On the navigation map, a line from Hongqiao Airport to Lujiazui had already turned red.
Da Mao put down his camera, a little impatient. "Why is traffic jammed like this. It's even worse than Beijing."
"We ran into Friday night peak hour traffic." The driver, Xiao Lan, rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. "We're fine as long as we don't lose the target car. It seems that they are going to Qiao Jing Jing's house in Lujiazui."
"Most likely, Qiao Jing Jing has an event tomorrow. Hey, this is such a nice coincidence. We didn't manage to stake catch our actual target but we caught Qiao Jing Jing. We'll release it on April 1st. It'll probably stay on the hot stories listing for three days."
"Is that man her boyfriend?" A Dou leaned forward from the back seat.
"Most likely, yes. He's really handsome, so definitely not a staff member. Also, he looks well-off. That's a Mercedes-Benz passenger van. Sheesh, all these female celebrities."
They were stuck in traffic for a full ten minutes before the car started to move slowly. While Xiao Lan was following that car, he suddenly said, "There is something not right. Why are they getting off the Humin Expressway and going onto the Outer Ring Expressway. This isn't the way to Lujiazui."
"Don't care where he is going. Just keep following."
When the target vehicle entered a somewhat old neighborhood outside the Outer Ring Expressway, those three entertainment reporters were a little surprised.
"This… neighborhood is definitely not where Qiao Jing Jing's home is. Is it the man's home?"
"It doesn't look like it. This is outside the Outer Ring Expressway. He drives a Mercedes."
A Dou snorted. "I was just going to say that this car seems to belong to Qiao Jing Jing. I've seen it a few times. Don't dillydally, get ready to take pictures. Once they get out of the car and we find out where they are going, we'll see if we can find a place to shoot photos of inside."
In the end, after the car stopped, there was no movement for quite a while. The image in their camera was still.
This time, the three of them smoked together. "What are they doing in the car?"
"What do you think they are doing? Unfortunately the trees blocked our view, so we can't take any photos."
Single young people are so restless and fidgety.
A Dou said, "I will get out of the car first to scope things out."
Finally, after the time it took for them to smoke a whole cigarette, Qiao Jing Jing got down from the car with a mask on. She was empty-handed, and there was spring in her step. The tall man held her bag and followed after her.
As a photographer who had aspirations, Da Mao was very satisfied. While taking photos, he commented, "That fellow is very tall. He seems to be at least 185. The side profile is quite handsome and the nose is high. Is this leggy guy a newcomer?"
Xiao Lan had different opinion. "It doesn't look like it. You think people in the entertainment circle would actually live here? It is so inconvenient. If they're going to rent, they'll at least rent in Xintiandi, on Huaihai Road or something like those."
While talking, he dialed A Dou's phone. "They got out of the car."
Soon, A Dou sent the house number over. He was always resourceful, disguising himself as a delivery man, someone delivering water or take out, etc. to follow people into the elevator, and then he could see which floor they were going to. Xiao Lan looked at the information that was sent over and was very satisfied. "They're on the third floor. That'll be easy to shoot."
The distance between buildings in this old neighborhood was very close. That made it even easier to take photos. They quickly found a good spot in the staircase of the opposite building. Unfortunately, their target's curtains were pulled shut. Only the curtains in the living room had a gap that gave only a view of the television wall.
An entertainment reporter is not afraid of curtains that are pulled shut. The three of them were not at all fretful. They assessed and discussed that home. "This area is no good. This fellow does not appear to be rich?"
"The room curtains are pulled together. Will we be able to get any photos today?"
"Let's wait. The previous picture of them getting out of the car and going into the building together is already enough. Wait and see if we can take a photo of them coming out from the building corridor together."
In the end, they waited until after eight o'clock but only saw that man go down alone and take out a pink suitcase from the car boot.
Xiao Lan was bursting with excitement. "Quickly take some photos, quickly take some photos. This is hard evidence. That's Qiao Jing Jing's suitcase. She is actually staying here tonight."
The trio were very excited. Previously, it can still be explained by saying she had come to a friend's house for a visit. Now, the suitcase had been taken up in the middle of the night. This was simply irrefutable evidence.
Full of excitement, they took turns to keep watch. At six to seven o'clock the next day, they were also able to get photos of the silhouettes of Qiao Jing Jing's team rushing here.
"Oh, her team all knows. They're all running over here to pick her up."
After more than an hour, everyone came back down, including Qiao Jing Jing's boyfriend. The trio shot everything and then drove after them, following them to the event venue.
A place with a lot of people is not good for taking photos, and they could not get into the backstage area either. Luckily, that handsome guy also didn't go to the backstage area. In the underground car park, he separated from Qiao Jing Jing and her team and left alone. The trio decided to follow him.
He found a cafe and sat down to read. They sat down near the door of another cafe on the opposite side of the road.
A Dou said, "Today is the promotional event of XX Diamonds. Qiao Jing Jing is the spokesperson. This brand is damn expensive."
"The same thing but several times the price. Why do women like to buy that?"
"Do you think this fellow can afford the diamond of this brand to give to Qiao Jing Jing?"
"Most likely he can't afford it. This fellow should thank us later. They have an underground relationship now. When we expose it later, Qiao Jing Jing will have to admit it, right?"
"I can't say for sure. Qiao Jing Jing may turn around, not admit to it. Maybe to avoid arousing suspicion, they'll end up breaking up. That's possible, too."
"That's good, too. We'll be helping this fellow cut his losses, so we'll also be doing a good deed."
After a while of talking, Xiao Lan pushed A Dou and Da Mao. "Look."
The two followed his gaze and looked over there. They saw a stylish looking girl holding a mobile phone and talking to Qiao Jing Jing's boyfriend. Then she left very quickly with a disappointed expression. Qiao Jing Jing's boyfriend continued to read the book calmly, as if he was used to this.
A Dou:
"…This fellow is also not so simple."
At eleven o'clock, the man got up and left the cafe, so the trio quickly followed after him. Qiao Jing Jing's promo event had begun. Qiao Jing Jing, on the stage, was going along with the organizer's event as it had been planned, whereas he stood watching in the crowd. On the stage, Qiao Jing Jing was a bright starlight, while the man in the crowd was tall and handsome. Indeed, they were equally eye-catching. Da Mao didn't know if he was affected by preconceived ideas, but looking at them, he felt that they, one on stage and one down below, enhanced each other's radiance.
The trio secretly took a lot of photos. Next, they followed them to lunch. Afterwards they followed them back to that same old neighborhood.
The three returned to their previous spot to take photos.
Xiao Lan said, "They came back here again. This is probably the early head-over-heels-in-love period."
Detective God A Dou said, "This morning, I already knew they would be coming back, because I didn't see that pink suitcase."
Da Mao said, "Keep quiet."
He was engrossed with the image in the camera lens.
Actually, the image was practically static.
It was a very small study. The room was filled with books. The window was open, and the curtains fluttered slightly in the wind. The man was sitting behind the desk and writing something, whereas Qiao Jing Jing was sitting on a small sofa opposite him, hugging her knees and looking at something that looked like a script.
Such a picture lasted for more than ten minutes. Then Qiao Jing Jing put down the script in her hand, ran to the desk, and leaned forward to watch him write. The man looked up and said something, then kissed her across the desk.
Da Mao's hand that was holding the camera shook a bit. Surprisingly, he who had seen many various kinds of shameful secrets for years on end, felt a tingling sweetness in his heart.
He felt that even he had become pure and innocent.
Later, those two left the study, so they didn't manage to get any more photos. However, the trio was already very satisfied. In the early morning of the next day, they followed them to the airport. It was a particularly smooth and successful completion of their mission of tailing and taking candid shots.
Da Mao actually felt a little reluctant to leave. "When I go back, I have to edit them a little more beautifully and add some romantic music. It can't be vulgar ah."
"Yes, edit the pictures together a little nicer. You cannot vilify them. After following them for two days, I think it is true love. That's hard to come by for Qiao Jing Jing."
A Dou said, "I have a thought. Let's go and dig up the background and identity of this man, how about it? Later, we'll expose the love affair first. Everyone will definitely be curious about what this man does. We will come back with a second issue, the big unmasking of the boyfriend's identity. That way, the spot on the top of the hot topics will be ours for a whole week."
Xiao Lan patted her thigh. "I think that will work. Let's do that."
The trio said that they would do it and they did it right away. They immediately returned to the old neighborhood and found a small hotel nearby to stay. They planned to follow the target to his work unit on Monday.
The target got up early and went jogging at dawn.
Xiao Lan commented: "Healthy lifestyle. Pretty good. But he wakes up too early. Luckily we came early."
The target bought jianbing.
A Dou gave that a like. "This handsome guy's life is very simple, quite similar to ours."
The target finally went to work.
Then the entertainment reporter trio saw him walking into…
Shanghai Aerospace Technology Research Institute.
The trio of entertainment reporters was a little surprised: "He does scientific research?"
A Dou suddenly realized something. "Yes, I asked around before. That neighborhood where he is living, the people in it all seem to be from the aerospace research institute, so that's why it is especially close to the research institute."
Xiao Lan was worried. "It's a confidential work unit. We can't get in. We can only take photos outside."
"Originally, I wanted to get in and ask about."
The three drove around the research institute and took some photos of it as well. Ultimately, they were still a little unwilling to give up and stopped the car on the road opposite the side door.
"We definitely can't get in. I'll take a look to see whether there is enough material for a second follow-up story."
While they were talking, someone came to knock on the window. Xiao Lan rolled down the window. Outside of the car were two middle-aged men of medium build. The man who was slightly more plump smiled and asked, "Sir, I want to ask something. This neighborhood…"
His words did not finish. His eyes suddenly fell on the camera that Da Mao, who sat in the front passenger seat, was holding, and his facial expression immediately changed. His eyes circled around the three people. He took out his ID and swayed it in front of Xiao Lan.
"Ministry of State Security. Please come with us."
A few days later, Yu Tu was called from the laboratory to the office of the head of the institute.
Academician Zhang was also there. In addition, there were two strangers, one old and one young.
Yu Tu closed the door. The head of the institute got right to the point and made the introductions. "Yu Tu, these two are staff from the Ministry of State Security. They've some things to ask you. You must answer all of them truthfully."
Yu Tu was surprised for a bit but calmly nodded. "Okay."
"Please sit down." The two investigators were very amiable. "Don't be nervous. We are merely asking you a few questions."
Yu Tu nodded.
The young investigator asked, "Who were you with from last Friday to Sunday?"
Something faintly flashed through Yu Tu's mind, but he answered without any hesitation, "My girlfriend."
The two investigators looked at each other, and their expressions were a bit unusual. Academician Zhang and Institute Head Hu were very surprised.
The young investigator asked again, "What is your girlfriend's name?"
This time, Yu Tu paused for a little while. "Qiao Jing Jing."
Academician Zhang suddenly coughed and adjusted his sitting position. The two investigators looked at him and Institute Head Hu. The two leaders were sitting upright and looked calm. It seemed that they were not surprised at all.
A glimmer of excitement appeared on the face of that young investigator. "Is that the celebrity Qiao Jing Jing?"
"Yes."
"She was in your house continuously for those three days?"
"She went out to participate in a diamond brand promo event during that time, and I was with her."
The older investigator suddenly said, "You didn't discover someone was following you?"
It is not that he was totally unaware…
Suddenly a slight speculation crossed Yu Tu's mind, but he felt it was a little inconceivable.
However, the investigator's next words confirmed his suspicion. "According to their account, they followed and took photos of both of you for three days. They even tailed you to the outside of your work unit on Monday morning and took a lot of videos."
The investigator took a sip of water and said in a light manner, "Then they were arrested as spies."
Yu Tu suddenly wanted to laugh, but he tried to appear serious and asked, "Then, how will they be dealt with?"
"Since the explanations they gave are consistent with what you said, we will collect more evidence, and if confirmed that there are no more problems, we'll lecture them and then they will be released. But we have already confiscated all the images."
The older investigator urged him with some meaningful and heartfelt words. "Young people should not get muddle-headed when dating. Were all your courses on protecting confidentiality useless? You were not the least bit on guard."
Yu Tu accepted what he was being taught. "We will be more alert in the future."
"We will also give them a good lecture to let them know what is appropriate behavior. A confidential unit is not to be circled at will and photographed."
After the two investigators had done their investigating and obtained their evidence here, they were seen to the door and left. Once the door was closed, the room suddenly fell into silence.
Academician Zhang took a couple of sips of tea and stood up holding the cup. "I'll go back to work first."
Then the old man was humming a song while walking away.
Institute Head Hu was silent for a long time, then said, "This is a good thing, but it is better to be a little low-key. No need to publicize it so much. Of course, this is a natural thing, so there is also no need to deliberately conceal it."
Yu Tu nodded. "I understand."
Institute Head Hu:
"Okay, go to work."
Yu Tu closed the door and left. Before he had walked far, he vaguely heard Institute Head Hu also starting to hum a song in the office. What was more, it was the same song as Academician Zhang's…
When Qiao Jing Jing received Yu Tu's phone call, Big Sister Ling happened to come to visit.
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Jing Jing's expression was rather… hard to describe.
Big Sister Ling waved a hand in front of her eyes. "What's up with you?"
Qiao Jing Jing said, "I went back to Shanghai last Friday. The road to Lujiazui was very jammed, so Yu Tu told me to go to his house. Afterwards, I was too lazy to go back and forth, so I stayed in his house."
Big Sister Ling:
"Oh."
Indifference.
Qiao Jing Jing:
"On the way, Teacher Yu said that he felt that someone was following us. I said that it didn't matter. Just let them take their photos."
Big Sister Ling clapped her hands and surprisingly was a little excited, "Did you really get photographed? You two deserve it for being so brazen. Then what are we going to do? Do you want to admit to it when it's exposed? Or are you neither admitting nor denying?"
"It probably won't be exposed, I think." Qiao Jing Jing's expression was even harder to describe.
"Ah? Why?"
"They were regarded as spies and arrested."
A week later, Big Sister Ling received a phone call from an unfamiliar number. The other party shed tears of gratitude over the phone. "Thank you to Teacher Qiao's boyfriend for helping us clarify. This is the end of the matter. We will definitely not leak the news, and we will also definitely not take any photos in the future."
Big Sister Ling restrained her laughter to respond to this person. After hanging up the phone, she couldn't control herself anymore, and lying on the table, she burst into loud laughter.
Later, it wasn't certain how the info spread, but within the entertainment reporting circle. Qiao Jing Jing's boyfriend became a mysterious man who could not be photographed. Who didn't know? People from XX Entertainment Reporting went to take photos, but they were all arrested by the Ministry of State Security instead!