Zhou Zhuofei had been putting on a bit of an act earlier, but now her reaction was entirely genuine. "That’s amazing! Like Sherlock Holmes!"
Jiang Shen smirked, pleased with the response he’d anticipated. "I’d rather call myself Matthew Scudder than Sherlock Holmes."
"That’s even more impressive!"
Jiang Shen blinked, studying Zhou Zhuofei’s reaction to see if she truly understood or was just pretending. "You’ve read Lawrence Block too?"
"A few of his books. I was really into detective novels in college. If I remember correctly, Matthew Scudder used to be a cop..."
Zhou Zhuofei didn’t finish her sentence. In the novel’s setting, the protagonist’s police experience often led him to leverage connections in both legal and underground circles to handle cases.
If Jiang Shen compared himself to Matthew Scudder, didn’t that mean he also...
"Hey, let’s not jump to conclusions," Jiang Shen cut her off, though he could tell she genuinely grasped his implication.
Zhou Zhuofei immediately caught on and dropped the subject. Thinking about it, could just anyone become a private detective?
The very idea made the profession seem thrilling.
Though she wanted to ask more, the elevator was about to arrive, forcing her to reluctantly give up.
"I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Great Detective."
"Likewise, Miss Zhou."
As Zhou Zhuofei turned to leave, she suddenly remembered something and spun back around. "One last question—are your fees expensive?"
"Not too bad, but I can give you a discount."
Just then, the elevator doors began to close. Running out of time, Jiang Shen mimed a phone call. "Call me if you need anything," he said with a wink.
Zhou Zhuofei had been considering hiring Jiang Shen to look for Zhang Qiaoqiao, but the moment she asked, she regretted it.
It wasn’t hard to deduce: Jiang Shen showing up to see Xiao Wang at this hour, with access to a pass card, could only mean he was working for Ling Yu. If Ling Yu trusted him, his skills were undoubtedly top-tier—and his fees were likely beyond what an average person could afford.
Though she didn’t know how much of a "discount" he meant, she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.
She also started questioning whether it was worth investing so much effort into Zhang Qiaoqiao’s situation.
Truthfully, she didn’t know much about the girl—only that she was an orphan who had lived with her grandmother until the latter passed away last year, after which she moved into the school dormitory.
When Zhou Zhuofei heard about this, she had discreetly sent some money through Teacher Yao to help Zhang Qiaoqiao. It wasn’t much, but enough to cover emergencies.
This was technically against the rules, but Teacher Yao had made an exception given the circumstances, though she later advised Zhou Zhuofei against doing it again.
Zhou Zhuofei knew Teacher Yao meant well. Having worked in charity for years, she’d seen enough cases to draw that conclusion.
She didn’t consider herself some kind of saint—just someone with enough financial leeway and a lack of attachment to money to lend a hand when possible.
But if the cost was too high...
If she were the heroine of a story, she’d probably go all out without hesitation. Unfortunately, she was just a side character—and thankfully so, since it meant she didn’t have to shoulder too much moral weight.
Zhou Zhuofei dismissed the idea but still took a moment to save Jiang Shen’s number from his business card into her phone.
She couldn’t imagine needing a detective anytime soon, but it never hurt to have more connections.
After saving the number, she tossed the card into a miscellaneous storage box.
Coincidentally, Zhan Zilang came over to ask a question and spotted the card, letting out a surprised "Huh?"
Zhou Zhuofei, absorbed in a document, glanced up. "What’s with the ‘huh’?"
Only then did she notice him staring at the card. "You know this guy?"
Zhan Zilang hesitated. "Maybe? Or it could just be someone with the same name."
But since both of them had ties to Ling Yu, Zhou Zhuofei figured it was probably the same person.
"He introduced himself as a private detective. Is he the one you know?"
"Then it’s definitely him," Zhan Zilang said, suddenly animated as he shared what he knew. "He’s pretty well-known. Have you heard of New World?"
"You mean the bar? Of course."
New World was supposedly the city’s most upscale nightclub. Zhou Zhuofei had heard about it from local classmates when she first started school, and people often joked about "booking a table at New World" to show off.
"That’s his family’s business."
"So he’s loaded?"
"Yep. The Jiang family specializes in the entertainment industry. Usually, the kids are expected to take over, but he went off to become a private detective instead. For a while, my parents used him as a cautionary tale..."
Zhan Zilang scratched his head, looking unimpressed. "But I think being a detective is super cool. A friend of mine hired him once and said he’s really reliable."
Listening to him, Zhou Zhuofei felt like she was hearing a fictional story. Such an unconventional life...
She finally commented, "Talented people excel at whatever they do."
"Exactly. I admire his guts. At first, I wanted to follow his example and do something unconventional, but then I realized... I don’t even know what I want."
Zhou Zhuofei sighed. "That’s nice. When I graduated, I didn’t even think about pursuing anything—just took the first job I got." She clutched her chest dramatically. "Turns out I’m just too ordinary."
"Don’t say that, Zhou-jie. I think you’re doing great. Not everyone finds their calling—look at me, I have no idea what I want either. I only took this job because my parents forced me to do something."
Zhou Zhuofei inhaled sharply, as if the air had suddenly turned bitter.
"...That just makes me feel worse. Thanks."
She refused to empathize with the rich!
"Don’t be like that! Stay strong!"
"I am strong." Zhou Zhuofei briskly circled an issue on the document and handed it back to Zhan Zilang. "Fix this and return it to me. Thanks."
"Zhou-jie, why does your ‘thanks’ always sound like you’re insulting me?"
"It means you’re getting familiar with workplace culture. Off you go." Her tone was effortlessly commanding, and Zhan Zilang didn’t find it odd at all, simply nodding before leaving with the file.
Even Zhou Zhuofei found it strange. She’d never trained a newcomer before and had worried about earning their respect, but in practice, it wasn’t as hard as she’d imagined.
It just went to show that sometimes, people shouldn’t psych themselves out. You never know what you’re capable of until you try.
Before the end of the workday, Ye Ru called her into the office and asked her to organize a Friday dinner to celebrate Zhan Zilang joining the administrative department.
This was also an old tradition in the department. When Zhou Zhuofei first joined, she had attended her own welcome dinner, and now Ye Ru casually handed the task of reserving a restaurant to her.
"You should try learning some other things too," Ye Ru said matter-of-factly. "You’ll be able to help out during the year-end receptions."
"Me? Really?"
At the end of each year, the administrative department became especially busy. Aside from internal company inventories and summaries, there were also plenty of external engagements to handle.
For the past few years, Zhou Zhuofei had always followed behind Ye Ru, mainly responsible for eating and calling the waitstaff.
"What do you mean, 'you'?" Ye Ru chided, seeing Zhou Zhuofei’s surprised expression. "You’ve been with the company for three years—do you still think of yourself as an intern?"
Zhou Zhuofei admitted honestly, "To be frank, I really do feel that way."
She had always considered herself incredibly lucky to have a leader like Ye Ru. Following her meant never having to overthink things—just completing the assigned tasks well was enough.
So for these three years, she hadn’t even considered making a name for herself in the workplace. Doing her job properly was sufficient.
To put it bluntly, if she had that kind of ambition, she would’ve gotten into a top-tier university back in school.
But Ye Ru countered, "You’re already mentoring interns—how can you still see yourself as a newcomer? I’m handing this task to you precisely so you can challenge yourself. How can you shy away from difficulty?"
She prided herself on being a good judge of character and believed Zhou Zhuofei had the potential for it.
