Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The people on the 18th floor were rendered momentarily speechless.
Who could possibly not know who Song Luting was? In the whole Inspection Institute, who didn’t know Inspector He and Inspector Feng?
Who didn’t know the criminal police brigade?
They were probably those whom most people in the circle wanted to work with.
Completely shocked, Luo Qian glanced at Pan Mingyue behind him and instantly felt like she had grown taller. Opposite them, Sister Liu exclaimed, “F*ck, I always thought she was from the lower rungs!”
At the thought of how he had boasted about Fan Tongya in front of her before, Luo Qian couldn’t help but scratch his head. He looked at the man who had previously sneered at Pan Mingyue and deliberately spoke louder to Sister Liu.
His voice wasn’t low, and many people around heard him.
The man who had always sneered at Pan Mingyue was speechless for a moment.
Fan Tongya also glanced at Pan Mingyue and pursed her lips. Her eyes darkened a little.
There were no secrets in the office.
Pan Mingyue’s incident not only spread on the 18th floor, but everyone on the other floors also heard about it.
Even Section Chief Jiang was surprised. He took the feedback report and read it for a long time. At first, he had accepted Pan Mingyue into the department because of Jiang Yifan. Later on, he had really cherished her talent and had paved the way for her.
However, he never imagined that the student his daughter had begged him to cover for wouldn’t even need his help in the final analysis.
…
After work at night.
Pan Mingyue saw Lu Zhaoying’s car parked not far away. She bid farewell to Luo Qian and Sister Liu.
Yesterday, the two had been deeply impressed by Lu Zhaoying’s car. After finding out today that Pan Mingyue had participated in the big case seven years ago and might have unknown secrets, they didn’t ask much and just waved goodbye to her.
“Don’t you feel like there’s something unspeakable about Xiao Pan?” Sister Liu watched as Pan Mingyue left, and he couldn’t help but say, “There’s a quietness about her that’s not suitable for people of the same age.”
Luo Qian glanced at her and scratched his head. “So, she’s a wise lady?”
Sister Liu stopped talking to him.
Lu Zhaoying had gotten out of the parked car at the side of the road and was squatting on the side, talking to a homeless man sitting beside the road.
In March, the temperature in Beijing wasn’t low.
When Pan Mingyue arrived, Lu Zhaoying was carefully listening to the tramp’s confession.
When he saw her, he nodded at the car. “Wait for me inside first.”
He mouthed the words to her, and because he was squatting with his back against the light, his face was rid of the usual hedonistic aura and was a little more clear and serious than before.
Looking at him for a few seconds, Pan Mingyue thought about it and got into the car.
Lu Zhaoying remained squatting on the spot, listening to the tramp.
When the other party finished talking, he waved at the tramp.
The tramp wasn’t dirty, and he was fully-bearded. His eyes looked a little tired as if he had been through the hardships of life, and he said to Lu Zhaoying, “I’ll always be at this intersection.”
Getting up, Lu Zhaoying smiled at him and walked towards the car.
After communicating with the tramp twice now, Lu Zhaoying learned from the other party that his family was now at peace.
From the tramp’s words, he could understand his thoughts now.
When he got into the car, Pan Mingyue was already in the back seat.
Lu Zhaoying handed her the bag in his hand.
In addition to her medicine, there was also a cup of milk tea.
It was the flavor that she and Qin Ran loved most in high school.
After taking her out for a meal, Lu Zhaoying drove the car to Beijing University. Song Luting had bought a house nearby, but Pan Mingyue seldom stayed in it.
Qin Ran and the others were very careful with Pan Mingyue. Lu Zhaoying stopped the car on a section of the road at Beijing University, looked in the rearview mirror, and said softly, “We’re here. Be careful on your way back.”
“Thank you.” Pan Mingyue took a sip of milk tea, thanked Lu Zhaoying, and got out of the car.
…
It was getting late at this point after dinner, and the street lights were dimly lit. There weren’t many people on the road, either.
Pan Mingyue slowly walked towards her dormitory, the noise around her making her seem out of place.
Downstairs in the bedroom, many couples said goodbye to one another.
Pan Mingyue pushed her black-rimmed glasses and quietly walked to the bedroom.
Her eyes were a little absent-minded, and she seemed to be deep in thoughts.
Right when she was about to walk into the dormitory building, someone pulled her arm fiercely.
Returning to her senses, Pan Mingyue looked up in the dim light to see Feng Ci’s eyes. His face looked much sharper than before as he said, “When will you stop throwing a tantrum because of an irrelevant person?”
This sentence reminded Pan Mingyue of a memory.
She stared at Feng Ci and realized how much more mature he had gotten over the two years. His eyebrows were deep, and his whole figure looked clean and smooth as ever.
Pursing her lips, Pan Mingyue was about to pull her arm away when she felt herself being pulled back easily by someone behind her.
Feng Ci subconsciously took a step backward and looked behind her. The first thing that caught his eyes was the light reflected from the other person’s earrings. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes and look clearly at the man standing behind her.
This person was wearing a casual outfit, the button on his neckline wasn’t buttoned, and a cigarette was slanted in his mouth. He looked a little informal with arrogant brows.
He looked somewhat familiar.
“Go up first.” Lu Zhaoying lowered his head at Pan Mingyue and casually flicked the soot in his hand.
Pan Mingyue didn’t expect that even after parting with Lu Zhaoying, he hadn’t left and had kept following behind her.
She couldn’t help but think about all the other times, and whether he had always followed behind her. For a while, she forgot the memory of her sudden encounter with Feng Ci and just nodded to Lu Zhaoying before heading up to her dormitory.
“Are you okay? Did something happen at work?” When she returned to her dormitory, her three roommates had already returned as well. Jiang Yifan looked at Pan Mingyue and asked upon seeing that something was wrong.
Pan Mingyue returned to her senses and smiled at her. “I’m okay.”
Then, she asked, “Is your father from the Inspection Institute?”
Jiang Yifan said quietly, “Yes, maybe you two are even working together.”
Glancing at her, Pan Mingyue remained silent. She just took a towel and went to the bathroom, where she subconsciously went to the balcony to take a look. Lu Zhaoying and Feng Ci were already gone.
…
The next day.
On Thursday, Pan Mingyue went to work as usual.
Today, she came by subway and got off on the street next door. It was still very early, and there weren’t many people on the road.
At the intersection, she ran into Sister Liu getting off the bus.
“Mingyue!” Sister Liu held a briefcase and waved to her. She was restricted to driving today and hadn’t driven over.
Taking a bite of her breakfast, Pan Mingyue smiled at her. “Sister Liu, good morning.”
She seemed to be in good spirits.
When Sister Liu came over, she also saw the tramp not far away. He was still at the place where he had spoken to Lu Zhaoying yesterday, slowly getting up and staring in one direction.
“Look at him, he’s rather pitiful.” Sister Liu glanced over at the tramp and explained, “One of his twin sons was admitted to University A, while the other was admitted to Beijing University. When they moved to Beijing, they got into a car accident at this intersection. His two sons and his wife died on the scene, leaving him a semi-crippled person. He has been at this intersection since then. Everyone in the company knows about his story, and we bring him things sometimes.”
Pan Mingyue quietly listened to Sister Liu’s words, and when she entered the Inspection Institute’s gate, she turned back to look at the tramp.
Most of the people arrived early in the Inspection Institute.
Pan Mingyue and Sister Liu first went to the lounge to make tea and coffee. As soon as they poured water, Section Chief Jiang and his assistant arrived.
“What does Deputy Liu mean? Why was this kind of task assigned to the 18th floor? I already said not to take it. I’ll be responsible for the people on our 18th floor. Where’s Inspector He? I’ll go and find him!” From far away came the angry voice of Section Chief Jiang.
Section Chief Jiang had always been very calm, and this was the first time Pan Mingyue heard his angry voice.
“It should be Jiangdong’s task.” As an old worker in the office, Sister Liu frowned upon hearing this. When Pan Mingyue was still puzzled, she explained to her, “The world of politics is like that. Even if you don’t fight, you’ll be someone else’s thorn in the sides. Jiangdong’s case hasn’t been solved for five months, so the higher-ups issued a notice that it must be broken within half a month. All of them are trying to push the responsibility, but this thing must be done, so they kicked it to Section Chief Jiang’s side. If anything goes wrong, we’ll all be implicated.”
Sister Liu shook her head.
Pan Mingyue took a sip of tea and remained silent. She had heard about the case before, but it had no direct connection with her. She returned to her seat and started writing the application form.
During her afternoon break, she followed Sister Liu to send the registration form to the personnel department on the 17th floor.
The office door on the 17th floor wasn’t closed, and she could hear Section Chief Jiang’s voice from outside. “Don’t even think about kicking the ball to us on the 18th floor. You two can fight by yourselves. Just tell me directly if you want to pull me down, don’t make so much nonsense!”
“These tasks weren’t assigned by me.” Deputy Liu was in no rush and was completely calm, unlike Section Chief Jiang. “Section Chief Jiang, if you think you’re not competent, you can resign. I’ll find someone to take over.”
This was the struggle between the two factions. Section Chief Jiang knew that he was following the way of some and blocking the way of others. If not this time, there would be another time.
He was full of thoughts, and half of the people had to be exchanged in the Inspection Institute.
He didn’t belong to any faction and had instead become a stumbling block for others. This time, he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to escape. But, before he left, he couldn’t implicate the people under him.
After a long while, he looked up tiredly. “I will resign, but you’re not allowed to touch the people on the 18th floor…”
“Deputy Liu, we’ll take Jiangdong’s case.” Pan Mingyue stood at the door and interrupted him.
Glancing at the door, Deputy Liu saw a girl wearing black-rimmed glasses and sneered. He looked condescendingly at her and said indifferently, “You?”
The contempt in his eyes and words were overflowing.
Jiangdong’s incident was an ultimatum set by the higher-ups. Everyone knew that half a month was impossible when they hadn’t even found anything after five months. What could they do in half a month? He didn’t know where this stinky girl found the courage to speak wildly!
Pan Mingyue pushed her glasses and said gently and calmly, “Yes, me.”
