475 Picking on Me

Ring! Ring!

The loud ringing of the desk phone pierced through the silence of the office.

"Hello, this is Serious Crime Division One!"

Little Zhou from Administration picked up the call.

A second later, his back straightened. "Yes, Sir!"

After hanging up the phone, he quickly went to Bai Muchuan's office to relay the message.

"Boss, a VVIP—a minister is coming to visit our office, a really important one."

Bai Muchuan looked up from the pile of official documents and glanced at him. "Got it."

Little Zhou was dumbstruck for a moment.

Hmm, that's all?

He pointed outside. "So… Should I go out now?"

Bai Muchuan looked at him. "Do you want to stay for dinner with me?"

Little Zhou didn't know what to say. "…"

He closed the door of the office and quickly left in a huff.

Earlier, it was their Commissioner who had called. He said that a minister would come to visit and told him to inform everyone to prepare to receive the VVIP.

He had specially said that they have to treat it seriously. The supposed "to prepare" meant that they should make the office look clean and tidy, including the windows. All members of the team had to look spirited and full of morale. At least, that should be what they should project to the VVIP.

However, when he reported this to Bai Muchuan, the latter didn't ask him to make any arrangements to receive the VVIP at all.

Hence, the sloppy remained sloppy, the untidy remained untidy, the detectives had dark circles under their eyes like they were pandas, and they looked like they had not slept for three days.

It was evident that an inspection by one of the police heads with the detectives looking like that and the office documents pilling around… it was not appropriate.

However, his boss said nothing. How would he dare to tell everyone that a VVIP was on his way to their office?

Little Zhou was on his toes but no one else seemed to know about it since they behaved as per normal until their Commissioner brought the VVIP and entered the office.

Nobody was prepared at all. The whole team was busy with their work, and when the group of elderly visitors appeared out of the blue, they were in a daze.

"Cough!" The Commissioner with the surname Han looked dumbfounded for a moment since he didn't expect that. He had given them a heads up, but things would still remain the same at Serious Crime Division One. He gave an awkward cough. "Where is your Captain Bai?"

The one whom he caught was Tang Yuanchu.

The young fellow looked at the person who was the supposed VVIP and one of the major heads of the police. Somehow, he felt that the VVIP seemed familiar.

Since Commissioner Han asked him a question, he quickly replied with his back straight.

"He's in the office, Sir!"

Captain Bai—He didn't tell his team about this. He didn't come out to receive the VVIP, and most importantly, he was still sitting in his office.

Commissioner Han harrumphed, "Go get him, we'll have a short meeting now."

"Yes!"

Tang Yuanchu scuttled away.

Commissioner Han brought the VVIP to look around the place. He was shaking his head and frowned at the messy office, but the VVIP didn't show any sign of disgust, he even showed a smile. Because of that, Commissioner Han didn't do any explanation but continued to talk and show the VVIP around while saying that the comrades had been working very hard…

Bai Muchuan came out after three minutes.

He walked to the center of the office and clapped two times.

"All team leaders and vice team leaders, come to the small meeting room to have a short meeting."

Commissioner Han looked at him in surprise. "…"

He had said a short meeting, but Bai Muchuan really took it literally and used that to his advantage.

Supervisor Han dissed him in his head. Only the leaders and vice-leaders of the teams? That's only a handful of men! The VVIP was here, shouldn't he give a warm welcome by calling everyone and use the biggest meeting room they have there?

Bai Muchuan was the first to go to the meeting room.

The VVIP followed closely behind him and glanced at him from the entrance.

"Everyone's workload has been very heavy recently, huh?"

Bai Muchuan pushed the door and held it for the VVIP, but he replied to his question nonchalantly.

"You've seen it yourself. There's a lot of work, and we're rather shorthanded. Everyone's worn out."

It was a very casual answer!

The VVIP glanced at him but remained quiet. He then took the master seat of the meeting room.

"Captain Bai's a practical person who didn't bother showing only the good things," said Commissioner Han, "it's a good thing too. We can see the most natural working state of our comrades…"

Bai Muchuan did not reply.

The VVIP said nothing either.

Commissioner Han then took the seat beside the VVIP.

Cheng Zheng, Quan Shaoteng, Ding Yifan, You Hong, Yu Haining… The Captains of various units quickly arrived.

Serious Crime Division One was under the direct jurisdiction of the Criminal Investigation Department, under the Ministry of Public Security. Commissioner Han was the head of the Criminal Investigation Department.

Hence, he was the one who chaired the meeting.

"Everyone, this is Deputy Minister Cheng. He's especially here today to see how all of you are doing. I believe everyone already knows Deputy Minister Cheng. In short, the ministry attached great importance to Serious Crime Division One…"

Indeed, everyone knew Deputy Minister Cheng Weiji.

In Serious Crime Division One, most of them knew about the relationship between Cheng Zheng and Cheng Weiji. Therefore, even though Cheng Zheng did not like to mix around as he was a cold person and never initiated a conversation with them, everyone only dared to criticize him privately. No one would ever openly talk about him to another.

But Bai Muchuan—

He would rebut Cheng Zheng.

Nobody seemed to know what his relationship was with the Cheng Family.

"Now, the Deputy Minister has something to announce to everyone!"

Cheng Weiji was in-charge of counter-terrorism. However, as his Deputy Minister status was there, they should at least adopt a more formal stance to welcome him. However, because Bai Muchuan chose not to do anything, there were only a few people in the meeting and only a few claps of applause. Commissioner Han felt that it was not a good sight to see.

Thus, his claps lasted for a long time…

Cheng Weiji did not show any emotion. "All of you need not be nervous. We'll just have a casual chat. I'm here for a look since I was on the way. The ministry is conducting a joint counter-terrorism exercise with the army. I heard that some unknown parties wanted to do something 'big' during our Lunar New Year. This is no longer a matter that concerned only the Criminal Investigation Department. Thus, we will contact various units to provide a more efficient and convenient cooperation mechanism…"

The toughest thing was the process.

Coordination work and filling the gaps between various units were the most troublesome work.

Take for instance, the "zombie" case, the narcotics department was actually in-charge of the investigation work on the source of drug, and Serious Crime Division One certainly could not obtain firsthand information.

Therefore, Cheng Weiji's words were something that everyone wanted to hear.

When he finished his speech, everyone was clapping warmly.

The applause this time was much louder than earlier.

When everyone could voice their opinions, they expressed that the Deputy Minister had answered their needs at work by pushing for that to happen and were full of gratitude and praise.

After that, Cheng Weiji asked for some details about their work progress and gave some guidance.

All these didn't take more than an hour, it was indeed a short meeting.

After the meeting, Cheng Weiji, his secretary and another director then checked out the Forensics Team on their trace analysis technology, visited the Intelligence team, and et cetera. They praised them for their good work.

His inspection trip was completed.

His car was waiting outside the building.

Before Cheng Weiji left the office, Cheng Xin quickly grabbed the opportunity to talk to him about her work.

Both Cheng Xin and Cheng Zheng were considered office workers in Serious Crime Division One. She was a novice in detective work. Nonetheless, nobody had doubted her work… This was because her work was basically administrative work like photocopying, printing, and filing. Since they were not important work, no one gave her a hard time.

However, Cheng Xin was very unhappy because of the work assigned to her.

She had looked for Cheng Zheng and Bai Muchuan, but to no avail.

They had felt that she was still new and should learn slowly.

When she heard that Cheng Weiji had come to their office, she wanted to join the meeting so she could feedback regarding her situation. In the end, Bai Muchuan said that only team leaders and vice team leaders could come to the meeting. He even showed her a sarcastic smile.

That smile was too glaring.

It was obvious that they were looking down on her.

Cheng Xin felt unfair and couldn't restrain herself from appearing abruptly before Cheng Weiji.

"Deputy Minister Cheng, I'm a postgraduate in Criminal Investigation Studies. I think I can perform the more professional case analysis work and contribute to solving the case…"

Cheng Weiji furrowed his eyebrows a little.

Such matters could have been spoken privately.

With that consideration in mind, Cheng Xin had still chosen an occasion like this to speak.

Cheng Weiji did not like such behavior.

However, since she was related to his wife, Cheng Wenzhu, it was not nice of him to retort her openly.

Moreover, with so many people looking, he knew he shouldn't lose his temper.

Cheng Weiji smiled at her as if he was pleased. "It's good for youngsters to have a mind of their own and eager to show progress in their work, but when it comes to working, you need to take it one step at a time. The most important thing in doing criminal investigation work is not about your educational level but qualifications. The qualifications here refers to experience! Experience could only be accumulated by doing large amounts of work over a long period of time. Only then would you be able to perform your job well."

"Deputy Minister…"

"Comrade Cheng Xin, you still have a long path ahead of you!"

"Deputy Minister, but I have been doing printing and photocopying work in the office all day. Isn't this a waste since I'm obviously overqualified for such work?"

Did she just praise herself so directly and openly?

All personnel who were present did not say a word.

Cheng Weiji didn't show much expression, as if he had not caught the arrogance in her words and he even smiled amiably.

"When I was as young as you, I also have aspirations and lofty ambitions. I want to do something great everyday, but Little Cheng…"

"Deputy Minister, I feel that this matter is not so simple." Once again, Cheng Xin interrupted Cheng Weiji's words.

Cheng Weiji's eyes dimmed for an instant and pursed his lips in slight annoyance.

Most people in such situations could read how he was feeling right now and would keep their mouths shut, for one should know when to stop.

However, Cheng Xin felt that she had suffered too much during this period, and this was the moment she was waiting for. How could she just let this chance slip away?

She had already asked Cheng Wenzhu, her aunt, about her work privately. Cheng Wenzhu had told her directly that with Cheng Xin's educational qualification, it was already enough to do the work she desired. Nonetheless, Bai Muchuan was the one leading Serious Crime Division One. Even if it was Cheng Weiji, he couldn't interfere with Bai Muchuan's work delegation and arrangement…

Of course, Cheng Wenzhu had brushed her off since she didn't think this was a problem at all.

In her opinion, girls should do such simple and easy tasks like what Cheng Xin was currently doing.

Cheng Wenzhu did not like Bai Muchuan.

However, Bai Muchuan's capability was clear to see. Cheng Weiji was also very glad about his performance and achievements.

Cheng Wenzhu thought that since she could not deal with him, why not make use of him by making him take her side and… Hence, she told Cheng Xin that she should spend more effort on Bai Muchuan instead of asking for investigative work—

Nonetheless, Cheng Xin was not willing to become a beautiful but useless person.

The main thing was that she didn't want them to look at her differently.

In Serious Crime Division One, nobody messed with her, but none of them wanted to become her friend either!

Everyone seemed friendly to her, but they would not take a step further and become friends with her… She felt bored, frustrated, and wronged. She wanted to make her grievance known by using this opportunity—

"Deputy Minister, Captain Bai seemed to pick on me by not giving me an important job."

The moment Cheng Xin said this, everyone started to feel awkward.

How low was her EQ that she would talk badly of her superior like this?

An ancient saying goes like this: it is more practical to find the one directly responsible for a problem rather than a higher-ranked official!

Cheng Weiji's eyebrows turned downwards. "Don't mix personal feelings when you're at work…"

"Deputy Minister Cheng!" Bai Muchuan addressed him formally, but his expression was also the coldest of all. "I think it's good for a comrade to raise issues about her work if she's unhappy with me. Since Serious Crime Division One seemed to have made her feel bad, please transfer Comrade Cheng Xin to a more important and suitable position for her stature!"

"…"

Everyone was silent.

Cheng Xin looked at him. There was unhappiness in her eyes.

"You're deliberate! You have been picking on me!"

The corners of Bai Muchuan's lips lifted upwards indolently. "Comrade Cheng Xin, Deputy Minister Cheng has explained my reason for doing so to you very clearly. I feel that I need not repeat that once again. I'm always impartial no matter what I do. The work assigned to you might come in bits and pieces, and you might even think they're unimportant, but it is a process that many new comrades have to go through when they come to a new place. Why must you ask for special treatment?"

When he said this, he paused for a moment before continuing.

"Since you don't agree with my arrangements and even nurse a grudge against me, I feel that you're no longer suitable to work in Serious Crime Division One."

Once there were conflicts, they were no longer suitable to work together in a unit anymore.

Cheng Xin's eyes went wide-opened when she looked at Bai Muchuan's cold and indifferent face. She was frozen at her spot.

Did she just shoot herself in the foot?

No! She felt that Bai Muchuan had tricked her.

He had deliberately made her annoyed and was sarcastic towards her!

He did this so he could transfer her out of Serious Crime Division One.

"Deputy Minister Cheng, what do you say?" Bai Muchuan looked at Cheng Weiji.

Now that they laid the problem before him, of course, Cheng Weiji had to deal with the problem fairly.

Based on the organizational discipline and administrative rules, it was reasonable to transfer Cheng Xin away…

However, before he could say anything, Cheng Xin suddenly burst into tears.

"I don't want a transfer. I like Serious Crime Division One. I'm overzealous and too eager to get into actual investigative work… With the guidance of my superiors, I'm now enlightened and decided to correct my bad habits. I will strive to study harder and train myself. I will keep in mind the guidance you have given me. I will start by working on the small things, starting from the most basic level…"

Blah, blah, blah…

'Beautiful' words came out of her mouth so easily.

That sight floored even all experienced detectives.

In the past, they had suspected that Cheng Xin must have beefed up her resume with flat-out lies…

However, at that moment, they believed that she did not do that.

That smooth tongue and her seamless 'face-changing technique' could be how she earned that postgraduate qualification.

"This should be the way!"

This appeased Cheng Weiji.

"Comrade Little Cheng, go back and reflect on yourself. Then write a review and submit to Captain Bai!"

"… Yes, Sir!"

Cheng Xin broke into a smile, with tears in her eyes.

…

The incident finally ended.

The moment Cheng Weiji's designated car left the place, the Gossip WeChat group immediately came alive.

Tang Yuanchu was the one who initiated the conversation. "D*rn! Such jaw-dropping performance…"

He continued, "It's a classic lesson on how to get out of a dangerous situation safely!"

Lastly, he typed, "Learn it well, everyone."

He sent several messages in a row.

Xiang Wan did not know what was happening and simply sent, "?"

The question showed her confusion.

Salimu replied, "I only know that I salute her for that. I'm astounded!"

Quan Shaoteng responded too. "Hmph! It should be a classic example of how to be shameless! Not anyone can put up a performance like this. Come, Little Tang and Little Salimu, why don't you try to put up a crying performance before me?"

Salimu replied, "Do I get anything for crying?"

Quan Shaoteng followed thereafter. "I can give you a reward."

The three of them kept messaging, but Xiang Wan still couldn't grasp what was happening.

Mei Xin suddenly chimed in out of the blue. "Captain Cheng, did you mention the equipment purchase?"

Maybe Cheng Zheng had not seen it since he did not respond to it.

Quan Shaoteng replied instead, "Umm, Assistant… Mei? Can't you be more like a normal woman and have some Ba Gua [gossip] mentality?"

Mei Xin responded to what he just sent, "Ba Gua? I don't understand."

Quan Shaoteng sent a facepalm emoji. "… That's enough."

Mei Xin responded after a short pause. "I just searched on Baidu. Ba Gua means the Eight Diagrams—sky, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain, and lake, right?"

"…"

That ended the topic.

The chats in the group just ended like that.

Xiang Wan was perplexed by all the messages.

In Serious Crime Division One, Cheng Zheng was sitting before Bai Muchuan's desk with his face looking frosty like ice—