Chapter 21: Commendation

For Bai Yiyi, it had been over ten days since he’d started freeloading at the city bureau. He’d never seen so many people crowding into his crush’s office in a single day—and they were all there to see him.

First came Sun Lei, putting on this whole act like she had a huge secret she couldn’t share. She stood grinning in front of him for a good while, then secretly slipped him a few crispy noodles behind her boss’s back before heading back to her desk with many a backward glance.

Next up was Zhao Ge. He propped his chin on his hand and tilted his head, staring at Bai Yiyi for what felt like forever. What was this, cosplaying Conan? Was he trying to see through the veil of matter to uncover Bai Yiyi’s true form?

Then there was Cao Yiman, the usual loudmouth who was oddly silent today. After a few failed attempts to poke at Bai Yiyi’s wings, he walked off with a face full of regret.

After that, Qian Jin from the Police Dog Squadron, Little Liu from the Technical Group, the guy with the black Mark mug, and a bunch of others whose names Bai Yiyi didn’t even know…

What was with this crowd? They swarmed in like bees, all secretive and mysterious.

Bai Yiyi racked his brains again and again. Had he done something weird? Had his identity been exposed?

Once his owner borrowed a little comb from Sun Lei and started gently grooming his head feathers, Bai Yiyi had a strong premonition that something big was about to happen.

At 4:20 p.m., his owner called him over and perched him on his shoulder. Bai Yiyi, still bewildered, followed along to a large conference hall on the third floor. It was packed with a sea of people, and he spotted plenty of familiar faces among them.

As his crush took a seat in the front row near the left side, Bai Yiyi still couldn’t figure it out. This looked like an internal meeting—why had they let him in?

It wasn’t long before three unfamiliar middle-aged men took seats at the center table. The one in the middle, with particularly prominent frown lines on his forehead, exuded full-on leadership vibes as he opened the proceedings.

“Today’s commendation ceremony is for an extraordinarily special little comrade,” he announced. “Regarding the city bureau’s drinking fountain poisoning case and the massive 420 drug smuggling operation, this comrade made outstanding, indelible contributions to both incidents. Where there’s contribution, there must be reward and recognition.

“Given its unique status, there’s no opportunity for promotion, nor can it receive a cash bonus. After unanimous discussion among bureau leadership, we’ve decided to hold this special meeting to publicly commend it and bestow upon it the honorary title of ‘Divine Bird.’ Please welcome our little comrade Tangyuan and its handler, Comrade Yan Tuo.”

???

Bai Yiyi felt like a bolt of divine lightning had cracked open the top of his skull!

What the hell was this? Commending whom? With what title? Was the city bureau just this casual?

All these neatly uniformed, imposing officers gathered in solemn assembly to hold a commendation ceremony for a goldfinch? No novel would dare write something this outrageous—and yet here it was, happening right before his eyes?

He was completely dazed. He wanted to shout that this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. He never could’ve imagined that he, Bai Yiyi, would one day receive an award in a police station.

While he sat there stunned and dumbfounded, his owner had already stood up, ramrod straight like a javelin. He snapped off two impeccably precise military salutes, and the hall erupted in thunderous applause.

Oh god. Bai Yiyi was so embarrassed he could claw his way through the entire Terracotta Army outside the Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum, leap into the pit, and bury himself under the soil.

The scene was too surreal. Everywhere he looked, smiling faces brimmed with good-natured teasing. Even those in the know quickly joined the applause after hushed explanations from their neighbors.

He couldn’t take it anymore. For a social recluse like him, all these eyes felt like an execution ground. In a flash, Bai Yiyi turned around, buried his head in his owner’s neck, and raised his wings to block himself off completely. He never wanted to face anyone again.

The laughter from below grew even louder. The speaker even teased, “Whoa, our Divine Bird is shy?”

Yan Tuo placed one hand protectively on his shoulder, loosely cupping the fluffy white ball, and explained with a smile, “It’s timid. There are just so many people.”

The bureau leader nodded in understanding and gestured downward with his palm. “Alright, alright, everyone quiet down. Let’s not scare it.”

The applause and laughter finally died down. The leader launched into another passionate speech about clear rewards and punishments, team building, and other standard fare. He also announced that the Criminal Investigation Detachment had handled several major cases promptly and effectively, earning the bureau’s decision to award them a collective third-class merit. The ceremony, medals, and certificates would be presented along with other honors at the mid-year conference.

Finally, his tone shifted as he emphasized that with merit came the need for solid, diligent work. They couldn’t afford comrades who handled cases sloppily, without digging deep, wasting massive amounts of police manpower and resources…

Bai Yiyi didn’t hear a word of it. He just prayed this absurd commendation ceremony would end soon so he could hole up in his coconut shell hideout forever if need be.

The special ceremony wrapped up in under half an hour. Back in the deputy detachment office, the white fluffball immediately dove into hiding. It looked thoroughly mortified. Yan Tuo chuckled and shook his head, leaving it be as he headed to the Detachment Captain’s office next door.

After a polite knock, he heard a “Come in.”

If Bai Yiyi had been there, he would’ve recognized the man behind the desk as one of the three leaders from the podium earlier—a stern-faced fellow in his forties.

Yan Tuo asked his direct superior, “You just got back? Why not rest at home for a day…”

Li Zhong gave a half-smile. “Talk about timing. I showed up just in time for your little house sparrow’s commendation ceremony. I heard you traded your personal second-class merit for a collective third-class one plus this pet ritual? Learned to haggle, have you? So selfless…”

Yan Tuo plopped down on the sofa and sprawled out relaxedly. “Selfless? Nah, it’s that old saying—the tree that sticks out in the forest gets felled by the wind! At my age, with my record, how many others are there in the southwest sector? Pile on more merits, and with no promotions left on the table, it’s just asking for jealousy. Why bother?”

“Oh? No room to rise? You blaming me for blocking your path? Scheming for my throne?”

“…Captain Li, what’d I ever do to you? Haven’t seen you in a month, and now you’re all sarcastic and snide.”

“You tell me? If you hadn’t let slip away that Little Li that A’Lian had her eye on, would I come home midday without a bite to eat, getting nagged till my ears smoke? You think I could stay home with all that yapping?”

No wonder the guy had vanished all day, only to pop up near quitting time. Yan Tuo couldn’t relate to married life woes, but getting caught in the crossfire felt unfair. He argued, “Captain Li—brother-in-law, sir—you know how crazy it gets in criminal investigations. I didn’t stand her up on purpose; I just couldn’t get away. You gotta man up and tell her off. As a police wife, supporting the job is non-negotiable.”

Li Zhong deadpanned with sarcasm. “Heh, you man up. Got the guts to tell her no? Want me to call her right now and chew her out—then say it was on your orders?”

Yan Tuo swallowed dryly and stayed quiet.

Li Zhong pressed on. “She’s not wrong, though. As your old boss, it’s only right to check on your personal life. Perfect timing—an old comrade’s daughter just finished studying overseas and is coming back soon. You two set up a meeting sometime. That’s it. Now get back to work.”

The man delivered it so naturally, with such firm conviction, leaving zero room for refusal.

Yan Tuo’s thick brows furrowed tight enough to crush a mosquito. He never imagined getting matchmaking orders in the boss’s office—especially ones he’d walked into himself.

One cousin was already too much to handle. Now a mixed doubles with man and woman? A Criminal Investigation Detachment Captain competing with dating app CEOs for quotas—really?

Yan Tuo dragged himself back to the office. At quitting time, the bird that flat-out refused to emerge left him no choice. He picked up the entire cage and carried it home, just like old times. Along the way, greetings rang out nonstop—but they’d shifted from “Captain Yan” to “Hey, Tangyuan off duty?”

Back at the apartment building, he’d planned to grab some street eats from Shaxian for dinner, but hauling a birdcage into a diner? That’d just make him a laughingstock. Instead, Yan Tuo stocked up on shelf-stable groceries at the fresh market supermarket, bulking up the fridge—and hedging against any whims from the cleaning auntie to cook him more meals.

And so, this ordinary yet extraordinary day finally drew to a close.

Bai Yiyi spent the whole evening recovering, eventually steadying his nerves—also soothed by a satisfaction score jump of 6 points.

He’d noticed the higher the score, the harder it was to gain points. It was like being trapped in Gojo Satoru’s Limitless technique—peak in sight, but untouchable.

Around passing grade, 2 or 3 points a day was normal. Above 80, that dropped to 1 or 2. It’d been nearly a week, and this was the first time it’d surged over 5.

He still hadn’t figured out the mechanics, but at least he wasn’t panicking like at the start. Family and friends had gotten their safety updates; no one would notice his disappearance for now.

Plus, in this setup, no matter what, he could hit full marks and revert to human within two months. So Bai Yiyi started cherishing these days. Once he turned back, what excuse would he have to stick around his crush?

The next morning at work, not long after clocking in, Cao Yiman knocked and reported, “Captain Yan, Huangshaliao Police Station’s requesting backup. It’s a family annihilation case involving eight people… the youngest just three months old.”

Yan Tuo decided on the spot. “Notify Fang Ping. We’re going together. Rendezvous at the parking lot in five.”

He stood, shrugged off his short-sleeved shirt, and switched to full uniform. Down at the grassroots level, this skin was essential—sometimes more intimidating than a holstered gun.

They hadn’t even stepped out of the office door when Bai Dumpling latched onto him. Yan Tuo hesitated slightly. “…The murder scene? You want to go there too?”

Bai Yiyi had no way to reply. He simply clung tightly to the epaulet with his paws, refusing to let go.

It was only after they got into the car that Yan Tuo noticed Police Officer Sun Lei was there as well. He couldn’t help but look at the young woman with fresh admiration.

The site of a family extermination case—who could say what kind of bloody, brutal horror it held? She was at that flower-like age, so delicate and lovely, always giggling and gentle in her care for others. While girls her age lounged in their cozy nests, chattering about designer brands, she confronted the human slaughterhouse without a trace of fear. What a bold, dashing spirit she had!

The scene was some distance away, and the suburban roads were rough. It took the car nearly an hour to reach the spot.

They had just stepped out when they spotted a two-story courtyard not far off, surrounded by villagers come to gawk. No one dared draw closer, though; they clustered in a ring beyond the outer wall, pointing and murmuring toward the main gate.