Chapter 31: Being Petulant

"What if..."

Before Jiang Yan could finish his sentence, the members of the smuggling investigation office returned to report to Wu Jian.

"Captain, we searched the dormitory thoroughly, but we didn't find anything suspicious."

"Keep searching the factory."

After giving his orders, Wu Jian called Shen Qingye over.

"Shen Qingye, I've received a report. If you don't want to be taken in for questioning, you'd better tell me the truth right now."

Shen Qingye was terrified and could only nod vigorously.

With Jiang Yan present, Wu Jian did not want to make things difficult for Shen Qingye, so his tone remained relatively gentle. It felt less like an interrogation and more like a casual chat. After asking a few questions, Wu Jian mentally ruled out the possibility of Shen Qingye being involved in the smuggling.

Wu Jian had previously captured a suspect who mentioned certain secret codes. Just moments ago, when Wu Jian brought up these codes, Shen Qingye showed absolutely no reaction. If he were faking it, Shen Qingye would surely have asked what they meant or shown some response. Judging by his current state, Shen Qingye was simply scared out of his wits.

Wu Jian told Shen Qingye to return to his post, then turned to speak with Jiang Yan. He insisted, "It's not him."

"How can you be so sure?"

Jiang Yan felt a sense of relief and looked back at Shen Qingyao, trying to catch her eye. However, Shen Qingyao was entirely focused on her brother and didn't notice his gaze.

"What he did doesn't count as smuggling. Isn't he just the person you mentioned who paid others to buy things for him?"

Jiang Yan did not deny it. "Yes."

"Keep investigating. I'm close to catching the real culprit. Damn it, I've been running around for a month just to track this person down."

As Wu Jian spoke, he seemed to grow increasingly frustrated. He couldn't imagine what kind of person would be able to continuously sell steel to the black market. Jiang Yan remained silent after hearing this, then called Chen Zheng over.

"Chen Zheng, give the records we found last time to Captain Wu."

Chen Zheng took out the handwritten ledger and records and handed them to Wu Jian, who then had his men compare them one by one against the warehouse inventory. Watching the progress, Shen Qingyao felt anxious, and it was only when Jiang Yan returned to her side that her mind began to clear. She knew the rules of how things were done in this era; she had read plenty about them in history books. But now, she realized there was nothing she could do.

Jiang Yan placed his hand over hers, signaling her not to overthink it.

"Captain, we've found something!"

"Captain, there's something wrong with the shift log. I request to bring in Da Niu and Wang Tiezhu for questioning."

Wu Jian looked at Shen Qingye, who immediately explained, "Those two haven't been to the factory for days."

The other workers in the factory confirmed this, as the two had indeed not returned to work since they were last seen. The only person who likely knew the reason was the factory manager, but he had gone to the city and would not be back for some time.

"Their shift times coincide with when the factory's inventory started going missing. Captain, should we continue the investigation in this direction?"

Wu Jian gritted his teeth and nodded. "Take men to Wang Tiezhu and Da Niu's homes now."

"Those bastards, I've been leading the team for a month, and I can finally get some rest."

Before Wu Jian could even say goodbye to Jiang Yan, he led his men away in a whirlwind. Watching them leave, Shen Qingye finally took a deep breath.

"It seems Wang Tiezhu and Da Niu really provoked someone they shouldn't have," Shen Qingyao remarked as she stood up.

Shen Qingye didn't know why, but his eyes suddenly grew moist. He looked at Jiang Yan and asked, "What will happen to them?"

Jiang Yan thought for a moment. "If they really did such things, they will be dealt with according to the rules. If they didn't, they still won't be able to stay at the factory."

"Da Niu was forced into it," Shen Qingye said, still trying to speak up for him.

They had joined the factory together and had come up from the most grueling positions. No one understood them better than Shen Qingye; he knew Da Niu's life was simply too hard and full of disappointments. Shen Qingye believed that if it hadn't been for those circumstances, Da Niu wouldn't have turned out this way.

To Shen Qingyao, however, an act was an act; nothing could change the fact that the person had already changed their heart.

"Brother, was it because of Da Niu that you refused to speak up before? He didn't even try to help you, Brother. Why didn't you say something sooner..."

Shen Qingyao was unhappy, watching Shen Qingye while fearing he might say something too impulsive. When Shen Qingye remained silent, she became even more agitated.

"Brother, say something! Was it because of Da Niu that you..."

Jiang Yan gripped Shen Qingyao's hand. "Yao Yao."

Shen Qingyao realized she had overstepped and fell silent.

"We won't disturb you any further. Brother, go back to work. I'm taking Yao Yao with me."

Jiang Yan did not immediately pull Shen Qingyao away, giving her a chance to say goodbye to her brother. But Shen Qingyao refused and left in a huff.

"Yao Yao is just worried about you."

Shen Qingye nodded. "I know. She is the person in this world who cares about me the most."

"Today was just an unexpected incident. If something like this had really landed on your head, none of us could have done anything. Don't blame Yao Yao."

After explaining, Jiang Yan went to catch up with Shen Qingyao. She was kicking pebbles on the ground as she walked. She had walked fast for the first few steps, but now she was moving sluggishly, as if waiting for Shen Qingye to chase after her.

Jiang Yan slowed his pace as he approached. "Sharp tongue, soft heart."

"What? You think you know me that well?" Shen Qingyao retorted, flashing a playful look at him.

Jiang Yan pinched her nose. "If you were worried about your brother, why didn't you just say it? Why did you have to act that way?"

"He was keeping things from me, and it was all for Da Niu, even though he knew full well that Da Niu had no intention of explaining things for him," Shen Qingyao said indignantly.

Once they got in the car, Chen Zheng jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Do you know what your brother was thinking?"

Shen Qingyao was still angry. "How would I know? He's just a blockhead."

As she spoke, she felt a wave of sadness. The original owner of her body had always had a bad temper and often took it out on Shen Qingye. But ever since Wang Guihua arrived, their sibling relationship had been excellent. She didn't know when it started, but Shen Qingye had become like a little adult, looking after her. This was perhaps the first time she had left without saying goodbye to him. Her chest felt tight, and she struggled to find the words to speak.

"Your brother was so scared earlier because he often asked people to buy things for you. The biscuits and candies—he didn't have coupons for them, so he had to pay a high price to buy them on the black market."

Shen Qingyao fell silent upon hearing this.

"How do you know?"

"You married me. If he got into trouble, even if no one knew it had anything to do with you, at least I would be there to take care of you."

These words felt like a bomb exploding in Shen Qingyao's head. She had never thought of it that way; she had only assumed her brother was very capable at the steel mill and could earn a lot of money.

"Jiang Yan..."

Tears welled up in Shen Qingyao's eyes, and she buried her face in Jiang Yan's chest.