Clearly, Pei Yan had no intention of further disrupting the joyous atmosphere of Qi Weidong's hospital discharge. He didn't continue to refute Ye Jiumu's words, but instead, with his head down and sulking, he left the ward, leaving behind a room full of bewildered companions. Only Wang Wenze chased after him to offer some comfort, only to be loudly rebuffed by Pei Yan.
In the corridor, Wang Wenze, who was loudly scolded by Pei Yan, seemed genuinely angry and said a few harsh words before turning back into the ward. This left Pei Yan with a lonely silhouette as he walked alone downstairs. The intelligence officers responsible for surveillance exchanged glances, unsure of what to do, but they had orders and had to follow him downstairs at a distance.
After going straight down the stairs, Pei Yan stood at the hospital entrance for a while. With a sigh, he realized he had walked very slowly, yet no one approached him for a conversation. Could it be that the intelligence officers were following too closely, making the people from Divinity hesitate to take action? He wondered if the performance today had any effect.
Turning back to glance at the plainclothes investigators following him, Pei Yan deliberately snorted in displeasure, walked to the car he had come in earlier, and directly sat in the passenger seat.
It seemed that the return to the team would happen soon and today was a wasted effort; he could only wait for the next opportunity created by the investigation bureau. Thinking of this made Pei Yan feel a wave of frustration, and in his impatience, he searched his pockets for cigarettes, only to realize he had left his jacket in the ward.
In his laziness, Pei Yan flicked his fingers and sent a message to Wang Wenze's phone, asking him to bring his jacket down. Just as he finished instructing, the car door beside him was opened, and someone sat in the driver's seat, handing him a cigarette.
Pei Yan turned his head and was stunned. This person was not the driver from before, though he seemed familiar. While thanking the person and taking the cigarette, he asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
"Brother Pei, forgetful again, aren't you? Remember, we sat together for a meal?" The man closed the car door, took out a lighter, and leaned over to light Pei Yan's cigarette with a smile.
Pei Yan, holding the cigarette in his mouth, looked at the man's sunny, bright smile and racked his brains for memories associated with him. Eventually, he shook his head in apology, saying, "Sorry, I really can't remember. Can you give me a hint?"
"Hey, remember the first time you came to the army, our superior invited you for a meal and I sat next to you? You forgot already?"
Pei Yan slapped his thigh in sudden realization, "Oh, oh, oh!! Xiao Hai, right? Weren't you with the Golden Eagle Team?"
"Well, it got split up a while ago, and they needed manpower at the Intelligence Department, so I was assigned here." Xiao Hai leaned back in the seat, glanced outside, and continued, "Brother Pei, you're quite the sensation lately. Whether in the army or the bureau, everyone knows about you. I never expected to meet someone as notable as you."
Pei Yan, smoking with one arm on the car window, replied nonchalantly, "Oh, notable or not, it's all the same being under someone's control, isn't it?"
"Right, I heard your speech on the training ground; the whole base heard it. I overheard your conversation in the corridor earlier; something happened to your sister?" Xiao Hai cautiously asked after licking his lips and surveying the surroundings.
Hearing this, a jolt ran through Pei Yan, but his face remained calm. He flicked the ash outside the window, pretending nonchalance, and vaguely replied, "Just family stuff, minor issues."
"Oh, that's good. Falling out with the bureau never ends well. We're all working hard for peanuts, and if we can't ensure our family's safety, what's the point?"
Xiao Hai was observing Pei Yan for changes in expression as he spoke, and when he saw Pei Yan lowering his head in thought, he added, "Don't take it too hard. Things will work out. To be honest, I feel uneasy being assigned to monitor you. It's strange to treat our own people as outsiders."
After hearing this, Pei Yan shifted his gaze back from the window, gave Xiao Hai a meaningful look, patted his shoulder, and said, "I understand you've got your difficulties too."
Xiao Hai opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw Pei Yan's companion coming out from the building, he swallowed his words and responded with an awkward smile.
Wang Wenze, carrying the jacket, walked straight to the car where Pei Yan was sitting. Seeing Pei Yan gesture at him through the window, he understood and threw the jacket into the car angrily, "Keep track of your clothes. I'm not your babysitter, always holding onto your things."
Then, without getting in the car, he turned to the next vehicle. Xiao Hai watched Pei Yan coldly smile, took the jacket and casually placed it over his lap, his face full of helplessness as he softly asked, "Trouble between friends?"
"Ah, it's a long story." Pei Yan replied before flicking the cigarette butt out of the window, putting the jacket aside, and closing his eyes to rest.
Xiao Hai, seeing his demeanor, didn't say much. Once everyone was on board, he started the car without saying a word all the way. Only after saying goodbye and returning to the dormitory did Wang Wenze approach, asking, "So, does the person you gestured to have any issues?"
"Hard to say. He said some ambiguous things, but it seemed like he was just complaining. I didn't want to show too much and make him suspicious." Pei Yan said this as he hung his jacket on the bedpost, reaching inside his pocket for his cigarettes and lighter, but his hand froze midair as it touched something.
Wang Wenze sat on the bed, drinking water in dismay after hearing there was no development. When he looked up and saw Pei Yan motionless, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"This is interesting!" Pei Yan slowly pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, waved it in front of Wang Wenze, and laughed.
Half an hour later, in the meeting room, watching the video on the USB drive hidden inside the cigarette pack play, Mei Simiao turned to Pei Yan and asked, "Are you sure it was Xiao Hai who slipped this into your jacket?"
"Wang Wenze said that from the moment he picked up the jacket for me until he handed it to me, it hadn't been in anyone else's hand. Besides, shouldn't you be clearer than me?" Pei Yan replied, tapping the table with his fingers.
"Indeed, there were some doubts about him. After the major purge, almost all of Divinity's operatives lurking in the bureau were eliminated. He's one of the new faces brought in, and everyone goes through strict scrutiny, including Xiao Hai."
Saying this, Mei Simiao glanced through Xiao Hai's file with regret and said, "This task was supposed to be a test for the intelligence department staff. Honestly, I'd rather this fishing operation failed than see what's happening now. Just two months out of the army and already compromised?"