Operation Brief Case - Part 1

Midnight Council:

It was a cold and moonless night, and Tianjing city slumbered on like a great beast, unconcerned with the preoccupations of its denizens. While the world was quiet and sleepy, not everyone was sticking to their own beds. Dogs were on the roam, bats were on the hunt, and thieves were on the prowl.

And in room 221 of the Tianjing University girls' dorm, a large group had assembled, packed so tightly that the meeting was spilling out into the corridor.

"It's been a month, and they still haven't done anything!" one voice spoke up.

"The university has always been incompetent. If we rely on them, the thefts will never stop," another added angrily.

"I have lost three pairs just this week," a teary-eyed girl complained. "If this goes on, I won't have anything left to wear."

"You haven't been putting them out to dry, have you? That's just asking for it at a time like this," said Chen Yi, one of the room's official inhabitants.

"And what if she has?" retorted Sun XiaoXiao, another resident of the room. "Why does she have to change her routine because of that pervert?"

Before Chen Yi could argue back, the third tenant of room 221, Mei Lin, cut her off, "Enough! This isn't time for bickering. If the university can't do it, we will solve the underwear thefts ourselves."

"But what about that patrol idea?" Someone in the back asked. "That seemed promising."

Every eye in the room, with the same question in mind, turned to look up at the bunk bed, for on top of it, like Genghis Khan holding court in his palatial ger, sat An Jing.

She was not the biggest girl in the room, but she was well built, even if a little on the slender side. At first glance she looked like a cute and bubbly eighteen year old college student, but her eyes told a completely different story. They were the eyes of a predator: keen, observant, and cunning. And despite wearing pyjamas with fluffy little dogs on them—a gift from her sister, An Mei—she carried the ultimate authority here.

"President Zhou said we won't be allowed to do the patrols without a faculty mentor."

"We asked many of the faculty," Mei Lin continued, picking up where An Jing had just left off. "None of them wanted to get involved. Some are too old, some are too busy, and many just don't want to be bothered. It's no use."

"But what about Professor Li Wei?" a voice in the crowd spoke up.

"Yeah! He seems like a nice guy," another added enthusiastically.

"He is just twenty-two! Can you believe that? Just four years older than me," said a giggling, starstruck girl. "He is young, handsome, smart..."

"And happily married to my sister." An Jing cut her off with a low growl and a menacing look. The girl immediately fell silent and blended into the crowd.

"But Jingjing, isn't that perfect?" Sun XiaoXiao asked. "He is your family. So he won't refuse our request. We can have our faculty mentor and start the patrols."

"No. My brother-in-law is off limits."

"But Xiao-Jing, he is the only option we have left," Chen Yi added her voice to Sun XiaoXiao's.

"You don't understand," An Jing replied. "Professor Li would be the worst possible faculty mentor." She looked around the room at her assembled court. "My brother-in-law is a certified genius. If you give him a jar, he can tell you a hundred different ways to open it and figure out how much force you need in each case. But he is the last person you should ask to open it for you. His world is theoretical. It's best not to bother him with practical problems."

"But Jingjing, we can't keep living like this," a girl in the crowd pleaded.

"Please, Jingjing. This situation is so terrible. I can't even tell my parents about this. It's so humiliating," the girl who had lost three pairs said, echoing the previous sentiment.

"Please, Jingjing!" Other girls now took up the call, hoping to move their leader's heart.

An Jing looked at Chen Yi and Sun XiaoXiao, who were giving her puppy dog eyes. She then looked at Mei Lin, who simply shrugged and said, "He doesn't have to do anything; just be in charge on paper."

An Jing sighed, then she looked contemplative for a few seconds before finally saying, "All right. We will ask him."

Ambush!

Blissfully unaware of the late-night conspiracy and never suspecting the future that awaited him, Li Wei was thoughtfully staring at the large blackboard in his staff room at the Physics department. The board was studded with complex mathematical equations and diagrams, which to an untrained eye looked like stick figures with lots of squiggly lines.

Unlike his scruffy hair, the room was well ordered and neat, and his table was organized into separate sections. On the right side were his computer, textbooks, and papers to grade. On the left sat a photo of his beautiful and gentle wife, An Mei, and one of her bestselling romance novels, which he was on the verge of completing.

When the knock came, Li Wei received it with usual exuberance. "Come in," he said cheerfully.

But he was not ready for the throng of teenage girls that marched into his staff room and crowded the small space. Li Wei stood up, a little alarmed, and looked around in confusion. Then his eyes caught the familiar sight of An Jing, his sister-in-law, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"An Jing. What's going on? Why is everyone here?" he asked, still a little nervous.

"Li Jiaoshou," An Jing said respectfully. "The girls wanted to ask for your help."

"My help?!" Li Wei asked incredulously. "With what?"

"You know the underwear thefts in our dorm?"

"Yeah. It's a terrible thing. I hope they catch the culprit soon."

"Well... no one is catching him. So, we have come up with a plan. We are going to catch him ourselves."

"Really?! Is that safe?" Li Wei looked at An Jing and added, "I mean, for the other girls?"

"It will be safe, Jie-fu; I will take care of them," An Jing replied, easing his worries. "But the problem is the university. In order to form the dorm patrol, we must have a faculty mentor."

"Please, Professor Li, can you be our faculty mentor?" Sun XiaoXiao pleaded.

"None of the others want to help us," Chen Yi complained.

"Please, Professor," the other girls clamoured.

"Yes. I would be happy to," Li Wei agreed enthusiastically without a moment's hesitation, sending a wave of surprised cheers through the assembled students.

A girl in the back of the crowd gushed, "Thanks, professor. We knew that we could count on you. You are the best."

Others nodded their heads, agreeing with the assessment.

But An Jing was not happy. "Wei-ge," she said, her voice much softer than before, "Don't let them bully you into this. You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"No, Xiao-Jing. I want to do it." Li Wei seemed thoughtful for a moment before smiling. "I have never been asked to be part of a group before. It's exciting." Then he looked at the girls. "And if I can help you guys while trying something new, then it's all the more reason to do it."

Now that Li Wei himself had shown enthusiasm for the idea, there was nothing An Jing could do. "Well, if you are sure. But please don't put yourself in any danger, alright? Or your sisters will have my head," An Jing said half-jokingly.

Li Wei chuckled and agreed, "I will. Just let me know how I can help."

The sisters:

The news of Li Wei joining the dorm patrol arrived like a hurricane piggybacking on a tsunami into the Li sisters' group chat, the digital home of Li Wei's five formidable older sisters who run the Wu Long Group.

Li Hua: Are we really letting him do this?

Li Jing: Well, he might be our baby brother, but he is also an adult. He is free to live his life the way he wants.

Li Hua: He even dragged Xiao-Mei into this.

Li Jing: He didn't drag anyone anywhere. Meimei just wanted to be part of it to keep her husband company.

Li Hua: Both of them are idiots. I mean, what are they thinking, trying to catch thieves? What if something happens?

Li Jing: What's going to happen? It's just a university, not like that taekwondo court of yours where you beat people up for fun.

Li Hua: Just a university?! That's the most irresponsible thing I have ever heard. But coming from you, Xiao-Jing, I am not even surprised.

Li Jing: What's that supposed to mean?

Li Yue: Fight! Fight! Fight!

Li Hua: You know what it means.

Li Jing: Is this about my date last week?

Li Hua: If that abomination could be called a date. That man was simply there to take advantage of you.

Li Jing: In the end I was the one who took advantage of him. We got the deal, didn't we?

Li Hua was furiously typing her counterargument. But, before she could finish, Li Fen spoke.

Li Fen: Enough. We are here to discuss Xiao-Wei.

Li Hua's typing stopped immediately.

Li Na: While the situation is not ideal, An Jing is with them. They will be relatively safe.

Li Hua: I agree with you, Xiao-Na, but do we do nothing at all?

Li Na: That's not what I meant, Hua-jie. But, we shouldn't interfere openly. Weiwei wants to do this. If we tell him not to, it will crush his confidence. What's the point of keeping him safe if he isn't happy?

Li Jing: 😭❤️

Li Fen: Xiao-Na is right. We won't interfere directly. But we will keep him safe, indirectly. I will make sure that Wu Long Group's security team keeps a discreet eye on the university during the patrol.

Li Yue: I'll send An Jing my new 'Dragonfly-X' drone. It has night vision and advanced motion sensors. They'll find the pervert in no time.

Li Fen: Good. And send its video feed to the security team as well, so that they can keep an eye out for trouble.

Li Yue: No problem, Da-jie. It's still a prototype, so it shouldn't be an issue.

Li Hua: And Xiao-Yue, send the girls some earpieces so that they can communicate and coordinate better.

Li Yue: 👍

Li Jing: The girls will need something distinct to mark them as part of the patrol group. I'll see what I can do. Maybe some bandanas or hoodies, perhaps. An Jing would look cute in a red hoodie.

Li Hua: 😒

Li Yue: Jie, can I get one too?

Li Jing: Of course, darling. I'll get you a blue one.

Li Yue: 🫶

Li Jing: And maybe I'll send An Jing a nice pair of handcuffs. When you catch a criminal, you have to do it in style.

Li Hua: Don't send the kid weird things.

Li Jing: 🙉

Li Na: They will all need food. I will send them dinners from one of our restaurants.

Li Hua: Make sure it's healthy, Xiao-Na, and not the crap Xiao-Yue likes to eat.

Li Na: I will, Hua-jie.

Li Yue: Chips are vegetables!!!

Li Fen: Hua?

Li Hua: Yes Da-jie. I know. I will talk to the girls about self-defense laws and the correct procedure for a citizen's arrest. It's better that they know what to do and what not to do rather than get themselves into legal trouble later.

Li Fen: Good. Everyone knows their roles. Anything else to add?

Li Jing: I am just excited to see our Baobei do something heroic. I hope he will be safe. I am sure he will. We should celebrate after they catch the thief.

Li Na: Agreed.

Li Yue: My place?

Li Jing: NOOOOO!!!

Li Na: No.

Li Hua: Not until you clean it. We will do it at mine. No one comes empty-handed, and chips don't count.

Li Yue: 😔

Li Hua: And, if anything happens to Xiao-Wei or Xiao-Mei, I am holding you all accountable.

Li Jing: Oh, give it a rest, Amazon.

Li Hua: Why, you disrespectful, high-maintenance brat. I am coming over to your office right now to teach you a lesson.

Li Jing: You will never catch me. 😝

Li Fen: All right. We are done here. Now get back to work. No more horseplay.