Doug Feng crouched in a bathroom stall, holding his breath. Meanwhile, his father, Doug Changsheng, had been led away to an office by Liu Hanming, who was stalling for time with polite small talk and coffee. All was going according to plan.
As soon as the coast was clear, Liu slipped his hand into his pocket and pressed the dial button on his phone.
Across the building, Li Zuming had been waiting for that very call. When his phone buzzed, he didn't bother answering. He just hung up, spat on the ground, and sprinted toward the garage.
Vrooom.
The roar of a truck engine echoed through the enclosed space. Li Zuming quickly jumped into the cargo truck registered under Doug Changsheng's name—the one that had been loaded with high-value steel bars—and drove it straight to the farthest, darkest corner of the garage.
Then, with practiced precision, he brought out an identical truck from another corner and parked it exactly where the original had stood. But instead of steel, this one was filled to the brim with useless rocks.
The whole bait-and-switch took less than five minutes. Clearly, this wasn't improvised—they'd been preparing for this for quite a while.
Li Zuming gave a satisfied chuckle as he climbed out of the fake truck. Then he casually strolled back to the real one, now tucked away safely in the back corner, and hopped into its cab. He sat there smugly, assuming his plan was airtight. Confident, he pulled out his phone and called Liu Hanming.
Inside the office, Liu felt the vibration in his pocket and glanced at the screen. Seeing Li's number, he smiled—mission accomplished.
"Team Leader Doug," Liu said, still putting on his usual kind and casual tone, "Everything looks good. You guys are really busy this week, huh? Almost double the trips of other teams. Anyway, time to get going. Here, I even got breakfast for you—have your son eat something before the run."
Doug Changsheng chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, you didn't have to!"
With a small paper bag of warm buns and soy milk in hand, he left the office, completely unaware of what had transpired in the garage.
Back in the restroom, Doug Feng had watched everything unfold through a small crack in the stall door. He'd seen Li Zuming swap the trucks with his own eyes and had carefully noted where the real steel-laden truck had been hidden.
As soon as he saw his father coming out of the office, Doug Feng turned on the sink, splashed some water on his hands for realism, and walked out, pretending nothing had happened.
"What took you so long?" his father asked. "Stomach okay?"
"Yeah, just took a while. Liu Uncle gave you that for me?" Doug Feng accepted the breakfast bag but didn't touch it. He climbed into the truck and said quietly, "Dad, the steel's been switched. I saw it with my own eyes while coming out of the restroom."
Doug Changsheng's face turned pale. "What are you talking about? You better not joke about something like that."
"I'm serious," Doug Feng insisted. "I was heading back just now when I saw Li Zuming drive our original truck away and replace it with this one. I'm telling you—it's full of rocks."
Doug gave him the rundown, and the shock on his father's face only grew deeper with each word.
"You're sure about this?" Changsheng asked, voice trembling.
"Dad, come on, I'm your son. Don't you trust me?"
Doug Feng knew his father well. The man was a soft-hearted pushover—an old-school type who'd rather suffer losses than accuse someone unfairly. But this wasn't about humility anymore. Someone was trying to ruin him. If they didn't act, they'd take the fall for a heist they had nothing to do with.
"So you're saying the real truck—the one with the steel—is parked in the back corner?"
"Exactly," Doug Feng said. "And here's what I think we should do: if we confront them now, they'll just deny everything. No evidence, no case. Li Zuming will just play dumb and we'll be stuck. But if we act like we didn't notice anything, drive this fake truck out and block the only exit to the main road, we can catch him red-handed when he tries to sneak the real truck out. That alley's only wide enough for one vehicle."
Changsheng paused, absorbing it all. Then he nodded. "Alright. We'll do it your way."
He turned the key. The engine growled to life. The moment the truck rolled forward, Doug Changsheng felt it—the vehicle was too light. There was no way it was carrying steel.
Now fully convinced, he drove the truck slowly out of the garage and brought it to a halt right at the narrow alley connecting to the main road. He turned the engine off and yanked out the keys, leaving the truck perfectly parked in the center—completely blocking the only exit.
Meanwhile, back in the garage, Li Zuming grinned when he saw Doug Changsheng drive off.
Everything was falling into place.
A week ago, he'd overheard from Liu Hanming that the company would be shipping a batch of high-value steel—worth nearly sixty thousand yuan per load. Not only was that a lucrative target, but steel was easy to resell, no questions asked. The plan formed quickly: frame the honest and gullible Doug Changsheng, make the switch, and walk away with the profit.
Once Changsheng was gone, Li Zuming fired up the hidden truck, the one full of real steel. He was already imagining the cash in hand, maybe even splitting a cut with Liu Hanming.
The engine purred, and the truck rolled forward. Li was just about to head toward the highway exit when he stopped short.
"What the hell?"
Right at the mouth of the alley, the decoy truck was sitting there, motionless.
Blocked.
Li Zuming's instincts screamed that something was off. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Liu Hanming.
Back in the front cab, Doug Feng saw everything from the rearview mirror. His eyes lit up.
"He's out!" he said. "Perfect. Let's go."
Before his father could react, Doug flung the door open and jumped down. "Dad, call your boss. Now. We've got him. Catching him in the act is the only way we'll clear your name."
His father hesitated only a second longer, then pulled out his phone with a shaky hand.
Somewhere deep inside, Doug Changsheng felt something stir—not fear, but pride.
His son wasn't just quick-witted.
He was brave.