Chapter 1315: I Only Want You (13)
“No.”
An Xiaoning turned around and walked away. Henry asked, “Where are you going?”
“Off to die.”
“…”
——
An Xiaoning headed downstairs again to see that Wu Lianzhi was no longer there.
She sat on the couch and switched on the television to see that the ongoing program was a documentary about archeology.
Coincidentally, Wang Jinsheng was being interviewed during the documentary. An Xiaoning kept her eyes fixed onto the screen while remaining calm and composed. A few minutes later, she decided to call Pan Zhenghui.
“Bureau Chief, it’s me.”
“Hello… Xiaoning.”
“Is Wang Jinsheng still the captain of the archeological team?”
“Yes. I was just about to contact you to talk about him. Ever since you told me that he was in close contact with tomb raiders, I’ve begun investigating him and the results are out now.”
“You’re really efficient, huh?” An Xiaoning remarked in surprise.
“Of course I’d have to pay attention to the issues that you had spoken to me about. It’s a long story, I can’t explain it through the phone. Xiaoning, come down to the police station.”
“Alright, I’ll be on my way.”
“Okay, sure.”
She immediately switched off the television.
Meanwhile, Pan Zhenghui collated all the documents and checked through them carefully once more. By the time An Xiaoning arrived, he had already prepared some tea for her. “Here, Xiaoning try the tea that I made for you using some new tea leaves that I had just bought. Have a seat and let’s discuss it slowly.”
An Xiaoning grabbed the teacup and took a seat opposite him. “So what’s going on?” she asked.
“According to my investigations, this Captain Wang is such a major disappointment. I really couldn’t tell he was such a person. It wasn’t until I started checking up on him that I saw his true colors. Captain Wang had only started contacting He Yi recently. However, he had been in close contact with traffickers who peddle national treasures illegally. We found out that he had sold the nation’s relics and archeological property without permission and earned a load from those illegal transactions.”
Slightly speechless, An Xiaoning replied, “Continue investigating, then. Just handle the matter impartially and punish him accordingly.”
“Yes, that goes without saying.”
“Also, He Yi is an expert at raiding tombs. You guys look out for him and keep close tabs on him. Do as you deem fit if he dares to continue raiding tombs.”
“Yes, I know what to do.”
“Has a replacement for Yuan Mingzhu been found yet?” she asked.
Pan Zhenghui let out a sigh and answered, “I would have informed you long ago had I found a replacement. It’s not that easy to find someone like her. We thought we had finally found one a couple of days ago, but he turned out to be a swindler. Xiaoning, please just come back to join us. It’s alright even if you can only afford to spare a few days a week to assist in solving cases. There are still cases from a few decades ago that haven’t been solved yet. Since there are no outsiders now, I shall be frank with you. Some cases can never be cracked without your help. It’s not that we don’t have sufficient evidence, we just don’t have the means of authority to do it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you get it?” Pan Zhenghui lowered his voice and spoke as softly as possible, “The criminals of those cases have a powerful family background and we can’t touch them.”
An Xiaoning said, “How about I resume my duty as the leader of the Special Investigation Unit? However, I can’t report to the station every single day because I have lots of personal issues to handle. I can only free up a few days per month perhaps to drop by. My attendance won’t be consistent.”
Upon hearing that she had agreed, Pan Zhenghui jumped for joy and exclaimed, “Marvelous! It’s alright even if you can only come once a month. Xiaoning, our nation needs more talents like you. I can only tell you these secretly. Think about it, there are lots of major and complicated cases that haven’t been solved for years. Apart from those that we have sufficient evidence for, the rest are all cases from several decades ago where there are no surveillance cameras or fingerprints collecting systems. Hence, it’s extremely difficult to solve those cases, unlike now where technology is so advanced. Besides, I’m actually really frustrated and infuriated about being unable to nab those criminals who have powerful families, despite having collected sufficient evidence against them.”
“How about you collate all the information and evidence pertaining to those cases and hand them over to the special investigation team? I’ll go there to take a look.”
“Alright.”
An Xiaoning put down her teacup and left the office to head to the Special Investigation Unit.
It was extremely quiet in the office. An Xiaoning opened the door and craned her neck to see that they were all sitting quietly without uttering a single word.
Zu Dong was the first one who discovered her. He immediately stood up and greeted, “Hello, Team Leader.”
“What are you guys doing? Why do all of you look so serious?”
Ma Jianguo answered, “We’re just fretting over these cases. But what brings you here, Xiaoning? Did something urgent crop up?”
“Yeah, I came to look for Bureau Chief to talk to him about something. However, I have some good news for you. Would you guys like to make a guess?” she asked while walking toward the desk.
The men looked at each other in shock, wondering to themselves what the good news could be.
“What is it?”
“Make a guess.”
“Hmm… could it be that you’re coming back to lead our team?” Ma Jianguo asked.
“Spot on. Old Ma, what have you been eating every day? Why have you gotten so smart?” An Xiaoning asked.
“I eat everything.”
Gong Le chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, Old Ma eats everything, including grass and poop.”
Ma Jianguo chided, “You rascal, come here. I’m going to beat you up!”
Gong Le grimaced at him and said, “Old Ma is getting riled up.”
The initial silence turned into a lively and boisterous mood. After teasing each other for a while, Ma Jianguo asked, “Team Leader, are you really going to join us again? You’re not lying to us, are you?”
“What do I gain from lying to you? I’ve already informed the Chief of my decision. However, I won’t be able to come every day and I might only be able to come for a few days a month. He said that it would be alright.”
Ma Jianguo smacked his own forehead and exclaimed excitedly, “Did you guys hear that? See, I told you guys something good will happen today. Look, we really received some good news! It doesn’t matter how often you can come, as long as you do!”
“Is that so? Let’s start working on a new case once you’ve solved this one. I came here just to inform you guys about my return. Alright, I shall not disrupt your brainstorming session any further. You guys continue, I’m leaving now,” said An Xiaoning.
“You’ve only been here for such a short while. Are you going to leave already?”
“I don’t want to disturb you guys. Work hard. I’ll see you guys again another day.” She then stood up and left.
During the journey home, she suddenly felt parched. Hence, she decided to stop by a supermarket to buy some water.
To her surprise, she ran into Shi Shaochuan and… Bu Xianxian.
I heard that Shi Shaochuan and Bu Xianxian had already broken up long ago, how…
Why is this world… so strange?
“Hey, Bu Xianxian, you’re really something, eh?” An Xiaoning quipped while holding a bottle of water.