Chapter 114: Reunion with Master

“Practicing morality” might be shameful, but it was useful.
After that mental adjustment, Lin Yu could clearly feel that Luo Shaotian’s mood had improved quite a bit.

That night, since Luo Shaotian’s little EV still needed to charge, the two decided to take a taxi to pick up the phone.

“Chaoyang Road Police Station has arrived.”

When the notification sounded, Luo Shaotian scanned the code to pay, then pushed the door open and got out first.
Lin Yu hurriedly followed.

“Whew—”

The night wind carried a hint of late-autumn chill.
It blew against her slightly heated cheeks, instantly waking her up a lot.

At this time of night, Xinhai City was already quite cold.

She subconsciously tightened the beige long trench coat she was wearing.
The simple cut made her figure look extra slender—walking down the street, she looked like a model who had stepped out of a fashion magazine, drawing the eyes of passersby against their will.

Under the trench coat, she was still wearing that winter uniform, though her legs were wrapped in a thick pair of black tights.
Honestly, these things were really warm…

That comforting warmth greatly lessened the uneasiness rising from beneath her skirt.

But she also felt as though she was… getting used to transforming into a magical girl.
That couldn’t be a good thing… right?

“Chaoyang Road Police Station…”

Lin Yu looked up.

The station’s entrance was solemn and imposing.
The police emblem at the door flashed red and blue in the darkness—like an eye that never closed, silently watching over the city.

For some reason, the more Lin Yu looked at it, the more she felt a strange sense of… “guilty conscience.”
She was clearly only here to pick up a phone.

Just then, the heavy glass door of the station was pushed open from inside.

Two figures walked out one after the other.

The one in front was a man who looked close to fifty.
His eye sockets were deep, and he radiated an aura of “I haven’t slept in three days,” mixed with exhaustion and impatience.

Behind him followed a very young officer.
The young man had one of those universally pleasant, reassuring faces, and he was holding a thick stack of files in his arms, hurrying to keep pace.

When Luo Shaotian’s eyes met the middle-aged man’s—
Lin Yu distinctly felt the tall man beside her freeze up.

And that middle-aged man, upon seeing Luo Shaotian, let his already “extremely annoyed” expression instantly harden with a layer of frost.
He didn’t even spare an extra glance—just walked right past Luo Shaotian without pausing.

The young officer behind him clearly hesitated in his step as he passed.

“Lo… Luo Team…”

He whispered, giving Luo Shaotian a small nod.
He seemed like he wanted to say something, but in the end didn’t dare—only cast him a helpless look.

A moment later, Luo Shaotian’s lips moved:

“Captain Zhang…”

His voice was soft—so soft it almost disappeared into the night wind.

“Captain Zhang?”

Lin Yu perked her ears.

“He must be talking to that night-watchman-looking old officer, right?”
“So Luo Shaotian knows him?”
“What kind of relationship?”
“Teacher-student?”

She glanced back discreetly—
The “Captain Zhang” Luo Shaotian spoke to didn’t stop at all. He walked straight to the police car, opened the door, and got in.

Luo Shaotian noticed as well.

“…Sigh.”

He exhaled, his shoulders visibly slumping as he shook his head.

“…Forget it. Let’s go inside first.”

“Oh, oh…”

Seeing the situation, Lin Yu felt it wasn’t her place to butt in.
No wonder Luo Shaotian talked about adults scheming against each other—just seeing this moment, you could tell he wasn’t having an easy time at work.

So it wasn’t just her, huh!?
Everyone was the same…

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yu decided to show a little concern.

She reached out her small hand and gently tugged on the hem of Luo Shaotian’s coat, her voice soft and sticky:

“Uncle… are you okay?”

“…I’m fine.”

Luo Shaotian took a deep breath and forced out a strained smile.

“Come on, let’s go get the phone.”

The procedure inside the station was much simpler and more down-to-earth than Lin Yu expected.

At the duty counter, a sleepy young officer checked Luo Shaotian’s police ID and “Lulu’s” identity information (courtesy of Manager Qian’s forgery). Then he pulled the phone out of a drawer along with a stack of forms needing signatures and slid them across the counter.

“Alright, the stuff’s all correct? If it is, sign here.”

The officer yawned and pointed to the bottom right corner.

Lin Yu picked up the pen and signed the two characters for “Lulu.”
Because she felt guilty, the handwriting was crooked.

The officer glanced at it, his half-opened eyes widening slightly for the first time.

“Oh? That’s really your surname? I thought it was one of those random village names like Liu Lu or Wang Lu…”

What’d you say!?
Who are you calling rare!?
Believe it or not, I’ll love-beam this entire police station into the sky!

“Th-thank you, Officer-uncle… sorry for the trouble… hahaha…”

Lin Yu felt like the twitching at the corners of her mouth was about to qualify as a neurological condition.

After finally finishing the process, the two stepped back outside.

Luo Shaotian glanced at where Captain Zhang’s car had been.
The vehicle was long gone, leaving only a scatter of fallen leaves.

“He left?”

He sighed, helpless.

“Well… he must still be mad at me.”

“Mad? Uncle… did you do something bad?”

Lin Yu tilted her head, her dark eyes shimmering under the streetlight.

“…Sort of. That person was my mentor after I joined the force. He used to have high hopes for me.”

He paused, as if recalling something, a complex expression flickering across his face.

“But… some time ago, I was affected by some bad things—
You’ve probably seen me lose control of my emotions before.
It’s… complicated.
Anyway, I messed up. Disappointed him.”

Lin Yu of course knew exactly what “bad things” he meant.

Looking at his guilt-ridden profile, remembering Lin Xue’s request and her own heavy “save him” mission, her heart softened.

“Looks like I’m not the only one you owe an apology to…
That person tonight—you should find a chance to apologize to your mentor too.”

“Mm… yeah…”

Luo Shaotian lifted his hand and gently ruffled Lin Yu’s soft, dark hair.

“You really understand a lot for a little kid.”

Hey—!
What do you think you’re doing touching my head?!
That’s kind of gross—!

Lin Yu’s body stiffened sharply.
A strange, shame-tinged shiver shot from her scalp to her tailbone.

She wanted to pull away, but the warmth and pressure of that big hand made her “girl’s” body feel…
…weirdly comfortable?

Something’s wrong!
I am absolutely not okay!

Just as she was about to blurt out “What are you doing—”
a harsh screech of brakes suddenly rang out beside them.

Lin Yu instinctively turned—

Huh?

The police car that should have left long ago had returned, parking abruptly at the curb.

The window slowly rolled down.
A hand holding a cigarette extended outward, the ember glowing red.

Then a voice drifted through the wavering smoke:

“…What are you standing around for…”

“—Get in the car.”