I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

----------------

"Oh, even Gretchen isn't free today?" Swire put down her phone, somewhat disappointed, after receiving Gretchen's polite refusal.

Honestly, Little Tiger has already started considering the possibility of going back to work now...

"Fine, if no one's around, then no one's around. I'll go have fun by myself." After thinking for a moment, Swire finally shook her head and said helplessly.

She wasn't really in the mood for work today, and even if she went now, her efficiency wouldn't be high. She decided to go out for a walk some more, and then, when it got a little later, find a place to have a drink.

I'll go home early today and get some rest to get my sleep schedule back from the chaos caused by staying up all night.

Just as Swire was taking action, Patto, who was living near her home, also took action after receiving the news.

After summoning the canned food back from the villa area, the cat headed towards the approximate range of Swire's movements given by Gretchen.

"The distance is quite far, and we have to time it so as not to arouse suspicion about Gretchen's sister... These days, jobs are getting harder and harder."

Despite her complaints, Pato knew she was the one who provoked Swire first. Having taken advantage of her so many times, she felt she should at least show some concern, both morally and logically.

Moreover, the relationship between the two people isn't, in a sense, purely one of thief and victim. Who would pay money after stealing something?

If it were purely altruistic and devoid of emotion, Piano Cat wouldn't have paid this time. That's a lot of money—enough for her and An Suo to have many lavish meals and help many people.

Chapter 110: The Issue of Staying Overnight

As time passed, the case was successfully resolved thanks to the hard work of the police officers.

Chen also learned a lot of things he wanted to know through the agreement made with Xiao Shi. It can be said that his trip to return from leave in the afternoon was worthwhile.

"Alright, you can go now. I don't know how you managed to knock someone unconscious without hurting them, but don't be so impulsive next time." Chen, who came in from outside with some documents, said to Xiao Shi, who was sitting in the office so bored he was practically growing mushrooms.

"!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shi practically jumped up from his chair and complained, "Finally, we can leave! The efficiency of your operations here is truly appalling!"

"If doing a good deed can get you detained for so long, who will dare to do good deeds in the future!"

"...Excuse me for speaking frankly, but we at Longmen do not encourage the masses to do the 'good deeds' you mentioned." After hearing Xiao Shi's statement, Chen was silent for a moment, then said somewhat speechlessly.

Just as Chen could make Xiao Shi angry with a single sentence, Xiao Shi could often leave Chen speechless.

"Alright, enough of this nonsense, let's get going. I have other work to do."

In reality, for normal cases, people who do good deeds would not have to spend so much time giving statements and undergoing investigations at the Konoe Bureau.

However, this case was quite serious, involving a large number of people, and Xiao Shi's initial intimidating demeanor made it difficult to justify not detaining her as a suspect. This could be attributed to Chen knowing her and having a vague understanding of her fighting abilities.

"...Suddenly I didn't want to leave."

Hearing Chen Ganren's words, Xiao Shi raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms and sat down again, as if she wasn't the one who had just been excited.

"I'm starting to seriously doubt whether you're as old as Gretchen!" she said, staring at the person in front of her who was acting like a child, speaking each word with a forced smile.

"Hmph, I love seeing you get angry like this, but you can't do anything about it." Hearing Chen's words, Xiao Shi couldn't help but grin and retort.

After spending an afternoon getting used to Chen's way of speaking, Xiao Shi has become somewhat accustomed to it and is no longer as easily provoked as she was at the beginning. Sometimes she can even watch the show with a smile.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Chen didn't say anything more this time, but instead rubbed her increasingly throbbing temples for the umpteenth time. She must be crazy to be arguing with such an utterly childish guy.

While being tormented by Xiao Shi, Chen Ye began to miss his well-behaved, sensible, and incredibly cute younger sister, Greta, even more. The two were worlds apart.

Of course, "cloud" refers to the lovely Gretchen, while "mud" refers to the wretched brat in front of them.

"call……"

Just as Chen took a deep breath, intending to kick this guy out of her office, there was a knock on the door behind her.

"Boom boom-"

"Um, Sister Huijie, may I come in?"

Along with the knocking, came the voice of the person Chen had just been missing.

"Enter."

Upon learning the visitor's identity, Chen turned around and opened the office door as he spoke.

However, to her surprise, Gretchen was not the only one who came to see her this time. Behind her was a person who looked very similar to the guy in her office who called himself the "Herrscher of Knowledge".

Although they looked very similar, Chen could tell the biggest difference between them at a glance. Compared to the boisterous, unruly kid in his office, the calm and composed demeanor of the person in front of him was almost overflowing.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Chen quickly composed himself, snapping out of his daze, and asked the question in a manner that wouldn't seem impolite.

However, before Chen could get a reply from the person in front of her, Xiao Shi, who was sitting not far behind her, stepped forward and said, "Old fogies, why are you only arriving now? I'm so bored here!"

"Sigh...it's all because of you, Xiao Shi, who always loves to stir up trouble and acts impulsively." Hearing Xiao Shi's complaints, Hua sighed helplessly, then extended his hand to Chen.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, officer. My name is Hua, and I'm Gretchen's other sister. I'm so sorry, it's my fault for not disciplining Xiao Shi properly. He's caused you trouble today."

"..."

Although judging a person's personality by their temperament should be...

He was usually very composed, but when Hua spoke kindly, Chen couldn't help but pause for a moment before taking her outstretched hand and saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hua. My name is Chen Huijie, and I'm a police superintendent here."

"It's not really causing trouble; after all, it's all part of our job."

"Is that so? Then Officer Chen, can you tell me what Xiaoshi did this afternoon? Does she need to apologize and make compensation to someone?" Hua withdrew his hand and asked helplessly, pretending not to know the truth.

"Hmm? So she hasn't told her yet..." Upon hearing this, Chen Wei raised an eyebrow and then spoke.

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Shi quickly interrupted, "You rascal, you're finished if you dare to tattle!"

“Xiao Shi, threatening others is wrong. It’s a very bad habit, and you shouldn’t do it…”

Xiao Shi had just told Chen to shut up when Hua started lecturing her again, frowning. This gave Xiao Shi a headache, and she covered her head, saying, "Ugh, why are you starting again! Stop it, I was wrong, okay? You old fogey, please stop talking."

"Xiao Shi, you shouldn't apologize to me."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, alright?" Xiao Shi said to Chen Dao with extreme reluctance after hearing Hua's words.

"Alright, don't ask any more questions. Let's leave now, I can't stay here any longer!" With that, Xiao Shi pushed the two of them, one big and one small, as if she wanted to escape from this place, and prepared to leave as soon as possible.

"..." Seeing Xiao Shi's "intense" reaction, Hua didn't know what else to say. He could only smile apologetically at Chen and say, "That's just Xiao Shi's personality. I'm sorry to trouble you, Officer Chen. I'll treat you to a meal next time, and then we can talk in detail."

"It's okay, I'm used to it." Chen shook her head gently, then, as if she had made up her mind, continued, "Although it may be a bit presumptuous of me to say this suddenly, I still want to try."

"Please say."

Seeing the serious expression on Chen's face, Hua gently slapped away Xiao Shi's hand that was pushing her away, turned around and faced her.

"That is, could Gretsch stay at my house tonight? It would be convenient for me to go shopping with her tomorrow."

Chapter 111 Gifts and Findings

"So, could Gretchen stay at my house tonight? That way, I can go shopping with her tomorrow." With that, Chen looked at Hua with a touch of trepidation, awaiting her reply.

There was no way around it; the girl in front of her had such a composed demeanor that it always gave her the illusion of facing an elder, making her unconsciously feel nervous.

"Heh, I thought it was something serious. Officer Chen can just ask Gretchen directly. If she agrees, we won't object." Hua chuckled softly after taking in the emotions on Chen's face, speaking in a calm tone.

"Oh, Ms. Hua, are you really that at ease? I thought you were the kind of person who was strict with your children." Chen exclaimed in surprise in a low voice after hearing Hua's words.

Only now did Chen realize that it seemed there wasn't just one sister who believed in and indulged Gretchen... but a whole group of them.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. If even one of the older sisters was worried about the little guy, she wouldn't have let him play outside barefoot by himself and get lost...

"Ahem, is Gretchen coming home with me tonight?" Chen coughed lightly to pull himself out of his thoughts, then looked at Gretchen and asked softly.

“Hmm, if it won’t trouble Sister Huijie, then…” After thinking for a moment about her schedule for tomorrow and finding that it wouldn’t affect anything, Gretchen gently nodded her head and agreed.

"No trouble at all, then please take care of me from now on!" Looking at Gretchen's cute and sensible appearance, Chen couldn't help but smile at her, and then reached out to rub her fluffy little head.

"Tch, you despicable guy, you actually tried to steal my girlfriend right in front of me!" Xiao Shi said, glaring at the hand that was blocking Gretchen's head.

Honestly, if it weren't for that old fogey standing next to her, she would have already cursed this guy for being shameless. They've only known each other for a short time, and he's already trying to bring her child home?!

If Gretchen were just an ordinary child, some parents would probably start making a fuss...

"This isn't about poaching someone; it's just an ordinary invitation. After all, Gretchen is a well-behaved and adorable child, unlike some people..." Chen smiled knowingly at the end.

She realized that whenever Miss Hua was around, someone would become much more restrained and obedient, as if being suppressed.

"?!"

Xiao Shi, having grasped the meaning behind Chen's words, couldn't help but clench his fists, then retorted with a forced smile, "Officer Chen, don't forget our agreement, let's add each other as friends."

"This will also make it easier for you to keep your promise!"

"Hmm???"

Watching the two people secretly clashing, Greta's beautiful eyes flashed with curiosity as she looked at them.

"It's nothing, it's just a little agreement between this guy and me, Gretsch and the old man, you don't need to worry about it." Noticing Gretsch's gaze, Xiao Shi explained without turning his head.

"Hurry up, this family of yours... Officer Chen shouldn't be the kind of person who would break a contract in front of a child, right? No way? No way?"

"?" Xiao Shi, who originally wanted to urge him directly, seemed to remember something, changed the subject, and said with a mischievous smile.

"..."

Hearing Xiao Shi's familiar but embellished words, Chen suddenly felt like she had shot herself in the foot. After a moment of silence, she finally and reluctantly added someone under Gretsch's innocent gaze.

Having achieved her goal, Xiao Shi didn't continue jumping around. Instead, she said, "Alright, since Gretsch is planning to stay today, I'll go with the old antique first!"

"If this guy dares to bully you, tell me, and I'll help you bully him back!"

"Tsk, I would never bully Gretsch." Hearing this, Chen retorted to Xiao Shi with some displeasure, before turning to Hua and saying, "Miss Hua, please rest assured, I will take good care of and protect Gretsch."

“I trust Officer Chen completely. Although this is only our first official meeting, I’ve heard a lot about you before, and I believe you will take good care of Greta.” With that, Hua gave Chen a gentle, trusting smile.

"Alright, since there's nothing else, we won't bother you any longer. We believe you and Gretchen will have a pleasant time together from now on."

"Yes, goodbye, Miss Hua."

"Goodbye."

Seeing the two exchanging pleasantries, Xiao Shi poked her head out and waved lightly at Gretchen before pulling Hua away from the unfortunate place that was the Guard Bureau.

After this incident, the great Herrscher of Knowledge swore that unless it was for a fight, a friendly spar, or some kind of accident, she would never come to this place again.

"..."

Greta stood beside Chen, watching Hua and the others leave before looking up at the person beside her and softly asking, "Um, what does Sister Huijie want to buy tomorrow?"