Enforcer Manual
Chapter 28: Always Look on the Bright Side of Things_1

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Always Look on the Bright Side of Things_1

Lu Xiang spent yet another night without sleep, but staying up late had become the norm for her. Back during her student days, they often had security tasks in their practical exams before graduation, and it was usually after dark that things became most dangerous.

Still, after numerous practical exercises, she had never felt as dejected as she did now.

So dejected that even Valerian, holed up in the safe room, could tell at a glance.

"Manager, are you okay?"

"I’m fine."

Lu Xiang mustered her energy, shaking her head, "I’m here to give you a nutritional injection."

As she spoke, she pushed two injection vials sitting on the table towards Valerian, before slumping into her chair.

Her reaction made Valerian even more puzzled. Last night, she had seen on the news that Lu Xiang had led a special operations team to arrest the remnants of Chai Ke. This was undoubtedly uplifting news. Yet, the manager didn’t seem joyous at all.

"Boss, if you have something bothering you, you could talk to me about it. Even if I can’t help, bottling up your feelings could harm you. Plus, negative emotions are contagious. You wouldn’t want Song Lan to see you frown all the time, right?"

Song Lan.

Hearing this name, Lu Xiang paused. She realized that since she arrived in the Seventeenth District, most of her troubles involved Song Lan.

Today was no exception.

She had spent the night researching two assassins. Their next target could possibly be Lainal Boyev. After meticulously listing all the clues they had, Lu Xiang was shocked to discover that the assassins appeared to know their every move.

The information about the Law Enforcers’ residences was never publicly disclosed, and the vacation plans of the previous two hostages were departmental decisions made on the spur of the moment. However, the second assassin seemed to know all about their movements. When she and her team were guarding Forest Hospital, the second assassin never showed up again. The covert operative left behind at the hospital didn’t detect any suspicious characters.

This meant that after planning Valerian’s faked death, the second assassin never went to the hospital to verify the authenticity of the news.

Could it be that this person was from the Law Enforcers?

Or did they have a mole within the Law Enforcers?

The day she wasn’t at the yard, guarding Forest Hospital, would have been the perfect opportunity for the mole to act. Holding that thought, Lu Xiang reviewed the security footage from that day. The result...

She didn’t find a mole, but she noticed that early in the morning, Song Lan had gone to the Statistics Department with a gift. This was nearly two hours earlier than when he usually came to work!

The actions of the two people further unsettled Lu Xiang — Song Lan and Zhuang Chi, a girl from the Statistics Department, seemed to understand each other’s intentions with just the exchange of a glance. One after the other, they left the Statistics Department and entered a small conference room.

The two of them stayed in the small conference room for a full half hour with no surveillance cameras!

She had never spent that much time alone with Song Lan in a small conference room!

The fantasy of an office romance that "A Love Tip Every Day" kept suggesting seemed impossible to fulfill.

"I don’t understand what work they couldn’t discuss in the Statistics Department."

Despite the tumultuous feelings inside, Lu Xiang tried to maintain a calm tone, "I couldn’t get through to him on the phone several times last night. When I finally did, he was panting heavily, like he had just finished intense exercise."

"In any case, don’t jump to conclusions prematurely."

Despite saying this, Lu Xiang’s words did shock Valerian immensely.

In Valerian’s opinion, having a girlfriend like the manager would have been a reward for Song Lan’s deeds in his past life that saved the world.

But could he really have two relationships at the same time after having the manager as a girlfriend?

However, the most important task at hand was to console Lu Xiang’s wounded heart, "Manager, have you ever heard the saying ’look on the bright side of things’? There’s a chance you may be misunderstanding."

"Look on the bright side of things?"

"Yes, why not change your perspective? Maybe nothing happened between them."

"Hmm."

Lu Xiang accepted Valerian’s advice. She closed her eyes and tried to think of other possibilities.

About a minute later, she opened her eyes and arrived at a different conclusion based on everything she saw.

The new conclusion made her feel slightly better.

"I figured it out. The reason Song Lan was panting on the phone might be because he accidentally killed someone. When he picked up the phone, he was probably on a bicycle, dumping the body. He went to the Statistics Department to find Zhuang Chi to fabricate evidence."

Song Lan had suddenly upgraded from a standard jerk to a murderer!

Wait, manager, are you sure you really understand the meaning of ’look on the bright side of things’?

"I’m not sure about other things, but I can assure you the scenario you’re describing is the least likely to happen."

Valerian was feeling mentally drained. She realized the profound influence of constantly dealing with criminals on a person’s mentality — every arbitrary thought the manager had involved crime.

"The Statistics Department has a lot of work. They design and issue district bounty notifications, handle documents from various departments, and handle a lot of financial matters. Song Lan going to see Zhuang Chi could have just been for business matters. I heard that some departments bring Gifts when they want their wage increase documents to pass quickly."

After hearing Lu Xiang’s speculation, even she couldn’t help but speak up for Song Lan. She presented the conclusion a normal person would reach when looking on the bright side of things, "It’s not great to do these gift exchanges publicly, so finding a small conference room is understandable."

"I see."

With Valerian’s advice, Lu Xiang felt much better.

As her emotions settled, she realized that her previous thoughts were quite amusing.

How could someone like Song Lan, who never instigates fights, possibly commit murder?

"Manager, if you’re still worried, I might have a suggestion."

"Go ahead."

"Not to be harsh, but Song Lan’s department has too much free time. I think you could assign him some tasks. As long as he’s busy, he won’t have time to think about unnecessary things."

"But, he lacks experience dealing with criminals."

"He doesn’t have to deal with criminals. We have plenty of tasks that don’t involve dealing with criminals, like comforting victims or their families. His temperament is good, and he’s kind to everyone. He’s perfect for that job."

"Comforting victims."

Seizing upon the idea, Lu Xiang thought it was worth a try.

Actually, she had wanted to criticize Song Lan for a while.

Spending the prime of his youth in the office watching movies all day was unacceptable!

But the case of Chai Ke kept her preoccupied, and this matter was temporarily put on hold.

"Alright, I will go speak with him later."