Chapter 758

The four chatted for a while; Wang Shouyi resolved the issue with Li Dawei, walked out with his hands behind his back, strolling casually, while Li Dawei followed beside him, waving and gesturing to Wang Yan and the others who came forward to assign work, signaling it was all minor, nothing to worry about.

As expected, Wang Shouyi scolded him again.

Li Dawei loved to talk back—he was always cheeky. Wang Shouyi said one thing, and Li Dawei shot back. It made Wang Shouyi unable to stop, launching a long tirade, until Instructor Ye Wei finally stepped in to defuse the situation.

Wang Shouyi glared at Li Dawei, then walked up to Yang Shu with a smiling face, as if he had never just been frowning and shouting: "Doctor, let me tell you, our office's conditions are pretty basic—anything you need, just speak up. You all listen: this is our instructor, Ye Wei. Any problems in life or work, any dissatisfaction, you can come to her—or to me."

"Thank you, Chief, no need to be so polite—I have no demands, I'll follow all arrangements and orders. And Chief, I'm not a doctor—I'm a master's graduate."

"Ah, same thing, same thing. Since our office was built, you're the one with the highest education and the best school."

Li Dawei stood in a line with Wang Yan and Zhao Jiwei. Seeing how friendly the chief was, he leaned in and bluntly mocked the two: "Hey, you think our chief studied Sichuan opera? He changed his face eight hundred times this morning—I'm getting dizzy just watching."

"What are you saying, Li Dawei? Can you just shut your mouth?" Wang Shouyi glared coldly at Li Dawei. Before Li Dawei could defend himself, he smiled again like an old chrysanthemum and turned to Wang Yan: "Wang Yan, same goes for you—if you have any requests, any difficulties, you must speak up. Our office is a big family—we're colleagues, friends, even family. Don't be distant."

"Chief, rest assured—I don't even know what 'being distant' means."

Wang Shouyi, still smiling, heard Wang Yan's reply—and his smile froze on his face.

Knew it—this kid wasn't just lucky. Look, he'd already said it all upfront. If something ever comes up later, he won't let me ignore it. Being a troublemaker feels good—but having one under your command? Not so good.

That fool Li Dawei—I see right through him. One glance, I know what he's thinking; three or four words and I can shoo him off. This kid's different—I've been a cop half my life, and I can't read him. That alone says everything.

Just as he was thinking how to respond, Zhang Zhijie, the slender community police officer, walked over: "Chief, my surveillance workload is too heavy—can you send someone to help me?"

Wang Shouyi turned with a smile, looking at the five newcomers.

At this point, Li Dawei and the others knew a task was coming. Each eager to impress, the young men stood at rigid attention—especially Li Dawei and Zhao Jiwei, their eyes gleaming at Wang Shouyi. Even Xia Jie, who knew she wouldn't get any real assignment, stood at attention. Only Wang Yan remained standing naturally, as before, showing no particular anticipation.

Wang Shouyi had seen many new cops—only Li Dawei's behavior was normal, or sometimes resentful, because they hadn't passed the city or district bureau exams and looked down on the small police station. Wang Yan was different from both—he hadn't become arrogant or showy after catching a fugitive, nor did he show resentment. He seemed like a revolutionary brick: wherever needed, he'd be placed.

"So, has the cleaning been finished?" Wang Shouyi asked with a smile.

"Report! Finished!" Zhao Jiwei shouted loudly, his eagerness to advance obvious.

His sudden outburst startled even Wang Shouyi, not to mention Li Dawei and the others. He immediately continued: "Now there's a very difficult task—who's willing to take it?"

"I am!"

Zhao Jiwei didn't wait for the words to finish—he yelled out, veins bulging in his neck, exerting great force. His gaze was resolute: who else but me?

All the other officers busy in the station stared at him—this kid was ambitious.

"Good, it's you." Then, as if remembering something, he glanced at Wang Yan and turned to Zhang Zhijie: "Zhijie, your workload is heavy, right?"

"Extremely heavy!" Zhang Zhijie emphasized.

"Then, Wang Yan, you go with Zhao Jiwei." Seeing Wang Yan nod without objection, he smiled: "Let me introduce you—this is Zhang Zhijie, a veteran officer here, in charge of community work. You two will help Zhijie review the surveillance. Residents in our nearby neighborhoods have reported frequent thefts of diapers—demanding we investigate thoroughly."

"Zhijie has collected over five hundred hours of surveillance footage. More hands make light work—this small matter will be done quickly. Oh, this work isn't easy—you know our jurisdiction has sixteen communities, over 120,000 people, plus many floating populations. But our station? With the full-time officers, auxiliary police, and your five added, we have only twenty-four people. After removing internal staff and household registration officers, only nineteen remain. How do we possibly manage?"

Zhao Jiwei didn't care about anything else—he only heard "diapers," and muttered in disappointment: "Watch surveillance to find diapers…"

So all his effort was for nothing—he'd shouted himself hoarse, his head buzzing with adrenaline…

Li Dawei laughed gleefully beside him. Zhao Jiwei had been too bold in his display, leaving Li Dawei stunned—only to find out the task was watching surveillance for diapers. And even Wang Yan, who'd gotten the spotlight on his first day by catching a fugitive, was also assigned to watch surveillance for diapers—how could Li Dawei not laugh loudly?

As expected, Li Dawei laughed loudly—and Wang Shouyi's scolding was even louder: "Laugh, laugh, laugh—always laughing, what's so funny? Is being a cop about grinning like a fool? When the people need us, we go. Your ideological awareness, Instructor Ye—give him a proper lesson later, make him write a study reflection and hand it in—I'll read it."

Ye Wei smiled in response; Li Dawei stopped laughing. In a government office, studying could be deadly.

"Zhijie, take them two to work—try to finish soon. Also, get them familiar with our jurisdiction as quickly as possible—in one month, they must be able to respond accurately."

"Yes, guaranteed to complete the task." Zhang Zhijie replied, then led the disappointed Zhao Jiwei and the still-smiling Wang Yan away.

Whether doing community work or public security, as long as it involved engaging with the people, Wang Yan didn't care. A jurisdiction of over a hundred thousand people had plenty of tasks—no matter what he did, he'd never be idle.

At the office desk, Zhang Zhijie greeted someone, had Wang Yan and Zhao Jiwei sit at another desk, and handed them a USB drive to copy surveillance footage: "You're Wang Yan, right? Before you came, the chief already told us about you. First day on the job, you already gave us a surprise—impressive."

Wang Yan smiled: "Just lucky—I was eating there, and he came over to share a table."

Noticing Zhao Jiwei looked downcast, Zhang Zhijie, the water-balancer, said: "Jiwei, don't be so discouraged. I understand your feelings—I was the same when I first came, dreaming of big cases and medals. But that's unrealistic. You've got to roll up your sleeves and work hard. Don't look down on community work—it's vital."

"We inspect hundreds of small establishments for fire safety, check hazardous chemical gas stations, survey hospitals, conduct irregular safety education at schools and kindergartens, visit psychiatric patients, monitor petitioners, install community security cameras, conduct on-site visits and process residence permits, establish files and conduct visits and education for released prisoners and those on bail, conduct irregular joint inspections with the Culture Bureau on internet cafes, and irregular night checks with the station or public security team on foot massage parlors and KTVs—on and on."

"This isn't simple work. Often, incidents that could become major crimes start right here—if we do our job well, many problems vanish before they happen. Big cases are good, but behind them are victims and their families. What are cops for? To protect the people's safety. If we can turn big problems into small ones, and small ones into nothing, who'd want to chase big cases?"

"You've heard plenty of nonsense in police school—how do detectives work? Constant travel, endless cases. If someone dies? All leave canceled, can't go home for a month. Dozens of officers combing over a hundred kilometers—think of that workload. You can even vomit from taking statements."

"Of course, if we thoroughly survey our jurisdiction and understand the situation well, there are still plenty of cases to handle. Or when the station launches operations, we're needed to lead and support. Especially since our jurisdiction is a rural-urban fringe—chaotic, mixed, full of problems."

Zhao Jiwei's spirits lifted at the mention of real cases: "Sorry, Officer Zhang—I just wanted to impress, to improve."

"Normal—every young person feels that way. You know how to watch surveillance, right? No need for me to explain?"

"Yes."

"Alright, my computer's done copying. Here, Jiwei, you start here. Wang Yan, you use this one—wait until it's done. I've got other business—oh, by the way, let's add WeChat—you can reach me anytime with questions."

Zhang Zhijie delegated tasks, freeing himself.

Only after they'd added each other as friends did Wang Shouyi stroll over with a smile: "Wang Yan, come here, come here."

"Chief." Wang Yan obediently walked over.

"Before you came, I heard you were excellent in grappling and close combat—three or four instructors with knives couldn't match you. We've got an operation now—arresting a murderer. You'll come to the scene and observe, learn well. But I warn you: follow orders. As the saying goes, no matter how skilled you are, a kitchen knife can still kill you—if you disobey orders and act on your own, just see how I'll deal with you."

Wang Shouyi watched—the kid showed no reaction at all, just smiled and nodded. Behind him, Zhao Jiwei's eyes lit up green at the mention of arresting a murderer.

He'd assigned Wang Yan to Zhang Zhijie partly to test his temperament, and partly because Wang Yan had no family or connections—he was no less deserving of care than Xia Jie, the daughter of a martyr.

But he also brought Wang Yan into the arrest operation because Wang Yan was simply too talented—a genuine candidate for criminal investigation. Talent shouldn't be wasted. This arrest involved half the station's manpower, armed and secure—so he wanted Wang Yan on-site. Book learning is shallow; true understanding comes from practice. Police academy knowledge must merge with reality.

But Wang Yan showed no strong reaction to anything, making him hard to read. He led Wang Yan listlessly to a middle-aged man with a square face, buzzcut, and dark skin: "Let me introduce you—this is Deputy Chief Gao Chao, in charge of investigations. You follow his orders—do exactly what he says. Don't be like Li Dawei, spouting nonsense. Understood?"

Li Dawei's nose nearly twisted off—he felt deeply wronged. Wang Yan smiled faintly and nodded: "Yes, Deputy Chief Gao, I'm Wang Yan."

"I know you. We'll spar sometime." Gao Chao smiled, extended his hand, shook Wang Yan's, and secretly applied pressure to test his strength.

Under everyone's gaze, Wang Yan's slightly upturned smile didn't change. Gao Chao's dark face flushed red—he widened his eyes, clenched his teeth, strained harder. Then he looked at their clasped hands—Gao Chao's hand was trembling from the force.

After a moment, Gao Chao suddenly released his grip. Wang Yan let go too—he hadn't used any strength at all, just held firm while Gao Chao squeezed.

Gao Chao, defeated, didn't feel embarrassed. He exhaled deeply, gave Wang Yan a light punch on the shoulder: "You're good, kid. Definitely not ordinary. But strength alone doesn't matter—we'll still train grappling."

Wang Yan smiled and nodded: "Whenever you're ready."

Gao Chao was a straightforward man—he disliked fussing and liked Wang Yan's directness. He slapped Wang Yan's shoulder and grinned: "Let's go get gear."

Wang Shouyi stood with his hands behind his back, watching a group of people head to the equipment room on the west side of the first floor to collect their gear.

The five newcomers, having just met, were mostly familiar to him already—except for Wang Yan. He had already reviewed their files before they even arrived.

Li Dawei was tough but unreliable, impulsive, and carried the restlessness of youth. Zhao Jiwei came from a poor family; he was somewhat introverted, but his desperate desire to change his fate made him seem unstable. Yang Shu was officially assigned to the municipal bureau, came from a good family, held a high degree, and naturally had high expectations—though he risked being overambitious and underexperienced.

Xia Jie was the one he knew best; he had watched her grow up. She was a good girl, though she had a troublesome sister-in-law behind her—but that wasn't much of a problem. She was a fine kid.

Wang Yan was impressive: top grades at police academy, plenty of money, no family ties. To this day, he still didn't know what Wang Yan wanted from being a cop. Was he just looking for a job to kill time, or was he truly serving the people? He couldn't tell. But the man had no flaws—he smiled easily, seemed approachable, never dragged his feet, never put on airs, never showed off.

Without question, Wang Yan was the most outstanding among them—and also the most difficult to handle. But if he had to admit it, he favored Wang Yan; he thought the kid was good…

Any normal person, in the absence of conflicting interests, would find Wang Yan likable after just standing there and exchanging a few words.

As the group walked toward the equipment room chatting, though Wang Yan only spoke with Gao Chao, the others listened and formed a favorable impression of him.

In just a few steps, they reached the equipment room. Instructor Ye Wei was inside, holding a registration form, helping two clerks distribute gear and collect signatures.

"Wang Yan's joining the operation? Here, sign here." Ye Wei greeted Wang Yan with a smile.

The instructor was responsible for ideological education, but due to staffing shortages, the police station had no idle hands—everyone was pulled wherever work needed doing, constantly rushing from one task to another.

She noticed the single stripe on Wang Yan's shoulder and said, "Still wearing the trainee rank? Xiao Li, get him two stripes to replace them."

Xiao Li, a plump woman in her thirties, replied and walked to the corner to fetch two new rank insignia, handing them over.

"Thank you, Sister Li," Wang Yan politely said, then replaced his trainee insignia with the two stripes himself before beginning to put on his gear.

He slipped on the stab-resistant vest and fastened the eight-piece kit at his waist: police first-aid pack, high-intensity flashlight, baton, and so on. These were the standard items officers carried on routine patrols.

After collecting gear, they held a mission briefing to lay out the operation plan. By the time they departed, it was afternoon. But this was planned—they weren't rushing. Otherwise, upon receiving the tip, they'd have launched a full-force operation immediately. Now they could proceed methodically—or even launch a Lei Ting operation.

Since there were many people and only one old, dilapidated minivan available—which was uncomfortable and had a faulty air conditioner—he decided to drive himself.

Outside, Gao Chao looked at Wang Yan's black compact car and laughed: "Little cannon, huh? Wow, brand-new—and modified! Let me be clear: the station's budget is never enough. If you drive your own car on duty, fuel costs won't be reimbursed."

As deputy chief, he knew the new officers' backgrounds. He knew Wang Yan was a nouveau riche. Like Xu Yalin, his first thought was: Wang Yan bought this car to appear low-key, to avoid drawing attention as a public official.

Wang Yan nodded: "No problem."

"Alright, I know you're not short on cash, but I still have to say it." Gao Chao smiled. "Then you drive and take these two. Chen Ge, you ride with him. Your shoulder's still hurt, right? His car's more comfortable than our minivan, and the AC works better. It's a long round trip—get some rest."

Chen Xincheng, a senior officer, had no reason to refuse. If he could be comfortable, why not? He nodded immediately and opened the door to sit in the front passenger seat.

Li Dawei and Yang Shu exchanged glances, then silently took the back seats.

On the other side, seven officers from the station boarded the minivan and drove out of the Balihe Police Station. Wang Yan started his car and followed behind.

Inside, soothing instrumental music played, the air conditioning was fully on. Chen Xincheng hugged his shoulders, settled comfortably into the leather seat, closed his eyes, and said nothing.

Li Dawei kept touching and inspecting everything, amazed. "Wang Yan, tell me—what does your family do? This car's worth over three hundred thousand, right? Why buy this one? No matter how clean you keep it, to most people it still looks like a broken Volkswagen."

"Nothing special—just got lucky with demolition, a bit of pocket money," Wang Yan smiled. "As for your 'broken Volkswagen'—isn't that exactly what I want? If I drove a BBA, those who know would understand, but those who don't would wonder what's going on. Bad impression."

"So you've got other cars? What kind?"

"Nothing much," Wang Yan smiled and shook his head, saying no more. In truth, he had another car—a S8—sitting unused in his garage, though he hadn't returned home yet.

Li Dawei, shameless, pretended not to read the signs: "C'mon, tell us! What's the big secret? Let us be jealous a little."

"An Audi S8." If he didn't say it once, and refused again, it'd be fake modesty—and pointless.

"Whoa, over two million? That's awesome…"

Wang Yan grinned: "I didn't want to say, but you insisted. Now you've heard it—see how uncomfortable you feel?"

"How come people's lives are so different? Why don't I ever get lucky?" Li Dawei sighed, then asked, "So why become a cop? With your means, you could do anything."

"Since I was a kid, I wanted to be a hero. The only real path was becoming a cop—to serve the people, to fight evil. Comrade Dawei, your ideological awareness still needs improvement."

"I just want to catch thieves, fight crime," Li Dawei sneered. Then his habit of talking too much kicked in: "Look, this mission's just to catch one guy. Why send over ten of us?"

Chen Xincheng had been listening for a while. Now he couldn't hold back: "How many do you want? One-on-one? You think you can handle him alone? What makes you so confident? Do you think police work is some kind of suicide mission?"

"One-on-one's exaggerated, but three-on-one should be fine! We sent too many people," Li Dawei chuckled. "This morning, the chief said we're short-staffed—so why send so many just to catch one guy?"

"Shut up. You're lucky you're not being assigned to handle this yourself. Do you know who this guy is? A Class-A wanted criminal from the ministry, wanted for two murders, possibly armed. Three-on-one is enough? If you want to be a martyr, don't be a cop. If you can't even protect yourself, how can you fight crime?"

Chen Xincheng snapped impatiently: "Why do you have so much to say? Can't you just be quiet for once?"

Reprimanded again, Li Dawei fell silent, hugging his arms and slumping back, staring out the window. With the soothing music playing, he drifted off to sleep.

Having stayed up late preparing for his first day, the restless young man hadn't slept well last night, had been scolded multiple times, and now wasn't even allowed to speak—so he slept.

Wang Yan drove with a smile. The gap between ideal and reality was interesting to watch.

The young doctor dreams of saving lives, the young cop dreams of fighting crime, the young lawyer dreams of upholding justice—and so on. Their actual experiences are far from their fantasies.

The suspect's hometown was far away, in a village distant from the city. Just as in the original plot, the suspect hid in his home's wardrobe. Yang Shu missed it, pleading desperately with the suspect's parents to act nobly. Li Dawei spotted the trail, pulled Yang Shu outside, analyzed the situation, and stole the spotlight—shattering Yang Shu's confidence as a top law graduate.

Then the team went on alert. Gao Chao led a surprise return to the house and dragged the suspect out. The suspect's parents chased after them, refusing to let go. Yang Shu, unwilling to witness such a scene, wanted compassionate law enforcement, so he broke from the group and trotted back to comfort the parents. He got slapped several times, held back, and the villagers gathered, some even armed. Only the village party secretary intervened to resolve it. The team returned in silence.

Such events were unrealistic. They might have happened years ago, but now they rarely occurred. For an entire village to unite in collective resistance wasn't simple. It worked when everyone was poor—but once wealth disparities emerged, it collapsed. Even in Taizhai, there were dissenters inside.

Moreover, in any proper operation, the village party secretary should've been present from the start, and cross-jurisdictional enforcement issues should've been addressed—these were all sloppy oversights.

In short, the matter was resolved smoothly. Only Yang Shu was upset; everyone else was fine.

During the operation, Wang Yan did nothing special—just followed along, holding the body camera, walking with the group, and generously joined Gao Chao and Chen Xincheng when Yang Shu was grabbed. He participated where needed, just to make his presence known.

This drama differed from his previous worlds—it wasn't one continuous event. So his influence on the characters couldn't alter the original case, because he had no real connection to it. His ripple effects couldn't change the outcome.

Now that he was newly hired, he had nothing to do—just follow orders.

After escorting the suspect to the Criminal Investigation Team, with nothing else to do, the new recruits were sent home. The others returned to write reports or take shifts.

"Thanks a lot, Wang Yan. Drive slowly, and be careful," Chen Xincheng urged as they reached Wang Yan's home.

"Didn't I say? New cars need breaking in—drive more. Take care, Chen Jing," Wang Yan smiled, waving.

"Bye, big bro, see you tomorrow," Li Dawei, revived, cheekily teased Chen Xincheng again.

"Who's your big bro? Your mouth—seriously, I can't even get mad at you." Chen Xincheng glared at Li Dawei, then turned and went inside.

Li Dawei hopped out, shuffled from the back seat to the front passenger seat, sank into it, and sighed: "Phew, finally over. Felt like I did a lot, but really did nothing. Thought we were catching a child trafficker this morning—ended up getting scolded. Then we went to catch a murderer, thought it'd be intense—ended up just riding in a car. Your leather seats are comfy, but sit too long and your back aches."

"Hey, weird, right? I don't know what I did to piss everyone off—why does everyone scold me? Every single person gives me a lecture."

"I think Chen Jing's right—you talk too much. Why can't you just shut up?" Wang Yan smiled.

"There's no help for it—I've been poor since childhood, and all these years I've lived by my mouth. Out there, people always say I'm good with words. Now it's become a problem. I want to control it, but I just can't hold back—I just have to say a few words."

He turned back to look at Yang Shu, who had been silent, and said, "Still thinking about it? Everyone makes mistakes. Don't keep dwelling on it—learn from it and do better next time. Besides, you meant well. Who could've known they'd be so bold?"

Yang Shu sighed: "Then why didn't you two go?"

"I was so excited watching the suspect, and Gao Su and the others just bolted. I won't lie—I was blank, didn't know what to do, so I just followed them. As for him..."

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow: "What about me?"

Li Dawei chuckled: "Before you became a nouveau riche, you lived in the village too. Maybe you understand these kinds of situations?"

"I don't have such rich experience. Do you think this is common? If everyone did this, would our country still be okay? It's just the pity of parents everywhere—this suspect had escaped before, and his parents helped hide him, just so he wouldn't get caught. Since they're determined to protect him, even if he stood right in front of them, blood dripping from a corpse he'd just killed, they'd still lie and say he didn't do it."

"I guess Yang Shu didn't think much—he just got worked up, wanted to step forward and lay out the facts, make the suspect's parents realize how serious his crime was, and give them a little legal education. But it's not wrong what he did—it's just that he picked the wrong audience. Legal construction is ongoing, and making the public understand the law is crucial. We've done legal education for years, and the results are clear. Just be more careful next time—it's not a big deal."

Yang Shu sighed: "Seeing them like that just made me feel awful."

"Normal. Anyone would feel awful," Li Dawei replied, changing the subject. "Hey, Yang Shu, you came here from out of town, and you don't have relatives or friends around—you can't stay in a hotel forever. You need to rent a place, right?"

"Yeah, I plan to look these next few days, near our station. You want to rent too? Isn't your family from here?"

"My family's on this side, the Balihe Police Station's on the other. Ping'an City's a second-tier metropolis, and even with traffic and waiting, it takes me an hour to get there. Why waste that time commuting? Sleep is precious—especially with today's workload. I say Chen Ge lives too far—that's why he always looks half-asleep."

"Your mouth," Yang Shu sighed, shaking his head. "If you don't have a girlfriend, we could rent together."

"I don't even have the energy to look for a girlfriend," Li Dawei sighed too.

Before he could continue on the topic of relationships, Wang Yan, driving, spoke up: "Why not stay at my place? Just give me a little something for expenses."

Li Dawei asked: "Where do you live?"

"Junyue Xincheng. Not far from our station—twenty minutes by car during rush hour, or ten minutes on a shared e-bike."

"Is that convenient?"

Even as he asked, Li Dawei and Yang Shu pulled out their phones and opened maps to search for Junyue Xincheng.

Wang Yan shook his head: "I'm alone. You two coming would keep me company. The environment's nice, the space isn't small—it overlooks the sea. We're all from the same station. Yang Shu's transferring back in a year. If we don't get some big breaks, we'll be partners till retirement. That's reassuring."

Li Dawei frowned: "What about your parents? And you're so rich—how could you lack girlfriends? You could change one every month and still be conservative."

"My parents are gone. Funny thing—right after they passed, the demolition came. Sometimes I think maybe they were watching over me. They never enjoyed life, but now I never have to worry about food or shelter."

Wang Yan smiled, voice low, sounding strong, naturally playing the filial son, bringing up his parents. Feeling the sudden silence in the car, the suppressed breaths, he waved his hand as if unconcerned: "Don't be so heavy. It's been six years—I'm used to it. As for girlfriends, I did date a lot when I was young, but later I realized it meant nothing."

"Now I find true love too hard. They all want my money. So I just stopped dating. No one's pressuring me to marry anyway—even living alone my whole life isn't a big deal."

"Money really is great," Li Dawei said, genuinely envious. If he could, he'd say this smug line calmly too. He exhaled, checked his phone: "It's only 10:30. I'll come with you—first, let's pick up Yang Shu's stuff from the hotel, then head to your place. Yang Shu? What do you think?"

"Is that okay?" Yang Shu looked at Wang Yan, still polite.

"Why not? I invited you. Stay comfortably—I guarantee you'll like it." Wang Yan turned the car and headed toward his home in this world.

Junyue Xincheng was a new high-end residential complex, only four years old, with villas, townhouses, and high-rises. Villas in a complex usually mean good surroundings. Especially since it's in the suburbs, it covers a large area, allowing ample space for landscaping. Of course, prices weren't cheap—while surrounding areas averaged 7,000–8,000 yuan per square meter, Junyue Xincheng shot up to over 10,000.

They arrived at the underground parking of the high-rise. Wang Yan parked smoothly. The three got out. Yang Shu went to the trunk for luggage. Li Dawei circled around, staring at the black S8 beside them.

"This is your car? Money really is great..." Li Dawei kept muttering, like Xiang Linshao, over and over: "Money really is great."

"I bought this car two years ago on impulse—I was still in police academy. It's been sitting gathering dust. Come on, let's go. I'll let you drive it sometime."

"No way. I'm already nervous driving your Golf—how could I handle a two-million-yuan car? I'd go bankrupt if I scratched it. Just let me look."

Li Dawei seemed rough, but he wasn't clueless.

In the elevator, as Wang Yan swiped his card and the button for the 27th floor lit up, Li Dawei asked: "Top floor? Isn't top floor bad? Leaks, freezing in winter, sweltering in summer—full of problems."

"There are those issues, but one thing's great: high up, you see far, your mood opens up. Plus, I paid to redo the waterproofing and insulation myself. I installed a fresh air system, central AC, and added my own gas-powered underfloor heating on top of the district's supply—so I've got both cold and heat covered."

To Li Dawei and Yang Shu, over and over, they heard only three words in that whole speech: "I'm rich."

"Money really is great," Yang Shu patted Li Dawei's shoulder. "Fine, I'll say it for you."

Laughing and joking, the three reached the 27th-floor top level. Looking around, the curious Li Dawei asked: "Two elevators, one unit?"

"Two units."

"Then why only one door? And why right by the elevator?"

"Because I bought both units and merged them into one," Wang Yan explained with a smile, unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and opened the heavy door.

The two felt like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden. Actually, the interior wasn't luxurious—it still followed Wang Yan's usual style: minimalist, natural wood.

What stunned Li Dawei and Yang Shu was that the apartment was a duplex. One unit was 160 square meters—two units totaled 320, but since it was stacked over four floors, it was over 700 square meters. There was an outdoor terrace, a huge open-plan living room, and a long, wide floor-to-ceiling window. Very bright. Very spacious.

"Don't you feel scared living alone in such a big house?" Yang Shu asked.

"If you don't do wrong, you don't fear ghosts knocking. But sometimes it does feel empty—I do regret buying it too big. One unit would've been fine. But it's hard to sell—below are villas, and mine's not five years old yet. Pure big units like mine are rare. That's why I invited you two over—to add some life. What do you think?"

"Such a great place—what's there to complain about? How much?"

"Friendship price: one thousand."

"We're definitely taking advantage," Li Dawei said. "But don't worry—we'll handle all the cleaning. Seven hundred square meters—hiring cleaners isn't cheap. We'll do it. And we'll cook sometimes—you just eat. We'll handle the meals and the dishes."

"Deal," Wang Yan nodded with a smile.

"Today's my first night—I'm staying here. Do you have extra toiletries? It's late—my mom's probably asleep, so I won't go back and bother her."

"I've got plenty. I bought a lot of daily stuff—it's all in that room. You two find what you need. Beds are all made—changed and aired out two days ago. All new. Just use them."

Wang Yan waved his hand. "Alright, I won't host you—I'll leave you to settle in. I'm going to wash up and sleep."

He turned and walked away, heading straight to his master bedroom.

Li Dawei and Yang Shu looked at each other, the surroundings feeling unreal.

"Money really is great..." they said in unison.

"I admit—I was jealous before. But from now on, he's my brother Yan," Li Dawei declared solemnly. He even thought about calling him "Righteous Brother."

Such a generous person deserves to be rich.

Of course, that's only true when generosity lands on you—if it doesn't, you better hang from a streetlamp...

Yang Shu rolled his eyes, picked up his suitcase, and went to settle in. Li Dawei dashed off to grab toiletries, took a refreshing cold shower, and collapsed onto the soft, comfortable bed, wrapped in the quilt still smelling of sunshine.

Ah, what a day—not perfect, but full. If only I hadn't been scolded all over...

Wang Yan certainly wasn't being kind enough to provide them with lodging—this time, the Living Dad's house was genuinely large, the location well-placed, and the scenery pleasant. The extra space could indeed accommodate others to move in.

He naturally sensed that the Living Dad was hinting at something, so he openly invited Li Dawei and Yang Shu to come live with him. If they came, then all of them would come…

Thank you, Brother Guangpi's little zombie, for the 1500-coin tip and continued support.

Thank you, Gangguang, for the 500-coin tip and continued support.

Thank you, Book Friend, for the 100-coin tip and support.

There are too many end-of-month votes and too many familiar IDs—I can't thank each one personally, brothers, please understand my gratitude.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted for the monthly tickets.

Thank you to all the brothers who recommended.

Thank you to the brothers who quietly read.