Chapter 13 Can’t Two Detectives Handle Two Drunks?…

Chapter 13: What are two cops against a couple of drunks?...

The dinner for four, though two were overly reticent, ended quite perfectly with the other two chatterboxes hitting it off wonderfully.

Qi Bai had a great time, Pang Le's curiosity was satisfied, Guan Xia ate until she was almost stuffed, and though Xu Nian hadn't said a word, his relaxed posture showed he was in a pretty good mood too.

Finishing the last bit of alcohol in his glass, Pang Le checked her watch. "It's almost 11. Should we call it a night and meet up another time?"

What was meant as a polite remark was seized upon by Qi Bai, who smoothly replied, "Sure! We've got five days off this time. When should we meet again?"

Guan Xia, who had been about to stand up, immediately sat back down upon hearing this.

Pang Le wasn't surprised. After a moment's thought, she said, "How about the weekend? Are you free? We've already made plans to go camping with friends, leaving Saturday and returning Sunday."

Guan Xia shot Pang Le a surprised look. Was he trying to create a love rivalry scenario? She distinctly remembered this gathering was organized by Lawyer Shi.

Qi Bai's smile widened. "The weekend? Should work. Unless something unexpected comes up, we're back to work next Monday."

"So it's settled then?" Pang Le said. "I'll confirm the exact departure time and camping location with you later by phone."

"Sounds good," Qi Bai nodded seriously, then asked with interest, "Do you go camping often? I only went twice with friends right after college and never again after that. Are there any particularly good camping spots in Yongquan City?"

At this, Pang Le perked up. She was a restless person with many hobbies, and camping was just one of them.

Just as the gathering seemed about to wrap up, the two of them launched into an enthusiastic conversation. Guan Xia chuckled helplessly, adjusted to a more comfortable position, and began looking around idly.

Since she had nothing better to do, maybe she'd spot a criminal or something.

Even though it was nearly midnight, the streets were still crowded. Some people were leaving after their meals, while others were just arriving. Every table near them was fully occupied.

After scanning around without noticing anything unusual, Guan Xia was about to look away when a middle-aged man sitting three tables over caught her attention.

The man was with another person, both seeming quite drunk and ready to leave, stumbling out arm in arm.

They were about the same height, but one was very fat and the other very thin. Guan Xia noticed the thin man was struggling to walk under the weight of the heavier one.

Probably having had way too much to drink, the fat man suddenly shoved the thin one after a few steps, staggered over to a tree by the roadside, and began vomiting violently.

Guan Xia immediately averted her gaze in disgust, then unexpectedly noticed that Xu Nian, sitting across from her, was also watching intently.

Realizing something might be up, Guan Xia looked back and heard Qi Bai ask curiously, "What are you looking at?"

Unexpectedly yet predictably, the system interface suddenly sprang to life, with several lines of text quickly appearing.

"You are being questioned by the police. You suddenly remember that at 10:27 AM on April 22, you browsed several photos of wanted criminals. One of them bears an extremely strong resemblance to the person you are seeing now. You decide to inform the police."

After the text, an enlarged version of the wanted photo Guan Xia had seen before appeared. Below the photo, it clearly stated: Song Changyong, male, born June 19, 1987.

After the birthdate were his registered address and ID number, but Guan Xia didn't have time to examine them closely. She quickly grabbed her phone, opened the browser, and searched.

For the first time since binding with the system, she felt genuinely excited. This dinner outing hadn't been in vain—she'd actually stumbled upon an unexpected lead.

Within fractions of a second, the browser displayed the wanted photo she had seen. She immediately thrust her phone toward Qi Bai's face, barely containing her excitement as she asked, "Take a look, is it him?"

Qi Bai instinctively glanced at the screen, and his expression changed instantly. However, he regained his composure within a second, nudged Xu Nian with his elbow without a word, and pushed the screen toward him.

Xu Nian took the phone, examined it for a few seconds, then nodded with certainty. "It's him."

Qi Bai's eyes immediately curved into crescents as he smiled. Xu Nian also offered a slight smile, handed the phone back to Guan Xia, and said, "Let's go. Consider it a warm-up exercise—a little overtime during our time off."

Though they had agreed on a plan, they didn't stand up immediately. Instead, they waited until the middle-aged fat man finished vomiting, slung his arm around the thin man's shoulder, and stumbled forward about ten meters, completely leaving their dining area, before slowly rising to follow them.

Pang Le had been watching them closely since Qi Bai asked what they were looking at. By now, she understood what was happening and looked even more excited than Guan Xia. After Qi Bai and Xu Nian stood up, she was practically vibrating with eagerness, forcing Guan Xia to exert some effort to hold her down.

"Just sit still," Guan Xia whispered into Pang Le's ear. "What are two cops against a couple of drunks?"

Though seated, Pang Le shifted restlessly as if there were nails on her chair. She whispered back, "I'm just excited! This is the first time I've ever witnessed something like this. It'd be even more thrilling if I could help out."

Despite her eagerness to jump into the action, Pang Le ultimately stayed put, gripping Guan Xia's hand tightly while watching intently.

Though Guan Xia was talking to Pang Le, her eyes remained fixed on the scene.

Qi Bai and Xu Nian followed the two drunks at a slightly faster pace. When they were close enough to lunge forward and restrain them, Xu Nian suddenly called out, "Song Changyong?"

The middle-aged fat man was indeed heavily drunk. As a fugitive, his first reaction to hearing his name was to turn around and shout, "Who's calling me?"

Confirming the fat man's identity, Qi Bai and Xu Nian simultaneously pounced, pinning him to the ground with ease and handcuffing him without any effort.

The sudden commotion sobered the thin man up from his drunkenness. Unexpectedly, instead of panicking and backing away, he instinctively crouched down and covered his head with his hands.

His practiced posture made it obvious even to Guan Xia that he had likely "studied" inside before.

"This outing was totally worth it," Pang Le murmured, her eyes gleaming as she stared at the scene. "Even though Qi Bai isn't really my type, if every hangout ends with something like this, maybe it's not entirely out of the question."

As the crowd of onlookers gradually gathered, Guan Xia could no longer see Qi Bai and Xu Nian from her seat. She finally looked away and snorted coldly. "Be reasonable. You've been sincere in every past relationship. Can you guarantee it'll be the same this time?"

That gave Pang Le pause. She frowned, pondered for a moment, her expression shifting several times before she finally sighed. "You're right, probably not. Forget it, let's just be friends."

That reminded Guan Xia about their weekend plans with Qi Bai. She couldn't help but ask, "By the way, I forgot to ask earlier. Wasn't the weekend gathering organized by Lawyer Shi? Why did you invite Qi Bai?"

"To give him a chance to get to know me," Pang Le said with a grin. "That way, I won't have to reject him—he'll back off on his own."

Guan Xia understood. "So you're planning to hang out with him often after this?"

Pang Le nodded. "Life's been too dull lately. I feel like my bones are rusting. Since you won't play with me, I'll just invite him along. Plus, he can experience my exciting lifestyle and give up on his own. Two birds with one stone—sounds good, right?"

Guan Xia curled her lip, feeling sympathy for Qi Bai once again. She hoped that after experiencing all of Pang Le's hobbies, he wouldn't end up like the last one, who developed acrophobia in his twenties.

Guan Xia had assumed it would take Qi Bai and Xu Nian a while to return, but to her surprise, they were back sitting across from them within ten minutes, looking pleased.

Pang Le was also surprised. "That's it? You don't need to go to the police station?"

Qi Bai smiled. "One Class B fugitive and one habitual thief aren't worth making our entire team come back to work during our time off. We handed them over to the local police station."

Guan Xia understood—apparently, their criminal investigation team only handled major cases.

"Class B fugitive?" Pang Le hesitated before asking, "Is it okay to ask what crime he committed?"

Qi Bai replied, "No need to keep it confidential. It's for causing serious injury. By the way, Guan Xia, how did you recognize him just now?"

Guan Xia blankly said, "Ah? I just used my eyes."

Qi Bai instinctively glanced at Xu Nian and couldn't help but laugh. "Is this what it's like in the world of experts? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have recognized that fat guy as the same person in the wanted photo. His face was so bloated it looked like a balloon. Even after we caught him, I stared for a long time and still couldn't see it."

Guan Xia mentally grumbled—she hadn't recognized him either. She just did what the system said.

Trying to cover, Guan Xia said, "Maybe it's because I study art, so I'm more sensitive to faces. Plus, I habitually look at all kinds of photos for inspiration. Over time, I just remember them."

"Looking at wanted photos for inspiration?" Qi Bai's expression turned somewhat strange, as if he'd imagined something.

Guan Xia quickly explained, "I've been drawing comics since my freshman year, so I inevitably need all kinds of reference materials. Looking at photos is just one of them."

"Does that mean you've memorized countless wanted criminals' faces in your head?" Qi Bai suddenly stared at Guan Xia intently, as if looking at some kind of treasure, and asked seriously, "Besides drawing comics, what other hobbies do you have? Food? Camping? Board games?"

Faced with Qi Bai's sudden enthusiasm, Guan Xia just gave her a headache.

Perhaps because she was too much of a homebody, she really wasn't good at handling interpersonal relationships. Fortunately, Xu Nian suddenly spoke up and indirectly bailed her out.

Xu Nian said, "Has your memory always been this good?"

Guan Xia hesitated and nodded, "It's... okay, I suppose."

"So modest," Qi Bai exclaimed. "Is this what it's like in the world of pros? Pang Le was right, you and Captain Xu are quite alike—he’s always very humble too."

Guan Xia didn’t know how to respond, but Xu Nian said, "I noticed your search interface earlier—you directly searched by name. Did you memorize the names along with the photos when you looked at them?"

Again, it was thanks to the system. Guan Xia didn’t want to admit it, but she had no choice but to nod.

Just as Guan Xia thought Xu Nian was going to ask something else, he tapped his screen a few times, then handed his phone over and asked her seriously, "Wanna swap contacts?"