you’re sponsoring three children through university, and you even bought an expensive piano for an orphanage…”
“Stop, stop,” Lu Guang Ming quickly covered his ears. “Even if Inspector Xie praises me like this, it doesn’t mean I won’t retaliate against you. Tell your people at the station to be careful—maybe the next one investigated for bribery will be you. That good superior of yours, Deputy Superintendent Liu, is still being held at our place.”
“……” Xie Jia Hua’s face turned ashen. After holding it in for a long moment, he said, “You’re clearly not that bad—so why do you insist on acting so detestable? Are you afraid of people treating you well?”
Lu Guang Ming stood up from the suspect’s chair. “Think whatever you like. If Inspector Xie has nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”
“Wait.” Xie Jia Hua grabbed his wrist.
Lu Guang Ming glanced down. “What? Inspector Xie had a change of heart? Willing to be bed partners?”
Xie Jia Hua immediately let go, then realized his reaction had been too strong—making him seem guilty instead. With a dark expression, he said, “I’ve removed you from the call block. But don’t keep harassing me all day. Next time you run into danger, don’t handle it alone. You… you call me.”
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