21 Buddha's Eye

The two had a meal at the restaurant. Zhou Yun ordered two steaks, both prepared in the Hong Kong style, including black pepper steak, plus a side of boiled broccoli.

After dinner, Zhou Yun took Qin Shuming for a stroll on campus. She was wondering if they would run into Fang Chengjin, but she was overthinking it.

Qin Shuming tentatively asked, "Why don't you meet with your advisor? Give him a call and see if you can arrange a meal. You need to learn to cultivate a good relationship with him; it'll make your graduation thesis process smoother later on..."

Qin Shuming kept rambling on and on, while Zhou Yun listened from the side.

Qin Shuming was unaware that Zhou Yun's mentor wasn't an old man, but rather a young man. However, Zhou Yun didn't want to explain further at this moment; she vaguely felt that letting Qin Shuming know about Fang Chengjin's existence might not be a good idea.

If Qin Shuming were to search for Fang Chengjin directly online, she would quickly find out what Professor Fang usually does, which is related to handling cases.

However, just to put on an act, Zhou Yun turned her back and made a phone call to Fang Chengjin.

The phone rang a few times before the other end answered.

Fang Jin's tone trailed off somewhat low.

Zhou Yun tentatively asked the question.

A few seconds of silence.

Zhou Yun breathed a sigh of relief. With Fang Chengjin gone, she had a reason not to let her mother see him.

After exchanging a few more unimportant words, Zhou Yun hung up the phone.

Turning around, Zhou Yun pretended to be embarrassed, "Mom, Professor Fang is not free right now. Let's reschedule for another day."

Qin Shuming frowned slightly, but ultimately remained reasonable. "Alright, take me for a walk."

Zhou Yun then took Qin Shuming for a walk around the campus. On the way, they met Aunt Chen, the dormitory supervisor, and greeted her. They went to Zhou Yun's current residence, and Qin Shuming gradually came to believe that Zhou Yun was there to study.

Sitting in the dormitory to rest, Qin Shuming was quite satisfied with Zhou Yun's current room, a single apartment that was both quiet and safe.

Qin Shuming sat on the sofa, took Zhou Yun's hand and said, "Yunyun, Mom is relieved. Don't blame me. I was just worried about you."

Zhou Yun lowered her head. "I know, Mom."

Qin Shuming seemed to be thinking about something, and her expression became inexplicably sorrowful. She sighed, as if she wanted to say something but didn't say anything, and simply turned her head to look out the window.

**

In the following days, perhaps because Fang Chengjin knew that Qin Shuming was coming, she didn't attend classes for several days in a row. Instead, she sent messages on her phone, telling her to study hard and finish reading the three books he had published.

Zhou Yun then took some time out of her busy schedule to take Qin Shuming on a trip around Hong Kong Island to relax. Finally, on the fifth day, Qin Shuming returned home and boarded a plane back to Shanghai.

Zhou Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

During this period, Fang Chengjin did not contact her, so Zhou Yun thought that she should take the initiative and go to find Fang Chengjin.

But after dialing only a few numbers, I hesitated again.

Fang Chengjin was probably busy at the moment, and Zhou Yun knew that calling him now would disturb him. So, Zhou Yun had no choice but to give up.

But Zhou Yun was someone who had some free time, and she suddenly thought of Pan Xiaoxia.

Pan Xiaoxia used to be her subordinate, but was later transferred to work on Hong Kong Island, and Lin Long too... Thinking about this, Zhou Yun couldn't help but go to the Yau Ma Tei Police Station.

She contacted Pan Xiaoxia, saying she wanted to visit her at the police station.

Pan Xiaoxia happened to be free in the afternoon, so the two chatted for a while, and Zhou Yun arrived at the Yau Ma Tei Police Station that afternoon.

From afar, after Zhou Yun got out of the taxi, she saw Pan Xiaoxia waiting for her at the door.

Zhou Yun quickly stepped forward, "Xia!"

Pan Xiaoxia smiled, her dimples deepening, "Captain Zhou!"

Zhou Yun laughed: "Alright, why are you being so polite with me? Have you been busy with work lately? You had to come and pick me up yourself. You could have come after I arrived. The weather has been quite hot lately."

Pan Xiaoxia: "Captain Zhou, you're too kind! Please come in, I'll show you around. Captain Zhou, I really hope you could work here sometime..."

Pan Xiaoxia, being a young girl, was chattering away and full of energy.

The two entered the police station. Zhou Yun was familiar with the police station, but she usually only came there when she was handling cases, and had no time to pay attention to anything else.

Upon entering the lobby, several young police officers greeted Pan Xiaoxia. Some of them recognized Zhou Yun and were familiar with her, so when Zhou Yun came in, everyone assumed she was there to conduct a joint investigation and solve a case.

The meeting rooms inside the police station all had floor-to-ceiling windows with minimal external walls. Passing by one of the meeting rooms, Zhou Yun saw a familiar face.

Lin Long was leading the discussion on the whiteboard, while Fang Chengjin sat down listening.

Fang Chengjin sat very upright, holding a pen and writing and drawing in his notebook.

Lin Long was the first to notice Zhou Yun standing outside. He glanced at her, feeling surprised but quickly regaining his composure.

He stopped speaking, walked around the crowd, and opened the door.

"Captain Zhou?" Lin Long's voice carried a hint of inquiry.

Zhou Yun explained, "I was looking after Xia Xia, I hope I didn't disturb your meeting."

Lin Long understood: "Why don't you come in and sit down? Old Fang is inside too, we're discussing a case."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yun hesitated for a moment.

Having just seen Qin Shuming off, Zhou Yun didn't really want to get involved in any more cases for a while.

Zhou Yun shook her head. "No, I'm not a police officer anymore, so it's not convenient for me to get involved in cases."

Lin Long was surprised. For criminal investigators like them, being able to participate in cases was almost an instinctive subconsciousness. Moreover, Zhou Yun used to be a squad leader, having reached the leadership level. She would at least be interested in solving cases.

"Okay, now that you're in school, it's definitely better to live like you were in your student days," Lin Long joked, then turned and went back to the conference room without saying anything more.

Inside, Fang Chengjin was looking over, but only glanced at him.

Zhou Yun nodded as a greeting, then pushed Pan Xiaoxia out of the conference room.

The two walked around the police station for a while and then arrived at the cafeteria. Pan Xiaoxia then warmly invited Zhou Yun to dine in the cafeteria, saying that she would treat her.

The police station's canteen wasn't bad, and Zhou Yun wasn't picky. She ordered a few dishes, and the two of them ate at a small square table.

Pan Xiaoxia said, "Captain Zhou, the conference room you just saw is actually a project team that was just established a few days ago, specifically to assist Captain Lin in solving major murder cases. Professor Fang was invited to be the deputy leader of the team, and Captain Lin is the leader."

Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow, took a bite of the fried tofu, and didn't say much.

Now I finally understand why Fang Chengjin has been so busy lately; it turns out he's been busy with matters at the Public Security Bureau.

Zhou Yun understood that Fang Chengjin was an expert that all the major public security bureaus wanted to invite.

Pan Xiaoxia continued rambling, "Professor Fang selected all the people in that project team. Some were recruited from outside, and some were transferred from within. They're all people Professor Fang needs. Team Leader Zhou, you're Professor Fang's graduate student now, how about you...?"

Pan Xiaoxia's hint was quite obvious; she wanted Zhou Yun to join as well.

Zhou Yun shook her head. "Right now, I just want to study hard and get my diploma. I don't want to get involved in other cases. There are so many cases all over the place, how can we possibly investigate them all?"

Hearing the感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings), Pan Xiaoxia sighed, "Captain Zhou, you used to be a workaholic in Haishi. Everyone said in private that you loved solving cases, and that you were born to solve cases. Even the chief said he had never seen a police officer so enthusiastic about solving cases. You've changed so much!"

Zhou Yun was both amused and exasperated, but she couldn't explain anything. She was unaware of these private rumors; they were probably all a little afraid of her. If she hadn't resigned, Pan Xiaoxia probably wouldn't have dared to say it directly.

Zhou Yun could only reply, "People aren't all about work."

Pan Xiaoxia agreed, "Yeah, Captain Zhou, these cases involve dangerous criminals. One slip and... sigh, it's a high-risk profession. If it weren't for the fact that my major makes it hard to find a job, and I'm not particularly capable, I would have quit being a forensic doctor long ago. Sigh... do you think people can actually enjoy their work? I really don't understand those workaholics..."

As they talked, Pan Xiaoxia went off on a tangent, and Zhou Yun just listened.

In fact, Zhou Yun felt that she and Pan Xiaoxia were the same.

No one is born liking to solve crimes, nor is anyone born liking to fight criminals.

Zhou Yun was touched by Pan Xiaoxia's words and couldn't help but recall how she got into this industry.

To be honest, it was probably when Zhou Yun had to choose between arts and sciences in high school. At that time, Zhou Yun was having a very hard time; her world was gray.

Because her older sister disappeared when she was in the third year of junior high school, and it was at that time that their family underwent earth-shattering changes.

Her parents divorced, and she lived a repressive academic life with Qin Shuming.

The case of her sister's disappearance has been hanging over the hearts of the whole family. So when Zhou Yun graduated from high school, she subconsciously chose to enroll in the Public Security University and even studied criminal investigation. This was probably because of a deep-seated obsession in her heart.

Since joining the police force, Zhou Yun has continuously improved her work skills and grown rapidly. She doesn't say she likes solving cases, but so far, she doesn't dislike them. In the absence of knowing what else she can do, continuing in this line of work seems to be the only way.

Who in this world likes to be accompanied by danger?

But Zhou Yun does have some ability in this line of work. Not to mention her ability to solve cases, her physical strength is better than that of the average police officer.

As she pondered, Pan Xiaoxia's words brought Zhou Yun's thoughts back to the table.

"Speaking of which, is Professor Fang also a crime-solving fanatic? He's so good at psychology, and he really loves solving crimes. He's quite a character!" Pan Xiaoxia wondered.

Zhou Yun paused, but didn't reply.

Indeed, what about Fang Chengjin? Is he that kind of person too...?