Sun Zhewen dragged his weary body back to the office. He hadn't even settled into his chair when his phone started ringing urgently.
"Hello?" Sun Zhewen answered the phone.
"Sun Zhewen, what were you doing with Aileen?" Chen Qingyan's voice on the other end of the line was laced with a hint of questioning.
Sun Zhewen rubbed his temples and explained, "She needed to talk to me about something. She said she wanted to thank me for a small favor I did for her earlier and insisted on taking me out to dinner."
"What did she want? I'm warning you, don't get too involved with that woman," Chen Qingyan said.
Sun Zhewen sighed and said, "Yeah, I know. Don't overthink it, it's really not a big deal."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then Chen Qingyan asked, "Right, how are you going to handle the work going forward? Have you figured it out?"
Sun Zhewen frowned, looking troubled. "Don't even mention it. I transferred Li Qian here, hoping he'd clean up the team. But he just gave me a list, and half the people on it are unqualified. It's giving me a headache; I don't know what to do."
"I'll go talk to Director Wang about this," Chen Qingyan said, her voice decisive and firm.
"Won't that be a bit… awkward?" Sun Zhewen said hesitantly.
"Whether it's awkward or not doesn't matter. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, we'll figure something else out," Chen Qingyan's personality had always been swift and decisive.
"What I mean is, will he think about the relationship between you and me?" Sun Zhewen was still a little worried.
"I'm the Party Secretary of the town. Surely I can speak to a few ordinary police officers," Chen Qingyan said, her voice raising a few decibels.
Sun Zhewen was silent for a moment, then said, "Alright."
"Send me the list, okay?" Chen Qingyan said.
"Sure, I'll send it as soon as I hang up," Sun Zhewen replied.
After hanging up the phone, Sun Zhewen leaned back in his chair. He knew the team needed reorganization, but so many people failing at once meant facing huge adjustments and changes. This wasn't going to be easy.
Meanwhile, Chen Qingyan was also lost in thought after hanging up her phone. She knew that getting involved in this matter might cause some trouble, but for Sun Zhewen, she couldn't worry about that. She silently pondered how to talk to Director Wang and how to handle this matter properly.
After a while, Sun Zhewen organized the list and sent it to Chen Qingyan. After receiving it, Chen Qingyan sat in her office, put on her glasses, and began to look at it carefully. As her eyes scanned the list line by line, her eyebrows furrowed more and more, and she couldn't help thinking: "This Li Qian is really ruthless, so many people at once. If all of them are dealt with, the team will be in chaos."
Before getting off work, Sun Zhewen's phone rang. He looked and saw it was Li Zhiyan calling. "Zhewen, when will you be here? I'll cook." Li Zhiyan's voice was gentle and expectant.
"Well, I'll come over after work." Sun Zhewen replied while busily organizing the files on his desk.
"Okay, I'll go buy groceries now." Li Zhiyan said cheerfully.
"Alright." Sun Zhewen responded and hung up the phone, continuing to bury himself in work.
However, he still didn't get off work on time. Li Qian rushed into Sun Zhewen's office, talking incessantly about some work-related matters. Sun Zhewen tried to interrupt him several times, but Li Qian didn't give him a chance. Time passed minute by minute, and the hands of the clock had already pointed past 7 o'clock. Sun Zhewen finally couldn't help but say, "Alright, let's stop here for today. I have something to do."
Li Qian finally stopped talking, still unsatisfied, and teased, "Something's not right, are you on a date with a woman? Why are you so eager to send me away?"
Sun Zhewen said angrily, "Get lost."
Sun Zhewen hurried to Li Zhiyan's house. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Li Zhiyan sitting cross-legged on the sofa, waiting for him. Seeing him return, Li Zhiyan ran over barefoot, squatted down, and took out his shoes for him, looking exactly like a little wife.
Sun Zhewen felt a little embarrassed and said, "Zhiyan, you don't have to do this."
Li Zhiyan raised her head and said with a smile, "I want to do something for you." After saying that, she reached out and took Sun Zhewen's briefcase, placing it to the side.
The two of them walked into the living room together, and Li Zhiyan went to the kitchen to bring out the food she had prepared long ago. Sun Zhewen looked at the delicious food on the table, his heart filled with emotion.
In the middle of the night, the silence was broken by the sound of someone knocking on the door, "Pa pa." Li Zhiyan, who had been sleeping soundly in Sun Zhewen's arms, tightened her grip on his arm and said in panic, "He's here again."
Sun Zhewen gently patted Li Zhiyan's back, comforting her, "Don't be afraid, ignore him."
"Mm." Li Zhiyan nodded, her body still trembling slightly.
The knocking on the door continued, accompanied by loud shouts. After a long while, seeing that no one opened the door, the person then called. Li Zhiyan took a deep breath, answered the phone, and pretended to be drowsy, saying, "Hello, what is it?"
"Li Zhiyan, open the door." An exasperated voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Open what door? I'm not even home," Li Zhiyan said, pretending to be calm.
"Not home? Stop trying to fool me," the other party clearly didn't believe her.
"Heh, fooling you? I'm in Haicheng, why don't you come and see for yourself?" Li Zhiyan raised her voice.
"You're in Haicheng? Then you're…" The other person wanted to say something more.
"That's right, say a few more words, maybe he'll wake up," Li Zhiyan deliberately lowered her voice, with a threatening tone.
"Alright, alright, you two get some rest. Bye." The person on the other end of the phone hung up, sounding helpless.
Li Zhiyan hung up the phone and smiled at Sun Zhewen, "Hehe, we fooled him like that." Then, she sighed, a worried look on her face, "When will this ever end?"
Sun Zhewen hugged Li Zhiyan tightly, saying, "Forget about it. Let's sleep."
Li Zhiyan often had nightmares at night. Those terrifying scenes kept replaying in her dreams, waking her up several times. When she woke up for the last time, the sky outside the window was already turning light, and dawn was approaching. She sat on the bed, gasping for air, covered in cold sweat, her damp hair plastered to her forehead.
Sun Zhewen was also woken up by her movements. He sat up, took a towel, and wiped the sweat from her forehead, asking softly, "Did you have another nightmare?"
She buried her head in his embrace, her voice trembling slightly, "Yeah."
Sun Zhewen gently patted her back, comforting her, "Go take a shower. I have to go to work."
Li Zhiyan's grip tightened, hugging him even closer, and said, "I really don't want you to leave."
Sun Zhewen said gently, "Don't be afraid, okay?"
Li Zhiyan looked up, her eyes full of reluctance. "Are you coming over tonight?"
Sun Zhewen looked troubled. "Probably not. I have something tonight. You know how it is."
Li Zhiyan nodded understandingly. "Okay, be careful. Can't you just not go yourself?"
...
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"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
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(End Chapter)