Doce Torres de Jade

Capítulo 2

The chubby security guard and the round-faced, balding man looked at each other, wondering to themselves: How come someone has died and we're all so scared, yet this big, dark guy is still calmly playing the deep thinker?

This puzzled Xiao You, who couldn't help but nudge him lightly: "Hey, Yu Tou, what are you thinking about?"

QQ Lost 1(2)

What Da Yu was thinking at that moment was known only to himself. His heart skipped a beat when he received the report, and he silently prayed that it wasn't a murder. It wasn't that he was afraid of dead people; back in the day, he'd risked his life fighting the war in self-defense—how many dead hadn't he seen? The key was that this was a critical moment. The Mid-Autumn Festival was just around the corner, and according to the unspoken rule, the bureau would definitely be reshuffling its personnel around that time. He was almost forty-five, close to the threshold for promotion to station chief, and this might be his only chance. If he got entangled in a difficult case now, and ended up with a wrongful conviction and other consequences, would that be good?!

Xiao You nudged him again: "Shouldn't we report this to the branch office?"

Da Yu gritted his teeth: "No, call the criminal investigation team directly, I'll talk to them."

Meanwhile, at the bonfire party, after a burst of energetic singing and dancing, the ground was covered with students, some sitting and some lying down, completely exhausted.

A mound of earth served as a stage, where the host loudly announced the next agenda item: "...Alright, the 'You Grant My Wish' game now officially begins! Each department, please send a representative up in turn. According to the rules, whichever slip of paper you draw, you must perform the request written on that slip in front of everyone. Department One!"

The person representing the first group was a burly girl who was respectfully called "Aircraft Carrier." She calmly pulled a slip of paper from a cardboard box containing mineral water and handed it to the host.

The host announced loudly, "Please dress up as a heartbroken person!"

The "aircraft carrier" was not intimidated at all. It immediately put on a coy act, frowned, pouted, and whimpered, looking like a pitiful woman who was heartbroken.

"Awesome!" The students cheered and speculated that with her size, which most boys couldn't handle, she probably had many personal experiences in this area.

Representing Department Two was a skinny boy nicknamed "Little Waist." He timidly pulled a slip of paper from the cardboard box, and the host grabbed it and read it aloud: "Please imitate the bark of a dog courting."

"Little Waist" tried to run away, but the watchmen positioned on either side ruthlessly blocked her way. Left with no other choice, she had to pinch her nose and earnestly imitate, "Woof! Woof woof!!"

"Woof! Woof woof woof!!!..." This attracted the real dogs from the distant village to bark in unison.

"Haha! What a blunder!" The audience burst into laughter. "Little Waist" fled in panic. Several boys unanimously concluded that those who were barking along with her were female dogs in heat.

The representative from the third department was a shy boy nicknamed "Director-General". Learning from the lessons of the previous two, he took precautions and hurriedly unfolded the paper to read it himself. His face turned red, just like an underground party member protecting party secrets in an early era. He quickly crumpled it up and stuffed it into his mouth. But the student in charge of supervising was even more ruthless than a spy. With quick hands and eyes, he managed to save the paper ball that was about to be swallowed into his tonsils.

The host carefully unfolded the damp crumpled paper and read, "Please shout the name of your crush, so-and-so, three times to everyone, and tell her in front of everyone—'I love you.'"

"Wow! Call me! Call me--" Everyone cheered and egged them on.

He mustered up his courage, but his mouth opened and closed several times before he couldn't bring himself to say it.

The host encouraged the students to count down together: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1--"

The "official" finally managed to squeeze out, "Guo Qinqin, I love you."

The students deliberately shouted, "Hey, louder! We didn't hear you!"

The "director-level" official, having gone all out, simply closed his eyes and shouted, "Guo Qinqin! I love you!"

"Guo--Qin--Qin, I--love--you--!" All the boys in the audience echoed in unison.

A girl with full cheeks, bright eyebrows and clear eyes, and short hair parted to the side stood up from the crowd. Undoubtedly, she was Guo Qinqin!

Guo Qinqin walked forward gracefully, opened her arms, and warmly embraced the shy young man, causing the entire audience to erupt in cheers.

"Dear juniors! How are you?!" Guo Qinqin called out, and everyone responded enthusiastically, "Yes!"

Guo Qinqin ascended the platform, her voice brimming with enthusiasm: "First and foremost, without any attempt to conceal anything, I must clarify: love doesn't only refer to romantic love. For example, the love this junior mentioned earlier is the love of friendship! I know you all like me so much precisely because I've proactively offered you more of the friendship that a sophomore should have. Because I was once like you, my personal experience tells me that today's university campuses are no longer 'ivory towers of jade' or unattainable temples. The era when university students were called 'the pride of heaven' and 'a rare breed' is long gone. Before long, just one or two..." After a month-long adjustment period, you'll find that reality isn't as perfect as you imagined; in some aspects, it's quite different from your rosy expectations. The initial novelty and excitement of starting school will quickly fade, replaced by various worries, entanglements, hardships, and confusion. In particular, the pressure of the '3L's'—Learn, Live, Love—will come crashing down, and many students will find it difficult to adapt. The reason I'm doing my best to provide you with timely help and advice is simply this: that you won't experience the regrets we have. Take your first step well and live a brilliant life!

"Oh!" Hundreds of students stood up and cheered.

Guo Qinqin habitually smoothed her bangs parted to her left temple: "However, my individual strength is ultimately insignificant, and relying solely on external forces has limited effect. Now that we have crossed the threshold into adulthood, and since the university offers us ample space to express our individuality, independent thinking, showcase ourselves, and display our talents, why don't we spontaneously organize ourselves for self-education, self-management, self-service, and self-discipline?! I think we not only have this right but also this obligation, because in our socialist China, the people are the masters of the country and the fundamental force determining the future and destiny of the nation. Therefore, in the university of the new century and the new era, we students should also be the undisputed masters of the school, the main force driving the school's prosperity and our shared growth! Don't you all agree?"

"Yes!" the students exclaimed enthusiastically.

Guo Qinqin added fuel to the fire: "I also want to remind my younger schoolmates that we have an even greater advantage—we all possess a vibrant and burning youth! Youth is about demonstrating through action! Youth, in a sense, means betrayal. Let's take action and cultivate our own beautiful flowers of youth together, even if the fruit we reap is only a dull one, we will swallow it, because we can allow mediocrity after youth, but we cannot allow our youth to have been without passion! Because the truth we believe in is what Manuel said—"

QQ Lost 1(3)

"Youth is everything!" A deafening roar erupted from the crowd.

Several impatient boys jumped onto the earthen platform and shouted encouragement:

"We want to be in charge of our own affairs! We want to speak our own language and do our own work!"

"We need to rediscover ourselves and stop being obedient little lambs! We need to stop being standardized parts cut from the same mold!"

"The student council in high school was a sham, a puppet, a mere facade. We need to elect a real, genuine student council that truly belongs to us!"

"Arise! You vibrant, angry young people of the new century! Smash all that is outdated, conservative, and dogmatic, and use your unique wisdom to paint our youth with unbridled brilliance!"

...

Guo Qinqin subtly winked at the host, who understood immediately and seized the opportunity to loudly appeal: "Please be quiet, students! Since everyone's desire is so unified and so strong, I dare to propose: let's strike while the iron is hot and hold an open election for student council president candidates right here and now! Do you all agree?!"

"Agreed!" the entire audience shouted in unison.

"Raise your hand if you disagree!" the host asked deliberately.

After a moment of silence, a boy who dared to defy public opinion slowly stood up: "I! I disagree..." He swallowed hard before continuing, "You are elected..." His exaggerated pause and humor made the whole audience burst into laughter.

"You think I want to be elected? Our self-elected president will definitely serve everyone to the death. You think I'd serve you if I were elected? Dream on!" The host retorted sharply, then poured out the game slips from the mineral water box and held them high: "Now I solemnly announce: the first open election for student council president of Lianjiang University's new campus has officially begun! You won't even have time to campaign for votes!"

"Ho!--" The whole place erupted in cheers.

Meanwhile, the on-site investigation of Room 407 in Building D of the student dormitory on campus is being carried out quietly.

Given the high-sounding reasons Da Yu gave, such as being afraid of frightening the students and wanting to save face for the new school leaders, four or five criminal police officers from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Xijiao Public Security Bureau sneaked into the campus in plainclothes like thieves. At this moment, they were quietly taking photos, videos, and samples in room 407, trying to find any clues that could help explain the cause of death.

The chubby security guard, looking rather shifty, diligently performed his lookout duty at the entrance downstairs.

A short while later, two plainclothes detectives carried a body wrapped in a white sheet down from the fourth floor. The chubby security guard hurriedly pinched his nose and ran forward to help open the door of an ordinary van parked in front of the building so that the two officers could put the body inside.

Afterwards, Da Yu accompanied several other criminal police officers out of the building and hurriedly got into the car.

Seeing that he was being ignored, the chubby security guard quickly approached the car window and solicitously asked Da Yu for instructions.

Da Yu then remembered that there was still a chubby little guy following him around. He casually tore a page from his notebook, wrote down his phone number, handed it to the fat security guard, and sternly instructed him to cooperate with Officer You, who was staking out the room, to closely monitor the movements in room 407 and not to miss even a mosquito flying by.

The chubby security guard nodded devoutly, looked around seriously, and then solemnly directed the van to leave the scene. In reality, the van would have driven away even without his direction.

At that moment, a disheveled blond head peeked out from the rooftop, peering down. Seeing the chubby security guard turn and go inside, it quickly retreated...

QQ Lost 2(1)

The next morning, Dayu drove a police car to the new campus of Dalian University and called Xiao You, who had been staking out the place the night before, to go to the Party Committee office of the university to find out what was going on.

The director of the Party Office, surnamed Ji, was a tall, thin man who could eat dragon meat without gaining weight. Since everyone found the character "嵇" difficult to write and pronounce accurately, they simply called him "Skinny" or "Skinny Director" for the sake of convenience, and he agreed to do so as well.

The thin director was standing on tiptoe in his office, trying to pull out a roster from the messy pile of materials on top of the metal filing cabinet. Hearing a knock at the door, he replied, "Come in," without even looking to see who it was. The numerous materials stacked haphazardly on top of the cabinet were teetering on the verge of collapsing if he tried to pull them out. He was completely focused on trying to pull out the roster while avoiding the danger.

"Ahem!" A loud, forceful cough suddenly came from behind, making him quickly pull his hand back and turn around in surprise. Then, with a "whoosh," a large pile of materials on top of the cabinet collapsed and smashed down on him, knocking him directly to the ground.

Da Yu and Xiao You, who had just entered the room, rushed forward to help. The disheveled, thin director rubbed his lower back with his slender fingers, trying to console himself in a high-pitched southern accent: "It's nothing, it's nothing. We who deal with documents all day long, even if we don't get crushed by them, we'll eventually be exhausted. We're not as carefree as you police officers. You only need to raise your voice and move your legs. It's hard work, but you don't have to use your brains!"

Xiao You nitpicked: "Hmm? According to what the director said, does that mean we police officers are all physically strong but mentally challenged idiots?"

The thin director quickly denied it: "Oh, no, no, no, I absolutely didn't mean that. You didn't understand—oh no, it's my fault for being tongue-tied and not knowing how to express myself, which caused you to misunderstand. Listen to me..."

Da Yu cleared his throat: "Let me interject. We rushed here early this morning to hear what you have to say, not to hear how to write the report. Tell me, with such a serious incident at your school last night, how come not a single school leader was present? And we couldn't get through to any of their cell phones?"

"Oh my goodness, you, the deputy director in charge of the police station, are really neither a big shot nor a powerful one. Turns out, you don't even know that none of our school's principal or vice-principal are in place! Who would want to come here? They're doing just fine at the old school in the city, enjoying their official positions, why would they want to suffer in this desolate place? Are you crazy?!"

"I don't think you're sick. Didn't you come here?" Da Yu had been dealing with the thin director ever since the new school was built, so he didn't need to worry about the weight of his words.

"Me? Do you think I wanted to come? Besides, I'm not a school leader, I'm just a nobody. Wherever the leaders send me, I'll go."

Xiao You said, "Isn't there a rumor that they're planning to promote you to vice principal?"

"Rumors are just rumors, aren't they? I even heard that you, Xiao You, are going to replace Director Yu as deputy director. But what good will that do? As long as there's no official document, you're just a temporary replacement. Xiao You, you're young, you don't know the ins and outs here. Let me tell you, once the school is fully built and all the conditions are met, all the hardships, tiring tasks, difficult problems, headaches, and things that require bowing and burning incense to offend people will have been taken care of for him. Then the new principal and secretary will take office, and we, the shrimp soldiers who were coaxed here to pave the way, will be close to being discarded like dogs after the rabbits are killed." The thin director's words were laced with considerable resentment.

Dayu patted his briefcase: "Hey, don't try to shirk responsibility. Your name is on this 2000 Social Security Comprehensive Management Responsibility Agreement. Do you think you can escape it?"

The thin director complained, "Sigh, I wasn't hiding! To ensure the expansion of enrollment next year, the province requires the college's second-phase construction project to start immediately. From land acquisition and design to bidding and fundraising, which connections are easy to make? Which thing can be done smoothly? Yesterday, my legs were cramping from running around, I wished I could split myself into eight pieces. I didn't get to eat all day, and around 5 pm I went to the cafeteria to find some leftovers to tide me over. Before the food even reached my mouth, guess what? A boy and a girl fell from the sky! It turned out that two freshmen were having a romantic date in the cafeteria's attic, and they collapsed the ceiling. I saw they were badly injured, so I quickly..."

Da Yu quickly gestured to him, as if to pause a basketball game: "Your injury has already been rushed to the hospital, so let's not talk about that. Now tell me about the dead one, who exactly is this dead person?!"

"Oh, oh." The thin director then remembered the roster, quickly rummaging through the floor to find it, turning to the page he was looking for, and began to introduce: "Well, the deceased's surname was Shen, given name Daxing, born in February 1971. Not from this province, his hometown was Chu County, Anhui, and he was a selected graduate in 1996..."

"Hey, hold on. May I ask, what is a selected graduate?" Da Yu interjected.

"I can't give a complete definition, but I know that every year the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department selects outstanding recent graduates from universities across the country—those who are Party members or student cadres—to be systematically trained as reserve cadres. They are usually first placed at the grassroots level for training, and then promoted step by step. This is an important measure taken by the Provincial Party Committee from a strategic perspective of achieving the grand goals of development in the new century, to vigorously cultivate politically sound and high-quality leaders at all levels who can promote comprehensive well-being and modernization. It is also to improve the structure of the cadre team, so that…"

"I already know. Let's continue talking about Shen Daxing." Da Yu waved his hand impatiently to interrupt.

"Good. Shen Daxing was initially assigned to work in Weiying Township, Qingyuan County. Last year, with the approval of the State Council, Qingyuan County was abolished and Qingzhou City was established, requiring a number of cadres, so he was transferred to the Municipal Agriculture and Forestry Bureau. This year, our school held an MBA training program for municipal government agencies across the province, and he passed the exam and was admitted..."

"Huh, why is he learning to play basketball?" Da Yu asked, puzzled.

"Yeah. I wonder if he's targeting the Houston Rockets or the Chicago Bulls?" Xiao You, who was taking notes, pretended not to know and teased him.

The thin director grinned: "Hehe, I meant MBA, not NBA. MBA is the abbreviation for Master of Business Administration, a degree that is widely recognized and highly sought after in the business world worldwide."

Da Yu grabbed his notebook and tapped Xiao You on the head to cover up his embarrassment.

QQ Lost 2(2)

Xiao You retorted, "Why blame me? MBA and NBA are indeed connected, haven't you heard? These days, 'to get rich through studying, you need an MBA; to enjoy watching basketball, you need an NBA.'"

"This young man makes a good point. 'Studying for an MBA and watching NBA games' has become a new trend among urban white-collar workers. Especially after my country's accession to the WTO, there is an urgent need for a large number of MBA talents, not only in enterprises but also in government agencies. In the future, without modern business management knowledge, you cannot be considered an excellent government official. Therefore, our school's International Business School, based on the overall goal of promoting the province's economic development and improving the quality of government officials, has decided to establish this class."

Xiao You hit the nail on the head: "I think it's easier to pay tuition for government officials, right? Anyway, the commissioned training fees are all publicly funded, so the money just comes from the students themselves. I heard that MBA tuition isn't cheap; it'll cost at least 40,000 to 50,000 yuan for three years, right? Your school really made a killing this time, didn't it?"

"Not at all, not at all. This is an important decision of the Provincial Party Committee, and we are implementing it as a realistic and urgent strategic task. Therefore, we have always had strict requirements and strict management for the students in this class," the thin director said in a high-sounding manner.

Da Yu tilted his head: "Strict management? This trainee missed class, died in his room for days, almost rotting away, and nobody bothered to look for him or ask about him?"

Having been hit where it hurt, the thin director, seeing he couldn't keep up the pretense any longer, quickly got up and closed the open office door. Turning back to the two policemen, he said, "Well, we're talking behind closed doors. You can imagine what this in-service training for cadres is like—it's just so-so. The leadership made me, the director of the Party office, temporarily their class teacher. Let alone the fact that I'm usually busy dealing with all sorts of affairs, speeches, and reports, I can't manage it. Even if I did, who would listen to me? These trainees are all high-ranking officials, several of them are even at the division or department level. They're used to looking down on everyone and bossing people around. Think about it, how many of them can sit still and teach you properly?"

Xiao You said, "No wonder I've heard people say that cadres only attend study sessions to get to know people, visit each other's homes, learn some vocabulary, and relax."

The thin director slapped his thigh: "That's it, that's it! Absolutely true! Now that they're in the provincial capital for graduate studies, it's convenient for them to curry favor and pull strings at provincial government offices. It's always 'you're hosting today, I'm hosting tomorrow.' Drinking and drinking, it's all the same old drinking, skipping classes is commonplace."

Da Yu steered the conversation back to the main point: "Let's ignore them for now; they're all still alive. The question now is about Shen Daxing, who has already left us forever!"

The thin director clapped his hands: "You know what, Shen Daxing did quite well! He grew up in a rural area of another province and has only been working in the city for a short time. He hasn't picked up any bureaucratic habits yet. He seems very honest and studies quite diligently..." He suddenly stopped talking because he saw a drop of his saliva on Da Yu's rough, dark, orange-peel-like cheek, which looked particularly shiny. He reached out to wipe it, but Da Yu irritably brushed him away.

Da Yu wiped away the spittle with his fingers, which were as thick as a small stool leg: "Go on, hurry up."

The thin director chuckled awkwardly and continued, "...Xu Haibing, who shared a dormitory with him, was quite different. He was the grandson of a former vice-governor of our province before the Cultural Revolution. He always had a gloomy face, a furrowed brow, and a haughty air about him, acting all high and mighty. I saw that he and Shen Daxing were both from Qingzhou and were both selected graduates, so I assigned them to live together. But their homes were right here in the city, so they never stayed at the school for a single night."

"The school doesn't care either?" Xiao You asked.

"Anyway, he's already paid for his accommodation, so there's no refund if he doesn't come to stay."

Da Yu slammed his notebook shut and jumped to his feet. "Hey, right! What's the name of this guy who shares a room with Shen Daxing... Oh, Xu Haibing, we need to find him right now!"

"I looked for him. I knew you'd be looking for him, so I tried calling him first thing this morning, but he just wouldn't answer. Why don't you give it a try? Here." The thin director tore off a page from the calendar with the phone number written on it and handed it to Xiao You.

Xiao You took out her phone, dialed the number, and first heard a "beep beep" sound to connect, followed by a "dumb" busy tone.