Chapter Eighteen: Ordinary Yet Confident

Ning Shuyi smiled, choosing not to expose the young woman’s little scheme. She bid her a gentle farewell, watched her disembark and enter the residential complex, then finally withdrew her gaze and turned to the man beside her. Seeing that Huo Yan was focused on driving and had no intention of speaking, she didn’t take the initiative to ask questions either.

She was somewhat curious about Huo Yan’s marital status. Captain Dong surely knew the details—after all, there wasn’t a single dossier in the team he wasn’t familiar with. But for everyone else, this kind of information fell squarely into the category of things one wouldn’t know unless they asked, and Huo Yan wasn’t exactly the type to invite casual conversation about such topics.

In terms of age, Huo Yan was a little older than she was. At any other workplace, at his age, not only would marriage be expected, but those hurrying along might already have children in preschool. Even in a criminal investigation unit—where single men were everywhere and the average age of marriage was delayed—being married was entirely unremarkable.

What surprised her was Huo Yan’s demeanor. He seemed untouched by the mundane world, entirely untainted by the dust of everyday life—hardly the sort of person who seemed likely to be entangled in the chaos of marriage. That must have been why Yu Mengpeng had dared to ask for his contact information earlier.

Back at the bureau, Ning Shuyi still had a pile of paperwork and forms to process, things that weren’t Huo Yan’s forte, so she took them on herself and handed him the task of confirming Wang Yuluo’s ex-boyfriend Li Qiao’s personal details.

Confirming Li Qiao’s information wasn’t difficult. She had already gathered plenty of tidbits during her earlier conversation with Yu Mengpeng. Huo Yan worked steadily, unhurried and unflappable. While Ning Shuyi busied herself with routine matters, he calmly and methodically assembled the information.

Li Qiao was twenty-six, registered in another province, with no criminal record. He’d probably obtained his driver’s license during university, but he didn’t have any vehicles registered under his name. He was a year ahead of Wang Yuluo at school. After graduating, he took a job in marketing and sales at a privately owned company—average size, average salary, average benefits; in short, nothing remarkable about him.

Yet this ordinary young man had posted a personal ad online, and in that ad, every line overflowed with self-confidence.

Based on the timeline, this post appeared after his breakup with Wang Yuluo, just as Yu Mengpeng had mentioned.

In the ad, Li Qiao painstakingly listed all his “honors”—most of them titles he’d earned by participating in various campus activities during university, and he even included being named an outstanding student in high school. He lavished praise upon his own character and work ethic.

The requirements he set for a prospective partner were even more intriguing. Most people reading them would think this was a man hoping to skip decades of hard work by dreaming big. But with her understanding of Wang Yuluo’s background, Ning Shuyi immediately saw that the criteria in Li Qiao’s post were almost a carbon copy of Wang Yuluo herself.

It seemed that after losing his wealthy and beautiful girlfriend, he had set his mind on finding a replacement just like her, determined to prove himself.

If Yu Mengpeng’s information was correct, and the account named “Writing Poems for You” belonged to Li Qiao, then clearly he hadn’t found such a replacement.

This was apparent from the comment section beneath his post as well—filled, without exception, with people there for the spectacle.

At first, Li Qiao tried to reply to the mockery and sarcasm in the comments, angrily arguing back. But there were simply too many people ridiculing him; even if he were as eloquent as Zhuge Liang debating a hundred scholars, he couldn’t keep up. Eventually, he stopped responding altogether, letting the jibes fall where they would.

“It looks like all that sarcasm from the online crowd really did a number on Wang Yuluo’s ex-boyfriend’s self-esteem,” Ning Shuyi remarked after reading the post Huo Yan showed her. “He must have finally realized where he stands, and that’s why he’s trying to win her back. Anything else?”

Huo Yan shook his head. “That’s all I’ve managed to find for now.”

Ning Shuyi thought for a moment, then waved over a tall colleague at the far end of the office who was gathering his things to leave.

The man she summoned was Kang Ge, the team’s resident tech expert. His skills were so good the cyber unit had borrowed him once and almost refused to give him back.

“Old Kang, do me a favor and look into this guy for us. I’ll have Yan Xue treat you to dinner in return,” Ning Shuyi said, pointing at Li Qiao’s personal details on the screen and making a joke about her best friend—Kang Ge’s work partner.

“No problem!” Kang Ge agreed cheerfully, patting the laptop in his bag. “I’ll check him out as soon as I get home. And I’m not about to let Yan Xue’s dinner get away from me!”

Taking on the task, Kang Ge also greeted Huo Yan, who sat nearby. Outgoing by nature, Kang Ge had even dared to approach Ji Yuan, whose intimidating presence once made everyone want to give him a wide berth—so Huo Yan was no challenge for him.

“How’s it going? Getting used to things around here?” he asked Huo Yan warmly. “Is staying in the staff dorm convenient? Anything you’re not used to? If you need anything, just say so—don’t be shy!”

Huo Yan clearly wasn’t accustomed to such familiar friendliness, as if they’d known each other for years. His demeanor remained distant, his posture a bit tense.

“I’m fine. I’m not picky about where I live. I don’t need any help, but thank you,” he replied succinctly.

Ning Shuyi glanced at him in surprise but said nothing in front of Kang Ge.

Kang Ge didn’t seem to mind Huo Yan’s brusque response, gave a brief farewell to the both of them, and left the office.

“You’re staying in the staff dorm?” Ning Shuyi asked in astonishment once Kang Ge was gone. “Didn’t you say you were married? Why would you be living in the dorm?”

The bureau had a dormitory, but the conditions were poor—barely better than the overnight duty room, if not worse. In summer it was stifling, in winter freezing. People only stayed there temporarily when they had no other option, and nobody could tolerate it for long. Even bachelors found it uncomfortable, let alone someone with a family. No matter how deep your love, it couldn’t withstand peeling paint and having to trek to the end of the corridor for the bathroom.

“I’m not married,” Huo Yan said after a moment’s hesitation, realizing that Ning Shuyi’s misunderstanding stemmed from what he’d told Yu Mengpeng earlier. “If I hadn’t said that just now, that woman would have kept pestering me.”