Jiang Chengyi kept his eyes on the road ahead: “Mom, go ahead and eat without me. I’m working on a case and quite busy these days, so I won’t be coming back.”
His mother hesitated for a moment, then after a few seconds, seeming to understand something, immediately switched to a crafty tone: “Mom knows you’re busy, I was just asking if you could come back. Since you’re busy, I won’t disturb your work. Oh, by the way, since you’ve been staying at the Songshan Road apartment so often, I’ve sent Aunt Liu there today. She’ll help clean and take care of your meals from now on. If you can’t make it back during the day, she can prepare some late-night snacks for you.”
After hanging up, Qin Yue expressed his envy: “Captain Jiang, with your privileged background, wouldn’t it be better to be a business elite? Why suffer as a criminal investigator?”
“What’s wrong with being a criminal investigator?” Turning right into an alley, Jiang Chengyi began scanning the roadside restaurants. “Being a police officer has been my dream since childhood.”
Qin Yue shook his head with a smile, refusing to believe such an idealistic answer.
The Chaozhou restaurant has been open for ten years, known locally for its authentic taste and reasonable prices. It was particularly busy in the evenings.
They were lucky—a table had just become available when they arrived.
After they sat down, the crowd of customers noticeably increased, with new arrivals having to wait at the entrance due to a lack of seats.
After ordering, Qin Yue looked at Jiang Chengyi, thinking of what to say.
Jiang Chengyi was young and well-educated, with high emotional intelligence in dealing with people. Though ambitious, he remained detached from the bureau’s power struggles, never getting involved.
In truth, this superior was quite easy to get along with.
His only flaw might be his dislike of small talk.
Now, sitting face to face, Qin Yue’s old habit kicked in, and he felt compelled to find conversation topics.
With many people around, it wasn’t appropriate to discuss the case, and Jiang Chengyi didn’t like discussing personal matters. After contemplating, he turned his attention to the entrance and smiled: “Strange, this restaurant is magical—every time I eat here, I encounter beautiful women.”
He wasn’t saying this to attract attention—two beautiful young women had indeed appeared at the entrance.
One wore a beige drawstring coat, tall and striking, with a notably refined demeanor. As soon as she appeared at the entrance, she drew many customers’ attention.
The other wore a short black jacket. Though not as delicate and fair as her companion, she was over 1.70 meters tall, standing out in the crowd with a fashionable and eye-catching presence.
They were asking the server at the entrance about available seats. Upon receiving a negative response, the woman in the beige coat immediately said: “Let’s go somewhere else.”
The tall woman casually replied: “I want Chaozhou cuisine tonight. How about this—could you ask if any customers would be willing to share their table?”
While pouring tea, Qin Yue kept glancing at the woman in the beige coat, finding her increasingly familiar.
Finally, putting down his teacup, he blurted out: “Hey, isn’t that Dr. Lu from the hospital this morning?”
Just as he said this, Tang Jie at the entrance noticed Jiang Chengyi inside and quickly nudged Lu Yan with her elbow.
Then, without waiting for Lu Yan’s agreement, she told the server “That table has our acquaintances” and pulled Lu Yan inside.
The server followed them to the table and routinely asked Jiang Chengyi and Qin Yue: “Gentlemen, these ladies say they know you and would like to share the table. Would that be acceptable?”
Before Jiang Chengyi could speak, Qin Yue quickly responded: “Of course, of course. Hello, Dr. Lu,” hurrying to adjust the seating arrangement.
Lu Yan could only smile: “Hello.”
Tang Jie naturally pulled Lu Yan to sit down.
It was a four-person table with ample space. Lu Yan was pushed to the inner seat by Tang Jie, directly facing Jiang Chengyi.
Tang Jie sat opposite Qin Yue and immediately began introducing herself: “Pleased to meet you, I’m Tang Jie, Dr. Lu’s good friend. We know Officer Jiang, so no need to mind him, but may I ask how to address you?”
Qin Yue glanced at Lu Yan from the corner of his eye—no wonder Dr. Lu knew Jiang Chengyi’s surname, they already knew each other. He quickly said: “Hello, Ms. Tang. I’m Qin, Captain Jiang’s colleague. Since you all know Captain Jiang, let’s not be too formal. I’m a few years older, so just call me Old Qin.”
“Hello, Old Qin.” Tang Jie broke into a full smile, first looking at Jiang Chengyi, who was leaning back in his chair examining the menu. Then at Lu Yan, who had just removed her coat and was about to check her phone.
What a pair of reserved ones.
Tang Jie ignored them and began chatting with Qin Yue: “Officer Qin, does Anshan Precinct have many cases? I remember there was a body-dumping case at Anshan Park last year, the victim was also a young woman. There were rumors about a psychopath, and my classmate was studying at First Hospital then—I was so scared I drove her to school every day. By the way, has that case been solved?”
Qin Yue crossed his arms and searched his memory for a long while, then shook his head: “It’s probably still unsolved. Another colleague handled that case, and I wasn’t involved, so I’m not very clear about the details. You know, S City has numerous cases each year, big and small. When investigations prove difficult, we can only slowly search for clues.”
Tang Jie showed sincere respect: “I admire criminal investigators like you, not only maintaining local security but also matching wits with criminals.”
The food arrived, and Lu Yan felt embarrassed to keep holding her phone. Her knit dress had no pockets, so she turned to put the phone in her coat pocket.
With people constantly passing by the entrance, she worried about the coat being stolen from behind, so she moved her chair closer to the table.
When she settled in, her legs instinctively stretched forward under the table, but due to the reduced space, her high heel unexpectedly touched something hard.
She froze for a moment, then realizing it was Jiang Chengyi’s shoe, quickly glanced up at him.
The problem was his legs were too long—there was nowhere to avoid them.
He seemed completely unaware, showing no intention of moving, still leaning back in his chair, eyes on the menu.
Lu Yan carefully pulled her legs back under her chair.
Tang Jie remained oblivious to the subtle movements beside her.
She only knew that no matter how animated her conversation with Qin Yue became, Jiang Chengyi wouldn’t join in.
“Heh.” Tang Jie secretly gritted her teeth. “Playing tough, are you?”