I glanced at my watch; in two hours, it would be time to meet Du Jue.
Li Dakang paced back and forth in his bedroom. Su Wan leaned against the bed, toying with a small German-made pistol in her hand. "You don't actually like her, do you?"
He stopped and turned to look at her. He was standing in the shadows where the sunlight didn't reach, and the heavy tasseled curtains behind him looked like an undrawn curtain.
Sunlight streamed in through the window beside him, so bright it hurt the eyes. Su Wan couldn't see the expression in his eyes, but after so many years together, she knew he was angry.
Li Dakang took two steps toward her, standing only three steps away from the foot of the bed. "Why did you go to all this trouble? In a couple of days, someone will come and hand over what we have, and that will be the end of it. Your unauthorized actions could very well expose us."
“But they’ve already found out there’s something wrong with the teahouse…” Su Wan said anxiously.
Li Dakang sneered, "If you hadn't lost the items and needed manpower to search, how would they have discovered the wires we planted?"
"It was that bitch, she's the one who abandoned me on the train. They've already found out there's something wrong with the teahouse, so handing her over is perfect. Anyway, she doesn't know anything."
That awful woman was truly despicable. She threw my things off the train and then refused to admit it. She even dared to threaten to call the police... If we hadn't been on a train, she would be dead by now.
Su Wan aimed her gun at the vase on the cabinet by the wall and pulled the trigger menacingly. There were no bullets; it was just a false fire. So it didn't make her feel much better.
“There are many ways to kill her, why do you always have to use the most foolish methods? Last time at the shooting range, your sudden murderous intent already caught Yan Shuo's attention. Because of your reckless actions, I had to deliberately approach her afterwards to create an ambiguous illusion to make up for your mistake.”
This time you acted on your own again. Why didn't you discuss it with me before taking any action?
Hearing him mention Yan Shuo made Su Wan's mood worse. She gave Li Dakang a stiff smile. "Have you forgotten? Qingniao has the right to carry out missions freely as needed. I know you wouldn't agree even if I discussed it with you. Isn't this great? You don't have to act with her anymore. They've found the Qingniao they've been looking for. Isn't this a happy ending for everyone?"
Su Wan raised the gun again, this time her hand was a little shaky, so she simply gripped the gun with both hands and aimed at the teapot on the table.
Li Dakang stepped forward and snatched the gun from his hand. He opened the bedside table drawer, threw the gun inside, and said impatiently to her,
"Alright, Yan Shuo hasn't contacted you since that banquet. Take the initiative and ask him out. You know, if we can get the control map, the situation will be much more favorable to us. Since we're already prepared to take action, let's not delay any longer."
Su Wan's eyes instantly lost their sparkle. "He's not interested in me. Last time I pestered him, he pushed me away. There's no need for all this trouble. I could have just sneaked into his mansion to steal it; there's no need for this..."
Li Dakang remained silent for a moment. He had always thought of her as an excellent agent, someone who would risk everything to complete a mission. But now, because of a failure, she was becoming increasingly irrational. She probably hadn't even noticed that she was increasingly mentioning her own feelings.
She resisted seduction and was passive in her approach to tasks. She would also act on her own initiative based on her own feelings. She became increasingly unprofessional. But now it was too late to replace her.
"Even if you can sneak in, we need to find out where the item is first. Forcing your way in will only result in failure. That's too dangerous, and I don't want you to take the risk unless you're absolutely sure."
Su Wan was stunned, moved by his last words, and burst into tears, throwing herself into Li Dakang's arms. Li Dakang gently embraced her, speaking softly above her head, a rare display of his gentleness.
“Once everything is over, we can go back. So let’s not create any more trouble. You’re right, Bluebird has privileges, but I hope you can come and talk to me if anything comes up. We can solve it together.”
Su Wan nodded in agreement without hesitation; her earlier words were just said in anger. Although she was raised by the Li family, she had been following him since the beginning of the mission. Of course, she would listen to him in everything.
The two lingered for a while longer, discussed their next move, and then parted ways.
Li Dakang appeared at the Du family's house as promised. He was wearing a blue striped suit and stood tall and straight, completely outshining the overweight Jin Yan and the somewhat immature Fu Kai beside him.
At the Du family home, because Xu Keke hadn't shown much enthusiasm for the visit, no one was surprised that she didn't show up on time.
Moreover, the three visiting gentlemen each had their own merits, and all the women's attention was focused on them, so they couldn't even remember the one who wasn't there.
For various reasons, Li Dakang did not inquire further about the whereabouts of Miss Du, even though he had originally stated that his visit was to see her. This greatly pleased Du Yuan. Because of her improved mood, her attitude towards Jin Yan became much warmer than before. Therefore, this visit can be described as a pleasant one for both host and guest.
The only flaw was that when Su Bingtian, who had just returned from the bureau, tried to invite them to stay for dinner at his home, Li Dakang, who had said he wanted to consult with him the day before, directly refused. This forced Jin Yan, who had originally wanted to stay longer, to reluctantly get up and leave with them.
Du Bingtian and Li Dakang exchanged only four sentences in total, one of which was said when he saw Li to the door: "I hope Commissioner Li will have time to visit my humble abode again."
This was completely different from what Du Bingtian had envisioned. He had rehearsed countless times in his mind how to express his pointed personal opinions on the current situation and the affairs of the bureau. He even thought that after this meeting, he should be the one to attend the next meeting. After all, he was the commissioner's future father-in-law.
When he left the bureau early, he made a point of telling the bureau chief and many others that Commissioner Li was coming to their house for afternoon tea today. Commissioner Li and his daughter had originally planned to meet yesterday, but because his eldest daughter had something to do, they changed it to today.
But now, the result is that Li Dakang is clearly not as humble and polite to him as he was on the night of the banquet. He even saw on Li Dakang's face that seemingly friendly, yet extremely distant attitude often used by superiors towards lower-ranking subordinates in officialdom.
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