Chapter 44

They were all young people with hearty appetites, and each carried a full plate to an empty table in the corner. 

After a busy afternoon, everyone was hungry and eagerly dug into their food with chopsticks. 

Everyone except Wei Shian. 

He first took out his phone and snapped a photo of his meal before sending it out. 

Then, he spread a napkin on the table, placed his phone on it, and finally began to eat. 

Seeing this, Luo Wei felt a pang of jealousy, suspecting that their boss was messaging someone he was pursuing. 

He truly hadn’t expected it. A 30-year-old man, who previously claimed to have no time for romance, was now acting all lovey-dovey because he liked a girl. 

What’s so special about taking photos of your meal? 

And why put a napkin under your phone? 

What’s he showing off… huh? Phone? As Luo Wei was internally complaining, he noticed the phone and instinctively reached out to grab it. 

But Wei Shian was quicker. He slapped away his teammate’s grabby hand and moved the phone to the other side, then continued eating in peace. 

Now, not just Luo Wei, but the others were a bit confused too. 

Their squad leader wasn’t usually this petty, right? 

Yan Hanhai glanced at the slightly rounded, silver-blue phone and asked, “Did you get a new phone, Captain Wei?” 

Luo Wei rubbed his hand and grinned, “This model is the 6600, right? I heard it costs over 4,000 yuan. Let us have a look.” 

“Whoa… that expensive? Really over 4,000 yuan?” The others were shocked. Even for Captain Wei, buying this phone would cost a month’s salary, let alone for them. 

Wei Shian smirked and casually replied, “I don’t know, it was a New Year gift from my girlfriend.” 

Everyone… 

After a brief silence, Luo Wei was the first to complain. Good grief, no wonder he was acting so extra, even putting a napkin under the phone—he was just showing off! 

Jealousy made people crazy, and Officer Luo, emboldened by this, put on a mocking face. “How did it become ‘girlfriend’? Weren’t you just chasing her a couple of days ago?” 

Wei Shian couldn’t be bothered to reply and continued texting his girlfriend on his phone. 

Seeing this, the others began to ask Luo Wei when the captain started pursuing someone, when he got a girlfriend, and what she did… 

How would Luo Wei know? The captain had kept it all under wraps. 

But… he suddenly had an idea. “Captain, Old Yan’s wedding is on the fifth day of the new year. How about you bring your girlfriend along and introduce her to us?” 

Yan Hanhai, who was busy eating, looked up. 

He first glanced at the captain, who was smiling while typing on his phone, then at his colleague, who was winking and clasping his hands in a pleading gesture. With a twitch of his lips, he reluctantly joined in the invitation, “Captain Wei, if it’s convenient, please bring her along.” 

Wei Shian was more than happy to introduce his girlfriend; he wished he could introduce her to all his family and friends immediately. But his little peony was shy… “I’ll ask her.” 

— 

That evening. 

Lu Jiu was lying on her bed with a face mask on, a small, snoring white fluffball curled up on her stomach. 

When she received Wei Shian’s invitation, she was a bit surprised: “Attend your colleague’s wedding?” 

Wei Shian: “Yes, I’ll be on duty the following two days, so I’ll probably be busy. If you’re willing to come on the fifth, we can meet up.” 

She wasn’t unwilling, but it felt a bit too soon. However, her boyfriend’s clear desire to have her get to know and become part of his social circle made it hard for Lu Jiu to turn him down directly, so she asked first, “Which colleague?” 

Wei Shian: “Can we video chat on QQ? Typing is too slow.” 

Lu Jiu touched the face mask on her face. At the moment, she was very conscious of her image in front of her boyfriend, so she directly declined: “It’s not very convenient right now.” 

Wei Shian: “Then how about a phone call?” 

Lu Jiu thought for a moment and replied: “Okay.” 

As soon as she agreed, the phone rang instantly. 

This was their first time talking on the phone, and Lu Jiu suddenly felt a bit nervous. She took a deep breath and answered, her face flushing as she said, “…Hello.” 

On the other end of the line, Officer Wei didn’t speak immediately; instead, there was a clear, low chuckle. 

In that laughter, there was an unmistakable hint of pride. 

A light bulb went off in Lu Jiu’s mind, and she instantly realized that he had tricked her again—he’d intended to call from the start. 

Annoyed, she sat up. “Wei Shian! Oh no… Marshmallow, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Seeing the little white fluffball roll over a few times because of her sudden movement, Lu Jiu quickly forgot her anger and hurriedly scooped the confused little one back into her arms to comfort it. 

Wei Shian: “Marshmallow? Is that your cat’s name?” 

After calming the kitten down, Lu Jiu also forgot her earlier embarrassment and proudly said, “Yes, don’t you think it looks just like a ball of Cotton Candy?” 

“I thought ‘Matchmaker’ would be a more fitting name.” 

Great, he was teasing her again. This man wasn’t serious at all. Though Lu Jiu was grumbling internally, she calmly changed the subject: “You still haven’t told me who’s getting married.” 

Wei Shian let out another low chuckle: “Yan Hanhai.” 

“What does he look like?” 

“Well… he’s the one with a really good build and very short hair. He transferred from the military. Do you remember him?” 

A really good build? Lu Jiu couldn’t quite recall and instinctively asked, “Is his build better than yours?” 

There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by hearty laughter… 

Lu Jiu’s face turned beet red, her ears burning, and she quickly hung up the phone with a smack. 

Ah~ Why do I always end up saying something dumb in front of him!? 

— 

In the end, Lu Jiu decided to go. 

Because she was also eager to meet Officer Wei’s friends and get to know his life better. 

Of course, the most important reason was that Officer Yan Hanhai’s bride happened to be a forensic pathologist. 

Lu Jiu had always admired people in that profession. 

So, not only did she agree to attend, but she also asked her boyfriend to convey her wish to prepare the bride’s bouquet. 

Honestly, Lu Jiu originally wanted to handle all the flowers at the wedding venue. 

But she worried that doing so might come off as too enthusiastic or too showy, so she settled on just the bouquet. 

The wedding was scheduled for noon. 

On the fifth day of the New Year, the two of them agreed to meet at the Lu Department Store. 

Since she planned to make the bouquet herself, Lu Jiu arrived at the parking lot half an hour early.