Dude, something's really wrong with your abilities.

Chapter 74 Hello, Auntie!

As they walked out of the director's office, Sun Tiemei said, "It's too late. You must be tired today. Go home and get some rest."

"Okay, team leader, you should get some rest too."

Chen Shi nodded in agreement and walked out of the main building of the Supernatural Abilities Bureau alone. He took out his phone, and there were several missed calls on the screen, all from his mother. During the performance tonight, he had put his phone on silent, and afterwards, with interrogations and reports, he hadn't had a chance to take out his phone to check it at all.

So he quickly called back, and the phone rang only once before it connected: "Mom, is there something you need?"

"I called you several times before but you didn't answer. Where were you?" The mother's tone was somewhat reproachful.

"The bureau was working overtime on a case, and my phone was on silent, so I didn't hear it."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Chen Shi vaguely heard his parents talking in hushed tones. His father said, "You ask, you ask," and his mother replied, "Shut up."

After a while, Chen's mother's voice came through the receiver again: "Is it really overtime? I heard from Xiaoqiang's wife last time that you're really popular with the girls at the bureau lately, is that true?"

Chen Shi was both amused and exasperated, and immediately denied it: "How could that be? Don't listen to Fatty's wife's nonsense. She's been corrupted by Fatty."

"Don't believe everything you hear... The child is working away from home..." Chen's father's voice flashed through the receiver, then was suppressed.

His mother's voice rang out again: "Xiaoshi, I'm going to the city to see you tomorrow. How long has it been since you went back to your hometown? Your dad? He has to stay home and can't leave, so I'll go alone."

Chen Shi initially wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he realized that the bureau had just arranged for the technical department to conduct a large-scale investigation, and there was no urgent task at hand, so he agreed.

The next morning, Chen Shi arrived at his post on time. He had barely sat down when Xiao Yu from the publicity department called. The young man's voice was hoarse and dry; he was the one who wrote the skit "First Encounter with the Superpower Bureau" for yesterday's arts performance, but he'd been severely criticized by their department head and was in a very bad state.

Originally, an interview with Chen Shi was supposed to be published this week, but the fifth team was working overtime on a case and had to cancel the interview with the junior staff member several times. Chen Shi felt very bad and apologized repeatedly. He told Xiao Yu not to come over and that he would go to the publicity department to cooperate with the interview himself.

Not long after Chen Shi left the office, the people from Group Five arrived at their posts one after another.

Su Xiaohe had dark circles under her eyes and looked listless, clearly having stayed up all night. No one knew what she'd been up to last night. The fat man walked in carrying a plastic bag filled with various kinds of steamed buns, like a meeting in progress.

As soon as the bag was opened, a strange smell wafted out. Chang Biao immediately frowned and fanned himself with his hand, saying, "Daqiang, what are you doing? Why does it smell like stinky tofu?"

Su Xiaohe quickly covered her nose: "Brother Daqiang, you're exaggerating! How can anyone stay in an office that smells like this?"

Only Wang Jianlou, who was standing to the side, didn't mind and wanted to come over and take a bite, but Chang Biao stopped him firmly.

Completely unconcerned by the others' disdain, the fat man casually remarked while munching on a steamed bun, "You guys don't understand..."

But the smell was so overpowering that Chang Biao pushed the fat man into the archives room before he could speak, leaving him to eat there by himself. He then opened the windows to ventilate the room and sprayed air freshener several times before the strange smell was barely suppressed.

Just then, a middle-aged woman walked up to the office door: "Excuse me, is Chen Shizhen here?"

Upon hearing Chen Shi's name, Su Xiaohe immediately stood up: "You're looking for him? He's out working and not in the office. You can tell me what's wrong."

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt embarrassed, realizing that she might have overstepped her bounds.

The middle-aged woman looked at her suspiciously. The girl's hair was messy, she had dark circles under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn't woken up yet. She seemed a bit unreliable.

"Can I go inside and wait for him to come back?"

"Yes, Auntie, please have a seat. I'll get you some water."

The woman walked into the office, glanced around briefly, and subconsciously sniffed. The lingering odor made her frown inwardly, silently thinking that the office environment was really not good.

At that moment, Chang Biao was secretly getting his nails done at his workstation when he heard a noise and suddenly looked up. A shiny bald head suddenly appeared, startling the woman who instinctively let out a gasp.

Chang Biao immediately stood up and said politely, "Auntie, I'm so sorry, I startled you."

He was tall and burly, looking exceptionally strong, with a rather fierce-looking face. The woman felt even more flustered looking at him. This man looked only a few years younger than her, yet he called her "Auntie" in such an intimidatingly sweet voice. She quickly waved her hands, saying, "Don't come any closer."

Just as Su Xiaohe was about to explain, the door to the archives room suddenly opened. The fat man, with a steamed bun still stuffed in his mouth, heard the commotion outside and thought there was something interesting to see, but when he looked up and saw the woman, he was stunned for a moment.

"Auntie? What brings you here?"

The woman looked the fat man up and down, her expression softening instantly: "You must be Xiaoqiang? I haven't seen you in years. You've gotten so much stronger. Last time your wife came back to the village, you didn't even go back with her. This physique, tsk tsk, you were chubby when you were a kid, and now you're even fatter. Your wife is really virtuous."

Although the fat man didn't know what his weight had to do with his wife's virtuousness, he quickly swallowed the bun in his mouth and turned to introduce her to everyone: "This is Chen Shi's mother." He then introduced Chang Biao and Su Xiaohe to Chen's mother.

Upon hearing that it was Chen Shi's mother, Su Xiaohe panicked instantly, grabbed her bag, and rushed into the bathroom.

Everyone was puzzled, just then Sun Tiemei walked into the office.

She glanced at the unfamiliar Chen's mother and asked, "And who is this?"

"Boss, this is Chen Shi's mother. Auntie, this is our group leader, Group Leader Sun." The fat man quickly introduced them.

Chen's mother proactively extended her hand, saying, "Hello, leader."

Sun Tiemei extended her hand in return, saying, "Hello."

Their hands touched briefly, their palms both feeling slightly cool, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

Chen's mother, being quite experienced, immediately recognized Sun Tiemei's strong presence and uncompromising nature. She had previously heard from Fatty's wife that the group leader of Group Five was extremely strict and had very high expectations of her subordinates. She secretly pondered that her own son, with his mild temperament, must have received his fair share of scoldings working under such a domineering female leader.

Moreover, she always felt that if a woman is too assertive, the man will inevitably suffer after marriage, like Chen Shi's father.

Sun Tiemei was also silently observing Chen's mother. She knew that Pang Daqiang and Chen Shi were from the same village and should be ordinary farmers, but Chen's mother did not have any of the temperament of a peasant woman. Instead, she had a calm demeanor and sharp eyes, which made her look a bit like her elementary school Chinese teacher, giving off a natural sense of pressure.

The two women were polite to each other when they first met, but they already disliked each other.

At this moment, Su Xiaohe came out of the bathroom, her face made up. However, due to the rush and sloppy technique, the makeup looked like a New Year's painting, which was quite funny.

She stepped forward cautiously, her attitude even more respectful than when she was facing Sun Tiemei: "Hello, Auntie, I am Su Xiaohe."

"Hello Xiaohe, you just said Chen Shi isn't here. Is there something I can talk to you about?" Unlike Chen Shi, Chen's mother was good at grasping the key points.

The question made Su Xiaohe blush, and she stammered for a long time, unable to say a word.

The fat man quickly tried to smooth things over: "Auntie, why did you suddenly come? Didn't Uncle come with you?"

"He can't leave the house," Chen's mother said calmly. "Since Xiaoshi started working, he rarely comes back to his hometown. I came to see what he's been busy with every day, and why he doesn't even have time to come home."

As she spoke, she casually glanced at Su Xiaohe. Su Xiaohe felt extremely uncomfortable under her gaze and quickly retreated to her workstation, lowering her head and pretending to be busy.

Fatty sensed something was wrong and quickly signaled Biaozi to call Chen Shi and tell him to come back immediately.

Looking at the chubby boy, Chen's mother casually started a conversation: "Xiaoqiang, how many years have you been married?"

"Haha, next month will mark exactly three years."

"Look at the two of you, you grew up together since you were little, and you've been married for three years, while Xiaoshi still doesn't even have a girlfriend. You really don't give us elders any peace of mind," Chen's mother sighed helplessly.

Su Xiaohe, who was standing nearby, immediately perked up her ears.

The fat man looked around, then lowered his voice, ready to gossip: "Auntie, let me tell you, you really don't need to worry. Xiao Shi is in high demand now. Recently, quite a few female colleagues in the bureau..."

He was about to add some more details when he heard familiar footsteps at the office door.