Chapter 23

Because the scene was so dramatic, Yu Lei's first reaction was to wonder if she was yelling "torpedo." Although outrageous, it didn't make him feel overwhelmed. After all, the police are best at dealing with emergencies.

Yu Lei turned around and answered loudly, "I'm married."

After saying that, he quickly turned into the stairwell, leaving Tong Jiayu with a surprised look on her face.

She thought he would refuse, saying that he already had someone he liked or that he was too busy with work to have time, but she never expected that the rejection reason would be so sincere and perfunctory without even a second thought.

If they were really married, he should have told her when she asked him if he liked Tang Ruxin.

Tong Jiayu lowered her eyes and looked at the black tea that Yu Lei gave her, her gaze gradually turning cold. She raised her hand and threw the drink into the trash can in the corner.

At this moment, Yu Lei, Ding Xinqiao, and Lin Shuangjiang were conducting routine questioning of the two elders of the Chen family. As members of the investigation team, they still had to go through the necessary procedures, even though they all knew that it was unlikely that the two elders could provide any useful clues.

After learning about Chen Junan's social life, personal history, and any recent unusual behavior, the three of them quickly concluded their conversation. Ding Xinqiao and Lin Shuangjiang stopped by to see Tang Ruxin, while Yu Lei was called back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment by Chen Jingzhou.

The call sounded urgent, but Yu Lei wasn't. He even queued up on the way home to buy some popular steamed buns. Chen Jingzhou was inexperienced, and when Director Xu threatened him, he felt like the sky was falling. He didn't even consider how serious a matter could be for an intern to call.

Yu Lei got out of the car, a steamed bun in his mouth, locked it, and went into the police reception hall. He walked through the busy hall and went up to the second floor. As soon as he reached the stairs, he heard Chen Jingzhou's roar, his words full of vulgarity.

"You're still feeling proud, aren't you? Do you deserve your skin?! Don't bother arguing with me about right and wrong. You've been studying in the police academy for so many years, but you've been a pig. I'm sick of hearing one more word from you. Explain to me! Get out of here, you idiot! I'm a jerk!"

Yu Lei stared at Chen Jingzhou who was on the phone with wide eyes, wondering if he and Tong Jiayu were related. They were equally good at cursing.

"It's so hot." Yu Lei handed a steamed bun to Chen Jingzhou who had already hung up the phone.

Chen Jingzhou took it in his mouth, chewed it hard a few times as if to vent his anger, and swallowed it.

"Is there any water?"

Yu Lei handed over the iced black tea with two sips left.

Chen Jingzhou swallowed the bun and let out a sigh as if he had recovered his breath, his face pale.

"My hand is numb." Chen Jingzhou let go of the drink bottle and let it roll to the ground.

Yu Lei picked up the bottle and threw it accurately into the trash can three meters away. Then he squeezed Chen Jingzhou's hand, looked at him, and said, "It's okay. It was just a momentary excitement. It will be fine after a while."

Chen Jingzhou leaned his back against the wall, clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to relieve the numbness in his palms.

"My classmate works at a district public security bureau in Gao City. He said they busted a bunch of online novel authors, hundreds of them. He bragged to me about how great their key work was this year. He said the authors were so cooperative, they were all just one phone call away and turned themselves in."

"I was wondering, how could writing a novel be illegal? He said it involved pornography. I thought it was indeed illegal and he should be arrested. But do you know what he said? They..."

Yu Lei stuffed the last steamed dumpling into Chen Jingzhou's mouth, interrupting his chatter. He then fished a cigarette from his pocket, lit one, and took a deep drag. The slowly exhaled white smoke blurred his expression.

"What did Director Xu ask me to come back for?" Yu Lei asked.

Chen Jingzhou was silent for a moment, then smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "You knew it a long time ago, right?"

"Every industry has its own circles. I have been in this industry for more than ten years, so naturally I am more involved in the circle than you." Yu Lei turned around and leaned against the wall, next to Chen Jingzhou.

"Aren't you angry? You are in the same industry as this profit-driven law enforcement person, and you always pick on the weak." Chen Jingzhou didn't understand Yu Lei's calmness, as if this was a trivial matter.

"A soft persimmon is also a soft persimmon that has violated the law. Since they violated the law first, you can't blame the police for enforcing the law later." Yu Lei continued to smoke, his expression so calm that it could almost be called expressionless. "Enforcing the law for profit is still enforcing the law, and it is law enforcement behavior allowed within the legal framework. Even if there is a mistake, it is the law's fault. What does it have to do with my colleagues?"

"Law is born from righteousness, righteousness is born from public opinion, and public opinion conforms to human hearts!" Chen Jingzhou stood up straight and argued loudly.

Yu Lei lowered his head and chuckled, then loosened his fingertips, threw the unfinished cigarette onto the smooth marble floor, and crushed it with his foot.

"look."

Chen Jingzhou was stunned. "What are you looking at?"

"Look at the human heart." Yu Lei moved his foot away. "The most unreliable thing in this world is the human heart. It can be ablaze one second, and then crushed to ashes by external forces the next. It's not even as good as the law. After all, the law won't be crushed to death in one fell swoop, and it can even be gradually improved through innovation. What about the human heart? It's eternally unreliable. Isn't the police's heart also the human heart? They just seek profit and avoid harm, otherwise they would be picking on the weak."

Chen Jingzhou was speechless, he seemed to understand what he had done wrong.

"Every job is done by people, so why deify the police? All your anger isn't about what they did, but about your inability to stop them because you have no legal recourse."

Yu Lei bent down to pick up the cigarette butt and threw it into the trash can not far away. When he came back, he pinched Chen Jingzhou's shoulder and said:

“You can’t change the present, but you can change the future if you work hard enough.”

After saying that, he walked towards the director's office and looked at the fingers that had pinched the cigarette butt - well, wiped it clean.

Chen Jingzhou, overwhelmed by Yu Lei's promises, sat there for a long time, unable to figure out how to change the future. Could he change the law? It wouldn't be right to say there was absolutely no chance, but it was difficult... He had studied law, but not legal theory. Should he quit his job and take postgraduate studies in a different field?

—Am I trying too hard? Anger is the easiest to express; when it comes to action, it immediately becomes a reality, Chen Jingzhou thought dejectedly.

Yu Lei, who had successfully fooled Chen Jingzhou, was actually in a bad mood.

He had indeed known about this before Chen Jingzhou. Having been in this business for so long, everyone knew everyone else's character. He could even imagine the hellish scene of the interrogation, considering the case had been handled this way. But what could he do? Resign in protest or rush over and kill his colleagues?

It's not like he hasn't been impulsive before. Through all the laughter, anger, and curses over the years, he hasn't let go of the injustice happening before his eyes. The price of impulsiveness is not small, and he paid it, and he still bears it today.

Yu Lei laughed self-deprecatingly, sighed, and stood in front of the director's office door before slamming it open. The doorknob slammed against the wall with a deafening bang, startling Xu Qinghong, who was sitting at his desk, so much so that his hand trembled and a few drops of ink fell from his pen.

"Are you crazy?!" Ms. Xu Qinghong, who is over 50 years old, was almost scared to death by him. She was so angry that she raised her hand and threw the pen at him.

Yu Lei took it skillfully and put the pen back on her desk with both hands with a smile.

"Sister Xu, are you looking for me?"

Xu Qinghong calmed his heartbeat, rolled his eyes, and threw a document at him, "Sign it."

Yu Lei took a look, raised his eyebrows and whistled.

"Good boy, a military order."

"The provincial government is taking this case very seriously and was originally planning to set up a special task force, but I stopped them. Since you already have a joint investigation team already underway, we should wait until support is needed." Xu Qinghong took a sip of tea and continued, "The province has agreed, but with a deadline. If there's no conclusion within ten days, you will withdraw from the investigation team and the case will be transferred to the provincial department."

"Sister Xu still understands me."

"I really don't want to understand." Xu Qinghong rolled his eyes again. "With your stubborn temper, if someone from the provincial department comes, you'll be so angry that they'll make a mess of it. There's no way the case can be transferred smoothly. I'll have to clean up your mess then, as I'm an old man who's about to retire..."

"I'll sign." Yu Lei hurriedly picked up the pen and scrawled his name on it.

"I heard you're dragging your feet on a new case and not getting anyone to sign it. What's going on?"

"Still investigating." Yu Lei said perfunctorily.

"Don't delay too long. We want to protect local enterprises, but Donghe Refining has now come under the attention of the provincial department, and all actions must stand up to scrutiny." Xu Qinghong looked at Yu Lei's face, not missing the wandering of his eyes.

She knew this guy was just going with his gut feeling again, and his gut feeling was always right. But proving this "right" came at a price. If it weren't for his style, the captain's position wouldn't have remained vacant for two years without him, the vice-captain, being promoted. She applied countless times, but each time the provincial government rejected her application.

This time, too, when the provincial government heard he was leading the investigation team, they immediately announced they would set up a special task force. Who would believe him if he said it had nothing to do with his bad reputation?

"Yu Lei..."

"Only ten days, quite stingy." He interrupted Xu Qinghong's long and earnest words, put down the documents and walked towards the office door. "Time is too tight. I won't be back for a few days. Call if you have anything."

The sound didn't disappear, but the person had disappeared.

Xu Qinghong had a lot of advice in her heart but she couldn't say it out loud. She felt that all her good intentions were wasted, and this bitch still thought she was nagging.