Chapter 22: A Shameless Flirt
The railway police were taking things relatively easy, but the plainclothes officer inside was cursing under his breath.
The passengers who had rushed in afterward couldn’t see what was happening. They were throwing punches at anyone in front of them without discrimination—and he’d gotten hit too!
Pinching his nose, the plainclothes officer shouted, “Police! I’m a police officer!” It took considerable effort before he finally managed to drag the trafficker out of the mob before the man was beaten to death and lock him inside a room.
Meanwhile, the passengers had already pulled all the children out of the sacks.
They shook them gently, but none of the children would wake up. Panic immediately spread through the crowd. Thankfully, the children were still breathing, so someone quickly called for an ambulance.
The ambulance arrived in no time.
The emergency medical staff immediately began examining the children.
Seeing that one of the medics wasn’t occupied, the plainclothes officer hurried over.
“Doctor, could you take a look at the trafficker too? He got beaten pretty badly just now. I’m worried he might have internal injuries. If he dies before we can interrogate him, we’ll never find out where the other kidnapped children were taken.”
The medic looked reluctant, but eventually nodded.
“All right.”
He followed the officer to the holding room.
After the savage beating, Zhou Dazhu was in a pitiful state.
Blood dripped steadily from his nose. Several fresh scratches from fingernails marred his face. His lips and eye sockets were swollen and bruised. His back and legs were covered in bruises and scraped skin, with thin trickles of blood slowly seeping out.
The medic gave him a thorough examination.
“Nothing serious. They’re all superficial injuries. Disinfect the wounds and wrap them up a bit—that’ll do.”
He paused slightly, as if remembering something, then said with a perfectly straight face,
“As it happens, there’s half a bottle of rubbing alcohol left in the ambulance. I’ll give it to you. Come with me and get it.”
The plainclothes officer fell silent for a moment.
Disinfecting the wounds with alcohol…
He sucked in a sharp breath.
This doctor clearly hated human traffickers as much as he did.
And for a trafficker? He wholeheartedly approved.
A smile spread across the officer’s face as he followed the medic to retrieve the alcohol. But the moment he brought it back, one of his fellow officers snatched it right out of his hands.
Grinning with unmistakable ill intent, the man declared,
“I got the highest marks in medical training. Let me disinfect his wounds!”
A railway police officer immediately grabbed for the bottle as well.
“No way! I’m the unit medic—I’m doing it!”
Unable to stop them, the plainclothes officer could only mediate.
“What’s the rush? There’s still half a bottle left. We’ll take turns. Everyone gets a chance to disinfect him.”
“Ha! Now that’s a great idea!”
A few minutes later, agonized screams like a pig being slaughtered echoed from the room, coming in wave after wave.
…
More than half an hour later, Tan Bingyi arrived with his team to transfer custody of the trafficker to the railway police.
The trafficker’s face had swollen into a pig’s head, but Tan acted as though he saw nothing. He simply thanked the railway police repeatedly.
For scum like this, the important thing was that he had been caught alive. There was no need to ask about anything else.
Besides, when it came time for their own interrogation, they would probably have to get a little “hands-on” themselves.
But even though the trafficker had been caught, the matter wasn’t over yet.
There was still a mountain of follow-up work.
Back then, there were no cell phones. You couldn’t just send a group message to notify everyone at once. Phone calls had to be made one by one, and landlines couldn’t solve the “last mile” problem. If the person wasn’t sitting beside the phone, someone had to be sent to find them in person.
The children’s parents, Jiang Xia who was still drawing the portraits, the printing factory that was still producing them, the traffic police and local officers stationed at every intersection…
Every one of them had to be informed.
The work was tedious, but Captain Tan couldn’t have been happier doing it. As he made each phone call, the grin on his face stretched almost from ear to ear.
The printing factory.
Night had already fallen.
Most of the workers had gone home, but more than a dozen people had volunteered—well, practically fought for the chance—to stay behind and continue the emergency printing of the children’s portraits.
Every face was etched with solemn determination.
Their eyes remained fixed on the printing machine while their hands never stopped moving.
No one knew what condition the three kidnapped children were in. They couldn’t help with the search itself, so the only thing they could do was print as many portraits as possible. Even if it increased the chances of finding the children by only one ten-thousandth, it would still be worth it.
“Good news! Great news! All three children have been found!”
In the middle of the frantic work, Section Chief Ye burst into the workshop like a whirlwind and shouted,
“The trafficker’s been caught too! Everyone can stop and get some rest!”
The printing workshop suddenly fell silent.
Only the rhythmic clanking of the presses continued to echo through the room.
Three or four full seconds passed before someone finally came to their senses.
“The children have been found?”
“That’s wonderful! They made it home!”
The workers in the shop erupted into cheers, every face beaming with excitement.
A younger female worker let out a long sigh of relief.
“Oh my God, I was so nervous! I kept worrying they wouldn’t find the children.”
“No need to worry now. They caught the trafficker too. Maybe in a while we’ll even get to watch his execution.”
Section Chief Ye was smiling just as broadly. With a sweeping gesture of his hand, he announced,
“Everyone’s worked hard today. Come on, let’s head to the cafeteria. My treat! We’ll celebrate with a meal before heading home.”
“Way to go, Chief!”
The younger workers cheered once more.
They shut down the presses and walked out together, chatting and laughing.
Master Liu, who had been waiting to continue carving the printing blocks, slowly rose to his feet.
Instead of leaving, he carefully stacked the three original portrait drawings together and slipped them into the notebook he never let anyone else see.
“Master Liu.”
Watching him, Section Chief Ye asked curiously,
“The children have already been found. Why are you taking those portraits with you?”
“What do you know?”
As Master Liu tucked the notebook into his shoulder bag, he replied,
“These sketches are exquisite. One stroke too many would make them difficult to carve; one stroke too few and the likeness would be lost. The proportions are spot-on, and the spirit of each child practically leaps off the page. Even if the artist isn’t already a master, they’d need at least thirty years of experience to produce work like this. I’m taking them home so I can study them properly.”
He clicked his tongue.
“I wonder who drew these three portraits. I’ve never heard of anyone this talented in our city. Think you could get in touch with the artist? I’d love to ask for some pointers.”
“Oh.”
Section Chief Ye finally understood.
With a grin, he said,
“That won’t be hard. Once things settle down in a couple of days, I’ll ask Captain Tan about it. If I find out who it is, I’ll come back and let you know.”
Master Liu immediately brightened.
“It’s a promise, then. Don’t you go forgetting!”
…
Niushi Street.
Night had fully fallen.
A thin crescent moon hung in the sky, looking no brighter than the scattered stars beneath the glow of the streetlights.
Inside the neighborhood committee office, Auntie Wang sat in her chair with a thoroughly disgruntled expression.
Auntie Wang sat there looking utterly miserable.
All she’d wanted was to rent out a room to earn a little extra money for the household.
How on earth had she ended up renting it to a human trafficker?!
Meanwhile, Jiang Xia was using a mimeograph machine to print more copies of the portraits.
That afternoon, after Chief Wu had confirmed the male trafficker’s physical features, he followed the trail all the way to the house the traffickers had rented. Unfortunately, too much time had been lost questioning people along the way. By the time they arrived, the traffickers had already fled.
With no other choice, Chief Wu first reported the situation to Tan Bingyi before continuing the pursuit.
By then, Jiang Xia had already finished carving the printing plate for the female trafficker’s portrait. Coincidentally, Chen Dong and Lu Yixing had both just returned on their bicycles.
Captain Tan immediately arranged for Lu Yixing to accompany Jiang Xia to Niushi Street to draw the male trafficker’s portrait. Chen Dong stayed behind at Dragon King Temple to handle the remaining work, while Captain Tan commandeered a motorcycle and rushed the freshly printed portraits to the train station and the long-distance bus station.
Jiang Xia couldn’t bring herself to expose Captain Tan’s little scheme.
He just wanted to be the one making the arrest!
Well…
She wanted that too.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much she could do in the field, so all she could do was come here and keep drawing.
Jiang Xia estimated the time and glanced at the clock.
By all rights, the trafficker should have been caught by now.
So why hadn’t any news come in?
Could something have gone wrong?
As the saying went, speak of the devil… Just as Jiang Xia was growing increasingly anxious, the phone at the neighborhood committee office rang.
The committee director, who was still working late, picked up the receiver. After listening for a moment, he looked up.
“Jiang Xia, it’s for you.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
She was filled with equal parts anticipation and dread.
Please don’t let it be bad news…
She hurried over and picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, Tan Bingyi. Took forever to find the number for the Niushi Street office.”
Captain Tan grumbled briefly before his voice turned bright with excitement.
“Xiao Jiang, thanks to you, we’ve caught the trafficker and rescued the children. You don’t need to keep working now—you can head home and get some rest!”
“That’s wonderful news!”
With everything finally settled, the weight on Jiang Xia’s chest at last lifted.
She let out a long sigh of relief before asking,
“How are the children?”
“They’re still unconscious, but don’t worry—they’ve already been taken to the hospital. The doctors say they’re fine. They were just knocked out with ether and should wake up sometime after midnight.”
Tan Bingyi replied,
“I’ve already sent people to notify their parents. They should be at the hospital before long.”
“Good. That’s wonderful.”
Jiang Xia smiled. After a brief pause, she added, even though she knew Captain Tan was already aware of it,
“Captain Tan, those two traffickers were far too experienced. There’s no way this was their first time. Make sure you interrogate them thoroughly.”
“Don’t worry.”
Tan Bingyi laughed heartily.
“We’re planning to question them overnight. We’ll use whatever methods are necessary to pry some answers out of them. Otherwise, wouldn’t this whole operation have been a wasted trip?”
That finally put Jiang Xia’s mind at ease.
Investigative techniques in those days might not have been especially advanced, but when it came to “interrogation,” they certainly had their own tried-and-true methods.
Those two traffickers were about to receive a very… memorable welcome.
After chatting for another minute or two, Jiang Xia hung up the phone.
A wave of exhaustion immediately washed over her.
She slumped into her chair, and only one thought remained in her mind.
Finally… I’m off work.
After resting for a couple of minutes, Jiang Xia pulled herself together.
More than a dozen freshly printed portraits lay on the table in front of her. The ink hadn’t dried yet, but she didn’t care. She stacked them all together and stuffed them into her bag.
They were no longer needed for the search, but they could still be taken back to the station and used as toilet paper.
The only problem was that she had no idea where to return the mimeograph machine.
“The mimeograph was borrowed from Hongxing Commune.”
Seeing Jiang Xia staring at the machine, Lu Yixing immediately understood what she was thinking.
“I’ll take it with me. It’ll be easier for me to return it tomorrow.”
What a considerate teammate.
That saved her another trip.
“Thanks a lot.”
Jiang Xia wiped the ink from her hands with a handkerchief.
“How about you wheel your bike over here? I’ll help tie it on for you.”
“Sounds good.”
Lu Yixing wheeled his bicycle to the doorway while Jiang Xia helped carry the mimeograph machine outside. Using the light spilling from the office, she secured it tightly to the rear rack with a length of rope.
As she worked, Lu Yixing looked up into the distance.
The city’s power supply wasn’t particularly reliable. Only the main streets had functioning streetlights. Tonight was a new moon, with barely any moonlight to speak of. Looking out, all he could see was a sea of darkness filled with jagged, dancing shadows.
Turning back, he glanced at Jiang Xia.
“Comrade Jiang, you live near Zhouying Police Station, right?”
“That’s right.”
Jiang Xia raised an eyebrow.
“Something up?”
“My route home happens to go that way,” Lu Yixing said. “It’s pretty dark tonight, and it’s not exactly safe to walk alone. Want to head back together?”
“Sure. I happened to bring a flashlight.”
Smiling, Jiang Xia climbed onto her bicycle. She pulled a flashlight from her bag and clipped it onto the bracket at the front of the bike before saying casually,
“If you want to escort me home, you can just say so. No need to be so subtle.”
Lu Yixing was momentarily speechless.
She really is refreshingly straightforward.
“I guess I was overthinking it.”
Once Jiang Xia had everything ready, he mounted his bicycle. After saying goodbye to the director of the neighborhood committee office, they rode off together.
As they pedaled, he said,
“We’ve been busy all day, and I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Lu Yixing, a detective with the First Criminal Investigation Squad of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. I joined the force last year. What about you?”
“Jiang Xia.”
Since the ride would be long enough, a little conversation would help pass the time. She introduced herself as well.
“I’m a public security officer with Zhouying Police Station. I was just assigned there less than a month ago, though all I’ve done so far is paperwork around the station.”
Riding a little behind him, Jiang Xia could only see his profile.
Even while cycling, his back remained perfectly straight—a posture that practically screamed military training.
The evening was warm, so he’d long since taken off his jacket and tossed it into the bicycle basket. He wore only a sleeveless undershirt, revealing a lean, well-defined waist with faint lines of muscle.
This guy definitely has an eight-pack.
The thought flashed through Jiang Xia’s mind.
“And solving cases too, right?”
Looking ahead, Lu Yixing spoke with a faint smile on his lips. Beneath the brim of his police cap, his handsome features seemed almost too eye-catching.
“I’ve heard Brother Chen mention you several times. He said you’re exceptionally good at reading footprints and cracking cases. But I never expected you could also draw suspect portraits—and draw them this accurately. In the right situation, that’s an incredibly valuable skill.”
He paused before asking,
“Have you ever thought about using that ability to do something even more important?”
There’s definitely something behind that question.
Jiang Xia’s interest was piqued.
“For example?”
“For example… joining the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division.”
Jiang Xia shot him a half-smiling look.
Are we even that familiar? And you’re already asking me this?
Is this your idea… or did Captain Tan put you up to it?
She couldn’t tell.
Remaining relaxed, she answered with the safest response possible.
“I’ll follow whatever assignment my superiors give me.”
“Then your superiors will probably transfer you very soon.”
Without pressing the issue, Lu Yixing simply stated it as a certainty before changing the subject to introduce his squad.
“You’ve already met Captain Tan from the First Squad. He really values people with technical expertise. Brother Chen is there too—you already know him. If you joined us, everyone would welcome you with open arms.”
But as soon as he finished speaking, he abruptly changed his tune.
“Though personally, I don’t think you’ll end up in the First Squad.”
The turn was so sudden it nearly gave Jiang Xia whiplash.
A moment ago she’d been convinced Lu Yixing was acting as Captain Tan’s lobbyist, taking advantage of the rapport they’d built during today’s operation to persuade her to join the First Squad.
Now he was rejecting the idea himself?
Curiosity thoroughly aroused, Jiang Xia rounded a corner and asked,
“Why not?”
“Because your portrait-drawing skills are just too good.”
He smiled.
“Every department could make use of someone like you. The First Squad definitely won’t be the only one trying to recruit you.”
Lu Yixing chuckled.
“Besides the First Criminal Investigation Squad, there’s the Second Squad, the Narcotics Division, the Forensics Department… they’ll all want to get in on the action. When the time comes, they might even start fighting over you.”
It was obviously an exaggeration.
Still, it was hard not to enjoy hearing it.
Jiang Xia burst into laughter.
“I’m not that capable.”
Then she teased,
“But if they really do end up fighting over me, make sure you let me know.”
“Haha, deal.”
Lu Yixing laughed and readily agreed before adding,
“Personally, though, I think there’s a good chance you’ll end up in the Forensics Department.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because the newly transferred Section Chief Liao is famous for poaching talented people. And what you do fits squarely under technical work.”
He continued,
“The Forensics Department is actually a pretty nice place. There are only six people there: Section Chief Liao, a medical examiner, a trace evidence examiner, and a crime scene photographer. The first two each have an apprentice. The atmosphere’s good, and the workload isn’t too heavy. They do go out to crime scenes, but they don’t have to participate in arrests, so it’s nowhere near as exhausting as criminal investigations.”
Solving cases certainly sounded exciting.
But working criminal investigations was undeniably grueling. Whenever a major case came down with a deadline from higher-ups, detectives could end up working around the clock for ten days or even half a month without setting foot back home.
As much as Jiang Xia enjoyed solving crimes, she’d rather be in a position with a more reasonable workload.
If that was the case…
The Forensics Department really did sound like a good fit.
Especially since it had a trace evidence examiner.
A trace examiner!
Maybe her lock-picking skills would finally have a chance to see the light of day.
Deep down, she really did have a bit of a rebellious streak.
The more times she’d failed before, the more determined she’d become.
One day…
One day I’m going to pick locks openly and legally inside a police station!
Jiang Xia silently renewed that vow.
The entrance to Zhouying Police Station slipped past in a flash.
She glanced at Lu Yixing and teased,
“Officer Lu, aren’t you with the First Criminal Investigation Squad? Then why have you been talking up the Forensics Department this whole time? Aren’t you worried Captain Tan will get mad if he finds out?”
“Not at all.”
Lu Yixing smiled.
“I’m just getting on your good side ahead of time.”
After spending the entire day together, Lu Yixing had gotten a fairly good read on Jiang Xia’s personality.
She was straightforward.
So instead of beating around the bush, he spoke plainly.
“Our captain definitely isn’t going to win this recruiting battle. So I figured I’d better build some goodwill while we’ve just met. That way, if I ever need you to draw a suspect portrait after you join the Forensics Department, it’ll be a lot easier to ask for your help.”
Oh? That’s refreshingly honest.
Portrait sketches were time-sensitive—the sooner they were completed, the better.
And the Forensics Department provided technical support not only to the Criminal Investigation Division, but also to the Narcotics Division, Traffic Police, and other departments. Requests would inevitably pile up in a queue, so having a good relationship with the artist could make all the difference.
Who knew? Maybe she’d move his request to the front of the line.
It was a small calculation, but not an annoying one.
Especially since everything he was telling her was information she didn’t know and had no one else to ask.
Still…
Jiang Xia let her gaze linger on his profile for a few seconds.
Then, with a mischievous smile, she teased,
“Why bother building goodwill in advance? You’re so handsome—you can just come ask me directly.”
Lu Yixing froze.
Almost instinctively, he squeezed the brake levers and brought his bicycle to a stop.
“The place up ahead is my house. You don’t have to escort me any farther.”
Jiang Xia’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. Still grinning, she waved cheerfully at the now-stationary Lu Yixing.
“Bye-bye.”
Watching her ride away, Lu Yixing fell silent.
…Did she just flirt with me?
Handsome…
The tips of his ears slowly turned red.
He held it in for as long as he could, then, after making sure no one was around, finally muttered,
“…What a shameless flirt.”
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