Chapter 8

Liu Handong picked up the plastic bag in his hand and said, "Let's go home and cook."

"Where do you live? I'll take you there," the young woman offered enthusiastically.

Xiao Fan tugged at Liu Handong's clothes, looking unhappy.

Liu Handong said, "It's not on the way. Goodbye."

The young woman chuckled and said goodbye, then drove her Range Rover away.

The wind picked up, and it was about to rain. Suddenly, the taxi business on the street picked up, and it was hard to get a cab. The distance from here to Tiezha Street was quite far, so taking the bus was the most convenient option.

At the bus stop, a 520 bus pulled up. Passengers swarmed onto the bus, paying with coins or swiping cards. Liu Handong and Xiao Fan also got on and noticed that the female driver was the same ponytailed girl who had been speeding yesterday.

The ponytailed girl shouted, "Move to the back, move to the back, it's empty there."

But the passengers still stood near the door out of habit. Two well-dressed men, with suits draped over their arms, squeezed in without a word, muttering, "Don't crowd, don't crowd."

The bus started moving, and the ponytailed girl shouted, "Passengers, please watch your belongings. Those two with the suits, don't push your luck, get off at the next stop."

The passengers immediately moved back, avoiding the two thieves.

The thieves were embarrassed. One of them, with a face full of scars, kicked the female driver and cursed. The passengers were silent, not moving.

Liu Handong squeezed through the crowd and pointed at the thief, shouting, "Move again, and I'll kill you!"

The other thief pulled out a dagger and lunged at Liu Handong from the side. Xiao Fan screamed, and Liu Handong executed a perfect grappling move, grabbing the thief's wrist and twisting it. There was a crack, and the bone broke. The dagger fell to the floor of the bus, and the thief's wrist hung at an odd angle, causing him to scream in pain like a pig being slaughtered.

At this moment, the ponytailed girl slammed on the brakes and started fighting with the thief who had kicked her. She used a kickboxing move, delivering a straight punch that made the thief's nose bleed. Just as he covered his nose, Liu Handong grabbed his hair from behind and pulled him to the ground, pummeling him.

The ponytailed girl got out of the driver's seat, picked up a fire extinguisher, and joined in the beating, making the two thieves howl in pain.

Xiao Fan clapped, and the passengers, as if waking from a dream, also began to clap. Many of them took out their phones and called 110.

The ponytailed girl put down the fire extinguisher and extended her hand to Liu Handong, "I'm Ma Ling, thank you."

"No problem, I'm getting off at my stop. Can you open the door for me?" Liu Handong heard the passengers calling 110 and felt nervous again.

"Wait for the police to take a statement. It won't take long," Ma Ling said.

"I have something urgent, really. Next time," Liu Handong signaled to Xiao Fan, who ran over and nodded vigorously.

"Alright." Ma Ling, thinking of the many witnesses in the bus, opened the door. Liu Handong pulled Xiao Fan and hurriedly got off, disappearing into a side alley.

A patrol car with flashing lights pulled up next to the bus. The police handcuffed the thieves, and Ma Ling looked out at the rain, remembering the brave young man's face, a smile forming on her lips.

The rain fell steadily. Liu Handong bought a copy of Huaijiang Morning News and held it over his head with Xiao Fan, running in the rain. Xiao Fan was so happy she screamed, but suddenly she stopped, pouting as if about to cry.

"What's wrong?" Liu Handong asked.

Xiao Fan spread her hands.

Liu Handong then remembered that the noodles, sauce, vinegar, and rice they had bought at the supermarket were left on the 520 bus.

"Don't worry, let's go eat beef noodles," Liu Handong said confidently.

He knew of a beef noodle stand with a good reputation. The owner was from the countryside in Jiangbei and was very honest, and the shop had many regular customers.

Nanjing City, the capital of Jiangdong Province, was in the middle of a subway project, with construction sites everywhere. The beef noodle stand was set up in a construction site, under a red and blue awning. Five or six construction workers in rain boots and safety helmets were eating noodles. Liu Handong called out to the owner, "Two bowls of noodles, one large and one small."

The owner replied, "No small bowls, only large ones. Sit down."

In no time, two large bowls of noodles were served. The wide, handmade noodles were topped with fresh cilantro, garlic sprouts, red pickled vegetables, and white radishes. However, there was very little beef, only two thin slices.

Xiao Fan was stunned. The bowls were larger than her washbasin, and the noodles were enough to last a week.

Liu Handong had already started eating, adding red chili oil.

The construction workers also ate, slurping their noodles. The rain continued, and water droplets ran down the awning, creating small puddles on the ground. In the distance, under the plane trees, leaves were scattered everywhere.

"Why aren't you eating?" Liu Handong asked, looking up.

Xiao Fan pushed most of the noodles to Liu Handong, leaving only a small portion for herself. The handmade noodles were chewy and delicious, but the portion was designed for heavy laborers, which was too much for Xiao Fan.

After finishing the meal, the rain stopped, and a rainbow appeared in the sky. Xiao Fan excitedly pointed at the rainbow and jumped. Liu Handong and several construction workers walked out of the awning, standing side by side, gazing at the rainbow between the high-rise buildings.

...

Wang Xing was a top student at the police academy and had worked as a police officer in Jiangbei City. Later, he was transferred to the provincial capital's criminal investigation team as an investigator. When everyone thought he had a bright future, he accidentally killed a suspect and was dismissed from the police force, becoming a private detective.

Private detectives were still a new profession in China. Wang Xing named his company Mingjing Investigation and Consulting Co., Ltd. His main business was helping wealthy wives catch their husbands' mistresses and helping officials and businessmen remove cameras and listening devices from their cars and offices. Due to his high professional standards and many connections in the legal system, he had a good reputation and a steady stream of clients.

However, the income from these jobs still left Wang Xing struggling financially. He had bought a house in the provincial capital and taken out a large loan. His wife was pregnant with twins, and the financial pressure was enormous. To prepare for the upcoming expenses of diapers and milk, Wang Xing was willing to take on any job.

In the early hours of the morning, Wang Xing received a call from the president's office of Qingshi High-Tech, commissioning him to find and protect Xia Qingshi's daughter, Shu Fan. The commission fee was 100,000 RMB.

Wang Xing accepted the job without hesitation and quickly began his investigation. According to the information provided by the client, Shu Fan was currently safe, but someone was trying to kidnap her. To ensure her safety, Xia Qingshi did not report the incident to the police but instead hired a private detective.

Wang Xing soon realized that the case was more complicated than it seemed. Shu Fan's uncle, Xia Bai Shi, the brother of Qingshi High-Tech's president, had already reported her missing to the Wenshui Town police station. The police were conducting a secret investigation.

A friend in the criminal investigation team told Wang Xing that Shu Fan was likely kidnapped by a black car driver on her way home. The suspect was a former soldier named Liu Handong. The earliest witness was Gu Changjun from the security department of Shifeng Group, who said he saw someone kidnapping a female student on his way home. His two colleagues tried to stop the kidnapper but were injured. The traffic police also confirmed that a damaged black car was found at the scene. A colleague from the legal department of the municipal bureau had also seen Liu Handong with Shu Fan at the bureau, where he rambled incoherently.

Wang Xing, with his police instincts, felt that the case was more complex than it seemed. The man named Liu Handong might not be the criminal. Why would a criminal bring the hostage to the police station? However, the political and legal committee had already determined that Liu Handong was the criminal.

Xia Qingshi, the CEO of Qingshi High-Tech, was in the United States for treatment. It was too coincidental that his only heir was in trouble at this critical moment. Moreover, Gu Changjun from Shifeng Group was not a good person, and his involvement suggested many hidden issues. The political and legal committee's involvement was likely the reason why the Xia family did not report the incident to the police.

To find Shu Fan, Wang Xing needed to find Liu Handong first. The police had many technical means to locate people, the most common being cell phone tracking. In modern society, cell phones were ubiquitous, and as long as he knew the phone number or the IMEI, he could quickly locate a person.

To use cell phone tracking, the police needed approval from a division-level leader. However, Wang Xing knew someone in the technical department of the mobile company, and a phone call would do the trick.

Liu Handong's phone was an unregistered prepaid card that had only been turned on once in the past 24 hours, near the middle of Tiezha Street in Huahuo Office.

Tiezha Street was a suburban area with many rental properties. Liu Handong, currently unemployed, was likely staying there.

Wang Xing drove his old Jetta through the drizzling autumn rain towards Tiezha Street.

It was already 5:30 PM, the peak traffic time. The roads were congested with many cars and people, and road expansion projects made the situation worse. Buses and private cars competed for space, motorcycles and electric scooters weaved through the gaps, and minor accidents occurred frequently. Horns blared, and Wang Xing, frustrated, pressed the horn, but his old Jetta was noisy everywhere except for the horn.

Police officer Ma Guoqing was staking out across from No. 108 Tiezha Street in a mobile phone store. He was patiently waiting for Liu Handong and Shu Fan to return. For a police officer, staking out was a common task, and he had often waited for days in the cold to catch criminals.

Ma Guoqing knew this might be his last stakeout and his last heroic act. He hoped his wife and daughter would see him as a hero who died in the line of duty, not as a cancer patient who suffered and died.

Liu Handong and Shu Fan were also stuck in traffic. Their bus had a minor collision with a private car, and the two drivers were arguing. Passengers got off and walked.

A flash of lightning crossed the sky, followed by rolling thunder and strong winds, signaling an approaching storm.

The small vendors on Tiezha Street began to pack up and go home. Those selling cooked food and fruits also folded their umbrellas and pushed their tricycles away. The rain was more effective than the city management, and the road suddenly became clear.

A tinkling laugh echoed, and Ma Guoqing, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them to see Liu Handong and Shu Fan running in the rain. They looked more like a couple than a kidnapper and a victim.

Ma Guoqing touched the Type 54 pistol at his waist, enduring the pain in his stomach, and stood up.

An old Jetta drove in from the north of Tiezha Street.

At the same time, a black Highlander drove in from the south, followed by a black Honda Accord. Both cars had no license plates and were heavily loaded, indicating that they were full of people.

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