Chapter 28 Officer Lu, the Old Woman

Time passed by, and each second felt incredibly long.

Just as Su Xiaonuan was guessing which direction the police would appear from, a warm, large hand suddenly patted her left shoulder gently.

"!"

Su Xiaonuan shuddered violently, and almost instinctively she was about to elbow him backward!

But she abruptly stopped herself the moment she started to move.

Because the force and method... seem somewhat familiar.

She turned around abruptly, her heart still pounding wildly.

Lu Zheng was standing less than half a meter behind her, wearing a dark casual jacket and trousers, clearly in casual clothes.

Lu Zheng frowned slightly, glanced at Qin Haoran without saying a word, and then turned his gaze to Su Xiaonuan. His eyes looked particularly deep in the dim light. He looked down at her, his lips pressed into a straight line.

When did he arrive? She hadn't noticed him approaching at all! Not even a sound of his footsteps!

"Officer Lu... Officer Lu?" Su Xiaonuan suppressed her shock, her voice tinged with barely perceptible panting, "You... how could you..."

She subconsciously looked behind him, but didn't see wailing police cars or a large number of police officers. Instead, she saw several men in plainclothes with sharp eyes scattered around, quietly controlling the hotel entrances and exits. Their movements were swift, efficient, and well-trained.

Behind him was a handsome man dressed casually, but with a smiling expression.

The handsome man introduced himself with a grin: "Hello, Su Xiaonuan, my name is Qin Haoran, and I'm Lu Zheng's good buddy!"

Su Xiaonuan was somewhat taken aback. She pursed her lips and nodded, acknowledging that they had met.

“These kinds of cases sometimes require covert operations,” Lu Zheng explained succinctly, shifting his gaze from her face to the hotel, his jawline taut.

He whispered a few words into the miniature microphone under his collar.

Soon, a plainclothes policeman who looked like the team leader nodded to Lu Zheng, made a gesture, and led the two men into the hotel quickly and quietly.

The whole process was as fast as lightning, attracting almost no attention from any of the surrounding residents.

Only then did Lu Zheng turn his gaze back to Su Xiaonuan.

His gaze lingered for a moment on her sexy outfit, so different from her usual street vending style, before quickly shifting away, his brows seeming to furrow even more.

"Leave this to them." Lu Zheng's voice was deep and carried an unquestionable tone. "You, come with me for a moment."

After he finished speaking, without waiting for Su Xiaonuan's response, he turned around and walked towards a darker and quieter alley next to the hotel.

There were almost no lights there, only the faint reflection of road signs in the distance.

Su Xiaonuan watched his retreating figure, wondering to herself if he was planning to settle scores later. But considering that he arrived in time, she obediently followed him.

After all, that was indeed a bit risky.

The alley was unusually quiet, as if it were a completely different world from the arrest operation that might be taking place at the hotel not far away.

The air was filled with the dampness of the old walls and a faint musty smell.

Lu Zheng stopped in the middle of the alley and turned around.

The shadows almost completely enveloped him, making his expression difficult to discern; only a tall and imposing silhouette was visible.

Su Xiaonuan stood in front of him, tilted her head slightly, blinked her big eyes, and showed a hint of "innocence" and "confusion" on her face, waiting for him to continue.

In his mind, however, he was quickly calculating how to cover it up if the man asked how he had discovered and followed him.

Lu Zheng remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly considering his words.

The alley was so quiet that you could hear each other's soft breathing.

Finally, he spoke, his voice even lower than before, with a hint of... barely perceptible awkwardness.

"You..." He paused, seemingly finding it difficult to speak, "A girl, late at night... especially in such a chaotic place, shouldn't... shouldn't come out to set up a stall anymore. It's not safe."

"Pfft—" Su Xiaonuan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She quickly covered her mouth, but her curved eyebrows still betrayed her smile.

So, after all that, this cold-faced police officer had been holding back for so long, all he wanted to say was this, just like an old woman?

She looked up, and in the extremely faint light coming in from afar, she saw Lu Zheng's expression—clearly concerned but insisting on keeping a straight face and acting all businesslike—and a sly glint flashed in her eyes.

A mischievous thought suddenly popped into my head.

Instead of backing away, she took a small step forward, deliberately closing the distance between them, almost feeling the warmth emanating from the other person.

Then she tiptoed, tilted her head back, and deliberately softened her voice, making it sweet and gentle, with a hint of playful teasing: "Officer Lu~ You seem to care about me a lot? Well... in what capacity are you advising me? Is it the concern of a people's police officer for an ordinary citizen? Or..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the last syllable rose slightly, full of ambiguous implications.

A pair of large eyes shone brightly in the dim light, staring at him without blinking.

Sure enough, Lu Zheng reacted as if he had been burned, taking a big step back and instantly returning to a safe distance.

He clenched his fist and coughed forcefully, trying to hide his momentary panic.

His brows furrowed tightly, and his face adopted a more serious, even somewhat disapproving, expression.

"No matter who I am!" His tone became somewhat harsh, even carrying a hint of admonition, "You should never neglect your own safety! This is not a joke! If something goes wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, striving to maintain the dignity of the criminal police captain.

However, in that instant as he slightly turned his head, the headlights of a car passing by in the far distance at the alley entrance briefly swept across his sharply defined profile—

Su Xiaonuan keenly noticed that his originally bronze-colored earlobes seemed to have... a faint, almost imperceptible blush.

But the light was too fast and too dim, and she couldn't be sure. She only felt that the possible blush was in stark contrast to his serious and cold tone at the moment.

Tsk, boring.

Su Xiaonuan inwardly grimaced, feeling that her attempt to tease him had failed.

This police officer has amazing composure.

However, she suddenly remembered the system notification she had received: "Gained the approval of the positive character 'Lu Zheng' +1. Reward: Merit Points +100."

Although I don’t know exactly how to get “approval”, it seems like sending him food works.

Thinking of this, Su Xiaonuan's teasing expression vanished instantly, and she reverted to her obedient and sensible demeanor.

She smiled and said to Lu Zheng, "Okay, okay, I got it, Officer Lu, thank you for your concern! Wait a moment!"

After saying that, without waiting for Lu Zheng's reaction, she turned around and jogged back to her RV, deftly opened the door, and took out a cup of "Fiery Volcano Roasted Milk" that she had specially reserved earlier, which was still intact.