Chapter 27: Exile

Director Xie Yuzhang of the J City Municipal Bureau had listened to Yan Tuo’s request, and the furrows between his brows deepened even further. He tried to smooth things over.

“You see, this is all just speculation—no solid evidence, right? Besides, Tangyuan’s been found safe and sound. No real harm done. Why not let it go and call it even?”

Yan Tuo shook his head firmly. “There’s no compromising on this. Sure, it didn’t lead to serious consequences, but the intent was malicious. I can’t have someone in my team who stabs his comrades in the back like that. The bad blood’s already messing with morale and work. To prevent it from snowballing into something worse, I’m sticking by his transfer request. Captain Li’s fine with it—he told me to run it by you.”

He paused, then drove the point home. “You bestowed the Divine Bird title on Tangyuan yourself. And it was you who chewed him out and pulled the Second Detachment from the collective third-class merit award, wasn’t it?”

Xie Yuzhang nearly choked on a laugh from sheer exasperation. “So I’m the one who stirred up all this conflict, huh?”

Yan Tuo said nothing. He simply stared back, face blank and eyes unblinking—as if to say, You know damn well you are.

It was a sight: one of his top deputies, usually so laid-back and uncompetitive, now dead set on justice for his beloved pet. The contrast was striking.

Based on Yan Tuo’s record since joining the bureau—his performance, his merits—he could have been running his own detachment anywhere else. Hell, a promotion to deputy director overseeing criminal investigations wasn’t out of the question.

But thanks to his distant family ties to Li Zhong, the man had always kept a low profile. He’d shared the glory with his team, toiled on the front lines, and stayed a hardworking deputy detachment captain.

The bureau was full of whispers that he’d climbed the ranks through nepotism. What they didn’t know was that without those connections, J City wouldn’t have snagged a young hotshot like him.

Fine then. Consider it a reward for his stellar service. And truth be told, there was a seventy or eighty percent chance the rumors were spot on. If they were, no one in the bureau could feel secure with a guy like that around.

Xie Yuzhang made up his mind. Still, he didn’t commit right away. Instead, he chuckled reassuringly. “All right, all right. I’ve got it. Go back to work—the bureau will handle it.”

Yan Tuo nodded, rose to his feet, and snapped off a perfectly crisp military salute before heading out the door to his office.

The moment he stepped inside, White Dumpling flapped its still-clumsy wings and launched itself at him, wriggling right into the pocket of his shirt like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Ever since trying out this new spot yesterday, the little guy had fallen head over heels for the feel of being pressed against his chest. He’d insisted on it that morning before they left, and now—barely ten minutes apart—it was doing it again.

Yan Tuo smiled faintly and tapped the top of that watermelon-shaped head, letting it nuzzle and fuss to its heart’s content. It had to be lingering trauma from yesterday’s scare. He’d indulge it for a few days.

Sun Lei poked her head in, coffee tray in hand as an excuse. Truth was, she wanted to check on Tangyuan. She scanned the cage and the room before her eyes locked onto the fluffy bundle poking out of her boss’s chest pocket.

Oh my God. She melted on the spot.

This was a real-life Pocket Monster, wasn’t it?

She wanted one so bad. Something she could tuck into her bag, carry everywhere—a sweet little thing that would act spoiled, mimic her words, and even tag along on missions.

She was envious enough to drool.

Maybe her stare was too intense. Yan Tuo shifted uncomfortably and shot her a look. “What’re you gawking at? Not busy anymore?”

Sun Lei picked up on his good mood and wasn’t rattled. Rubbing her hands together eagerly, she grinned. “Captain Yan, where on earth do you get an egg like this? I want one too…”

Yan Tuo had no intention of shooting her down. He just laid it out straight. “First off, you need a childhood friend who’s loaded and obsessed with keeping birds.”

The first four words doused Sun Lei’s excitement like a bucket of ice water. She leaned in, switching to gossipy whispers to tattle. “Overheard Captain Zhao griping to someone this morning. Apparently, when Tangyuan came back yesterday, it went straight for him—pecked him out of nowhere. Forced the guy to go get a rabies shot.”

She scoffed with clear disdain. “Hmph. Tangyuan never pecks without reason. Bet he had something to do with Dumpling going missing yesterday. Got what was coming.”

Yan Tuo glanced at his team’s flower in surprise. She was sharper than even Old Cao—had already pieced that together.

He didn’t deny it. His tone was mild and agreeable. “As long as you know. Don’t sweat it. Scumbags get what’s coming. We’ll see.”

We’ll see? See what?

Sun Lei returned to her desk, only half getting it.

Two days later, the transfer order for Criminal Investigation Detachment Second Detachment Captain Zhao Guangren went up on the board. Same rank, but bumped up to deputy detachment captain at the neighboring city’s municipal bureau.

On paper, it looked like a sweet deal—a half-grade promotion, high-profile posting.

In reality, that place had only just been upgraded from county to city status. It barely scraped fifth-tier, a far cry from J City’s top-tier clout. Worlds apart.

A textbook promotion in title, demotion in practice. Who knew how long it’d take a ten-year veteran of smuggling and narcotics busts to claw his way back from some backwater agri-town.

The name of Divine Bird Tangyuan echoed through the bureau once more.

But this time, the whispers carried a note of reverence.

Stuff like: “Tangyuan? That’s Captain Yan’s baby. Don’t mess with it. Cross it, and you’re packing your bags for the boonies to eat dirt.”

It took less than half a day for Zhao Ge to storm in, demanding answers.

“Look what you’ve done—stirring up headaches for us in ideological work. Your Tangyuan’s pulling one stunt after another. Kid’s practically a deity now. And Zhao Guangren shipped off to that godforsaken hole… that really because of you?”

Yan Tuo didn’t dodge. He nodded once. “Mm.”

Zhao Ge bared his teeth, his nicotine craving flaring up again. He muttered without much gusto. “It really is? And really over Tangyuan?”

The man behind the desk turned to face him, utterly straightforward. “You could say yes. You could say no. It started with Tangyuan, but what he was really gunning for was me. You get that. I can’t have someone like him watching my back. Don’t trust him an inch.”

Zhao Ge was at a loss for words. “I get the logic, sure. But the rumors are flying—people who don’t know the full story are wagging their tongues. Doesn’t look good for you. No matter how much you dote, it’s still just a pet—”

He never finished. A pot-lid head suddenly popped from the pocket of his old classmate’s uniform shirt. Beneath a fluff of crest feathers, a pair of shiny black bird eyes bored right into him…

Eerily like its owner’s gaze.

For some reason, Zhao Ge read flat-out disagreement in those matching stares—from man and bird alike. The rest of his words died in his throat.

Once the instructor slunk away in defeat, Yan Tuo got back to his paperwork.

He paid the gossip no mind, of course. But White Dumpling’s inexplicable disappearance had left its mark. Now he was brainstorming ways to tag his pet for good.

Cats got collars with tags. Dogs had leashes. Pet birds? Leg rings.

He’d scoured Taobao for ages, but all those plastic and steel stock models were trash. Beneath his pet.

Tangyuan was the honored Divine Bird—the force’s top feathered operative. It deserved better than cheap pet-store junk.

After mulling it over, he seized a free moment, tucked his dumpling in his chest pocket, and hustled to the bureau’s indoor shooting range.

Run by the Police Education and Training Detachment, the place was brand-new—less than six months old. Outside scheduled sessions, this was his first personal visit.

The duty officer was a fresh-faced kid with a buzz cut, still learning faces.

But he’d heard the legends about Deputy Detachment Captain Yan. How could he not? A 190cm tower of a man paired with a 10cm white fluffball? Iconic combo—no one else in the bureau came close.

He hurried over. “Captain Yan! Here to squeeze off a few rounds? Perfect timing—the guns are fresh off maintenance. Feel like butter.”

Yan Tuo felt the itch, but he’d brought Tangyuan along. Gunshots might spook it.

He explained politely. “Not shooting today. Just after some spent casings. Cousin’s kid wants ’em for play.”

Easy ask. The range was lousy with discarded shells. The kid scooped up a handful of pristine ones and passed them over, even asking if he needed more.

Yan Tuo thanked him heartily and headed back to his office. After shift, he hit a hardware store for tools, scarfed instant noodles at home, and got straight to work on the casings.

Bai Yiyi perched on the table, watching intently.

He’d been in high spirits these past couple days. Daily chest-pocket rides let him press against his owner’s heartbeat—strong and steady—while soaking up the endless care. It was almost too good to be true.

Today had been especially sweet. The lingering grudge from that bogus kidnapping? Owner had quietly settled the score. When Zhao Ge mentioned the guy getting shipped to some backwoods hellhole, Bai Yiyi had itched to flap his wings in applause, victim-style celebration.

The range trip later? He was a guy too—which dude didn’t dig guns? He’d hoped for a close-up of Owner’s sharpshooting swagger. Instead, just toy-hunting for some kid.

Minor letdown.

Back home, his heart ached a bit seeing Owner settle for instant noodles again. Still, he scooted in for a few strands.

Then the crafting started. Curiosity glued him in place. Owner trimmed the casings—nipping ends, polishing smooth, engraving a string of numbers with fine tools. That shape…

A bird ring, plain as day.

For him?

Rounding it off, wasn’t this basically a ring handcrafted by his crush?

Bai Yiyi started getting excited. All sorts of vivid images flooded his mind, one after another, and he couldn’t make them stop.

Could a public servant even get married abroad? At the wedding, would both of them dressed in black look too gloomy? Maybe he should wear white instead—after all, his surname was Bai…

Yan Tuo had no clue what this little white dumpling in front of him was fantasizing about. He turned the object in his hand this way and that, checking to see if it was perfectly smooth now. A satisfied look crossed his face. A bullet-shell anklet for an alert bird—what could be more perfect?

“Tangyuan, I made you an anklet. I even engraved my phone number on it, so if you get lost again by accident, whoever finds you can give me a call to help out. Come on, try it on.”