Chapter 22: Not Knowing One's Place
The late night sky was dazzling with stars.
Qin Hao sat by the window, his police uniform neatly pressed, giving him a crisp and clean appearance.
After starting his job, he quickly discovered the gap between his ideals and reality.
There was no heroic fighting, no protecting the holand—just a pile of trivial matters to handle.
And there weren’t any righteous colleagues, either. He glanced over at the senior officers on shift with him. Two were organizing files while griping about the odd encounters they’d had lately. Another was trimming his nails with a clipper, and one more was casually waving his leg while holding a docunt in hand, foot propped up on the desk.
Qin Hao awkwardly adjusted his collar, feeling completely out of place—though his ntor was used to it. Every newcor went through this phase.
“As long as you get the work done, who cares? Sit all stiff like that, showing off for whom?” his ntor had said back when Qin Hao had just joined.
“Hungry? Wanna order sothing?” a colleague surnad Gu finished stacking a pile of docunts and looked up to extend the invite.
“Where from? Golden Arches?”
“Sure, anyone else? Ah Hao, you hungry?”
“No, thank you,” Qin Hao replied politely.
Since they could be called out at any mont, most of them opted for fast food that was simple, convenient, and easy to eat on the go—even while on the way to a scene, if need be, as his ntor had once advised him.
Qin Hao didn’t like fast food, so he made sure to eat more during dinner before his shifts.
“Tonight’s really quiet, huh? Not much going on.”
Watching his colleagues place their orders, Qin Hao glanced at the police car parked outside and casually remarked.
As soon as the words left his mouth, silence fell over the room.
Sensing their gazes, Qin Hao scratched his head in confusion. “What’s up?”
Old Gu, who had been tapping on his phone to order, grinned wryly. “Didn’t Chen teach you not to say things like that?”
“What kind of things?” Qin Hao had a sudden bad feeling.
Just then, the phone rang, and the entire office let out a collective groan.
“Guess it’s an all-nighter,” soone muttered.
…
Five minutes later, Qin Hao and Old Gu were in a car, driving under the moonlight toward their assignnt.
“Rember, never, ever say stuff like ‘It’s quiet tonight’ or ‘Not much going on’ when you’re on duty. Got it? Just don’t,” Old Gu lectured from the driver’s seat.
“Why?” Qin Hao still didn’t get it, but his gut told him he’d sohow jinxed things.
“It’s a freakin’ superstition that defies explanation. But whenever soone says it, that’s it—you’ll be run ragged all day and night.”
Old Gu looked exasperated. “Chen didn’t even think to warn you about it…”
Qin Hao sheepishly looked out the window. He didn’t really believe it, but he had to admit that as soon as he’d said it, they were called out.
When they arrived, the two got out of the police car, oriented themselves, and headed toward the building where the report had originated.
This was an old complex without an elevator, and the lights in the stairwell didn’t work. Qin Hao turned on his flashlight and made his way up to the sixth floor with agile steps.
For so reason, he always felt a bit excited about these late-night calls, hoping to finally catch a significant case.
But reality was cruel. There was no burglar, no fierce criminal, only a drunk guy slumped against a door, mumbling obscenities and pounding on it.
“What are you doing?!”
Qin Hao checked the door number and confird it was the right place. He flashed his light in the man’s face, scowling.
“I… I’m just going ho… My wife won’t… won’t let in.” The drunk squinted under the flashlight’s glare, his breath reeking of alcohol, nearly knocking Qin Hao back.
“Is this your ho?!”
Old Gu frowned and stepped forward to knock on the door. After a mont, it opened a crack, revealing a woman who looked slightly bewildered and tense.
“We got a report of a disturbance here… Did you make the call?”
“You wretched woman, you dare…”
“Shut it!” Old Gu snapped, giving him a disgusted look.
“No, I didn’t.” The woman glanced nervously at the drunk man on the ground, looking apologetically at the officers. “It might’ve been a neighbor… He’s been pounding on the door all night. I’m so sorry for the trouble…”
“Do you know him?”
“My husband. I just didn’t let him in because he drank too much. I warned him last ti…”
“I’m not drunk!” the man interjected from the floor.
“Want us to take you down to the station to sober up?” Old Gu asked.
“…”
“…”
“Are you sure there’s no issue?” he asked the woman.
“No, no issue!”
She quickly opened the door wide to let the drunk man in.
“Alright, good. But please keep the noise down, okay? The neighbors don’t know what’s going on—they thought it was a debt collector. They called in saying there was going to be a fight…”
With the minor issue resolved, the two officers sighed, turned on their flashlights, and headed back down. Outside, Qin Hao looked up at the starry sky, its deep hues as beautiful as a painting.
Another case closed—another great achievent, he mused with a sigh. Just as they reached the ground floor, the police communicator buzzed again.
“…”
Old Gu spread his hands. “See what I an?”
…
At Jiahe Complex.
Xu Qing, fast asleep, was startled awake by a noise in the living room. He blinked at the ceiling, then got up, opened his bedroom door a crack, and peeked out.
Seeing a shadow moving around, he flipped on the lights and stepped out. “Are you trying to sneak so—”
The lights revealed a young man hunched over the table, frozen mid-rummage.
“Uh… F*ck! Who the hell are you?!”
Xu Qing was montarily dumbfounded; his groggy mind hadn’t fully woken up yet. Just then, Jiang He’s bedroom door opened, and the three of them stood there, staring at each other in tense silence.
The intruder’s face twisted in determination, and Xu Qing, snapping to, shouted, “There’s a thief!”
The shout jolted Jiang He into action. Before the thief could react, she was upon him.
Thud!
The young man was thrown to the ground with Jiang He’s hand clamped around his throat. He flailed, clawing at her arm but unable to make a sound beyond strangled gasps.
“Stop!”
Xu Qing’s heart raced as he shouted, “Any harder, and he’ll be dead! Let go!”
“Ugh—cough, cough!”
The intruder finally released a breath, collapsing in a fit of coughs, fear in his eyes as he stared up at Jiang He.
What just happened?!
He couldn’t even begin to understand; all he knew was that he had nearly died.
“D*mn, wasn’t this a complete waste of ti?” Xu Qing muttered, glancing at the window, where the fra had been pried open.
He looked back and forth between the still-coughing thief and Jiang He, who stood calmly by, feeling an impending headache.
Jiang He’s docile behavior over the past month had almost made Xu Qing forget her true identity.
Good thing no one died tonight.
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