Chapter 32: Lu Chengfeng’s Dominant Protection of His Wife

Lu Chengfeng said, “You and I are different. How could Gao Yi and I possibly be the same to you?”

Shu Yan deliberately replied, “How are you different? You’re both my colleagues, nothing more. Captain Lu, you’re crossing the line.”

Lu Chengfeng felt a little disappointed, but still shamelessly insisted, “Then it’s settled. You’re riding back with me.”

Shu Yan said, “Not again. You’re always so domineering.”

His tone softened as he coaxed her. “I’ll listen to you about everything else, but on this matter, listen to me, all right?”

Shu Yan had just opened her mouth to refuse when someone called her name.

“Yanyan.”

Li Junjie came trotting over from the side, his eyes alight with delight.

“It really is you! What brings you here? Captain Lu, you’re here too? Is it just the two of you, or is this a gathering of colleagues?”

Shu Yan had never expected to run into Li Junjie. “What a coincidence, Big Brother. We’re having a gathering with our colleagues. What about you?”

Li Junjie pointed toward the men at the table behind him.

“We’re having a departmental gathering. Right, let me introduce you to my colleagues. Everyone, this is my younger sister’s good friend, Shu Yan.”

“Yanyan is the deputy director of the Forensic Medicine Center of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and an exceptionally talented forensic doctor.”

The men at the table let out a chorus of exclamations.

“How impressive!”

One of them joked, “I never imagined the city bureau’s forensic doctor would be so beautiful. Doctor Li, if you hadn’t told us, I would have thought Miss Shu was a celebrity.”

“That’s right,” another man chimed in. “Miss Shu, you’re so beautiful. How did you ever think of becoming a forensic doctor? It’s the kind of work even most men wouldn’t want to do.”

Shu Yan hated being teased like that.

If not for Li Junjie, she would have turned around and left immediately.

While she was wondering how to respond, she heard Lu Chengfeng counter the man.

“What’s wrong with being a forensic doctor? Is it some shameful profession?”

The man froze, and everyone else held their breath.

Lu Chengfeng continued, “Are all of you really doctors? If I’m not mistaken, forensic medicine and clinical medicine come from the same root. Doctors use their own hands to save lives, while forensic doctors use theirs to uncover the truth behind death.”

“From another perspective, forensic doctors are saving lives too. With their help, investigators can find the criminals, and the courts can bring them to justice.”

“Such a noble profession—why does it sound, when it comes from your mouths, as though it were something despised?”

Shu Yan lifted her eyes and gazed at Lu Chengfeng.

His face was stern, carrying an intimidating air that made people instinctively recoil.

The two doctors who had teased Shu Yan hurriedly apologized.

“I’m sorry, Miss Shu. We meant no harm.”

“Yes, Miss Shu, we’re sorry. We actually admire forensic doctors very much.”

Li Junjie had originally wanted to show off to his colleagues how beautiful the woman he liked was. He had never expected them to say such thoughtless things.

He had wanted to speak up for Shu Yan just now, but had not known what to say. Lu Chengfeng had stolen the moment from him.

He quickly apologized to her as well.

“Yanyan, I’m sorry. They just like to joke around. We joke like this at work all the time, but none of us meant any harm. I apologize to you on their behalf.”

Shu Yan glanced at Li Junjie and replied indifferently, “Big Brother, my colleagues are waiting for us. We’ll go over first.”

With that, she walked away.

Lu Chengfeng shot Li Junjie a glance before following her.

After Shu Yan had walked a few steps, she said quietly to Lu Chengfeng, who was beside her, “Thank you for speaking up for me.”

Lu Chengfeng was stunned for a second. “There’s no need to thank me for dealing with people like that.”

“I know. I only let it go because of Junjie.”

At that, Lu Chengfeng felt a stab of jealousy.

“You like him?”

Shu Yan stopped and looked up at the tall, powerfully built man. “I was just beginning to have a little fondness for you, and you’re already trying to kill it?”

A smile curved at the corner of Lu Chengfeng’s lips. “I take back what I said.”

Shu Yan pouted and muttered as she walked, “What goes on in your head all day?”

“You,” Lu Chengfeng answered without hesitation.

Shu Yan stopped again and glared at him. “I’ve discovered that you’re really not what you seem.”

“How am I not what I seem?” Lu Chengfeng asked.

“On the outside, you look like the cold, aloof type. But when you talk to me, you’re unbearably slick.”

Lu Chengfeng suppressed the smile tugging at his lips. “Then what kind of me do you like?”

Shu Yan rolled her eyes. “I don’t like any version of you.”

Seeing that she was only saying that out of embarrassment, Lu Chengfeng did not argue with her again. He simply followed her back to her colleagues like a bodyguard.

When Shi Wei saw the two of them return, he raised his glass and called out to everyone, “Come on, let’s all raise a toast to Captain Lu and Director Shu.”

Lu Chengfeng looked at Shi Wei. “Why are we toasting to them?”

Shi Wei paused, then gave an awkward chuckle.

“Chengfeng, you’re our new captain. Everyone was just saying that as soon as you arrived, you solved two impressive cases in succession because you and Director Shu work so well together.”

“With the understanding you two share, your work from now on is bound to go smoothly. Your case-clearance rate will definitely reach one hundred percent. You two are the Municipal Bureau’s golden partners!”

Everyone joined in the teasing.

“That’s right! Captain Lu and Director Shu are definitely the bureau’s golden partners!”

Lu Chengfeng looked toward Shu Yan.

She lifted her glass of juice and clinked it against Shi Wei’s.

“Thank you, Boss Shi. I hope your good wishes come true. May our future cases go as smoothly as these two, and may everyone spend fewer nights working overtime.”

Only then did Lu Chengfeng raise his own glass of juice and toast with the others.

“Everyone’s worked hard.”

At the other table, Li Junjie watched the backs of Shu Yan and Lu Chengfeng, his fists tightening more and more.

He felt as though someone had stolen his most precious treasure.

The male doctor who had teased Shu Yan earlier leaned close to Li Junjie’s ear and asked, “Doctor Li, could Miss Shu be the woman you’ve always carried in your heart?”

Li Junjie said nothing. He grabbed the glass on the table and drained a mouthful.

The doctor understood at once and deliberately fanned the flames.

“Do you know that man? The way he protected Miss Shu just now, he must be interested in her. Doctor Li, you’d better be careful.”

Li Junjie frowned. “He’s the newly appointed captain of the criminal investigation detachment at the Municipal Public Security Bureau. They’re colleagues. It’s perfectly normal for him to speak up for Yanyan. You shouldn’t have made those jokes earlier. Yanyan isn’t the kind of person who can take that sort of teasing.”

“We didn’t know she couldn’t take a joke,” the doctor protested. “You should have warned us beforehand. Now we know, and we’ll be more careful in the future.”

“But, Doctor Li, don’t you think a woman like that is rather dull?”

Li Junjie turned his head and shot his colleague a glance. “What do you know? If you’re choosing a wife, of course you should choose a woman who knows how to conduct herself.”

“Junjie’s right,” the other doctors agreed. “Miss Shu clearly has the makings of a virtuous wife and loving mother. If you married her, she certainly wouldn’t run wild. It’s just her profession that’s a little unsettling.”

“Captain Lu was right,” Li Junjie said. “Forensic medicine and clinical medicine come from the same root. No one should look down on anyone else.”

Seeing that Li Junjie was genuinely angry, everyone changed the subject.

Shu Yan and the others continued enjoying themselves until nearly midnight before the gathering finally broke up.

Shi Wei had drunk quite a lot, so Lu Chengfeng could only help him along as they left.

Shu Yan wanted to ride back with Gao Yi, but Lu Chengfeng refused. He insisted on taking her home himself.

After saying goodbye to their colleagues, Lu Chengfeng stuffed Shi Wei into the back seat and shut the door, then opened the front passenger door for Shu Yan.

Suddenly, Li Junjie darted over from the side and called out to her.

“Yanyan, Jiaojiao called me and insisted that I take you home. I’ve already arranged for a designated driver. He’ll be here soon.”