Chapter 58: Qinchuan, You Are in the Newspaper!

Today was destined to be a sleepless night.

Zhao Yongzhi’s skeleton had been found, but cracking the case would take time.

It was past four in the morning, and with the sky just beginning to turn pale, Qin Chuan finally had a moment to catch a little sleep.

Yet, before six o’clock, he was woken up by a ringing phone.

The caller ID showed: Lin Yueting.

"Hello..."

Hearing his tired and lazy voice, Lin Yueting knew instantly that Qin Chuan had not gotten enough sleep.

"Qin Chuan, you big lazy cat! What time is it, and you're still sleeping? Get up quickly, you're in the newspaper!"

County Party Committee compound.

Gao Qingshan had a good habit: the very first thing he did upon arriving at work every day was brew a cup of strong tea.

While drinking his tea, he would read that morning's *Linjiang Daily* and *Xingan Evening News*.

In his own words, as the County Party Secretary, he needed to know at all times what the Municipal Party Secretary and the Provincial Party Secretary were concerned about.

Only then would his work have a clear focus and his life a sense of purpose.

Today's front-page lead story in the *Linjiang Daily* was a promotional report on Governor Lin Ruiqing’s inspection tour at the Provincial Department of Public Security.

Gao Qingshan read it from start to finish without missing a single word.

The overarching spirit of the piece was that in recent years, Linjiang Province's public security conditions had steadily improved, and the people were living and working in peace and contentment.

These achievements were inseparable from the hard work, enterprise, dedication, and sacrifice of the vast ranks of police officers within the public security system.

The "three no-fears" spirit of the police front—fearing neither hardship, nor fatigue, nor death—must be carried forward.

There must be a vigorous promotion of socialist core values, with a strong emphasis on publicizing the advanced deeds of exemplary police officers.

Based on Gao Qingshan’s experience, he didn't even need to guess to know that the second page of the newspaper would undoubtedly feature a report on an advanced police role model.

If the deeds were exceptionally prominent, it might take up the entire page.

If the deeds were ordinary, it would feature different stories from several individuals—most likely four people, each taking up a corner.

With a commentary right in the middle.

Clatter!

Just as he flipped open the second page of the newspaper, the teacup in Gao Qingshan’s hand slipped and smashed onto the floor.

This... how could this be?

At the same time, inside the office of County Magistrate Chen Mingguang, the office of Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary Zou Mingyi, the office of Deputy County Magistrate Duan Chunguang, and the office of Public Security Bureau Director Zhou Xuexi...

Every higher-up who had the habit of reading the newspaper early in the morning wore an expression as if they had seen a ghost when they opened to page two of the *Linjiang Daily*.

The rudely awakened Qin Chuan groggily climbed out of bed.

He shook his head to clear his mind a bit.

"Beauty Lin, your joke isn't funny at all."

A newspaper?

What had he even done to make it into any newspaper?

"Really, I'm not lying to you."

On the other end of the phone, Lin Yueting was holding today's *Linjiang Daily* in her hands.

With her was Shen Chuxia.

The two women had slept together last night and were still in bed, their two pairs of fair, slender legs kicking about haphazardly.

"Little Chuan, Yueyue really isn't lying to you. The photo of you saving someone yesterday was reported in the *Linjiang Daily*!"

Qin Chuan was slightly stunned.

He certainly recognized Shen Chuxia's voice.

Could what the two women were saying actually be true?

After all, the incident where he saved someone had only happened yesterday, and they were far away in Xingan City; there was no way they could have known.

"Wait a second, I'll go find a newspaper..."

After hanging up the phone, the two women were still staring at the paper.

"Why didn't I realize before that Little Chuan is so handsome?"

Lin Yueting didn't care at all that her quilt had slipped down to reveal her alluring shoulders, staring at the photograph with stars in her eyes.

"My goodness, Lin, my dear, you wouldn't actually have fallen for Little Chuan, would you?"

"Why not? Didn't he break up with his girlfriend? A lonely man and a lonely woman, who's to stop us?"

Shen Chuxia covered her face: "Is 'lonely man and lonely woman' even used that way?"

"Still... haven't you noticed? Qin Chuan has changed so much these past few years. I'm starting to like him a little bit."

"Yeah, it's almost like he's a completely different person... But, there's one thing that kid hasn't changed."

"What's that?"

"His sense of distance. No matter what kind of jokes he dares to crack with us, I can clearly sense that he's deliberately keeping a bit of distance from us."

Shen Chuxia blinked: "It... does seem to be that way..."

In another suite at the Sheraton Hotel in Xingan City, two young men huddled together with hunched shoulders.

"Did you pull strings to get this newspaper feature?"

"Bulls***. That guy loves showing off so much, would I help him?"

"Then who did it?"

Linjiang Provincial Daily Office.

"Xiaoyu, you did a fantastic job with this assignment. It has substance, it has depth, and especially that photo you captured—I heard from the Secretary-General this morning that Governor Lin personally gave it high praise."

"As for this exemplary figure Qin Chuan, you will be responsible for following his story long-term from now on. You must dig out more achievements and highlight his brilliant qualities."

Zhang Xiaoyu nodded excitedly, her head bobbing up and down: "Leader, rest assured, task guaranteed!"

Leaving his office, Qin Chuan splashed some cold water on his face, his energy returning considerably.

"Xiao Zhang, get me a copy of today's *Linjiang Daily*."

"Yes!"

Five minutes later, looking at the photo of himself jumping from the building to rescue Jiang Xue published on the second page of the newspaper, Qin Chuan suddenly felt a strange and unfamiliar sensation deep inside.

"Holy crap... Am I really this handsome?"

Ring, ring, ring!

His phone rang, and when Qin Chuan checked, it was Wang Xuebing.

"Chief Wang, any orders?"

"Orders my ass! I just looked at the *Linjiang Daily*. You're in the newspaper?"

"Hehe, isn't this all thanks to Chief Wang's brilliant guidance? Thank you, leader, for cultivating me."

"You brat... spare me that nonsense... I'll buy you a drink when you get back!"

Hanging up the phone, Wang Xuebing shook his head with a sigh.

This kid had only been away from the station for a few days.

And already he was in the provincial newspaper.

The report above wasn't just about Qin Chuan rescuing Jiang Xue; it also detailed his exploits since joining the police force—such as single-handedly hunting down a fugitive and bravely cracking the headless bloody corpse murder case.

Yet without a doubt, the moment Qin Chuan sprinted down six stories and grabbed Jiang Xue was the most electrifying!

The photographer's skills were top-notch.

It captured Qin Chuan's resolute gaze and his desperate, no-holds-barred drive to save her to the absolute fullest.

Combined with Qin Chuan's handsome facial features, it was practically the ultimate promotional poster for a police officer.

Moreover, the kid had good luck.

He happened to catch Governor Lin visiting the Department of Public Security for an inspection, where the governor demanded the promotion of the "three no-fears" spirit and the publicizing of exemplary police deeds.

From then on, Qin Chuan's phone rang incessantly.

There was a call from his mother.

She kept crying over the phone, constantly asking about Qin Chuan's physical condition.

And calls from classmates, leaders, friends...

A full-page promotional feature in the *Linjiang Daily* made Qin Chuan's deeds widely known.

Inside the detention center.

Song Yaozong, who had already been staying there for two days, was starting to find it hard to endure.

He was pondering whether he should find someone to bail him out.

As for what Qin Chuan had said about ten days...

Crap, he had already come in, and he had given them enough face.

What more did they want?

Yet just moments ago, the exact moment Song Yaozong saw the *Linjiang Daily*, that thought vanished instantly, disappearing cleanly into thin air.

Suddenly, he felt that staying inside wasn't actually all that bad.

It was his first time reading the *Linjiang Daily* in his life.

His first time contemplating life.

His first time sleeping on a communal brick bed.

His first time peeing in front of twenty-odd people.

Song Yaozong suddenly felt enlightened. Staying inside was quite nice. Ten days... would that be too short?