"He's dead. He was on a mission three years ago and was blown up, leaving no trace of his body."

His gaze was fixed on her, like a deep pool, and Gan Tang suddenly felt flustered. "I'm sorry!"

"It's alright! In our line of work, life and death are commonplace." Fang Heng looked at Gan Tang's reaction and changed the subject: "I'll drive, the route is a bit roundabout."

"OK!"

Gan Tang initially thought he was just being polite, but it turned out he was truly impolite. The car drove into the old town, winding through the narrow alleys, turning east and west.

If it weren't for the fact that a policeman who was arresting human traffickers was beside her, she would have suspected that she was about to be sold by him.

"Where are we going?" she couldn't help but ask.

Fang Heng turned into a lane with a bluestone path and asked, "Can you smell it?"

"What?" Gan Tang peeked out in agreement.

"Deep in the ancient alley, there is the aroma of wine and pig's trotters."

"Pig's trotters?" Gan Tang looked at Fang Heng and saw him get out of the car and walk towards an old shop with a red signboard and gold lettering.

Not long after, he came out carrying something wrapped in oil paper.

"Here!" Fang Heng handed the oil paper to Gan Tang and continued driving.

He held the warm, oil-paper-covered bag in his hands. Gan Tang took a sniff and confirmed it was indeed pig's trotters; they smelled wonderful and were definitely better than most available on the market.

However, Gan Tang asked curiously, "You went through all this trouble just to buy a few pig's trotters?"

“Yes! My teacher loves this kind of food.” Fang Heng revealed the purpose of his trip to Jin Hai: “It’s his birthday today, I’m going to see him.”

"Then you should just buy this pig's trotter!" Gan Tang felt it was inappropriate even more. "You should at least buy two bottles of good wine."

“The old man has always been a stickler for rules; he won’t accept anything more expensive, so this is just fine.” Fang Heng smiled at Gan Tang: “But it can be delivered by the end of this year. When that time comes, Sister Lu, remember to give me some financial assistance.”

"Okay!" Although it was just a few words, she could feel his respect for his teacher, and not wanting to joke with him, she readily agreed.

As dusk fell, Gan Tang asked curiously, "Aren't birthday banquets usually held at noon?"

When Lu Zhengqian held his birthday banquet, he wasn't sixty yet, so no one complained. But since Fang Heng said his teacher would retire at the end of this year, he must be at least sixty.

"It'll be too crowded at noon, so I'm not going to join the fun."

"Oh!" Gan Tang smelled the fragrant pig's trotter again and asked, "What kind of teacher is he to you?"

"He was a counselor at the police academy. For someone of his rank, supervising students was just a nominal role. But he still taught us diligently for several years, and all my skills came from his teaching."

Was that also Mo Huaixing's teacher?

As Gan Tang pondered this, Fang Heng drove the car to the entrance of a residential area.

"Thank you for bringing me here today, Sister Lu. I'll treat you to dinner another day."

Gan Tang was speechless: "So you called me out here just to make me your free laborer?"

"Then tell me, how should I thank you?" Fang Heng asked.

Gan Tang looked into the depths of the residential area, a surge of impulse rising within her: "Why don't you take me up there and take a look? Perfect timing, I can also take you back afterwards."

Fang Heng didn't speak, just stared at her with a complicated look in his eyes.

"If it's inconvenient, then forget it." Gan Tang also felt that her request was a bit excessive. Just as she was about to get off the bus and switch seats with him, Fang Heng suddenly spoke up.

“It’s convenient. My teacher keeps urging me to find a girlfriend. Your presence will shut them up.” He parked the car and led Gan Tang into the residential area.

The residential complex wasn't large, with a maximum of six buildings, and the facilities were quite basic; it looked rather old. Walking through it, Gan Tang suddenly felt a little nervous. "What's your teacher's name?"

"Your surname is Chen, so you can just call me Teacher Chen."

"Is his official rank high?" Gan Tang asked again.

"Not much!" Fang Heng said with a smile, "But this piece of land under your feet is under his jurisdiction, so be good in a bit."

The two walked up to the fourth floor and stopped in front of the red security door.

The world is full of wonders. Gan Tang guessed that the person inside was related to Mo Huaixing, but she never expected the connection to be so profound. The person who opened the door was none other than the little girl she had met at the anti-drug squad that day.

Today, she wore a ponytail and a white dress, making her look even more charming.

It's so beautiful.

"Brother Fang Heng!" The little girl smiled broadly when she saw Fang Heng, and her eyes lit up even more when she saw Gan Tang behind him.

"Dad!" she shouted and ran into the study.

Gan Tang followed Fang Heng inside and saw the little girl whispering in the ear of an elder. Inside the study, four handsome and robust men sat properly in their chairs.

The study was small, with two walls on one side.

"Do you still want to eat today? Hurry up and run!" Fang Heng gestured to the four people, and they dashed off like rockets.

Fang Heng stopped the slowest runner and handed him the pig's trotter.

Sitting behind his desk, Chen Jianfeng said with dissatisfaction, "You really don't want to listen to my rambling?"

"No way!" Fang Heng stepped aside, revealing the girl behind him, and said loudly, "Your genuine apprentice's wife, I brought her here for you to see."

Gan Tang stepped forward and bowed. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that his eyes changed the moment he saw her.

Fang Heng helped Teacher Chen out, and Chen Qianqian went up to greet Gan Tang.

"So you're Fang Heng's girlfriend." She gave him a thumbs up in admiration. "You're really amazing that you could handle someone as fickle as Fang Heng."

“He’s not a womanizer, he just always likes to present a warm image to others,” Gan Tang retorted with a smile, revealing her truest feelings for him.

The sound wasn't loud, but it reached Fang Heng's ears. He couldn't help but turn around and glance at Gan Tang.

With Fang Heng's arrival, everyone gathered in the restaurant. Chen Qianqian went to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks. Seeing the group of men chatting happily, Gan Tang followed Chen Qianqian in to help.

Seeing Chen Qianqian take out nine sets of bowls and chopsticks, Gan Tang asked in surprise, "Aren't there eight people in total?"

"That set belongs to Brother Yi."

As she spoke, her eyes were brimming with tears, yet her gaze was filled with happiness. Gan Tang watched, feeling a sharp, stabbing pain.

Brother Yi, which "Yi" is it? Is it Mo Huaixing?

What is his real name?

At the dinner table, she listened to the laughter and chatter around her, but her eyes remained fixed on Chen Qianqian. Chen Qianqian listened attentively to his senior classmates recounting amusing anecdotes, but his gaze kept drifting to the empty bowl beside him.

Listening to the students' respect and birthday wishes, Chen Jianfeng said with emotion, "Heroic deeds and past glories are all things of the past. The thing I am most proud of in my life is that I have taught a group of outstanding students like you."

"If we're talking about excellence, then it has to be the captain. That year during the exercise, the soldiers confidently declared that we'd definitely be last, but what happened? The captain pulled off a decisive move, and the six of us wiped them all out..."

Before the tall man sitting to Chen Jianfeng's left could finish speaking, the person next to him immediately nudged him with his arm.

"Junior Sister is here!"

For the first time, there was an awkward silence at the dinner table.

"It's alright!" Chen Qianqian shook the copper coin strung on the red string in her hand and smiled, "Brother Yi will always be here for you."