Chapter 108: The World Is a Giant Stall Novel

Chapter 108: The World Is One Giant Pulp Novel

Guan Yingjun declared, "I'll handle the rescue operation."

The office lights shone brightly, clearly illuminating every team member. Everyone looked utterly drained; after a full day of non-stop work—conducting interviews and making arrests—their eyelids were heavy with fatigue.

Jian Ruochen yawned. "Then I'll take care of the public relations side."

He, too, was exhausted. Since yesterday, he had been working without pause—attending school during the day, then immediately plunging into arrests and interrogations. His mind was foggy with weariness, sustained only by sheer willpower.

Guan Yingjun felt a sourness at the back of his tongue and a subtle, persistent ache in his heart. He felt both concern and the understanding that this was the path Jian Ruochen had chosen for himself.

He cast a quick glance, then, with a controlled effort, averted his gaze. "The bombing case is largely resolved. Everyone can now refocus their attention on Jiang Hanyu's other contact."

The secret files had implicated so many individuals; they couldn't simply let it go. To definitively corner Lu Rong, they needed to approach it from every angle, leaving no loophole unchecked.

Guan Yingjun checked the time—it was already past 1 a.m. Even a superhuman couldn't endure much longer. "Let's stop here for today. Everyone, go home and get some proper rest. We'll work the afternoon shift tomorrow. Meeting adjourned."

"Yes, sir..." The collective tension in Team A suddenly dissipated. Liu Sizheng's legs wobbled as he stood up, and he limped back to his workstation.

Jian Ruochen followed Guan Yingjun into the office, slumped onto the sofa, and drifted into a daze for a while before yawning again.

As his mouth opened, the tip of his tongue detected a faint, cool sweetness. Listlessly, Jian Ruochen closed his lips and chewed half-heartedly. The soft, chewy, tea-infused pearls glided around his mouth.

Jian Ruochen jolted awake. "Are these the pearls from the milk tea?"

Pearls, also known as boba, had emerged in Hong Kong in the 1980s and were on the cusp of sweeping across the city, becoming a formidable rival to bubble tea.

The police station's tea restaurant had kept pace with the times—this was today's new item. Jian Ruochen had bought two cups, mixed in with ten others. One had been taken by Bi Wanwan, and the other had gone missing—it turned out Guan Yingjun had it.

Guan Yingjun poured the milk tea from the plastic cup into an empty one, used a spoon to scoop out the sunken pearls, and handed it to Jian Ruochen. As he tidied up, he asked, "Any leads on Jiang Hanyu’s contact? I suspect he’s connected to the person who drugged you."

"No leads for now," Jian Ruochen replied, stirring the pearls with the spoon, his brain too tired to function.

His thoughts lingered on the case for a moment, then drifted to the pearls before him. He tilted his head back and swallowed them all in one gulp.

Guan Yingjun didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.

No matter how clever Jian Ruochen was, at heart, he was still a teenager under 20. However mature he seemed, he still possessed a childlike innocence—making him appear both brilliant and endearing.

1:52 a.m.

The entire West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit Team A clocked out.

Guan Yingjun drove Jian Ruochen back to Lijin International Garden.

When Luo Binwen came down in his bathrobe to greet them, he felt a mix of heartache and helplessness. Yet, reflecting on Jian Ruochen’s recent achievements, he thought the young man’s drive was a perfect reflection of his mother’s.

Sigh... Being an undercover police officer, especially in the Major Crimes Unit, was truly exhausting.

·

The next day, as soon as Jian Ruochen woke up, he rushed to the bathroom for a shower, then sat refreshed at the dining table.

Luo Binwen had hired a chef from mainland China who had prepared a full table of mainland-style breakfast. The soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) had skins so thin that the orange broth inside was visible. Lifting one caused the bottom to sag precariously, as if it might tear at any moment.

Jian Ruochen had to use a spoon to catch it. He carefully bit through the skin and sipped the hot soup, then glanced at Luo Binwen beside him. "Uncle Luo, sit down and eat with me."

A house manager was supposed to wait until the master finished eating, but there was no way Jian Ruochen would let his godfather just stand and watch.

Unable to bear the heat, Jian Ruochen set the dumpling on his spoon to cool and tried to persuade Luo Binwen: "If you’ve thought over what we discussed, why don't we find a time to hold a proper ceremony?"

Luo Binwen said, "No need for such formalities. Actually, I should have been your—"

He paused. "Teacher."

"In England, a steward is responsible for educating the family’s children. The British aristocracy has strict requirements for selecting stewards. The Connaught family are old aristocracy. Long before they reached their current status, they had a rigorous screening system—requirements for lineage and education, plus a steward certification."

Jian Ruochen: ...

And here he thought this world was just one giant pulp novel.

Turns out, the parts the original novel didn’t mention were quite detailed.

Luo Binwen explained softly, "The Connaught family has no male heirs in this generation. Your mother was the sole heir. No matter who she married, any child she had would have inheritance rights to Connaught."

Luo Binwen spoke vaguely, but Jian Ruochen immediately thought of the photo in the pocket watch.

He ate the now-warm soup dumpling in one bite and changed the subject to avoid stirring up sad memories. "Even without a ceremony, from now on, you’re family."

Jian Ruochen blinked, putting on a pitiful look. "Eating breakfast alone is just too lonely. Oh, and could you have STN’s entertainment channel leak some news that the bombing case has been solved? No need for newspapers."

Luo Binwen’s heart melted. He agreed readily, promising to handle it and have breakfast together from now on—even forgetting his daily reminder for Jian Ruochen to spend money less conservatively.

Satisfied, Jian Ruochen finished breakfast and headed to school.

April was when Hong Kong gradually transitioned into summer—the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, perfectly comfortable.

With less than two months left in the semester, the university’s transfer application process opened again. Li Changyu embarked on a hectic schedule of three recruitment talks a week.

He lectured not only at Hong Kong University but also brought Jian Ruochen along to other universities.

Jian Ruochen listened to the same lecture material three times a week, studying as he went. By the end of the month, he had memorized all four presentations inside out, so busy he didn’t even have time for a haircut.

Over the month,

news of the bombing case’s resolution spread like wildfire. Media outlets spun the story into a tabloid tale filled with love and hate, hard to distinguish truth from fiction, captivating listeners.

No one knew if Lu Rong actually believed it, but Bi Wanwan felt that if this kept up, even she would start believing it.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) finally finished interrogating Jiang Hanyu, prepared the case report, and filed charges.

Jiang Hanyu’s financial crimes seemed major, but the court, eager to please higher-ups, would likely hand down a light sentence.

Under British Hong Kong’s control, the heaviest punishment for espionage was to be lightly handled—deportation.

The fear now was that they would give him a light sentence followed by deportation, sending Jiang Hanyu to serve time abroad. This way, British Hong Kong could control Jiang Hanyu’s unliquidated assets while reassuring others working for them.

After discussions within the joint investigation team, ICAC’s Liu Qishang decided to follow Jian Ruochen’s tradition of reporting cases in two phases, only submitting the financial crimes first.

They would see how long the sentence was. Once Jiang Hanyu completes his sentence, they would immediately report the espionage charges. If he was deported then, they could work with Interpol to arrest him overseas as planned.

Meanwhile,

the Major Crimes Unit never gave up on investigating the secret files.

But they couldn’t extract anything from Jiang Hanyu, and Lu Rong was even less cooperative. The leads were cut off.

Though such dead ends were common in the past, ever since Jian Ruochen joined the team, clues kept presenting themselves. Despite the risks, there was always progress.

Now, having gone from luxury to frugality, he actually felt like there was nothing to live for in this class.

Zhang Xingzong sighed ten times a day—eight times about the case, and twice because he found the shooting segment of the internal promotion exam too difficult, making promotion tough.

There was always a whiteboard left empty in the Major Crimes Unit.

On it was written Lu Rong’s movements and logic. Everyone knew that he had given the bank key to Jiang Hanyu to make the West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit aware of another supplier when they caught Jiang Hanyu, by linking the key to the illicit drugs it secured. He even intended to use the Major Crimes Unit to eliminate that person.

But this clue was so tough it was making people pull their hair out.

After "handing over" the rescue mission to Lei Jinwen, Guan Yingjun focused entirely on cracking the Lu Rong case. After working relentlessly for a month, he finally got an ambiguous tip in early May: "Lately, a weight-loss drug has become popular at Hong Kong University—Fat Burning Fruit Essence Slimming Tablets. The product claims to help users lose ten pounds in a month, and many dance majors from the Art Department are taking it. However, we haven’t yet figured out their purchasing channels."

Jian Ruochen exchanged a glance with him and immediately understood.

When phentermine first appeared in the UK, it was promoted as a weight-loss drug. The diet pills surfacing at Hong Kong University might be related to phentermine.

There was still no news about Jiang Hanyu’s supplier, and now these ambiguous diet pills had emerged. They needed clearer, more concrete leads.

Informants were often peripheral to the cases and couldn’t access deeper information. The only option now was to find someone within Hong Kong University to investigate.

And he was the most suitable candidate.

Jian Ruochen said, "I’ll do some digging around campus. Teacher Li is busy with recruitment right now and hasn’t been involved in campus social activities, so he doesn’t know much."

He hadn’t wanted to use his connection to the Connaught family to meet another distant relative, but now he had to reconsider. The case had been stalled for so long; they couldn’t afford to wait any longer. "My family steward informed me that the Connaught family actually has another heir. But based on bloodline, I’m higher in the line of succession, while he’s just a distant relative."

Guan Yingjun crossed his arms and leaned against the desk, his sharp eyes slightly lowered in thought. "So, there’s a conflict of interest between you two?"

"In theory, yes."

Jian Ruochen blinked. "But Uncle Luo said he’s a tenured professor who doesn’t care much about money and has little interest in the inheritance. Still, it’s possible he’s just putting on an act."

But in this world, how many people can truly remain unmoved by money and power?

Jian Ruochen rubbed his fingers. "I’ll find a time to meet him and feel him out—see if he knows anything about the situation at Hong Kong University, or if he has inside information about the Return Society mentioned in the secret files and Lu Rong’s involvement."

They had to take the initiative now.

Zhang Xingzong took a deep breath and slapped his thigh. "I knew it!"

Liu Sizheng, sitting nearby, jumped. "What's with the outburst?"

Zhang Xingzong felt the weight of the stalled case lifting from his chest. He laughed, "I knew that with Jian Ruochen around, we’d find a way to get leads! Haha!"

Now we're getting somewhere!

Jian Ruochen said with a wry smile, "It’s still uncertain whether we’ll get any leads."

Guan Yingjun cautioned, "Watch your back. I’ll—"

Before he could finish, his phone rang. Guan Yingjun answered, but before he could speak, Lei Jinwen’s weary voice came through: "Kid, we got them."

The Philippines was chaotic, and security cameras were few and far between. Finding two people there was like finding a needle in a haystack. If not for the skills he’d retained from his younger days, he wouldn’t have known how to pull this off.

The hardships involved... Lei Jinwen sat in his office, feeling the familiar exhaustion of seeing his nephew take after him.

In his youth, he had also been reckless and impulsive, charging ahead without considering the consequences. Fortunately, he married a good wife and learned how to navigate life, which allowed him to rise step by step.

The person Guan Yingjun liked was so savvy and polished—how could he still be so reckless in how he operates?

Could it be that he hadn’t succeeded in winning her over? Then what was he so happy about before?

Ah... really...

That explains it... With Guan Yingjun’s personality—only playing nice with strangers when he needs something for a case, while being direct with people he knows—no wonder he can't get the girl.