He listened with his eyes down, occasionally tapping the tin box lightly with his index finger, producing a dull sound. At that moment, he was like a frozen ice sculpture, even his breathing was hidden in the rising and falling footsteps in the warehouse. Only the occasional movement of his eyelashes showed that he was a living person.
I don't know how long it took before Chen Hede finally finished his work.
With his back to the warehouse door, Chen Hede shoved his well-defined knuckles deep into his pockets, his Adam's apple bobbing, and the sigh churning in his chest finally turned into a heavy thud.
His head was bowed so low it was almost buried in his collar, and his shoulders were slightly hunched, as if they were tightly bound by invisible ropes. Even the pistol at his waist seemed heavy, as if it were not a weapon but a heavy burden pressing down on his spine.
The sounds of inventory taking and the clanging of machinery in the warehouse became a muffled buzzing in his ears.
"Chen Hede?"
The familiar voice was like a ray of light piercing through the fog, yet it was as illusory as a dream.
He stood frozen in place, his fingers curled into fists in his pocket, unable to believe his ears. He had come to Dongzhou before the matter in Xinhai City was resolved. He was exhausted from the journey, and this call sounded like a hallucination caused by overwork.
"Chen Hede".
A cheerful voice rang out again, with the familiar upward curve at the end.
Chen Hede shuddered, mechanically turning his stiff neck, his bloodshot eyes suddenly widening.
Through the dim light of the warehouse, Xu Zhuohua stood against the light at the door, her hair slightly disheveled by the wind. In the messy armory, she looked like a flower that had suddenly bloomed.
On his way to Dongzhou, Chen Hede rehearsed the scene of his reunion with her countless times in his mind, devising a natural excuse to appear in front of her. He even asked Xinghua to inquire about her recent situation.
But when the person he had been longing for appeared before him without warning, all the words he had prepared vanished into thin air.
"Xu Zhuohua!" Chen Hede strode forward, his previously gloomy brows instantly relaxing, and a long-lost light bursting from his eyes.
"Miss Xu, what brings you here?"
Xu Zhuohua felt inexplicably happy when she saw Chen Hede. She had always admired Chen Hede and found him very pleasing to the eye.
"I heard from my fourth uncle that people from Xinhai City had come to the armory. I thought they might be acquaintances, so I came over."
Chen Hede's smile deepened. "We're old acquaintances, aren't we?"
"Of course, aren't you still my sworn brother?"
That day at the Xu residence, in front of Zhou Minhai, Chen Hede spoke up himself.
Chen Hede looked slightly embarrassed. "Yes, but I've never paid homage to Guan Yu."
The two walked outside the armory and sat down in a greenhouse.
Xu Zhuohua had some doubts about why Chen Hede had never come during previous arms shipments.
"You never came when we transported weapons before, so why did you come in person this time? Did something happen again?"
Chen Hede took a sip of hot tea, looked out the window at the workers loading the truck, and his eyes dimmed slightly.
Before setting off, Cheng Muyun repeatedly instructed that Zhou Minhai must not tell Xu Zhuohua about the fact that he had something on Cheng Muyun, so as not to worry her.
"It's nothing. Your second brother is patrolling the line, Liang Shaozun has other things to do, and Governor Cheng is busy mustering troops and won't release anyone, so it's just me."
Xu Zhuohua nodded, recalling the hidden dangers of transporting weapons.
"During my time here, I've learned a bit about the transportation process. It seems that weapons are mixed in with regular cargo, and the loading and unloading workers are the same. It's too dangerous. Not only is it easy for accidents to happen, but if the workers are bribed and they run into someone as difficult to deal with as Zhou Minhai, it's always a ticking time bomb."
Chen Hede felt a chill run down his spine after hearing what Xu Zhuohua said.
The evidence Zhou Minhai seized this time was the workers Cheng Muyun hired while transporting weapons, who became witnesses accusing Cheng Muyun of smuggling weapons.
He was startled and looked closely into Xu Zhuohua's eyes.
Xu Zhuohua merely expressed her doubts without intending to investigate further.
Chen Hede breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully Xu Zhuohua wasn't testing him.
The thought that he, a dignified deputy police chief, had almost been exposed in front of a woman made Chen Hede laugh at himself.
“This is indeed a problem, and we need to take precautions, but I have never been involved in the transportation; it has always been arranged by your second brother.”
Xu Zhuohua thought for a moment, "Hmm, I know. Other goods are transported by a different group of people at each station. The people at each station are only familiar with their own routes, which is good. But when transporting weapons, the more people who know about them, the more dangerous it becomes."
Chen Hede nodded. When Xu Zhuohua analyzed the problem, there was an undisguised light in his eyes, which deeply attracted him.
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