Chapter Forty-One: Real Estate

Hearing this, Dong Weifeng let out a slight sigh of relief. “That’s good! But in our daily work, you and Zhao Dabao still have to keep an eye on him.”

“Understood, Captain. Is it because he’s a rare, top-tier talent that we have to handle him with extra care?” Ning Shuyi joked with Captain Dong.

“It’s only right to cherish talent. Tell me, have I ever failed to value any of the talents in our team?” Dong Weifeng laughed, pointing at Ning Shuyi, then grew serious. “Do you know why Huo Yan transferred to the local force?”

“No, I don’t.” Ning Shuyi shook her head. She had been curious about this. After all, with Huo Yan’s background at the military academy, still in his prime with outstanding skills and abilities, it made no sense for someone like him to transfer unless there was a special reason.

“He was asked to transfer,” Captain Dong told Ning Shuyi.

Ning Shuyi was caught off guard. She hadn’t experienced this herself, but had heard others talk about it. Generally, being asked to transfer meant either making a mistake—not enough for formal charges but unsuitable to stay in the army—or suffering some physical or psychological trauma that couldn’t be healed, making departure necessary.

When it was first rumored that Huo Yan was transferring back, his original superiors seemed reluctant to let him go, and all the city’s police departments were fighting to recruit him. None of that fit with the usual reasons for a forced transfer.

“Captain Dong, is this something you can talk about?” Ning Shuyi asked cautiously. “If you can’t, just pretend I never asked.”

Dong Weifeng laughed at this. “I knew you were reliable. Any task I give you, I never have to worry about. There’s nothing I can’t say. If it were, I wouldn’t have brought it up with you. The reason he was asked to transfer is because he has no will to survive.”

“Uh…” Ning Shuyi was stunned, confusion written on her face. “I know cowardice is a taboo, but… is being too fearless just as bad?”

“It’s not that it’s bad, but it’s actually quite frightening when someone doesn’t care about their own life at all. No matter how brave, no one should treat their life as a joke for no reason. Sacrifice only happens at critical moments, when there’s no other choice but to put the greater good above oneself—not just an attitude of ‘live or die, whatever.’” Dong Weifeng shook his head.

Ning Shuyi vaguely understood what he meant.

Dong Weifeng sighed. “After it was confirmed he’d be joining our team, his former commander reached out to me privately and spoke to me very candidly. You could tell he really valued Huo Yan, which made him hope even more that Huo Yan could walk a good path in life afterwards. He told me that during a previous mission, Huo Yan took it upon himself to switch places with a comrade whose task was more dangerous. He said the other man had a family and couldn’t afford any mishaps, whereas it didn’t matter if he lived or died.”

“Captain, I understand now,” Ning Shuyi sighed. “In the brief contact I’ve had with him these past few days, I didn’t sense any suicidal tendencies, but I’ll keep an eye on his mindset as we work together. If he acts recklessly or disregards his own safety, I’ll do my best to stop him and report to you.”

Dong Weifeng nodded. He trusted Ning Shuyi and, figuring Huo Yan would be back soon, dropped the subject.

Before long, Huo Yan returned with the completed paperwork. After greeting Captain Dong, Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan set out again, this time to the higher-level branch of the bank they’d visited earlier, to investigate Wang Yuluo’s aunt’s personal finances.

The investigation progressed smoothly, and soon they had a general understanding of her situation. Wang Yuluo’s aunt didn’t earn a particularly high salary—in W City it was decent, but nowhere near the high-income bracket, though it was enough for everyday expenses.

Her savings matched her income—nothing unusual there. What stood out, however, was that less than three years ago, she had just finished paying off a mortgage. Although the bank was the same, the branch that handled this loan was not the one Ning Shuyi and the others had visited before.

The bank where Wang Yuluo’s aunt applied for the loan was geographically far from where she lived. She had taken out the mortgage about eight years prior, with a ten-year term. The monthly payments weren’t high and matched her income, with no issues in the bank’s approval or disbursal process.

What was interesting was that, although she’d taken a ten-year mortgage, she paid it off entirely in just five years. Except for the first year, when the contract prohibited early repayment, she applied for early repayment nearly every year. By the fifth year, it was cleared in full.

In other words, she’d originally planned to pay over ten years, but then, with remarkable efficiency, managed to pay it all off by the time Wang Yuluo was about to graduate from university.

Although Ning Shuyi lacked experience in this area, after consulting the bank staff, she realized something was off. Wang Yuluo’s aunt had taken out a commercial loan with equal principal and interest payments. Choosing a ten-year term meant higher total interest than a five-year loan. For most people, if they suddenly received a windfall, they might pay off the loan early in one go, or pay off part of it as much as they could afford. That would make sense.

But someone who chose a ten-year term, then applied for early repayment every year for four years, and only cleared the remainder in the fifth year—when the loan amount wasn’t especially large—without ever paying it all off at once, seemed odd. It was as if she had no clear expectation of her own income when taking the loan, just muddling through, scraping together whatever she could each step of the way.

Since the mortgage had been paid off three years ago, the bank couldn’t provide details about the property. They had to print out the bank statements for Wang Yuluo’s aunt and her husband, then head to the real estate transaction center to investigate the property that had been paid off.