Chapter 58

Chong Cheuk-wah's visit to see them renovate wasn't just for her own good. While everyone was busy, she took out her phone and photographed every scene in the new house. She had also visited Madam and Lamy, and she knew that to resolve the conflict between Lamy and Inspector Chan, Lamy first needed to understand the bonds between the Flying Tigers members. Everyone considered Madam a brother, and everyone considered them family.

The operation that led to Madam's injury involved the SDU's objective of rescuing kidnapped jewelry tycoon Nie Jipei. However, a covert police investigation revealed that Nie Jipei was not a legitimate businessman. He had ties to the underworld and had recently embezzled a batch of jewelry from another gang, which he planned to sell in Hong Kong soon. The chief inspector in charge of this case was none other than Qiu Junsheng, the elder brother of Qiu Junxuan. After much deliberation, the young chief inspector finally sought the assistance of Superintendent Liang Rifeng, hoping he would deploy the SDU and persuade Nie Jipei's bodyguard, former Flying Tigers member Hong Jian, to act as an informant before the transaction.

After hesitating for several days, Hong Jian finally agreed. Liang Rifeng was moved to be able to fight alongside his former comrade again, trusting him completely and feeling very confident himself. However, the operation was fraught with setbacks on the day itself. He and his Team A waited in vain in the woods for two hours before being informed that the transaction location had been changed. Upon arriving at the new destination, a third group of bandits suddenly appeared. Nie Jipei and his accomplices were shot dead in the chaos, while the jewelry was taken by a third party.

"These guys are very familiar with the factory, so it must have been premeditated. When Inspector Leung led the team to intercept them, they managed to escape several times. The most outrageous time was when the attack team split into two groups to encircle them from upstairs and downstairs, but when they met up, they found that the guns were pointed at their own team members, while the bandits had disappeared."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan had always only told his stories to Iris, but now that the whole family was living together, Jennie was also very enthusiastic about listening to him. Like Iris, she loved riddles, so when he got to this part of the story, she leaned forward and asked, "Did one of your team members tip him off?" She had originally wanted to answer that it was the factory's internal surveillance, but then she thought that even if the bandits were very thoughtful in installing surveillance cameras, probably no one would be constantly monitoring them with an iPad during a tense escape.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan then discovered another striking similarity between Jennie and Iris, mother and daughter: they could answer any question correctly without fail. And Edward, always a master strategist and decisive leader, was even more so. So sometimes Zhuang Zhuoyuan wondered if it was possible he was the least intelligent person in the entire family.

Of course, Jennie didn't guess all the details. There were no traitors within the SDU, but an undercover agent betrayed them, planting a listening device in Inspector Leung's clothes, so the entire gang could hear his deployments. "That's why not only did the attack team fail to perform, but even our sniper team couldn't make a difference. At first, we could exchange fire with them, but later they found our position, and Xuanzai and I were basically being suppressed. Their firepower was just too overwhelming."

Jennie asked with concern, "Are you hurt?" After asking, she looked at her daughter, who was standing to the side without any reaction, and then sternly patted Iris's knee: "Your husband!"

“I asked, Mom.” Iris leaned back in her chair and rested on Zhuang Zhuoyuan’s shoulder. “He said he’s fine, and I can still search him tonight. If I catch him lying, well…”

Zhuang Zhuoyuan rubbed the face that was playing tricks on his shoulder, and pulled Iris's hand down from his arm and held it tightly. "Mom, I'm really fine. We have cover at our sniper position, and our combat uniforms are protective too."

"Just be careful in everything." Since Zhuang Zhuoyuan dotes on Iris, she, as his mother-in-law, is definitely more and more pleased. Their family always exchanges gifts for happy occasions. Jennie thought for a moment, clapped her hands, and had a new celebration idea: "It's always something to be happy about when A-Yuan comes back safely. Why don't we have a Yuen's Day after he finishes a mission, and everyone can eat and drink to celebrate! Mommy will also give you an extra red envelope to calm your nerves, but instead of money, I'll put some surprises from Daddy and me in it."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately thought of the decryption pursuit that Iris left him when she first returned to England, and he was also surprised that a festival could be created so easily.

“That’s the power of love!” Iris answered. The discussion then took a turn towards how to celebrate and decorate for Yuen’s Day, and the two continued chatting about it even after returning to their room that evening. Iris mentioned the warm parenting style in her family: “Whenever I do something wrong, my parents always try their best to encourage me.”

“No wonder my wife is like a little sun.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan carried Iris from the bathroom door to the bed stool and spoke to her like he was coaxing a kindergarten child: “Sit down and let me dry your hair.”

Iris twirled the strands of hair he hadn't pulled away, her legs dangling in the air. After a short while, she gave Zhuang Zhuoyuan a new instruction: "Honey, you must carefully consider how to encourage me. You need to encourage me from time to time throughout the entire pregnancy, otherwise I will feel extremely tired. Especially at the very end when it's time to give birth, you must be by my side, otherwise I will definitely be scared."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan knew what she was worried about. He turned off the hairdryer, and the noise in the room disappeared instantly. He knelt down in front of Iris, stroking her hands to comfort her: "I promise you, BB, even if I'm on duty, I'll rush to your side the moment the mission is over. I'll never leave you alone, okay?"

"What if you really can't make it back?" Sometimes he's away on missions for days at a time, and she can't contact him at all.

“Then we’ll just have glutinous rice balls,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan said, smoothing Iris’s brow. “Wife, I won’t let you suffer the same pain a second time.”

Hearing this, she felt a surge of satisfaction. Being overly sentimental and easily moved often puts women at a disadvantage in relationships. Suddenly gaining two new identities, Iris was still a little dizzy. But at least for this moment, she was very happy: "If it really happens, I'll hold on and wait for you. I hope our little dumpling will cooperate as much as possible."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan had already prepared himself for the baby in his wife's belly to be a troublemaker. At only two months old, it was already making its mother vomit every morning. He touched Iris's lower abdomen, kissed her hand, and said gently, "Don't worry, once Tangyuan can hear, I will give it prenatal education every day, and I will make sure it learns to cherish its mother."

"I thought you'd focus on teaching it to play soccer." Zhuang Zhuoyuan longed to take a little follower to the soccer field. Iris had already planned that once the pregnancy was more stable, she would occasionally go to the soccer field or grass field with him during the holidays to kick a few balls. As for Tangyuan, when it got a little older, the three of them could go to the arcade and have a blast.

"What are you thinking about that makes you so happy?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan asked curiously about her smile. Iris didn't answer, but just pulled him up and urged, "Honey, honey, hurry up and continue drying my hair, and finish telling me about today's case! That third party must be Hong Jian, right? Only he could have installed a bug inside Flying Tigers. And that two-hour wait at the beginning of the location change was very suspicious."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan sighed: "We were indeed made a fool of by him, and the bugging device was indeed secretly placed in the pocket of Liang Sir's combat uniform. He had planned to double-cross and steal this batch of jewelry from the beginning, so he turned the tables on our SDU. However, a mishap occurred during the process. When his accomplice fired at Liang Sir, Liang Sir accidentally discovered the bugging device, so in the end, the plan failed."

Iris sighed, "In the end, Hung Kin will definitely try to use his own experience to morally blackmail Inspector Leung, but unfortunately, Inspector Leung is not the kind of person who can't distinguish between public and private matters. After hearing about so many of your cases, I now deeply understand one thing: no matter what the reason, it cannot be used as a shield for breaking the law and violating discipline."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan had always been aware of the latter part of the viewpoint, but the speculation in the first part made him realize that his wife knew some gossip that he had not told her: "You also heard that Hong Jian's spine was injured because of Liang Sir?"

Iris was quite proud of her intelligence network: "Qiang and I have been friends before, so why wouldn't I know what you know? Besides, I have my daddy."

She seemed to be hiding some information that hadn't been made public. Zhuang Zhuoyuan finished his work and moved on to the next massage service, just waiting for his wife to be happy so she could speak. Iris, of course, had nothing to hide: "Hong Jian was really badly injured back then, and his condition has been deteriorating over the years. I heard that he will be paralyzed soon. His wife immigrated abroad with him a long time ago to treat his injuries. She endured hardship day and night to pay for medical expenses and make a living, and as a result, she developed kidney disease."

"That's why Hong Jian set his sights on that batch of jewelry." Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally understood the whole thing. No wonder when his A Team went to apologize to Liang Rifeng, he vaguely heard Liang Sir talking on the phone with someone—maybe it was Hong Jian's wife. He originally admired Liang Sir's selflessness, but now it seemed that his understanding of this senior was not deep enough.

Iris became even more smug: "So, you've discovered that Inspector Leung is a good guy, haven't you? When you go to visit Madam tomorrow, invite him along."

The most exciting news today is still this. When the SDU team finally understood Liang Sir's good intentions, Madam finally woke up in the hospital. Zhuang Zhuoyuan smiled again: "Wife, you can't get full marks this time. If you really know Liang Sir that well, you should know that even if we didn't make an appointment, he would automatically show up at the hospital."

Iris then looked up and said, "Then you should give me encouragement."