"Do they... know me?" Lu Na looked up at him, tears already streaming down her face.

Lu Jingxiu was silent for a few seconds, then said, "They don't know I found you."

Lu Na still held her head up, but tears were already streaming down her face, dripping onto the report and onto the floor.

She looked at Lu Jingxiu, wanting to say something, but her throat seemed to be choked, and she couldn't make a sound.

"How did you find me?"

Lu Jingxiu thought for a moment and made up an excuse: "I saw that you and my mother look alike the other day, so I had someone check it out." Then he changed the subject, "The DNA report came out today."

"Then why didn't you tell me yesterday?" Lu Na's voice was choked with sobs, and her tears flowed even faster.

Lu Jingxiu remained silent for a second.

Why didn't he say it yesterday? Because he didn't know how to bring it up.

This whole thing is so dramatic, so absurd even he himself finds it ridiculous. He's afraid she won't be able to accept it, afraid she'll think he's lying to her, afraid she'll turn around and run away.

"I don't know how to tell you."

Lu Na hugged him tightly, unable to control herself any longer.

She buried her face in his chest, her thin shoulders trembling violently, her voice changing from suppressed sobs to a loud cry: "Lu Jingxiu, why did it take you so long to come... why did it take you so long to find me!"

During her most desperate and helpless moments, when she was expelled from school, evicted from her rented room, and sitting alone by the flower bed with her suitcase, not knowing where to go.

Her older brother suddenly appeared and told her that she wasn't alone. She wasn't abandoned, she wasn't unwanted; she had family, she had a brother.

She carried the burden alone for a long time today.

From receiving the notice of withdrawal from school in the morning, to the landlord refunding her rent and letting her move out, to walking alone on unfamiliar streets with her suitcase, to sitting by the flower bed holding back her tears.

She had been holding on all morning, and her emotions were already shattered. At this moment, her defenses collapsed instantly, and she burst into tears.

She cried so hard she made no sense of decorum, and snot bubbles came out of her nose.

Lu Jingxiu gently held Lu Na in his arms, watching her cry with her frail body trembling.

He placed his hand on her back and gently stroked it.

……

Meanwhile, in the office of the director of the municipal public security bureau.

"Dai Guan! Is your branch office trying to become an independent kingdom?!"

Hong Zhan's roar pierced through the office door. Several police officers passing by in the corridor lowered their heads and quickened their pace, not daring to breathe.

Someone took out their phone and quickly sent a message in the work group:

The bureau chief is in a bad mood today, so be careful and don't make any mistakes.

[+1, my legs went weak just passing by the office door.]

[I heard there's been another incident at the Lan'an branch of the Public Security Bureau?]

I don't know, but it's best to avoid the director's office today.

【Received, I won't make any mistakes today!】

"Do you think I'm sitting too comfortably and want to help me move over?!" Hong Zhan shouted angrily, slamming his phone on the table with the other hand.

"How is your branch office implementing its digital certificate management system?! When was your last inspection?! Do you even know who your soldiers are using your system to check?!"

On the other end of the phone, Director Dai of the Lan'an branch also looked grim.

He stood ramrod straight in his office, as if he were being reprimanded, and cautiously began, "Director Hong, it's my fault for not managing things properly..."

"Lax management?!" Hong Zhan interrupted him abruptly, slamming his hand on the table. The sound startled Director Dai: "Do you even believe that yourself?!"

"Within 48 hours, the information of two leaders' family members was accessed illegally. How am I supposed to explain this to the mayor?! How am I supposed to explain this to the party secretary?!"

Hong Zhanzhen was starting to lose his composure.

This morning, as soon as he entered his office, he made himself a cup of tea, opened the work plan for the special campaign against organized crime, and prepared to further refine the division of tasks among the various departments.

I hadn't even settled into my seat when the phone rang.

The information of the mayor's son, Tang Cheng, was illegally accessed by someone from another police station under the Lan'an District Branch.

The person has been taken into custody, and the disciplinary committee and the supervisory commission have intervened simultaneously.

He felt like the sky had fallen as he held the microphone.

No, it just collapsed yesterday, how come it collapsed again today?

Was this guy supposed to be here to give him a piece of his mind?

Is it really necessary to bring him down?

"I'm giving you two hours!" Hong Zhan barely suppressed the urge to smash his phone. "You immediately find out why this policeman surnamed Wang is investigating! Who gave him the right to do it! I need a complete report in two hours!"

He paused, took a deep breath, and said, "If you can't produce it by then, I'll have the inspector investigate you!"

"Yes, Director Hong, I'll be right there." Director Dai wiped the sweat from his forehead and hung up the phone.

The office fell silent. Director Dai stood still, his phone still in his hand, the screen now dark.

What Director Hong just said, seemingly an insult, was actually an attempt to shift the blame.

First, he subtly told him, "You want me to take the blame for the mess you made? If you cause me to be held accountable, I'll make you regret it." Then, he used the implementation of the digital certificate management system to firmly pin the responsibility on him.

He was given two hours; if he didn't finish, he would have to take off his hat.

After hanging up the phone, Hong Zhan threw his phone on the table and paced back and forth in the office with his hands behind his back.

His face was filled with frustration.

He really wanted to curse.

They cursed that the police officer surnamed Wang for having his brain slammed in a door, cursed that the branch director Dai Guan was just a figurehead, and cursed his damn luck.

How do I report this to the mayor now?

Yesterday, the Party Secretary's son was investigated; today, the Mayor's son is investigated.

The key point is that yesterday afternoon, the Party Secretary had just established a special rectification group at the Standing Committee meeting. Hong Zhan even sat in the meeting room and expressed his commitment, patting his chest and saying that the public security system would definitely cooperate fully.

And what happened? Before the words of their statement had even faded, the public security system ran into trouble again.

It's the exact same vulnerability.

Isn't this a slap in his own face? Isn't this telling the Party Secretary and Mayor that their newly established anti-gang task force can't even control the internal police force?

He walked back and forth dozens of times before finally stopping, returning to his chair, and leaning back as if all his strength had been drained.

He was truly at his wit's end.

He picked up his phone, let out a long sigh, and dialed a number.

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