If Li Yingqiao had known that today—she would have to recite, word for word, in front of the police uncles, the barrage of texts she impulsively sent to Yu Miaomiao that night—
She thought, she would have just honestly said, “Hello, I’m Li Yingqiao, may I ask when my Conan will be returned to me?”
Instead of being like this now.
She kept her head down, voice as soft as a mosquito.
“Meow! Bzzzz bzzzz bzzzz Fibonacci bzzzz bzzzz bzzzz so clueless.”
A string of cursing flies buzzed past.
“Student Li Yingqiao,” the police comrade comforted her, “don’t be afraid. We’re just reconstructing the whole incident and making a record. Right now, not all the kidnappers have been caught, and the suspect Dong Tao is still on the run. We need to refocus the case based on your clues. Your information is very important.”
Yeah right. Li Yingqiao saw the corners of his mouth twitching, trying not to laugh, and said angrily, “Then Uncle Xiao Bo, why are you laughing at me?”
This uncle was an old acquaintance, the lead investigator on Yu Miaomiao’s kidnapping case, and also the chief officer on the last case where Little Pastry was almost trafficked.
The Fengtan police force was limited, and since there was no separate Anti-Trafficking Squad, similar cases were all handled by the Heavy Case Squad, so both incidents fell under his responsibility.
After the Little Drawing City case, this was only the second time he and Li Yingqiao had met.
His name was Xiao Bo, and no matter how you looked at him, his features were neat and proper, like the character for “upright,” but his way of speaking and his temperament didn’t really match—he liked to joke around.
“No, who’s laughing?”
The two police officers glanced at each other’s upturned mouths, but Xiao Bo took the lead, “Go on, I’ll keep an eye on him. If he laughs once, I’ll dock his salary by a hundred this month.”
The other officer immediately stopped smiling.
Li Yingqiao, emboldened, suddenly raised her voice: “I’ll say it one last time, I really didn’t know he’d already been kidnapped. I’d just learned the Fibonacci sequence and wanted to show off a bit. Turns out, he’s not as smart as I am. When he said the square of 58 was my dad, Uncle, do you think that makes any sense? Is that the kind of code a top student would come up with?”
“This case is a bit trickier than the last Little Pastry one.”
Xiao Bo nodded with feeling.
“Right!”
Li Yingqiao sighed, speaking with self-pity, “It’s really not easy being me.”
After finishing her statement, Li Yingqiao left, and a colleague finally relaxed his stiff mouth and asked Xiao Bo, “Should we consider recruiting her? Have her go through a targeted training program—she’s got real potential for the force. The girl’s got a bright future.”
Xiao Bo leaned back in his chair, thoughtful, and shook his head: “Her mom wouldn’t agree. Her mom has already said not to let a single word about her daughter be reported. If something like last time happens again, Li Yingqiao might… And now the whole city knows the son of our leading wooden toy company was kidnapped, but the news of his rescue hasn’t been released yet. No one knows how to write about it.”
“Why not?” The colleague obviously didn’t understand, his frown so deep it looked like a musical staff, but you couldn’t tell the tune.
“If it were me, my mom would instantly evolve from a mitten crab to a king crab. She’d be strutting around the house, and in all of Fengtan, who’d dare block her way? She could shout anyone down.”
Xiao Bo stood up, straightened the statement documents, and raised his eyebrows, “Our moms don’t even strut around the police station. Director Sun gives way to her because our mom’s a cop. What does Li Yingqiao’s mom do?”
Xiao Bo pointed at the statement, “Her mom works at a beauty salon, barely went to school. Can you expect her to have the same perspective as our mom? Can she understand the stakes, have that kind of self-sacrifice? Stop bragging about your soon-to-be division-level mom. You know she’s about to be promoted.”
“She’s still deputy for now.”
Xiao Bo tapped the statement documents on the desk three times and said, “If details about Li Yingqiao’s involvement in this case get out, people will dig up the Little Drawing City case. Two sensational cases, both connected to her, and she’s just a soon-to-be high schooler. Think about it, doesn’t her mom have reason to worry?”
Calling it “sensational” might be an exaggeration.
Both cases weren’t all that complicated, but each was unique—one was a child trafficking case, which everyone hated.
After the police issued a notice for assistance, during those peak years of rampant trafficking, everyone was on edge, parents especially.
The Little Pastry case became widely known and did cause a citywide stir.
As for this kidnapping case making waves in Fengtan, it was simply because Yu Renjie was the local wooden toy industry leader.
Ever since the debut of that little wooden horse in 1982, Fengtan’s wooden toy economy was transformed.
By 2013, the Fengtan wooden toy industry had reached its golden age.
Not only did it dominate the domestic market, but overseas orders poured in.
Yu Renjie’s net worth doubled every year, earning him fame at home and abroad, turning a local company into an industry leader.
Even Fengtan, a previously obscure third-tier city, made a name for itself with its mortise-and-tenon wooden toys.
Yu Renjie was rightfully called the “Wood King,” a title his wife and son teased him about for years.
But when the Wood King’s only son was kidnapped, it really did cause a stir back then.
So even though the cases weren’t that complex, in Fengtan, everyone knew about them.
Before the police made any announcements, Yu Renjie sent Tang Xiang and Liang Mei, along with Jin Yang, Li Yingqiao, Zheng Miao Jia, and Little Pastry—like a string of candied hawthorn—to Hainan for a vacation.
Oh, and there was Zhu Xiaoliang, who looked a bit off and whose words made you want to smack him.
Of all things, he hated old pedants the most.
Yu Renjie chose to stay in Fengtan to clean up—since the mastermind behind the kidnapping hadn’t been caught, and the police said there were still some doubts to clear up.
Plus, he had to guard against those opportunistic reporters who might follow the trail and blow up Li Yingqiao’s involvement.
If that happened, Li Shuli would slap him twice without hesitation.
Damn it, this favor was a big one. How was he supposed to repay it?
Maybe he should kidnap Li Wusheng, then let him go, then kidnap him again, then let him go… rough him up half to death, then save him again.
“Stop it, if you keep doing that he’ll really die.” Yu Jinyang said.
Li Yingqiao didn’t care at all, twirling a crab shell between her fingers, tossing it back and forth, sitting on a reef by the beach, facing the wind and waves, looking perfectly content: “If he dies, we can just steam him and eat him.”
The sound of the waves was so loud that Yu Jinyang had to shout in her ear: “Crabs have to be steamed alive!”
Li Yingqiao pretended not to hear, having the time of her life: “What? Say it again, didn’t catch that.”
He stared at her expressionlessly, knowing full well she’d heard him.
He really didn’t want to argue with her about why you get diarrhea if you steam dead crabs.
Li Yingqiao would just roll her eyes and call him a spoiled young master.
He never liked the seaside anyway, and after learning it was his parents’ “sea of love,” he liked it even less.
The beach was dirty and stinky, basically a bacteria breeding ground.
Worst of all was Li Yingqiao, always splashing him with seawater until he was soaked through, then laughing at his skinny body, saying he could be used as a surfboard.
“How about my biceps?”
Gao Dian was showing off to Zheng Miao Jia on the sand behind them.
Zheng Miao Jia said, “Not bad, but a bit better than Yu Jinyang’s.”
He’d barely escaped the kidnappers, and now his parents would do anything for him, but as soon as they got to Hainan, he was back at the bottom of the food chain.
Yu Jinyang glanced back—his mom was gleefully gossiping with Liang Mei, grinning from ear to ear.
That Zhu Xiaoliang, the math teacher, was methodically cleaning his glasses, probably still calculating the wave equations in his head.
He’d just made them calculate, and they’d all scattered in terror, ending up here catching crabs.
He planned to go back—maybe talk to Zhu Xiaoliang about fractal coastlines.
“Miao Jia,” Li Yingqiao suddenly lost interest in her crab, turned her head as if discovering a new continent, and excitedly called Zheng Miao Jia, then inexplicably lowered her voice, “Psst, psst, Miao Jia, there’s a hottie.”
A guy with biceps like two underdeveloped coconuts, a back tanned like a QR code, swaggered past them carrying a surfboard.
He even had the surfboard tucked under his armpit.
So unhygienic.
“So handsome,” Li Yingqiao genuinely admired, “he could just tuck Yu Jinyang under his arm and walk off—”
Yu Jinyang glared at her coldly.
Li Yingqiao, of course, ignored him, staring straight at the guy’s back and saying to Zheng Miao Jia, “Looks like he’s testing sunscreens, the squares are all so evenly drawn. Miao Jia, quick, take notes. We have military training when school starts. The whitest square is in the middle—someone go ask him what sunscreen he used there.”
Gao Dian volunteered and was back, panting, in less than two minutes.
“What brand?”
“—Leaves.”
“No brand, he just used a piece of leaf to cover the middle square. Worked best.”
Li Yingqiao:
Zheng Miao Jia laughed so hard she rolled in the sand.
Li Yingqiao clicked her tongue, watching the guy in the distance, his figure rimmed in gold by the sun, wanting to see his surfing skills.
The guy, probably realizing he was the focus of these soon-to-be high schoolers, prepared to show off.
He nudged the board with his toes, and the surfboard glided nimbly toward the crest of the wave, the spray like steps for his performance, each level climbed effortlessly.
The waves lifted him up like a king surveying his realm, and the beach erupted in screams.
That short ride drew many eyes, but the next second, a towering wall of water rolled in ahead.
He turned skillfully, did a dramatic stop and tail flick—then “plop!”
He and his board were buried, only his butt sticking out, wobbling above the waves.
“Hahahaha.”
The screams on the beach turned into roaring laughter.
The guy crawled out of the water, tough as nails.
Even embarrassed, he just scratched his head, shrugged it off, and marched away with his surfboard.
“So cool!”
Li Yingqiao still clapped hard for him.
The guy turned and gave a proper salute from his temple in thanks.
Li Yingqiao laughed, then glanced back at the sunshade, noticing that even the usually irritable Liang Mei seemed gentler in the sea breeze.
No matter how tough adults were, they all seemed to turn to sponges by the sea.
How interesting.
She shot another sideways glance at Yu Jinyang.
How come Miaomiao turned into a pampered little prince at the beach?
Tsk tsk.
Whatever, the beach was so much fun, she wanted to come again.
That night, in the hotel buffet restaurant, they ran into that guy again.
He was dressed now, acting all proper, pretending he’d never seen them and never embarrassed himself.
Li Yingqiao kept glancing at him, thinking he was really funny—how could someone be so amusing?
After dinner, in the hotel corridor, Gao Dian consoled Yu Jinyang: “It’s okay, those two are still young, their taste is a bit off. Our Yangzai is a hidden gem. In the future, you’ll be tall, handsome, have an eight-pack and your dad’s money. Yangzai, don’t bother with them. Don’t sweat the small stuff, but remember to look out for your bro, okay?”
Gao Dian’s Cantonese accent was deep in his bones, always inexplicably calling him Yangzai.
Yu Jinyang’s mouth twitched as he looked at Gao Dian, “You don’t get it. Never mind, you wouldn’t understand.”
Gao Dian, sharp as ever, hooked his arm around Yu Jinyang’s neck, slowed his steps, and whispered in his ear, “Meowmeow, you wouldn’t happen to…”
Yu Jinyang’s ears turned red in a flash, “No! What are you thinking?”
Good grief, he was just thinking—if Li Yingqiao ever found out how he managed to send that message from the kidnappers, she’d flatten and pound him until his own mother wouldn’t recognize him.
Even when giving his statement later, his face was burning the whole time.
His dad had been stunned when he found out, and lectured him for three days straight at home.
Said he was clueless, and honestly, he was confused. But to say he was completely clueless—he was even more confused.
Gao Dian dragged him into his own room.
Yu Jinyang was a bit impatient, frowning and stiff-necked, not wanting to go in.
He didn’t want to talk about this topic—if even his parents couldn’t give him a clear answer, what could Gao Dian, a fellow soon-to-be high schooler, possibly know?
But Gao Dian, all mysterious, locked the door, pushed him into the chair in front of the computer, turned it on, and whispered, “Do you want to watch a video? I heard once you watch this, it’s easy to figure it out.”
That did it.
Yu Jinyang’s whole neck turned red.
He shot up, the chair scraping loudly as he practically jumped to the window: “No, Little Pastry, what’s even in your head?”
Gao Dian was stunned, awkwardly putting away his eager expression and turning off the computer: “So what did your parents teach you?”
Yu Jinyang stood by the window, yanking the curtain hard, avoiding Gao Dian’s gaze.
But Gao Dian kept staring, and after a while, Yu Jinyang finally looked outside, then resignedly said, “They taught me how to know if I like someone, how to love someone, how to treat a girl well. Is that wrong?”
“How do you know?”
Gao Dian was desperate to learn, probing everywhere.
“What did your dad say?”
“He said, if you like someone, first, you’d be willing to die for her. Like my dad, he jumped into the sea for my mom.”
“So dramatic?”
Gao Dian was shocked.
“My mom’s scarf got blown away by the sea wind, and he thought my mom was gone, so he jumped in after her. Luckily, there were people around to pull him out.”
Gao Dian: “But I can’t die. What about my grandparents, dad, and mom?”
Yu Jinyang leaned against the window, thought a bit, then asked seriously, “Gao Dian, I treat Li Yingqiao as a brother. To me, she’s just like you and Zheng Miao Jia—”
Gao Dian suddenly burst out laughing, “Yangzai, I know what you’re thinking.”
“What?”
“Your family’s elders want you to marry her to repay her for saving your life, right?” Gao Dian said.
Yu Jinyang frowned, “Huh?”
Confused and bewildered, “What do you mean?”
Gao Dian lowered his voice, “Honestly, my grandparents told my parents to propose to Auntie Li back then, to repay Li Yingqiao for saving my life. Auntie Li chased them out with a kitchen knife, said we were repaying kindness with evil. That’s why my parents fled to Shenzhen.”
***
The day the high school entrance exam results were released, the kids were just returning from Hainan.
After a nap on the plane, they transferred to a bus back to Fengtan, Yu Jinyang wearing headphones the whole way, the others with hats pulled low, all with cool faces and barely speaking—a return trip that somehow drew all eyes.
Obviously, they were about to check their scores.
Everyone was a bit nervous.
Liang Mei and Zhu Xiaoliang were subdued too, sitting in the airport shuttle. Zhu Xiaoliang, for once, tried to comfort her: “Mei-jie, you need to relax. Teacher Tan knows you’re just annoyed with her. With Li Yingqiao’s original grades, getting into an ordinary high school would already be a miracle. If she gets into Tan High, we could open a tutoring center together. That’d prove our teaching methods are absolutely solid.”
Liang Mei looked out the window.
“I said before, Li Yingqiao is my last student. I won’t teach again.”
Zhu Xiaoliang: “…You and Teacher Tan are both stubborn, can’t either of you just give in?”
Liang Mei said, “Zhu Xiaoliang, don’t forget our bet. If Li Yingqiao really gets in, you said you’d go back to teaching.”
Just as she finished, Liang Mei’s phone, freshly turned on, suddenly started vibrating violently.
A flood of messages blocked by airplane mode now fought to break through, her phone shaking like a dying carrier pigeon, flapping desperately to deliver its final messages through the screen:
—Hu: Where are you?
—Hu: Call back ASAP.
—Hu: Liang Mei, Teacher Tan wants to see you one last time.
—Hu: My condolences, Teacher Tan just passed. She said the apartment next to the orphanage is for you, and she’s left all the arrangements in your hands.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.