Chapter 58: Misfortunes Compound

An Ming Shan pushed me backward while saying, “You need to go back quickly! The organization can’t do without you.”

I still held her hand and said, “You know the organization can’t do without me either, right? But have you thought about this—if you just disappeared like that, I wouldn’t even be able to eat properly, let alone focus on work. Enough, let’s not say anything else! Come on, let’s jump together!” With that, I pulled her step by step toward the edge of the rooftop. Behind us, I heard people shouting things like “Don’t do something foolish,” “Come back quickly,” and “We were wrong.”

Through these specially designed glasses, I saw the scene behind us: quite a few people were watching—police officers, Han Lei Luo and his wife, some bystanders, even my parents had come up! They were all urging us to come down.

While I was looking back, An Ming Shan suddenly shoved me, trying to push me off the rooftop. She whispered, “Live well for yourself. I’m going ahead first. Sorry for dragging you down for so long. I should have done this a long time ago.” There was a quiver of tears in her voice.

At the moment she pushed me, I grabbed her firmly. Amid everyone’s startled gasps and her sharp scream, we both fell to the ground. She landed on top of me, and I was in excruciating pain. Then waves of cheers, applause, and camera clicks filled the air. Supporting each other, we got to our feet, with many reporters snapping photos and bombarding us with questions. I remained silent, while An Ming Shan tearfully recounted what Han Lei Luo and his wife had done to her. After giving statements at the police station, we returned to my brother’s house as night fell.

That very night, I received a call from the director. He scolded me over the phone, telling me that the rooftop incident with An Ming Shan had blown up big and that he had to clean up the mess for both of us. An Ming Shan found out and assured him she would wholeheartedly stay on at the Paranormal Affairs Bureau from now on, never having such thoughts again. Just as the director hung up, Liu Shan called. He told me that Sui Yi Ju had been broken into! My heart jumped—not because the store’s items were stolen, but because some Bureau files were stored on my computer there. I told him to lock down the scene immediately and protect every computer in the store—no parts could be lost—until I arrived. I booked a flight, and An Ming Shan and I secretly rushed back to Sui Yi Ju overnight.

The next day, at Sui Yi Ju.

I saw everything was tidy, nothing missing, computers intact, doors and windows all secure. Liu Shan told me he had come by this morning looking for me but found the door unlocked, so he called. I didn’t have time to wonder why he came looking; my mind was racing to figure out how the intruder got in. Just as I was racking my brain, An Ming Shan told me the culprit had pried the door open. I widened my eyes and looked where she pointed, finally spotting a faint scratch near the keyhole—short and shallow, barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

An Ming Shan explained that the intruder must have scraped the lock carefully with a tool while breaking in. Because it was dark at the time and the scratch was so faint, no one had paid attention.

Now knowing the intruder’s method, I had no time for details. I hurried into the room, opened the computer, and checked the recent file access logs to see if anyone had tampered with it. I found that someone had indeed accessed files last night—personnel records from the Special Investigations Department. However, the file was doubly encrypted. To open it, one must log in to an email which receives a randomly generated, dynamic password of 6 to 8 characters, mixing uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. This password expires in one minute. Entering the wrong password three times triggers an alert text to my phone.

I called An Ming Shan and Liu Shan over, pulled up the surveillance footage, and watched it with them. After a long search, we finally saw the intruder entering—the footage came from a hidden camera in my room and captured the intruder’s face clearly. Liu Shan immediately recognized him: Feng Yuan, Liu Shan’s trusted aide, known as the Bureau’s good-natured old hand. People always sought his help, and he was well-liked throughout the Paranormal Affairs Bureau. I held a good impression of him too. I hoped the director’s mention of a mole that night wasn’t him—at least, I hoped it wasn’t.

Liu Shan then ordered Feng Yuan to be brought back to the Bureau for questioning immediately. He also copied my surveillance clips over to serve as evidence during the confrontation. Soon after, Liu Shan and his team withdrew. Only then did I remember to ask why Liu Shan had come to Sui Yi Ju so early that morning.

In any case, it was a relief that none of the data was lost. Otherwise, I might have faced anything from demotion to dismissal, or worse—losing my very position altogether.

Reader Questions.

Q: Author, can you cook?

A: No, at most I can make instant noodles. Usually, I don’t need to cook at home. But if circumstances ever forced me to, I’d definitely learn how to cook.