Chapter 116: The Self-Satisfied He Guan

“Qianfan, you’ve finally come back.”

He Guan picked up an old newspaper from the table and fanned himself with it.

“You’ve been gone for over a month. Not only was I bored at the station, I was getting chewed out all day long.”

“You, Young Master He, getting chewed out?”

Cheng Qianfan said with a smile.

He Guan’s uncle Jin Kemu had been promoted to Deputy Chief Inspector of the Central Police Station, and He Guan had naturally risen along with him. Life at the station should have become even smoother for him.

“Strange thing is,” He Guan ignored Cheng Qianfan’s teasing and continued, “when you were at the station, trouble broke out every other day. There were even several incidents involving gunfire.”

“Get lost.”

Cheng Qianfan cursed.

“The way you’re talking, it sounds like I caused all those incidents.”

He Guan chuckled and slapped his own mouth.

That really was not something to say carelessly. If other people heard it, they might think Cheng Qianfan was cursed with bringing trouble wherever he went, and that would affect him.

These days, people in positions of authority tended to be rather superstitious about such things.

“I’m telling you, Ma Tou hasn’t been in a good mood lately. Be careful when you see him tomorrow.”

He Guan said.

“What happened?”

Cheng Qianfan asked.

“It’s all your fault.”

It turned out that after Jin Kemu’s promotion to Deputy Chief Inspector, he was still temporarily holding onto his former position as Inspector.

However, many people beneath him were eyeing that position.

Everyone knew Jin Kemu could not keep holding onto the inspector’s post forever.

The original Deputy Inspector, Ma Yishou, was naturally the strongest candidate, and in fact Old Ma himself considered himself the obvious successor.

However, a rumor had recently begun circulating that the higher-ups intended to promote Cheng Qianfan exceptionally to the position of Inspector.

At first, the rumor had little credibility.

Cheng Qianfan’s seniority at the station was relatively shallow.

More importantly, his age was an even greater disadvantage.

He was only twenty-one years old.

A twenty-one-year-old Inspector would shock people to death.

Besides, Ma Yishou was Cheng Qianfan’s mentor.

How could a disciple leap over his master before the master himself had advanced?

Naturally, nobody believed it.

However, the rumor grew more and more detailed.

Some well-informed people even listed several reasons why Cheng Qianfan might become Inspector.

First, Little Cheng was the student of Xiu Gongshen, the translator from the Political Department’s Investigation Unit.

Not only that, it was rumored that the Cheng and Xiu families had been family friends for generations.

This was no ordinary teacher-student relationship.

Second, it was said that Chief Inspector Qin Detai held Little Cheng in high regard.

Third, Little Cheng and He Guan were good brothers.

His relationship with He Guan’s uncle, Deputy Chief Inspector Jin Kemu, was also reportedly very close.

In private, Little Cheng supposedly called Jin Kemu Uncle Jin directly.

And most importantly, it was said that Monsieur Xi Neng and Lieutenant Marais also thought highly of Cheng Qianfan.

None of the four reasons mentioned Cheng Qianfan’s abilities.

In summary, they amounted to a single sentence:

Little Cheng had powerful patrons backing him.

With such formidable support, things like insufficient seniority and youth were not problems at all.

If the big shots said someone was qualified, then he was qualified whether he truly was or not.

The final version of the rumor stated that once Little Cheng returned from his official assignment in Hangzhou, everyone would have to respectfully address him as Inspector Cheng.

It was precisely this rumor that had put Ma Yishou in such a terrible mood recently.

Previously, he had competed for the Inspector position on Avenue Joffre and lost to Lu Dazhang.

Now, if his own disciple climbed above him, it would not merely be a failed promotion.

It would be a humiliation.

“Who has such a loose tongue, spreading nonsense like this?”

Cheng Qianfan frowned and said.

“Everybody’s saying it.”

He Guan replied gleefully.

“Just wait and see. Old Ma is definitely going to give you a hard time tomorrow.”

Coming from a family of policemen and having received personal guidance from Jin Kemu, he naturally had more insight than most others.

He knew this rumor was nonsense.

Yes, if all those big shots mentioned in the rumor really pushed for Cheng Qianfan, then Cheng Qianfan indeed could be promoted exceptionally to Inspector.

But there was no need.

Such a rule-breaking appointment would bring Cheng Qianfan no benefits whatsoever.

If those big shots truly did that, they would not be helping Cheng Qianfan.

They would be harming him.

If Cheng Qianfan were a fool, perhaps he would happily seize the Inspector position through such means.

But in He Guan’s opinion, among all the young officers in the entire Central Police Station, there was nobody smarter or more clear-headed than Cheng Qianfan.

Including He Guan himself.

Therefore, the entire thing was nothing more than a complete fabrication.

“Old Ma’s become obsessed.”

Cheng Qianfan poured a cup of tea for He Guan and another for himself.

“Logically speaking, Old Ma should know it’s just a rumor. He’s simply too deeply involved to see clearly.”

Ma Yishou was an interesting man.

He was extremely afraid of death and in truth did not possess much desire for power.

He got along with people from all walks of life and only wanted to make some money and enjoy a comfortable life.

In reality, Ma Yishou’s abilities were limited.

If he truly became Inspector, he might not even be able to handle the position.

His earlier competition with Lu Dazhang for the Avenue Joffre Inspector’s post had largely stemmed from their long-standing rivalry.

He simply wanted to stay one step ahead of Lu Dazhang.

Of course, even now, though Ma Yishou was not especially power-hungry, promotion from Deputy Inspector to Inspector seemed like a natural progression, so he was naturally willing to advance further.

However, he believed that the position that should naturally have become his was about to be snatched away by his own disciple.

Ma Yishou cared greatly about saving face.

Naturally, he was furious and humiliated.

Once a person became consumed by anger, things that could normally be analyzed rationally and seen through clearly while calm became much harder to understand.

Cheng Qianfan slowly explained all this to He Guan.

“You really are something.”

He Guan said in astonishment.

“Qianfan, what you said is exactly the same as what Deputy Chief Inspector Jin told me.”

“Don’t you always call him Uncle?”

Cheng Qianfan asked in confusion.

“Calling him Deputy Chief Inspector Jin sounds much more impressive.”

He Guan grinned smugly.

After taking a sip of water, he changed the subject.

“By the way, do you remember that Communist we arrested before?”

“That Zhu Yuan?”

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Qianfan asked.

“That’s right, that bastard.”

He Guan slapped the table.

“What about him?”

“That guy was a traitor to China.”

He Guan gritted his teeth.

“A traitor?”

This time Cheng Qianfan was genuinely surprised.

Zhu Yuan was a traitor?

Shouldn’t he have been a spy who defected after being captured by the Party Affairs Investigation Department and was then intended for infiltration into the Communist organization?

He Guan leaned closer and lowered his voice.

“Not long after you left for Hangzhou, the Communists managed to secure his release. Later, they received intelligence from beyond the passes that he had already gone over to the Japanese side while he was there. Such a traitor couldn’t be left alive, so the Communists...”

As he spoke, He Guan made a throat-cutting gesture.

“How would you know something like that?”

Cheng Qianfan asked.

“It’s been spreading everywhere. The Communists carried it out themselves and posted notices saying ‘This Is the Fate of Traitors,’ just like with Old Mo.”

He Guan lowered his voice.

“Do you think it was the same person who did both jobs?”

“How would I know?”

Cheng Qianfan shook his head.

However, inwardly he was speculating.

There were two possibilities.

One was that Zhu Yuan had indeed gone over to the Japanese side while beyond the passes, and then defected a second time after being arrested by the Party Affairs Investigation Department.

The other was that the local Shanghai Communist organization had deliberately released this information.

Using intelligence from beyond the passes as a pretext, they had exposed Zhu Yuan as a traitor and labeled him a collaborator, thereby misleading the Party Affairs Investigation Department to some extent and maximizing the chances that it would draw a false conclusion:

The fact that Zhu Yuan had been captured and turned by the Party Affairs Investigation Department had not been exposed.

The Shanghai Communists’ objective was to protect the agent who had delivered intelligence to them in the middle of the night.

In other words, they were protecting Cheng Qianfan.

Regardless of which possibility was true, the organization had eliminated a malignant tumor.

That was a good thing.

He Guan drank several more mouthfuls of water and stood up.

“I’ll throw you a welcoming banquet another day. I’m leaving now.”

After taking a few steps, He Guan spoke as though the thought had only just occurred to him.

“Oh right, Qianfan, if anyone asks, just say I came looking for you two hours ago.”

“Were you pretending to be out on official business and sneaking off again?”

Cheng Qianfan asked with a smile.

“What, Deputy Chief Inspector Jin actually checks on you now?”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Uncle these past few days.”

He Guan looked helpless.

“No matter how he looks at me, he finds me annoying.”

“Don’t worry.”

Cheng Qianfan winked.

“I know what to say.”

He Guan left happily, whistling as he went.

After stepping outside, he saw Cheng Qianfan casually shut the door.

He Guan let out a long breath of relief.

Then a smile appeared on his face.

Today was absolutely the sharpest-thinking day of Young Master He’s entire life.

Even someone as clever as Qianfan had been fooled by him.

He Guan secretly applauded himself for his intelligence, quick thinking, adaptability, and outstanding performance under pressure.