I Sent You to Take the College Entrance Exam, and You Ended Up Solving a Murder Case?! - Chapter 19

Wu Che walked to Chen Mo’s desk and reported in a low voice.

“Team Leader Chen, I’m free this afternoon. I plan to take Lü Hui and the others out for a walk to familiarize them with the newly designated patrol areas.”

Chen Mo looked up from the computer screen. “Okay.”

He paused, then took a black handheld radio from the drawer and handed it over.

“Take this with you and stay in touch.”

“Yes.” Wu Che reached out to take it.

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Chen Mo pulled something out of another drawer and casually tossed it over.

“Bring this along too.”

Wu Che instinctively caught it and found it to be a square cardboard box.

He looked down and froze.

Hongtashan.

It’s still the classic model.

These cigarettes aren’t cheap.

Wu Che raised his head and looked at Chen Mo with some confusion.

Chen Mo’s expression remained unchanged; he simply said, “Go.”

Wu Che didn’t ask any more questions. He put the cigarette in his pocket, nodded, and turned to call over Lü Hui, Qiu Xiangyang, and Qiao Zhoucheng.

The four men drove a police van with civilian license plates out of the city police station compound.

The car merged into the traffic and headed west.

“Captain Wu, where are we going?” Lu Hui asked curiously from the passenger seat.

“To Wujiang District.” Wu Che focused on driving.

“Wujiang District? What are you going there for? Isn’t that Fan’s territory?”

Wu Che glanced at him. “I’m just going to find the old captain.”

“Oh? We’re going to see the old team leader!” Lü Hui immediately perked up. “That’s great! I haven’t seen him in so long, I really miss him.”

Qiu Xiangyang and Qiao Zhoucheng in the back seat also chimed in.

“Yes, the last time I saw the old captain was during the Chinese New Year.”

“I wonder how the old captain is doing lately.”

More than 30 minutes later, the police car slowly drove into the courtyard of the Wujiang District Police Station.

The police officer at the door poked his head out and immediately recognized Wu Che in the driver’s seat.

She smiled and waved at him, then swiped her card to raise the barrier.

After the car came to a stop, the four people got out and went up to the second floor as if they knew the way well.

The door to the director’s office was ajar.

Wu Che straightened his collar and knocked on the door.

“Please come in.” A slightly hoarse, deep voice came from inside.

Wu Che pushed open the door and led the three of them inside.

In the office, an elderly policeman was looking at documents while wearing reading glasses.

He paused for a moment when he saw who came in, then took off his glasses and a surprised smile appeared on his face.

“You bunch of brats!”

The four men snapped to attention and gave a perfectly synchronized salute.

“Old Captain!”

His voice was loud and clear, filled with affection for his child.

This veteran policeman is Fan Yuan, the former captain of the Fifth Team and now the director of the Wujiang District Police Station.

“Alright, alright, let’s stop with the formalities here on my own turf!”

Fan Yuan stood up with a smile and pointed to the sofa next to him, “Sit down, sit down!”

As he spoke, he walked to the water dispenser and poured a glass of water for each of the four people.

“None of you know to call ahead so I can ask the cafeteria to save you food.”

Fan Yuan complained, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

“We’ve already eaten, Captain,” Wu Che said with a smile. “We just came to see you.”

He took out the pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and handed it over.

“You smoke.”

Fan Yuan took it, glanced at the sign, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Oh, Hongtashan?”

He held the cigarette to his nose and smelled it, glancing sideways at Wu Che.

“You’re something else, kid. Smoking good cigarettes now? struck it rich?”

“No way!” Lü Hui chimed in, “This was given to us by our new captain!”

“The new captain?” Fan Yuan paused in his cigarette-lighting motion, looking at Wu Che with a scrutinizing gaze.

“He gave it to me? These cigarettes aren’t cheap, especially for a newly transferred team leader…”

The words were left unsaid, but the meaning was clear.

A new leader using this method to win over subordinates raises many questions about his motives.

Wu Che immediately understood Fan Yuan’s concerns and quickly explained, “Captain, please don’t misunderstand. Captain Chen isn’t that kind of person.”

“I’ve inquired about it. Captain Chen’s family background is quite ordinary. He’s not a rich second-generation or official second-generation.”

“This money… I guess it’s the reward he got from the Jinghua City Police for solving a big case last time. It’s a considerable amount.”

Upon hearing “Jinghua Municipal Bureau” and “major case,” Fan Yuan’s expression softened.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and the doubt in his eyes completely disappeared.

“Oh…that’s good, that’s good.”

As long as the money comes from a legitimate source, there’s no problem.

Fan Yuan stubbed out his cigarette, then his expression turned serious as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“That’s not right.”

His sharp gaze swept over the four people.

“It’s working hours now, why are you all here? Aren’t you on duty?”

“Team Leader Chen sent us out.”

Wu Che answered honestly, “He said that when there are no cases, he can go out and patrol to familiarize himself with the situation.”

Upon hearing this, Fan Yuan’s brows furrowed instantly.

My heart, which had just settled down, is now racing again.

He slammed his hand on the table, his voice rising sharply and becoming stern.

“Nonsense!”

“He told you to come out, so you came out? What do you think this place is? An amusement park?!”

Fan Yuan pointed at them, his tone becoming increasingly stern.

“Each of you used to be a key member of the team!”

“Now we finally have a capable captain.”

“This is the time for you to be on your best and give it your all!”

“And you guys, driving around in your police cars, even coming here!”

“You’re treating opportunities like a joke, aren’t you?!”

Faced with Fan Yuan’s furious outburst, the office fell into a deathly silence.

Wu Che and the other two were so ashamed by the scolding that they couldn’t lift their heads. They felt wronged and embarrassed.

“Captain, please calm down.”

Wu Che steeled himself and stepped forward, attempting to explain.

“Calm down? What do I need to calm down!”

Fan Yuan pointed at his nose, furious.

“When I was training you, how many times did I tell you? Opportunity favors the prepared mind!”

“You guys are really something, taking the new captain’s trust as a license to be reckless!”

“No, old captain.”

Wu Che gave a wry smile.

“Captain Chen told us to come out, not to wander around aimlessly.”

He said that instead of sitting idly in the office, he should come out and familiarize himself with the area.

“In case of any emergencies, we can react immediately.”

“and……”

Wu Che paused, glanced at Fan Yuan, and whispered, “I guess Captain Chen knew we were coming here.”

“Um?”

Fan Yuan was taken aback, his anger subsided slightly, and he looked at him suspiciously.

“Did he know you were coming?”

“I guessed.” Wu Che nodded quickly.

“Captain Chen is meticulous; he must know about our relationship with you.”

“He just arrived, and we old folks will definitely want to come and talk to you about it.”

“Instead of keeping us cooped up, why not just let us out? It would be a way for him, the new captain, to pay his respects to the new leader?”

Although the analogy wasn’t quite right, Fan Yuan understood it.

A new leader, instead of suppressing the key personnel left by his predecessor, actively gives them opportunities to reconnect with his predecessor.

This kind of magnanimity is not something that ordinary people possess.

Fan Yuan’s expression softened completely. He sat back down in his chair, picked up the unlit Hongtashan cigarette, and glanced at it again.

“So, this Chen Mo… actually has some skills?”

“It’s more than just having some skills,” Lu Hui interjected from the side.

“Old Captain, you didn’t see it, Captain Chen’s mind works faster than a computer!”

“He sorted out all the cases that had been piling up in our team for months in just one day!”

“Yes, yes,” Qiao Zhoucheng echoed.

“And he was so down-to-earth, he gave us the bonuses without batting an eye.”

Fan Yuan fell silent.

He looked down at the cigarette in his hand, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

It seems I really am getting old.

Today’s young people, whether in their approach to handling cases or their methods of leading teams, are completely different from his old ways.