After wandering around for two more laps, Xie Chongyang returned to his original workstation in silence.
“Hmm?” Du Like sat slumped against his desk, munching on a fried dough stick. He stared at Xie with wide eyes, his cheeks bulging. “Why are you back? What is wrong? Could it be that you miss us already?”
He gasped. “It cannot be that they refused to submit to you and gave you a hard time, can it?” He stuffed the rest of the dough stick into his mouth and immediately rolled up his sleeves. “Come on, buddy will go back you up!”
“No.” Xie Chongyang did not stand up. He let out a dejected sigh. “No one came.”
“What do you mean?” Du Like swallowed the dough stick, nearly choking like a giraffe. “What do you mean, no one came?”
Xie Chongyang hung his head. “Simply put, no one came to work.”
Du Like froze for a moment. “That is outrageous,” he said in disbelief. “You should dock their entire salaries!”
Xie Chongyang knitted his brows. “It seems they do not have salaries.”
“What?” Du Like stammered. “Has our police bureau become a lawless land? Making people work for free without pay?”
“Ahem.” Lu Zheng appeared behind Du Like, who immediately snapped to attention.
“It is fine. They are only required to step up when there is a case.” Lu Zheng smiled and handed a folder to Xie Chongyang. “Here. These are their files. You can familiarize yourself with them; their contact information is inside.”
“Yes, sir.” Xie Chongyang took the files and scanned them. “Captain Lu, is there any work I can do here for now? My side is quite idle.”
Du Like poked his head out. “I have a report that is not finished yet. Do you want it?”
Jiang Ding looked up. “I have a delivery. Can you help me pick it up?”
Qian Song added, “Hey, how about helping me pick up my kid from school later?”
“Get out, get out, get out!” Lu Zheng barked with a stern face, waving them away. “Every one of you is pushing your luck.”
The group immediately scattered like birds and beasts, retreating to their respective desks with laughter. Lu Zheng cleared his throat. “Actually, could you help me buy a pack of cigarettes?”
Xie Chongyang looked up and stared at him.
After some banter with his old teammates, Xie Chongyang pulled himself together. He decided to clean the office first, upholding a spirit of “no retreat, no surrender” as he continued to wait for his nominal subordinates to grace the office with their presence.
He had finished mopping about a quarter of the floor when someone sent him a friend request. It was Master Zhang. Although the Taoist Master had not shown up for work, his enthusiasm had arrived.
He added Xie Chongyang as a friend and first congratulated him on his promotion, praising his facial features and predicting more promotions in the future. Then, he added Xie to a small, arrogant group chat named “Better to Ask Me Than to Ask the Gods and Buddhas.”
Xie Chongyang watched as Zhang immediately changed the group name to “Quantum Mechanics Technical Department.” It felt as if the group had instantly transformed from a den of riffraff into a department of unreliable experts in idle positions.
Old Zhang even shouted in the chat, “Children, rest for now! I am going out to find some work so we can start!”
It sounded like he was heading to a bridge to set up a stall and swindle a few unlucky souls. Before Xie Chongyang could think of a reply, Lin Xiatao sent a welcome emoji and a friend request.
Xie Chongyang remembered how she had previously faked sleep to avoid talking to people; she seemed much more extroverted online. He added her and sent a few messages. Her replies were perfectly normal, even quite lively. Perhaps she was an introverted-extrovert.
In the group that had grown from three to four members, only Cui Renwang had yet to speak. Xie Chongyang thought for a moment and asked Xiao Tao, “Do you know where Cui Renwang is?”
Xiao Tao replied, “Boss is staying at a hotel. Do not worry about it. If he has not replied to your message, he is probably not awake yet. He is still adjusting to the time difference.”
Xie Chongyang realized he had forgotten that Cui had just returned from abroad. But then he thought, “But it has been over ten days.”
Xiao Tao replied, “Then he simply cannot adjust.”
Xie Chongyang was speechless.
At 2:40 PM, the empty-nest youth Xie Chongyang finally received a reply from Cui Renwang. It was an emoji of a black cat with a question mark over its head.
Having just woken up, Cui Renwang was genuinely surprised by Xie Chongyang’s message, especially the random “Why did you not come to work?”
What work was he supposed to go to?
After replying, Cui Renwang intended to review what his electronic pets, Old Zhang and Xiao Tao, had been up to today. He almost could not find the group chat. Upon closer inspection, he realized the name had changed to “Quantum Mechanics Technical Department,” and the “3” next to the name had become a “4.”
Cui Renwang was silent. He silently checked the member list and @’d Xie Chongyang in the group, “Why are you here?”
Before Xie could answer, Old Zhang replied, “Hey! Little Cui, how rude! How can you talk to our Captain Xie like that!”
Cui Renwang sat up abruptly. “Captain?”
Lin Xiatao chimed in, “Boss, you are awake! Old Zhang pulled him in! Old Zhang said that since our Quantum Mechanics Technical Department is nominally under him as Captain, we should say hello.”
Xie Chongyang took a photo of the empty office and asked gloomily, “So, is anyone coming to work? It is almost time to clock out in two or three hours.”
Cui Renwang immediately dialed Old Zhang’s number.
“Hello!” Old Zhang was somewhere noisy; it sounded like a massive commotion. “Little Cui! I am busy here!”
Cui Renwang said expressionlessly, “You still brought him in?”
“What do you mean, I brought him in?” Old Zhang explained. “I could not have done it alone. This was a mutual agreement. He agreed, and his superior agreed.”
Cui Renwang was skeptical. “He does not even believe in ghosts. How could he agree to join our department?”
“Hehe, he came exactly because he does not believe,” Old Zhang chuckled. “Do you not want to see just how long he can keep not believing in ghosts?”
Cui Renwang was silent.
“Hey!” Someone shouted for Old Zhang; he seemed genuinely busy. He turned to shout back before returning to the phone. “I am telling you, I am over in the south of the city! Some wicked bastards tried to rob a grave and actually dug up an old one! There might be some dirty things inside. Those small-time thieves were scared out of their wits in the middle of the night; they are said to be mentally unstable, but they are likely possessed. Those thieves are at the South City Police Station now. Nothing serious will happen to them, but I am worried there is still something in the tomb, so I have to go down and check it out first. Hey, how about this! You are awake, right? Ask Little Xie to give you a lift to the South City Police Station to look at those thieves. I suspect they encountered a ghost. If we are lucky, the ghosts might still be following them. You can then send the little ghosts to the City God.”
Cui Renwang asked expressionlessly, “Does this case have anything to do with the ‘Mentor’?”
“No,” Old Zhang said decisively. He then asked, “Are you still going to do it?”
Cui Renwang sighed. “I understand.”
“Aha!” Old Zhang sounded triumphant. “I knew you would,”
Cui Renwang hung up without hesitation and dialed Xie Chongyang’s number.
“Hello!” Xie Chongyang’s voice sounded pleasantly surprised. “Are you coming to work?”
“No, but there is a job,” Cui Renwang said. “South City Police Station. Are you going?”
A thud sounded, like a chair being pushed back. Xie Chongyang said excitedly, “I am going!”
Cui Renwang let out a soft laugh. “Come to the hotel and pick me up. I do not have a car.”
“Okay,” Xie Chongyang agreed readily.
Fifteen minutes later, Cui Renwang got into Xie Chongyang’s car. Xie Chongyang glanced at the hotel. “You are still staying at a hotel? Have you not found a house?”
Cui Renwang nestled in the passenger seat with a lazy expression. “It is all the same. The hotel provides cleaning; it is convenient.”
Xie Chongyang inappropriately recalled the rumors he had heard from Luo Feng and swallowed the question of why Cui did not return to live with the Cui family. He said, “The police station has dormitories. You can apply for one. Old Zhang applied for a dormitory.”
“Yes, I know,” Cui Renwang said lazily. “Old Zhang cannot be alone; he must be with people. He also suggested it, saying that police dorms have strong yang energy and can prevent ghosts, so staying there would be beneficial for me.”
Xie Chongyang nodded repeatedly. “Exactly! Then why do you not go?”
“Because,” Cui Renwang thought for a moment before finally speaking honestly, “I am high-maintenance.”
Xie Chongyang was silent. He gave Cui Renwang a complex look, then suddenly turned the car to the side of the road. He rolled down the window and shouted, “Master, two orders of grilled cold noodles with double eggs.”
“You got it!” The vendor immediately started working. “Do you want onions and cilantro? Vinegar and spicy sauce?”
“One with everything, mild spicy.” Xie Chongyang looked at Cui Renwang, who was startled. “Is the other one for me?”
“Of course.” Xie Chongyang pointed at him. “You definitely have not eaten.”
Cui Renwang glanced at the small cart, which one should not look at too closely if they wanted to keep their appetite, and moved his gaze to the relatively clean sign. After a moment of deliberation, he said, “No onions or cilantro. Extra vinegar and extra spicy.”
“You really can eat spicy food?” Xie Chongyang looked at him in surprise. “Did you not live abroad?”
Cui Renwang replied, “There is spicy food abroad too. Mexican food is spicy.”
He watched with a hint of curiosity as the vendor skillfully swung the small spatula. He was not at all surprised that Xie Chongyang had investigated him; to work at the Public Security Bureau, a background check was certainly necessary.
Xie Chongyang felt relieved. “So you did eat food abroad. I was worried you did not eat at all.”
Cui Renwang said, “I eat occasionally.”
Xie Chongyang insisted, “Do not just eat occasionally!”
The vendor leaned out and handed over the two portions. “Two orders ready!”
The piping hot aroma actually sparked a bit of an appetite. Xie Chongyang scanned the code for payment, and the car headed toward the south of the city again.
Half an hour later, the two walked into the South City Police Station together. A plainly dressed elderly woman was sitting in the hall wailing loudly. On the other side, some young hoodlums were still arguing while clutching their bleeding heads. Two young women leaning against each other were crying while holding their laptops. There were also two middle-aged men with large bellies sitting with their legs crossed, looking like experienced troublemakers.
Several police officers stood among them, acting like punctuation marks that separated these vividly different groups of people. Cui Renwang could not help but look a few more times. Xie Chongyang patted his shoulder and said, “Wait a moment. I will go and ask first.”
“Mm.” Cui Renwang was still watching the two hoodlums fight with interest. On the way there, he had explained the general situation to Xie Chongyang. Although he did not know how Officer Xie interpreted “possession” or “ghost encounters,” the officer said he understood.
Not long after, an older police officer came out. He smiled and put on his hat as he struck up a conversation with them, leading them inside. The feeling of a grassroots police officer was different from that of a criminal investigator. Cui Renwang thought about it and decided the difference was like that between a fierce large dog and a gentle large dog.
The old officer asked casually, as if making small talk, “Why have the comrades from the city bureau come here as well?”
Cui Renwang understood; it seemed he was trying to gauge their intentions. Xie Chongyang was not foolish in this regard either. He said politely, “Do not worry. We only heard the situation was strange and came to help. It is still your case.”
The old officer sighed in relief. “That is good! This matter is indeed a bit strange. All three of them are in that room.”
“Room?” Xie Chongyang was somewhat surprised. “You did not lock them up directly? Were they not caught in the act of grave robbing?”
“That is the case, but their condition is not right. We do not dare let them out of our sight, so we had to find a room to keep an eye on them for now.” The old officer looked helpless. “At first, we thought they were trying to escape legal responsibility by acting crazy, but if this continues, they will really have to be sent to a mental hospital.”
Xie Chongyang was puzzled. “The three of them are kept together? Why not interrogate them separately?”
“We cannot separate them,” the old officer said with a bitter smile. “As soon as we separate them, they start performing an opera.”
Xie Chongyang was stunned. “Performing an opera?”
“Wait a moment.” The old officer pushed open the door and shouted to the officer inside, “Xiao Song, separate one of them.”
Immediately, wailing and shouting erupted from inside the room. A man deliberately pinched his voice to make it high and shrill, shouting with a sob, “Master, Master, save me! How can I live without you, Master!”
The old officer pointed at the dramatic scene inside the room. “See? They are performing again.”
Xie Chongyang was speechless. Cui Renwang was silent.