The night deepened, the stars shining brightly.
Qin Hao sat by the window, his police uniform crisp and orderly, giving him a clean and sharp appearance.
It was only after he started working that he realized the gap between his ideals and reality was so huge.
There were no heroic fights, no defending the homeland—just a bunch of trivial, bothersome chores.
And there were no awe-inspiringly righteous colleagues—he glanced sideways at the few senior officers on duty with him, two of whom were sorting files while gossiping about the odd incidents they had recently encountered; one was clipping his nails, and another had a document in hand, propping his foot on the table, swinging it gently back and forth.
Qin Hao uncomfortably tugged at his collar, always feeling out of place here—and indeed he was. His mentor, however, was unfazed by it, as every newbie went through this phase.
"As long as the work is done well, that's all that matters. Why sit up so straight when there's nothing to do? Who are you trying to impress?"
That's what his mentor had said to him when he first joined.
"Hungry? Want to order some food together?" Gu, a colleague, asked after organizing a stack of files and looking up to extend the invitation.
"From where? McDonald's?"
"Sure, that works. Anyone else? Hao, are you hungry?"
"Not really, thanks," Qin Hao courteously declined.
Since they could be called out at any moment, they often ordered fast food for its simplicity and convenience; if they were truly unlucky, they could even eat it on the road—another tip from his mentor.
He didn't like fast food, so he always ate more for dinner when he was on duty.
"It's really quiet today, hardly any work to do."
Watching them place the order, Qin Hao looked out at the police car parked outside the window and made the comment offhandedly.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the office fell silent.
Realizing their gazes were on him, Qin Hao scratched his head in confusion, "What's up?"
Gu, who was ordering with his phone, grimaced in a weird expression. "Didn't Chen teach you not to say that sort of thing?"
"What kind of thing?" Qin Hao had a sinking feeling that something bad was about to happen.
No sooner had he spoken than the phone rang on the other side; they all touched their foreheads and sighed.
"Looks like we'll be busy all night."
"..."
Five minutes later, Qin Hao and Gu had already left in the car, driving towards the location of the call under the moonlit sky.
"Never, ever say things like 'It's so quiet today, nothing happening' in the precinct, got it? Never," Gu advised Qin Hao while driving.
"Why?" Qin Hao was still a bit confused, though his instincts told him his previous remark had breached some taboo.
"It's some kind of superstition, beyond explanation. Just remember, whenever someone utters that, well, forget about having a peaceful day; we'll be run off our feet," Gu said, his face full of resentment. "That Chen, not even a word of warning..."
"..."
Qin Hao looked out the car window with an awkward expression. He didn't believe in superstitions, but an incident arose right after he spoke...
They arrived at the location, got out of the police car, and after determining the direction, headed towards the building reported by the caller.
This was an old residential area with no elevator; the sound-controlled lights in the stairwell weren't working either. Qin Hao switched on his flashlight and quickly climbed up to the sixth floor with agile steps.
For some reason, he always felt a slight thrill responding to calls in the middle of the night, as though he might stumble upon a substantial case.
However, reality was harsh—no thieves above, no ferocious criminals, just a drunken man sitting by the door, cursing and pounding on it.
"What's going on?!"
Qin Hao checked the door number—it was the right place—and instantly glared at the man while shining his flashlight on him.
"I... I'm going home... My wife, she won't let me in," the drunk man squinted against the flashlight's beam, his breath nearly knocking Qin Hao over with its potency.
"Is this your home?!"
Gu frowned, gave him a look, stepped forward to knock on the door, and after a moment, it opened with a soft click, revealing the figure of a woman.
"We received a report of a disturbance here... did you call it in?"
"You damn woman, how dare you..."
"I didn't ask you to speak!"
Gu looked at him with disgust.
"No, no," the woman said, somewhat blankly. Facing the police, she was a bit nervous and glanced down at the drunk sitting aside, helplessly saying, "It might have been the neighbor who called... He kept banging on the door just now, sorry to trouble you..."
"Do you know this man?"
"He's my husband. I just got mad and wouldn't let him in because he drank too much. I told him last time..."
"I didn't drink too much!" the drunk interjected from the floor.
"How about we take you to the station to sober up?" Gu suggested.
"..."
"..."
"You sure everything's okay?" He turned to ask the woman.
"Everything's fine, everything's fine!"
The woman hurriedly waved her hand and opened the door wider to let the drunk in.
"As long as it's okay. In the middle of the night, you're disturbing the peace. Your neighbors don't know what's going on and think you're collecting debts, calling us to say there was going to be a fight..."
With the minor incident resolved, the two who had climbed up with so much effort now made their way back down with their flashlights. Stepping out of the building, Qin Hao looked up at the starry sky, the profound night seeming like a beautiful painting.
Another big case resolved, pretty good.
He sighed softly and had not taken two steps when his police communicator rang again.
"..."
"..."
Gu spread his hands, "See."
...
Home Peaceful Community.
The sleeping Xu Qing was awakened by noises in the living room. Opening his eyes, he rolled over and looked at the ceiling for a moment before getting up from the bed.
He cracked the door open to sneak a peek outside and saw shadows moving. After a moment's thought, he decided to turn on the lights and go out, "Are you trying to sneak out again..."
As the light turned on, the man in the living room and he locked eyes, both stunned.
It wasn't Jiang He in front of him but a sneaky young man crouching on the table, searching for something.
"I... Fuck! Who are you?!"
Xu Qing was dazed for a second. His mind wasn't fully awake in the middle of the night, but then Jiang He's room door opened, and the three of them stood looking at each other, the living room eerily quiet.
Seeing the harsh look on the young man's face, Xu Qing jolted and said to Jiang He, "We've got a thief!"
As his words fell, Jiang He looked stunned for a moment and then moved swiftly, reaching the young man before he could react.
Bang!
A muffled sound.
Jiang He had the young man by the neck with one hand and slammed him to the floor. The young man scratched at her arm instinctively, unable to make a sound except for gasping noises.
"Stop!"
Xu Qing's heart raced as he quickly yelled for her to stop, "Any harder and you'll kill him! Let go!"
"Ugh—cough cough cough!"
Finally, the young man relaxed, flopped on the floor coughing violently, eyes filled with terror as he looked at Jiang He.
What just happened?!
He still hadn't processed it fully, only aware he'd nearly died.
"Damn it, this is asking for trouble, isn't it?" Xu Qing ran his fingers through his hair, then looked out the window to see the frame already damaged.
He turned to look at the young man still not recovered, looking like a frightened chick, then glanced at Jiang He standing aside, feeling an immense headache coming on.
The way Jiang He had been behaving so well the past month almost made him forget her true identity.
Luckily, no lives were lost.