Entering the teahouse, Xia Lei found Shi Boren. He approached the older man to hand his gift over.
However, Shi Boren refused to accept it. He frowned. “Didn’t I mention that there’s no need for gifts? Just your presence would be enough for me.”
Xia Lei let out a small laugh. “Boss Shi, this is your sixtieth birthday celebration. How could I come here empty-handed? To be honest, it’s just a teapot and a catty of leaves.”
“Teapot? Tea leaves?” Shi Boren smiled at those words.
“Yeah. I got you a Yixing clay teapot and West Lake Longjing tea leaves. It’s nothing special,” said Xia Lei.
Tang Yuyan quickly went over to whisper into Shi Boren’s ear. “Don’t listen to him. He bought the teapot from someone else for nine hundred thousand dollars. It was a family heirloom. I heard it was from the Qing Dynasty palace. The Longjing tea leaves are of the highest quality, it costs one hundred thousand dollars per catty.”
Shi Boren could feel his jaw drop.
Xia Lei glared at Tang Yuyan.
Tang Yuyan giggled and said, “Godfather, just accept the gift. Take it as a present from me. You’ve taken great care of him all this while. Now that you’re close to retirement, I’m sure gifting you a nice teapot is the least he can do, right?”
“Oh, that goes without saying. I’ve never used such an amazing teapot for tea. I’ll accept.” With that, Shi Boren was finally willing to accept Xia Lei’s gift.
The interaction between the godfather and goddaughter pair had made Xia Lei feel like he had become a ‘godson-in-law’, which was a terribly awkward situation for him. However, he wasn’t upset that Tang Yuyan had decided to reveal the price of his gift to Shi Boren. The gift came up to a total of one million dollars. if Shi Boren had taken it as a gift worth a few hundred dollars, Xia Lei would’ve surely felt rather uncomfortable. Undoubtedly, Shi Boren had Xia Lei’s back for a long while so this was Xia Lei’s way of saying thank you. With that context, it was only natural for Xia Lei to wish for Shi Boren’s acknowledgement of its value.
“Now that I’m close to retirement, there’s only one thing I’d like to wish for,” said Shi Boren as he turned to look at Xia Lei.
Xia Lei continued the conversation. He smiled and replied, “What is it that you wish for? If it’s something I could help with, please do tell.”
Shi Boren grinned. “Oh, son, isn’t it obvious? The only one who could make my wish come true is you. No one else could help make it a reality.”
“Huh? Uh… What can I help you with?” asked Xia Lei curiously.
“Do you really not know or are you playing dumb?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Alright, guess I’d have to be direct.” Shi Boren smiled. “My wish is to attend you and Tang Yuyan’s wedding banquet soon. Do you see how you’re the only one that could make it come true?”
Xia Lei felt tense. The only thing he could do was muster out a wobbly smile.
“Father!” Tang Yuyan huffed as she stomped her foot.
“Hehehehe…” Shi Boren chortled and then sighed. “I’m old. Everyone in my generation is old. The future is yours to take charge of. Oh, that’s right. Yuyan, come with me later. I’ll be introducing you to a few leaders. Before I retire, you must be prepared to take over my spot.”
“Alright.” Tang Yuyan nodded in response.
To no one’s surprise, Tang Yuyan would be the one taking over as the head of Bureau 101. The news was no shocker to Xia Lei, but the revelation felt a little too sudden.
Abruptly, Xia Lei noticed Long Bing waving at him from a corner, gesturing for him to come over.
“Um, allow me to excuse myself. Please carry on without me.” Xia Lei went towards Long Bing.
Tang Yuyan and Shi Boren’s frowns went unnoticed by him.
Standing beside Long Bing, Xia Lei couldn’t help but flash a smile at her. He asked gently, “You mentioned earlier that there’s something you want to tell me. What is it?”
“Let’s continue this outside.” Long Bing immediately turned around.
Xia Lei was perplexed but trailed behind Long Bing to leave the teahouse.
They walked for a while before Long Bing came to a stop underneath a Banyan tree. “I’ve received some news. The higher-ups are planning to investigate Yu Shanhe and Ling Han.”
Not everyone who had sinned would receive impunity. It was only a matter of time before they received the punishment they deserved. Yu Shanhe and Ling Han would soon meet their fate. The duo had damaged the national interest for their own benefit and had even killed to hide their trails. They had done a fair share of evil deeds and karma was soon catching up to them.
Xia Lei could feel his mood improve. He beamed. “That’s amazing news. Is this what you wanted to tell me?”
Long Bing answered, “Yeah. The authorities let me handle the case.”
“That’s great!” Xia Lei continued, “This is a very big case. This ought to be a big project for you!”
“They gave me ten days to solve the case. In this time frame, I must get my hands on worthy pieces of evidence that will get Yu Shanhe and Ling Han punished. If I fail to do so, I’ll be dismissed from my position.” Long Bing’s faint smile was oozing with bitterness.
Xia Lei felt his heart sunk. Though the case seemed like a gigantic favour to Long Bing, it was actually a sticky situation. Ten days would be enough to take down Ling Han but Yu Shanhe would be an entirely different story.
Once someone had achieved a certain position, it would be very difficult to get rid of them. Exposing them would definitely trigger a butterfly effect. Evidently, Yu Shanhe was not a solo act. There were people supporting him in the dark. Nabbing one Yu Shanhe and tossing him into jail was easy but its aftermath would be extremely difficult to deal with.
This high-profile case was bound to be gruelling. It would be equally tough to handle even if Shi Boren took charge of this personally, not to mention a mere Section Chief like Long Bing. Asking for everything to be settled in ten days was too much!
In ancient times, a high-profile character like Yu Shanhe would’ve required at least a few years to expose. If they were unlucky, the case would continue for up to tens of years! It wasn’t an easy feat to achieve in modern times too. She was one person trying to move a mountain. Other than that, she was also required to deal with a lot of people involved. How could they expect her to get it all done within ten days?
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious the situation seemed. Xia Lei asked, “Who gave you this assignment?”
“I have no idea.”
“How could you not know? There must be someone briefing you about this, no?” Xia Lei attempted to pry further. “Was it Boss Shi?”
Long Bing shrugged. “I really don’t know. It was meant to be a secret. The assignment just appeared on my desk in the form of a confidential document. The papers had given me specific instructions to follow and the time frame stated was ten days. Today is the first.”
“I need to go ask Boss Shi about this.” Xia Lei was furious. “He must know something about this! Which motherfucker handed you such a heavy case and yet only gave you ten days to solve this mess?!”
Long Bing hurriedly tugged on his arm. “Calm down. Do not ruin your opportunities because of me.”
“You’re mine. Now that someone is clearly abusing you, are you really expecting me to keep quiet about this?” She didn’t want him to create a scene but Xia Lei found it difficult to calm the rage within him!
“What did you say just now?” Long Bing stared at Xia Lei with widened eyes.
“I said I want to beat a motherfucker up!” Xia Lei fumed.
Oddly, Long Bing smiled. “No, I don’t mean that. I don’t think you’ve ever said it to me before. I’m talking about the sentence earlier…”
Xia Lei was stunned. He knew what Long Bing was referring to.
“Say that one more time. I’d like to hear it again,” requested Long Bing.
“You’re mine.” Xia Lei smiled wryly. “You’re being abused. How could I…”
Abruptly, Long Bing extended a palm to Xia Lei’s lips to silence him. “Just hearing this is enough for me. I don’t care about anything else, I just want to hear that again.”
Was that really her request?
Was she that easy to please?
Yes, indeed. That was all she asked for. Long Bing was this easy to please because that was how she truly was. She was not Shentu Tianyin or Liang Siyao and certainly not Tang Yuyan. Long Bing had never asked for anything in return from Xia Lei over the years. No matter what Xia Lei did, Long Bing would always give him her silent support. No matter what danger Xia Lei had encountered, Long Bing would be the first to shield him. She was not afraid to take a bullet for him or to kill for him. But what has Xia Lei ever done for her? Even when she was a victim, she had the mind to think about him, stopping him in his tracks of retaliation.
Long Bing was truly a godsend.
“Lei Zi, just let this slide.” She released her grip on him.
“No! I insist on being involved! I don’t care who the fuck he is and what ulterior motives he has, no one is allowed to abuse my woman!” Xia Lei’s glare was cold.
“Why are you so stubborn? Now’s the time where you should be focusing your energy and time on Thunder Horse Organization, not me! At most I’d lose my job, it’s no big deal,” said Long Bing.
“Are you sure about that? I know you well. You love this country as much as you love your job. You’ve contributed so much to the country and to your job, you’ve even given up on having what a woman should have. You can’t be serious about telling me you don’t find this a big deal?”
Long Bing fell silent. Xia Lei was right, but what could she do in this situation?
“I’ll go ask Boss Shi about this.” Xia Lei was adamant.
“No.” Long Bing grabbed on Xia Lei’s elbow. “Even if you’re going to do so, at least wait till I give this case a try. Perhaps I might pull off a miracle, that way you can avoid any potential trouble.”
“Fine. I won’t ask him.” Though Xia Lei had said that, his heart thought otherwise. “I’ll go ask him alone later when you’re gone.”
“I know you and Liang Siyao investigated Song Baicheng’s death. Can you tell me about your findings? This is the only breakthrough I can think of so far,” said Long Bing.
Xia Lei hesitated for a moment before answering her. “Even if you’re just trying this out, you must bring me along. Yu Shanhe and Ling Han are my enemies. Those two scums have committed crimes and escaped justice. I’d like to send them into prison myself.”
“What can you do?”
Xia Lei smirked maliciously. “You’ll find out soon.”
Inexplicably, Xia Lei thought of a certain someone. A certain very special woman.
He thought of the power she possessed.
She could make Ning Jing obey her, making the poor scientist send money from China and even offer her body. She was also able to reduce Qing Caiyue into a mere puppet, acting like a puppy on the floor while she instructed her around. With help from her, how difficult could it be?