He Chuan Zhou’s room didn't have a small lamp, she liked high-power white lights, as a brightly lit
environment could keep her alert. When she needed silence, she would lock the doors and windows, draw thick
curtains, and stay alone in a completely dark, sealed environment.
The contrast of these extremes had formed a pattern over the years, becoming a habit in her life.
Such an environment clearly told her whether she needed to think or to rest.
That night, the wind was strong. Lying in bed, He Chuan Zhou listened to the rustling of leaves
outside, which sounded like waves, unsure if it was raining.
She fell asleep in a daze, and some old, yellowed memories emerged from an unknown place, seemingly
real yet false. Processed by her subconscious, they had a kind of illusory beauty.
She remembered that when her grandparents were still around, her mother would take her to the
countryside during summer vacations.
There was a tributary of a river at the entrance of her old home. Depending on the water flow
upstream, it would sometimes be clear and shallow, other times muddy and turbulent, occasionally overflowing
the stone bridge and flooding the fields on both sides.
The sound of the river flowing carried a special tranquility and harmony, with a fresh, pleasant
water scent that He Chuan Zhou had long forgotten.
In the summer of her second year of high school, He Xu originally planned to take her camping, but a
theft gang had broken into the Ziyang neighborhood. The police station needed full cooperation and couldn't
spare any manpower, so He Xu had to find an acquaintance to watch over her and let He Chuan Zhou bring along
a few classmates.
He Chuan Zhou naturally invited Zhou Tuoxing.
She liked to listen to the sound of water, so they pitched their tent on a slope by a river.
That night, it suddenly rained, and the river began to swell. Zhou Tuoxing, who had never
experienced such a situation, didn't dare to sleep. Not wanting to disturb He Chuan Zhou, he squatted
outside her tent in a raincoat, constantly monitoring the waterline below to be ready to alert them for
evacuation.
Half an hour after the rain stopped, he returned to his tent but couldn't fall asleep again.
When they were leaving, He Chuan Zhou was cheerful, but Zhou Tuoxing looked exhausted. He kicked a
stone by the roadside and muttered, "Never again."
He Chuan Zhou asked with a smile, "You're really not coming out with me again?"
Zhou Tuoxing hesitated for a long time before adding a qualifier, completing his sentence to be
entirely correct: "Never spending a rainy night by the river again, with others."
The multiple "again" words sounded like a tongue twister, and without all the qualifiers, He Chuan
Zhou heard the essence: "I'll still come out with you."
Actually, that night, in her drowsy state, He Chuan Zhou vaguely sensed a figure guarding outside
the tent, just like that night someone sat quietly by her bed, gazing at her for a long time before silently
leaving the room.
Zhou Tuoxing's shadow replaced the sound of flowing water as the main tag of this memory, more vivid
and lively, giving a greater sense of security.
He Chuan Zhou slept for a long time until she was awakened by the ringing of her phone in the
morning.
She reflexively sat up, grabbed her phone, and saw it was Director Feng calling. Checking the time,
it was 7:18 AM, so she hadn't overslept.
Director Feng told her that due to the previous video's uproar, people from the city bureau would
come to investigate today. If she was available, she could come early to prepare and write a detailed
report. The necessary materials had been prepared by Brother Huang.
He Chuan Zhou opened the curtains, squinting at the already bright sky, and nodded, saying, "Okay."
She found her slippers, went to the inside bathroom to wash up, changed clothes, and when she came
out, she found Zhou Tuoxing sitting on the sofa in the living room, with a wet mop leaning against the
hallway. The house showed obvious signs of being cleaned.
He Chuan Zhou was stunned for a moment and asked, "What time did you come over?"
"Around five o'clock," Zhou Tuoxing replied, looking down at something in his hands. "Couldn't
sleep."
His voice was a bit muffled from staying up late, and the tone was light, sounding a bit aggrieved.
After finishing, he looked up at her with a soft gaze.
He Chuan Zhou thought he was about to say something, but Zhou Tuoxing asked an ungracious question:
"How long has it been since you mopped the floor? It's already dusty."
He Chuan Zhou was silent, pretending to recall carefully, then told him, "Yesterday, or maybe the
day before. I swept."
Zhou Tuoxing believed it had been at least a week since the floor was mopped, and if it was mopped,
it was done perfunctorily, with the details as evidence.
He Chuan Zhou looked at what he was holding and found it was a workbook she had dug out earlier. The
other old books she had already taken away, leaving a few textbooks, and this workbook was one of them,
almost miraculously.
Zhou Tuoxing noticed her gaze, raised the evidence in his hand, and smiled clearly, saying, "I
couldn't find it then. I asked if you took it by mistake, and you swore you hadn't, saying you had already
checked."
He Chuan Zhou: "..."
Zhou Tuoxing's topics switched quickly and awkwardly today. After laying down two questions that
left He Chuan Zhou speechless, he switched again, this time more cautiously, saying slowly, "Last night,
you..."
He Chuan Zhou didn't respond, just calmly said, "Hmm."
Zhou Tuoxing's eyes flickered, and he lightly pursed his lips before saying, "Used my credit card."
He Chuan Zhou couldn't help but laugh. She realized that Zhou Tuoxing had somehow learned a
sophisticated lying technique from some obscure school.
He Chuan Zhou admitted he wasn't at a loss, if she didn't admit, he could push further.
However, this skill was not very honorable and had significant limitations, not suitable for
widespread use. He Chuan Zhou thought he could apply for a refund.
"Don't you remember?" Zhou Tuoxing stared closely at her eyes. "You need to pay it back."
He Chuan Zhou smiled and asked, "Really?"
"Yes." Zhou Tuoxing nodded, speaking earnestly, "A lot, it's overdrawn."
When facing He Chuan Zhou, he seemed to lack a bit of courage, unable to be completely
straightforward and frank. It was unlike his usual principled style.
When he wanted to seek sensitive answers, his methods were always subtle, considering many of He
Chuan Zhou’s thoughts, presenting excellent, good, and absolutely forbidden solutions like answering a
question based on probability.
His judgments weren't always accurate, so he could humbly accept his mistakes. This made him
paradoxically stubborn, once he realized that the subject of the question, He Chuan Zhou, had changed her
mind, no matter how absurd the solving method, he would pursue it with a kind of reckless determination.
Xiao Chen painfully told him that if he could maintain a bit of the cold attitude he had towards
others, he wouldn't be so cheap.
Zhou Tuoxing disagreed.
He thought he was still reserved and could get angry.
If He Chuan Zhou didn't answer him this time, he would get angry.
...Then think of another way next time.
"No money," He Chuan Zhou found it amusing, saying calmly, "Not a single cent. Take anything from
the house as collateral."
Zhou Tuoxing frowned, obviously unable to accept her rogue behavior, and was about to speak when He
Chuan Zhou’s phone rang again. She glanced at the caller, answered, and signaled Zhou Tuoxing to "wait a
moment," hurriedly putting on her shoes and walking out.
·
Director Feng came early today.
She was so worried that she couldn't sleep. When He Chuan Zhou entered her office, she was pacing
back and forth in front of the window. When Brother Huang came in with her and closed the door, she finally
sat back at her desk. Taking the report He Chuan Zhou handed over, she didn't read it, but instead asked
them to search for keywords online.
After a night of fermentation, under the incitement of some extreme comments, the incident's heat
was growing faster than predicted. Discussions were already happening on major social media platforms. It
seemed Han Songshan had invested a lot of money in the public opinion for this time.
He had a keen sense of current affairs, adept at taking advantage of chaotic situations, making it
hard for people to distinguish between his actions and others'.
Under related topics now, there were criticisms of He Xu, He Chuan Zhou, and the branch office. Some
even escalated to criticizing the system and the entire police force.
Some were worried, feeling that if a squad leader like He Chuan Zhou could control a big business
owner like Guangyi, what could ordinary people do?
What if the police sold the privacy of famous people to reporters for profit?
"Regardless of whether Tao Xianyong's matter is true, it's certain that this female cop has serious
issues, right?"
"I'm from City A, and I remember this detective named He Chuan Zhou had a precedent of violent law
enforcement."
"Because of personal grudges, she has no empathy for the deceased and digs up all sorts of dirt to
expose, right? Is she fit to be a cop?"
Director Feng read out a few comments, making everyone's blood pressure spike early in the morning.
Brother Huang, with a headache, interrupted, "Enough, enough, Director Feng, we'll handle it right
away. I promise!"
Every wrinkle on Director Feng's face spelled out "worry." She rubbed her temple and asked He Chuan
Zhou, "Has your home address been exposed?"
"Not yet," He Chuan Zhou replied. "There was no activity yesterday either."
Brother Huang nudged her arm, reminding her, "These people are malicious. If possible, you should
temporarily stay somewhere else."
He Chuan Zhou didn't think it necessary but didn't reject his kind suggestion.
"The original video has been deleted by the blogger, but many marketing accounts and ordinary users
have shared it, so we can't handle it right now. The most popular video on Douyin has over 300,000 likes. We
can't forcibly suppress public opinion. If we prevent netizens from discussing it, even worse speculations
might arise." Director Feng looked serious, tapping her right hand on the table. "It's rare for our branch
to become a hot topic, and it's for such a bad reason. We must quickly provide a legitimate and reasonable
explanation!"
Brother Huang nodded repeatedly, understanding, and lamented, "Why are netizens so interested in
unverified news?"
Seeing He Chuan Zhou still watching, he directly pressed her hand down, shook his head, and told
Director Feng, "I'm responsible. In the investigation of Tao Xianyong, I am absolutely fair and just. The
information in the article by Jidu Qiuliang was obtained by contacting witnesses himself, unrelated to us.
Yuan Lingyun is also a victim and has the right to tell her story. We can't force her to remain silent,
right?"
Director Feng leaned forward, asking him, "Does telling me this help?"
Brother Huang, with an innocent expression, said, "Then does telling us help? It's not our fault."
Director Feng felt very uncomfortable. He Chuan Zhou said, "Tao Ruiming was taken to the police
station yesterday. If he can clarify, the situation should quickly come under control."
"You expect him to?" Director Feng shook her head. "Think of another way. I don't think he's
reliable."
In her experience, rebellious youth were scarier than ordinary criminals.
"If Jidu Qiuliang could issue a statement, it would help, but we don't know who he is." Brother
Huang sighed helplessly. "And Tao Ruiming's article is half-true. The accusations he made can be proven but
not disproven, making it difficult to completely clear."
Jidu Qiuliang's article came out too quickly and with too many details. Even Shao Zhixin's first
reaction was that the information leaked from the police. How can they prove it wasn't?
"He..." Brother Huang paused, carefully glancing at He Chuan Zhou before continuing, "Mr. He's cause
of death was partially clarified by some reporters, but it didn't gain any traction."
As the three fell into a silent gap, Brother Huang's and He Chuan Zhou’s phones buzzed with messages
from their group.
Brother Huang's face darkened as he opened it, but his expression quickly brightened, and he
exclaimed joyfully, "What a miracle! Jidu Qiuliang really issued a statement!"