Reborn in Hong Kong Island, I can see loyalty

Ye Haoxuan looked at her flushed earlobes, a faint smile playing on his lips, and gently patted her shoulder.

“I believe you. From your accurate capture of Ah Lang’s micro-expressions in the interrogation room, to your swift subjugation of the remaining gang members just now, and now your attention to the paint clues, you’ve done a better job than many veteran officers.”

This recognition wasn't a deliberate attempt to appease him, but rather a heartfelt appreciation. He could feel that the tacit understanding between them was deepening little by little as their intimacy level increased.

A dozen minutes later, the police car stopped at a secluded intersection near the Cheng Hsin Hardware Store in Yau Ma Tei.

Stephen Chow was already waiting by the roadside. Upon seeing the police car, he immediately approached and reported in a low voice:

“Brother Xuan, Liqing, the contact went into that narrow alley ahead. I had the police follow him from a distance. He went into a shop called ‘Shiguang Gallery’ and didn’t come out again.”

“Shiguang Gallery?” Yang Liqing’s eyes lit up and he immediately looked at Ye Haoxuan. “Team Leader Ye, this is most likely the one! A gallery that can be located in the old streets of Yau Ma Tei is very likely to sell imported paints. I’ll go and take a look to see if it’s the right kind.”

Ye Haoxuan nodded and quickly made arrangements: "Xingxing, you take two people to guard the front and back doors of the gallery to prevent the contact from escaping, but don't alert him. Liqing, you come in with me, pretend to buy a painting, take the opportunity to check the paint type, and keep an eye on the contact's movements. Lao Gui is still at the hardware store; we'll deal with him after we figure out the situation at the gallery."

The two walked into the narrow alley. The wooden sign of the gallery gleamed in the twilight. Several landscape oil paintings were displayed at the entrance, and the faint scent of paint mixed with turpentine wafted from inside.

Yang Liqing leaned closer to the oil painting by the door, her fingertips lightly brushing the edge of the canvas. She turned to Ye Haoxuan and whispered:

"It's this paint! The brown paint on the canvas smells exactly like the powder in the footprints in the back alley."

A sharp glint flashed in Ye Haoxuan's eyes as he pushed open the door and went in first.

The gallery owner, a middle-aged woman, was tidying up her art supplies when she saw the two enter. She smiled and stood up to greet them.

"What would you two like to see? These are all works by local artists."

"Just browsing." Ye Haoxuan's gaze swept across the gallery. In a corner booth, a curtain hung, and he could vaguely hear voices coming from inside. It was the contact person in the black trench coat.

He gestured for Yang Liqing to look out for the cubicle, then walked to the counter, pointed to a can of paint, and asked:

"Boss, has anyone bought this Belgian imported paint recently? My friend is looking for the same one."

The boss's smile froze for a moment, his eyes darting nervously towards the cubicle:

"No, no... This kind of paint is rarely bought. I only have one can left."

Yang Liqing stepped forward at the opportune moment, picked up the can of paint, and said in a natural tone:

"Boss, are these paints not new? The rim of the can is worn, and this type of paint should be out of stock recently. I went to Central Gallery last week to ask, and they said they couldn't get any in stock."

She deliberately pointed out the flaw, her eyes fixed on the boss's expression.

The boss's face grew increasingly grim. Just as he was about to speak in his defense, the curtain of the cubicle was suddenly lifted, and the contact in a black trench coat rushed out, clutching a short knife, and ran towards the door.

"Stop him!" Ye Haoxuan shouted sharply, shoved the boss aside, and chased after the contact.

Yang Liqing reacted quickly, stepping to the side to block the contact and raising his hand to deflect the knife that was being swung at him. His arm was cut by the knife, and blood immediately seeped out.

"Hiss—" She gasped, but did not back down. Instead, taking advantage of the moment when the contact was stunned, she kicked him in the knee.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Haoxuan stepped forward, grabbed the contact's wrist with his backhand, the short knife clattered to the ground, and the handcuffs locked instantly.

He turned to look at Yang Liqing's arm, his brows furrowing, a hint of tension in his voice:

"How's it going? Is everything okay?"

He could sense that the moment Yang Liqing disregarded the danger and stood in front of him, their intimacy level fluctuated slightly, moving closer to a higher value.

Yang Liqing shook his head, pressed a tissue against the wound, and smiled resolutely:

"It's nothing, just a minor injury. Luckily, we stopped him, otherwise the trail would have gone cold again."

She looked at the subdued contact, her eyes filled with determination. This fearless attitude towards solving the case convinced Ye Haoxuan that the 88 points of loyalty were no exaggeration.

At this moment, Stephen Chow also rushed in with police officers and took the contact person aside.

Ye Haoxuan picked up the black plastic bag that the contact had dropped, opened it, and found several packets of drugs and an arms deal list inside. The list vaguely contained the words "Phnom Penh Rubber Factory" and "Art Studio Transfer Station," which matched Ah Lang's confession and the paint clues.

"Boss, tell me honestly, what's your relationship with this guy? And what about the man with the scar on his left arm who bought this kind of paint? Has he been here before?"

Ye Haoxuan walked to the counter, placed the paint on the table, and spoke in a cold tone.

The boss was so frightened that he trembled all over and dared not hide anything any longer. He slumped into his chair and said:

“I said… that man with the scar came three days ago, bought paints and canvases, and said he wanted to paint in the private room. This guy in the trench coat just now came to retrieve something he hid in his painting… I really didn’t know they were gangsters; I just wanted to do some business…”

Ye Haoxuan and Yang Liqing exchanged a glance, both seeing the same understanding in each other's eyes—the escaped remnants of the gang were indeed hiding here, and the gallery was the transit point for Lin Huaiyue's remnants to hide contraband.

He raised his hand and patted Yang Liqing on the shoulder, his tone full of approval:

"Thank goodness you could recognize the paint, otherwise we would have had to take a much longer route. Treat the wound first, and leave the rest to us."

Yang Liqing nodded, feeling a warm feeling in her heart as she watched Ye Haoxuan's busy figure.

She knew that her trust and loyalty to Ye Haoxuan would grow stronger with each battle they fought side by side.

Ye Haoxuan also knew that the 93 loyalty points and 76 intimacy points were just the beginning, and this young policewoman would eventually become one of his most reliable comrades.