Chapter 1418
1 to buy my brother's life, this Mid-Autumn Festival is a real mess.
When Luo Fei brought them into Guoan, they had a vague feeling that this path would be difficult, but they never expected it to end in this way.
The day the two packed their things and left the National Security Bureau, the weather was gloomy, as if it was about to rain but didn't. Zhou Xuan stood at the entrance of the unit for a while, looked back at the gray office building, and uttered two words—"Damn it."
Zeng Jian didn't say anything, he just patted him on the shoulder.
Before the two even reached the subway station, Zeng Jian's phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a name—Xu Hanwen.
Xu Hanwen is now a well-known figure in Jiangcheng's catering industry. His "Hanwen Restaurant" brand has opened five branches in Jiangcheng, and business is booming, with long queues forming outside every day during mealtimes.
He went from owning a small roadside restaurant to becoming the vice president of the Jiangcheng Catering Association. But his personality remained unchanged; he was still the same loud and boisterous person, whose laughter could be heard throughout the entire street.
As soon as the call connected, Xu Hanwen's voice boomed out—"What's going on with you two? I told you, what future is there in being a policeman? Hurry up and come to my shop, we're short-handed!"
Zhou Xuan gave Zeng Jian a wry smile. Zeng Jian said into the phone, "Okay, we'll be there right away," and then hung up.
That evening, the three of them sat in a small private room next to the kitchen of Xu Hanwen's restaurant. The table was laden with dishes, including Xu Hanwen's signature spicy chicken, boiled fish, and garlic oysters, along with two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor).
Xu Hanwen poured a full glass for the two of them, then poured one for himself, clinked glasses with the glass, and downed about half of it in one gulp.
Is being a police officer interesting?
Xu Hanwen put down his wine glass and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I only make that little salary a month, and I have to live at the mercy of my boss. Do you know how much profit my five stores make each month? I'm afraid it will scare you if I told you."
Zhou Xuan shook his head with a wry smile. "All you know how to do is try to bribe people with money."
"What's wrong with money? Isn't money good enough?"
Xu Hanwen glared at him, then softened his tone, "Don't overthink it. You're here to help me, not to do me a favor. The logistics management of my stores is a complete mess, and I'm worried about not being able to find someone trustworthy."
"You've worked in police stations and national security before, so managing logistics and warehousing will be a piece of cake for you. Your salary will definitely be higher than before, and as for other benefits, that's up to me."
Zeng Jian picked up his wine glass, lowered his head and took a sip, his expression somewhat complicated.
"Brother Xu, you and Luo Fei are childhood friends. Do you think he's that kind of person?"
Xu Hanwen paused, then put down his chopsticks, his usual jovial expression vanishing, replaced by a rare seriousness.
"Luo Fei and I grew up together."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from his throat. "I know best who he is and who his parents are."
His parents were killed by spies, and he hates spies to the core. You want him to be a spy? That's like making the son of his father's killer become the son of the murderer! There's no logic to that.”
The private room was quiet for a few seconds, with only the sound of the hot pot bubbling away.
"But Luo Fei became a policeman not entirely to catch bad guys."
Zeng Jian put his wine glass on the table and looked out at the night. "He told me that he became a policeman to remember his parents."
"I know."
Xu Hanwen nodded.
"His parents were policemen in Xiaohegou when they were murdered."
Zeng Jian continued, "He had a deep affection for the word 'police,' more than anyone I've ever met. That's why he persisted. Even after he went to the National Security Bureau and the Special Case Team, he still considered himself a policeman at heart."
"What a pity."
Zeng Jian's voice lowered, carrying an indescribable sense of frustration, "There are bad people in the organization."
Zhou Xuan, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly spoke up.
"I have a question that I can't figure out."
He downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, slamming the glass down on the table with a loud thud.
"Luo Fei is already a member of the Dali Division. He is a trusted confidant promoted by Grand Secretary Wei and Lei Wanting. He controls the core resources of both the National Security Bureau and the Dali Division."
A person in such a position fell so suddenly and so completely—removed from the list of officials, wanted by the police, and banned across the entire internet, overnight transforming from a national hero into a traitor. Just what kind of people were behind this?
Zeng Jian looked at him, remained silent for a long while, and then whispered something.
"The people who targeted him were no ordinary people."
Zhou Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.
"The head of the interrogation section of the Dali Division named Li Daming was kicked to death by Luo Fei."
"Think about it, what makes a mere head of the interrogation department capable of detaining Luo Fei? What gives him the audacity to do so? Even Grand Secretary Wei and Lei Wanting couldn't protect him. What does that mean? It means Grand Secretary Kong was used as a pawn, and it means the person truly after Luo Fei is someone higher up than Grand Secretary Kong."
He paused, then lowered his voice even further.
"Above the Grand Secretaries."
The air in the private room seemed to have been sucked out, and all three fell silent. The steam from the hot pot rose between them, but all three felt a chill creeping down their backs, as if something icy was spreading from somewhere unseen.
Xu Hanwen swallowed hard, picked up his wine glass and took a big gulp, then slammed the glass down.
"Then is there anything we can do to help Luo Fei?"
Zhou Xuan shook his head.
"I can't help."
His tone carried an indescribable sense of powerlessness.
"Luo Fei is no longer at the level he was when he and I caught thieves together in the ditch. His abilities, his rank, and the enemies he faces have reached a level we can't even look up to. We people have to bow and scrape in front of the city management officers, so what can we do to help him?"
These words may sting, but they are all the truth. Having spent some time in the National Security Bureau, I have a clear understanding of the power hierarchy within the system. Above the National Security Bureau is the Dali Division, above the Dali Division is the Cabinet, and above the Cabinet is the highest level.
The distance between these levels is far greater than ordinary people imagine. The power of an ordinary person is not even a grain of sand in the face of these institutions.
Xu Hanwen opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He poured the remaining half glass of wine down his throat and sighed heavily.
"Then let's do something we can to help him."
Xu Hanwen put down his wine glass, his voice much lower than before, "His wife, his grandmother—they still need to be taken care of. Luo Fei can't come back right now, so someone has to keep things in order for him." Zeng Jian nodded.
"Is today the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Xu Hanwen paused for a moment, glanced down at the date on his phone, and then gave a wry smile.
"That's true. I would have forgotten about the Mid-Autumn Festival if you hadn't mentioned it."
"Let's go."
Zeng Jian stood up, picked up his coat hanging on the back of the chair, and said, "Let's go to the hospital. Today is a day for family reunion; they can't be left alone."
The three of them left the restaurant and hailed a taxi. A radio was playing in the car, and the host was giving Mid-Autumn Festival greetings in a cheerful voice, saying that tonight's moon was exceptionally round and bright, the most beautiful moon of the year.
The three people sat in the car in silence, each watching the city lights rushing past their windows. There were fewer pedestrians on the street than usual; most had probably gone home for the holiday.
Most of the shops along the road were closed, with only a few still lit up, their doors adorned with red lanterns, exuding a festive warmth. Golden LED strips were wrapped around the trees along the street, twinkling like stars fallen from the night sky.
Looking at the lanterns and lights, Zhou Xuan suddenly felt a strange sense of absurdity—some were reuniting with their families, while others were fleeing for their lives. The same moon shone on different worlds.
The taxi arrived at the hospital quickly.
The smell of disinfectant mingled with an inexplicable sense of oppression in the hospital corridor, lingering in the narrow passageway. The incandescent light bulbs overhead emitted a uniform, monotonous hum, and the floor tiles were somewhat old, with a faint yellow tinge at the edges.
The overhead light bulbs hadn't been replaced in a long time, humming with electricity, and the light had a worn, bluish-white tint. A floor-length curtain hung beside the hospital bed, partially obscuring it; the edges of the curtain were slightly fuzzy from being repeatedly gripped.
Luo Fei's grandmother lay on the hospital bed, covered with a white blanket provided by the hospital, the edges of which were neatly tucked in.
The old woman's hair was completely white, sparsely plastered to her scalp, and the wrinkles on her face were deep and shallow, as if carved by the years. Her eyes were half-open, staring at the humming fluorescent light on the ceiling, her expression peaceful and serene.
She was unaware of Luo Fei's situation.
The Dali Division had previously sent people to monitor the hospital for a period of time, but later found that the old lady really knew nothing and was completely unaware of Luo Fei's work. In addition, Luo Fei had already escaped from the Dali Division, so monitoring her became meaningless, and those people withdrew.
They left without even saying goodbye, just as silently as they had come.
So the old lady still believes that her grandson is busy with work outside and is too busy to come back and see her.
Chen Xuanran sat on a plastic chair next to the hospital bed.
She was wearing a loose gray sweatshirt, and her belly was already quite protruding; a rounded curve could be seen even through the sweatshirt.
Her hair was casually tied back, her face looked rather haggard, her eye sockets were slightly sunken, and there were obvious dark circles under her eyes.
But when she saw Zhou Xuan and the others walk in, she still smiled—not a polite, perfunctory smile, but a genuine warmth that welled up from the bottom of her heart upon seeing familiar faces.
"You're here?"
Her voice was soft and slightly hoarse.
"coming."
Zhou Xuan nodded and placed the fruit basket she was carrying on the bedside table. "Happy Holidays."
Zeng Jian and Xu Hanwen each put down what they were holding—a box of mooncakes, a bouquet of flowers, and a carton of milk—and stood on the other side of the ward. Neither of them sat down because there was only one chair in the ward.
Xu Hanwen opened his mouth, the first question circling on his lips, but he swallowed it back. He wanted to ask, "Is there any news about Luo Fei?", but seeing Chen Xuanran's tired face, he couldn't bring himself to ask.
Chen Xuanran probably sensed what he was thinking and said calmly, "Say what you want to say, don't worry about me. I'm not that fragile."
She paused, then added.
"The Xuanran Foundation has been temporarily taken over by the municipal government. My position in the National Security Bureau has also been suspended. Now I am a genuine unemployed person, spending my days by my grandmother's side."
She spoke with an unusually calm tone, without complaint or sorrow, simply stating a fact. But it was precisely this calmness that made Zhou Xuan and the others feel even more uncomfortable.
What kind of blows and trials must a person endure to speak of their situation in this tone? She lost control of the fund, lost her job, lost her husband's companionship, and was left alone, heavily pregnant, by her husband's grandmother's bedside. Facing the gossip and strange looks from the outside world, her only support was the phrase, "Luo Fei will come back sooner or later."
Xu Hanwen looked at her, took a deep breath, and finally decided to speak.
“I don’t care what people outside say. In my eyes, Luo Fei will always be the best.”
Chen Xuanran raised her head and looked at him.
Xu Hanwen's voice wasn't loud, but every word he uttered was resounding.
Take care of yourself.
He looked at Chen Xuanran's belly and said, "Take good care of the baby and his grandmother. I'll take care of things at the restaurant, so you don't need to worry about living expenses. My brother will have a home as long as Luo Fei comes back."
Chen Xuanran's eyes reddened.
She bit her lip, forcing back the tears that were about to well up, and then softly said, "Thank you."
Outside the window, the Mid-Autumn Festival's full moon hangs high in the night sky, so bright it's almost transparent, like an unreal jade plate, quietly illuminating this city where hustle and bustle coexist with tranquility.
Moonlight spilled onto the streets and onto the walls plastered with wanted posters.
Luo Fei's face can be seen in every corner of the 9.6 million square kilometers of land in the Great Xia Dynasty.
This face has appeared on the award stage of the International Special Police Competition, appeared in close-up shots in national security promotional videos, and has been called "the embodiment of national security" by countless netizens.
Now, the same face is printed on a red Class A wanted poster, with a bounty of ten million, making him the most wanted criminal in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Ten million.
This number was like a bucket of boiling oil poured onto an already boiling online public opinion.
The debate among netizens about whether Luo Fei is a spy has intensified even more than before.
Previously, the debate was only concentrated in the comment sections of Weibo and Douyin, but now it has spread to WeChat Moments, WeChat groups, Tieba forums, and even some niche communities and forums.
Supporters and opponents each held their own views, and the argument escalated into a huge, endless war of words as neither side could convince the other.
But one phenomenon made many people feel something was amiss. (End of Chapter)