Chapter 25: Fooling Again
With a nervous mood, Ji Feng gently parked the car in the college parking lot.
"Knock, knock, knock," Ji Feng timidly knocked on Lu Zhiyao's office door.
"Come in." A familiar voice sounded, and he mustered up the courage to push open the door.
The moment he opened the door, he saw Hua Ailing sitting opposite Lu Zhiyao. Neither of them was surprised at seeing Ji Feng.
"You are here too." Ji Feng said to Hua Ailing.
"I'll wait for you to come back and report." Hua Ailing said with a hint of sarcasm.
Lu Zhiyao was silent, staring at the computer, seemingly busy with something.
"Dean Lu, I've embarrassed you. Please criticize me."
Lu Zhiyao acted as if he hadn't heard anything, his eyes still fixed on the screen. This made Ji Feng even more uneasy.
"Don't say anything. Dean Lu already knows everything. Just tell me what your next plan is." Hua Ailing spoke in the same tone as a parent scolding a child.
Ji Feng looked at Hua Ailing and asked slowly, "Is everyone in the academy aware of this?"
"What do you think? Don't you understand that good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles?" Hua Ailing continued to answer for Lu Zhiyao.
Lu Zhiyao remained silent. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and finally spoke, "Tell me, what are your plans?"
Ji Feng then explained in detail his plan to go to Yishijiang in a private capacity to look for Lan Renxuan. After he finished speaking, the three of them fell silent.
"Do you regret going to Lan Valley now?" Lu Zhiyao asked.
"If I have any regrets, it's only because I brought shame upon you. If you put that aside, I have no regrets."
"Of course you don't regret it. Isn't this the endorphin happiness you're pursuing? And Diogenes' masochistic belief, and yes, Li Shutong's 'letting go'. If you ask me, anyone can regret, but you are not qualified to regret." Hua Ailing continued to mock sarcastically.
"Of course I don't regret it." Ji Feng's uneasy mood eased a little.
"The department's opinion is that you should reflect on yourself in the college. They didn't ask you to leave the college and pursue fugitives privately. Do you understand?" After a long silence, Lu Zhiyao spoke.
"Reflecting in the academy? I really didn't expect that..." Ji Feng had indeed taken things for granted before.
"Didn't the Lan Valley Detachment tell you?"
"I told you, but I didn't expect that I would really have to reflect on myself in the academy." Ji Feng finally understood the exact meaning of "reflection in the academy."
"Reflection is about reflecting on your work, and you have to work normally. If you don't work and still get paid, can that still be considered reflection?"
Dean Lu and Hua Ailing's barrage of criticism had left Ji Feng completely irritated. However, he had been prepared for this, knowing the inevitable criticism was inevitable. He hadn't expected Hua Ailing to be there, adding fuel to the fire, leaving him no chance to breathe.
Of course, he guessed that Hua Ailing was venting Dean Lu's anger to reduce Dean Lu's punishment on him.
"What kind of work do you plan to take on in the college? Teaching or administration?" Dean Lu continued to stare at the computer screen.
"I will accept any punishment they give me. But I won't accept not being allowed to continue handling the case. I can't stand by and watch the Lan family get away with it. I can even imagine Lan Ruojin glancing at me with a smug and contemptuous look. I won't accept that." Ji Feng muttered in response.
"So what?" Dean Lu continued to ask.
"So, I want to go to Yishijiang to track down Lan Renxuan, and I won't stop until I achieve my goal."
"As I said earlier, the provincial department's document clearly states that you are to return to the academy to work, not to continue handling cases."
"Dean Lu, please help me. This will be a gesture of sincerity for a police officer handling a case. Besides, we can't just let the case sit unsolved like it is now, and we can't let the bad guys go unpunished forever." Ji Feng knew that only by saying this could he move Dean Lu.
Ji Feng's lobbying seemed to have some effect. Dean Lu did not say anything and fell into deep thought.
"Dean Lu, please give him one last chance, considering he's followed you for so many years. Besides, two months is too short a timeframe. No matter what kind of work he does, the end result will be a half-finished project, which won't necessarily be beneficial to the college."
Ji Feng didn't expect Hua Ailing would help him persuade Lu Zhiyao, and looked at Hua Ailing with gratitude.
Lu Zhiyao obviously didn't expect Hua Ailing to change sides so quickly. His eyes, which could see through everything, swept over Ji Feng and Hua Ailing and said, "It's difficult."
"I know this is another gamble. If I win, it's fine. But if I lose, I may not be able to resume my job after two months. By then, I will have lost all hope of investigating the case." Ji Feng continued.
"That's what I wanted to say. If you can go through the two months smoothly without any accidents, you will most likely be reinstated. However, if you go to Ishijiang alone to handle the case, there will be too many variables. If something goes wrong, you will have to return to the college to continue your teaching career." Dean Lu seemed to be on Jifeng's side.
"The good thing is that the Lan family might let down their guard now that they know I've been suspended. I've received several text messages threatening or inducing me to return to the academy, and I suspect they came from the Lan family. This might be the perfect opportunity to investigate them, and I don't want to waste it."
"Dean Lu, to be fair, Ji Feng has had a hard time these past few months. Even after being suspended, he still didn't give up on searching for the suspect. This is a rare display of professionalism." Hua Ailing continued to chime in.
Dean Lu nodded silently, his eyes falling on Ji Feng, a complex emotion in his eyes. He looked at the dark and thin student in front of him, and his tone softened: "You've worked hard these past few months." A trace of kindness flashed in his eyes.
"So, you agree?" Ji Feng noticed that Dean Lu's attitude had softened and asked without losing the opportunity.
"Alas... go ahead." Behind Lu Zhiyao's heavy sigh, there seemed to be something unspeakable hidden, as if he had foreseen some ending that could not be turned back.
After a pause, he added, "Do you remember what I told you before we went to Lan Valley?"
“We must remember: ‘Slow and steady wins the race’”
Lu Zhiyao nodded gently, his tone calm and gentle: "The reason you've fallen into this situation today is that you haven't done these four things. You haven't changed your old habits - you're too smart, but not calm enough. Think carefully, are all the troubles you've caused caused by this?"
"You are right in your criticism. Not only have I not made any progress, but I have become even more unstable due to the impatience caused by the progress of the case."
"You are also forty years old. Impulsiveness should not be a label for your age group. Which philosopher you believe in is as impatient as you?" Hua Ailing followed suit and criticized Ji Feng a few words.
"You're all right. The reminder is very timely. I want to use this trip to Yishijiang to find Lan Renxuan as an opportunity to change my way of life. I want to further hone my character, use retreat as a means of advance, and use slowness as a means of speed. I want to find Lan Renxuan in a more mature and steady way."
Lu Zhiyao and Hua Ailing looked at each other, revealing a look of agreement. Lu Zhiyao said, "I feel like if I continue, I'll sound like I'm nagging. I won't say anything more."
Hua Ailing also said: "Fast is slow, slow is fast. I won't teach you this philosophical truth. What Dean Lu said is the key."
"I won't wish you immediate success, just tread carefully." Lu Zhiyao couldn't help but nag the last sentence.
"Then I won't bother you anymore. I'll come back and celebrate your promotion."
Lu Zhiyao was stunned. He didn't expect that Ji Feng also knew the news that he had the possibility of promotion. He then waved his hand and told him to leave quickly.
Hua Ailing also stood up, said goodbye to Lu Zhiyao, and followed Ji Feng out of Lu Zhiyao's office.
"It's lunch time. Do we want to go outside or to the cafeteria?" Hua Ailing asked.
"The cafeteria." Ji Feng answered simply.
"You are really different from others. Others would not even have time to hide from you. You are an eccentric." Hua Ailing teased Ji Feng.
"I've said it before, I don't care. Not to mention now, even if I return from Ishland in defeat, I won't avoid anyone."
On the way to the cafeteria, the old colleagues he met greeted him warmly. Some said he had lost weight, some said he had become darker, some said he was both dark and thin, and some who were more eloquent said he was healthier and more energetic.
In the cafeteria, it was as if they had returned to the scene before they went to Lan Valley, and the two sat opposite each other again. Hua Ailing said, "Lan Renxuan has a gun in his hand, and you are unarmed, so be careful."
"I have four years of undergraduate study and have been a professor in the criminal investigation department for more than ten years. Grappling and fighting are also required courses, so don't worry." Ji Feng answered while eating.
"The most fatal thing is your current mentality of underestimating the enemy."
"You and Dean Lu just enlightened me. I really need to calm down and think carefully. What I did before was not what a mature man of forty would do."
"There's something I didn't tell you before. Seeing that you've come to your senses, I think it's okay to tell you. It can help you mature, but it can also serve as a little cold water on you before you leave."
"What's the matter? Don't scare me." Ji Feng asked nervously.
"Jiang Bo has been competing for the position of deputy director, but..."
"What?!" Ji Feng opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"He has been the captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment for many years and is a strong contender for deputy director." Hua Ailing said slowly.
Ji Feng's eyes dimmed instantly, he stopped chewing and froze in a daze.
"Don't overthink it. He has strong competitors too, so his chances of winning might not have been great in the first place."
Jifeng lowered his head, guilt and regret surging in his heart.
"The reason I'm telling you this is to give you a little 'blow' to calm you down. This will only do you good." Hua Ailing said worriedly.
"I was really too naive before. Thank you for telling me this." Ji Feng put down his bowl and chopsticks and suddenly lost his appetite.
"Don't thank me, I did this not only for you, but also for myself."
"For you..." Ji Feng had just said half of the sentence when he suddenly understood something and swallowed the rest of the sentence.
"When you get to Ishijiang, if you need any help, just let me know."
"Um."
"Since it is confirmed that Lan Renxuan is armed, I believe the Ishjiang police will also take it very seriously. We should rely more on them."
"Um."
"By the way, your independent investigation in Yishijiang must be kept secret. The fewer people who know about it, the better." Even Hua Ailing herself didn't know when she became so nagging.
"Understood. I'll call Xin Xiao and explain it later."
"Speaking of Xin Xiao, he is such a good man, righteous, upright, and kind."
"You're right, but you left out the word 'loyal'. He's a man you can always rely on, and I'll always be grateful to him."
Seeing Ji Feng's depressed mood, Hua Ailing stood up and said, "We have fooled Dean Lu again and 'bullied' the old man once again."
However, this time, Ji Feng couldn't laugh at all, and could only force out a bitter smile.
"Go home and see your parents after dinner. We have to leave tomorrow morning." After saying that, he turned and walked out of the cafeteria.
"You should go back and have some rest too. We'll say goodbye." Ji Feng felt a little sad when he said this.
Jifeng was in no mood to eat. He sat alone for a while, then stood up and left, forcing a smile as he walked to the parking lot with a familiar colleague.
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