The middle‑aged man squatting on the ground flicked his cigarette butt to the floor, stepped on it hard to grind it out, glanced at Chief Zhou, then turned and pushed the door open to leave.
At the instant the man lifted his eyes, Yang Xiao noticed the bloodshot streaks filling them; clearly he hadn't rested properly for a long time.
Once the middle‑aged man left, Chief Zhou rubbed his face, sat down with a kind of weary heaviness, and waved his hand, signaling for Yang Xiao and the other to sit as well.
Then he picked up the cigarette case again, tapped out a cigarette, struck several matches in a row without getting a flame, and finally simply tossed both the cigarette and the matchbox onto the desk, giving up on smoking.
"I've already contacted Old Sun at the Cultural Palace, told him that later tonight our Security Department will send two people over. The reason is a routine inspection." Chief Zhou said hoarsely.
