"We are police officers here to investigate a case. Could you please call your person in charge? We need to ask him a few questions."
"Of course, please wait a moment. I’ll make a call to inform him." Realizing the identity of the visitors, the receptionist immediately picked up the phone.
While meeting the company’s person in charge usually requires an appointment, police officers are an exception—they have that privilege.
Soon, the receptionist put down the phone, clearly having completed the communication.
"Please follow me, this way."
Led by the receptionist, the police officers arrived at the office of the company’s person in charge.
After knocking on the door, a deep, robust male voice came from inside.
"Come in."
The receptionist pushed the door open: "Boss Hu, they’re here."
"Alright, you can leave now." After saying this, Boss Hu patted the petite secretary beside him, who was wearing a tight skirt, black stockings, and red-bottomed stilettos: "You too, go out."
As he spoke, he stood up to greet the officers.
In this line of work, few have completely clean hands. Seeing the police was like a mouse seeing a cat—he had none of the usual airs of a boss.
"Please, have a seat. Officers, would you like some tea?"
"No, thank you. We’re just here to ask you a few questions." Han Fei got straight to the point: "Your company was in charge of the construction of Binjiang Bridge, correct?"
After a brief moment of thought, Boss Hu nodded.
"Yes, that’s right. Why do you ask?"
"Are the employees who worked on the bridge still with the company?"
This question stumped Boss Hu. While he had some memory of Binjiang Bridge—after all, it was a relatively large project the company had undertaken years ago—he had no recollection of the specific employees involved. It had been over twenty years, and as the head of the company, he had too many things to manage. Minor details like that were long forgotten.
"Ah, I’m not entirely sure, but I doubt many of those employees are still here. It’s been over twenty years, after all."
"Officers, may I ask why you’re looking for them?" Boss Hu couldn’t help but inquire.
Having the police show up was never a good sign, especially when they brought up a project from twenty years ago. This was even more concerning.
Boss Hu wasn’t sure if this bad omen would involve him, so he wanted to get some clarity.
But seeing that Han Fei had no intention of answering, Boss Hu quickly changed his tone.
"Just curious. If you can’t say, forget I asked. Let me have someone look into it for you."
"Thank you, Boss Hu." Han Fei nodded.
"Not at all. The police and the public are like family. No need to talk about trouble or inconvenience."
...
Soon, Boss Hu received feedback from his subordinates.
A few employees who had worked on the Binjiang Bridge project were still with the company, and one of them was someone he knew well—his brother-in-law.
He didn’t immediately relay this information to the police. Instead, he excused himself to the restroom.
Of course, he wasn’t really going to use the restroom. He needed to call his brother-in-law to give him a heads-up and ask about the situation.
As soon as the call connected, Boss Hu got straight to the point.
"Hey, I need to ask you something. Did anything happen during the Binjiang Bridge project twenty years ago that I don’t know about?"
"Binjiang... Binjiang Bridge? Why are you asking about that, brother-in-law? What’s going on?"
Hearing the heavy breathing on the other end of the line, Boss Hu’s face darkened.
It was obvious what his brother-in-law was up to.
"All you do is play around. Can’t you focus on something serious for once?"
"What are you talking about, brother-in-law? I’m... I’m just jogging."
"Jogging my foot. You’re going to die on some woman’s stomach one day... I’m not calling to lecture you. Did anything happen at the Binjiang Bridge construction site back then?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
Just as Boss Hu thought his unreliable brother-in-law was trying to recall whether anything had happened, he heard a relieved sigh.
"Uh... huff!"
Then, a click: "Sorry, brother-in-law, I was busy just now. What did you say?"
His brother-in-law’s words were slightly slurred, clearly having just lit a cigarette.
With his experience, Boss Hu knew immediately that his brother-in-law hadn’t been jogging.
Panting like that, then lighting a cigarette? That wasn’t jogging!
But he didn’t have the energy to scold him now. He repeated his question.
"The Binjiang Bridge project? I don’t really remember. I don’t think anything happened. Besides, it was bridge construction, not a demolition. What could’ve gone wrong? Why are you asking, brother-in-law? Is something going on?"
"I’m not sure either," Boss Hu replied. "Some police officers came by earlier asking about Binjiang Bridge, but they didn’t say why. If nothing happened, that’s good. Come to the company. They’ll probably want to see you."
After hanging up, Boss Hu let out a deep breath.
His brother-in-law had been involved in the project back then. If he couldn’t recall anything significant, it likely meant nothing major had happened—at least nothing life-threatening.
Before leaving the restroom, Boss Hu washed his hands and deliberately didn’t dry them, returning to the office with damp hands.
He even put on a show in front of the officers, pretending to make a call to hurry things along.
"Why is it taking so long to look this up? What do I even pay you for?"
"Enough excuses. I need this ASAP. You’ve got two minutes. If you can’t get it done, don’t bother coming in tomorrow."
After "scolding" his subordinate, Boss Hu turned to Han Fei with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. My people are too slow, but I’ve pushed them. We should have the results soon."
He didn’t want the officers to know that the results were already in, nor did he want them to find out he’d tipped off his brother-in-law.
But just as he finished speaking, Xu Mo smiled and said, "Boss Hu, you were holding your phone upside down earlier. The screen was facing us."
Boss Hu: "..."