Police officer Chen Shu.

Founded in 1949, Donghai Police Academy is one of the earliest provincial-level professional police academies in China. Currently, it is also the only full-time undergraduate institution in Donghai Province that trains highly skilled applied police personnel and implements police-style management.

In reality, every graduating class of the police academy, as long as they have even a little bit of ability, will go all out and use all their unique skills to try to stay at the school.

The fundamental reason is that the police academy is a department-level unit. Before reaching the level of division chief, promotions are basically done on time. The difference in work between the police academy and the grassroots units is like heaven and earth.

Once a police officer reaches a certain rank, if he has a good relationship with his superiors and they agree to transfer him to a local position, he will be a powerful figure in the local government.

In contrast, Chen Shu worked as a grassroots police officer for seven years after graduating from the police academy, received the title of outstanding civil servant for three consecutive years, and was awarded two third-class merits and a municipal bureau-level "case-handling expert" title. His achievements are undeniably excellent.

As a result, I'm still just a clerk. If I want to get promoted, I still have to cross two thresholds, one small and one big, before I can even see the license plate of a deputy section chief.

Nothing beats the thrill of being promoted to deputy section chief in three years at the police academy. Deputy section chief? Section chief? Sorry, never heard of that!

Therefore, upon hearing Lin Dakai's invitation, Chen Shu's mind went blank, and the composure he had cultivated over the years of grassroots law enforcement vanished without a trace.

He instinctively wanted to agree immediately, and even immediately picked up his luggage and followed Lin Dakai and Zhou Qinghu to the provincial police academy.

But then he suddenly remembered her whispering when he put the amber bracelet into Huang Sixi's hand last night.

"Brother Shu, my parents don't want me to marry someone from out of town."

He immediately switched to the local Dongzhou dialect, made a few jokes, and solemnly declared that he was a pure-blooded Dongzhou native and would continue to protect this place in the future.

At that moment, both of them beamed with joy.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Lin Dakai raised his hand to check the time and smiled, "Go back and think about it for another night, and tell me your choice when you take us to the train station tomorrow afternoon."

Chen Shu nodded blankly.

Lin Dakai picked up the fast food tray on the table and left.

Zhou Qinghu, who was sitting to the side, waited until Lin Dakai had walked a little further away before saying, "Please think about what the teacher said again. If you have any concerns or questions, you can contact me by phone."

Chen Shu nodded blankly.

Zhou Qinghu smiled slightly, leaned over and patted Chen Shu on the shoulder, picked up the fast food tray and quickly chased after Lin Dakai.

As Chen Shu touched the still-warm bowl, he suddenly remembered some past events.

When he was in middle school, his parents subscribed to milk for him, the kind that comes in glass bottles, and it was delivered to his doorstep every morning still warm.

Chen Shu didn't drink it himself, but put it in his pocket and gave it to the goddess. He originally thought this was love, but when he grew up, he found that the girl had someone else's Telunsu in her mouth.

He then realized that he was actually a simp.

Since then, I have never been in a relationship.

......

When Chen Shu got home that evening, he made himself a cup of Nestlé capsule coffee and sat on the single sofa in front of the French windows, sipping it slowly.

During this time, Li Meng called. At first, they chatted about random things, but later she cautiously inquired about the situation of the group in the cafeteria.

Chen Shu was distracted and dismissed Li Meng with a few words. Li Meng hung up the phone somewhat angrily, but he didn't care.

It seems that he hasn't cared about anything in particular since he started working.

If Lin Dakai had invited Li Meng instead, that guy probably wouldn't have had so many troubles... Chen Shu threw the phone he had hung up onto the long sofa next to him.

He meticulously listed out the advantages of going to the police academy on his fingers:

If I were to go to the police academy, I would immediately rule out teaching and research work, because I have never had any interest in educating or mentoring students, nor do I have the skills to do so. If I were to go, I would likely start as a squad leader, just like Zhou Qinghu who stayed on at the academy, which is the lowest level of administrative management.

Although police academy work is relatively monotonous, as a non-case-handling teaching unit, the 9-to-5 work hours and two days off per week are the long-cherished dream of countless police officers working at the grassroots level. In addition, there are fixed winter and summer vacations every year, making the temptation really great.

The most important thing is the future. The Provincial Police Academy is a behemoth at the provincial level, which is incomparable to the small Zhongshan Police Station.

Chen Shu tossed his fingers over and over on the floor dozens of times, still unable to make a decision. He felt that going to the police academy wasn't what he wanted, nor was it something he was good at.

He got up and went to the long sofa next door to retrieve his phone, then dialed Zeng Hong's number.

Although the unspoken rule within the system is that one should not have even the slightest communication with colleagues when it comes to one's future and destiny.

Over the years, Zeng Hong and Chen Shu have become both teacher and friend, and the trust between them has become extremely deep.

Zeng Hong answered the phone and, after listening to Chen Shu's story, casually said, "Even a fool would know to go to the provincial capital."

Chen Shu remained silent and did not respond.

After a long while, Zeng Hong seemed to recall the past: "But every time you came to talk to me about the case, and also when we received banners from the people, your eyes lit up."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shu fell silent again. Frustrated, he angrily threw his phone onto the long sofa.

I've always considered myself a decisive man, so why am I being so clingy this time?

Investigating a case?

Investigate!

It's not like you can't come back once you go to the police academy!

Just give him a promotion and some experience, and he'll be back!

In the past, people would laugh at Li Meng for being obsessed with officialdom, but now that things have come to an end, aren't they just as bad as each other?

He kept repeating the same pattern, bending his fingers, and mentally coming up with excuses for himself.

Why don't we give our senior colleague Zhou Qinghu a call? He's been in the police academy for many years and surely has a clearer understanding of the situation.

An idea flashed through Chen Shu's mind.

"Ring ring! Ring ring!"

The phone that Chen Shu had tossed onto the long sofa rang.

He was feeling irritable and didn't want to answer the phone, so he decided to sit and wait for it to stop on its own.

But his years of police habits and discipline forced him to move over and pick up his phone.

Police officers must keep their cell phones switched on 24 hours a day. If they must turn them off for reasons such as swimming or boarding a plane, they must report this in advance. This is a regulation, not just a verbal instruction.

Chen Shu picked up his phone and glanced at the screen.

Huang Sisi!

He answered the phone and couldn't help but happily say hello.

The voice of Huang Siqian coming from the phone was as melodious and clear as that of a jay.

For some reason, Chen Shu suddenly forgot about the things that had been bothering him earlier.

The two chatted about work and life, with Huang Sisi expressing her aspirations for her future career as a lawyer and Chen Shu expressing his longing for a better life.

The two of them made plans to go camping together over the weekend, inviting Cheng Mian, Zhu Chaoran, and Sister Xiaomin.

After a long while, Chen Shu hung up the phone, placed it on the coffee table, and glanced at the banner hanging by the window. It was the first time Chen Shu had received thanks from ordinary people since he started working.

There's no need to call Zhou Qinghu anymore.

He walked a few steps to the French windows, looked at the sparse raindrops outside, and made a decision.