Several people had been busy all morning when Zhang Lang patted his chest and said he would treat everyone to a meal.
As soon as Jiang Ning heard this, she knew he was absolutely hungry.
Pei Yucheng, carrying a suspect beside him, also offered to pay for the meal, claiming if it hadn’t been for Jiang Ning guiding him and Zhang Lang, their achievements that morning wouldn’t have been so remarkable.
However, Jiang Ning declined both invitations to eat.
"We have other matters to attend to later, so we’ll skip the meal for now. If there’s an anonymous tip from a netizen in the future, I’ll contact you," said Jiang Ning as she pulled Qi Xingzhou towards where their car was parked.
As soon as Zhang Lang heard Jiang Ning had other matters to deal with, he quickly asked if she needed help but was declined with a shake of her head.
Even though Pei Yucheng, holding the suspect, was inclined to ask Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou to stay for the meal, the burden of having a suspect with him prevented him from voicing the invitation. He could only hope for a chance to gather some other time.
Furthermore, Pei Yucheng inexplicably felt an intuition that opportunities like the collaboration they had that morning would certainly not be scarce in the future.
Their official vehicle was parked not far away. Zhang Lang got into the driver’s seat and, after Pei Yucheng had brought the suspect onboard, thought for a moment before he couldn’t help himself and spoke up, "Captain Pei..."
Zhang Lang gripped the steering wheel tightly and gritted his teeth, "Are Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou close? Do you know?"
Don’t think that because he’s always smiling, he’s actually a fool—he had seen it clearly. Captain Pei was definitely smitten with Jiang Ning!
No wonder he, a military police officer, had intentionally transferred to his side and had uncharacteristically gone out on calls with him twice. Just now, he kept glancing at Jiang Ning, barely stopping short of writing "poaching" on his face!
Zhang Lang felt it necessary to give the promising young Major Pei a heads-up.
You just can’t engage in breaking up a relationship!
Pei Yucheng: "..." What nonsense is this.
When he didn’t hear a response from behind him after a while, Zhang Lang couldn’t help but say, "After we caught that suspect in the park, I saw Jiang Ning secretly take a handful of candy from her pocket and give it to Qi Xingzhou, telling him to stay away from the danger zone. Jiang Ning might seem like a tough woman, but when it comes to Qi Xingzhou, she’s just so tender and attentive." So stop looking at Jiang Ning and let it go.
Pei Yucheng, with a dark face, said, "...Shut up, we’re heading back to the station."
See, see, Captain Pei gets angry out of embarrassment when his thoughts are exposed!
On the other hand, Jiang Ning was taking Qi Xingzhou to her own car.
Qi Xingzhou, familiar with the role, settled into the passenger seat. He took a mint candy from his pocket, and the gentle tearing of the wrapper echoed inside the car. As Jiang Ning turned her head to buckle her seatbelt, a cool breath approached, and she was startled to see a mint candy held close to her face when she looked back.
The mint candy’s wrapper was torn open, revealing the milky-white candy inside.
Qi Xingzhou leaned in slightly and quietly shared with Jiang Ning, "This one is good."
The candy was actually what Jiang Ning had stuffed into his pocket earlier, only to have him treasure it and share it back with her.
"I’ll try it." Jiang Ning reached out to take it. She had bought the candy on a whim while trying to get close to a suspect and, not really understanding why, she had ended up giving all of it to Qi Xingzhou, who was following her around.
As the milky-white candy melted in her mouth, a burst of minty freshness spread instantly, filling her whole mouth with coolness that even seemed to lessen her fatigue.
Jiang Ning, with candy in her mouth, commented, "Not bad."
Qi Xingzhou also had a mint candy in his mouth. Hearing Jiang Ning’s comment, he couldn’t help but curve his eyes into a smile, the pleasure evident in his handsome features. If Jiang Ning had glanced in the rearview mirror, she would have definitely seen Qi Xingzhou’s secret smile.
He fastened his seatbelt and asked cheerfully, "Is there really something else we haven’t finished?"
"No, I just lied to Zhang Lang and the others." Jiang Ning started the car without a hint of guilt for having deceived Zhang Lang and the others. Being straightforward with Qi Xingzhou, she said, "I don’t want to eat with them. It’s too much hassle with so many people. Let’s go eat by ourselves."
Jiang Ning wasn’t foolish; she had caught on to Pei Yucheng’s scrutinizing glances, even if they were discreet.
Those eyes were always assessing and pondering, leaving Jiang Ning suspecting that he might have some doubt about her conduct while capturing the suspect.
She just wasn’t sure whether Pei Yucheng’s skepticism was a personal matter, or...
Jiang Ning frowned slightly as she considered how she had been too high-profile over the past two months.
She planned to lay low for a while.
Listening to Jiang Ning openly express her true thoughts in front of him, Qi Xingzhou simply acknowledged with a calm nod, turning his head to gaze out the window.
Seconds later, the corners of his lips he had been trying to restrain still lifted slightly.
He knew it—Jiang Ning was always different towards him!
But suddenly thinking of something, Qi Xingzhou took out his phone and typed a long message, sending it to Qi Chen.