At 4:50 PM, colleagues at the police station were packing up and waiting to go off work.
Suddenly, a volunteer officer at the reception desk came over to call Luo Fei, saying there was a girl at the front lobby looking for him.
Hearing that a girl was looking for him, the colleagues in the office started to tease, "Nice one, Luo Fei, when did you get a girlfriend, in college? You're better than your mentor, who's never even had a girlfriend and went directly to matchmaking and married." Liu Haiquan joked.
Zheng Ping, sitting nearby, glanced at Liu Haiquan with contempt, "You're no different, both of you are just about the same."
Luo Fei listened to the teasing from the seniors but didn't take it to heart. He stood up and headed out, feeling quite curious as to who would suddenly come looking for him. In his memory, he seemed to have no female friends, and for the past six months since he crossed over, no female friends had come looking for him.
When Luo Fei reached the reception area, he saw Yang Mei, who was tall and ponytailed, intently looking at a bulletin board. Luo Fei suddenly realized.
As for why Yang Mei suddenly came looking for him, Luo Fei had some guesses; aside from the bonus Zhao Donglai had promised earlier, there was really no other reason.
As expected
Seeing Luo Fei approaching, Yang Mei took out two envelopes, saying they were from Zhao Donglai for him and Zhang Haiyang, to thank them for their help in Su Xiao's case. Yang Mei said Zhao Donglai had initially planned to come personally, but he received a notice to go to the city, so he asked Yang Mei to bring them over.
After handing over the two envelopes to Luo Fei, Yang Mei left.
When Luo Fei returned to the office
"Luo Fei, where's your girlfriend? Why not bring her in for us to see." Liu Haiquan teased.
Luo Fei chuckled, "Senior Haiquan, please don't spread rumors! I'm still single."
He didn't explain that the one who came looking for him was from the detective team; it wasn't necessary.
Back at his seat, Luo Fei waited for the end of work.
As the clock ticked to five, the people in the office, who had long prepared for it, gradually stood up and left the office one by one.
Having packed up, Luo Fei saw Zhang Haiyang getting up and preparing to leave, so he followed along. As he reached the door, Luo Fei called out, "Mentor, wait for me a moment, I need to speak with you."
Zhang Haiyang felt a bit puzzled but still stopped to wait for Luo Fei.
When Luo Fei walked beside Zhang Haiyang, he handed over one of the envelopes Yang Mei had given him, "The one who came looking for me was Yang Mei, and she gave me two envelopes, saying they're from Detective Team Leader Zhao Donglai. One for each of us, to thank us for our help in the Su Xiao case. I haven't checked the amount."
Zhang Haiyang took the envelope and smiled, "Judging by the thickness, it looks like two thousand yuan. Zhao Donglai is quite the guy, not stingy." From his beaming appearance, his mood seemed really good.
After parting ways with Zhang Haiyang, Luo Fei opened his own envelope, and Zhang Haiyang guessed accurately, no more, no less, it was exactly two thousand. This unexpected bonus made Luo Fei inexplicably cheerful.
At about 5:30, Luo Fei arrived home.
Just upon reaching the door, he heard sounds coming from the room.
Once Luo Fei entered the house, he found his uncle and second aunt chatting with his mom while munching on sunflower seeds, and next to them, Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao were watching TV.
"Uncle, Second Aunt, what brings you here?" Luo Fei greeted the two on the sofa with a smile, hanging his hat on the coat rack nearby.
Second Aunt feigned displeasure, eyeing Luo Fei, "So, you don't welcome your uncle and second aunt?"
"How could I not, I'm delighted you both came over!" Luo Fei replied with a smile, walking over to sit beside his uncle. Honestly, he's quite fond of his uncle and second aunt.
They say when you're down, no one asks, and when you're wealthy, relatives appear even from afar. These words are spot on. Ever since Luo Fei crossed over for half a year, he hadn't seen other relatives except Second Aunt and Uncle. Second Aunt is called Wu Xiaohui, and Uncle is called Wu Zhiwei.
Wu Xiaohui works in a bracelet factory, and Uncle Wu Zhiwei works in a pig farm.
The two truly took care of Wu Yan's family—a widow and her children. From Wu Yan's mouth, Luo Fei learned that without Second Aunt and Uncle's help, he most likely wouldn't have been able to study up to university graduation.
During the four years at university, most of Luo Fei's tuition was borrowed from Second Aunt and Uncle. Because of this frequent borrowing, his aunt and uncle had a major fallout once, and from that incident, his aunt basically ceased all contact with Luo Fei's family, though his uncle still visited.
Second Aunt Wu Xiaohui seriously examined Luo Fei for a while and couldn't help but say, "It's true, people look better with clothes on, and horses look better with saddles. Xiaofei, wearing a police uniform, makes you look completely different—more sunny and handsome. Right, brother?"
Beside him, Wu Zhiwei nodded, "Compared to before, indeed more sunny and vibrant, seems like entering society has matured you."
"By the way, brother, what about Xiaoyu, is he still hanging around with those bad friends and hasn't found a job?" Wu Xiaohui suddenly directed her serious question toward Wu Zhiwei.
Hearing Wu Xiaohui mention his unprincipled son, Wu Zhiwei shook his head, "That brat, I've already given up hope entirely. I'm finished, I won't give him money anymore. He can eat at home, but he'll never get another penny from me."
"Xiaoyu is almost thirty, how come he still doesn't understand things? They say you can see what a person would be like when they're three, Xiaoyu was so clever and obedient as a child, how did he end up like this when he grew up?" Wu Xiaohui couldn't help but complain.
The Xiaoyu they referred to is Wu Zhiwei's eldest son, Luo Fei's eldest cousin, Wu Yu. About his matters, Luo Fei has heard plenty from Wu Yan.
Attended an expensive vocational college, in the freshman year he broke a roommate's nose in a fight, paid a thousand in hospital fees, and received a major demerit from the school. In the sophomore year, he cut in line for lunch at the cafeteria and beat someone for telling him off, feeling he lost face, after which the school expelled him.
After being expelled, he returned home, claiming he wanted to continue studying at university and told them he had arranged to attend another vocational college, which required a tuition of ten thousand yuan. Well, since he wanted to study in college, Uncle Wu Zhiwei didn't hesitate, giving him twenty thousand to go study.
The elder cousin took the money and left, and everyone assumed he went to college. But a while later, a familiar person told Wu Zhiwei they saw Wu Yu gambling in a mahjong parlor.
Initially, Wu Zhiwei didn't believe it, thinking Wu Yu had gone to college, how could he be in a mahjong parlor!
But the acquaintance spoke assuredly, and recalling Wu Yu's past misdemeanors, a bad premonition lingered in Wu Zhiwei's mind.
Afterward, Wu Zhiwei couldn't care about work, asked an acquaintance for help, and headed straight to the county town, directly to the mahjong parlor mentioned by the acquaintance.
As he arrived at the mahjong parlor, seeing Wu Yu with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, panda eyes, messy hair, enthusiastically playing mahjong, Wu Zhiwei almost fainted from anger.
That day at the mahjong parlor, Wu Zhiwei neither hit nor scolded Wu Yu; after the fury, only disappointment remained. He walked away quietly, having lost hope many times over Wu Yu, but this time, he completely gave up on his son.