Chapter 18: Fang Xiaocao—There’s a Bonus Too?
Fang Xiaocao wanted to use a pillow to smack Su Wanqing to death.
Giving beer to a patient…
Is that something a normal person would do?
At this moment, Fang Xiaocao suddenly felt a bit lucky.
Fortunately, she had been thirsty earlier when Su Wanqing wasn’t around.
Otherwise, with Su Wanqing’s reckless nature, she might have actually pried her mouth open and forced a can of beer down her throat.
“Come on, drink up!”
“Spicy hot pot with beer—nothing beats that!”
Su Wanqing’s hearty laughter made Fang Xiaocao imagine the hilarious sight of Zhang Fei and Li Kui performing the ballet Swan Lake together.
“Why didn’t you just buy some duck neck too?”
Fang Xiaocao rolled her eyes, speaking with annoyance.
“Huh?”
Su Wanqing was momentarily stunned.
Then, as if she had a sudden realization, her eyes lit up. “Oh yeah! Why didn’t I think of that?”
Saying that, she immediately shot up from her chair and bolted out of the hospital room.
As she ran, she called back, “Xiaocao, wait for me! I’ll go get some right now!”
“And spicy crayfish too! Perfect with beer!”
Watching Su Wanqing’s fiery departure, Fang Xiaocao opened her mouth, but in the end, didn’t stop her.
“I’m exhausted… let the world end already…”
Fang Xiaocao muttered lifelessly.
At that moment, the hospital room door opened.
She turned toward the sound and saw Song Lin and Wang Qiang walk in.
Behind them was the young policewoman who had taken her statement last time.
“The doctor said you were awake, so we came to check on you,” Song Lin, dressed in a hospital gown, said with a smile.
After being held captive in a filthy, rundown basement for six whole months, Song Lin’s once strong and sturdy body had become frail and weak, riddled with ailments. Now that he had been rescued, he was staying in the hospital for treatment.
His hospital room was right next to Fang Xiaocao’s. Since Wang Qiang and the young policewoman were coming to take her statement anyway, they brought him along to visit.
“Captain Song, please have a seat!”
Fang Xiaocao greeted with a smile.
Song Lin nodded with a chuckle and was about to sit down when his eyes landed on the bedside table—where there was spicy hot pot and beer.
His expression instantly became… complicated.
“Not even discharged yet, and you’re already eating…”
Halfway through, he paused, seemingly struggling to find the right words.
“Heh heh…”
Fang Xiaocao let out an awkward laugh.
But in her heart, she was already sending thoughts to Su Wanqing.
“Su Wanqing, why don’t you just drop dead?!”
“Su Wanqing, do you even have a brain?!”
“Su Wanqing, THANK YOU SO MUCH!”
Fang Xiaocao felt that having a “good friend” like Su Wanqing was truly her… misfortune of eight lifetimes.
“Oh?”
“Already enjoying some beer?”
Wang Qiang teased with a grin.
Fang Xiaocao grinned sheepishly.
So embarrassing!
She wanted to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it.
“My bestie bought it…”
After a long silence, Fang Xiaocao finally mumbled weakly.
“Pfft—”
Hearing her feeble explanation, Wang Qiang burst into laughter.
Song Lin and the young policewoman also struggled to suppress their amusement.
As seasoned detectives, they had seen their fair share of bizarre situations, and they could easily guess what had happened.
After all, they had encountered even more ridiculous cases before.
Like the foolish younger brother who fed his unconscious, critically injured older brother a bottle of baijiu, claiming, “My bro loves to drink! If he has a sip, he’ll wake up!”
Unfortunately… his brother’s medication contained cephalosporins.
One mouthful of alcohol, and just after being wheeled out of the emergency room, he was rushed right back in.
“Xiao Li, go buy a bowl of porridge for Xiaocao.”
Song Lin turned to the young policewoman with a smile.
“Got it, Captain Song.”
She nodded and left the room.
“Even though your injuries aren’t too serious, it’s better to eat light food while you recover,” Song Lin advised kindly.
Fang Xiaocao gave him a grateful look.
“Xiaocao, you’re seriously bold!”
Wang Qiang laughed.
“It was an emergency situation!”
Fang Xiaocao smiled sheepishly.
“By the way, did you catch Qi Yu?”
She looked at Wang Qiang curiously.
Before she lost consciousness, she vaguely remembered hearing his voice.
“Yeah, he’s in the ICU now.”
“He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, so he wasn’t as lucky as you—his injuries are pretty severe.”
Wang Qiang chuckled.
“Your car is probably totaled.”
“I applied for a ‘Bravery Award’ for you at the bureau. The bonus isn’t much, but it’s something to make up for your loss.”
Hearing this, Fang Xiaocao’s eyes lit up.
“There’s a bonus too?”
“Yep, I applied for it just for you.”
“There’s also a certificate and a banner.”
“I’ll have the publicity department deliver it straight to your school later.”
Wang Qiang smiled.
“If you need to handle the scrapping process for your car, I can help arrange it.”
Song Lin chimed in with a smile.
Both officers had taken a liking to Fang Xiaocao because of her courage and decisiveness, so they were more than willing to lend her a hand.
“Thank you, Captain Song!”
Fang Xiaocao smiled brightly.
“Oh, right, Captain Song.”
“You mentioned that Qi Yu was involved in something else?”
“What exactly was it?”
“I wouldn’t have rammed into him if you hadn’t said that.”
Fang Xiaocao asked, her curiosity piqued.
“This Qi Yu… does have another case on him.”
Song Lin nodded solemnly.
“I only found out about it after being captured.”
“The case is still under investigation, so I can’t disclose the details.”
A flicker of memory flashed in Song Lin’s eyes before he chuckled.
“But, I can tell you a story.”
“Back when I was undercover, I accidentally obtained a piece of intel that was extremely important to him.”
“For the past six months, he hasn’t killed me because he was trying to get that information out of me.”
“If I had given in, he probably would’ve finished me off long ago.”
After finishing, Song Lin smiled and said, “That should clear up some of your doubts, right?”
“Actually, what you really wanted to ask was—‘Why didn’t Qi Yu just kill you?’”
Song Lin directly exposed her inner thoughts.
Caught red-handed, Fang Xiaocao stuck out her tongue playfully, giggling shyly.
“Alright, enough chit-chat for now.”
“Let’s get your statement recorded first.”
“Tell us in detail how you tracked Qi Yu and found me.”
Song Lin glanced at the time and smiled.
Fang Xiaocao nodded and turned to Wang Qiang.
Wang Qiang opened his notebook. “Alright, we can start now.”
Fang Xiaocao organized her thoughts, carefully omitting any mention of Hot Noodles, and tweaked the story slightly before recounting the events.
“Hahaha, smart and brave!”
After hearing her story, Song Lin laughed.
Fang Xiaocao chuckled proudly.
After all, being praised by a legendary detective was a huge honor!
Even if he had slipped up this time and gotten caught, it didn’t change the fact that she admired his past achievements.
(End of Chapter 18)
