After reading the list, Lü Qingqing tried to get answers from Ouyang Wen and Hu Jia's eyes, but Ouyang Wen only glanced at her, smiled slightly, and then looked straight ahead, his gaze not even deviating.
Hu Jia, on the other hand, was more direct. He didn't avoid Lü Qingqing's gaze, but merely met it for a moment, without conveying any useful information.
"Everyone else whose names were not called is automatically assigned to Group Two. The team leader is..." Tong Hua scanned the room, "Tong Meng!"
Zhan Ruoxuan was already preparing to clap, but the announcement of "Tong Meng" left him stunned.
Lü Qingqing was also a little bewildered. She had considered that she might not be the team leader, but she had never imagined Tong Meng would be.
Under everyone's surprised gaze, Tong Meng stood up. "Thank you Director Qiao for your cultivation, and thank you all colleagues for your trust."
She nodded slightly at everyone, her gaze seeming not to linger on Lü Qingqing, yet as if she had specifically looked at her.
Lü Qingqing wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt that Tong Meng showed no surprise at this outcome, as if she had known it beforehand.
"How could it be her? Is there a mistake?"
"Hmph, do you even need to ask? It must be Tong Hua's decision."
"Bah, as expected, it's easier to get things done when you have connections."
Lü Qingqing overheard several people whispering. After all, everyone knew Tong Meng's capabilities. She had never independently handled any major case. Apart from the graduation exam for the training institute, she seemed to have no achievements to speak of.
The training institute?
Thinking of this, Lü Qingqing seemed to understand everything.
No wonder Tong Meng suddenly enrolled in the training institute. It turned out everything was prearranged. After all, graduating from the training institute would add a feather to her resume. Now, her promotion made sense.
"Compared to everyone here, what qualification do I, Tong Meng, have to lead a criminal investigation team? I admit, I am not an excellent police officer, because I have no great achievements to make people remember my name, and I have no flamboyant attire to make people remember my appearance. But I have the simplest clothing, which allows me to understand what role I play in this society."
"Perhaps you'll say that catching thieves and apprehending criminals is the most basic job of a police officer, but what I want to say is that I would rather be derelict in my duty, because my dereliction of duty is when society is stable. Of course, I also know that this is just my wishful thinking. I believe that all police officers who wear the same uniform as me would have this thought."
As soon as Tong Meng finished speaking, the scene fell silent, but then Qiao Huali led the applause.
He was the deputy director, the highest-ranking official present. Since the appointment had been made, he had to publicly express his stance. His attitude would determine the progress of Tong Meng's work.
Following Qiao Huali's applause, Tong Hua also clapped, and then the people below followed suit.
Lü Qingqing and the others only clapped perfunctorily twice. Looking up, only Hu Jia remained still.
"Thank you all for your support. I still have many things I don't understand. I believe that in the coming days, we will surely move forward hand in hand, making the safety of our jurisdiction increasingly higher and the lives of our citizens increasingly stable." After speaking, Tong Meng bowed deeply to everyone.
The people who were originally in the criminal investigation team were not so affected. Shocked as they were, it wasn't as if their lives were unlivable. Soon, everyone adjusted their mindset and began congratulating Tong Meng.
Seeing everyone talking to Tong Meng, Gao Liang turned and left directly. He had a grievance with Tong Meng, and it was one that couldn't be resolved. Moreover, he clearly knew that Tong Meng was a member of the "Dao Ren" organization.
He could stand there with a forced smile, but asking him to compliment her against his will was out of the question.
"A petty person getting ahead!" Gao Liang said disdainfully, which amused Lü Qingqing.
Seeing Lü Qingqing's expression, Gao Liang's mood worsened. "You're still smiling. You're already her subordinate. See how she finds opportunities to deal with you."
Lü Qingqing wasn't too bothered. "If she really works diligently, I can be her subordinate. But if she tries to use her position for personal favors, then I'm not someone to be trifled with."
Gao Liang chuckled. He knew Lü Qingqing wasn't one to accept fate easily. However, he couldn't understand why Ouyang Wen and Hu Jia would agree to assign Lü Qingqing to Tong Meng's group.
"Qingqing, our group has only two women. You'll have to help me in the future. You know, as a team leader, there are many things to manage, and I'm especially afraid of encountering disobedient people. If there are no troublemakers, our team's work will progress smoothly and not delay others' work." Tong Meng walked over with a smile, extending her hand proactively, but the smugness on her face was not feigned.
Lü Qingqing also smiled. Tong Meng's first two sentences were acceptable, but the last one was telling everyone that she, Lü Qingqing, was a disobedient person. It seemed that if Tong Meng's work encountered any slight setback, it would be her fault as a troublemaker.
"It's easy to say, it's easy to say. Tong Meng, I understand your abilities to some extent, and I won't refuse anything I can help with." Lü Qingqing didn't back down, shaking Tong Meng's hand but not sparing her words.
Everyone knew these two women were at odds, and they didn't expect sparks to fly right away.
Tong Meng was also clever. She knew that if she really argued about work with Lü Qingqing, she would be the one to lose face. She pretended not to understand Lü Qingqing's words.
Seeing her turn away, Lü Qingqing's gaze dimmed.
Whether or not she became the leader of Group Two wasn't important; what was important was that Tong Meng couldn't be the leader.
Everyone knew Tong Meng was a member of the "Dao Ren" organization, an informant within the police force. If she became the leader, let alone the difficulty in carrying out future work, even some important work content would have to be kept from her.
"Let's go ask what's going on?" Zhan Ruoxuan was a bit anxious. He clearly understood the difficulties their future work would face if Tong Meng became Lü Qingqing's superior.
"Don't panic, someone will intervene." Lü Qingqing looked at the two brothers. They had maintained a smiling demeanor throughout, as if they were indifferent to Tong Meng's appointment.
Lü Qingqing knew this was a precursor to their action.
Seeing that Tong Meng wasn't pressing further, Tong Meng thought Lü Qingqing had backed down.
She gave a cold smile, as if she were detached from the situation. Finally, she had managed to put Lü Qingqing beneath her. You're very powerful, aren't you? You rely on Hu Jia's support, don't you? But they are still just an arm, unable to twist a thigh.
Tong Meng increasingly admired Sixth Master and was increasingly curious about his identity. Who exactly was this person? He possessed such immense power.
She recalled that it was in late December of last year when Tong Meng first submitted to Sixth Master. At that time, she had made one condition: she wanted that position.
To think that only three months later, she had actually obtained it.
This position was originally reserved for Tong Hua, but to appease Tong Hua, Sixth Master directly arranged a position for him as the head of the judicial section, making him Hu Jia's superior.
It's important to note that neither of these positions could be bought with money. Yet, Sixth Master managed to achieve it.
Tong Meng knew she had probably underestimated Sixth Master's influence.
But before Tong Meng could return to her workstation, a voice called out, "This decision was made a bit hastily."
Turning around, she saw Hu Jia!