Hearing Shen An’an’s reply, Yan Qi quickly broke into a smile and then said to her, “That’s wonderful. Then, Sister An’an, could you please take me to Aunt Bai now?”
“Alright, Xiao Qi. Please wait here for a moment. I need to hand over my duties, and then I’ll personally escort you to the Director.”
“Understood.”
After giving Yan Qi a few instructions and seeing her agreement, Shen An’an turned around feeling completely at ease and left the area to go and hand over her tasks elsewhere in the Special Affairs Bureau.
Watching Shen An’an’s retreating figure and knowing it would take her a while to return, Yan Qi didn’t want to waste any time. She lowered her head and began carefully recalling the case details that Shen An’an had previously explained to her.
A short while later, after finishing the handover with her colleagues, Shen An’an quickly returned to Yan Qi’s side. After a brief word, the two of them didn’t linger any longer in the Fengfang City Special Affairs Bureau building. Instead, they promptly got into a car and headed to where Bai Yuling was currently located.
…
“Darn it, just where has this Liu Deli disappeared to? Not a trace of him, alive or dead.”
Following alongside Bai Yuling, a very young member of the Special Affairs Bureau, who had spent the entire day searching all over Fengfang City with no success in finding the chef Liu Deli (the one who made the lunch box for Maca), couldn’t help but voice his complaint.
“Stop complaining. No matter how much you complain, that Liu Deli guy isn’t just going to magically appear in front of you,” an older, more seasoned Bureau member who was also accompanying Bai Yuling today in the search for Chef Liu Deli, hearing his colleague’s grumbling, felt compelled to remind him. He hoped the younger agent would rein it in a bit, especially in front of their Director.
However, perhaps due to his youth, the young agent completely missed the underlying hint in his older colleague’s words. “I know he won’t just pop up because I’m complaining,” he retorted, “but I just can’t help it!”
Hearing this and realizing the young man hadn’t grasped his earlier point, the seasoned agent’s face briefly showed a hint of frustration. But he quickly composed himself, turned to his colleague, and said in a hushed tone, “Alright, I get it. You’re frustrated because we haven’t found any leads related to Liu Deli all morning, hence the complaining to me and the Director. But don’t forget, the Director is right ahead of us. If she hears you talking like this, what will she think of you?”
“Oh! Sorry,” said the young agent, a note of apology in his voice as he finally remembered their Fengfang City Special Affairs Bureau Director was just a short distance away. “My mind was just so tangled up earlier, I completely forgot the Director was right there with us.”
“Enough whispering behind my back, you two. Hurry up and keep pace,” Bai Yuling, hearing the hushed conversation behind her and having a pretty good idea what it was about, glanced towards a crossroads ahead before stopping, turning to look at them, and issuing the reminder.
Hearing this, both the young and the seasoned agent immediately focused their attention on Bai Yuling and responded in unison, “Yes, Director! We’re right behind you.”
Receiving their reply, Bai Yuling didn’t look at them further and instead walked straight towards the crossroads ahead, finding a spot to sit down.
“Director, why have you stopped?” asked the young agent, watching as Bai Yuling, upon reaching the crossroads, didn’t hurriedly cross the street to continue pursuing leads on Liu Deli as before, but instead found a place to sit. Unable to understand her action, he couldn’t resist asking.
Facing her colleague’s question, Bai Yuling saw no reason to hide her intentions. “I’m waiting for someone here,” she replied promptly.
“Waiting for someone? Director, who are you waiting for?” The young agent, puzzled by this, pressed further.
To this, Bai Yuling continued, “Someone who might be able to help us clarify the case.”
“Someone who can help us clarify the case?” Upon hearing Bai Yuling’s answer, both the young and the seasoned agent couldn’t help but show confused expressions on their faces.
Just as the two agents were pondering who this potentially case-solving person Bai Yuling was waiting for could possibly be, a familiar yellow BYD electric car suddenly came from the direction of the intersection and pulled over next to Bai Yuling and the two other Bureau members.
Seeing this very conspicuous yellow BYD electric car, both the young and the seasoned agent quickly recognized it as Shen An’an’s vehicle from their Bureau. Immediately, an unbelievable suspicion arose simultaneously in their minds: “Could Shen An’an be the person the Director is waiting for? But… she really doesn’t seem like someone who could crack this case…”
While the two agents were inwardly muttering these doubts, Yan Qi, who had been in the passenger seat of the small yellow car and had noticed Bai Yuling resting on a bench by the roadside as they approached the intersection, quickly pushed open her door and stepped into the view of Bai Yuling and the two other agents.
“Aunt Bai, I’m here! Aren’t you happy to see me?” Yan Qi asked eagerly almost as soon as she got out of the car.
Looking at Yan Qi, who had descended from the small yellow car and immediately posed this question, Bai Yuling quickly stood up, walked over to her, and said gently, “As your aunt, of course I am very welcome to have you here, Xiao Qi.”
“Um, Director, is this your friend’s daughter?” The young agent, who had been on assignment outside yesterday and hadn’t met Yan Qi yet, couldn’t resist asking.
“Yes, Xiao Qi is indeed the daughter of my closest friend,” Bai Yuling confirmed.
“I thought so. But, Director, why is the daughter of your closest friend here?” the young agent asked, following up his initial question after confirming Yan Qi’s identity.