"Officer Zhang," Li Hao began,"did you explain to him about the case?"
"Yes, Mr. Li. We've already gone over the basic details and have officially started the investigation."
Li Hao turned his attention to the youngest member of their small team.
"Hua Yong," Li Hao began,"why did you ask for the CCTV footage? It's already deleted. As far as I knew, there was only the scene where I shot Wang Yuxi. I don't think there's more to it."
Hua Yong didn't answer right away. He reached for his bag, pulling out a slim laptop. With a few quick taps, a video began to play.
It showed Wang Yuxi inside Li Hao's office, hunched over a desk, writing something on a piece of paper. Moments later, Li Hao's father appeared, picking up that very note and reading it carefully. The note, it seemed, was meant for Li Hao.
Hua Yong turned the laptop screen toward Li Hao. Officer Zhang and Gang Zi also leaned closer, their faces serious, trying to get a better view of the grainy images.
"Here," Hua Yong began, his finger pointing at the screen, "as you all can see, that man, Wang Yuxi, wrote something. It was definitely meant for Mr. Li."
He paused, letting the image sink in.
"And what do you think? Why did your father ask you to shoot Wang Yuxi? He was just an ordinary employee in his office. There's clearly something going on."
Hua Yong paused again, looking at their thoughtful faces.
"Now, let's get to the main point. What was he doing near the convenience store? At late that night? We would get much more information when we got that footage."
A slow smile spread across Li Hao's face. "You got the point, Hua Yong. You truly did."
Hua Yong took another slurp of his boba, the tapioca pearls clinking gently against the plastic cup.
He leaned back further, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Mr. Li, as of now, I know that the footage we are looking for is two years old. And honestly, I would say it'll be quite challenging to retrieve data that old."
"Challenging, huh?" Gang Zi, interrupted from his seat beside Li Hao. He scoffed, a smirk playing on his lips. "Yeah, I believe you. It's really challenging for a kid like you!"
Hearing this, a familiar wicked smile stretched across Hua Yong's lips. He slowly lowered his boba tea, his eyes narrowing playfully at Gang Zi.
"How to grow my…' uh, you know, 'dick'... You searched for this, huh? I'm a kid but I haven't ever searched something like that."
"You little brat!" Gang Zi shot up from his chair, knuckles already clenching, ready to start another one of their endless tussles.
"That's enough, Gang Zi! Let him speak!" Li Hao's voice cracked like a whip, firm and unwavering. "Stay quiet, or just leave us alone. We don't have time for your childish bickering."
Gang Zi immediately deflated, slumping back into his seat like a scolded child, grumbling under his breath. Hua Yong shot him a victorious, mischievous grin.
"You explain, Hua Yong," Li Hao continued, his eyes back on the young tech expert.
"Why is it challenging for you to retrieve the footage? Do you need more people? More money? Advance technical equipment? Just tell me. I'll provide you anything you need."
Hua Yong took a large, final sip from the straw of his boba tea, emptying the cup, and then placed it firmly on the table. He leaned forward slightly, his playful demeanor replaced by a serious focus.
"There would be a lot of challenges, Mr. Li. First of all, we have to just pray that the SD card itself isn't damaged. If it is, that's already a huge hurdle.
Second, the data might have been deleted automatically.
You see, many of these older CCTV systems come with an auto-deletion feature. They only store data for a limited time – usually a few weeks or months – and then they delete it to make space for new footage."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"And then, even if the data wasn't auto-deleted, if new data has been written over the old footage, recovery becomes highly, highly unlikely.
It's like trying to find an old message on a whiteboard after someone has written over it a hundred times."
Li Hao, Officer Zhang, and Gang Zi listened carefully, not making a single sound. Their faces grew tense, the weight of Hua Yong's explanation settling heavily upon them.
Hua Yong chuckled, seeing their worried expressions. He leaned back again, a spark of his usual cheer returning.
"I'm just saying it's challenging, gentlemen, not that it's impossible. Believe in me."
Officer Zhang reached out and patted Hua Yong's shoulder, warm smile on his face. "Yes, Hua Yong. I believe you very much."
"Thank you, Officer Zhang," Hua Yong said, feeling a boost of confidence. "First, I just need the SD card for the process. It's better to act late instead of not act at all."
"The SD card?" Li Hao asked, his brow furrowing slightly.
"For the SD card, we'd have to visit the convenience store where the CCTV was installed," Officer Zhang pointed out. "How can we just ask them for it? That would raise suspicion."
"No, we have to do all of this privately," Li Hao stated firmly.
"If that old man knows about this, he'll definitely do something to keep us away from knowing the truth. He's connected to this case."
Suddenly, Gang Zi's eyes lit up, a brilliant idea sparking in his mind. He practically bounced in his seat.
"Mr. Li, why don't you ask Yu Han for the SD card? He worked there, remember? And he was also there when you... you know, when you shot Wang Yuxi in front of him."
Li Hao's brows knitted together, a flicker of something unreadable passing through his eyes. He murmured slowly, almost to himself,
"Yu Han?"
"Who's Yu Han?" Hua Yong asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Mr. Li's boyfriend," Gang Zi casually announced, as if stating the most obvious fact in the world.
"Boyfriend???" Officer Zhang and Hua Yong exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes wide with surprise.
Hua Yong turned back to Li Hao, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Mr. Li... likes men, huh?"
"Tsk tsk... you are such a narrow-minded person," Gang Zi sneered at Hua Yong, shaking his head.
"Enough, Gang Zi," Li Hao cut in, his voice lower than before.
"We can't involve him in our business. This is too risky."
"But Mr. Li," Gang Zi pressed,
"do we have other options that aren't risky? We don't want the old man to know, and Yu Han works right inside the store.
Plus, if we want to investigate this properly, it's better to have our own people on our side."
"I think Gang Zi is right," Hua Yong added, nodding.
"If he's really your... uh... boyfriend, he'll definitely help us. Especially if he was there that night."
Li Hao didn't respond immediately. He gazed at the floor, a deep sigh escaping him. Then, in an incredibly low voice, almost a whisper, he said,
"He's not my boyfriend yet."
"What did you say, Mr. Li?" Gang Zi leaned in, straining to hear. Officer Zhang and Hua Yong also moved closer, curious.
Li Hao sighed again, then said more coherently, though still with a hint of embarrassment,
"He's not my boyfriend yet!"
Gang Zi's mouth widened in astonishment. "What! But last... last night... I saw both of you kissing passionately!"
Hearing this, Officer Zhang immediately plugged Hua Yong's ears with his hands.
"What's wrong, Officer Zhang?" Hua Yong squirmed, trying to free his ears.
"I'm also an adult; I can listen to it!"
"Huh? Adult?" Gang Zi scoffed, crossing his arms. "You? Stop lying, kid!"
Hua Yong pulled free, yelling, "I'm twenty-one years old, you idiot! I'm an adult!"
"Hahaha!" Gang Zi burst into laughter, loud and boisterous.
"You are still a kid! Look at me, I'm twenty-six years old, much older than you! Call me gege!"
"Gege my ass," Hua Yong frowned, shaking his head in mock disgust.
As their banter filled the room, Li Hao finally spoke, cutting through the noise.
"Fine. I'll think about it."
"Okay, Mr. Li," officer Zhang said, his voice firm yet polite, "we should leave now. Thank you for your cooperation."
Hua Yong, who had been listening intently to their earlier conversation, rose smoothly beside the officer, offering a courteous nod to their host. Li Hao, walked towards the door with them,
They were in the midst of their goodbyes, standing by thedoorway, when a familiar figure emerged from the far end of the corridor.
It was Shi Wang, with his secretary, Liu, trailing discreetly a step behind.
Shi Wang was speaking, his voice carrying clearly down the hallway.
"Liu, set up my meeting with Mr. Huan for tomorrow morning. Ensure the revised proposal is ready on his desk before I arrive."
He glanced up as he spoke, his gaze sweeping over the elaborate decor outside Li Hao's office.
Then, his eyes locked onto the group gathered at the doorway. A slow, chilling smile spread across his face, transforming his features into something predatory.
His eyes, flickered between Officer Zhang, Hua Yong, and then settled on Li Hao.
"Well, well, well," Shi Wang drawled, his voice dripping with an almost theatrical delight as he walked directly towards them, "Today truly must be my lucky day."