Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 384 Jiang Hai's Aspirations

After Yan Chenxi walked away, Li Meng kicked Chen Chuan without hesitation and held up two fingers in front of him, waving them: "Hurry up, I'll give you a few puffs of my cigarette."

Chen Chuan's white cigarettes were known as a rare find among his close classmates at the police academy. These days, disciplinary departments are stricter, and inspection agencies are more vigilant; police officers can no longer act as freely as they did in the past.

Being able to smoke some good cigarettes and drink some good wine is enough to make me content; I dare not think about anything else, whether it's real or not.

Having embarrassed Li Meng earlier, Chen Chuan chuckled, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, tossed one to her, and lit it for her: "Li Da, this is the new model this year. Do you like the taste?"

He had a grinning face, as if the mockery he had just done had never happened.

The weather in June is like Chen Chuan's face—it can change in an instant.

Li Meng was used to Chen Chuan's nonchalant attitude, so she didn't bother with him. She took the cigarette, put it in her mouth, lit it with a lighter, and casually asked, "Chen Shu, how are things going with you in the SWAT team?"

Chen Shu laughed and said, "It's alright. It's just about making a living, it's all the same no matter where you are."

Chen Chuan pulled a pack of cigarettes with a yellow outer packaging from his buttocks, tore off the brand-new transparent film, pulled out two cigarettes, lit one for himself, and then stuffed the almost brand-new cigarette pack into Chen Shu's hand.

Li Meng saw this move and knew that Chen Chuan was deliberately showing off to annoy her, obviously because the yellow cigarettes were much more valuable than the white ones.

Chen Chuan exhaled a smoke ring, put his hand on Li Meng's shoulder, and looked on with a nostalgic glint in his eyes. His tone was tinged with emotion: "Things are different now. Criminal investigation is no longer popular. Following Chen Shu to the SWAT team, I finally realized that this is where a man should be."

Li Meng slapped Chen Chuan's hand off his shoulder in disgust, then turned to Chen Shu and said, "It's fine to stay with the SWAT team for a few days, but from a career planning perspective, you should transfer to the operational team as soon as possible. My mentor, Ren Guoqing, and Director Zhang have a very good relationship. If you want to come to our Criminal Investigation Division, I can put in a good word for you."

Li Meng's idea was good, and it was also a form of compensation for Chen Shu taking the blame for him during the previous case of arresting the murderer Lao A. Or rather, he wanted to make amends, which is why he deliberately tried to befriend Chen Shu during his previous persuasion. This was completely different from his usual behavior towards Chen Shu.

Chen Chuan, who was standing to the side, overheard these words and was secretly overjoyed.

As a technical investigator working in the city bureau's stronghold of princelings, he knew the true opinions of Director Wang, who had risen through the ranks from traffic management, and several other members of the branch bureau's leadership team about Chen Shu. They all wished they could recruit him as soon as possible and cultivate him properly.

Chen Chuan raised his hand to pick at his ear, preparing to mock Li Meng again, but then he noticed Chen Shu was walking out.

"You guys chat, I'll go over there first."

Chen Shu saw Jiang Hai strolling slowly out of the teaching building from afar, glanced at the school gate a few times, and then ran towards where Yan Chenxi was standing.

He walked briskly, clearly having done well on the exam.

His mood improved, and he joked, "I think being a SWAT officer is pretty good. These days, it's hard to find a job that pays you a salary and lets you get some exercise."

Li Meng frowned: "Chen Shu, think about it again carefully. When you have time, you can go to the intranet and look through the files of those high-ranking leaders; see which one has SWAT experience."

Chen Shu patted Li Meng on the shoulder nonchalantly and said, "Alright, thanks for your concern. Let's talk about it again when we have time."

After saying that, he walked towards where Yan Chenxi and Jiang Hai were.

Jiang Hai was considered one of his younger friends. He had played a significant role in cracking a case involving organized crime on campus. He was an ambitious and responsible young man.

"Brother Shu, you're here too!"

When Jiang Hai saw Chen Shu, he immediately greeted him warmly, his face full of joy.

Chen Shu nodded and asked, "How did the exam go?"

Jiang Hai scratched his head, wanting to say something modest, but he was afraid of being looked down upon by this policeman. Finally, unable to contain his excitement, he revealed the thought that had been hidden in his heart for a whole year: "If nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to become your junior brother."

Chen Shu couldn't help but laugh at his arrogant demeanor, but when he heard that he wanted to apply to the police academy, he suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.

"Being a policeman isn't easy," Jiang Hai said dismissively, pursing his lips. "My physical fitness is pretty good."

Chen Shu was both amused and exasperated; this had absolutely nothing to do with physical fitness.

Yan Chenxi suddenly said, "Brother Shu, Xiao Hai has finished his exams. How about we have lunch together?"

Upon hearing his sister's invitation, Jiang Hai's eyes lit up, and he nodded excitedly, "Okay!"

Chen Shu was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Isn't there another match this afternoon?"

"Brother Shu, their college entrance exam is different from ours. Now it's all elective, and some subjects don't need to be tested." Yan Chenxi covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes curving like crescent moons, fair and tender.

“Okay, then we’ll leave after my morning shift. Why don’t you guys rest under the tent for a while?” Chen Shu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

The special police brigade actually benefited greatly from the joint patrol team operation with Yangyi Street, which was under Yan Chenxi's jurisdiction last time. Captain Li Da, who was always in the limelight, kept saying that he had to treat Yan Chenxi to a meal, and even Xie Chi, the notoriously stingy deputy instructor, unusually agreed.

"yeah!"

Jiang Hai jumped up, clearly the happiest of the three.

After Yan Chenxi and her brother entered the tent, Chen Chuan, who had been silently sitting next to Chen Shu, smiled meaningfully.

"Is this my junior brother or my brother-in-law?"

At noon, at a steakhouse on Lianhua Road.

Considering that Chen Shu would be on duty in the afternoon, everyone chose a restaurant not far from the examination site. This steakhouse was located next to a ditch, but fortunately the air conditioning inside was on full blast, so everyone was finally able to stop smelling the sauerkraut from the river.

"Please sit down, please sit down." Chen Chuan's smile was very approachable and made people feel very warm, just like a kind older brother next door.

As for seating arrangements, Chen Shu and Chen Chuan sat in one row, while Yan Chenxi and Jiang Hai sat opposite them.

"Hello, how well-done would you like it?" asked the waiter in a suit standing to the side politely.

Chen Shu rubbed his teacup, originally intending to order the "well-done" tea he was used to, but then his foot hurt. It turned out that Chen Chuan, who was sitting next to him, had anticipated his prediction.

“We need 70% for both of our shares,” Chen Chuan, his good friend, made the decision on our behalf.

The gentle Yan Chenxi demanded a bloody 30%, while her younger brother Jiang Hai demanded 90%.

Today is the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao). While waiting for the food to be served, the group chatted about the topic, and naturally, they ended up talking about Jiang Hai's upcoming college application.

"Is the police academy very tough?" Yan Chenxi asked, tilting her head.

Chen Shu turned to look at Jiang Hai and said seriously, "No matter how hard or difficult the police academy studies are, it's only four years. Besides, the school will protect everyone very well, so there's no question of it being hard."

"You'll only understand how incredibly tough this profession is once you graduate and start working. If you have any other ideas, I wouldn't recommend you become a police officer."

Chen Chuan picked up a pitcher of lemonade and poured it for everyone, casually adding, "What Chen Shu said is both right and wrong. Those young and promising people who were promoted early, or those who work nine-to-five in the bureau, are quite happy with their jobs."

Chen Shu took a sip of lemonade and said calmly, "In reality, most people will eventually lose all the remaining ambition and aspirations they had during their student days due to the endless shifts and overtime at grassroots units. They were pretty much like you are now, Jiang Hai, when they were studying."

Yan Chenxi and Jiang Hai, the siblings, exchanged a glance. They never expected that this exemplary policeman, affectionately known as "Sanlang of Dongzhou" by the masses, would make such negative remarks in private.

Is this policeman really as incompetent as he claims?

(End of this chapter)