The next morning, Ren Yi went to the Hongwu Public Security Bureau to report in.
This branch office was not far from their fire station. Although it was not within his jurisdiction, they had some dealings with each other normally. He just did not know when someone like Gong Yingxian had appeared here.
At the branch office, he met the person who had invited him to assist with the investigation—Song Bei.
Song Bei was an old police officer. He was currently the captain of the Third Squad of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Hongwu Branch. He looked like a very amiable person.
Ren Yi extended his hand. “Captain Song.”
“Captain Ren, hello. Have a seat.”
The two shook hands, and Ren Yi sat down. He looked around the office. The glass was semi-transparent, and he could see people coming and going outside.
Song Bei smiled. “Sorry to trouble you, Captain Ren, making you come all the way here in this hot weather.”
“You’re too polite. You’re my senior, so according to seniority, I should tell you to just call me Xiao Ren, but you also know my surname, so that would be a little awkward.”
Song Bei laughed loudly. “So I’ll still call you Captain Ren.”
Ren Yi smiled. “I heard from our chief of staff that there was a reversal in that jumping-off-a-building case?”
“Right. Originally, we were going to close the case as a suicide, but recently some new circumstances came up. It may be related to an economic case, so we wanted to ask you to assist with the investigation. After all, you had a better understanding of the scene at the time.”
Ren Yi nodded. “I remember it very clearly.”
He remembered that it had been sometime in the middle of the night, around four in the morning, when people were entering deep sleep. An emergency call suddenly came in. Several young people who had just returned from clubbing discovered that a person had been impaled on the iron railing in the courtyard of a first-floor townhouse in the residential complex. Blood flowed along the downhill walkway all the way to the entrance of the residential complex.
By the time the fire truck arrived, the person was still breathing. They cut down the railing, and the ambulance took the person to the hospital together with the railing, but the person died before even making it to the hospital.
They had all thought it was a suicide. They had not expected that two months later, the circumstances of the case would change.
The cooperation between the fire department and the police had always been quite close, because for many accidents, the firefighters were the first to arrive at the scene. And in order to rescue people or property, they often had to cause unavoidable damage to the scene, especially in fires.
Song Bei spread the photos of the scene out in front of Ren Yi, helping him remember. “I read your emergency response report. Think back and see if there were any other special details.”
Ren Yi did his best to rely on his memory and reconstruct everything he had seen at the time.
Song Bei seriously asked him quite a few questions, and the two of them sat in the conference room for more than two hours.
Suddenly, Song Bei asked curiously, “Are you looking for someone you know?”
“Huh? What?”
Song Bei raised his chin. “I noticed that every time someone passes by, you look outside the window.”
“Uh, sorry.” Ren Yi was extremely embarrassed. He raked a hand through his hair and immediately felt a little disgusted with himself. Why did the thought that he might run into Gong Yingxian make him inexplicably nervous? He was not the one who was in the wrong.
Song Bei looked at his watch. “Oh, it’s noon already. Sorry for keeping you here so long. Come on, I’ll treat you to lunch.”
“No need. It’s what I should do. You’re busy too, and my squad is close by. I’ll go back and eat there.”
“How could I let you do that? Come on. There’s a good restaurant nearby. And it just so happens that I want to hear some stories about your father. I’ve heard his name for a long time.”
Ren Yi smiled. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”
“Come on, come on.”
The two walked out of the conference room. When they passed through the office area, they saw that everyone was heading outside. Only one person was walking against the flow of people toward them.
Gong Yingxian!
Ren Yi raised his eyebrows. He saw that Gong Yingxian was dressed exactly as he had been the previous two times they had met, in a perfectly neat and crisp suit. He walked toward them on his two long legs, carrying a plain-colored paper bag in his white-gloved hand.
Their eyes met, and a flash of surprise passed through Gong Yingxian’s eyes.
Song Bei nodded toward Gong Yingxian. “Xiao Gong, going to eat?”
Gong Yingxian nodded as well. “Captain Song.” He glanced at Ren Yi as though he were looking at a stranger.
“Come, let me introduce you. This is the young and promising captain of the Phoenix Firefighting Squadron, Ren Yi. He’s here to assist us with the jumping-off-a-building case. Captain Ren, this is the top student who just joined us last year, a chemistry PhD from MIT, Gong Yingxian.”
The conversation had already reached this point, yet the two still did not shake hands. Instead, they stared at each other. Song Bei looked puzzled.
“You two… know each other?”
“We don’t.”
The two answered in unison, so quickly that it was as if they were afraid that whoever answered more slowly would lose.
Song Bei rubbed his chin.
Ren Yi said, “Captain Song, let’s go. I’m actually really hungry.”
“Oh, let’s go.”
Only after Gong Yingxian had walked away did Song Bei smile and say, “What do you think? Didn’t expect our branch office to have a police officer who looks like a celebrity, did you? The day he arrived, our female colleagues almost went crazy.”
“Mm… I didn’t expect him to be under you.”
“Right. He’s an incredible young man. His personality is just a little… solitary.”
Ren Yi secretly thought that “solitary” was way too polite a description. He asked, “Why is everyone heading outside while he’s going inside?”
“It’s lunchtime. Everyone’s going to the cafeteria to eat. Him, heh heh…” Song Bei shook his head. “He doesn’t eat with us.”
“Why?”
“Him? He has mysophobia. He only eats things he brings himself.”
“He’s that antisocial and can still work as a detective?”
“The sea embraces all rivers.” Song Bei pointed to his temple. “His brain works well, he can fight, he’s brave, and he has plenty of resources. We need all kinds of talented people.”
Ren Yi still could not help grumbling inwardly. Could it be that they had recruited him because of the equipment he donated?
“And besides, there’s a reason he’s so antisocial. It’s understandable.”
“Oh? What reason?”
Song Bei smiled, clearly not intending to say more. Ren Yi did not ask again either. After all, it had nothing to do with him. Asking too much would make him look suspicious.
After lunch, Ren Yi took some time to go home. He had afternoon tea with his father before returning to the squad.
As soon as he arrived at the squad, Qu Yangbo called him into the office.
There were three people sitting on the sofa in the office, two men and one woman. As soon as he entered, all three stood up.
There was nothing particularly special about the two men. The only woman was tall and slender, with short hair like a boy’s. Although she had a very good-looking face, she did not have the softness of a woman. Instead, she looked extremely spirited and heroic.
Before Ren Yi could speak, all three of them gave a military salute in unison.
“Hello, Captain.”
Ren Yi returned the salute, then looked at Qu Yangbo with a puzzled expression.
“Oh, these are candidates I recruited for our squad as firefighters. Of course, you still have to interview them personally.”
Ren Yi looked over the three of them and said, “Okay. Um, it’s a little late today. You three go back first. I’ll notify you separately about the interview time.”
“Goodbye, Captain. Goodbye, Instructor.”
After the three left, Ren Yi glared at Qu Yangbo. “What are you thinking? A female soldier?”
“What’s wrong with a female soldier?” Qu Yangbo shrugged. “Which document says we can’t recruit female soldiers?”
They were currently facing a reform of the firefighting system. Those who had enlisted the previous year would be the last batch of active-duty Armed Police personnel. By the end of the year, they would retire at the same time and transition into a professionalized system, with the Public Security Fire Department becoming the Ministry of Emergency Management. Full-time firefighters would also be recruited nationwide.
When recruiting firefighters, they naturally prioritized those who had previously served in fire departments. As the squad captain, Ren Yi had the final personnel authority, while Qu Yangbo mainly handled clerical and political work and was responsible for the preliminary recruitment.
He simply had never imagined that Qu Yangbo would actually want to recruit a female firefighter.
Ren Yi frowned. “Our squad has more than forty grown men. Is that convenient? Dear Comrade Bobo.”
“Calm down first, Dear Comrade Yanyan.” Qu Yangbo wore his trademark smile. “Once September comes, several people will be discharged. In half a year, we’ve only recruited three full-time firefighters. We’re seriously understaffed.”
“Being understaffed doesn’t mean we can just mess around.”
“How is this messing around? Do you have some objection to female soldiers?”
“I have no objection to female soldiers, but do you think this line of work suits her? When she was in the military, at least she was surrounded by women. If she comes here…” Ren Yi paused. “I’m thinking of her. Does she know how difficult this road will be?”
“I think she’s thought it through very clearly.” Qu Yangbo pushed up his glasses. “You haven’t even interviewed her. Isn’t it too soon to reject her outright? Based on my interactions with her, she’s a qualified firefighter.”
“Firefighters have to go to the front line. The front line isn’t suitable for women.”
“That’s discrimination and prejudice.”
“Stop using that to pressure me. Go ask how many fire departments across the country have female soldiers. Is this a question of prejudice? This is a question of the nature of the job.”
“We’re not an ordinary squad. We’re a special operations firefighting squad. We should have the broad-mindedness to embrace all kinds of people. Oh, right, she’s also your junior schoolmate. She graduated from the Armed Police University’s Firefighting Command program.”
This was the second time Ren Yi had heard the phrase “the sea embraces all rivers” today. But when it came from Qu Yangbo’s mouth, he sensed something different about it.
“Yangbo, your head should be clearer than mine. Listen to what you’re saying right now. Does it sound like something a normal person would say? Are you hiding something from me?”
Qu Yangbo took off his glasses, slowly wiped the lenses, then put them back on.
“After the reform is completed, the publicity department will carry out a series of campaigns to show the people across the country the new image of the Ministry of Emergency Management. A valiant and spirited female firefighter—you know how much attention she could attract to our squad.”
Ren Yi lowered his head. “You’re pretty well-informed. Your father told you?”
“You could say that.”
Qu Yangbo was the son of a high-ranking official. It seemed as though he had been destined to pursue a political career from the moment he was born. Although the two had been friends for many years and Qu Yangbo had helped him a lot, they still often disagreed on many matters.
Qu Yangbo patiently persuaded him. “Ren Yi, I know you’re worried that a girl isn’t suited to doing such dangerous work. Anyway, she’ll be under your control. Just treat her as a mascot. There are some scenes you simply don’t let her go to. She wants to be a firefighter, we need firefighters, and she can also bring glory and publicity to our squad. Isn’t that a win-win for everyone?”
Ren Yi stared directly at Qu Yangbo’s lenses, which were faintly reflecting the light, but he could not see his eyes.
“What if I disagree?”
Qu Yangbo smiled faintly. “As the instructor, I should at least have one vote, right?”
Although the two were equal in rank, according to the rules, Qu Yangbo’s words carried more weight than his, at least in the eyes of their superiors.
Even though Qu Yangbo had never used that to pressure him.
“Fine. Since you’ve decided.” Ren Yi’s tone was not very pleasant.
“Brother, I know you’re not very happy, but I’m doing this for our own good.” Qu Yangbo said, “I won’t deny it. I want to get promoted. Who doesn’t? You don’t want to get involved in politics, so I have to think about our future. I hope we can both keep moving higher. Only if the squad does well can we do better too, right?”
Ren Yi let out a long breath. “Fine, I’ll listen to you. In the end, you’re always right anyway.”
Qu Yangbo patted him on the head and smiled. “Good boy.”
Ren Yi slapped his hand away and was just about to curse at him when the alarm bell rang.
He hurried downstairs. “What’s the situation?”
“…Lock opening.”
All the firefighters let out anguished groans.
Ren Yi was already somewhat annoyed. He rolled his eyes. “Dispatch sheet.”
The communications officer handed it to him. He took out his phone and dialed the number on the dispatch sheet.
“Hello, this is the fire department.”
An anxious elderly woman’s voice came from the other end. “Firefighter, when are you coming? My grandson is about to get out of school. I have to cook for him!”
“Auntie, for something like unlocking a door, we’re really not professionals. I recommend that you find a locksmith.”
“Why find a locksmith? Can’t you open it?” the old woman shouted. “Locksmiths cost money!”
“Auntie, let me explain.” Ren Yi patiently said, “We have three ways of opening a door. They increase in the level of damage respectively: breaking the lock, removing the door, and smashing through the wall. The specific method can only be decided after we arrive at the scene. But for most locks that are even slightly complicated, we can’t open them. Removing the door is more common. Our service is free, but replacing the lock or the door is quite expensive.”
“…You’re not trying to trick me, are you?”
“I’m not. If you don’t know how to use the internet, I can recommend a locksmith company to you.”
“You’re recommending one to me?” The old woman’s voice rose at the end, filled with suspicion.
Ren Yi took a deep breath. “Auntie, opening a lock only costs around a hundred yuan. I’m not getting a kickback.”
“Oh. Then fine.”
“Please call 119 to cancel the report you just made.”
The woman hung up.
Ren Yi crumpled the dispatch sheet into a ball and tossed it to the communications officer on duty.
“From now on, if there’s a request to open a lock, unless there’s an emergency in the house, handle it this way every time.”
“Yes.”
Ren Yi pressed his aching temples and felt a wave of irritation. Probably too many things had happened recently, and he had gotten angry quite a lot along with them. It was not good for his health.
He decided to take a short leave, spend some time with his father, get together with some friends, or maybe go on a date or something.