CJLTNS Chapter 4

After the KTV robbery and murder case was solved, the members of the Criminal Investigation Division finally let out a sigh of relief. There hadn’t been a single case for two days straight, and everyone in the office cherished this rare moment of peace.

Once May passed, June, July, and August would become the peak season for criminal cases. An old detective had once compiled statistics on the frequency of cases across the twelve months of the year.

Extreme weather tended to increase the likelihood of crimes occurring, and different seasons had different types of crimes. For example, property crimes were more likely to happen in the winter, while sexual crimes were more common in the summer.

“General!”

Yuan Kai had won, and like a victorious rooster, he reached out and snatched the motorcycle figurine on Tang Qijun’s desk. Tang Qijun, heartbroken, clutched at the figurine. “Brother Kai, please, can you let it go?”

Yuan Kai pried Tang Qijun’s fingers off one by one and weighed the figurine in his hand. “We had a deal—willing to bet, willing to lose!”

Watching the figurine bob up and down in Yuan Kai’s hand, Tang Qijun felt like his heart was being sliced open—it was like watching his goddess get taken away. “Brother Kai, be gentle. Baby, I’ll win you back. Just wait for me!”

Yuan Kai couldn’t stand seeing Tang Qijun act like this and turned to look at Li Fangfei. She was watching a video of her idol brother on her phone, swooning as she watched.

“Fangfei, where’s Old Ma?”

Without even lifting her head, Li Fangfei wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. “Brother Ma went to the forensics lab with snacks.”

Tang Qijun was still obsessing over his figurine, playing the fool and pretending to be pitiful, hoping Yuan Kai would show mercy and return his beloved treasure.

“What are you all doing?”

As soon as they heard Jiang Chong’s deep voice, the three of them immediately stood up. Yuan Kai watched helplessly as Tang Qijun snatched back the figurine, while Li Fangfei jumped up in a panic and yanked out her earphones—unfortunately, her phone started blasting a high-energy dance track out loud.

Li Fangfei lowered her head, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. All she wanted was to disappear from existence.

Jiang Chong was holding two pieces of paper in his hand. “Li Fangfei, take these to Director Wu for a signature.”

Li Fangfei quickly shut off her phone, respectfully took the papers from Jiang Chong, and fled past him like a rabbit.

“If you don’t have anything urgent, just leave work early.”

Getting off work early in the Criminal Investigation Division was like celebrating the New Year. Yuan Kai nearly broke into a rendition of “Today is a Good Day” and wanted to run three laps around the Kangzhou City Public Security Bureau out of sheer joy.

Yuan Kai rubbed his hands together and took small steps toward Jiang Chong. “Captain, since we finally have some free time, how about we go out for dinner and karaoke?”

Both Yuan Kai and Tang Qijun had a look of anticipation in their eyes. Everyone knew that whenever they went out with Jiang Chong, it had to be a high-end restaurant with fine liquor—and the bill was always covered by Young Master Jiang himself.

Jiang Chong also knew that his team had been working hard lately. He nodded. “Go get Old Ma and Li Fangfei. We’ll meet downstairs in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes later, all five of them got into Jiang Chong’s Cullinan. The interior was spacious, and even with three people in the backseat, it didn’t feel crowded.

Tang Qijun, temporarily putting aside the heartbreak of having his precious figurine stolen, took out his phone for selfies in the car. Yuan Kai stroked the shiny car window and swallowed hard before speaking in a trembling voice: “Captain… when will you let me drive this car?”

Before Jiang Chong could respond, Old Ma jumped in, “You want to drive it? I haven’t even driven it yet! Don’t you know? For a man, neither wife nor car is for lending!”

“So does that mean if the Captain gets a wife, she can drive this car?”

As soon as Li Fangfei said that, the car fell into silence. Yuan Kai and Tang Qijun held back their laughter with difficulty, while Old Ma frantically tried to smooth things over: “Captain, Fangfei’s still a kid—she speaks without thinking. Don’t take it to heart!”

“Hahahaha!”

In the end, Yuan Kai and Tang Qijun couldn’t hold it in anymore, and laughter filled the car. Everyone in the precinct knew about the legendary tales of Captain Jiang Chong from the Criminal Investigation Division.

Jiang Chong was already thirty years old—tall, handsome, with top-tier looks. Coupled with the prestige of the Jiang Group, he was basically the hottest bachelor in the matchmaking scene!

Three years ago, Director Wu introduced a policewoman to Jiang Chong and arranged a hiking date. After the hike, the policewoman stormed into Director Wu’s office in tears, yelling that Jiang Chong was a jerk. Upon inquiry, it turned out Jiang Chong had berated her during the hike for her poor physical endurance, scolding her like a drill sergeant about not training enough.

His family also tried setting him up. A wealthy girl arranged to meet Jiang Chong at a bar, thinking the dim lighting and flirty atmosphere would help spark romance. But as soon as Jiang Chong saw her, he started scrutinizing her face in detail.

Just as the girl thought things might be going somewhere, Jiang Chong’s inner detective kicked in. He began pointing out every cosmetic surgery she’d had—eyelid cuts, chin implants, cheekbone shaving—until she nearly sued him for defamation. After that, Jiang Chong’s reputation in elite circles went downhill fast. What family would want to marry off their precious daughter to someone with such low emotional intelligence?

Jiang Chong glanced in the rearview mirror. Tang Qijun and Yuan Kai were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes. He let out a cold laugh. “Tang Qijun, I saw a limited-edition figure I was planning to give you… but I guess you don’t want it anymore. And Yuan Kai, your quarterly allowance form is still on my desk. I’m wondering if I should sign it or not.”

“Captain, I was wrong!”

Tang Qijun and Yuan Kai immediately stopped laughing and put on expressions of genuine remorse—so sincere, they were more precious than pearls.

Fortunately, Jiang Chong didn’t say anything else. Old Ma turned around and gave Li Fangfei a glare. Li Fangfei shrank in her seat like a quail and didn’t dare say a word until they arrived at the restaurant.

Once there, the manager personally led Jiang Chong into a private room. “Young Master, please place your order!”

Jiang Chong raised his hand, signaling the manager to hand the tablet to the others. Li Fangfei leaned against Old Ma, drooling over the dishes on the screen. “Brother Ma, I’ve decided—I’ll start my diet tomorrow!”

The dishes were served quickly, and everything expensive was ordered: Australian lobster, caviar, and even the bird’s nest soup Li Fangfei had been craving. The group devoured everything like a swarm of locusts.

After finishing the last spoonful of bird’s nest soup, Li Fangfei touched her face and said, “Captain, I think I just became a year younger!”

Burp!

Yuan Kai let out a satisfied burp. His eyes sparkled as he scooted up to Jiang Chong like a bootlicker. “Captain, now that we’ve finished eating, how about we go sing some karaoke?”

The smell of food on Yuan Kai’s breath hit Jiang Chong’s face. Jiang Chong frowned and leaned away from him. “Fine, you guys can go—I’ll cover the bill. But I’m not going.”

Without the boss, what was the point? Yuan Kai leaned on Jiang Chong’s arm and whined in a coy voice, “Captain, come on~ I really want you to come~”

Jiang Chong’s frown deepened. Clearly Yuan Kai had been watching some ridiculous videos again. He forcefully pulled his arm away. “Fine, I’ll go—just stop talking!”

Yuan Kai jumped up excitedly. That sweet drama he watched the other day really worked! No man can resist a soft, whiny voice!

Completely unaware of Jiang Chong’s look of disgust, Yuan Kai was still basking in the joy of his victory.

Leaving the restaurant, the group headed to a luxurious KTV—one of the top spots in Kangzhou, reportedly frequented by celebrities.

As soon as they entered the private room, Li Fangfei and Tang Qijun started selecting songs. The first one, “Grateful Heart,” was naturally dedicated to their sponsor of the night—Captain Jiang Chong.

Since they had reported their outing to the bureau, drinking was allowed tonight. Jiang Chong and Old Ma ordered some of their usual drinks, and got soda and fruit platters for Li Fangfei.

“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt!”

Not long after, a server pushed a cart into the room, setting the drinks and fruit on the coffee table before quietly exiting.

The moment the door closed, Jiang Chong stood up. “I’m going to the restroom.”

Old Ma, holding the microphone, was surprised. “There’s a bathroom in the private room—why use the one outside?”

Jiang Chong stepped out. The room was well soundproofed—almost no noise came through. Just ahead, he saw the server from earlier, glancing around cautiously.

The server walked slowly, and Jiang Chong wasn’t in a hurry either. He slowed his steps and followed at a distance until the server reached the end of the hallway, spoke briefly with a female staff member, then turned and disappeared into the kitchen area.

By the time Jiang Chong returned, Yuan Kai was already singing “Tears of a Dancing Girl.”

Is this fate, a life doomed to drift in the dust of the world,
Swaying to the dance, held close and embraced,
My dignity long soaked in wine…

Night after night—Tango, Cha-cha, Rumba, Rock and Roll.

The tragic song “Tears of a Dancing Girl” was somehow turned by Yuan Kai into a bold anthem about diving into entrepreneurship.

Old Ma, drinking from a beer bottle, leaned over to Jiang Chong. “Captain, why were you gone so long?”

Jiang Chong shook his head. “Nothing.”

He sat quietly in the corner of the room, staring at his phone, lost in thought. To make up for her earlier slip of the tongue in the car, Li Fangfei handed him the microphone. “Captain, want to sing a song?”

Old Ma snatched the microphone away from her and pulled her toward the song selection machine. “Fangfei, the captain never sings. It’s his second forbidden zone—right after girlfriends. Got it?”

Li Fangfei nodded thoughtfully, like a pecking chick, silently feeling sorry for Jiang Chong. So the captain was tone-deaf? She had thought he might be idol material, but it turns out only his looks passed the test. My brother’s still the best—good-looking and a great singer!

At midnight, Jiang Chong and a few others left the KTV. Old Ma and the rest were still waiting for Jiang Chong to give them a ride home—it wasn’t every day they got to ride in a luxury car. But Jiang Chong turned them down. “I’ve got something to do. You guys take a cab—I’ll reimburse you.”

Li Fangfei gave him a mental thumbs-up. Captain really is something else. Still working at this hour. He treats us so well—I swear I’ll never slack off again.

After dropping the others off, Jiang Chong drove around to the back of the KTV and parked in a somewhat hidden spot—ready to wait for the rabbit to fall into the trap.

Sure enough, after half an hour, the “rabbit” appeared—still wearing a server’s uniform. Jiang Chong drove up and stopped in front of him. “Well, well—Yu the journalist. Tough gig, huh? Still working part-time at a KTV?”

Seeing Jiang Chong’s sarcastic smile, Yu Xin felt like fate was playing tricks on him. Why the hell did I have to run into him here?
Clenching his back teeth, he replied, “Ordinary folks like me can’t compare to the great Young Master Jiang, with all your wealth and ease—we still have to hustle to make a living!”

Yu Xin shot a wary glance toward the KTV’s back entrance. Seeing no one around, he didn’t wait for Jiang Chong to respond and bolted for a car parked by the roadside. In one swift move, he yanked open the passenger door and jumped in—lightning-fast, like Mr. Yee escaping from the jewelry store in Lust, Caution.

“Yuanyuan, drive!”

Xu Yuanyuan was stunned. Before she could react, Yu Xin urged again, “Drive!”

Xu Yuanyuan fumbled to start the car. Yu Xin didn’t even bother with a seatbelt—he turned around to check behind them, making sure no one was following. Only then did he let out a breath of relief.

“Shifu, were you caught by someone from the KTV?”

Yu Xin shook his head as he fastened his seatbelt. “No, I ran into someone really annoying.”

Xu Yuanyuan found that strange. She’d been working with Yu Xin for two months and had never seen him so flustered. It’s not like he’d been caught sneaking a photo or anything… Could it be…

Suddenly, she got it. “Shifu, did you run into your ex-girlfriend?”

Yu Xin cursed inwardly at how damn accurate women’s intuition could be. Not an ex-girlfriend—an ex-boyfriend. He leaned back in his seat, took a sip of water, and shook his head. “This is adult stuff. Kids shouldn’t get involved.”

Xu Yuanyuan pouted. She was already twenty-three, and her mentor was only twenty-nine—how was she still considered a kid?

But Xu Yuanyuan didn’t dare say more. Yu Xin was the first mentor who didn’t mind her being slow. Although he often teased her, he had taught her a lot. Most importantly, he always took her to eat good food. Xu Yuanyuan was truly grateful to him from the bottom of her heart.

The car stopped at Xu Yuanyuan’s house. Yu Xin got out and gave her instructions: “We didn’t get anything today. Let’s meet again at the KTV entrance tomorrow at 4 PM.”

Xu Yuanyuan nodded. “Shifu, how long are we going to keep watch at the KTV?”

Yu Xin looked at her sternly. “Yuanyuan, what have I taught you? In our line of work, patience is the most important thing. We stay until we get solid evidence!”

“Got it, Shifu!”

Yu Xin nodded, thinking maybe Yuanyuan had some potential after all. Then he turned around, got back in the car, and drove off.

Just as Yu Xin’s car started, a black car in the distance also started up. Jiang Chong sat inside, having seen the whole interaction between Yu Xin and Xu Yuanyuan.

Was he really that broke?

He actually smiled so brightly at someone else?

And he dared to run from me?

Jiang Chong suddenly pressed the gas pedal harder, narrowing the distance between their cars. He quickly released the gas and widened the gap again.

Yu Xin opened his front door; the house was completely dark. He took off his shoes and walked into the bathroom. About ten minutes later, he came out in a change of clothes and collapsed wearily onto the bed.

Lying in the dark, Yu Xin took off the watch on his left wrist, reached toward the nightstand, found the bottle of pills, unscrewed the cap, and poured out two tablets. Without water, he swallowed them dry.

He glanced at his phone. It was the 23rd—just four days until his brother arrived in Connecticut. A faint smile tugged at the corner of Yu Xin’s lips as he powered off his phone. The light vanished, and darkness engulfed him once again.