Chapter 80
Sunshine, flowers, yachts, beaches—everything was expected to be perfect, so Iris even booked the largest round table for the celebratory meal, just so everyone could eat and drink their fill before heading out to sea for fun.
As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan missed his wife Iris terribly after not seeing her for several days. The two were cuddling and kissing passionately in the corridor, while Zhan Hantao, just a wall away in his room, was rehearsing his proposal with a serious expression. He was incredibly nervous. So far, his proposals had all been rather unsuccessful. Ding Huihui was a thing of the past, and he and Zhuang Zhuohua had even conspired with the flight attendant on the plane to create a romantic moment. But before the video could play and the ring could be presented, a "terrorist" from the back of the plane jumped out and ruined everything. Now, not only was the proposal ruined, but their vacation was also cancelled. That day, the weather was just as sunny.
Zhan Hantao dared not think any further. Hong Kong had been peaceful for far too long recently, which would normally make him happy, but at this crucial moment, he couldn't help but let his mind wander, fearing that another international criminal might suddenly appear. Pauline, seeing her son's absent-minded look, frowned, annoyed by his lack of willpower: "Hantao, pull yourself together! Ah Hua will be here soon. You need to be in top form when you propose to her!" She had deliberately postponed her meeting with Zhuang Zhuohua by half an hour, not so that her son would hesitate here.
Zhuang Zhuohua dressed herself up a little before leaving the house, a vague feeling creeping into her mind that something was going to happen today. Iris had been acting strangely these past few days, and the day before yesterday she had even dragged her to buy new clothes, supposedly to prepare her for her trip to England, but the things she bought were completely unsuitable for her training. If she couldn't figure out what was going on, she might as well quit the police force. So, with a sweet smile, Madam Zhuang drove a little faster.
There was a sniper on the restaurant rooftop. After Grandma Long left, the responsibility of the S2 observation post for Team A fell to Guo Dewei, who used to work for Team B. Zhuang Zhuoyuan said everyone should call him Brother Wei, and Iris just needed to follow suit. This nickname was easy to make people think of other things, so Iris tried her best to keep her thoughts from wandering too far and focused on getting to know the other new members of Team A. The personnel changes within Flying Tigers recently have been quite significant. Although Zhuang Zhuoyuan had told her about these changes during their time apart, Iris still felt that this SDU was particularly unfamiliar to her: "I never expected that even Inspector Liang would leave."
"Liang Sir probably didn't expect that you, as his family member, would be so reluctant to let him go," Zhuang Zhuoyuan casually remarked. Although Liang Rifeng was a good superior, his transfer meant they would no longer suffer through hellish torment, so they were naturally more happy than regretful. Furthermore, everyone in the team believed that the vacant position would soon belong to Zhan Hantao.
Iris understood Zhuang Zhuoyuan's thoughts all too well, and from his eyes, she also saw another layer of pleasure: "Looks like you guys have been having a lot of fun training the new recruits lately, Zhuang Sir. I feel like you're laughing on Liang Sir's shoulders right now." Even on a rainy night, they didn't spare them. It was obvious that this group of veterans were going to give the new recruits a hellish experience.
"It's nothing special. If you want to get into SDU, you have to endure hardship," Zhuang Zhuoyuan said smugly. "Getting rained on, putting in some effort, running around are just the basics. It's just that some young people can't handle the hardship."
"Oh my!" Iris really wanted to call Liang Rifeng over to hear these words, and she also really wanted to record them so that when Zhuang Sir gave her a good scolding in the future and then tried to coax her again, she could play them back to him over and over again to see if he would slap her in the face.
“Your magnanimous sir is quite the character these days, he’s really got a lot of swagger when he’s yelling at people.” Yu Xueli chimed in, joining their conversation with the same sly smile on his face.
Iris raised an eyebrow at her husband, then turned her gaze back to Yu Xueli. Someone had come up to her for gossip, and she couldn't let it pass. She immediately asked pointedly, "Ali, how are the new recruits doing this year?"
Yu Xueli gave an official answer: "There are always one or two who are more difficult to train, but they are all promising talents."
Iris wasn't interested in those "one or two"; she only wanted to know about one person—the veteran who was now a newcomer. She waited with a smile for what was to come, but Yu Xueli pretended to be clueless and didn't intend to reveal anything unless someone called his name. Zhuang Zhuoyuan added fuel to the fire at this moment: "Of course, he knows best about A-Qiang's situation. Last night, when we called the newcomers to training, we unexpectedly found that the responsible Yu Sir was already there making his rounds, chatting with his junior sister for who knows how long."
"Oh!" Iris exclaimed in agreement, "Couples are definitely different."
Before Su Wenqiang even arrived, Yu Xueli was already overwhelmed by the barrage of questions from the couple opposite him. He tried to shift the blame, but couldn't find the person in question: "Where's Guangzai? Why isn't he here yet? Didn't he say he'd been helping you these past few days? I still can't see him. Did he go to pick up his girlfriend?"
“Sigh,” Iris sighed again, raising her hand to pat the DV on the table, “Do you think I prepared so many video cameras just to keep a record from multiple angles? Unfortunately, Ah Guang has to go to the High Court to be a witness today, so I have to inspect his final work on his behalf.”
Xie Jiaxing did know a little about the inside story: "I heard him mention it last time. It seems to be a heinous case. A group of people were involved in drug use, murder, and all sorts of evil deeds. They have been sued in court many times, but each time their lawyers have managed to exonerate them."
Iris nodded: "That's right, it's this one. So I fully support Ah Guang in standing up for justice this time. If I hadn't run into Brother Tao proposing to my sister today, I definitely would have gone to listen in."
"You always like to join in on everything." Zhuang Zhuoyuan patted Iris's head, his eyes filled with endless doting affection.
The other two newcomers in the team, Xu Jiaming and Hu Liquan, had long heard of Zhuang Zhuoyuan's reputation as a good husband. Now that they finally met their sister-in-law, they realized that the rumors were not exaggerated at all. Nick Hu Liquan, who has a wife and daughter, could understand Zhuang Zhuoyuan's feelings very well. He is a person who puts his family first in everything. He is careful at work and talks about his wife and daughter all the time when he is at leisure. He is even more of a "wife-loving" person than Zhuang Zhuoyuan.
Iris had also heard of his exploits. Being a first-time mother, she naturally wanted to learn as much as possible, so she didn't miss any opportunity to utilize resources beyond what her mother and Lamy could access. The conversation abruptly shifted to parenting, with Nick talking non-stop, from how to care for a baby to where to take the child, as if he were going to talk for days. When Su Wenqiang arrived, everyone joked with her, "Qiang, you've come at the right time! There's a special training class here; you should hurry up and join. Otherwise, I don't think you can count on Ali anymore."
Yu Xueli immediately gave Qiu Junxuan a sharp rap on the head. Xuanzi let out two exaggerated cries, but his body didn't flinch. Having narrowly escaped death, he had spent a long time recuperating in the hospital and at home, and now he was finally able to go out for a walk. However, returning to the police force would still take some time, and returning to the Flying Tigers would probably not be so easy anymore. Fortunately, with everyone taking turns to comfort him and with the support of family and friends, his regret lessened somewhat. Now, he was just waiting for four words—to let nature take its course.
Su Wenqiang never imagined that Iris would suddenly have a child like she did. She had worked so hard to get into the Flying Tigers; she couldn't just get married and have a child right after training, or her life would become a joke. Therefore, she wasn't interested in any of the topics Iris was currently interested in. Her purpose in coming here today was very clear: to see if Zhan Hantao's proposal would be successful; she was looking forward to their celebration afterwards.
"Madam Zhuang is here!" Wei Ge shouted from the rooftop, holding binoculars, and everyone perked up. Everyone took their positions, informing Zhan Hantao to get ready while waiting for Zhuang Zhuohua to drive in. A confetti canopy was placed to the side; Iris pointed to something and asked Yu Xueli to distribute it, while she turned on her DV camera, intending to record every single second without missing a beat.
As Zhuang Zhuohua's car finally came to a stop, Iris belatedly tried to remind everyone to turn off their phones to avoid any discordant voices, but everyone's pagers simultaneously went off. Iris felt a chill run down her spine; this was the familiar prelude to everything about to be ruined. Sure enough, the car door Zhuang Zhuohua had just opened slammed shut again, and the Flying Tigers members all put down what they were holding. Zhuang Zhuoyuan ran over to her and said, "BB, we can't have a get-together today. There's been an attack on the High Court, and they've taken everyone in one of the courtrooms hostage. We have to get there immediately, you..."
"I'll stay here and watch TV. Ah Xuan and Derek will keep me company, honey. Don't worry, just be careful." Iris wasn't planning on going home anyway; she'd just be sitting in front of the TV waiting anyway. It was better to stay here and look out for each other. Besides, she'd booked the whole place today, and she couldn't let the money just disappear like water.
"Who on earth would attack the High Court?" Iris grumbled after the cars had all left, finally remembering that Zhang Jiguang was there. She thought with a pang of sympathy, "Could that unlucky kid have run into robbers?" Just as she was about to mention this possibility to Qiu Junxuan, Alice called: "Iris, I just saw on the news that something happened at the High Court, and I immediately called Ah Guang, but I couldn't get through after two or three tries."
Iris fell silent. Why hadn't he ever won the lottery? But she couldn't remain completely silent; Alice was still waiting on the other end. Alice hadn't agreed to be with him until Zhang Jiguang submitted his transfer application, showing how worried she was about his safety. As someone who had been through similar situations, she knew the tension and anxiety one felt at the beginning, and she understood the helplessness of the women behind the Flying Tigers in this moment. She carefully comforted Alice, and only breathed a sigh of relief when the sobbing on the other end of the phone subsided. Meanwhile, the news report became much more detailed. Derek and Qiu Junxuan analyzed the situation based on the available information. Iris overheard their conversation—the environment was enclosed, the door was locked from the inside, there were no windows, snipers were useless, and this was a huge advantage for the criminals.
The sniper was useless? Iris repeated those six words in her mind, then fell silent again. If a sniper wasn't needed, didn't that mean her husband would be the arrow? Instantly, her already uneasy heart sank even further.
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