Shen Jiming had the look of an old fox plotting against a little white rabbit as he fixed his gaze on Ruan Xingyao and said,
“Ms. Ruan, a rare talent like you is a precious asset that every police department in the country wants to work with. I believe it won’t be long before more people reach out to you. Honestly, our police bureau doesn’t have much of an advantage.”
Ruan Xingyao looked at him with a pure, harmless expression, letting him pile on the flattery, curious to see just how high he could praise her.
However, it was precisely her open and unguarded gaze that made Shen Jiming’s words stumble in his throat, forcing him to swallow them back down.
Masking the sudden and inexplicable feeling of being seen through, he smiled even more kindly.
“As a native of Ningcheng, Ms. Ruan must have deep feelings for this land. By joining our police bureau, you can work with all our officers to protect this city. I wonder—would Ms. Ruan be willing?”
Ruan Xingyao puffed out her cheeks slightly, her expression completely unmoved by his words.
This kind of emotional appeal had absolutely no persuasive power over her.
After all, she had only been in this city for three days.
Where would any “deep feelings” come from?
Shen Jiming, who could handle both superiors and dangerous criminals with ease, found himself for the first time utterly helpless before a young woman.
His lips were nearly dry from talking, yet Ruan Xingyao remained unmoved.
Out of options, Shen Jiming had to compromise.
“As long as Ms. Ruan agrees to join our police bureau, I can promise you an annual salary of five hundred thousand, plus an additional bonus for each case, with rewards graded according to the difficulty of the case. The more we work together, the more rewards you’ll earn. How about it?”
Ruan Xingyao finally broke into a genuine smile.
“So does this case count too?” she asked.
The reward from the Lucheng Police Department was theirs to give — but if she could also squeeze an extra payment out of the Ningcheng Police Department, wouldn’t that be perfect?
Shen Jiming wanted to say it wasn’t according to the rules.
But when he met Ruan Xingyao’s clear, straightforward, and expectant gaze, he hardened his resolve and said, “As long as Ms. Ruan signs a cooperation contract with us, I’ll approve this reward.”
Even if he couldn’t get it approved by his superiors, he would pay it out of his own pocket — as long as it kept Ruan Xingyao from being poached by another police department.
“I’ll sign! Right now!” Ruan Xingyao said immediately.
Shen Jiming let out a long sigh of relief.
Truly, she was the type who wouldn’t budge without seeing the bonus first.
He immediately turned to Xie Lin. “Xiao Xie, go tell Old Xu to prepare the contract. Don’t keep Ms. Ruan waiting.”
Xie Lin got up and left, returning about ten minutes later with three copies of the contract.
Ruan Xingyao skimmed through them — fortunately, the original body’s background as a wealthy heiress meant she had long been involved in managing her family’s company, so reading contracts was second nature to her.
After confirming there were no hidden traps, she quickly signed her name on all of them.
Once all three were signed, Shen Jiming finally looked relieved.
Such talent was now officially part of the Ningcheng Police Department!
He immediately brought Ruan Xingyao to the large conference room, gathered all the colleagues present in the station, and formally introduced her.
“From today onward, Ms. Ruan Xingyao will be our department’s specially appointed expert.”
Ruan Xingyao’s gaze swept over the room.
She saw confusion in some faces, dissatisfaction in others, and outright disdain in a few.
Wei Chuan’s jaw practically hit the floor in shock.
And as for those with naturally fiery tempers — upon learning that a young-looking girl like her had joined and already outranked them — their dissatisfaction only deepened.
He said directly to Shen Jiming, “Chief Shen, this Expert Ruan of yours isn’t some relative of yours, is she? Otherwise, this is way too unfair to us.”
These people had all endured grueling training at the police academy, passed layer after layer of selection, and then risked their lives in the field to get to where they were today.
And now, a young girl shows up and is instantly placed above them—especially with far better treatment than they receive.
How could they possibly accept that?
How could they not feel disheartened?
Shen Jiming, however, neither got angry nor offered much of an explanation.
He simply said, “I’m sure you’ve all heard about the latest case from the Lucheng police—how the murderer was caught in the act during the killing. That was all thanks to Expert Ruan.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions toward Ruan Xingyao grew even stranger.
Indeed, just half an hour ago, the Lucheng police had issued a public statement, specifically thanking a helpful netizen named Star.
They had also watched Ruan Xingyao’s livestream, yet still couldn’t bring themselves to believe that she truly had the ability to communicate with animals.
Someone said outright, “If that’s the case, then what do they even need us police officers for anymore? Just have Expert Ruan ask a few little animals, and every case will be solved in no time. We might as well just rely on her to feed us from now on.”
The tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Ruan Xingyao turned to look at that person and asked, “You have a dog, right?”
She could smell the scent of a dog on him.
The man was momentarily stunned, then instinctively looked down at his clothes.
Seeing the dog hair stuck to them, he pinched a strand off with his fingers.
“With such obvious dog hair, anyone with eyes can see it. Expert Ruan, you’re not about to claim that this is proof of your skill, are you?”
Ruan Xingyao replied, “Why don’t you video call your family and let me talk to your dog?”
She hadn’t originally intended to prove anything, but seeing how each of them looked down on her, her contrarian streak kicked in.
So, she decided to randomly pick a lucky volunteer and prove her abilities.
The man caught the provocation in her gaze and, feeling his pride pricked, immediately pulled out his phone and placed a video call home.
“Alright! I’d really like to see what kind of nonsense you can ‘communicate’!”
The video call was quickly connected, and to make sure Ruan Xingyao would embarrass herself, they even cast it onto the big screen.
On the other end was an elderly lady with graying hair, wearing reading glasses, who looked a bit flustered as she glanced toward the camera.
“Ah Ye, why are you video calling? Aren’t you busy at work?”
Lin Ye’s tone softened noticeably when speaking to the old lady, showing respect.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, he asked,
“Grandma, where’s Cola? Why don’t I see him?”
The old lady’s expression became visibly more flustered.
“Cola? Oh, he went out to play. He’ll be back soon. Why? Do you need him for something?”
Lin Ye didn’t think much of it.
Considering the time, it really was when Cola usually went out for a walk, so it was perfectly normal for him not to be home.
He said, “It’s nothing. I just missed him and wanted to see him. If he’s not home, then forget it. Grandma, take care of yourself. I’ll hang up now and come see you in a few days.”
His home was far from the police station, about a four-hour round trip, so when he wasn’t on leave, he usually stayed in the police dormitory.
By his count, it had already been two weeks since he’d last gone home.
The old lady seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and immediately said,
“Alright, alright, focus on your work then. I’ll hang up.”
Just then, a few chirping sounds came from the video, making Ruan Xingyao’s expression change several times.
When Lin Ye hung up, he saw Ruan Xingyao looking at him with an expression full of sympathy.
That look made Lin Ye’s scalp tingle, and a vague sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
— The end of the Chapter–
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