Just as Qi Mingyang’s lips were about to kiss He Ziqing, she reached out and placed a hand on his chest.

Qi Mingyang looked at the hand on his chest, his gaze darkening slightly.

He Ziqing lowered her head and said, "I agree, alright?"

Qi Mingyang glanced at He Ziqing’s red lips. Although he was a little disappointed, he had still achieved his goal.

He straightened up and nodded.

"You’re the one who agreed to this."

He Ziqing hummed in agreement and said softly, "So, can I go now?"

Qi Mingyang stared at her for a few seconds. "Go on. Good night, girlfriend."

Those three words almost sent He Ziqing fleeing in a panic.

After He Ziqing left, a smile appeared on Qi Mingyang’s face.

Time flew by, and soon it was New Year’s Eve. That evening, Xue Yue and Mrs. He were cooking in the kitchen.

Daya was playing with the children in the courtyard.

In the kitchen, Mrs. He chopped vegetables while speaking to Xue Yue. "Yue’er, next year, I want to send Xiao Yu to school too. Shiyi’s school is quite good. It’s not right for a girl her age to just stay at home every day. Your father and I will pay for her tuition."

Mrs. He usually took care of the house while Mr. He helped out at the supermarket. After discussing it, He Lang and Xue Yue had decided to give the elderly couple one hundred yuan a month, so Mrs. He now had over a thousand yuan saved up.

Xue Yue nodded. "Of course. I’ll make a trip to the school before the new term starts next year."

Hearing this, Mrs. He broke into a smile. "Ah, good, good. That’s exactly what I was hoping for."

This matter had actually been weighing on Mrs. He’s mind for some time. Now that she had brought it up and Xue Yue had agreed, Mrs. He’s movements suddenly became much brisker.

Xue Yue had been planning this as well. Xiao Yu was only a year younger than Shiyi and was old enough for school. Staying home every day, she followed Mrs. He everywhere. She was also very timid. Since they had decided to raise her, they should do it properly.

"Dinner’s ready!"

Mr. He took out a bottle of liquor and said to He Lang, "Third Son, how about we two have a drink today?"

"Alright."

Mrs. He slapped Mr. He’s arm. "Don’t drink too much."

Mr. He glanced at her. "Don’t you worry about it. I don’t have work tomorrow, so it doesn’t matter if I get drunk."

Mrs. He: "I’m just worried about your health."

"My health is perfectly fine," Mr. He said as he poured the liquor.

Knowing it was useless to argue, Mrs. He ignored them and started putting food on the children’s plates.

"Eat up. Try Grandma’s braised pork belly. How is it?"

Shiyi asked, "Mom, after dinner, can we go outside and set off firecrackers?"

Xue Yue nodded. "Yes, but you have to watch from a distance."

"Yay!"

Shiyi excitedly shoveled rice into their mouth.

Xue Xingzhou’s family was also having dinner. He and Zheng Guofeng had cooked it together.

The family had just started eating and had only taken a few bites when a sudden knock echoed from the door.

"Who could that be at this hour?" Zhang Qian said.

"I’ll go see," Xue Xingzhou said, standing up to get the door.

The moment he opened the door, he saw Gao Shi standing outside, bent over and panting.

When he saw Xue Xingzhou, he straightened up, swallowed, and said, "Something big has happened. The bureau’s calling an emergency meeting. Everyone has to be there. I came to let you know."

Xue Xingzhou frowned. "I’ll go tell my family and be right there."

Gao Shi said, "Alright, I’m off to notify the others."

With that, he ran off again.

"Xingzhou, who was it?" Zheng Guofeng asked.

Xue Xingzhou’s expression was grim. "Dad, something happened at the bureau. They want everyone to come back for a meeting."

Zhang Qian stood up. "Right now?"

Xue Xingzhou nodded.

"On New Year’s of all days... we can’t even have a peaceful holiday," Zhang Qian sighed.

Zheng Guofeng said to Xue Xingzhou, "Then you should hurry and go."

"Yeah."

Xue Xingzhou went back to change his clothes and left in a hurry.

When he arrived at the bureau, he found that no one looked happy.

The chief arrived shortly after and began with an apology.

"I’m very sorry to have to call you all in at this hour on such a special day, but it couldn’t be helped. A short while ago, Huayang Bank was robbed by a group of people. The guards on duty were killed, and the entire vault was emptied. This is no longer a simple criminal case; it is utterly heinous. What you may not know is that the gold bars in Huayang Bank are state property. This incident has already alarmed the higher-ups. They’re demanding that we solve this case immediately, bring these people to justice as quickly as possible, and recover the gold."

"Besides, even if the higher-ups weren’t demanding it, this is still within our jurisdiction. These criminals are vicious. They deliberately chose today to commit the robbery, so there are very few witnesses. Only one family across the street from the bank saw anything. They said there were several people, though they don’t know the exact number, but every one of them was armed."

"From this moment on, all leave is canceled. Put aside whatever you’re working on and focus all your energy on this case."

"I have only one demand: solve this case as quickly as possible, at any cost."

"YES, SIR!"

Everyone quickly got to work.

"Xue Xingzhou, go to the scene."

They arrived at the scene. Because it was New Year’s Eve and everyone was at home celebrating, the crime scene was undisturbed, and there were no onlookers.

Three security guards, all killed by a single gunshot, lay not far from the entrance.

Xue Xingzhou crouched down to examine the guards closely, noticing their muscular builds and the thick calluses on their hands.

The criminal investigation captain glanced over and said, "No need to look too closely. These guards aren’t ordinary men. They’re all ex-military, so their skills should be top-notch. But there don’t seem to be any signs of a struggle. Were they all dozing off?"

Xue Xingzhou observed them for a long time. "It’s also possible it was someone they knew, so they let their guard down."

The captain was surprised. "An inside job?"

Xue Xingzhou shrugged. "It’s just a guess."

The vault door had been breached by force, and there were signs of explosives at the scene.

"They came straight for the vault. They must have cased the joint beforehand."

"Definitely. A plan this meticulous must have been in the works for some time."

"How did they carry away so many gold bars? Unless they made multiple trips, they would have needed at least a dozen strong men."

After observing the scene for a long time, they had almost nothing to show for it.

They had no choice but to split up. One team went to canvass the neighborhood and question the witness—who was also the one who reported the crime—while another team went to investigate the backgrounds of all current bank employees.

"We didn’t hear any gunshots or explosions. There were firecrackers going off outside the whole time, so we couldn’t tell one sound from another."

"Then what did you see?"

"My dad and I were playing chess in the study, the kids were playing in the living room, and my wife and my mom were cooking in the kitchen. None of us noticed any commotion across the street. It was only during dinner when I went to get a drink that I happened to glance over. I just saw a car parked in front of the bank and a few people running out with bags on their backs."