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墨書 Inktalez
At the meeting of the Second Police Station, the Sheriff slammed a newspaper down on his desk and pointed at Wang Junpeng, yelling, "Wang Junpeng, last night a group of police officers chased after a thief like headless flies all over the street. How impressive! It even made the headlines! But where's the thief? Where's the thief? You didn't catch him, and several of our brothers got hurt. You've completely tarnished the reputation of our police station!"
Wang Junpeng stood there with his head down, enduring it silently like a grandson. Wang Zhiyuan couldn't hold back and let out a chuckle. Hearing the laughter, the Sheriff felt his authority was being undermined and turned to point at Wang Zhiyuan, scolding loudly, "Still laughing! What are you laughing at? What about you and Tao Ziwen? What were you doing yesterday? Did you solve your case?"
Wang Zhiyuan and Tao Ziwen quickly stood up.
Tao Ziwen reported, "Sheriff, we have made some progress on the murder case. We have basically identified the suspect, but we haven't gathered enough evidence yet."
"Then hurry up and investigate! I give you two days; you must solve this case within that time!"
"Yes!"
Tao Ziwen responded readily, leaving the Sheriff momentarily without an outlet for his anger. He shouted, "Meeting adjourned!" and stormed out of the conference room with unresolved fury.
As all the officers left the meeting room, the Sheriff's assistant approached Wang Junpeng. "Wang Junpeng, the Sheriff wants you in his office!"
"Oh!"
Wang Junpeng replied vaguely, reluctantly following the Sheriff's assistant to his office.
"Sheriff, you... you wanted to see me?"
"Sit! Sit over there!" The still-fuming Sheriff gestured for Wang Junpeng to take a seat across from him.
Wang Junpeng was trembling with fear. "I... I think I'll stand!"
"Fine!"
The Sheriff signaled for his assistant to leave and closed the door. Then he walked over to Wang Junpeng, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Wang Junpeng, you've been with our police station for a long time; you can't let these newcomers outshine you!"
Wang Junpeng looked surprised and flattered. "Sheriff, don't worry! As long as 'Thorned Rose' shows up again, I will definitely catch them!"
"I believe you. However, I remind you that capturing someone doesn't necessarily require brute force; you need to use this!"
The Sheriff pointed to his own head. Wang Junpeng nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, Sheriff! With this experience, I definitely won't make the same mistake next time."
The Sheriff nodded in satisfaction and then asked, "Yesterday, two foxes were poisoned. Did you send someone to investigate?"
"Oh!" Wang Junpeng suddenly realized, "I'll take care of it right away! I'll do it right now!"
Eager to leave, Wang Junpeng started walking toward the door during the conversation. However, the Sheriff called him back.
"Wang Junpeng, where are you going?"
"To... investigate," Wang Junpeng said awkwardly.
"Do you know where to focus your investigation?"
Wang Junpeng's eyes darted around for a moment before he finally shook his head: "I don't know!"
"The key places to investigate are the hospital and the pharmacy!" The Sheriff was clearly fed up and decided to ignore it, saying, "Alright, just hurry up and arrange it!"
"Okay!" Wang Junpeng felt as if he had been granted amnesty and rushed out the door.
The Sheriff shook his head helplessly: "With that kind of brain, how can he compete with Tao Ziwen?"
Wang Junpeng closed the Sheriff's office door and stood outside, letting out a sigh: "That was suffocating!" Then he swaggered toward his office under the strange gazes of his colleagues.
In Shanghai, at Cheng Shuping's home.
Cheng Shuping's subordinate Han Zhao hurriedly crossed the Cheng Family courtyard and walked straight to the door of a study. He knocked on the door. From inside came Cheng Shuping's voice: "Who is it?"
"It’s me, sir!" Han Zhao replied.
"Come in!"
After Han Zhao pushed open the door to the study, he gently closed it behind him.
Inside the study, Cheng Shuping was reading. He glanced at Han Zhao and asked, "What do you need?"
"Sir, our earnings from the casino yesterday were still below expectations," Han Zhao said.
Cheng Shuping nodded. "I see. Do you have anything else?"
Han Zhao hesitated, unsure of how to express his thoughts.
"Are you thinking about the opium issue again?" Cheng Shuping guessed.
Since Cheng Shuping had already figured it out, Han Zhao felt no need to hold back. "Yes. Other casinos have opium, and I haven't seen the police intervene. Given your good relationship with the police department, why don't we deal in opium? What are you really afraid of?"
Cheng Shuping lost interest in his reading. He stood up and paced to the window, looking outside. "No one is watching now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t later. The situation is very volatile; various forces are stirring. I don’t want any leverage in the hands of our competitors. Moreover, based on what I know about Zhou Junsheng, he would absolutely not agree to us selling opium in the casino."
Han Zhao reluctantly nodded. "Alright."
As Han Zhao was about to leave, Cheng Shuping reminded him, "From now on, just maintain order in the casino. Don’t worry about whether we’re making a profit or not!"
"Okay." As Han Zhao left, he glanced back at Cheng Shuping with disappointment before opening the door and stepping out.
It was noon, and under the bright sun, Guo Ziqian hurriedly walked down the street while Jia Guangren followed closely behind, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Guo Ziqian, where are we going today?"
"We're heading to that café again."
"The coffee shop is just up ahead, why are you walking so fast?"
Guo Zhiqian did not respond.
Finally, they arrived outside the coffee shop. Through the glass, Guo Zhiqian saw the Cheng Sisters busy at the bar, and a relieved smile appeared on his tense face.
At that moment, cries of a child and a woman's pleas came from across the street at the casino. Guo Zhiqian and Jia Guangren turned to look: a woman was pulling her husband, trying to stop him from entering the casino. The woman had a pale, thin infant on her back.
The woman pleaded with her husband, "You can't go! We only have this little money at home; it's for the child's medical treatment. If you lose again, we won't have a single cent left!"
The woman's husband was a complete gambler. He turned to his wife and shouted angrily, "You cursed witch, always talking about losing! I won't lose this time!"
With that, the gambler pushed his wife to the ground and strode toward the casino.
Guo Zhiqian couldn't stand it. As soon as he moved, Jia Guangren grabbed him, saying, "Can you really manage this kind of thing for a lifetime?"
"If I can manage it for a moment, then I will!"
With that, Guo Zhiqian quickly walked up behind the gambler and blocked his way. "This money is for your child's medical treatment; how can you bear to gamble it away?"
"I'm gambling with my own money; I don't steal or rob. What business is it of yours?"
Hearing this, Guo Zhiqian's anger flared up. He grabbed the gambler's hands and twisted them behind his back. The gambler immediately cried out in pain, "Help! Someone's attacking me!"
Guo Zhiqian was filled with righteous indignation. "People like you who neglect their family for gambling deserve to be punished!"
He kicked the gambler down to the ground. "Hand over the money!"
The gambler trembled as he took out his money pouch and handed it to Guo Zhiqian.
Guo Zhiqian took the pouch and handed it to the woman. "Take this and hurry to get your child treated!"
The Woman took the money bag and looked gratefully at Guo Zhiqian.
The Gambler lying on the ground still would not let it go: "You filthy woman, now that you've taken the money, if you dare to spend even a penny of it, just wait and see how I'll beat you tonight!"
Guo Zhiqian looked at the Gambler, who immediately shut his mouth: "I was just trying to scare her!"
Guo Zhiqian was furious: "If you dare to lay a finger on her or her child, I swear you won't live to see tomorrow morning!"
The Gambler trembled in fear: "I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare!"
Guo Zhiqian turned to the Woman: "If he bullies you or your child again, come find me at this café!"
The Woman glanced at the Gambler and then at Guo Zhiqian, clearly frightened by what had just happened. After hesitating for a moment, she turned around with trepidation and walked away, looking back several times.
Watching the Woman leave, Guo Zhiqian felt a surge of sadness.
Jia Guangren said, "You shouldn't meddle where you're not wanted! It's hard for even a fair official to resolve family matters. Do you really think that teaching this Gambler a lesson in public will change him? In the end, he'll just take his anger out on his wife!"
Guo Zhiqian had no response and walked into the café across the street with a dejected expression.
Inside the café, Guo Zhiqian randomly chose a seat and sat down. Jia Guangren sat across from him.
Jia Guangren complained to Guo Zhiqian: "Guo Zhiqian, why get worked up over someone like that?"
Guo Zhiqian replied indignantly: "I just can't stand it!"
Guo Zhiqian turned to look out the window. Across the street, the Gambler pulled out a coin from his pocket and excitedly walked into the Casino, still seething with anger as he added, "What I can't stand most is this kind of Gambler who abandons his wife and children!"
During Guo Zhiqian and Jia Guangren's conversation, Cheng Yuwan had already walked over from the bar: "There are so many Gamblers in this world; no matter how much you despise them, you can't control them all."
Guo Zhiqian turned back. Still filled with anger, he spoke to Cheng Yuwan apologetically: "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought that kind of emotion in here."
"There's no need for you to apologize, sir. I can't stand these Gamblers either. But our café is right across from this Casino, so even if we dislike it, we have to watch it, don't we?"
"I guess I'm just too sensitive about these Gamblers."
"Mr. Cheng Yuwan: Sir, what book would you like to read today? And what drink would you like?"
Jia Guangren handed Guo Zhiqian the Foreign Sonnet Collection. Guo Zhiqian took it and said, "Just this book. As for the drink, I'll stick with the usual, a latte."
Jia Guangren said to Cheng Yuwan, "I can't get used to coffee; I'll have a cup of tea instead!"
"Alright, today's coffee is free, but the tea is still at regular price!"
Cheng Yuwan's words surprised both Guo Zhiqian and Jia Guangren.
"Why is his drink free while mine isn't?" After the initial surprise, Jia Guangren felt it was unfair.
"Well... sister, this is a reward for those who act bravely! Who told you to choose to stand by and do nothing?" Cheng Yuwan said as she walked back to the bar.
Jia Guangren felt uneasy but had no words to respond.
Guo Zhiqian couldn't help but look up at Cheng Yuyao at the bar.
Cheng Yuyao noticed Guo Zhiqian staring at her and shyly lowered her head, focusing on making coffee. Cheng Yuwan teased her sister, "Sister, look at that gentleman. Should I swap names for you two?"
Cheng Yuyao pretended to be displeased. "Stop joking around and get back to work!"
Cheng Yuyao looked up at Guo Zhiqian, who was still gazing intently at her.
Cheng Yuwan continued to joke with her sister, "Sister, I see you have feelings for him too? Are you falling in love?"
"Get back to your work!" Cheng Yuyao said as she took the coffee to serve the customer.
"They're fine!" Guo Zhiqian looked at the Cheng Sisters at the bar, a look of relief spreading across his face.
Jia Guangren, not understanding Guo Zhiqian's words, asked, "Guo Zhiqian, who is fine?"
"Oh, no one. Let's get to work."
Guo Zhiqian opened the Foreign Sonnet Collection. Jia Guangren glanced suspiciously at Guo Zhiqian and then at the bar, suddenly realizing something. He lowered his voice and asked, "Which of the two sisters do you like?"
"That's not the case!"
Jia Guangren persisted, "I've been through this! I can see clearly when you two are exchanging glances in front of me!"
Guo Zhiqian pretended not to hear and focused entirely on the poetry collection he had opened.
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