Chapter 14: What Do You Want?

Chapter 14: What Do You Want

As Team A of the West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit wrapped up.

The Jiang family ancestral home was lit up.

Jiang Mingshan sat with no expression in the main seat of the hall. "Mr. Lu, are you suggesting that I completely abandon Jiang Yongyan?"

Jiang Hanyu flinched as if frightened. "Dad..."

Jiang Mingshan softened his expression. "Xiao Han, go upstairs first."

Jiang Hanyu: ... He wasn't actually scared.

He just wanted to remind his father to speak more politely to Lu Qian.

The engagement banquet hadn’t taken place yet; nothing was set in stone.

How could the Jiang family act so superior toward Lu Qian at a time like this?

Jiang Hanyu put on an upset look and went upstairs.

Lu Qian didn’t stop him.

Jiang Hanyu was innocent and kind-hearted; he really shouldn’t be exposed to these messy matters.

After Jiang Hanyu left, Jiang Mingshan continued, "Mr. Lu, Jiang Yongyan has worked for the Jiang family for nearly ten years. He knows too much. If he stays in police custody for too long, it won’t be good for the Jiang family."

Lu Qian let out a cold laugh. "So that’s what this is about? I thought you had a problem with me, Uncle."

Jiang Mingshan hurriedly said, "Not at all! I’m getting old, and Xiao Han is too naive. In the future, we’ll have to rely on you. The Jiang family isn’t as large as the Lu family; I’m still worried about having an heir."

Lu Qian thought to himself, what a Qing Dynasty relic.

He wants to use Jiang Hanyu for gain but also finds him too foolish, wishing for another son to inherit the family business.

Jiang Mingshan is greedy beyond belief.

He brought the topic back on track. "Jiang Yongyan caused a mess at my place, and now the police want to use this opportunity to look into Tianquan Du. I’m swamped... Tianquan Du is key to me taking over officially. This project absolutely cannot fail here."

Jiang Mingshan quickly weighed his options in his mind.

What he wanted was a son-in-law who could inherit the Lu family, not just any random person with the Lu surname.

But Jiang Yongyan...

Seeing Jiang Mingshan’s expression soften slightly, Lu Qian immediately pushed harder. "Jiang Yongyan is still in the holding cell at Sham Shui Po Police Station. Security there isn’t tight. You just need to send someone to make sure Jiang Yongyan goes to the low wall on the west side during recreation time. I’ll handle the rest."

Jiang Mingshan asked, "Mr. Lu, do you have a way to spring him?"

Lu Qian just smiled.

Jiang Mingshan understood. "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Lu. It’s really my junior’s misstep that caused you this inconvenience. Handle it as you see fit. Haven’t you always wanted the land next to Kowloon Walled City? I’ll get it and give it to you as an engagement gift."

The Jiang family didn’t have many connections in Hong Kong, but they did well in business and had plenty of money.

The land next to Kowloon Walled City was famous; the whole of Hong Kong was watching it. If the Jiang family acquired it and gifted it to the Lu family under the guise of an engagement present, everyone would understand that the two families were tying the knot.

Lu Qian saw right through that. "Thank you, Uncle. You need to act quickly. Once Jiang Yongyan is charged, he’ll be transferred to prison. It’ll be much harder to do anything then."

Jiang Mingshan smiled. "Certainly."

Lu Qian responded, "Pleasure doing business with you. Shall I go check on Xiao Han?"

"Go ahead."

Lu Qian went upstairs and found Jiang Hanyu sulking on the sofa.

He walked over. "Still angry?"

Jiang Hanyu snorted and muttered, "Can Jiang Yongyan still come home?"

Jiang Yongyan was his best informant, willing to do anything for him, but now he’d been arrested by Jian Ruochen!

Jiang Hanyu gritted his teeth, half-concealing his anger. "How could Brother Ruochen do this... Even if he’s just a distant relative, he’s still a blood relative... Yongyan was just momentarily confused..."

Lu Qian didn’t respond, instead reaching out to ruffle his dark hair. "Don’t think about it."

Jiang Hanyu lowered his gaze, hiding the resentment in his eyes.

·

Meanwhile, the West Kowloon Region Police Station was buzzing.

News of Guan Yingjun’s quick wrap-up of the case had spread throughout the entire Major Crimes Unit.

The West Kowloon Region mostly handled extremely serious major cases, each one enough to keep the officers swamped.

They had never seen a case wrapped up so fast!

From the crime’s occurrence to the arrest of the perpetrator, it took less than three days!

Everything clicked into place so smoothly.

Even the witness happened to be a student of Teacher Li, the guru of criminal behavior analysis!

Inspector Guan solved the case, got the credit, and even landed a free consultant.

Did he save the world in another life?

"Where’s that witness?"

"Not sure, with Guan, probably?"

"With Inspector Guan’s short fuse, I bet he can’t handle him!"

"There are 10 teams in the Major Crimes Unit. If Team A can’t handle him, send him to our Team B~"

"You’ve already got your eye on him?"

...

The in-demand Jian Ruochen was slumped on the break room sofa, drinking coffee.

This body was weak; he always felt worn out at night and needed a boost.

Guan Yingjun sat beside him, flipping through the two "menus" from the Platinum Club. The descriptions were graphic, with men and women priced right there.

Unit Z had made no progress on the "Platinum Club" precisely because they couldn't obtain photos of the "workers."

Without the photos, they couldn't identify the individuals, let alone proceed with subsequent interviews and interrogations.

This was an "exclusive product" accessible only by spending real money.

Guan Yingjun closed the booklet and asked casually, "Why give the credit to Team A? This thing is worth at least 5 million. You could have used it to curry favor with Unit Z and trade for a favor."

Jian Ruochen: "..."

Here he comes, here he comes.

He's approaching with his probing questions!

Jian Ruochen's tongue was numb from the bitterness of the police station's specialty black coffee. He frowned and said, "Huh? Didn’t I just finish giving my statement? Why does it feel like I’m being interrogated again?"

Guan Yingjun didn’t engage. "If you can’t drink it, throw it away."

Jian Ruochen ignored him, stood up, and grabbed some sugar-free creamer to add to his coffee. After adding five packets, he took a sip and finally felt some relief for his tongue.

But after sitting back down and taking a few more sips, he found the coffee blander and blander. "Inspector Guan, does West Kowloon have any orange juice?"

Guan Yingjun pointed to the cabinet under the coffee machine. "There’s instant mix in there."

Jian Ruochen squinted, pretending he couldn’t see clearly. "Where? Where?"

Guan Yingjun had no choice but to fetch it for him, playing the role of a server for once. He then watched as Jian Ruochen poured the entire packet of instant orange juice powder into the coffee cup and stirred it with a stirrer.

He was reminded of Jian Ruochen’s bold move of dipping a lamb bone in red wine.

Jian Ruochen took a sip and exhaled contentedly.

Now it tasted right.

He sipped his orange coffee concoction. "Inspector Guan, why are you always trying to get me to talk?"

Guan Yingjun leaned back in his chair, tapping the two files on his knee with his index finger. "Answer my question."

Jian Ruochen averted his gaze. "I felt like it, that's all. Isn’t Team A short on funds? A place like the Platinum Club—shutting it down would be a public service."

Guan Yingjun pressed his lips together. "Is that so?"

Jian Ruochen glanced at him and smirked. "You don’t believe me when I’m honest."

He tilted his head back to drink the last of his coffee.

But the coffee cups at the West Kowloon Region Police Station were badly designed—he couldn’t reach the last sip. He inserted the stirrer into the cup and prepared to suck it up.

Guan Yingjun frowned, stood up, and fetched a new straw from near the water cooler. "You touched that one with your hands."

"Tch." Jian Ruochen pursed his lips. "It’s my own hand; I don't care."

Guan Yingjun unwrapped the new straw, inserted it into the cup using the last bit of plastic wrapping for hygiene, then used the plastic to pick up the used straw and threw it away.

Jian Ruochen sipped the last drop through the new straw and teased, "Such attentive service? Trying to win me over?"

Guan Yingjun neither confirmed nor denied it. Looking down at him, he said, "The day before yesterday, during our confrontation with Jiang Yongyan at the Sham Shui Po Police Station, Jiang Yongyan mentioned that you and Lu Qian are engaged. The Platinum Club is one of Lu Qian’s operations. Aren’t you afraid he’ll be angry with you helping the police like this?"

Jian Ruochen crushed the empty paper cup with force and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

He smiled gently, his thin lips tinged pink, and the corners of his eyes lifted slightly. Softly, he said, "Inspector Guan, we have to work together from now on. You can’t keep testing me like this endlessly. Without trust, we won’t accomplish anything."

Previously, he had always brushed off these probes lightly. But after repeated attempts, Guan Yingjun, from his superior position, grew suspicious, believing Jian Ruochen was deliberately getting close, insisting on becoming a consultant for the West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit.

In truth, he just wanted to be Teacher Li’s student.

The path ahead could be taken slowly. He was here to be a colleague, not a suspect.

Only if Guan Yingjun treated him as a collaborator could he truly gain influence within the Major Crimes Unit.

Perhaps it was time to make a stand, at least to keep Guan Yingjun from thinking he was too soft.

Jian Ruochen curved his lips into a meaningful smile. "Inspector Guan, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Guan Yingjun looked up. "You stood out in the Feng Jiaming case, forced Jiang Yongyan out, kept him at the Sham Shui Po Police Station, then quickly became Li Changyu’s student and joined the West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit. Now, before I could even introduce you to the team, you generously helped us solve a difficult case, throwing money at the problem and earning everyone’s admiration."

"At the same time, you obtained the most critical evidence to take down the Platinum Club, asked for nothing in return, and handed it directly to me. Indirectly, you’ve won the hearts of Major Case Team A."

Guan Yingjun stood up, closed the double doors to the lounge to ensure they were alone, then walked back to stand in front of Jian Ruochen. Softly, he said, "Do you know? There are 153 people in the entire West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit, and no one is as smart as you."

Jian Ruochen raised an eyebrow.

He always thought Guan Yingjun’s people skills weren’t low—he just chose not to use them. Now, with his handsome appearance, impeccably dressed, helping with straws and offering sincere praise, even his cold eyes seemed to sparkle.

Jian Ruochen chuckled briefly. "I’m flattered."

As the words fell, his smile faded. He straightened his back and scoffed, "You do realize I’ve helped the police department a lot, don’t you?"

Once the laughter faded from his fox-like eyes, the amber pupils made his almost striking features appear intimidating, deterring anyone from meeting his gaze.

Guan Yingjun paid no mind to this display of anger. He leaned in closer, nose to nose, staring directly into Jian Ruochen’s eyes as if trying to decipher every nuance of his delicate expression. "You were a medical student before. For the first 18 years of your life, you juggled various part-time jobs, living in hardship with no opportunity to go abroad. When did you find the time to learn so much?"

He whispered, "Now you’re wealthy, socially adept, with a bright future ahead wherever you go. Why insist on getting involved with the police and crime... What exactly do you want?"

Guan Yingjun felt he had never been this patient before.

He didn’t use any interrogation techniques, speaking with sincerity and earnestness. "If there’s something you want, let’s put the transaction out in the open early. As long as it’s not excessive, I can make it happen for you."