Chapter 129: Occupational filters really do exist

Shen Li is naive, not stupid; she can still tell the difference between kind words and mean ones.

It's just that Ren Jia had always been quite friendly to her before, so being spoken to with such barbs and sarcasm suddenly left Shen Li at a loss, and she could only offer an awkward smile.

Song Song Yuner, standing to the side, shot Ren Jia a sidelong glance and let out a silent scoff through her nose. *Is she so desperate that she can't even keep up the act anymore? *

She gently tugged on Shen Li's sleeve, signaling her to stand on her right.

Shen Li nodded in gratitude, walked over to stand to Song Song Yuner's right, and put some distance between herself and Ren Jia.

"Don't pay her any mind; she's just jealous of you."

Song Song Yuner said in a low voice.

Shen Li looked at Song Song Yuner upon hearing this and saw her offer a faint smile. That smile carried the power of an idol, instantly settling her heart.

"Thank you, Sister Song Yuner."

Song Song Yuner arched her delicate brows, revealing a playful side: "Don't mention it!"

After several consecutive days of high temperatures in Longcheng, a light rain finally fell this evening, and the temperature across the entire city dropped.

Shen Ci had dressed up carefully. She had originally planned to wear a dress with high heels, but changed her mind when it started raining, switching to light blue skinny jeans and a pair of flats, and applying lighter makeup.

"Isn't that too pure, my treasure?"

Gu Gu Lianxing rested her chin on Shen Ci's shoulder from behind, admiring her in the mirror: "I'm so envious that you can wield your beauty like a weapon. You can be sexy enough to turn the world upside down, or pure and alluring enough to leave people breathless. Unlike me, my beauty is too one-dimensional."

Shen Ci laughed at the compliment and reached up to pat her cheek: "Don't fall in love with me."

"Too late, I've already fallen."

Just then, Shen Ci's phone rang. It was a message from Tang Song; he was already downstairs at the dormitory building.

Seeing the message on the screen, Gu Gu Lianxing couldn't help but click her tongue in wonder: "He seemed so straight-laced when we saw him at the police station that day. I didn't expect him to be so good at winning a girl's heart, actually coming all the way to the dorm to pick you up."

She looked at Shen Ci again and sighed: "It has to be you, babe. You saw someone you liked and dared to ask for their WeChat, not even afraid of the police!"

"Police are people too. Once they take off the uniform, everyone is the same," Shen Ci said.

"That makes sense, but I still admire you. If it were me, I'd definitely wait for the other person to make the first move."

Shen Ci thought back to that day. In reality, it was Tang Song who had come over first to hand her his precinct business card. In her eyes, that gesture was a subtle hint.

So, how could one say Tang Song didn't make the first move?

"Go on, don't keep our police officer waiting."

Shen Ci nodded, picked out an "ocean-scented" perfume suitable for a rainy day, sprayed it twice, and headed downstairs.

Downstairs, Tang Song stood by the roadside, holding an umbrella, his posture straight. Seeing Shen Ci come down, he walked over quickly to hold the umbrella for her.

Shen Ci looked up at him with a smile. Such a handsome face was truly a feast for the eyes. She said softly: "It started raining suddenly; I thought you might reschedule."

"In my line of work, time picks me, not the other way around. It's rare to have some free time."

Perhaps because of the rain, Tang Song's voice sounded exceptionally pleasant mixed with the sound of the downpour: "The car is at the school gate. Let's go."

Upstairs, Gu Gu Lianxing was lying on the dormitory balcony, peeking down. Although she could only see the top of a black umbrella, she could feel the surging, ambiguous undercurrents between the two people beneath it.

She stomped her feet in excitement, watching their figures under the umbrella until they disappeared into the distance.

After getting into Tang Song's Jeep, he first took a cushion from the back seat and tucked it behind Shen Ci's lower back: "The car is a bit old and the seats are quite hard; it'll be more comfortable to lean against."

Then, she watched as he steered with one hand while turning his head to look at the road behind him to make a U-turn and reverse.

This car was indeed old enough—fully manual transmission, without even a rearview camera.

There wasn't much conversation between them on the road, but neither felt awkward. Tang Song drove with focus, and the pleasant fragrance from Shen Ci was faintly detectable in his breath; this alone was enough to make him feel incredibly happy, and his usually stern expression softened unconsciously at this moment.

About half an hour later, the car slowly drove into the underground garage of the "Wanxiang Building."

Shen Ci knew this place and had been here several times with Gu Gu Lianxing, as it was also known as the "Michelin Gathering Place of Longcheng."

Choosing to eat here showed just how much importance Tang Song placed on their first date.

But Shen Ci instinctively felt a bit of doubt in her heart: could a police captain's salary afford such a high-end restaurant?

Yet her intuition told her that Tang Song wasn't the type to "puff up his face to look fat" (pretend to be wealthy), so she didn't say anything.

On the eighth floor at a "Fusion Private Kitchen," Tang Song had already reserved a table in advance, and the two were led to a window seat by a waitress wearing a Chinese-style cheongsam.

The restaurant was busy, but the atmosphere was very quiet. The diners were not only dressed elegantly, but they also deliberately lowered their voices.

After sitting down, Shen Ci said half-jokingly: "If I had known you were bringing me here, I would have worn a dress."

Tang Song looked at her with a smile in his eyes and said softly: "You look great just like this."

Shen Ci had heard such words since she was a child, but this was the first time she had heard them from a policeman.

I have to say, it really felt different; there was a unique sense of flirtation.

As expected, the professional filter exists, and she was very much enjoying it!

The restaurant's dishes were indeed not cheap; converted to the prices of her previous life, it was about 800 yuan per person, and if they only ordered signature dishes, it would be around 1,500 yuan per person.

But Tang Song's expression didn't change at all after opening the menu, so Shen Ci knew this wasn't his first time here.

"Have you brought other girls here before?"

Tang Song looked up at her, nodded after a moment, and admitted: "Yes, an ex-girlfriend."

Shen Ci also looked at him and asked: "How many?"

"One."

"I've only had one, too."

The two of them laid their cards on the table directly like this.

Just then, Tang Song's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up, glanced at it, and his brows knitted together unconsciously, but he still swiped to answer while standing up, giving Shen Ci a look that he was going out to take the call.

Shen Ci nodded in understanding, watching his long legs stride quickly, and he was gone in a few steps.

He returned about ten minutes later and explained to Shen Ci: "Sorry, it was a call from the bureau."

"Is there some emergency?" Shen Ci asked.

"Not this time." Tang Song exhaled lightly, looked at Shen Ci with a serious expression, and said: "But if in the future—I mean if—if we are together later on, there might often be situations where I have to leave in the middle of a date."

He was honest in his explanation, but Shen Ci had already prepared herself mentally.

"I understand. You're a policeman, after all. Your existence is to handle emergencies, and emergencies are called emergencies precisely because they happen suddenly."

Third update

Monthly tickets, monthly tickets, monthly tickets! Give me some motivation, babies!

(End of chapter)