The first-class merit award was lost.

A face wearing a mischievous smile appeared outside the car window without any warning.

It was Li Wei.

One of his hands was in his pants pocket, while the other held a familiar insulated bag.

"Let's leave it at that. We'll talk later."

Qin Bing saw Li Wei.

Without thinking, she cut off the call.

Li Wei looked at her panicked expression with amusement, simply lifting the insulated bag in his hand to gesture to her.

"Defending me like that in front of your colleague?"

He leaned against the car door and spoke lazily.

"I'm quite touched to hear that."

Qin Bing's cheeks flushed instantly, but she quickly forced it down, replacing it with a frost-cold expression.

"I was just stating the facts."

She said stubbornly.

Li Wei didn't argue with her, simply placing the insulated bag gently on her car's hood.

"Breakfast."

Two simple words.

Qin Bing's gaze fell on the familiar insulated bag, her eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions.

These past few days had been just as she told Yan Ruyu.

She had basically been standing guard here twenty-four hours a day.

Initially, she thought she would handle her own meals.

But unexpectedly, starting from noon on the first day...

Yang Yun had brought her a steaming hot lunch.

In the afternoon, Yang Weiwei brought fruit and coffee.

In the evening, Yang Yun brought an exquisite dinner.

The two sisters seemed to have planned it out, taking turns to feed her.

It had reached the point where she would subconsciously start looking forward to what she'd be eating whenever mealtime arrived.

But today, the person delivering breakfast was actually Li Wei himself.

At the thought of what happened yesterday afternoon...

Qin Bing felt her face burning intensely.

"I've already eaten."

She turned her head to look the other way, her voice cold and hard.

No sooner had she spoken...

"Grumble... grumble..."

An ill-timed sound rang out from her flat belly.

It was exceptionally loud inside the car.

Qin Bing's body instantly petrified.

She could feel her face heating up with unrivaled speed, from the base of her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.

She wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into right now.

"Pfft."

Li Wei laughed without restraint.

He pulled open the car door, giving Qin Bing no chance to react as he stuffed the insulated bag, still radiating a warm aroma, into her arms.

"If you haven't eaten, you haven't eaten. Why be so polite with me?"

His tone carried a hint of dominance.

Holding the warm bag and smelling the aroma of eggs and sausage wafting from within, Qin Bing's stomach growled even more enthusiastically.

She was so embarrassed she felt like she was going crazy.

"By the way."

Li Wei seemed to suddenly remember something, and the smile on his face became meaningful.

"This breakfast isn't free."

He pointed to the passenger seat.

"Move over there."

Qin Bing was stunned.

She looked up, her watery phoenix eyes filled with caution.

"Li Wei, what are you doing?"

"Getting in the car, obviously." Li Wei's answer was simple and direct.

He didn't give Qin Bing any chance to refuse.

Having said that, he bent down and squeezed into the driver's seat.

The cramped space was instantly filled with his strong masculine scent.

Squeezed by him, Qin Bing could only hunch over and move her beautiful legs bit by bit toward the passenger seat.

"Be gentle! You bastard, this is my car!"

"It's mine now."

Li Wei adjusted the seat, gripped the steering wheel, and skillfully started the car.

He turned his head and looked at the Little wildcat beside him, who was fuming but didn't dare to speak; the curve of his lips rose further.

"Sit tight, Officer Qin."

"I'm taking you somewhere good."

The BYD drove smoothly out of Seaview No. 1 and merged into the traffic.

The atmosphere inside the car was terrifyingly oppressive.

After moving to the passenger seat, Qin Bing turned her head to look out the window, giving Li Wei the back of her head.

She was holding soy milk, taking small sips.

Li Wei didn't rush her and casually turned on the car radio.

After a burst of static, a woman's clear and resonant voice came through the speakers.

"...Next, we have a local news report. Recently, our city's police successfully cracked a major cross-border child trafficking case, destroying a criminal gang led by suspect Lin Tianhao and successfully rescuing twenty-three trafficked children..."

Lin Tianhao!

Hearing this name, Qin Bing's body trembled imperceptibly.

Subconsciously, she turned to look at Li Wei.

Li Wei, however, seemed not to notice her reaction and continued to drive intently.

The female voice on the radio continued.

"...This operation was personally commanded by Comrade Yan Ruyu, Captain of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. After careful planning and precise strikes, the group of suspects—including the primary offender Lin Tianhao and the black sheep Tian, who was lurking within the police force—were all caught in one fell swoop! This has made an outstanding contribution to our city's security and stability! It is reported that the Municipal Bureau has applied for a First-Class Individual Merit for Comrade Yan Ruyu..."

Click.

Li Wei turned off the radio.

The suffocating silence returned to the car.

"Tsk, tsk."

Li Wei clicked his tongue, breaking the silence.

"That Captain Yan of yours is quite something."

His voice carried a hint of mockery.

"When those kids were being rescued, she hadn't even arrived yet, right? I didn't expect they'd actually give her the First-Class Individual Merit."

"Lin Tianhao was clearly taken down indirectly by me, and I was the one who gave you the evidence on Lin Tianhao and Tian Yimin."

"How did it all become her credit in the news?"

Li Wei's tone was full of blatant sarcasm.

"Officer Qin, is the distribution of credit within your police force always this arbitrary?"

Qin Bing's body was as tense as a stone.

She did not speak.

She didn't know what to say either.

Reason told her that Li Wei was intentionally sowing discord and that she should immediately refute him.

But she couldn't find any reason to argue back.

Because what Li Wei said was the truth.

The ones who actually risked their lives to go head-to-head with Lin Tianhao and Tian Yimin were Li Wei and herself.

Yet in the end, all the glory had fallen on Yan Ruyu's head.

Was this fair?

Qin Bing didn't know.

She only felt her mind was in a mess, like a tangled ball of yarn that couldn't be unraveled.

She turned her head again to look at the street scenery retreating rapidly outside the window, not wanting to give the man another glance.

Seeing her like this, Li Wei knew when to stop and didn't press further.

Some seeds, once planted, were enough... The car headed east, leaving the bustling city and entering a desolate countryside.

After another ten minutes of driving, a highly modern architectural complex enclosed by high walls appeared on the horizon.

High-voltage electric fencing was stretched across the walls, and every fifty meters stood a sentry, standing perfectly straight.

At the main gate, the Black Shield Security plaque shone brightly under the sunlight.

Two burly men in black combat uniforms, their faces painted with camouflage, stood there like two door gods.

When they saw Li Wei's BYD approaching, one of them immediately raised a hand in a gesture to stop.

Qin Bing's brows quickly furrowed.

What is this place?

A military base?

Li Wei, however, acted as if he were returning to his own home; he didn't even slow down and just honked the horn twice.

When those two fierce-looking guards saw Li Wei's face in the driver's seat, their "keep away" aura vanished instantly.

Both of them snapped to attention and gave a standard military salute toward Li Wei's car.

The heavy alloy gates slid open silently to both sides.

Li Wei stepped on the gas and drove inside.

The scene before her left Qin Bing completely stunned.