At 4 -50 in the afternoon, the officers at the police station were already packing up, getting ready to clock out.
Suddenly, the auxiliary officer at the front desk came running in and called out –
“Luo Fei, there’s a girl looking for you in the lobby.”
The moment they heard “a girl,” the office immediately erupted into teasing laughter.
“Nice one, Luo Fei! Since when did you get a girlfriend? Met her in college? You’re doing better than your master—he never even had a girlfriend and just went straight into an arranged marriage,” Officer Liu Haiquan joked.
Next to him, Zheng Ping glanced over and scoffed.
“You’re not much better yourself. You two are basically the same.”
Luo Fei ignored the teasing. He stood up and walked out, slightly curious.
A girl looking for him?
In his memory, the original Luo Fei didn’t seem to have any female friends. And in the past six months since he arrived in this world, no woman had ever come looking for him either.
When he reached the front desk, he saw a tall girl with a ponytail, quietly studying the bulletin board.
It was Yang Mei.
Only then did Luo Fei understand.
So it was her.
He already had a guess as to why she had come.
Besides the promised reward from Zhao Donglai, there was no other reason.
As expected.
When Luo Fei arrived, Yang Mei took out two envelopes and handed them over.
“These are from Captain Zhao Donglai,” she said. “One for you, one for Officer Zhang Haiyang. It’s a thank-you for your help in the Su Xiao case. He originally planned to come personally, but something came up in the city, so he asked me to deliver them.”
After handing over the envelopes, Yang Mei left.
Back in the office—
“Luo Fei, where’s your girlfriend? Why didn’t you bring her in so we could meet her?” Liu Haiquan teased again.
Luo Fei smiled lightly.
“Officer Haiquan, don’t spread rumors. I’m still single.”
He didn’t bother explaining that the girl was from the criminal investigation team. There was no need.
He returned to his seat and waited for work to end.
At five o’clock, everyone who had been ready to leave started heading out in batches.
Luo Fei packed up his things and followed Zhang Haiyang out.
At the doorway, he suddenly called out –
“Master, wait a second. I need to talk to you.”
Zhang Haiyang paused, slightly confused, but stopped to wait.
Luo Fei walked up and handed him one of the envelopes.
“Yang Mei came earlier. She brought two envelopes from Captain Zhao Donglai—one for each of us, thanking us for the Su Xiao case. I didn’t check the amount.”
Zhang Haiyang opened it and chuckled.
“From the thickness, probably around two thousand yuan. Zhao Donglai’s pretty decent—not stingy at all.”
He looked pleased.
After parting ways with Zhang Haiyang, Luo Fei opened his own envelope.
Exactly two thousand yuan—no more, no less.
An unexpected bonus.
It lifted his mood slightly.
By around 5 -30, Luo Fei arrived home.
As soon as he opened the door, he heard voices inside.
When he stepped in, he saw his uncle and aunt sitting on the sofa chatting with his mother, cracking sunflower seeds. Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao were watching TV nearby.
“Uncle, Aunt, what are you doing here?” Luo Fei greeted them with a smile, hanging his cap on the rack.
His aunt pretended to be upset.
“What? We’re not welcome here?”
“Of course not,” Luo Fei replied quickly with a smile. “I’m happy you’re here.”
He sat down next to his uncle.
To be honest, he had a good impression of them.
There was a saying – when you’re poor, no one visits; when you’re rich, relatives appear from everywhere.
In his case, only his aunt and uncle had stayed close.
His aunt’s name was Wu Xiaohui; his uncle was Wu Zhiwei.
She worked in a bracelet factory, and he worked at a pig farm.
They had always helped Luo Fei’s family, especially during difficult times. Without them, Luo Fei likely wouldn’t have been able to finish university.
Most of his tuition over the years had been borrowed from them.
Because of repeated borrowing, even his uncle’s wife had once argued fiercely with him, and after that, she largely cut ties with their family. Only his uncle still visited occasionally.
Wu Xiaohui looked at Luo Fei carefully and smiled.
“People say clothes make the man, and horses need saddles. Xiao Fei looks completely different in that police uniform—much more handsome and energetic. Brother, don’t you think so?”
Wu Zhiwei nodded.
“Yes, he looks much more mature now. Working in society really changes people.”
Then Wu Xiaohui asked casually, “Brother, what about Xiaoyu? Is he still hanging around with those useless friends and not working?”
At the mention of his son, Wu Zhiwei’s expression darkened.
“I’ve given up on him,” he said flatly. “Completely. I won’t give him another cent. He can stay at home and eat, but that’s it.”
“He’s almost thirty now, how is he still so irresponsible?” Wu Xiaohui sighed. “He was such a smart and well-behaved kid when he was young… how did he end up like this?”
The “Xiaoyu” they were talking about was Wu Zhiwei’s eldest son—Luo Fei’s cousin, Wu Yu.
And his story… Luo Fei had heard it many times from his mother.
He went to a high-cost vocational college.
In his first year, he broke a roommate’s nose in a fight and had to pay medical compensation, plus received a serious disciplinary warning.
In his second year, he was kicked out for repeated misconduct after beating someone in the cafeteria over a minor argument about queue jumping.
After being expelled, he returned home and claimed he would continue studying elsewhere—saying he had already arranged admission to another school and needed 10,000 yuan for tuition.
Wu Zhiwei believed him and gave him 20,000 yuan without hesitation.
But instead of going to school, Wu Yu was later seen in a mahjong parlor.
At first, Wu Zhiwei refused to believe it.
Until he saw it himself.
When he rushed to the parlor, he found Wu Yu sitting there with a cigarette in his mouth, dark eye circles, messy hair, fully absorbed in gambling.
That day, Wu Zhiwei didn’t scold him.
He didn’t hit him either.
He simply turned around and left.
Because after too many disappointments… there was nothing left but silence and exhaustion.
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment!