Chapter 91
"Pan Sir? Pan Zilong?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan frowned. If it were a normal transfer, he would of course welcome Iris's mentor to join them in battle. But given Pan Zilong's rank and Derek's use of the word "parachuted in," the most likely scenario was that he would be taking over as commander of the SDU. What about Zhan Hantao?
Derek's sources were either through AK's channels or through Edward. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was certain his father-in-law had already received the news, and in his haste, he made a phone call. Edward was playing golf with a group of old friends and didn't immediately give Zhuang Zhuoyuan a direct answer. He nodded to the police commissioner, his smile unchanged, and simply said, "I'll be home for dinner tonight, we'll talk then."
That one sentence gave him a sense of certainty. Zhuang Zhuoyuan hesitated, unsure whether he should inform Zhan Hantao. After the shooting range training ended, Guo Dewei decided to see Huihui off, leaving him alone. He thought for a moment, then set off to find Zhan Hantao.
Zhan Hantao had studied fencing since childhood, so he came back to coach his specialty. Zhuang Zhuoyuan first went to the indoor area but couldn't find him. He then went outside and circled around for a while before finally finding him sitting outside chatting with a woman. The woman was beautiful, but she could only express herself through constantly changing gestures, clearly indicating a problem with her vocal cords. Zhuang Zhuoyuan greeted Zhan Hantao from a distance before approaching the two.
Zhan Hantao happily introduced the two: "This is my good friend Ann from when I was practicing swordsmanship. Ann, this is my good brother and colleague Zhuang Zhuoyuan."
"Hello." The two shook hands, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan was surprised that Ann was not as delicate as she appeared. But then he thought, since she was a fencing practitioner, her physical fitness must be quite good. He suddenly realized that there were quite a few girls who could surprise him today.
The three chatted for a short while before Ann got up to say goodbye. She co-owned a sporting goods store and needed to rush back to help with its opening. Zhan Hantao and Zhuang Zhuoyuan saw her into a taxi, then didn't rush to the parking lot. He had already sensed that Zhuang Zhuoyuan wanted to see him, and now he was just waiting for him to speak: "Speak, what is it?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't want to rule it out immediately, so he simply asked, "Bada, have you considered the OC position?"
Zhan Hantao chuckled: "Why are we bringing this up again? I've already told you guys that what makes me happiest is being able to carry out missions with you. So no matter who sits in this position, we'll always be a team, and we'll always be good brothers."
He draped his arm over her shoulder with considerable strength. Zhuang Zhuoyuan nodded, pursing his lips, and finally revealed the news he had heard to Zhan Hantao: "I heard that they might arrange for Pan Zilong to take over Liang Sir's position."
Zhan Hantao was taken aback, but his expression remained unreadable. He said, "The big sir must have his reasons for making this arrangement. Inspector Pan used to be a Flying Tiger, and he set several records in our team that no one has broken to this day. It's a good choice to have him as the commander."
“Maybe I’ve misread the situation,” Zhuang Zhuoyuan patted his brother on the shoulder. “Anyway, Ba Da, you’re the best commander in my eyes.”
If it were about leading troops into battle, Zhan Hantao would undoubtedly be a master. But at his level, what he needed to overcome was a watershed moment; to climb higher, it wasn't enough to rely solely on troop deployment skills. Edward didn't say it explicitly, only offering a few hints, telling Zhuang Zhuoyuan to figure it out himself. Their family was wealthy; as long as no one in their descendants squandered their inheritance, they could live a comfortable life for generations, even if they just lived off their savings. Therefore, he didn't expect Zhuang Zhuoyuan to strive for any particular level of advancement. Right now, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was ambitious, had a stable job, and could take care of his wife and children—that was enough. As for anything else… in fact, in his eyes, Zhuang Zhuoyuan wasn't leadership material.
After dinner, while taking a short walk in the garden with Iris, Zhuang Zhuoyuan heard his wife reveal more: "Daddy played ball with your boss and some seniors like Da Qiu Sir today. The boss chatted with Daddy and didn't explicitly say whether the matter was settled or not, but it's highly likely that it won't be changed. He also revealed that he might arrange for Tan Jiacong or Zhong Shaoqi, whom you used to work with, to go to CIB to replace your mentor."
"Ah—" Zhuang Zhuoyuan sighed, never expecting that his brother would talk so much with his father-in-law.
Seeing his lack of guile, Iris chuckled and cut to the chase: "You think your Chief is reporting to Daddy? Even with my excellent memory, I've only met Inspector Tam once, at the wedding. How could I possibly remember his name clearly? It was your Chief Inspector who told Daddy. With him mentioning it like that, I guess Inspector Tam's position as head of the CIB is his."
"So this has something to do with me?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan seemed confused, unsure of which way to turn. Promoting Inspector Tan wouldn't be about doing them a favor. If there were other arrangements, the SDU and CIB, aside from cooperating on cases, had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
Iris wasn't entirely clear on the intricacies of the situation, but based on the information she had, she figured the most likely explanation was that the big boss was treating it as a favor he was willing to do. She said, "It's probably an implication that if you want a transfer, you can go to CIB." If you leave early, and work at CIB for a while, you might be able to take over the boss's position like Ben.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan hasn't thought that far ahead yet.
A few days later, as expected, Superintendent Chan summoned Chan Hon-tao and announced the appointment of Poon Chi-lung. Poon Sir maintained his usual approachable style, treating Chan Hon-tao with a cooperative attitude and showing no arrogance typical of a superior towards a subordinate. Everyone had been eagerly awaiting Chan Sir's appointment, and now an unfamiliar superior had been parachuted in. Even those who had previously worked with Poon Chi-lung on cases involving the CIB were still extremely resentful, but out of respect for Chan Hon-tao, fearing that saying or doing too much would cause trouble for him, they suppressed their resentment and went along with the situation.
In such a situation, establishing authority was paramount. However, despite being a new officer, Pan Zilong didn't make a big splash. He simply trained his team according to regulations, familiarized himself with the current situation at SDU, and didn't take criticism too seriously, focusing solely on his work. When team members occasionally voiced their dissent, Zhan Hantao would step in and create opportunities for Pan Zilong to showcase his abilities. The Flying Tigers were ultimately a results-oriented organization, and after Pan Zilong demonstrated his still-present strength, the discontent within the team gradually subsided. Even Ah Xing, who most admired Zhan Hantao, now mostly regretted that Zhan Sir hadn't been promoted.
The days passed peacefully as they adjusted to their new commander, and finally, Iris reached her 36th week of pregnancy. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who had been anxious all along, was now even more so, spending his days either at work or home, skipping all happy hour activities. Iris hadn't been sleeping well lately, experiencing leg cramps and sometimes difficulty breathing. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was heartbroken, but unable to take her pain away, so he stayed with her every time she got up at night, keeping a close eye on her, afraid of missing anything and causing a problem.
No matter how cautious she was, she still had to go to work as usual. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had been very punctual lately, which made Iris uneasy. She was afraid that the SDU would make another emergency call while she was giving birth, so she was somewhat hoping for a big news story. As it turned out, what she wished for really came true. G-Force came to visit her and mentioned a strange thing that had been circulating in their underworld recently.
"Listen up, listen up!" The silver fork clattered against the dessert plate, accompanied by the forkholder's exaggerated tone. G-Force, a street urchin, had a silver tongue; if someone wanted to listen, he could embellish even the shortest story and tell it vividly for an entire afternoon. Not only Iris, but Jennie also enjoyed listening and happily invited them to stay for dinner.
That night, Iris finally inquired with Chong Cheuk-yuen about the recent situation of the two gang leaders, Shapi Chao and Pau Chung. She initially wanted to ask Ben or Chung Wai-yan, but then worried about putting them in a difficult position since they were investigating the case, so she turned to her husband. Given his connections and access to information, he couldn't possibly be unaware of the frequent brawls between the Yee Fung and Chun Hing gangs in Yau Tsim Mong over the past two months. "G-Force said the conflict was over territory, and Pau Chung even had Shapi Chao's daughter kidnapped to demand a ransom. The strange thing is, afterwards Pau Chung claimed he hadn't received any ransom, that Shapi Chao had someone secretly rescue his daughter, while Shapi Chao said Pau Chung had someone steal the ransom and refused to return his daughter. Finally, after the fight, they discovered the little girl had gone home on her own. Honey, Mommy, G-Force, and I all suspect a third party was involved in this incident. Do you know who that third party is?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan had heard a bit about this, but what he knew was about the same as Iris's. If G-Force hadn't gone into so much detail, he could have told it as a new story, but now he could only disappoint his wife. "BB, you see, I've been coming home on time to be with you lately, I really didn't know about so many other things."
"Sigh." Iris knew his movements best, and no matter how disappointed she was, she could only choose to be understanding. However, she wasn't going to let Zhuang Zhuoyuan off so easily. She turned around and stared at him, questioning, "You said you've had fewer sources of information lately, so how did you know that Brother Tao went on a date with another woman?"
Zhan Hantao has been going out to eat and shop with Ann several times recently. Zhuang Zhuoyuan had just asked Zhan Hantao about it during the day, but he didn't expect the news to reach his wife's ears so quickly. He had to admit defeat to Iris's "strategic planning": "I was just worried about my sister. Of course, Pauline knows best whether Atao is going back for dinner or not. She told me, so of course I know. I think your source of information should also be her."
“Of course not!” Iris said with a smug look. “Grandpa Zhan told me about this.”
"Huh?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan chuckled. "When did you get so close to Grandpa Zhan?" He knew that Iris and Zhan Zongqi had connected, but he didn't know that their relationship had progressed so quickly.
Iris said it casually, "It was about that wallet-stealing incident last time." The story is quite interesting. Ever since Zhan Zongqi ran away from France, Pauline and her husband had been at odds with him. Iris had just taken leave, and Pauline came to visit her, confiding in her. Afterwards, Zhan Hantao secretly asked her for help, hoping to use Iris's charming personality to reconcile the conflict between the three elders in the family. Iris, of course, readily agreed. She asked Zhan Hantao to act as a spy, secretly gathering information about his grandfather. Learning that Grandpa Zhan needed to go to the hospital for arthritis medication, she adjusted her prenatal checkup schedule, hired an actress, and orchestrated a wonderfully serendipitous encounter—a beautiful bodyguard rescuing a hero.
While Derek was chasing after his wallet, Iris sat in the van chatting with Grandpa Zhan. Their conversation quickly blossomed into a connection. Grandpa Zhan was clearly a womanizer, and Iris's sweet talk and good personality made him lament that if she weren't already married and about to become a mother, he would definitely try to match her with his grandson. Just then, Derek returned, and Grandpa Zhan turned to praise Derek's decisiveness, then went on to recount his own impressive exploits. This was exactly like Uncle Chao's. Iris chuckled inwardly at the father and son's personalities, her eyes darting around as she subtly steered the conversation towards Zhuang Zhuohua. While it was a pity her older sister wasn't there, she was confident she could easily win Zhuang Zhuohua's favor.
Iris frankly explained why she and Grandpa Zhan quickly became old friends: "We both have some quirky ideas in our heads, so we get along very well. And recently, he has become my new book fan."
"Oh, my wife is so charming!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan leaned forward and gently kissed Iris's cheek. Iris smiled and asked him to kiss the other cheek as well. She cupped Zhuang Zhuoyuan's face in her hands and couldn't help but rub it a couple more times: "Don't worry about Tao and Ann. He's just being helpful and will know his limits. You know, he was the one who helped A'en train for the underwater calculation test. If it weren't for his enthusiastic help, I don't think A'en would have passed the test and wouldn't have been able to officially return to CIB."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was genuinely surprised: "Zhong Wei'en also came to visit you at home?"
Iris feigned the same surprise as him, but her words revealed that she was doing it on purpose: "Honey, is it you who's going to become stupid for three years after pregnancy? There are telephones in this world that can be used to communicate, and we can even video chat."
"Ah!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan fell down, buried his face in her pillow and nodded.
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