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When I returned to the office, it was already past midnight, and the Vice Minister was still awake, waiting for us. His eyes were red-rimmed as he sat alone on the sofa in his office, sipping tea. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he sent everyone else home to rest, leaving just me and him in the office.
He gently brewed a cup of tea for me and then asked, "Have you solved the case?"
I nodded and replied, "The case is solved, and I even brought in the Second Unit. Zhang Lei said that if you want to punish me, you might as well punish him too. The two of us are now in the same boat; if you really want to impose a penalty, you should consider Zhang Lei's situation as well."
The Vice Minister slowly turned the teacup in his hands without looking at me and said, "You little rascal and your clever tricks. You deliberately left out your team and only mentioned yourself, hoping to shoulder all the blame alone? And now you've dragged Zhang Lei into this too?"
"He insisted on betting with me that if I solved the case, he would willingly share the punishment. We're both people who honor our bets; you can ask him about it." I finished my tea in one go. "I've prepared myself mentally for this. However, it was me who struck first and disobeyed orders. If you truly want to punish someone, it has nothing to do with my team members."
"They intended to come back," I continued. "I was the one who stopped them. You should know the whole story by now; I won't elaborate further."
The Vice Minister didn't respond directly but instead said, "Young man, that's not how you drink tea. I'm aware of the situation, but regarding your incident, it has stirred quite a commotion online. Days have passed, yet public interest remains high. They all want an explanation from you; what do you think I should do?"
I sighed and replied, "This is indeed my problem. Regardless of anything else, after arresting the suspect, I shouldn't have resorted to violence; that was my fault. From that perspective, I'm willing to accept any punishment. However, if you're asking for my opinion, I will not apologize to Han Youliang. I don't regret what I did; it is what it is."
"Young man, you're so impulsive!" The Vice Minister took a sip of tea and said, "If hitting someone could solve problems, I wouldn't oppose it. But what was the outcome after your actions? Was it positive? Initially, your position as team leader was definitely at risk of being revoked; however, unexpectedly, you provided a useful lead."
Hearing this from him suggested a twist in the situation; things seemed to be turning around. Realizing this, I placed my cup on the Tea Table and said, "Deputy Minister, it seems like there's more to your words than meets the eye. Why don't you just say it outright? What kind of punishment are you considering for me? Your tone suggests it might be more lenient; surely you can't be thinking of promoting me?"
The Deputy Minister chuckled and said, "Promote you? You really dare to dream! I'll be straightforward with you: remember when you provided a lead about a leader transferred to Kaiyang City whose son's name contains 'Bo'? That leader has been investigated based on your information and has been removed from his position as of yesterday."
"Sure enough, they found issues with that leader," the Deputy Minister continued while looking at me. "As for other personnel involved in the case, some are still being followed up on. This doesn't concern your team; I won't go into details about that. However, your report has been noted by higher-ups. If it weren't for that lead, your position as leader of the Special Investigation Team would have certainly been revoked. Nevertheless, merits and faults cannot offset each other; after our discussion, we have decided on the following punishment!"
Upon hearing this, I immediately stood up straight and respectfully stood aside.
The Vice Minister nodded and said, "You will be appointed as a Third-Class Police Superintendent while your Special Investigation Team members will remain unchanged. Do you have any objections?"
Upon hearing this, I let out a sigh of relief; I had expected something much harsher. With that thought in mind, I immediately saluted and said, "No objections! This punishment is very reasonable; I fully accept the arrangement from above. I truly don't know how your minds work to come up with such a reasonable decision!"
The Vice Minister raised a hand, interrupting my conversation, and said, "You brat, are you mocking me or complimenting me? I know you've had your ups and downs, and it seems you don't care anymore. After all these years, I've never seen anyone quite like you. You have a knack for solving cases, but when it comes to getting into trouble, you have even more tricks up your sleeve."
As he spoke, the Vice Minister poured me another cup of tea and added, "This tea is good for clearing heat and detoxifying. Sit down; no need to stand."
I chuckled and took a seat, mimicking the old man's manner as I took a light sip.
The Vice Minister nodded and then asked, "Now that we've finished discussing official matters, it's time to talk about personal ones. Tell me, how is Dezi doing now? Is there any issue with his health?"
Just thinking about it made my head ache. I held the teacup with one hand while rubbing my temple with the other. "It's still unclear. Juan Juan mentioned something about a window period for AIDS. The earliest we can get tested is in two weeks, and we still have a week to wait. We don’t even know if he’s been infected."
"Even though no one is bringing it up now, everyone has that knot in their hearts," I sighed. "At this point, we can only leave it to fate."
The Vice Minister patted my shoulder and said, "In our line of work, I understand that we tend to think of the worst-case scenarios first. If it really comes to that, don’t worry too much. Medical advancements today mean that if treatment is maintained, life expectancy won’t be too different from that of normal people."
I shook my head. "You know that's not what we're worried about. If Yan Junde really has AIDS, he definitely can't stay in the Special Investigation Team anymore, right? We all know that with current medical capabilities and support from Juan Juan and Mary’s family background, costs won't be an issue. But Yan Junde can't leave the Special Investigation Team, and the Special Investigation Team can't function without Yan Junde..."
The Vice Minister fell silent, letting out a long sigh before finally saying, "Although we are mentally prepared and know that injury and death are always close by us, when that day actually arrives, it truly catches us off guard. It's getting late; you should rest early."
Ten days later, Yan Junde's blood had been sent for testing. At this moment, we were all waiting outside for the results. Watching the busy figures inside made me feel strangely detached from reality as if this world didn’t belong to me. Mary and Juan Juan held hands tightly together on a bench, sitting completely still as if they had turned to stone.
The oppressive atmosphere was unbearable; I patted Dezi on the shoulder and suggested he come outside for some fresh air. Although Dezi's expression remained unchanged, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead. It wouldn’t be long before the results came out. Being inside felt like an eternity; it was better to be outside for a breath of fresh air.
I pulled out a cigarette and offered it to Dezi. He accepted it without hesitation. We disregarded our image and sat on the curb across the street smoking. Taking a deep drag from my cigarette, I said to Dezi, "A few years ago, I went through something similar to what you're experiencing now. As you all know, I still have shrapnel lodged in my body that can't be removed because it's too close to my heart; the risk of surgery would be much greater than what we're facing now. So the doctors decided it was better to leave it there."
"But at that time, no conclusion had been reached yet; every day I could hear them discussing whether or not to operate." I chuckled as I continued, "It really felt like my time was running out. The shrapnel in my body was like a ticking time bomb constantly reminding me that at any moment I could leave this world forever."
Dezi listened intently while smoking.
I continued, "Now even though the shrapnel is still near my heart, I'm no longer afraid. But during that first year, I was terrified. I feared dying unexpectedly when there were still so many things left undone. After being scared for a while, I made myself a list of ten things I needed to do before I died."
"I'm not hiding anything from you. Aside from two things I haven't accomplished yet, I've done everything else," I said with a smile. "One is marrying Juan Juan, and the other is figuring out what happened with Captain Shi. Death isn't scary, and waiting for it isn't either. I could die at any moment, but I feel no burden in my heart."
"It's just like you said; if a person knows what they want to do and is willing to work for it, then nothing is truly frightening."
Dezi remained silent, and so did I. We simply smoked in silence until the cigarettes were finished. Then Dezi spoke up, "When I entered this line of work, I prepared for the worst. Besides, the current situation isn't even the worst. I've already done what I wanted to do; being able to become a police officer like my father is enough for me."
At that moment, Mary and Juan Juan rushed out from the Centers for Disease Control. We collided face-to-face, and all four of us froze in place. After a long pause, I finally asked Juan Juan, "So, what are the test results?"
Juan Juan snapped back to reality and replied, "The results show that Dezi hasn't been infected!"
Hearing Juan Juan's words left me momentarily stunned before I processed it. By the time I did, Mary had already thrown herself into Dezi's arms! Dezi wasn't infected. We stood outside like four fools shouting with joy, drawing curious glances from those around us. But really, what could be more joyous than this?
Just then, my phone buzzed with a message. To my surprise, it was from Zhao Kaiyuan.
In his text, Zhao Kaiyuan thanked me and informed me that due to the downfall of his superiors, his parents had also lost their jobs...
A senior high school student had been kidnapped along with Leggy School Beauty and Busty Third-Tier Celebrity, trapped in an abandoned cabin after mistakenly eating unknown wild fruit and feeling feverish in the middle of the night.
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