Wei Yenwu shouted in a rare display of fury, reprimanding Ch'en and sternly reminding her of her primary duty: protecting the safety of every resident in Lungmen. His words acted like a bucket of cold water, forcing Ch'en to regain a shred of composure. She stood before him in silence, her eyes locked onto his.
The air between them crackled with tension; neither was willing to back down from their convictions. The office fell into a suffocating silence.
"I will go and find her to get the facts," Ch'en said after a long pause. "But let me make one thing clear: I do not believe for a second that Talulah would ever become the kind of person you describe. I will never go to war with her."
With that, Ch'en turned and stormed out. She didn't want to spend another second in that office; she'd rather deal with a mountain of tedious paperwork at the L.G.D. than look at that dragon's face for a moment longer.
She slammed the door behind her with a thunderous bang. Both Wei Yenwu and the staff outside remained unfazed—this was a common occurrence. Nearly everyone working there had witnessed a shouting match between Chief Wei and Superintendent Ch'en. At first, they had feared for her job, but over time they realized Wei Yenwu never penalized her for these outbursts.
Wei Yenwu's attitude suggested he simply didn't care about her lack of etiquette, leading to plenty of gossip among the staff. While few knew their actual blood relation, it was widely assumed Ch'en's family had deep ties to Wei, especially since the Lung race was exceptionally rare and held such high status even in an ancient nation like Yan.
"I also hope that what I told you is wrong," Wei Yenwu murmured to the empty room. "I look forward to the moment you return with the truth and laugh in my face."
As he spoke, his oppressive aura faded. He sat alone in the office, silently lighting his pipe and gazing out the window. As Fumizuki had noted, the amount he had smoked today was nearly a month's worth. Yet he didn't stop, continuously refilling the bowl. In this moment, he lacked the grandeur of a city ruler; he looked merely like a weary old man. Anyone seeing him now would have felt a wave of profound sadness.
Meanwhile, Ch'en returned straight to the L.G.D. Whether out of rage or distraction, she realized she hadn't even asked Wei Yenwu where Jeanne actually was.
The L.G.D. staff greeted her hurriedly before scurrying away. Ch'en gave absent-minded responses, her mind elsewhere. The officers could tell their superior was in a foul mood, even if they didn't know why.
Back in her office, Ch'en began searching for the contact information for those Penguin Logistics delivery girls. Since Jeanne had left with them last night, they likely knew her whereabouts. However, before she could find the number, Swire—who was covering for Hoshiguma—heard she was back and came in to poke around.
"How did it go, Pink Sausage Dragon? I heard you went to get a mission from Chief Wei. Did you start another fight with—wait, what's wrong? Did something happen? Did he fire you in a fit of rage?"
Swire looked at Ch'en's pale, grim expression and lost her usual appetite for bickering. She had known Ch'en for years, but she had never seen her look like this. It felt like an omen of something terrible. Even the time Ch'en had grabbed her own bag by mistake and tried to threaten a bus hijacker with a tube of lipstick hadn't left her looking this rattled.
"It's rare to hear a tone of concern coming out of your mouth," Ch'en replied without looking up from her notebook. "Too many abnormal things happened today. I'm not even sure if I'm dreaming."
Ch'en flipped through her notes frantically. She had no energy to trade barbs with Swire; she just needed an answer from Jeanne. Without a clear response, she wouldn't be able to focus on work for a long time.
"What exactly happened? You go see Chief Wei and come back looking like a ghost! If something is wrong, tell me. Maybe I can help!" Swire slammed her hand on the desk, unable to stand Ch'en's erratic behavior. She was worried Ch'en might do something impulsive.
"Lock the door first. This isn't for outside ears."
Ch'en paused, looking at the "Char Siu Cat" standing before her. Swire immediately complied, double-locking the door and turning back to listen.
Ch'en recounted her conversation with Wei Yenwu. After hearing it, Swire fell into a pensive silence, digesting the weight of the news.
"I see... no wonder Hoshiguma said Jeanne was so focused on you. It seems Talulah instructed her to check on how you've been living."
Swire recalled Hoshiguma mentioning Jeanne's peculiar interest in Ch'en. At the time, they had jokingly wondered if Jeanne had a crush on her, never suspecting the real reason.
"But you don't have to be like this! Things might not be as bad as Chief Wei says. Look, if Talulah sent Jeanne to check on you, it means she hasn't forgotten her sister, right?"
Swire tried to comfort her, knowing Ch'en was desperate for an update on Talulah but terrified that Wei Yenwu's suspicions about Kashchey's influence were true.
The comfort helped Ch'en regain a bit of herself. She went back to hunting for the Penguin Logistics number. Damn it, I should have saved it to my phone! They had given her the number on a scrap of paper, but she had been so busy she'd completely forgotten to save it. If she couldn't find it, she'd have to call the number they used for paying fines and hope they hadn't changed it yet.
"I hope you're right," Ch'en sighed. "But why didn't she even send a letter? If someone she knows came to Lungmen, why is there no word from her directly?"
Swire had no answer for that. Given Kashchey's notorious personality, the silence for all these years was indeed unsettling.
"Stop digging through that mess! Is it the number for the three from Penguin Logistics? I should have it in my phone... wait, where is my phone?"
Swire looked at Ch'en's notebook—which looked like a ball of yarn that fifty cats had played with—and figured eating the notebook would be a more efficient way to find the data. Realizing she'd left her phone in her own office, Swire turned to head out and grab it...