Snap!
The straw plunged hard into the cup of milk tea. He Zhen handed it to Fang Huan Xing.
“Here. Your big sis is treating you to milk tea!”
The large office was lively and cheerful. Team Leader He didn’t drink milk tea herself, but she loved treating everyone else. Whenever she was around, she would buy a round every few days, and right now her coworkers were happily dividing up the drinks.
“Thanks, Team Leader He!”
“It’s so nice having Sister Zhen Zhen around. I knew I wouldn’t have to order my own milk tea today!”
“Great, afternoon snacks are sorted. I just saw Team Leader Shang here too. If Team Leader He is buying milk tea, he’ll definitely order takeout.”
“Exactly, exactly…”
Everyone talked and laughed over one another. Off to the side, Fang Huan Xing leaned against an unoccupied desk with his arms folded and his eyes lowered, lost in thought.
He Zhen had brought him inside, so no one tried to make him leave. A few people had attempted to strike up a conversation with him, but after getting no response after a couple of tries, they gave up. When He Zhen returned from making a round outside, what she saw was the teenager quietly standing alone to one side while only the office robots moved back and forth around him.
Fang Huan Xing had spent quite a while watching the robots, observing them clean the floor, collect trash, and even pick clothing off chairs and hang it up, so he wasn’t bored at all.
Now he glanced at the milk tea and merely looked up at He Zhen. “No need.”
Two emotionless words.
Yet paired with the teenager’s stark black-and-white eyes, they somehow seemed exceptionally pure.
Those were eyes that had never learned worldly calculation or been dulled by society. You rarely saw eyes like that in kids his age anymore. It was precious.
“Okay.” He Zhen didn’t insist and casually set the milk tea aside. “I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m He Zhen. You can call me Sister Zhen like everyone else.”
Fang Huan Xing remembered the name. He had just heard it in Director Chen’s office.
By that logic, He Zhen might end up becoming his superior. Fang Huan Xing devoted two seconds of his extremely limited social ability to the matter before saying, “Sister Zhen.”
“What do you mean, ‘Sister Zhen’?”
Shang Lu’s unhurried voice arrived before the man himself did. A moment later, he strode into the office on his long legs. He made himself perfectly at home; spotting some milk tea still left in a bag by the refreshment counter, he immediately helped himself to one.
“Are you two even that close? You’re already chatting her up?”
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward Fang Huan Xing.
The kid had no manners at all. Someone could risk life and limb for him and still not get called Brother Lu, yet he hadn’t even been here half a day and he was already calling someone Sister.
Fang Huan Xing completely failed to get the point. He simply stood there with a sour expression, waiting for Shang Lu to relay Director Chen’s final decision.
He Zhen, who knew nothing about any of this, smiled. “Jealous?”
Before Shang Lu could answer, the one he was genuinely jealous of arrived.
A coworker returned with two dogs that had been taken to the terrace dog-relief area. Both were resident dogs at the Anomalous Case Department. One was a slender black Chinese village dog. The other… was short and fat, with a face that looked like someone had punched it and a tongue hanging limply from its mouth. The moment it came through the door, it started running around excitedly.
Was that really a dog?
Fang Huan Xing had already seen its face on the dog tag, but seeing the real thing still left him utterly appalled by how ugly it was.
Team Leader Shang instantly became warm and approachable. He bent down and clapped his hands. “Hey, San Tiao! Come to Daddy!”
The ugly dog didn’t even glance at him. The moment the coworker released the leash, San Tiao charged straight toward He Zhen, whining excitedly.
To be fair, after another week apart, San Tiao looked sturdier and his coat was glossier. He Zhen was taking excellent care of him. There was no doubt that if someone handed her an actual person, she could probably keep them perfectly in line too.
He Zhen happily picked the dog up. “Did our San Tiao miss his big sister? Who’s a good boy? Is it San Tiao?”
Shang Lu: “…Fine. I worked my ass off bringing you back, had the pet hospital nurse you through every piss and shit, spent several thousand yuan on you, and somehow you still became someone else’s dog. All my affection was wasted.”
“The one who raises a child matters more than the one who brought them into the world!” He Zhen declared righteously. “Do you know what children need most? Companionship! You disappear for three or five days at a time and dump him at the Anomalous Case Department. Don’t blame him for finding himself another owner.”
Shang Lu was speechless. “That still doesn’t mean we have to become complete strangers! You heartless mutt.”
It was the truth. San Tiao only became more enthusiastic after hearing it and nearly washed He Zhen’s entire face with his tongue.
Fang Huan Xing silently shifted farther away, then looked at Shang Lu with an expression that clearly said he was getting tired of waiting.
Shang Lu understood and found it amusing. Apparently, the kid genuinely wanted to work at the Anomalous Case Department. He didn’t announce the answer immediately, but neither did he keep dragging it out. “Come with me.”
The two walked one behind the other toward Group Seven’s section.
Zhou Jia Ying had already returned. Wearing black-framed glasses, she sat quietly at her desk processing documents, as though she occupied a world of her own completely insulated from the noise around her.
“Team Leader.” She looked up in greeting.
“Mm. Keep working.” Shang Lu nodded, paused, then added, “Oh, Jia Ying. This is Group Seven’s new intern, Fang Huan Xing.”
Zhou Jia Ying was clearly surprised but asked nothing. She adjusted her glasses and smiled at him. “Hello. I’m Zhou Jia Ying.”
Fang Huan Xing said nothing.
Behind them, He Zhen followed while holding the dog. “Xiao Ying, here. Milk tea. Warm, less sweet—just how you like it.”
Zhou Jia Ying said softly, “Thank you, Team Leader He. I’ve given up sugar.”
He Zhen was excellent at winning people over and immediately replied, “Then I’ll swap it for a sugar-free one?”
…
The team-leader office door closed, cutting off their conversation outside.
It was Fang Huan Xing’s first time inside Shang Lu’s office, and he looked around curiously. It was different from the chaotic mess outside—although really, it was only somewhat cleaner. There were no takeout containers or random cups lying everywhere, but the desk was still piled high with files.
When Shang Lu told him, “Sit,” Fang Huan Xing couldn’t resist reaching over and straightening a stack of papers on the desk.
The two looked at each other without speaking.
Dead silence.
The kid was remarkably patient. If Shang Lu didn’t speak, Fang Huan Xing simply refused to speak either. Shang Lu suspected that if he remained silent indefinitely, this guy could probably stay silent for the rest of his life.
Shang Lu had already noticed that Fang Huan Xing’s backpack should be empty now. There didn’t seem to be much inside anymore.
Fang Huan Xing himself, however, remained an unpredictable variable.
Still, in the end, Shang Lu had personally chosen to keep him rather than hand him over to He Zhen. Having someone who already knew his secrets keep an eye on him was better than introducing another unpredictable variable. Once Shang Lu made the decision, he had to take responsibility for it.
Shang Lu considered the matter for a full two minutes before finally speaking. “You can join my group, but we need to lay down three rules. First: no violence. You are not allowed to hit people whenever you feel like it. That applies to everyone. If there’s a problem, talk it out properly. Be civilized.”
Fang Huan Xing already disagreed with rule number one.
Why listen to someone yap when he could just use his fists? By the time they finished talking, he could’ve beaten the person into submission already.
Shang Lu continued, “Second: follow instructions. If there’s something you don’t understand, ask. Don’t do things you aren’t supposed to do. You are not allowed to casually swipe identification off people, and absolutely no stealing guns.”
Fang Huan Xing couldn’t even be bothered pretending to cooperate. His brows drew together slightly.
“Third.” Shang Lu looked at him. “What’s the most important rule? Do you know?”
Fang Huan Xing stared blankly. “…”
It was unclear whether he knew.
Was this some kind of code phrase?
Uncertain.
Shang Lu enunciated every word. “No running off. No matter what happens or what special circumstances come up, you are not allowed to leave my line of sight.”
Fang Huan Xing could tolerate the previous rules, but now he was visibly displeased. “Why?”
“No reason. If you want to work at the Anomalous Case Department, you’d have this requirement no matter which group you joined. Can you do it?”
“What about going to the bathroom?”
Definitely a kid. Who even asked something like that?
Shang Lu laughed and granted him a special exemption. “You can tell me first.”
Fang Huan Xing thought about it for a moment, then reached out and placed each pen on the desk neatly into the pen holder. “…Mm.”
“Remember, you were specially approved to come in here. You count as an intern. All of this is part of your assessment, so don’t screw it up.”
Shang Lu had already gone above and beyond by taking this hot potato off everyone’s hands. He had invented an assessment period on the spot in the hope that it might make the kid behave a little better.
After laying all of that out, Shang Lu magnanimously asked, “Anything you want to know? What the Department’s work is like, normal working hours, how long the assessment period lasts—you can ask me anything.”
Fang Huan Xing had considered none of those things. He went straight to the point. “How much does an intern make a month?”
Shang Lu: “…”
“Can I get paid in advance?”
“No,” Shang Lu said. “Eight thousand a month during the internship. Insurance is separate, plus meal allowance, transportation subsidy, and overtime pay. That’s it.”
＊
Shang Lu assigned Fang Huan Xing a desk beside Zhou Jia Ying and Zheng Xiao Yu. The empty workstation had accumulated quite a lot of miscellaneous things, and Zhou Jia Ying was clearing it off. Afraid Fang Huan Xing might run away, Shang Lu looked through the glass wall of his office once. While a robot cleaned nearby, Fang Huan Xing simply stood beside it watching without moving, giving the false impression that he was actually very good at settling down quietly.
Later, Zhou Jia Ying tossed the kid a document, and Fang Huan Xing obediently began reading it.
And he really was reading it—every single character aloud. His attention became completely impossible to pull away from the text, and his face gradually turned pale. Zhou Jia Ying was observant enough to notice, took the material away, and found time to explain it to him verbally instead.
Shang Lu had to head out into the field. Before leaving, he planted a hand on the kid’s head. “Stay.”
Fang Huan Xing’s face immediately darkened, and his peripheral vision drifted toward the utility knife on the desk.
Then…
He slowly began peeling the plastic wrapping off the set of notebooks he had been issued.
Zheng Xiao Yu had remained at the Analysis Center investigating the module recovered from the school bus, so he returned to the Anomalous Case Department a step too late.
His world collapsed.
An intern…
An intern who was going to replace him!
Zhou Jia Ying told Zheng Xiao Yu to take Fang Huan Xing to the Human Resources Department and complete his paperwork. Zheng Xiao Yu walked as though he were dreaming, terrified that the moment he stepped into HR, he would be rewarded with a termination notice.
He carefully replayed every moment of his performance at the crime scene with Shang Lu and wanted to cry. Then he studied Fang Huan Xing.
That face. Parachuted straight in like this. He had to be some well-connected hire.
And wasn’t he too young?!
Even more outrageous, HR handed Fang Huan Xing a form to fill out. Zheng Xiao Yu watched with his own eyes as Fang Huan Xing read every single word on the form before writing three characters: Fang Huan Xing.
Yes.
Never mind the ugly handwriting.
He had written only his name!
Age: blank.
Education: blank.
Even his phone number and address were blank!
And HR said absolutely nothing. They accepted the form and told Fang Huan Xing to come back the next day to collect his staff ID badge.
Zheng Xiao Yu stared at him in disbelief. “Y-you… you’re really this hardcore?”
His connections had to be ridiculously powerful!
The teenager gave him an odd look. “Mm.”
How could he tell?
Zheng Xiao Yu’s heart was shattered, but when they returned to their desks, he still dug out his snacks to welcome his new coworker.
That evening, Shang Lu returned from visiting the injured student at the hospital and called Group Seven together for a meeting, where he announced their new assignment to specialize in fusion-disease investigations.
“Jia Ying, follow up on the leads we still haven’t clarified. Be thorough with the interviews and get as much detail as possible,” Shang Lu said. “Zheng Xiao Yu, stay in the office for now. Organize our current cases for transfer to Groups One and Three, and compile the fusion-disease master register—especially patient exposure times, on-site RG values, and interference-source samples.”
Zhou Jia Ying agreed. She worked carefully and patiently, which made her particularly well suited to field interviews and follow-up visits.
Zheng Xiao Yu, meanwhile, answered, “…Yes.”
It was over. They were putting him on desk duty now. They didn’t even want him at crime scenes anymore.
After finishing, Shang Lu asked Zheng Xiao Yu, “Do you have a driver’s license?”
Zheng Xiao Yu answered meekly, “Only a motorcycle license.”
Why hadn’t you just followed everyone else and learned to drive that summer after high school, Zheng Xiao Yu?!
Shang Lu asked nothing more and told everyone they could go home for the night.
Fang Huan Xing stood off to the side. He hadn’t been assigned any work and had nothing he wanted to ask. He was considering whether he should simply stay overnight at the Anomalous Case Department; he had noticed that plenty of people seemed to be preparing to work through the night.
Shang Lu picked up his coat, several paper shopping bags still in his other hand. “Let’s go, kid.”
His head was ruffled again.
Fang Huan Xing: “?”
Where?
Shang Lu explained, “What are you looking at me for? Do you have somewhere to go? If not, come home with me.”
Fang Huan Xing was stubborn to the bone and rejected him without even thinking. “No need.”
“Accommodation and utilities are three thousand a month,” Shang Lu said. “Come or don’t. Your choice. It’ll be automatically deducted from your internship pay every month.”
Fang Huan Xing froze, unable to believe what he had just heard.
He hadn’t even received his first paycheck yet, and deductions were already waiting for him?
Zheng Xiao Yu’s eyes practically turned into spirals. “My internship pay is eight thousand, rent alone costs me four thousand, and that doesn’t even include utilities… Why? Why…”
He was now the poorest person in Group Seven.
And that afternoon, he had generously offered Fang Huan Xing snacks, only for Fang Huan Xing to crunch, crunch, crunch his way through the entire cabinet full!
The two went downstairs one after the other. Shang Lu’s newly approved pickup was parked outside, its paint gleaming so brightly white it almost hurt to look at.
“Standard issue for an Investigation Action Group. Plenty of room, plenty of power, and the back’s good for hauling equipment,” Shang Lu joked after getting in. “Don’t complain about the car being slow this time. When I get the chance, Brother will take you out in a sports car.”
“Oh.” Fang Huan Xing was still calculating the rent. “I’ll pay one thousand.”
Shang Lu wasn’t even surprised.
The rent had been made up in the first place. Director Chen had already guaranteed that if the kid stayed, there would be a housing subsidy.
Shang Lu tossed the shopping bags at him and started the truck. “Three thousand. Non-negotiable. Look, those are the clothes I promised to buy you. Free of charge. Keep arguing and the rent goes up.”
If he didn’t deduct something, the kid would be impossible to manage. He could always give the money back later.
Fang Huan Xing had no interest in the clothes. Without even looking, he tossed the bags into the back. “Eighteen hundred.”
“Twenty-eight hundred.”
“What’s your lowest?”
Shang Lu thought about it. “Lowest I’ll go is twenty-five hundred.”
“Then I’m not going.”
The moment Fang Huan Xing finished speaking, he pulled open the car door.
“Fuck—Fang Huan Xing!”
Shang Lu slammed on the brakes.
The front passenger seat was completely empty.
Only the wind from outside blew in through the open door.
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