Cang Jian had become increasingly despondent since his failed attempt to attack Aoyama Xiu Xin had led not only to a beating but also his dismissal. He confined himself to his home, drowning his sorrows in alcohol.
"Ring ring! Ring ring!"
Half-asleep, he heard the doorbell ringing. Cang Jian struggled to lift his eyelids and instinctively looked out the window, only to realize the sky had already darkened completely.
He glanced again at the wall clock.
It was nine-twenty in the evening.
He remembered having started drinking at noon, but he couldn’t quite recall when he had passed out.
"Ring ring! Ring ring!"
The doorbell continued to ring incessantly.
Annoyed, Cang Jian grumbled, "Damn it! Who is it!"
He cursed as he got up from the couch, kicked aside several bottles that were in his way, and staggered to open the door.
With a loud "bang!" he yanked the door open.
Upon seeing who was outside, his expression turned ice cold.
"What are you doing here?"
Standing outside was none other than the despicable Aoyama Xiu Xin, the man who disregarded his past achievements, envied his capabilities, and had him dismissed out of selfishness!
At least, that was how he saw it.
"Mr. Nobita, what kind of attitude is that? Police Chief Aoyama came especially to see you, and you won’t even invite him in," said Fujiwara Takahiro, who Aoyama Xiu Xin had specifically brought along to ease the tension.
Cang Jian snorted coldly and turned back inside.
He might not give Aoyama Xiu Xin any face,
but he couldn’t afford to disregard Fujiwara Takahiro.
After the incident six years ago, he had been transferred to the firearms section of the Investigation Unit 4, and his personality had undergone a major change, resulting in unpleasant interactions with colleagues and supervisors in the same department.
Only after being assigned under Fujiwara Takahiro, despite their short acquaintance, Fujiwara had appreciated his capabilities and consistently covered for him. After his dismissal, Fujiwara had even made a special visit to see him.
Cang Jian remembered all this, so even though he wanted to send Aoyama Xiu Xin away, since Fujiwara Takahiro had spoken, he let them in.
Aoyama Xiu Xin walked in, casually kicking away a bottle at his feet, making a clinking sound.
"Ouch! Look at this mess, what are you doing? Your place is like a pigsty, can’t you clean up a bit? There’s nowhere to even step," Fujiwara Takahiro grumbled as he quickly cleared some trash on the table and sofa, making space and saying, "Chief, please have a seat."
"It seems you’ve been rather depressed these past few days," Aoyama Xiu Xin said with a smile as he sat down.
Cang Jian, unable to contain his frustration, grimly said, "Isn’t that thanks to you, Chief?"
"You seem to bear some resentment," Aoyama Xiu Xin said, his smile unwavering and speaking leisurely.
Cang Jian, infuriated by his smile, retorted, "Or should I be thanking you?"
"Patrol Captain Cang Jian! Stand up!" Aoyama Xiu Xin’s expression suddenly turned stern as he commanded emphatically.
Cang Jian, perplexed and anxious inside, eventually stood up slowly. Being addressed as ’Patrol Captain’ made him realize there was more to his dismissal.
Aoyama Xiu Xin looked at him seriously and said, each word heavy, "Cang Jian, do you consider yourself a qualified police officer of Japan? As your superior, can I trust your character and professionalism? Please, give me an answer now."
Feeling the oppressive aura emanating from him, Cang Jian couldn’t help but feel nervous.
"I..." After a moment’s thought, he responded more confidently, "I might have some minor flaws, but I am absolutely a steadfast defender of legal justice as a Japanese police officer!"
"Good," Aoyama Xiu Xin nodded, then pulled out a newspaper from his coat and handed it to him, saying gravely, "You probably haven’t felt like following the news recently."
Cang Jian took the newspaper and started reading.
Highlighted in red was a news article reporting two bombing incidents in Tokyo within the past month, along with the identities of the two victims:
Tsunoda Shinro, Noda Jiro.
Seeing those unforgettable names, memories from six years ago fiercely assailed Cang Jian.
His face twitched slightly, his hand holding the newspaper began to tremble, and he slowly looked up at Aoyama Xiu Xin.
"They have been released," Aoyama Xiu Xin stated.
Cang Jian remained silent.
Although Fujiwara Takahiro didn’t want to deceive him, he had no choice as Aoyama Xiu Xin had given a firm order. He patted Cang Jian’s shoulder and said, "Police Chief Aoyama has always admired you, but you have too many flaws. Continuing this way won’t lead to a sustainable career, so he wanted to teach you a lesson by transferring you to a clerical department to temper your temperament."
"But he didn’t expect your character to be even more impulsive and unruly than he anticipated, and you even attacked him; in his anger, he mentioned dismissing you, but it was just a spur-of-the-moment statement; he never actually submitted the request."
"The night Tsunoda Shinro died, the authorities couldn’t find any recent enemies, but they dug up the incident from six years ago. Combined with the release of those three individuals, Police Chief Aoyama became suspicious."
"So, he faked dismissing you with the intention of using your past colleagues’ identity to infiltrate their inner circle and investigate whether they were indeed responsible. Unexpectedly, before the plan could be executed, Noda Jiro was also killed, thereby confirming the Chief’s suspicions."
Cang Jian raised his head and looked at Aoyama Xiu Xin.
"Police Chief Fujihara is right, I have always admired talented individuals, like Yoshikai Youzai and Nakamura Shinichi, who were both promoted by me personally. When I encounter flawed talent, I think of saving them, not conveniently kicking them out," Aoyama Xiu Xin said, as qualified a bureaucrat as ever, his lies showing no cracks.