Dude, something's really wrong with your abilities.

Chapter 44 Visiting

Grandpa Fang's chess piece landed with a thud on the chessboard, making the teacup next to him shake.

"What kind of move is this now? I attack the left, you move to the right; I block the front, you flank from behind. Are you playing chess or playing hide-and-seek?"

Chen Shi calmly moved his horse forward a step. "Sir, this is called a flanking maneuver."

"Nonsense! Playing chess with you is the most boring thing ever. An entire afternoon is only enough for one game."

Chen Shi scratched his head sheepishly: "I'm a kind-hearted person, and I can't bear to take other people's pieces."

As the old man and the young man were chatting idly, a shadow landed on the edge of the chessboard.

Sun Tiemei walked over in civilian clothes, looking less cold and stern than usual at the bureau. She glanced at Grandpa Fang, then looked at Chen Shi: "I only found out you were here after asking Xiao He. Come out with me for a bit."

"Team leader, working overtime again on the weekend?"

"It's not a case. I'm going to see my dad's old colleague, Director Zhang from the General Administration's Logistics Department. He watched me grow up, and he'll ask me all sorts of questions. I might not be able to handle it." Sun Tiemei paused for a moment, "You're good at telling jokes, aren't you? Tell a few more then."

Before Chen Shi could answer, Grandpa Fang blurted out, "Chen Shi will definitely go."

After saying that, he looked at Chen Shi, tapped the chessboard with his fan, and said, "Go quickly, you win this game."

"Sir, I've only just started this game."

"Enough with the nonsense, entertaining the leaders is the priority." Grandpa Fang began to pack up the chess pieces. "Remember, when you're in front of elders, talk more. Don't be as nonsensical as when you're playing chess with me. Answer their questions directly, don't beat around the bush. Also, don't let them pour you tea. Take the initiative to serve them tea, water, and fruit. Be observant."

After the two had walked a few steps, Sun Tiemei suddenly said, "You don't have to listen to everything Uncle Fang said just now. Just speak normally when we get to Uncle Zhang's house."

"Team leader, why me?"

"Do I still have a choice within the group?" Sun Tiemei was silent for a moment. "You'll have to improvise when the time comes."

Zhang Jian'an's home is an old-style dormitory building, and the corridor is quiet except for the aroma of stir-fried dishes wafting out from under the door.

Sun Tiemei knocked on the door, and Aunt Zhang opened it. She hadn't taken off her apron yet, and her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Sun Tiemei.

"Tie Mei has finally arrived!" Then his gaze swept directly over her and landed on Chen Shi, scanning him from head to toe. His smile widened even further than before. "And this is?"

"Colleague, Chen Shi," Sun Tiemei said.

"Colleague?" Aunt Zhang shook hands with Chen Shi, her eyes clearly saying, "I don't believe it."

She ushered the two into the living room, then turned and called out towards the kitchen, "Old Zhang, Tie Mei has brought some people!"

Zhang Jian'an poked half his body out of the kitchen, his apron still on, a handful of celery in his hand. He paused for a moment when he saw Chen Shi, then a smile slowly spread across his face. "Come in and sit down, come in and sit down."

Chen Shi greeted them with a smile: "Hello, Director Zhang, hello, Auntie."

Zhang Jian'an waved his hand: "Don't call me Director at home, just call me Uncle Zhang." He put the celery back in the kitchen, wiped his hands and came out, his gaze lingering on Chen Shi for a moment.

Aunt Zhang had already pulled Sun Tiemei to sit down on the sofa. While pouring tea, she whispered to her, her voice extremely low but her excitement completely undisguised: "When did this happen? This young man seems very reliable, much better than those unreliable colleagues you mentioned."

Sun Tiemei: "Auntie, he really is my colleague."

Aunt Zhang patted the back of her hand, her eyes conveying "I understand," and said that she understood the young people's modesty and there was no need to be embarrassed.

Just as Chen Shi was about to sit down, Zhang Jian'an handed him a cup of tea. Chen Shi quickly took it with both hands and thanked him, Uncle Zhang. Zhang Jian'an said it was nothing, and casually asked where he worked.

Chen Shi introduced himself and Sun Tiemei as being in the same group. Zhang Jian'an nodded, then changed the subject: "Little Chen, who else is in your family?"

Chen Shi put down his teacup and was about to introduce his family when Aunt Zhang interrupted from the other side of the sofa: "Old Zhang, don't interrogate people right away. Let the child have some tea first."

Zhang Jian'an smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes, let's have some tea first."

Chen Shi picked up his teacup to drink, but his elbow accidentally bumped into the sofa armrest, spilling half a cup of tea directly onto his pants, where the water stain quickly spread.

Aunt Zhang leaned over and said, "It's alright, it's alright, it dries quickly in the summer."

Zhang Jian'an pulled out a few tissues and handed them to Chen Shi, telling him not to be nervous and to make himself at home. Chen Shi took the tissues and started wiping himself vigorously, thinking to himself, "Uncle Zhang, could you please not use the phrase 'your own home'?"

Sun Tiemei put her teacup on the coffee table and began to get down to business. She said that Director Liu had mentioned it when he came back some time ago, saying that Uncle Zhang had asked about her during the training, and she had been wanting to visit him to express her gratitude.

Zhang Jian'an: "Old Liu is quick to talk. He's mainly worried about you because he heard about the Red Falcon case."

He had seen the briefing on Hong Jun's case at headquarters and knew that it had caused quite a stir at the time, with several people from Group Five injured.

Zhang Jian'an was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Tie Mei, has anyone investigated your father's matter since then?"

Sun Tiemei: "The bureau's official conclusion has remained unchanged."

Zhang Jian'an waved his hand. "I'm not telling you to dredge up old grievances; let bygones be bygones."

After he finished speaking, the heaviness on his face slowly faded, replaced by the gentle smile typical of an elder. He glanced at Chen Shi, then at Sun Tiemei.

"When Tie Mei's father was alive, his biggest wish was that she wouldn't be too strong-willed. Seeing her bring you here today, I feel like she might be starting to learn that."

Chen Shi didn't know how to answer that question. He simply sat up a little straighter and glanced at Sun Tiemei, who was looking down at her fingernails.

At the dinner table, Aunt Zhang kept putting food into Chen Shi's bowl. When she picked up a piece of pork rib, she would say, "Eat more, you're too thin." When she picked up a piece of fish, she would say, "This fish was bought this morning, it's fresh."

Chen Shi was caught in a dilemma: he didn't know whether to accept the bowl or not. The bowl was overflowing with food, and more was still being piled on top.

Sun Tiemei sat opposite him, eating her meal slowly and deliberately, showing no intention of helping him out of the predicament.

Zhang Jian'an asked Sun Tiemei some details about the Red Falcon case. After listening, Aunt Zhang shook her head and said, "Your work is too hard."

She turned to look at Sun Tiemei: "Tiemei, you too, take care of your health, don't always rush to the front."

Sun Tiemei buried her face in the bowl and mumbled, "I know."

Chen Shi's bowl was finally piled high with food, and Aunt Zhang reached for it with her chopsticks again. Chen Shi quickly moved the bowl aside and said that Aunt Zhang really couldn't eat anymore.

"Why do you eat so little, child?"

Chen Shi looked at the overflowing braised pork, ribs, fish, and two vegetarian dishes in the bowl, unsure how to explain the word "few".

He turned to look at Sun Tiemei, hoping the team leader would put in a good word for him. Sun Tiemei put down her chopsticks, picked up her teacup, and said calmly, "He usually eats more in the cafeteria than this."

Chen Shi's eyes widened, and Aunt Zhang's eyes lit up even more: "I knew it! Young people don't eat so little! Come on, let Auntie give you another pig's trotter."