July 9th, early morning.
Zhou Ning, humming a tune, walked into the Technical Office building, nodding at people as he passed them by and saw Mr. Zhao as soon as he entered the office.
With shifty eyes, the kid looked at Zhou Ning, who inspected himself to see if there was anything amiss about his appearance, then asked with a puzzled face,
"Why are you looking at like that?"
Mr. Zhao shook his head and circled Zhou Ning closely.
"Sothing about you is off."
Zhou Ning was taken aback and pushed him away.
"Get lost, there’s nothing wrong with ."
Mr. Zhao moved over to sit next to Liu Yongxin on the nearby sofa.
"Mr. Liu, you better question him fast, Zhou Xiaozhou must be up to sothing good, walking in humming a tune and all, even washed his hair this morning, which he doesn’t usually do. Plus, his T-shirt and pants are new, not his usual favorite blue."
Liu Yongxin pushed away the chubby face and glanced at Zhou Ning with an all-knowing look.
"Stop your nonsense, kid. Whatever my precious apprentice does is good. Don’t you start making a ruckus. If you ruin my darling apprentice’s good fortune, do you believe I would beat you to death?"
Mr. Zhao raised his hands, looking obediently and said,
"Mr. Liu, have a little faith in , would you? I’m definitely the assisting hand."
Zhou Ning was surprised. Could they know sothing? Giving Mr. Zhao a cold glance, he didn’t dare to retort and walked straight to his desk to turn on the computer.
"You sure talk a lot for a Monday morning. Any news from Director Xu’s side? How’s their investigation going? It’s still not clear from which link the photos and information were leaked."
Hearing Zhou Ning speak like this, Mr. Zhao didn’t continue to joke around but quickly leaned in across from Zhou Ning, raised his thumb and forefinger, made a money-counting gesture, and said mysteriously,
"I spoke with Mr. Zeng on the phone last night; he originally wanted to borrow a cara from , and we chatted for a bit. Rumor has it they’ve found the person who leaked the information. They didn’t take action at the ti because he’s the son of a forr deputy director. His cousin and a hired writer both made a good chunk of money from it. Mr. Hu is furious over this affair."
Liu Yongxin looked puzzled.
"Who?"
Mr. Zhao quickly explained,
"Fan Guoming used to work in the third unit. The 4.14 kidnapping case was handled by the second unit. When they extorted his cooperation, while he was helping out, he took photos of the evidence and leaked them to his cousin—that’s how it got out.
When they were investigating before, nobody thought he’d do such a thing. Director Xu checked everyone one by one and found out about him. Noticing his cousin had so connections, so they followed the trail to that editor, and that’s how the truth ca out."
Zhou Ning’s brow furrowed slightly, not because they had found Fan Guoming—he was bound to be discovered sooner or later if they investigated thoroughly, and Xu Dayuan had the capability.
His concern was with how Mr. Zeng could have spoken so casually when nothing had been announced yet, even to Mr. Zhao, one should respect confidentiality. Otherwise, if they weren’t careful, this matter could leak out, making it no different from the past.
"Did you ask Mr. Zeng about it?"
Mr. Zhao blinked, instantly realizing what Zhou Ning ant, and waved his hands in denial.
"I didn’t ask, just chatted a bit. When I asked him why he hadn’t left work yet, he started grumbling."
Zhou Ning said no more, as it was better for the corresponding personnel to handle the situation. Just as he was thinking this, the office door was pushed open and Xu Dayuan walked in, looking around and clicking his tongue.
"You all seem pretty relaxed without a case."
Liu Yongxin laughed—this person could never sit still.
"Cut the sarcasm. You’re done with your business, so why haven’t I seen any disciplinary notice from the office?"
Xu Dayuan looked puzzled and glanced at Liu Yongxin.
"Don’t tell , you guys know about my investigation already. Who told you?"
Mr. Zhao slouched, coughed, and turned his attention to the computer.
Zhou Ning poured a glass of water for Xu Dayuan and approached him.
"Don’t ask how we know. Just that we’re kind of aware of the general process. Has the office decided how to handle it?"
Xu Dayuan nodded, his train of thought diverted.
"Last night, I discussed it with Mr. Hu. Later today, there’s going to be a departnt-wide announcent, calling for a eting to address this issue. Leaking case details and crucial evidence that could compromise the investigation and give criminals an opportunity are all serious offenses not to be settled by re administrative actions.
Mr. Hu made his stance clear: in light of Fan Guoming’s breach of police discipline and his suspected criminal activities, he will be dismissed from public office. This will be announced throughout the departnt as a negative example for all active police personnel."
This outco surprised Zhou Ning; he had expected harsh punishnt but hadn’t thought Mr. Hu would actually wield such a heavy hand—dismissal from public service was a life-ruiner.
"Will he be held criminally responsible?"
Xu Dayuan nodded.
"After the dismissal, he will face criminal charges. If it wasn’t for his leak, the case wouldn’t have drawn so much attention, and we might have caught Lou Sanfeng back then. The Zhu Family of three could also have been saved. Speaking of which, I’ve contacted Zhu Yantao and Cheng Zhi.
Cheng Zhi will co later, and old man Zhu Yantao said that after the case is solved and Lou Sanfeng is sentenced, a copy of the verdict would suffice. As for the recovered ransom, he doesn’t want it and has decided to donate it to our Municipal Bureau. It can be used to establish a reward, whether for consolation or as a prize."
Liu Yongxin sat up straighter and sighed.
"The old man has co to terms with it. Wealth is no longer important to him now; there’s no child at ho to inherit, and having too much might just attract unwanted attention. However, if our bureau accepts this money, it might not seem quite right."
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