Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 535 Return Gift
Chen Shu had a dream.

In his dream, twenty-eight ghosts of various shapes and sizes, each with a sinister and terrifying appearance, were chasing after him, demanding his life. In reality, Chen Shu had always scoffed at such things, but for some reason, in his dream, he was covered in sweat and only knew how to run away, not even daring to look back.

The dream suddenly shifted to a desolate Gobi Desert.

In the dark of night, Yumaiken sat by the campfire, staring at the flickering flames, and slowly murmured, "A person who cannot give up anything is destined to be unable to change anything."

In his dream, Chen Shu sat attentively listening when he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Turning around, he saw a grotesque face with blue eyes and fangs close to him, staring intently at him with wide, white, pupil-less eyes.

"Give me back my life! Give us back our lives!"

"You actually blew up twenty-eight of us alive!"

"They're all dead! You blew them all up!"

"You're so cruel~"

"How ruthless!"

"Ruthless~"
-
"call!"

Chen Shu sat up abruptly, only then realizing that he was in his bedroom at home.

I glanced out the window; the first rays of dawn were breaking, and the sky was beginning to lighten.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Chen Shu shook his head and smiled bitterly. He got out of bed, went to the bathroom to wash up, and then went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.

After gulping down a glass of wine, Chen Shu picked up his phone, flopped onto the sofa, and started scrolling through his WeChat chat history. Besides the usual "99+" messages in work groups, he unexpectedly received a WeChat message from Zhu Li.

They said they wanted him to come to the Criminal Investigation Department when he had time, because they had something to discuss with him.

Just then, his phone rang. After glancing at the number, Chen Shu answered with a smile, "Mom, why are you calling so early? Aren't you afraid of waking your precious son up?"

"What's all the noise about? You know you're awake. I've been checking your WeChat steps."

Chen Shu was stunned. Was this even possible? He just didn't know whether to describe it as a mother's love or a mother's worry.

"By the way, son. Did you reciprocate when your friend gave you clothes and a watch last time?"

In NX, Julie wanted Chen Shu to have a proper outfit for Xiao Qiang's funeral. Since Chen Shu was distracted at the time, Julie decided to buy him a complete suit.

At the time, Chen Shu was in a state of confusion and didn't think too much. Basically, he just took the things and put them on as soon as they were handed to him, without really thinking about it.

"Mom, I completely forgot about this. What kind of return gift should we give?"

"Hehe, is there even a question? Of course, I'll treat that girl to a meal first. Ah, no, no, the gift she gave me was so valuable, one meal isn't enough. Let me tell you, treat her once a week, and ten times in a row will be about right."

It seems like they're voluntarily offering themselves up for a long-term meal ticket.

"..." A line of crows flew past Chen Shu's head, cawing loudly, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

"Mom, how do you know it's a woman? And who returns a gift by inviting someone to dinner? Ten times in a row? Do you think your son is stupid?"

"Tsk tsk, I knew it was a girl, and she's definitely a pretty one. You little rascal, don't you dare let her down."

"Beep beep beep!"

Unable to bear his mother's nagging early in the morning, Chen Shu immediately turned off his phone. After thinking for a moment, he put it back on silent, then let out a long sigh and sat down on the sofa.

It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that you have to treat someone to ten meals, but you should at least treat them to one meal.

We also need to prepare a suitable gift to send back.

Hmm, what should we do?
After a moment's thought, the names of several female friends came to mind, but for some reason, Chen Shu was somewhat unwilling, or rather, dared not call to inquire.

After much thought, he finally approached the office clerk at his workplace, who was also his junior colleague, Zou Qing.

Since it was still early, I only sent a WeChat message. To my surprise, she replied with an OK sign in a short while, saying that she had to go back to have dinner with her father that evening, so she could only come to pick her up during the day.

"This little girl, she gets up pretty early."

Chen Shu was somewhat surprised. When he was younger, he would stay up all night on weekends, eating, drinking, and singing karaoke, and he would never go home before midnight.

After breakfast, I drove to pick her up at the address Zou Qing had sent.

The car was still that black Golf GTR. After driving it for so long, Chen Shu finally realized that there was no need to buy a car with a very good engine, because he was driving in the city and there was traffic on both sides.

Better engines consume more fuel and are noisier.

Maybe it's because he's getting old; he was a young man who used to modify cars back in the day.

When they arrived at the entrance of the residential area, Zou Qing was already dressed and ready, standing on the roadside.

She sported a cool, short haircut, wore a sporty cotton jacket, a red scarf and gloves, and carried a small white bag.

Upon seeing his car, Zou Qing smiled and waved, then got in as soon as the car stopped and she opened the passenger door.

Chen Shu turned the car around and headed towards Yintai Department Store, casually asking, "Zou Qing, you're awake so early? Didn't you do anything for the night?"

Zou Qing blinked her dark circles: "I just got home and I got your WeChat message."

Chen Shu said "Oh," and then suddenly realized that he had sent her the WeChat message not long after he woke up that morning.

Sniffing again, I noticed a faint smell of alcohol emanating from Zou Qing, but thankfully, it wasn't too strong.

"Staying up all night? Looks like I underestimated you Gen Z kids."

Zou Qing chuckled and joked, "Senior brother, we only have these two days to drink, so we have to make up for the whole week's worth by drinking together."

Then he started counting on his fingers: "Red wine for dinner, spirits at the bar, beer for late-night snacks, and baijiu (Chinese liquor) for breakfast."

Chen Shu interrupted helplessly: "You are still a girl after all. Don't be like those male police officers and get drunk all the time. Be careful you won't be able to get married."

"Then marry me!" Zou Qingfang secretly agreed, but outwardly she still bickered: "Don't worry, senior brother, I'm just slacking off when we're drinking. I just like to persuade those boys to drink, and deliberately watch them get drunk and put on a show, it's so much fun!"

"Fine, I can't argue with you. By the way, do you go home to visit your parents every weekend? That's a good habit."

"I mainly want to be with my dad. He's in the military most of the year, and I always make sure to be with him when he comes home."

"Your dad's in the military? No wonder you applied to the police academy. Your mom raised you when you were little?"

No, I grew up at my grandfather's house when I was little.

Mentioning her grandfather, Zou Qing's smile deepened, revealing a very close relationship: "Actually, I'm like a tomboy, probably all because of my grandfather. He loved taking me around when I was little, but now that he's older, he doesn't want to move around much and spends his days singing and dancing at the retirement home."

"A retirement home? I didn't realize you came from a military family."

Retirement homes for retired military personnel are directly affiliated units established by various military regions, primarily serving retired military officers. To be admitted to a retirement home, one must be a significant figure in the military.

When we arrived at Yintai, it was only a little before 10 a.m., and the mall had just opened. Apart from the staff, there weren't many customers inside.

In fact, the rise and impact of e-commerce has had a significant effect on traditional department stores. For example, Chen Shu now buys clothes on Taobao or Tmall, following his old shopping habits by picking out some clothes and shoes and buying them.

He hadn't bought clothes in a mall for many years. Firstly, they were expensive, and secondly, they took too much time; neither was as convenient as buying them from home using his phone.

"Senior brother, are you buying a gift for my future sister-in-law today?"

Zou Qing walked ahead with her hands behind her back, turned her head, blinked, and asked playfully.

(End of this chapter)