Chapter 309: You Even Play Games With the Engagement

What's this for?

The treatment's way too good… Yu Dazhang walked over to the dining table but couldn't quite bring himself to sit down.

"Sit."

Qu Wannian shot him a glare:

"You're not a guest, are you—still waiting for someone to invite you to the table? Hurry up, do you have any idea what time it is?"

That tone—there was something to it.

Yu Dazhang wasn't stupid; of course he understood Qu Wannian was trying to draw them closer together.

Soon the food arrived—eight dishes and a soup, still very generous.

Only this time it was all home-style cooking, nothing fancy, looking quite ordinary.

Even so, there was a warm, lived-in feel to it.

"Are there more dishes coming?" Yu Dazhang asked Seeing Qu Tuotuo beside him.

"Probably not," Seeing Qu Tuotuo said, sounding unsure herself, her eyes sweeping the table:

"Eight dishes, all here."

What's going on, why the switch to home-style… Yu Dazhang asked in a low voice:

"Where are the lobster and the abalone?"

He'd been looking forward to this on the way over, recalling how he'd once had a grand seafood feast at the Qu family villa.

Home-style food you can eat anywhere; coming to the Qu household, naturally, was for the delicacies.

Before Seeing Qu Tuotuo could answer, Qu Wannian, seated at the head of the table, spoke up:

"Who eats that stuff every day? Meals should focus on health."

Old Qu's ears still work pretty well… Yu Dazhang didn't reply, just quietly picked up his chopsticks, and only started eating after Qu Wannian had taken the first bite.

Since no one was drinking, the meal went by quickly.

No one stood on ceremony at the table; each ate their own food, just like a family at an ordinary meal.

After eating, the group moved to the main hall and sat down; the butler immediately poured tea.

"So what are your plans from here?"

Qu Wannian's question seemed to be addressed to both of them, but his eyes landed on Yu Dazhang, waiting for his answer.

Plans?

Yu Dazhang was taken aback.

Hadn't thought about it… In his mind, he hadn't known Seeing Qu Tuotuo for long—not anywhere near the stage of discussing marriage.

The engagement had been mentioned before, though.

But that had only come up in casual chat during a date between him and Seeing Qu Tuotuo; at the time neither had given it much thought.

"Still getting to know each other."

Yu Dazhang scratched his head, looking a bit at a loss:

"Let it happen naturally. I've been so busy my head's spinning—who knows, one of these days Tuotuo might just get fed up with me."

Reasonable enough, just not the nicest way to put it; anyone hearing it might think Seeing Qu Tuotuo was the heartbreaker.

Hearing that, Seeing Qu Tuotuo rolled her eyes at him and pinched him hard in the waist at the same time.

Yu Dazhang clenched his teeth, forcing himself not to cry out.

"Getting to know each other?" Qu Wannian's face darkened:

"I've already introduced you to all our relatives and friends here, and your relationship is settled—so what is there left to get to know?"

"Tell me straight—do you still have some other idea in mind, kid?"

Can't understand plain speech, can he… Yu Dazhang replied with a smile:

"After all, we've only known each other half a year, and something this important for life should of course be taken slowly. I think that's what's truly responsible toward Tuotuo."

He could fully understand Qu Wannian's feelings—a father's fear that his daughter might be hurt or wronged in matters of the heart.

No matter how open-minded the parents, when it comes to a child's lifelong happiness, they make a fuss, terrified something might go wrong.

Just as Empress Dowager Cixi once said: the hearts of parents everywhere are pitiful indeed.

"It's good that you think that way—after all, you're still young."

Qu Wannian then shifted his tone:

"But a big matter like this needs to be prepared for in advance. I know my daughter's temperament best—once she's set her mind on a person or a thing, nine oxen can't drag her back."

"And it's not easy for her to take a liking to someone, so what I mean is—let's settle the matter between you two."

Yu Dazhang nodded after hearing this:

"Of course I have no objection. Didn't I attend the last banquet too?"

He had learned from Ye Zhiyu that after that last banquet, the news that Seeing Qu Tuotuo was off the market had spread throughout the entire Yisheng Group.

"Not enough." Qu Wannian said with a solemn face:

"That was just a simple appearance; it can't possibly represent the relationship between our two families. You're still missing a proper ceremony."

Yu Dazhang listened quietly, a guardedness and wariness welling up inside him.

Occupational habit kicking in… he thought, self-mocking.

It was simply that Qu Wannian's regard for him and Seeing Qu Tuotuo exceeded anything he had imagined.

"Find a suitable time."

Qu Wannian continued:

"We'll invite just the relatives from both sides, hold an engagement banquet—there must be an officiant and a matchmaker, and both sides must draw up a marriage contract and exchange tokens."

The older the ginger, the spicier… Yu Dazhang couldn't help but feel a touch of admiration for this future father-in-law.

No wonder Qu Wannian could navigate the business world like a fish in water — that level of scheming and depth was beyond what ordinary people could match.

On the surface, he seemed to be worrying about his child's future.

In reality, he was unilaterally placing constraints on Yu Dazhang.

An engagement and a marriage are not the same thing — an engagement carries no legal force, but it is a contractual act.

To be more specific, it is a kind of identity contract.

If Yu Dazhang were an ordinary person, this kind of contract would be utterly useless to him — it wasn't illegal anyway.

But he was a police officer, and violating the contract would have a certain impact on his personal image and reputation.

Put bluntly, it would affect his career advancement.

As a public servant, one must maintain good professional ethics and personal image — the system places great importance on this.

No matter how outstanding your abilities, if people think there's a problem with your character, it will definitely affect your future promotions.

Therefore, this engagement only had a constraining effect on Yu Dazhang alone.

"Fine." Yu Dazhang sighed meaningfully:

"I'll do as you say."

Although he had guessed Qu Wannian's intention, he still agreed — this meant he had resolved to take full responsibility for Seeing Qu Tuotuo.

"Good, good lad." Qu Wannian beamed so widely his mouth couldn't close:

"Since it's settled then, you just focus on your work — I'll handle the engagement arrangements."

All four people present understood what was going on, but no one asked any further questions.

Seeing Qu Tuotuo kept her head lowered, remaining silent the whole time.

Of course her father could represent her, and she also wanted a promise — an engagement was undoubtedly the best choice.

*Smack. *

A car key with a three-pointed star emblem was tossed onto the coffee table by Qu Wannian.

"I see you quite like driving off-road vehicles — this car's a gift for you. Switch between the two, so if one breaks down you won't be left without a car."

A Mercedes G-Class off-roader? Yu Dazhang blinked at the car key on the table.

In his memory, the cheapest model in this line still cost over a million.

Did Qu Wannian just buy it?

Yu Dazhang stayed seated, glanced at it once, then looked away.

"If I drove a car like that to work, people would talk behind my back." He waved his hand in refusal:

"Having a car to drive right after starting work is already flashy enough for me."

Leaving the Qu residence, Seeing Qu Tuotuo saw him all the way to the front gate.

Before getting in the car, Yu Dazhang took a deep breath as he gazed at the Qu family villa.

"What are you smelling?" Seeing Qu Tuotuo asked, puzzled.

Yu Dazhang squinted:

"The smell of money."

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

The three cold cases had been consolidated for joint handling, and Yu Dazhang and his two companions had finished organizing the case files.

They were now at the investigation-conclusion stage.

If the facts of the case were deemed clear and the evidence solid and sufficient, the next step would be to write up the prosecution recommendation.

Work this meticulous, Yu Dazhang naturally handed off to Ma Jian and Liu Miao.

Over these two days, besides organizing the evidence, he had been thinking about whether there were any oversights in the case.

And every time he thought too long, he couldn't help but recall the underground prison Fang Peng had mentioned.

Although he had reported the case upward, he still couldn't help his curiosity.

That morning, Yu Dazhang was flipping through case files in his office when his phone suddenly rang.

After he answered, Li Jun's voice came through:

"Come downstairs now, you're coming with me to the Municipal Bureau."

(End of chapter)