At the beginning of January, Liang Zhen signed up for the competition in the underground 8-mile Wenzhou district.

This wasn’t his first time participating in a freestyle battle, but it was his first time joining the Underground Eight Mile. Apart from the well-established Iron Mic, the most attention in the domestic rap scene was focused on the Underground Eight Mile. Liang Zhen knew very well that this time it wasn’t just for fun. As the competition drew nearer, his preparations intensified. He couldn’t help but freestyle whenever he saw anything. These days, Shao Mingyin rarely relied on convenient frozen foods and instant noodles. As long as he wasn’t on the night shift, he would cook several dishes. Liang Zhen felt particularly satisfied as he ate his meal. Whenever he got excited, he would start freestyling—look at this bowl, it’s so big and round, just like the grains of rice inside…

As the date approached, he would ask Shao Mingyin whether he would come or not every other day. But during this time, Shao Mingyin was inexplicably busy, working night shifts every day, which meant Liang Zhen couldn’t see him in person for several days. Communication could only happen over the phone. Whenever Liang Zhen asked if he would come, Shao Mingyin’s response was always, “We’ll see.” Seeing that the competition was tomorrow, Liang Zhen couldn’t sit still. Instead of going to Shao Mingyin’s house right after class, he went straight to the police station in Mushan Street.

Coincidentally, as soon as he entered the police station, he saw Shao Mingyin sitting alone at a table in the front hall. Shao Mingyin was busy jotting down something and hadn’t looked up to see who had come in. Feeling ignored, Liang Zhen walked boldly to the table and sat down across from Shao Mingyin: “Officer, I want to report a case.”

Shao Mingyin’s pen didn’t stop. He had actually heard the footsteps of the youth from the moment Liang Zhen stood at the door, so he hadn’t looked up. Following Liang Zhen’s lead, he asked, “What case are you reporting?”

“My partner hasn’t come home for nights,” Liang Zhen said, clutching his chest, “I’m worried, I miss him, I’m anxious.”

“It’s not a missing person case, this isn’t something the police station deals with,” Shao Mingyin didn’t think much, thinking Liang Zhen was just being dramatic and making up a story, so he played along.

“I really have no other choice but to come to the station.”

“Well, the police don’t handle everything, maybe you should go to the Civil Affairs Bureau.”

“How can you say that, officer? Are you implying that I should divorce my partner by going to the Civil Affairs Bureau?” Liang Zhen pretended to be indignant, “Let me tell you, officer, divorce is impossible, not in this lifetime.”

“Okay okay…” Shao Mingyin suppressed a laugh, finally looking up, putting down his pen. He almost grabbed Liang Zhen’s shoulder, shaking it, “Wake up, the script is off!”

Seeing that Shao Mingyin finally looked at him, Liang Zhen showed a satisfied smile as if he had succeeded: “Then let me show you something else!” After saying that, he took out his phone and sent a few pictures to Shao Mingyin. Shao Mingyin also opened the chat interface, which showed several promotional posters, prominently featuring a hand shaped like a gun with the index finger pointing upwards, with the competition slogan written at the top—”Chinese HIPHOP Rooted in the Underground Eight Mile.”

There was more than one such image, with the name of the livehouse written in the corners, obviously to promote the newly produced posters. The opening gimmick and momentum were enough, now it was time to explain how to play, but Shao Mingyin found the information about rap and signing up for tickets confusing. He scrolled to the last picture directly, where the prizes for the winners were written.

He raised an eyebrow, looking across at Liang Zhen. It was close to noon, and there was only him at the consultation desk of the police station at this time. Besides Liang Zhen, no one else would come to report a case at this hour. Liang Zhen naturally sat on a chair outside the consultation desk, as if he had a close relationship with the Mushan Street Police Station.

Shao Mingyin said, “The winner will get three hundred thousand.”

“Yes, three hundred thousand!” Liang Zhen gestured with his hand, “Six zeros!”

Shao Mingyin frowned, quickly counted with his fingers, “How did you learn math, it’s five zeros.”

Liang Zhen: ???

Liang Zhen counted again, pretending nothing had happened, and changed the gesture of “six” to five open fingers: “Five zeros!”

Shao Mingyin: …

Shao Mingyin teased, “Even with six zeros, it wouldn’t be enough for you to buy a GTC4.”

“I don’t care about those cars anymore, they’re all illusions,” Liang Zhen waved his hand casually, leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed, “I’ve transcended now. If I win the championship, I want to use this money to study, to pay tuition.”

“Okay,” Shao Mingyin nodded, “you still have your priorities straight.” He continued to scroll back and forth, but couldn’t find the specific location and date, so he asked directly, “When is this competition anyway?”

“I’ve told you so many times, don’t you remember?”

“I remember, of course. I was asking you about the finals.”

“Oh, the finals. We need to win the Wenzhou competition tomorrow night first, then continue upwards. The national finals will be this summer.”

Shao Mingyin laughed, “So, you haven’t even won the Wenzhou district yet, and you’re already planning how to spend the national championship prize money.”

“Of course, everyone aims for the championship, win or nothing. There’s no second or third place, only the championship, three hundred thousand!”

“Alright, then I wish you luck first, wish you get that three hundred thousand.”

“No…” Liang Zhen straightened up from the back of the chair, leaned forward, resting his elbows on Liang Zhen’s desk, “I’m not here to ask for luck. I want to ask you to come tomorrow.”

“Didn’t I already tell you? The night shift for tomorrow hasn’t been assigned yet. I can’t confirm.”

“Well…” Liang Zhen couldn’t finish as footsteps echoed from the stairs nearby. Both of them turned to look, seeing someone carrying several documents, heading straight to the consultation desk.

“Hey? This young man looks familiar,” the newcomer was an older lady, “Are you here to report a case?”

“Not reporting a case,” Liang Zhen pointed to himself, “Jie, don’t you remember me? Wenzhen!”

The female officer pondered for a moment, then her eyes lit up, pointing her finger at Liang Zhen as if counting, “I remember now, you’re that young man from that day.”

“How could I forget? You’re quite handsome,” she smiled, “What brings you here again? Is there anything wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m looking for Officer Shao.”

“Oh, how come, are you two friends now?”

“Of course, Officer Shao is so good,” Liang Zhen started chatting away, “A good servant of the people, a good comrade of the street. He’s saved so many young and old people from the brink of disaster. I came in a hurry this time, next time I’ll definitely bring a banner.”

“You’re quite a flatterer,” the female officer chuckled, “We all know Officer Shao is good. The director mentioned it several times during our meal last time. There have been several transfer orders from the city bureau for Officer Shao. It’s a great opportunity. But he always says the street police station needs manpower, and that he should stay at the grassroots level while he’s young. The director is both happy and sad, wanting him to stay but also worrying about delaying his career…”

“Alright, Zhao jie, that’s enough,” Shao Mingyin interrupted, standing up to take the files from her. Zhao jie also remembered she was here for business and quickly explained the duty roster to Shao Mingyin.

“Xiao Shao, look, there are many good days in January. Several female officers in the station are getting married during this time, their wedding leave has already been approved. And the male comrades, except for you, are all out for team building until next week. So these two days are really short-handed. I couldn’t arrange it properly, so I had to assign you extra night shifts. I and the director have discussed it, and the director knows you’re working hard. He said he’ll give you a few extra days off next month, including the Spring Festival.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, whether there’s leave or not doesn’t matter,” Shao Mingyin said, continuing to look at the roster.

“That’s because you haven’t found a partner yet. It doesn’t matter to you. You’re not that young anymore. Do you want me to introduce someone to you?”

As soon as this topic came up, Shao Mingyin’s head started to ache. He was about to change the topic, but someone seemed even more anxious than him.

“No need, jie, don’t introduce Officer Shao to anyone.”

Officer Zhao was also puzzled, looking at Liang Zhen beside her, somewhat confused, “Whether it’s early or late, introductions will still be made. Men will eventually get married.”

“No, really no need,” Liang Zhen’s facial expression was particularly natural, “Officer Shao didn’t tell you guys? He has a sweetheart in his hometown.”

Shao Mingyin didn’t expect Liang Zhen to bring this up. He didn’t let go of the documents, but his gaze shifted towards Liang Zhen, and their eyes met.

“Really, Officer Shao really has someone,” he continued to look at officer Zhao with a serious expression.

Officer Zhao was still a bit skeptical, “But why has he never mentioned it? What does this person do?”

“She doesn’t have a profession yet, she’s still a student, studying music at a university in Shijiazhuang.”

“Where is she from?”

“Lanzhou.”

“Oh, then she’s your fellow villager.”

“Yes, exactly because she’s a fellow villager, Officer Shao was shy to tell you guys, but he mentioned it to me.”

“But…” she still didn’t quite believe it, “Xiao Shao is in Wenzhou, how did he find someone so far away?”

“Shijiazhuang is Officer Shao’s hometown. It’s not far, jie. Moreover, in this day and age, online relationships connect people. If they’ve connected, they should cherish this bond,” Liang Zhen said convincingly, “Think about it, jie. Officer Shao showed me photos of his partner. Oh, she’s so beautiful, an art student in music. Her temperament is excellent too, and I heard her grades are good. No matter where she goes in the future, she won’t suffer any losses. With such a partner, whoever you introduce to Officer Shao, he won’t be interested.”

“But… But this long-distance relationship…”

“Long-distance relationships can’t stop true love. Don’t you believe it? Ask Officer Shao. Haven’t they already agreed to get engaged once the other person turns 22?”

Officer Zhao found a loophole: “22 years old? Isn’t 22 the legal marriage age for males?”

“Anyway, that’s the idea,” Liang Zhen remained calm, “Just because she’s a student, Officer Shao is keeping it low-key. But once the other person graduates in two years, they’re completely set on it.”

“Is this true, Xiao Shao?” Officer Zhao turned to the person in question, “Do you really have someone?”

At this point, what else could Shao Mingyin say? Liang Zhen had already turned his uncooked rice into a cooked meal with just his words; all Shao could do was nod.

“Well, if he has someone, then I don’t need to worry,” she actually believed it, “No wonder some girls confessed to Xiao Shao before, and he turned them down. Turns out he already had someone. Alright then, you guys continue chatting, I’m going upstairs.”

As she disappeared around the corner, Shao Mingyin couldn’t pretend to focus on the documents anymore. He leaned forward and wrapped his arm around Liang Zhen’s neck, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I’m not talking nonsense,” Liang Zhen said in a suppressed voice, but still with an air of triumph, “I’m just stating the facts. Otherwise, if I really introduce a girl to you, would you actually go on a blind date?”

“I—”

“First, show me the duty roster,” Liang Zhen leaned closer, “Do you have a night shift tomorrow?” He had been hopeful, but upon seeing Shao Mingyin’s name, he instantly felt disappointed. Still, he persistently asked, “Can you switch shifts with someone else?”

“You heard just now, there aren’t many people around during this time. Who can I switch with?”

“Tsk, can’t you take a day off?”

“Why should I take a day off?” Shao Mingyin asked, “I’ve been here for three years, and I’ve never taken a day off. Why should I start tomorrow?”

“What’s the big deal about taking one? Just come up with some excuse.”

Shao Mingyin didn’t agree, instead, he picked up a pen and started jotting something down on paper: “I have a night shift tomorrow, and they need me here.”

“But I…” Liang Zhen clenched his jaw, “But I need you too.”