But class officers from any other major who wanted to get into the university student council or the departmental student council had to run for election—after all, every major's quota was limited.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu went off to join the elections, and Wei Zhao, with nothing to do, went back to the dormitory alone.

He had known all along that those three lechers in the dorm would pester him with questions, but he hadn't expected to be surrounded the moment he walked in.

"Hey, Wei Zhao, you're a real piece of work, you know that?" Song Xiaodao started shouting the instant he saw Wei Zhao enter. "That person who came looking for you yesterday—was that your girlfriend? And you're living with her? You even lied to us, saying you were staying at a relative's place!"

"Brother Lin, you're amazing," Bai Weituo said. "I always thought Wang Xinyan was your girlfriend, but now it looks like your girl doesn't lose to Wang Xinyan at all. If you ask me, she's bound to be on this year's campus beauty list too!"

"Campus beauty list? What's that?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Oh, it's just something some students put together when they've got nothing better to do—a beauty ranking of the freshmen, compiled on the school's BBS and the department's QQ groups, with photos and profiles for us guys to refer to." Bai Weituo explained. "They do it every year; it's become a tradition at our school... Anyway, don't change the subject—of those two yesterday, which one is your girlfriend?"

"Uh... neither of them." Wei Zhao shook his head.

"Neither?" Bai Weituo was stunned, and Song Xiaodao and Zhao Shengji looked equally unconvinced. "How is that possible?"

"It's really not like that, I'm not lying to you," Wei Zhao said with a wry smile. "A relative of mine asked me to look after the two of them. They're from my hometown, so we're fairly close. Put plainly, I'm just their errand boy!"

To himself, Wei Zhao added: their errand boy from back in the day.

"Errand boy? You're kidding, right?" Bai Weituo's eyes went wide. "Brother Lin, you're not lying to us?"

"Why would I lie? It is what it is. Do you really think that if she were my girlfriend, I'd skip setting up a joint dorm social with her and go chasing after Wang Xinyan instead?" Wei Zhao spread his hands with a bitter smile.

"That does make sense—if it were me, I definitely wouldn't have done that!" Bai Weituo nodded.

Hearing Wei Zhao say all this, Zhao Shengji and Song Xiaodao did believe him, though they were still a little suspicious that Wei Zhao might be involved with one of them—Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, or Wang Xinyan.

"So what's the plan today?" Wei Zhao asked, cutting off their speculation.

"Today? Nothing much going on for our major. Xiaodao and Shengji said they want to go shopping—they're both from out of town and have never been here, so I was about to show them around. Brother Lin, want to come along?" Bai Weituo asked.

"Sure, let's go take a look together, then..." Wei Zhao said.

But no sooner had the words left his mouth than he got a call from Yang Huaijun.

"Brother Jun," Wei Zhao said as he picked up.

"Brother Jun? Lingshan and Yutian and the rest all call you Chief now. I'd better switch back too—calling you Chief rolls off the tongue better. You were our captain to begin with, our Chief!" Yang Huaijun said.

"Whatever you like... Is something the matter?" Wei Zhao knew that as his strength grew and he began making a name for himself, the people around him would return to how they had been at the very start...

"Where are you? There's something I'd like to discuss with you—some evidence concerning the Yu family... and the drug trafficking ring," Yang Huaijun said. "Before the Yu family fell, investigating them was a real hassle, but now it's much easier. We've obtained some materials..."

"All right, where are you? I'll come find you right away!" In Wei Zhao's mind rose the smiling face of the Pangolin—and then it shifted into Ying Ziyu's. Wei Zhao clenched his fists and asked quietly.

Whoever it was, anyone who touched the people around Wei Zhao would not be left to go unharmed; the day of reckoning would always come. That was Wei Zhao's nature.

"I'm over here in Donghai... Oh, that's right, I haven't told you—I've been promoted. A while back I cracked a major case, so I was transferred here to Donghai as deputy bureau chief. The rank's the same, but this is the provincial capital, so the level is half a grade higher," Yang Huaijun said. "Are you still in Songshan? Shall I drive back to pick you up?"

"You've settled in Donghai?" Wei Zhao's expression turned a little odd, but he quickly smiled. "I'm in Donghai right now—Donghai Engineering University. I just got here to register..."

"Ha? No way, you came to Donghai too? That's wonderful! I was a bit glum earlier about not being able to see you often, and now this!" Yang Huaijun said.

"Ha, yeah. Are you at the police station? I don't know the way." Wei Zhao had just arrived in Donghai and was completely in the dark.

"Wait for me at the school gate. I'll come pick you up—fifteen minutes," Yang Huaijun said.

"All right, see you soon." Wei Zhao agreed, then turned to Bai Weituo and the others apologetically. "Sorry, an old friend's come to see me—I'm afraid I can't go shopping with you after all."

"You're kidding, Brother Lin—you've got this much going on here in Donghai?" Bai Weituo sounded a little disappointed. "Male or female?"

"Male, this time it's male!" Wei Zhao broke into a sweat. "If you don't believe me, come out with me and see..."

"We'll walk out together, then—but Brother Lin, we're not keeping tabs on you!" Bai Weituo said quickly.

Wei Zhao smiled helplessly. Of course you're not keeping tabs, he thought. You three are just curious, aren't you?

Still, at the school gate the three of them saw no one particularly remarkable, nor any beauty, so their interest faded. They said goodbye to Wei Zhao and headed off to the nearby bus stop to wait for a bus.

Wei Zhao stood at the school gate, and before long an Audi pulled up and stopped in front of him. Yang Huaijun got out and waved to him. "Chief!"

"Jun... Junzi..." Wei Zhao had meant to call him Brother Jun, but then he remembered that Yang Huaijun had taken to calling him Chief, so he simply used Yang Huaijun's childhood nickname instead.

"Ha, that still sounds good to my ears. Having you, our former Chief, call me Brother Jun—if word got out, people would think I don't know my place!" Yang Huaijun said with a sigh of relief.

"Never mind that—any word on the Pangolin?" Wei Zhao pulled open the door and sat down in the passenger seat. "Not bad, an Audi A6—just a bit of an old model."

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