In Ping An's office, Lin Dang finished her work, sent the manuscript to Ping An's email, and then quietly asked for permission before starting to tidy up the office aimlessly.
Two people are faster than one! After a busy afternoon, Ping An finally completed the manuscripts for this week's layout. "This is really well written." By the computer, Ping An read Lin Dang's article seriously, liking it more and more, feeling quite satisfied. He quietly glanced at Lin Dang and found the girl tidying up the office.
"Terrible news! Pregnant woman rides against traffic, hits car door and dies! Driver in shock: No one noticed—Intern reporter, Ping An!" As Lin Dang wiped the photos on the wall, she saw an old newspaper framed and hung on the wall. Reading the content of this old newspaper, Lin Dang casually read out an article title and noticed that the author of this article was Ping An himself during his internship.
"Director Ping An, you were already publishing independently when you were an intern reporter? It's really well written. Did the pregnant woman in the article really die later?" Lin Dang asked casually.
"Actually, two cars were arguing and stopped in the traffic lane. A passenger from one of the cars wanted to get out to mediate and didn't notice if anyone was passing by, so they opened the car door. A pregnant woman who was cycling against traffic in the traffic lane happened to hit it and died on the spot, and her unborn child was lost too." Many years later, Ping An still remembered it vividly. "It was my first day working at the newspaper. No one in the department guided me, so I went out 'pounding the pavement' myself, looking for street news. Coincidentally, I witnessed this scene and followed it all the way. This is just a most ordinary social news. It's just that it's the first news article I published in my life, so it has commemorative significance and was hung up there."
"How pitiful. How were the drivers of those two cars handled? Was the person who opened the door responsible? Did they go to jail?" Lin Dang asked.
"You're mistaken. In this accident, the pregnant woman was riding against traffic in the motor lane and bore the main responsibility. The two drivers and the person who opened the door were hardly processed at all," Ping An said.
"The law is like this. Whoever is responsible should bear the responsibility. Special circumstances do not permit transgression."
"Oh! Then it's... truly a tragedy. Pitiable, one body with two lives," Lin Dang said regretfully.
"Alright, that's all for today. You can leave work," Ping An said, stretching as he sent all the pending manuscripts to the night shift editorial department.
"Okay. By the way, I wonder if our unit has any affordable work meals," Lin Dang asked a bit embarrassed.
"Hungry? Didn't you eat a lot at noon? Never mind, you're only 22, still a child." Ping An got up from his desk and said mysteriously to Lin Dang, "Come on, Director is taking you out for a big meal again today!"
"A big meal? Didn't we eat at noon?" Lin Dang said.
"What was that at noon? Tonight, an old friend is treating me to dinner. You can come too, it's not costing you anything," Ping An said with a smile.
"That would be too embarrassing," Lin Dang said, her small face blushing.
"Let's go. Go and call Lai Xiang, who is hiding on the rooftop and bored to death. We're leaving now," Ping An said.
The grand dinner tonight was naturally hosted by Chen Nairong. Bringing only Lai Xiang seemed a bit too serious, but bringing Lin Dang would liven up the dinner party.
Lin Dang, who wanted to save money, was naturally overjoyed to have a dinner invitation. Wu An, who had no money, was hiding in the suburbs and was almost driven mad by hunger. At this moment, he stood outside a small restaurant at a truck distribution center on the outskirts of the city. He had no money left and hadn't changed his clothes for three or four days. Even if he went in now to beg for food, the waitress would ask for payment before serving the dishes.
Wu An, who had been sought by the police, why was he in this place? It turned out that he was hiding in the truck distribution center because he could get into the back of a truck at any time and leave Hechuan unnoticed by hitchhiking. Logically speaking, after Niu Jian's death, in the eyes of the police and Ping An, he should either be a suspect and wanted by the police, or a companion who reported Niu Jian, and should have fled Hechuan long ago out of fear. But he didn't leave because he needed to tell Ping An what he knew. Now, only someone with status like Ping An, whether in actions or words, would carry more weight and could resolve this matter completely.
"Damn Niu Jian, I told you not to go, but you insisted on going. Fine, you died without a whole body. Now it's my turn, and then it will be reporter Ping An's turn. You should have listened to me. Dead Niu Jian, the three of us are now in the same boat, only by sticking together can we have a chance to survive," Wu An thought pitifully, starving and cold.
Suddenly, in the crowd of people coming and going, he saw a man in black, wearing sunglasses. It was this man who had been tracking him all this time, following him everywhere, like a persistent ghost, forcing him to not dare to see Ping An.
Before the other party could discover him, it was better to run. No need to hide, just go to see Ping An openly. In the worst-case scenario, he wouldn't lose his life. Now, only Ping An could protect him. Thinking this, Wu An quietly slipped into the crowd, enduring his hunger, and walked towards the city.
At this time, Ping An, naturally unaware that Wu An in the suburbs was heading towards him, was sitting at an incredibly luxurious dining table, drinking and chatting with the beaming Chen Nairong and the young woman who accompanied Chen Nairong.
"What's this little sister's name?" After three rounds of "greeting wine," Chen Nairong politely asked Lin Dang.
"This is my colleague, Reporter Lin," Ping An said to Lin Dang, who was eating heartily next to him. "Go, toast General Manager Chen!"
"Hello, General Manager Chen. Please give me your guidance in the future!" Lin Dang's polite words were quite good.
"Sister Lin is truly beautiful. For many years, my brother has never brought a female companion to dinner parties. I always thought I knew his preferences, hehehe. Only today I realized that Ping An has such a beauty by his side." Chen Nairong solicitously poured wine.
"By the way, I heard my brother is helping the police solve cases again recently?" After pleasantries, Chen Nairong began to probe Ping An.
"Yes, this case is quite troublesome," Ping An said cautiously.
"I heard that the deceased was silenced because they were going to report someone?" Chen Nairong continued to probe.
"My brother is not in the police force, yet his news is still so well-informed!" Ping An did not answer directly.
"I just went back to my old unit in Hebian District yesterday to handle some business and overheard some old colleagues chatting," Chen Nairong said evasively.
"Brother, you wouldn't believe it, but a reckless guy called me. Hey, guess what? He called four times, insisting on reporting someone, but he just wouldn't say who he was reporting. I was out with Mayor Wang for research those days, so I ignored him. But as soon as I got back, I found out he was dead. Isn't that unlucky?" Ping An said lightly.
"Oh, so you got involved this time too?" Chen Nairong asked concernedly. "And I heard you were detained by the police station? Is it related to this case?"
"Not at all. That was another matter. I was interviewing a news story, and a self-media outlet beat me to it. Damn it, they didn't give me any face, acting all arrogant, so I hit him," Ping An said, while closely observing Chen Nairong's expression.
"That's not right..." Lin Dang, who didn't understand the situation, thought Ping An was drunk and wanted to correct him, but as soon as she spoke, she was kicked under the table by Ping An.
"What's not right? What am I wrong about? Now any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to confront me? Who am I? Haven't you heard? I'm complaining to you, brother. You have to handle this! My brother was bullied. If it's in the open, I'm not afraid, but in the dark, I'm really a little afraid of him playing dirty tricks. Brother, if I hadn't been accurate with my slingshot when blocking the motorcycle gang that year, your life would have been saved by me. You have to stand up for me!"
"What are you saying! Brother, tell me who that bastard is!" Chen Nairong said, slapping the table heartily.
"I heard it's some self-media called 'Hebian Cluster'," Ping An said aggrievedly. "Brother, they're also slandering my reputation, writing articles saying I'm a coward. You saw it too, didn't you?"
"It's this matter! Oh my!" Chen Nairong slapped the table and shouted, "Liu Zi!"
A burly man suddenly walked in. Ping An looked and saw that this person had a face full of flesh, and the scar from his nose to his mouth looked very "gangster."
"Reporter Ping An, my brother, do you know him?" Chen Nairong pointed at Ping An and said.
"I know him," said the burly man named Liu Zi.
"Oh, how do you know me, big brother?" Ping An asked, somewhat surprised.
"You've dealt with me before," Liu Zi said somewhat shyly, looking at Chen Nairong.
"Let's not talk about other things. Listen to me, take a few people, don't use force, and give that self-media called 'Hebian Cluster' a good lesson," Chen Nairong said, rubbing his hands viciously.
"Wait for me, General Manager Chen, I'll do it right away," Liu Zi replied and quickly left.
"Liu Zi is my sworn brother. He controls all the nightclubs on Hua Street. He's quite a character in Hebian," Chen Nairong said proudly.
Seeing this, Lin Dang was a little stunned. She secretly glanced at Ping An and found that this "big reporter" who was pretending to be drunk was secretly winking at her.
"What's this beautiful lady's name?" After probing Chen Nairong, Ping An felt nothing was wrong and turned his attention to the beautiful woman who accompanied Chen Nairong.
"My name is Liu Juan, and I'm General Manager Chen's secretary." This woman was naturally Liu Juan.
"Sister Juan! Hello, hello. My elder brother rarely brings women around when he goes out," Ping An teased. "It's not that my brother doesn't bring them, but he hasn't found anyone presentable. Now that he has you, my elder brother naturally wants to show you off."
"Hahahaha!" This teasing seemed to hit Chen Nairong's itch, making him laugh triumphantly.
"Big Reporter Ping An really knows how to joke. I'll toast you! I'll need your guidance in the future!" Liu Juan was also a person of the world, and her polite words were well-spoken.
The extravagant feast lasted from six in the evening to ten. If it weren't for Lai Xiang receiving a call from his brothers at the police station to relieve him, and then him gesturing for Ping An to leave, Ping An would have really wanted to sit with Chen Nairong for a while longer.
On the way home, Lai Xiang, who hadn't drunk any alcohol, was driving Ping An's almost new Nissan NV200, carrying a "drunken" Ping An and Lin Dang towards the Hechuan newspaper office.
As soon as the car drove away, Ping An immediately became energetic. For someone like him who had been in the wine scene for many years, a few glasses of red wine were naturally manageable. But now, there was one thing that gave him a headache and made him regret not getting really drunk.
Lin Dang had a fever.
Speaking of which, this girl was quite pitiful. After a series of misfortunes, she had been suppressing her emotions. She tried her best to endure any discomfort. Until today, when she met Ping An again, she didn't know if it was because of her inherent trust in the idol-like senior journalist, or if she felt she finally had a reliable foothold in this city. From noon to evening, Lin Dang ate a lot of food she never dared to imagine before. This overeating must have upset her stomach. Already feeling unwell, she felt a wave of sleepiness come over her once she got into the car and fell asleep. By the time Ping An realized Lin Dang was not feeling well, he reached out and felt her. Bingo! She had a fever!
"Reporter Ping An, what do we do with this girl?" Lai Xiang asked worriedly that Ping An would neglect Lin Dang.
"What do you mean, what do we do? At most, you'll be a little tired. Go to the hospital, quickly!" Ping An took out a bottle of water, gave some to the semi-conscious Lin Dang, and directed Lai Xiang towards the hospital.
Halfway there, perhaps because it was cold, Lin Dang instinctively snuggled closer to Ping An, and as she snuggled, she squeezed Ping An's arm into her own embrace. How could he, who had lived a simple life, endure this? Her arm was being held by her, and he could feel soft touches from time to time, which made Ping An's old face turn red. He subconsciously took a few deep breaths, only to smell the sweet scent unique to girls...
At eleven o'clock at night, Ping An stood at his doorstep with Lin Dang on his back. Lai Xiang parked the car, said hello, and mentioned that Liu KeDou and Wang Kaixuan, who were on duty at the police station, were already at his place, so he wouldn't come in. Then, with a playful look at Lin Dang on Ping An's back, he quickly rode away on his old bicycle.
"Just a colleague. I'm the director, can I not take care of her?"
"I'm not that kind of person!"
"What am I afraid of?"
Standing at his doorstep, muttering non-stop, Ping An finally made up his mind, took out his keys with one hand, and opened the door.
Upon entering, Liu KeDou was sitting on the sofa looking at his phone. He was surprised to see Ping An carrying a girl back, but he didn't say anything. The other police officer, Wang Kaixuan, was sleeping soundly on the sofa.
Hearing the door open, An Jing quickly came down from the second floor, about to prepare some supper for her brother, but she saw the girl on her brother's back at a glance.
"What are you staring at? Come and help," Seeing his somewhat dazed sister, Ping An took the initiative, ordering his sister to tidy up the empty room on the second floor.
"Brother, who is this girl?" After hearing her brother's instructions, An Jing did not move. Now that only the siblings were left at home, she had to take care of her brother's life.
"A colleague, from out of town. Just arrived today, nowhere to stay, and has a fever!" Ping An said concisely.
"Oh! Then she can sleep in my room for now. It's so late, and the bed in the empty room can't be tidied up, so she and I will share," An Jing said. After hearing her brother's words, the slight worry she had just developed disappeared—as long as it was a normal, decent girl! she thought to herself.
After a flurry of activity by the siblings, they placed the heavily sleeping Lin Dang on An Jing's bed and then went downstairs to talk in the dining room.
"Did your captain have any gains today?" Ping An asked casually.
"There were reports from the public about sightings of Wu An in the suburbs. The new autopsy report and technical investigation report will be ready tomorrow morning. Director Yan said that if you have time tomorrow, you are invited to attend the case briefing," Liu KeDou said.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work tonight. Feel free to help yourselves, don't be polite," Ping An picked up a glass of milk and drank it down in gulps. An Jing, like a puppy, leaned on her brother and sniffed him.
"Brother, how old is that girl?" An Jing suddenly asked.
"22 years old!" Ping An replied casually.
"Only 22? Three years younger than me! Brother, ten years younger than you! Are you a beast? You could do that?" An Jing said in surprise.
"What are you talking about? I'm going to take a shower!" Ping An dodged his sister.
"Hehe, I said that girl and reporter Ping An have an unusual relationship," Liu KeDou said with a chuckle, seeing Ping An flee in disarray.
"How is it unusual? Brother KeDou, tell me," An Jing said excitedly.
"Your brother and this girl stayed at the murder scene all night. All night!" Liu KeDou said, wiggling his eyebrows flirtatiously.
"You, Ping An! You don't let me have a long-distance relationship, but you found a girl ten years younger than you. You're happy, but I'm not!" An Jing thought fiercely.
The house was brightly lit and bustling. In the green belt outside the house, Wu An, who had finally reached the city, was struggling with whether or not to knock on Ping An's door. It wasn't that he was afraid Ping An would do anything to him, but the car parked in front of his house clearly looked like a police car. Wu An might not be very educated, but his memory was good. If he remembered correctly, he had seen several police officers drive this car outside the Gai Zhuang police station a few days ago. If Ping An's house was guarded by the police, wouldn't he be delivering himself for nothing?
"I don't care anymore. Being caught by the police is better than dying ambiguously!" Ever since Niu Jian's accident, Wu An, as the only one who knew the inside story, had been eager to end this matter. If he had no other choice, hiding in prison wouldn't mean anyone would try to kill him anymore.
Thinking this, he stood up and was about to walk towards Ping An's house when a man in black appeared before him.
"Wu An, Wu An, you walk the road to heaven but choose the path to hell. I've been looking for you for two or three days, and here we meet," the man in black was, of course, Chen Nairong's subordinate.
"What do you want with me? Why are you looking for me? Niu Jian is already dead! The things have been handed over!" Wu An roared hysterically.
"Nonsense, did you hold something back?" The man in black looked back at Ping An's brightly lit house and said, "Otherwise, why would you be looking for Ping An?"
"Only Ping An can save me now! This is not that matter! Oh, you don't understand, don't stop me!" Wu An said anxiously.
"Let's talk to General Manager Chen first. He trusted you so much, and you betrayed him!" The man in black moved his hands, preparing to grab Wu An.
"Can we not fight? How about we go for a meal? I haven't eaten my fill for days." Wu An, who was visibly taller than the man in black, had also been a tough character in society, but recently, due to not eating enough, his combat power was far from its peak. Now, with a fight imminent, his mind was not entirely focused, as he had an urgent matter to attend to and was eager to see Ping An. Therefore, after a few perfunctory words, he seized an opportunity and turned to run.
"Stop!" The man in black strode forward and chased after him.
Sports District was a relatively large residential complex. Both of them had sneaked in. Now that a dispute had arisen, and they were chasing each other, they knew to avoid security guards and gatekeepers.
Thus, in the early autumn night, two grown men ran endlessly around several rows of villas. The man in black had chased Wu An and grabbed his coat hem several times, but Wu An had struggled and shaken him off, tearing his clothes quite a bit. After several such encounters, Wu An's only presentable jacket was torn into rags. However, this was not the main thing. More excitingly, a patrol of security guards happened to encounter the two of them. Seeing the security guards, the two of them were alert and deliberately slowed down, running side by side. At first glance, they looked like night runners.
"Patrolling so late? You must be working hard. We're just running, haha," Wu An, who only had an undershirt on his upper body, said to the security guard as he passed by.
"Hello, are you a new resident?" The security guard had worked in this community for many years. He wouldn't claim to know all the residents, but the one in front of him clearly had problems.
"I'm not from this community, I'm visiting relatives!" Wu An replied with a smile, and the man in black running alongside him agreed.
"Your relatives?" the security guard asked instinctively.
"The first row, east unit, the owner is named Ping An. I'm his... um!" Wu An said this, then looked back at the man in black and found him still staring at him fiercely. His mind raced, and he continued, "I'm his uncle!"
"Oh, so you're from Reporter Ping An's family. It's too dark, be careful and rest early!" Seeing that the other party had answered with the name of a resident, the security guard, although still a little suspicious, decided to let them leave first.
After finally shaking off the security guard, the man in black seemed terrified. Just as he was about to resume their earlier fight, Wu An unexpectedly took the lead—an elbow strike directly to his neck. This blow sent the man in black reeling, and he lay on the ground for a long time before getting up. When he finally stood up, he found that Wu An had already run far away.
Outside Sports District, Wu An squatted by the roadside, breathing heavily. "Finally managed to shake off that bastard. No, I have to leave this city. I don't care anymore, I have to survive first. Ping An, Ping An, you're so smart, I've left you clues, you must hurry and resolve this matter. Now, I can only rely on you." Wu An thought to himself, preparing to flee back to his hometown.
He didn't know that across the street, in a beige luxury sports car, a pair of angry eyes were watching him.
Seeking all kinds of votes, seeking collection and follow-up reads, I thank you all!