Volume One, Chapter Four: I'm Not Harassing Women, I'm Catching Criminals—This Is a Lucky Charm

The passengers, who had been all riled up moments before, suddenly erupted like a powder keg, frantically rushing off the bus.

“Oh my god, if that thing explodes, people are going to die!”

Zheng Yongnian’s face flushed with alarm—this was an act of revenge against society.

Xie Changkun, seasoned from years on the front lines, shouted loudly, “Quick, get it off the bus carefully! Don’t let it detonate!”

The police officer who found the explosive handled it cautiously as he stepped off the bus.

Once the item was safely removed, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, especially Xie Changkun. This was his territory—if such a serious social incident had occurred, he would bear responsibility.

The officers who had been somewhat sympathetic toward the man in shorts earlier now showed no mercy. “Damn it, trying to cause trouble, huh? You nearly cost us the year-end bonuses!” They twisted his hands behind his back with force.

The man in shorts screamed in agony, but no one offered him sympathy anymore.

The officers then pulled a windproof lighter from his pocket—solid evidence.

“Take him back to the station for a thorough interrogation!” Xie Changkun ordered with a wave of his hand.

“Understood!”

“Well done!”

The passengers under the bus broke into applause, the atmosphere charged with enthusiasm. Even the beautiful young woman forgot herself and absentmindedly brushed her hair.

Zheng Yongnian and Xie Changkun both beamed with pride. What had started as a bad incident was now a triumph under their wise leadership—the rookie officers had bravely stopped a crime, saving lives and property. A definite achievement.

This, they thought, was what you call the dual nature of things.

A few officers stepped down from the bus, and Zheng Yongnian now looked favorably at Ye Lin. “Little Ye, how did you suspect this man was trouble?”

Ye Lin straightened up, pointed to the beautiful young woman nearby, and with a sly grin said, “Look, sir, this young lady is beautiful, right? Her legs are fair, her figure’s attractive, right?”

Zheng Yongnian’s face darkened. “I asked you to talk about the case, the merits, not to talk about the beauty!”

The young woman blushed shyly at Ye Lin’s public compliment, her coyness adding a unique charm that drew the gazes of many around her.

“Ahem, Little Ye, focus on the case and the suspect,” Xie Changkun reminded him.

Ye Lin tore his lecherous eyes away from the woman. “Reporting to the leader, there are three main points.”

“Oh? Three points? Alright, go ahead.”

All eyes turned to Ye Lin. The passengers were curious how this little rogue—no, this young officer—had made his observations.

“First, this guy got on the bus with this beauty, yet he didn’t even glance at her once—not a bit decent.”

“Oh, that’s definitely abnormal.”

Ye Lin glanced again at the young woman, licking his lips discreetly.

Zheng Yongnian now regretted letting Ye Lin speak on the spot. This guy had no shame, not only embarrassing himself but the entire police force.

However, the passengers simply nodded along.

“Makes sense. As a man, how could you not look?”

“Exactly, if you don’t look, you’re either a pervert or gay!”

“Beauty and good food must never be missed.”

The men loudly agreed, prompting several female passengers to roll their eyes and glare less kindly at the young woman.

One fierce woman even grabbed her man’s waist and twisted it sharply.

“Did you look too?”

“No, honey, you’re right here—I wouldn’t dare.”

“So you’d look if I weren’t here?”

“That’s not what I meant, dear.”

“I know exactly what you mean. No man’s trustworthy. Hmph.” The woman squeezed harder.

“Ouch—”

The man’s pain was real.

“Alright, second point. Continue,” Xie Changkun hurriedly interrupted, eager to move beyond the first point’s levity.

“Second, I smelled gasoline. Normally, a faint gasoline smell on a bus isn’t unusual, but to smell it alongside the woman's scent? That’s not normal at all,” Ye Lin explained.

Xie Changkun paused, noticing Ye Lin circling back to the beautiful woman again.

Seeing Ye Lin glance once more at the woman, he quickly waved him off. “Next point.”

“Oh, third: when I was standing behind and touching that woman’s hair, only this guy’s eyes showed no hatred. All the other men, though they cursed me, gazed with envy, wishing they could be me.”

At this, a few male passengers smiled awkwardly—it was true. They had all secretly wished to lift that woman’s hair themselves.

“Ouch—”

The unfortunate middle-aged man was once again painfully twisted by his wife.

Seeing the topic shift back to the young woman, Xie Changkun could take no more and cut in, “Good job, Little Ye. Very observant.”

“Director Zheng, shall we take the suspect inside for questioning?” Xie Changkun gestured.

Zheng Yongnian immediately understood—they couldn’t let this guy ramble on any longer; if they did, the police would no longer be police but degenerate scoundrels.

“Alright, everyone, rest assured we will uncover the truth and severely punish any criminals. If there’s nothing else, please continue your journeys.” Zheng Yongnian smiled warmly at the passengers.

Only then did the crowd remember their own affairs and hurriedly boarded the bus.

Zheng Yongnian even praised the driver, who pressed the accelerator hard.

“Screech!”

A black plume of smoke shot out as the bus sped away from the precinct, making Zheng Yongnian and Xie Changkun cough uncontrollably.

Once the crowd had dispersed, the two men’s faces turned grave.

“Xiao Lin, Xiao Ye, come inside with me,” Xie Changkun called.

Before they could enter, officers rushed out excitedly.

“Director Zheng, Chief Xie, the guy gave himself up. He’s been discontent with life, planned to commit suicide, but also felt society was unfair, so he wanted to take revenge by dousing the bus with gasoline and setting it on fire.”

“Good! Well done, Little Ye!” Zheng Yongnian’s face lit up with a broad smile.

He hadn’t expected that escorting officials would lead to such a scene on site. This would surely go down in the record books as his leadership achievement. The rookie had brought a remarkable gift right on his first day—a true talent.

“Old Xie, you called him a troublemaker, but I say he’s a lucky charm. First day on the job and he brings such a gift to your station. You should be thanking me! And don’t forget to request a van from headquarters—you’re being ungrateful.”

“I’ll report back to the leadership about the van. For now, I’m off.”