Chapter 400: Chapter 328: Worth Less Than a Dog
Tingyang Branch.
Early in the morning, Ding Yuwei greeted her colleagues on her way to the Criminal Investigation Division office.
Several people were slumped over the small conference table, fast asleep.
And, of course, there were the requisite empty instant noodle cups.
Ding Yuwei went over and started cleaning up as quietly as she could, but she still woke Chen Chao.
Chen Chao opened his eyes, glanced at his phone, stretched his arms wide, and then kicked Zhao Tianxing, who was next to him, awake.
Zhao Tianxing jolted awake like a reanimated corpse, squinting his eyes. His brain was still booting up as he dazedly asked what time it was.
"Captain Chen, was there a case last night?" Ding Yuwei asked.
They had clearly been working overtime.
Chen Chao nodded.
Zhao Tianxing shook his head vigorously, forcing himself awake. He then yawned and said, "Someone caught their spouse cheating and beat the lover half to death. Kept us busy all night."
Ding Yuwei said, "Oh," and didn’t press for more details. After quickly clearing the trash from the table, she looked around and asked if anyone had seen Sergeant.
When Shen Xin went to Huaiyi, he brought Sergeant back to the station to be looked after.
The duty of scooping the litter box and feeding him had naturally fallen to Ding Yuwei.
Zhao Tianxing shook his head, saying he hadn’t seen him. He then got up and shuffled off to wash his face like a sleepwalker.
Ding Yuwei started looking for the cat, tapping on its food bowl.
At the same time, she also had to feed Dou Dou and Tiger Stripes.
And Loki, too. The little guy was growing fast and had a huge appetite.
After walking Loki, she returned to find Sun Zhao and the others heading out.
They were leaving to pick up Shen Xin from the high-speed railway station.
And it wasn’t just the team going; Director Lv and Director Wang were going too.
Zhao Tianxing had changed into his police uniform, a rare occasion. He hadn’t worn it in a while and found the armpits uncomfortably tight. He muttered to himself in frustration that with how busy they’d been, he should have lost weight.
Then he grumbled to Chen Chao and the others, asking if it was really necessary to make such a big scene just to pick someone up.
Shen Xin had legs; he could just grab a cab back.
Sun Zhao, also in his police uniform, thought about it seriously and said, "It’s a bit much for picking up a person, but for picking up Tian Kui, it’s just right."
Zhao Tianxing was taken aback for a moment, then grinned. "Captain Sun, I’m going to tell Shen Xin later that you said he’s not as important as a dog."
Sun Zhao laughed too. "For now, at least, that’s absolutely true."
Tian Kui was personally trained by Nanjiang, part of the police dog donation program they initiated.
And as a result, this donated police dog performed such a great service, saving so many people.
He even made the 7 o’clock news.
He’s a bona fide hero dog.
At least half of the credit for Tian Kui’s achievements should belong to Nanjiang, right?
So the dog is important, the person isn’t.
Ding Yuwei understood now and quickly asked if she could go too.
"Why not?" Sun Zhao waved his hand dismissively.
Ding Yuwei hurried back to change into her police uniform.
The group of more than a dozen people prepared to leave for the high-speed railway station.
Actually, Shen Xin was supposed to have arrived in Nanjiang yesterday evening.
But at the last minute, he was intercepted by the folks from Ningshan.
The project was approved by the provincial department. Now that it had yielded results, didn’t the provincial department deserve some credit too?
Now that Shen Xin was returning with Tian Kui, it would be unthinkable for him to pass through Ningshan without stopping.
The leadership had to see this hero dog, Tian Kui, for themselves.
So, Shen Xin stayed in Ningshan for a night and was only now returning to Nanjiang from Ningshan this morning.
He was scheduled to arrive a little before ten in the morning.
After they picked him up, they would head straight to the municipal bureau. Zhao Hongjie had personally pushed for this project, so a celebration ceremony was a must.
But just as they were about to leave, Ding Yuwei’s phone rang.
On the phone, an embarrassed Shen Xin said there was something he needed to ask Ding Yuwei to sign for, explaining that the logistics company would be delivering it any minute.
He added that he originally thought it would arrive yesterday so he could sign for it himself today, but since he was held up in Ningshan for a night, he wouldn’t make it in time.
Ding Yuwei asked curiously what it was.
A gift?
She knew that although Shen Xin earned a meager salary, he was a big spender. Whenever he went on a business trip, he would always bring back all sorts of gifts for everyone on the team.
On the phone, Shen Xin hesitated for a moment before brushing it off, just telling Ding Yuwei to sign for it first.
It was actually Yi Wan.
After two days in transit, he had arrived in Nanjiang.
The logistics company had called Shen Xin first thing this morning, urging him to sign for the delivery quickly. They said Yi Wan ate too much and pooped too much.
Shen Xin hadn’t figured out where to keep Yi Wan yet. He had put down the Tingyang Branch’s address at the time, so for now, he could only have him delivered to the branch and figure out what to do when he got back.
Just then, a high-sided truck pulled up to the branch’s main gate.
Ding Yuwei spotted Yi Wan standing in the truck right away. Her jaw dropped. "Shen Xin, the thing you mentioned... it wouldn’t happen to be a... a donkey, would it?"
On the other end of the line, Shen Xin was startled. ’He’s already there?’
"Uh, well, just wait for me to get back and I’ll explain everything."
Shen Xin decisively hung up.
Ding Yuwei was dumbfounded. She never imagined that Shen Xin, not content with just bringing Tian Kui back, would also bring back a donkey.
Lv Youwei and the others came downstairs, and Chen Chao called for Ding Yuwei to get going.
Ding Yuwei snapped out of it and pointed to the donkey at the gate, explaining the situation.
Chen Chao was just as stunned.
Zhao Tianxing let out a strange cry. "No way, what’s he bringing a donkey back for? Is he going to keep it?"
As he spoke, he slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering something. "Hey, isn’t that the donkey from that video online?"
At the mention of the video, Ding Yuwei’s brow furrowed.
She had seen it, and watching it had made her heart pound with fear. It was just as terrifying as hearing about Shen Xin surviving a hail of bullets last year.
"What video?"
Sun Zhao had seen some videos, but not many. He clearly didn’t know what they were talking about.
As for Lv Youwei and the others, they were even more in the dark.
"I’ll find it for you." Zhao Tianxing quickly pulled out his phone, searched for the trending video, and pointed to the person standing on the three-wheeled cart, saying, "This is Shen Xin."
The one following beside it was, naturally, Yi Wan.
Chen Chao’s eyes went wide as he watched. "Has this kid lost his mind? What on earth did he get up to?"
Wasn’t getting caught in a landslide enough? He had to go through a mudslide too?
Sun Zhao, on the other hand, felt a wave of retrospective fear. The mudslide was right behind them; one could only imagine how dangerous it was.
Lv Youwei felt the same lingering dread.
Such an outstanding young officer from their branch had nearly been buried in a mudslide.
Even though it was just a video, they could tell how perilous the situation must have been at the time.
Sun Zhao frowned. "So he brought the donkey back? Wasn’t it supposed to be an ’eyewitness donkey’?"
This was clearly the same donkey Shen Xin was riding in the photo he posted on his Moments feed.
"Eyewitness donkey?" Lv Youwei’s expression grew even more peculiar. "What does that mean?"
Sun Zhao shrugged. "A case came up over there, and Shen Xin helped out a bit."
Lv Youwei exclaimed, "Well, I’ll be. The kid was only gone for a few days, and he sure stirred up a lot of trouble."
Saving people and solving cases.
Just then, the truck drove in, and Ding Yuwei, looking completely lost, went forward to sign for the delivery.
Then she and the truck driver stared at each other.
The driver understood the look in her eyes and shook his head firmly. "Nope. My only job is to deliver. You guys have to get him down yourselves."
Everyone gathered around.
Although they didn’t know why Shen Xin had brought a donkey back, it was here now. Zhao Tianxing immediately volunteered, opened the truck’s gate, and jumped on, ready to lead the donkey down.
But Yi Wan wouldn’t move.
"Holy crap."
Zhao Tianxing raised an eyebrow and yanked on the reins.
By himself, leaning back at a forty-five-degree angle, he still couldn’t get the donkey to budge.
Lv Youwei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "I guess this is what they call a stubborn mule."
Gan Yong got on the truck too. The two of them pulled together, but still couldn’t move him.
Yi Wan backed up, refusing to get off the truck no matter what.
Chen Chao shouted, "Have you two not eaten today?"
Zhao Tianxing threw down the reins. "Captain Chen, why don’t you give it a try?"
Chen Chao didn’t stand on ceremony and jumped right up.
The result, naturally, was that the donkey still didn’t budge an inch.
Zhao Tianxing went behind and slapped Yi Wan’s rear, but Yi Wan kicked out at him, forcing him to dodge in a hurry.
Just then, Ding Yuwei received another message from Shen Xin on her phone.
After a quick glance, Ding Yuwei quickly called out, "Yi Wan!"
Yi Wan immediately turned his head and looked at Ding Yuwei.
"Yi Wan?" Zhao Tianxing had a questioning look on his face.
Ding Yuwei said, half-amused, half-exasperated, "Apparently, that’s the donkey’s name."
With that, she also climbed onto the truck.
Yi Wan tilted his head, sizing up Ding Yuwei.
As she got closer, Ding Yuwei noticed that Yi Wan’s eyes were exceptionally lively, as if he were very intelligent.
"Yi Wan, come down with me," Ding Yuwei called out.
Unexpectedly, Yi Wan obediently took a step and walked down the ramp off the truck.
Zhao Tianxing exclaimed, "Holy hell, this donkey understands human speech!"
Chen Chao and Sun Zhao exchanged a glance, a sudden thought occurring to both of them.
Chen Chao said, "Lao Sun, that kid Shen Xin... he didn’t actually use this donkey to solve the case, did he?"
Sun Zhao sized up Yi Wan and retorted, "What do you think?"
Chen Chao was completely at a loss for words. He’d gotten used to the cats and dogs, not to mention the parrot and the monkey, but now there was even a donkey.
The truck driver sped away.
Lv Youwei waved his hand, telling Ding Yuwei to tie the donkey to a tree for now. They would deal with it later.
They needed to hurry up and go pick up their guy.
「Nanjiang High-speed Railway Station」
After dealing with the last traveler who wanted a photo with Tian Kui, Shen Xin led the dog off the train as if he’d been granted amnesty.
After another day of fermenting in the news cycle, Tian Kui had become a full-blown internet sensation.
That photo of him running through the night was just too cool. Combined with what he had done, it had set the entire internet ablaze.
That’s why on the entire trip from Ningshan, so many people had wanted to take pictures with Tian Kui.
But just after getting off the train and not walking very far, he saw Lv Youwei and the others on the platform.
Good lord, there were more than a dozen of them, all in uniform. It was such a spectacle that anyone passing by couldn’t help but stare.
They were obviously here to pick him up.
’I was thinking maybe someone from the team who was free might drive over to pick me up,’ Shen Xin thought. But he knew that was a pipe dream and had resigned himself to taking a taxi. He never expected them to give him this much face—even Director Lv had come.
Shen Xin hurried to greet them.
"Director Lv, Director Wang, why did you come to pick me up yourselves? This is too much, I’m embarrassed."
’The directors came in person. What does that mean? It means they value me!’
Zhao Tianxing, standing nearby, said with a smirk, "You’re overthinking it. You think we came to pick you up? Wrong. We’re here for Tian Kui."
As he spoke, he plastered on a huge grin and went to greet Tian Kui.
Tian Kui turned his head away, ignoring him.
Shen Xin’s smile froze on his face. ’My heart aches,’ he thought. ’After all this, I’m still less important than a police dog.’
"Alright, stop playing the victim," Lv Youwei said as he came forward, patting Shen Xin’s shoulder with a smile. "You did a good job too, kid. You’ve brought honor to the Tingyang Branch."
It was true that Tian Kui saved people, but Shen Xin was there on the scene too.
Not to mention, Tian Kui was personally trained by Shen Xin.
He said that, but after that one sentence of praise, his attention immediately shifted to Tian Kui. He crouched down and greeted the dog with a wide smile.
Then he saw the bandage on Tian Kui’s paw, and his expression twisted with heartache. He declared that as soon as they got back, he’d have someone stew some pig’s trotters for Tian Kui to help him recover.
He even shot a glance at Shen Xin, a look that seemed to say, ’Is this how you take care of Tian Kui?’
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