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  The play is over soon, and then comes the ending, which is also an indispensable part.

  It's getting late, and the sound of firecrackers driving away the old year has started. In the distance, on the edge of the sky, brilliant fireworks have torn through the night sky.

  A wonderful New Year's Eve night.

  She quietly slipped back into Zhu Qin's home towards dawn.

  Very soon, one man and six women got into action, and in less than fifteen minutes, they boarded the small van of the municipal drama troupe.

  The curtain of the city theater has just been lifted, and they disperse in the crowd flowing out of the auditorium, squeeze into the parking lot, find their own car and leave.

  Xiang Tianliang and Liu Qingqing still had one more thing to do, so they needed to return to Liu Qingqing's home immediately.

  Report a case.

  The New Year's Eve is about to pass, and the new year is coming. The night sky of Qinghe City has been awakened by countless firecrackers, and the brilliant fireworks have illuminated the entire city.

  Xiang Tianliang and Liu Qingqing rushed back home on Happiness Street. Those "uninvited guests" had already disappeared without a trace.

  After searching inside and out, confirming that no one was there, he returned to the living room just before dawn and had Liu Qingqing call the police.

  A celebrity's home was burglarized. The Nancheng District Public Security Sub-Bureau's Patrol Team, which received the alarm call, quickly dispatched three patrol police officers.

  Leading the way in, he took a look around and found everything in disarray, with things scattered all over the floor, as if a war had just passed through, and he was stunned.

  After a long time, the team leader of the police finally came to his senses and didn't dare to slack off. He picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted loudly, "This must be a big case, not something that a single security guard can handle."

  More than twenty minutes had passed and Liu Qing's house was already filled with police officers.

  Director Zhou Tai'an of Nancheng District Public Security Bureau received the report, got out of bed and rushed over in a hurry.

  Without entering the house, Zhou Tai'an, accompanied by two subordinates, turned on his flashlight and first took a look around the yard before coming to the living room.

  "Zhou Ge, I didn't expect you to come in person, I'm really sorry." Liu Qingqing said with a face full of apology.

  "Sister, what are you talking about? Something's happened at your place, how could I not come?"

  This title indicates that Liu Qingqing and Zhou Tai'an have a deep relationship.

  Zhou Tai'an was over forty years old, a local man, tall and thin, wearing a pair of reading glasses, looking refined and elegant, not like an old public security officer, but rather like a university professor.

  It turns out that Zhou Tai'an and the Liu family have a deep relationship. When he was in high school, his class teacher was Liu Qingqing's mother. After graduating from high school and entering Qinghe Normal College (the predecessor of Qinghe Agricultural School), he became one of Liu Qingyang's favorite students. After starting work, his wife was also introduced by Liu Qingyang and his wife. Now, he is one of the disciples who must visit the Liu family every year during festivals.

  Xiang Tianliang had never met Zhou Tai'an before, but he knew a bit about his experience. When he was assigned to the Construction Bureau by the organization at first, he wanted to ask someone to go through the back door, and Zhou Tai'an was one of the people he could think of, unfortunately, they didn't have any connection at that time.

  Zhou Tai'an is a literary and artistic policeman, who has been in the police force for over 20 years without changing his bookish nature. In the public security system of Qinghe City, he is a well-known good man, taking a middle-of-the-road approach, getting along with everyone, and having a good relationship with both major factions' leaders Xie Zixiang and Guo Qijun, but not being too close to either of them. He has been in charge of the Nancheng District Public Security Branch for six years, and the citizens have a high evaluation of him.

  Zhou Tai'an and Liu Qingqing exchanged a few cold words before turning around and waving his hand.

  The several policemen in the living room all quietly retreated out.

  Zhou Tai'an didn't sit down either, but instead looked at Xiang Tianliang who had been standing behind Liu Qingqing all along. He examined him for a while before smiling and saying:

  "Xiao Xiang, is it dawn?"

  "Director Zhou, hello, I'm Xiang Tianliang." Xiang Tianliang took a step forward and slightly bowed his head.

  Zhou Tai'an grasped Xiang Tianliang's hand and shook it vigorously several times.

  "Comrade Xiaoxiang, we met too late, I'm short of someone like you among my subordinates."

  Zhou Tai's face was filled with regret.

  "Director Zhou, thank you, you're overpraising me."

  Zhou Tai'an shook his head and waved his hand again.

  "Alright, little sister Qingqing and Xiao Xiang, let's not talk about the case anymore. This afternoon, Teacher Liu told me everything, and I also understand what happened to you, Xiao Xiang. It's already the first day of the Lunar New Year, so hurry back and rest."

  "Zhou Ge, how about you?" asked Liu Qingqing.

  "We're done." Zhou Tai'an smiled again, and surprisingly pulled out a magnifying glass from his pocket. He swung it in his hand and said, "With such a great scene and such a clever design, I couldn't miss the opportunity to learn. Little sister, this courtyard is temporarily mine now."

  Liu Qingqing smiled and bid farewell with a few words, then pulled Xiang Tianliang out.

  It suddenly dawned on him that Liu Qingyang and Liu Qingqing had actually been in cahoots with Zhou Tai'an all along, which saved a lot of trouble. The ending of tonight's play would be left to Zhou Tai'an to complete. As an intellectual among the police, his storytelling skills shouldn't be too bad.

  The people who played a role in this farce, the first thing they should do tomorrow morning is to find a reasonable explanation for themselves that has nothing to do with the play. Yu Zhonghao, Xiao Jiannan, Zheng Junbo and Wang Daohong will never admit it even if they are beaten to death, that they played the role of failed thieves tonight.

  They can't afford to lose face like that.

  "Hehe..."

  Facing the night sky, I laughed heartily towards the dawn. In more than half a year since joining work, this should be the first time I've had a genuine laugh from the bottom of my heart.

  "You're still smiling, but my car has run out of gas." Liu Qingqing got out of the car again and chided Xiang Tianliang, who was still grinning foolishly.

  With a flick of his windbreaker towards the sky, he had already wrapped up Liu Qingqing's body.

  "Silly sister, what a wonderful night it is! With countless fireworks and sparklers to see us off, wouldn't walking home be even more atmospheric?"

  "Hmm... I haven't strolled around the streets for a long time."

  Liu Qingqing happily said, and buried her body deeply into Xiang Tianliang's embrace.

  "Sister, I'm very happy now."

  "Why be happy?"

  "Because I was feeling carefree, I took off the noose that had been hanging around my neck."

  "What else?"

  "Hehe, and then, embracing sister's willow waist, welcoming the arrival of the new year."

  Toward Tian Liang, of course, did not forget to curry favor with women.

  "Hehe...... Really?"

  "I'm serious, this willow waist of yours, I'm going to hold onto for a lifetime."

  Xiang Tianliang emphasized seriously while holding Liu Qingqing tighter.

  "Good morning, thank you, thank you, sister is willing."

  "Is it settled?"

  "It's settled."

  "Forever unchanged?"

  "Forever unchanged."

  Two people couldn't help themselves, leaning against a paulownia tree on the sidewalk, passionately kissing each other.

  A firework exploded with a crackle, releasing its brilliance beside the two people.

  Liu Qingqing blushed and smiled shyly.

  Tian Liang waved his hand fan to disperse the smoke and fog, took Qingqing Liu's hand, and continued walking forward.

  "When day breaks, I always feel that if you hand over what's in your hands, you'll be retaliated against by them later."

  "Don't worry, sis, you have to believe me, I've already thought about what you're worried about."

  Liu Qingqing nodded and said, "To be honest, you helped Ye Nang's husband Qiao Annan get the thing, which was beyond everyone's expectation."

  "Really? Is that so?"

  "Even Li Yajuan didn't think of it, she thought you would let Wang Daohong get it because Wang Daohong represents Vice Secretary Zhang Haifeng of the Municipal Party Committee."

  Xiang Tianliang smiled and said, "Zhang Haifeng? I've considered it, but he's my last choice. As long as Old Director Lao Chenggui sends someone over, then Old Director is my first choice. It just so happens that he sent Qiao Annan, so naturally I'll go along with it and fulfill his wishes."

  "Why give it to the old director?"

  He said to Tian Liang, "The reason is simple. After the old director gets the thing, he will definitely destroy it thoroughly. For him, maintaining his late years is the only choice. As for others, it's more complicated. Yu Zhonghao got it and will definitely make it public, triggering a political storm. Xiao Jiannan got it and will hand it over to his superior, Guo Qijun. Guo Qijun will definitely use it to put Xie Zixiang to death. And if Xie Zixiang gets it, he not only will destroy the evidence of his crime but also use the content of the old director's notebook to gain more political benefits for himself. Similarly, our three deputy directors, Gao Xing, Yu Feilong, and Sun Zhanluo, are all selfish guys. Once they get it, they will use it as a timed bomb, using it when it's beneficial and threatening others when it's not."

  Liu Qingqing smiled and said: "Then what about Zhang Haifeng, the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee?"

  "He's just a politician, of course, he's a higher-level politician than others. What's the biggest characteristic of politicians? It's speculation, but they also have another very obvious characteristic, which is self-protection. After getting something, his first thought isn't how to use it, but rather how to make sure others don't know he has it. So, he needs to shut up those who are in the know. The people I mentioned earlier can be silenced with promotions, but I'm a newcomer, how can my position be promoted? And I've shown through actual actions that I won't surrender to him. What do you think someone like me would face from him?"

  Liu Qing nodded and said, "You're right. Our theater troupe had a similar thing happen a few years ago. A new editor didn't want to curry favor with the Party branch secretary, so the Party branch secretary used his connections to have him transferred to Jiu Xing Island, over 100 kilometers away from the mainland."

  Tian Liang said, "So, Zhang Haifeng wants to capture a small soldier like me? It's just a matter of one word, and it's all settled. You still have nothing to say, you can only be a mute eating bitter melon."

  Liu Qingqing said: "He can also pick you up now."

  He smiled cunningly towards Tian Liang, "Now, he wouldn't dare."

  "And why is that?"

  "He's also afraid, he's afraid that I've secretly joined forces with the municipal party secretary or mayor, or that there's a bigger backer behind me, how dare he come after me?"

  "You're really a little devil. It turns out that your old director is the ultimate winner."

  "No, there is one winner, the biggest winner."

  "Who?"

  "You."

  "Me?"

  "Yes, it's you."

  "Are you coaxing me into being happy?"

  Xiang Tianliang picked up Liu Qingqing and said in a low voice:

  "Sister, I feel relieved now... I think I can be a man now"