August is the hottest month of the year.
Under the high outdoor temperature of 37 degrees at noon, Lei Ting and Liu Wang each held an umbrella. While wiping the sweat off their faces, they walked and stopped in "Binjiangyuan" community.
"Found it!" After who knows how long, Liu Wang finally found the female client's lost Husky in a small forest in the central park of the community.
At this location, there is a one-meter-high above-ground air inlet connected to the underground garage. For some reason, the iron grid on the air inlet has been damaged. Half of the iron grid is missing, revealing a hole large enough for an adult to crawl through, and the Husky is hiding inside.
At this moment, the Husky hiding in the air inlet didn't make a fuss when it saw someone coming. It just lay there quietly, and Lei Ting was able to go down and pick it up with relative ease.
"By the way, what's going on here?" Holding the dog in his hands, Lei Ting pointed his chin at the iron grid of the air inlet of the underground garage.
"Who cares? This is not within the scope of our business. Just tell the property management, and they'll handle it." Liu Wang said indifferently, and then started walking back.
"You're right." Although Lei Ting thought it was strange, he also thought that Liu Wang was right. They really didn't need to worry about this kind of thing.
After putting down the still quiet Husky, Lei Ting took out the dog leash he had prepared in advance, fastened one end to the Husky's collar, and was about to lead it away.
But the Husky refused to move no matter what. It just stood there quietly, with a dull look in its eyes, like a Buddha statue.
"What's wrong with this dog?" Lei Ting tugged at the dog leash twice in a row, and even dragged it a certain distance, but the dog still wouldn't move. It neither barked nor made any noise, just stood there.
Seeing that there was no other way, Lei Ting had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue holding the Husky, which weighed more than thirty catties, and walked towards the detective agency.
...
"Thank you so much..." In the detective agency, a beautifully dressed woman took the dog leash from Lei Ting while thanking them.
Her dog had been lost for a whole day since it ran away without a leash yesterday afternoon. She had searched for it for more than two hours herself, and the property management had searched for more than ten hours, but they couldn't find it. Finally, she came to this detective agency outside the community with the attitude of giving it a try, which she didn't have high hopes for. Unexpectedly, they found the dog in less than two hours.
After losing her beloved dog for a whole day and then getting it back, how could she not be excited?
After thanking them, the woman took out her phone and generously transferred 2,000 yuan to Liu Wang, which surprised the two of them.
"Beauty, there's no need for that much. One hundred yuan is enough. I'll transfer the rest back to you." Liu Wang said. He wasn't the kind of person who would be greedy for small gains. Besides, he didn't lack the money either.
However, the woman firmly stated that the 2,000 yuan was what they deserved, and said that it was just a small amount of money for her, asking Liu Wang to accept it with confidence.
Seeing that the woman was so insistent, Liu Wang felt embarrassed to decline any further. He thanked her and then accepted the 2,000 yuan.
Watching Liu Wang accept the money, the woman nodded in satisfaction, and then led the dog and turned to leave. But when she had just taken a few steps, the taut dog leash made her stop in her tracks.
"Xiaoxue? Let's go, Xiaoxue." The woman gently tugged at the dog leash a few times.
Upon hearing the name "Xiaoxue", the dull look in the Husky's eyes regained some clarity, and it no longer just stood there. It followed the woman's steps and walked slowly away.
"Ah..." Lei Ting slumped on the sofa, his arms still feeling a bit weak.
After all, he had carried a large dog weighing almost forty catties for hundreds of meters. Since he wasn't someone who exercised regularly, it would be strange if his hands didn't go numb. "By the way, when will your detective agency take on a proper detective job? Why is it always about finding a lost kitten or a runaway puppy? There was even a case of finding a lizard that had sneaked away?" Lei Ting asked. Running around in the sun to find small animals in the middle of summer really wasn't a pleasant job.
"A proper detective job?" Liu Wang also leaned back on the sofa, with his hands behind his head. "What kind of job do you think is a proper detective job? Investigating a murder case like in Japanese animations? Come on, that's the job of the police. Not to mention that I'm just a half-baked detective relying on my superpowers. Even a real great detective can't just casually enter a crime scene in real life. As for the possibility of being invited by the police to assist in solving a case? How incompetent would the local police have to be to invite someone in a gray profession to assist in solving a case?"
"Then if our agency has no intention of taking on big cases, what does the 'evidence collection' posted on that glass window mean?" Lei Ting pointed at the large French window next to the main door of the detective agency and asked rhetorically.
"Collecting evidence of infidelity." Liu Wang said calmly.
"Huh?" Lei Ting was stunned, seemingly not expecting such an answer.
"Don't you know? Since the new millennium, surveillance cameras have become more and more popular, and the employment environment for detectives has been greatly reduced. The main work of small and medium-sized detectives has long since become collecting evidence of infidelity for couples who suspect their partners of cheating. Just this one task can be said to account for about 70% of the income of most small and medium-sized detectives nowadays. Only a few top detectives have regular employers and become private detectives for big bosses, getting a stable and substantial salary. Although the job of catching infidelity isn't very honorable, and most of them don't really want to do it, if you really stop them from doing it, they'll definitely cause a commotion."
"Are we the same?" Lei Ting then asked. It had been almost a month since he joined the "Superpower Investigation Team". He had received four or five commissions to find pets, but he hadn't encountered a single commission to find evidence of infidelity.
"Of course, but our proportion isn't that exaggerated. After all, we don't really rely on the detective industry to make money. We can choose not to accept really ridiculous commissions. But on average, we can receive one such commission a month. It's normal if we don't receive any." Liu Wang explained.
"I see. To be honest, I'm quite curious about how to collect evidence of infidelity. It can't be that we secretly record a video of someone having an affair, right?" Lei Ting asked again.
Just as Liu Wang was about to answer, a series of mobile phone rings suddenly sounded, blocking his words in his mouth.
"Sorry." Lei Ting apologized first, and then took out his phone. When he saw that the caller was Cheng Qi, his eyebrows twitched.
Normally, when Cheng Qi has something to ask him, he usually contacts him through QQ or WeChat. He rarely calls directly. And if he does call, it must be an emergency.
"What's going on? What's so urgent that you called me?" Lei Ting asked directly after answering the phone.
"It's really urgent!" Cheng Qi on the other end of the phone said eagerly, "My cat is lost!"
"Your cat is lost? When did you get a cat?" Lei Ting asked in surprise. He had visited Cheng Qi's house many times. The last time was a week ago, and there was no cat in his house at that time.
"It's not a cat from my house! It's my cat! No, right, it's not really my cat. It's a cat I'm taking care of! But it's not mine, and it's not right... In short! The situation is urgent! Come and meet me at the cultural park next to my house immediately!" After speaking incoherently, Cheng Qi directly hung up the phone. It could be seen that he was really in a hurry.
"What's going on? Did your friend's cat get lost?" Liu Wang looked at Lei Ting, who was looking confused, with interest.
"Sort of... Not really... Anyway, he really wants me to go and find the cat." Lei Ting was also confused by Cheng Qi's words, but at least he understood the purpose of Cheng Qi's call.
"Then let's go. I'll go and have a look too. Maybe I can help." Liu Wang stood up and said.
"You? You're not really familiar with him. What's the matter? Are you addicted to finding pets? Are you just going to leave the agency unattended?" Lei Ting didn't understand what Liu Wang was up to by insisting on going.
"The agency is being watched over by Tang Xiuxiu." Liu Wang turned his gaze to Tang Xiuxiu, who was sitting in the corner.
"Damn it, when did you get here?" Lei Ting was shocked. He clearly remembered that she wasn't there just now.
"I came while you were chatting. If you want to go, then go. I'll watch over the agency." Tang Xiuxiu replied without looking up while swiping her phone.
"You see, she's agreed. Let's go. I'll give you a ride in my car. It's the cultural park near your house, right?" Liu Wang said as he pulled Lei Ting outside.
Seeing that Liu Wang was so insistent on going, Lei Ting had no choice but to acquiesce in letting him go with him. But mainly because he really wanted to take a ride in Liu Wang's convertible sports car.