Chapter 8 The Scent of a Criminal

The first day of filming was a total loss.

A disembodied arm appearing out of nowhere was terrifying, but there was something even more frightening—no work meant no money. The arm wasn’t his, but the one who would starve from lack of funds would certainly be himself.

Director Wang understood this better than anyone. At his lowest point, he churned out flop after flop, his reputation in ruins, yet those failures managed to keep his crew afloat. He never saw anything wrong with loving money; in this business, without money, you were nothing, and even with it, that didn’t guarantee you were something.

Once the arm was taken away, things quieted down. The crew got back to shooting—best to finish quickly and move on. Wang had a vague sense of foreboding; if they didn’t hurry, who knew what else might go wrong.

But for today, all hope was lost.

The senior officer was named Tang. By experience, he could be considered Officer Xu’s mentor. Tang had seen plenty in his time; he kept his composure, calming the crowd even as he questioned them. Officer Xu, by contrast, was all business—unlike before, when he’d joke around with Mo Fei during previous reports, now there wasn’t a trace of a smile.

After questioning the crew, the officers sealed off the prop room and prepared to take the arm back for examination.

Just as they were getting into the car, Mo Fei called out and turned to Director Wang. “We won’t be filming today, right?”

Wang didn’t know why he was asking, but he nodded. “No, I’ll reshuffle the schedule. Come early tomorrow.”

Mo Fei nodded, then walked over to the police car and asked Officer Xu, “Mind giving me a lift?”

He’d need to go to the station later for a statement anyway—might as well save on taxi fare now.

Officer Xu glanced at Officer Tang, who gave a nod before Xu replied, “Sure.”

Lü Chunqiu watched Mo Fei hop into the police car and drive off, completely at a loss. Was the kid secretly gathering material for a crime drama?

“Lü,” Director Wang called when he saw her still standing there, “aren’t you going after him?”

Lü Chunqiu turned, feigning composure. “It’s fine, Mo Fei’s resourceful. I don’t need to watch him every second. I’ve got other artists to look after, so I’ll be off.”

With that, she fled the scene as fast as she could.

Did that brat forget he even had an agent on set? And getting into a police car in broad daylight—if anyone snapped a photo, there’d be endless rumors to clear up. Lü mentally cursed Mo Fei eight hundred times but couldn’t help pulling out her phone to message him for an update.

Mo Fei replied quickly, sending her a cheeky wink emoji.

She knew from the emoji that he was fine, yet her urge to strangle him only grew stronger.

In the police car, Officer Xu drove, Officer Tang sat in the passenger seat, and a middle-aged man holding the cooler sat in the back with Mo Fei. The man, seeing the shattered glass on Mo Fei’s phone screen as he messaged, couldn’t help but ask, “Young man, you’re an actor, right? Don’t actors make good money? Why use a phone like that?”

Mo Fei smiled, about to answer, when Officer Xu interjected, “You wouldn’t know about this, Brother Zhang.”

“This morning, we rounded up a few human traffickers—he knocked them flat with that phone of his,” Officer Xu said with a grin. “By the way, the young mother involved saw your situation. She left a new phone and a thank-you banner at the station. Make sure you pick them up before you leave.”

Mo Fei’s eyes brightened. “A new phone?”

Officer Xu laughed. “Yep, a token of her gratitude.”

Because of Mo Fei’s heroic deed, Officer Xu had a good impression of him. But Mo Fei noticed that Officer Tang in the front seat remained silent, occasionally glancing at him in the rearview mirror—not like sizing up an ordinary citizen, but more like evaluating some hazardous substance.

At the station, Mo Fei needed no prompting. He poured himself a glass of water, grabbed a candy from Xu’s desk, and found the statement room, taking a seat as if he belonged there. If not for the requirement of an official record, he could have written his own statement.

A female officer on duty, witnessing this, couldn’t help but sigh, “Does he think this is his family home?”

Officer Tang was puzzled and asked, “Does he come here often?”

She nodded. “Yes, Captain Tang, you were out on assignment, so you wouldn’t know. He’s been in and out all last week reporting cases. We joked at first that he looked like a celebrity, but after seeing him so often, we’re numb to it.”

A thoughtful look crossed Tang’s eyes.

The morning’s trafficking case was straightforward, and soon Mo Fei was in the reception room admiring his new phone.

Officer Xu, holding the thank-you banner, said, “That mother posted a photo of her child on social media, which the traffickers saw. If you hadn’t been there, even if she had ten mouths, she couldn’t have explained herself.”

He handed Mo Fei the banner. “Let’s get a photo for the record.”

Mo Fei obliged, standing to the side and grinning widely.

Officer Xu teased him after seeing the photo, “You always seemed indifferent before—how come you’re so eager now?”

Mo Fei maintained his goofy smile. “I’m just looking out for my own safety.”

In his current “Ripper” state, if he didn’t exaggerate his smile, he’d probably end up face-down and cuffed in the station.

“This is the safest place in the world,” Officer Xu chuckled. “What are you worried about?”

Mo Fei thought, I’m worried about you righteous types.

He examined the new phone—a basic model, but he liked its heft. With a sturdy case, it’d come in handy for more than just calls.

Happily, he inserted his SIM card into the new phone, tucked the banner under his arm, and said, “All done here. I’ll be off.”

His face was nearly frozen from smiling.

Officer Xu, preoccupied with the dismembered limb, simply waved him off. “Go on, go on.”

As Mo Fei exited the station, Officer Tang, who had been waiting outside, called him back.

“Mr. Mo, a moment please.”

Mo Fei hadn’t expected to be stopped just as he was escaping the danger zone. His expression slipped for a moment, but he quickly replaced it with a playful tilt of his head. “What’s up?”

Officer Tang’s steps faltered, his expression not only serious but tinged with caution. That fleeting look—so dark and unfathomable—set off all his instincts. After years in the force, he’d seen every kind of person. This Mo Fei was definitely not as simple as he seemed.

There was a criminal scent about him.