The atmosphere in the meeting room the next morning felt almost frozen solid.
When I pushed open the door, I noticed significantly more people present than usual. Beyond the core members of the Economic Crime Investigation Division, two officers from Technical Reconnaissance were there, along with a representative from the Legal Department—a division that rarely made an appearance at our routine team meetings.
Zhou Qiming sat in the head seat, his face far more solemn than usual. His teacup rested by his hand with no steam rising from it; he had clearly been sitting there for quite some time.
I sat down beside him, placing my folder onto the table.
“Everyone here?” Zhou Qiming scanned the room. “Let’s begin, then.”
“Captain Zhou, I have a question.” The speaker was the representative from the Legal Department—Section Chief Fang, a man in his forties wearing gold-rimmed glasses who spoke in a slow, deliberate manner. “Is there a conflict of interest regarding Comrade Wen Ruzhou and the involved party, Wen Minghua?”
A momentary silence fell over the meeting room.
I caught sight of Wen Ruzhou sitting in the corner, her expression calm and devoid of any visible emotion.
“This question,” Zhou Qiming glanced at me, “Vice Captain Shen, you answer it.”
I stood up.
“Wen Ruzhou and Wen Minghua do indeed share a familial relationship. Wen Minghua is Wen Ruzhou’s uncle. However, based on the facts currently at hand, Wen Minghua is merely a receiving party in this case, and whether he actively participated in the money laundering remains inconclusive.”
“And what about Manhua Group?” Section Chief Fang pushed up his glasses. “Wen Minghua has ties to Manhua Group. And Comrade Wen Ruzhou’s mother, Wen Manhua, happens to be the chairwoman of Manhua Group.”
“The position held by Wen Ruzhou’s mother has no bearing on Wen Ruzhou herself,” my tone remained flat. “She is a police officer in the Economic Crime Investigation Division, not an employee of Manhua Group.”
“Be that as it may, still—”
“Section Chief Fang,” I cut him off, “you belong to the Legal Department, so you should be even more aware than I am: establishing a conflict of interest requires proving a direct stake or material interest. Comrade Wen Ruzhou is neither a close relative of Wen Minghua under statutory recusal parameters—as an uncle falls outside the legal mandatory recusal scope—nor does she hold an employment relationship with Manhua Group. The ‘conflict of interest’ you speak of holds no legal ground.”
Section Chief Fang’s face soured slightly.
“Vice Captain Shen, I am not questioning your judgment. But you must consider that if this case eventually reaches the trial stage, the opposing defense attorney might use this point to make an issue—”
“That is a matter for the trial stage,” my voice turned cold. “What we need to do right now is establish the facts, not worry on behalf of the defense attorney.”
The air in the room instantly grew tense.
“Alright,” Zhou Qiming knocked his knuckles on the table. “Let’s set this question aside for now. Vice Captain Shen, continue with your report on the case.”
I nodded and flipped open the folder.
“The latest progress on the Hengyuan case: through our investigation, it has been verified that over the past five years, Hengyuan Real Estate transferred funds through seventeen shell companies, involving an amount exceeding 1.2 billion yuan. One transaction of 8.6 million yuan flowed into Zhonghui Business, and we have confirmed an indirect connection between the recipient, Wen Minghua, and the primary suspect in the Hengyuan case. However, the chain of evidence remains incomplete and requires further investigation.”
“What is the next step in the plan?” Old Wu asked.
“Continue following the Wen Minghua lead,” I said, “to clarify the actual business transactions between Zhonghui Business and Hengyuan, and confirm whether Wen Minghua was aware or actively involved.”
“Who’s going to investigate?”
“I’ll go,” Wen Ruzhou spoke up suddenly.
Everyone turned their eyes to her.
She sat in the corner with a serene expression, but I noticed her fingers clenching tightly beneath the table.
“Wen Ruzhou,” Zhao Feng frowned, “this case involves your uncle, you—”
“It is precisely because it involves my uncle that I am the most suitable person,” she interrupted him. “I know what kind of person Wen Minghua is. He is cautious in how he operates, but he has one weakness—he likes to show off. If he has deeper dealings with Hengyuan, he inevitably left traces on certain occasions. It is far more convenient for me to investigate him than anyone else.”
“Do you really think you can remain impartial?” Section Chief Fang stared at her. “After all, he is your uncle.”
Wen Ruzhou lifted her head, looking him straight in the eyes.
“Section Chief Fang, I worked at the Audit Office for six years, audited over a hundred enterprises, and saw all kinds of interest relationships. If I can’t even investigate my own uncle, then those six years were spent in vain.”
Her tone was quiet, but her words carried a sharp edge.
Section Chief Fang was left speechless, unable to counter.
“I agree with Wen Ruzhou’s opinion,” I spoke up.
Silence fell across the room once again.
“Vice Captain Shen,” Zhou Qiming looked at me, “are you sure?”
“Certain.” I stood up and surveyed the room. “I propose: Wen Ruzhou remains on the special investigation team to participate in the investigation of the Wen Minghua line. There are three reasons.”
I held up one finger.
“First, professional capability. Wen Ruzhou worked in the Audit Office for six years and is adept at identifying financial fraud and tracing funds. Having her audit Wen Minghua’s accounts will be far more efficient than anyone else.”
A second finger.
“Second, positional advantage. As his relative, she has channels to access him directly. That is an advantage none of us possess.”
A third finger.
“Third, trust.”
I paused.
“I trust her.”
Once those three words left my mouth, the room fell even quieter.
Zhou Qiming picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip, saying nothing.
Zhao Feng gave me a look, his expression complex.
Section Chief Fang opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately closed it.
“Then we will proceed according to Vice Captain Shen’s recommendation,” Zhou Qiming put down his teacup. “Wen Ruzhou will remain on the special task force, responsible for investigating the line on Wen Minghua. Everyone else will cooperate.”
He glanced over at Section Chief Fang.
“Any objections, Section Chief Fang?”
Section Chief Fang stayed silent for a few seconds before shaking his head: “None.”
“Then it’s settled,” Zhou Qiming stood up. “Meeting adjourned.”
The crowd gradually dispersed.
As I gathered my folders, I heard footsteps behind me.
It was Wen Ruzhou.
“Captain Shen,” her voice was very faint, “thank you.”
I didn’t turn around.
“I’ve said it before, it’s not because of you, it’s because you are suitable.”
“I know,” she walked up beside me, a faint hint of laughter in her voice, “if you say I’m suitable, then I am.”
I finally turned my head to look at her.
She stood beside me, dark circles faintly showing beneath her eyes, but her eyes were remarkably bright. A subtle smile rested at the corner of her mouth—a smile whose true meaning I couldn’t quite discern.
“What are you smiling at?”
“Nothing,” she shook her head, “I just felt… the way you acted in the meeting today was particularly—”
“Particularly what?”
“Particularly like you.”
I was caught off guard for a moment.
“What does that mean?”
“It means…” She tilted her head, thinking for a moment. “Very cool. Very resolute. Very trustworthy.”
Her tone was light, as if speaking of something entirely trivial.
But I caught it—that was not the tone used for something trivial.
“Wen Ruzhou,” I looked at her, “do you know why I agreed to let you stay?”
“You said it, because—”
“It’s not because you’re suitable,” I cut her off.
Her smile stiffened for a second.
“Then why?”
I stayed silent for two seconds.
“Because you were right.”
“Right about what?”
“You said you want to find out the truth,” I turned around, my back facing her, “not to protect anyone, nor to expose anyone—just to know the truth. That reason is right.”
I paused.
“As long as you are doing it for the truth, I will trust you.”
There was no sound behind me.
I thought she wouldn’t answer.
But she spoke up suddenly, her voice very faint, carrying a warmth I had never heard in it before.
“Captain Shen.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you know, that is the most…”
She didn’t finish her sentence.
I turned my head back.
She stood in place looking at me, the smile on her face gone, replaced by an expression I couldn’t quite define—resembling shock, yet carrying something deeper.
“The most what?”
She shook her head.
“It’s nothing.”
She turned and left, her pace slightly faster than usual.
I stared at her receding figure, suddenly noticing that the tips of her ears were slightly red.
I didn’t know why.
But my heart skipped a beat.
That night, I stayed late working overtime in the office.
Wen Ruzhou came in once halfway through, bringing me a cup of coffee.
“You haven’t drunk much water today,” she placed the coffee on my desk. “I brought you some coffee, though I’m not sure if it suits your taste.”
“Is there sugar in it?”
“No sugar. You look like someone who drinks sugar-free coffee.”
I didn’t reply, picking up the cup to take a sip.
Bitter.
Yet surprisingly, I didn’t find it unpleasant.
“You’re not leaving yet?” I asked.
“Waiting for you,” she sat down across from me. “There’s word regarding Wen Minghua.”
“Speak.”
“I had someone make inquiries,” she opened her phone and showed me a message. “Wen Minghua appeared in Macau recently. It was two weeks ago—he entered the same hotel right on the heels of Liu Jianguo, the main suspect in the Hengyuan case.”
I stared at the message, my brow furrowing.
“Liu Jianguo fled?”
“No,” she shook her head, “but he has been to Macau. Twice.”
“Twice?”
“Right,” she put away her phone. “The first time was a week ago, and the second time was three days ago. Both times were connected to Wen Minghua.”
I leaned back against my chair, staring at the ceiling.
Wen Minghua had contact with the suspect in the Hengyuan case, and it took place in Macau—one of the most common channels for money laundering.
This meant Wen Minghua wasn’t just a passive recipient being used by others.
He might be a co-conspirator.
“Wen Ruzhou,” I spoke up suddenly, “are you sure you want to keep investigating?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wen Minghua is your uncle,” I looked at her. “If the evidence you find points to his active involvement in money laundering—can you really make that call?”
She remained silent for a few seconds.
“Captain Shen,” she raised her head, her gaze bright, “I thought about this question the moment I chose this path.”
“And your answer?”
“My answer?” She offered a faint smile, subtle yet resolute. “My mother spent thirty years in business, and the first lesson she taught me was—accounts must be settled clearly.”
She paused.
“A debt incurred must be paid back. That’s what my mother taught me. And it’s what I want to teach her in return.”
I looked at her.
Her eyes gleamed intensely under the lights, as if something were burning within them.
“Wen Ruzhou,” I stood up, “come with me to Macau tomorrow.”
She froze.
“What?”
“To check the contact records between Wen Minghua and Liu Jianguo,” I grabbed my coat. “You just said they entered the same hotel back-to-back. That hotel must have surveillance footage.”
“But—Macau is outside our immediate jurisdiction, our authorization—”
“I’ve contacted the authorities in Macau,” I cut her off. “They agreed to assist with the investigation. Flight is first thing tomorrow morning.”
She looked at me, her lips moving slightly as if wanting to say something.
“What? You don’t want to go?”
“No,” she shook her head, her lips slowly curving upward. “I just didn’t expect you to move so fast.”
“Investigating cases requires speed,” I opened the door. “Otherwise, by the time they run, it’ll be too late for tears.”
“Captain Shen,” she followed behind me, “can I ask you a question?”
“Speak.”
“Why are you helping me?”
I stopped in my tracks.
With my back to her, I didn’t turn around.
“I told you, it’s not about helping you. It’s about helping the case.”
“Is it really just because of the case?”
Her voice came from behind, very faint, carrying a subtle nuance I couldn’t quite grasp.
I didn’t answer.
The door closed behind me.
In the elevator, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.
My mind was completely filled with how she had looked just now.
Sitting across from me, her eyes bright as she said, “I thought about this question the moment I chose this path.”
Standing up, her lips curving up as she said, “I didn’t expect you to move so fast.”
And just now, standing in the doorway, her voice quiet as she asked, “Is it really just because of the case?”
I hadn’t answered.
Because I didn’t know how to answer.
But one thing was crystal clear to me—starting today, something had changed.
She was no longer just the “decent enough” newcomer.
She had become…
Become what?
I didn’t know.
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped out into the dark night.
Tomorrow we go to Macau.
The day after tomorrow we investigate Wen Minghua.
The day after that…
I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
But I knew that whether it was the day after that or some day down the line, certain accounts would ultimately have to be settled clearly.
Regarding Wen Minghua.
Regarding Wen Ruzhou.
And regarding myself.
The night wind brushed against my face, carrying the cool chill of late autumn.
I pulled my coat a bit tighter around me.
A faint scent of coffee hung on the jacket.
It was the scent from her.
I had never tasted coffee so bitter.
Yet I couldn’t bring myself to wash the coat.