Shi Zhen left after lunch on Sunday.

There are many things to do in Changxi City. He only comes here two days a week, which is already a lot of time he tries to squeeze out.

After Shi Zhen left, Guan Baiyu also got busy.

That year, Lunar New Year's Eve fell at the end of January, meaning that not long after New Year's Day, they would be facing the end of the semester.

There were final exams and evaluations... Guan Baiyu was extremely busy.

He had an idea to start a local forum with his seniors, but in the end, he didn't have time to do it.

However, he exchanged emails with several technically skilled senior students so they could keep in touch.

Guan Baiyu was very busy and didn't have time to care about what was going on in the class. A few days later, the class monitor complained to him and he found out that their stage play was a complete mess.

"Teacher, relax. It's just for everyone to have some fun. It's okay if we didn't perform well," Guan Baiyu said.

He observed that the people in his department didn't seem to have much artistic talent, so their performances would probably be just so-so.

Their class's stage play was almost nothing.

Of course, he might think this way because he doesn't have much of a sense of class honor...

"Sigh! That's true!" The class monitor sighed when he heard Guan Baiyu say that.

Forget it, he's never performed in a stage play before, so he doesn't really know anything about it... Let Cai Huidong do whatever he wants!

Guan Baiyu then asked the class monitor, "By the way, class monitor, did you participate in any stage plays?"

"No, what's wrong?" the class monitor asked. He was a young man who wore glasses and liked to worry about all sorts of things, so everyone affectionately called him "Old Class Monitor".

"Didn't you want to practice typing on the computer before? I can let you practice there, do you want to come?"

Recently, I've occasionally received handwritten contracts or similar documents and asked people to type them up for me.

He's already too busy with the part-time jobs he's hired to do photocopying, so he doesn't have time for this. If the class monitor is willing, he can go and do this.

The class monitor was the first in their class to draw his own keyboard and practice Wubi typing on it. He studied very hard, but unfortunately, the school only gave him a little bit of computer time.

"Yes!" the squad leader said without hesitation.

Guan Baiyu then pulled another person over to help him, saying, "Typing here is two yuan per thousand words, keep it up!"

He charges four yuan per thousand words when people ask him to type!

In this day and age, not everyone knows how to type.

"There's still money?" the class monitor asked excitedly.

The class monitor has no artistic talent and doesn't understand stage plays. He used to help Cai Huidong, but Cai Huidong looked down on him. Now he just stays here with Guan Baiyu and types.

Out of sight, out of mind!

At first, the class monitor could only type seven or eight hundred words per hour, but gradually he was able to type three or four thousand words. Including the time for checking, he could earn four or five yuan per hour.

The key is that I can also practice typing, and in my spare time... I can use the computer for a while.

He wished he could stay with Guan Baiyu every day.

Cai Huidong felt that Guan Baiyu must have done it on purpose, as he actually pulled the class monitor away!

Once the class monitor left, his subordinates became even less obedient to him. Each of them had their own ideas, and whenever he asked them to rehearse, they always had something to do!

In Changxi City, Shi Zhen received a call from the police station, who told him that there was news related to Guan Baiyu.

Shi Zhen rushed over immediately, and when he arrived, a familiar policeman led him inside.

In the past, there were quite a few cases of children going missing, but it wasn't necessarily because they were abducted.

“These days, all the children are precious. Their families keep an eye on them and don’t let them run around. In the past, children would run around freely, and many children got lost. Sigh! Some children were missing for several days before they finally floated to the surface in the river. The most pitiful one was a child who, I don’t know what happened, climbed into an abandoned pipe in the dead of winter and couldn’t get out. He couldn’t even make a sound when he called for help… Sigh!” The rather old policeman kept rambling on to Shi Zhen.

Shi Zhen handed him a pack of cigarettes.

"When your younger brother came to your house, he had just been born, before New Year's Day in 1979, right? I looked it up and found that there was an incident that happened back then. There was a woman whose child was robbed at the train station in the next city."

Shi Zhen asked, "Do you have any information about her?"

The police station said, "It really is true! Actually, we had forgotten about it a long time ago. It was just a coincidence. A few days ago, someone from above came over and specifically brought it up... That woman must have some influence now."

The man found a file folder for Shi Zhen and said as he opened it, "This information was given to us from above. They said if we find a child who matches the name, we should contact that person."

There wasn't much in the file folder, just a name and a phone number.

"Your brother meets the requirements. Shall we help you make the contact?" the man asked.

He felt that Shi Zhen's younger brother might not be the person this person was looking for.

After all, so many children were lost back then, and generally speaking... human traffickers would sell children to places further away.

But finding someone... isn't it just a matter of searching again and again?

“I’ll go ask him if I can write down the number,” Shi Zhen asked.

"Okay," the police station replied.

Shi Zhen copied down that phone number.

On the weekend, Shi Zhen went to the provincial capital as usual, and then told Guan Baiyu about the matter, and also gave Guan Baiyu the name and mobile phone number.

"Xiaoyu, I don't know if it's them... Shall we make a call together?" Shi Zhen asked.

His feelings were quite mixed.

If this really is Guan Baiyu's parents' contact information, then... Guan Baiyu's parents must be quite extraordinary.

He couldn't help but feel anxious and uncertain.

However, he hid it very well and no one noticed.

Guan Baiyu thought for a moment and said, "Okay."

He wasn't the type to hesitate... Guan Baiyu dialed the number.

The call was quickly answered, and a woman's voice came from the other end: "Hello..."

"Hello, I'd like to ask, you lost a child at the end of 1978, is that right?"

The woman's voice immediately became excited: "Yes! Do you have news?"

"When was the child lost? Can you tell me some details about the child?" Guan Baiyu remained calm.

"The child went missing on December 27, 1978. He was wearing a red outfit and had a handkerchief embroidered with the character '羽' (feather) tied around his neck..."

Guan Baiyu and Shi Zhen looked at each other in bewilderment.

Guan Baiyu's name has a story behind it.

Back then, the old lady of the Guan family didn't know why she came up with the idea of ​​calling him "Guan Yu". Later, when she went to register his household registration, the people thought about it and said, "Grandma, your name is not right. Guan Yu is the white-faced general on the stage, the one with the black-faced Zhang Fei. It's not appropriate to call him that."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Guan suggested that the name "Guan Baiyu" be appropriate.

Actually... the dialect in Guanjia Village is very different from Mandarin. At least in their dialect, there is no character "羽" (yǔ), and people don't use this character when naming their children.

It seems strange that Grandma Guan gave Guan Baiyu such a name.

The person on the other end of the phone described in detail the child's clothes at the time, but Guan Baiyu had never seen any of those things before. He then asked, "Where are you now? Can I meet with you?"

The female voice said she taught at H University and that Guan Baiyu could find her there if he wanted to see her.

Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu were both a little confused.

After all, Guan Baiyu is currently studying at H University.

That person was actually a teacher at H University? That's... too much of a coincidence.

Shi Zhen's feelings were particularly complicated.

If this person really is Guan Baiyu's mother, then Guan Baiyu actually had a chance to find his parents in his previous life, but unfortunately...

"Her name is Mu Tian, ​​and she's a teacher at H University... Brother, let me go and find out more about her," Guan Baiyu said.

When Guan Baiyu made the call earlier, he was quite decisive, but now that he knows the person is right beside him, he's become a little hesitant.

"We should go and inquire about it," Shi Zhen said.

The next morning, Guan Baiyu went to visit Teacher Li.

He was closest to Teacher Li, and Teacher Li had always liked him very much.

He brought some tea for Professor Li, and after sitting down, he said, "Professor, I'd like to ask you about someone."

"Who are you looking for?" Teacher Li asked.

"Is there a professor named Mu Tian at our school?" Guan Baiyu asked.

Teacher Li asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why are you suddenly asking about her?"

"I just heard about this professor from someone, and I'm a little curious," Guan Baiyu said.

"Did you hear that from Cai Huidong?" Teacher Li asked.

Cai Huidong has come to see Cao Li several times in the past few days, about the stage play costumes.

He personally didn't like Cai Huidong very much; he wasn't serious about his studies.

However, because she was Mu Tian's junior, Cao Li took her very seriously.

Guan Baiyu was taken aback, but then said, "Yes." He hadn't expected that Mu Tian was related to Cai Huidong.

I heard that Cai Huidong has a relative who is a professor. Could it be Mu Tian?

"Mu Tian will be a professor at our school next year. She's in the English department, so it has nothing to do with you. You don't need to worry about it too much." Teacher Li thought Cai Huidong was using Mu Tian to pressure Guan Baiyu, so she added an extra explanation.

Guan Baiyu asked, "Is Cai Huidong her child?"

“No, Cai Huidong is just a relative of hers, we're not that related,” Teacher Li said.

"Does she have children?" Guan Baiyu asked again.

“She…” Teacher Li hesitated for a moment, because it was Mu Tian’s sad story.

Cao Li came out of the next room and looked at Guan Baiyu with some displeasure: "Why are you asking so many questions?"

In the past few days, Cao Li has been in contact with Cai Huidong and has heard Cai Huidong complain about Guan Baiyu quite a bit.

Guan Baiyu pulled the students in her class aside and refused to cooperate with Cai Huidong's work... This made things rather unsightly.

Now he's come here to inquire about Mu Tian, ​​and I don't know why.

After hearing Cai Huidong talk a lot about Guan Baiyu, such as how he always stayed out all night, Cao Li's impression of Guan Baiyu worsened, and her tone became less friendly.

Guan Baiyu paused for a moment before saying, "Sorry, I didn't think that much about it."

Guan Baiyu sat for a while and then left.

After Guan Baiyu left, Teacher Li was a little unhappy: "Why did you give that kid such a hard time?"

“Child? Which of your students is underage?” Cao Li said, “He’s been targeting Cai Huidong, and now he’s inquiring about Mu Tian. I don’t know what he’s up to.”

Teacher Li said, "I don't like Cai Huidong at all."

Cao Li didn't actually like Cai Huidong that much; it was more a case of loving the house because of the dog.

Guan Baiyu mainly inquired about this and that, trying every possible way to get the contact information of students studying abroad at the school, and cultivated good relationships with professors and high-achieving students...

She disliked all of these behaviors.

She had a great opportunity before, but it was snatched away by someone who knew how to scheme.

Guan Baiyu was rebuked by Cao Li, but he didn't seem to feel anything.

The main problem is that he's been disliked by many people before, so this level of dislike is really nothing.

If he gets angry over such a small thing, then he might as well not live.

However, it's certain that he doesn't like Cao Li.

Mu Tian and Cai Huidong are just relatives, so he felt that he should still meet Mu Tian.

At least we should confirm it.

Today is Saturday, and Jiang Xingsheng did not go to school; he stayed home to read.

Mu Tian paced back and forth in the room, looking very uneasy.

She's been thinking about it ever since she received that phone call yesterday.

Jiang Xingsheng also had his eye on it, but he didn't have high hopes, because the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Mu Tian suddenly asked, "Should I call that person?"

“He might be somewhere else, and it will take him time to get here. Even if you call, you can’t see him right away,” Jiang Xingsheng said.

Just then, Mu Tian's phone rang.

Mu Tian answered the phone and heard the same voice from yesterday: "Hello, I'm the one who called you yesterday... I'm near H University now. Can we arrange to meet at the university gate?"

sure!

Mu Tian agreed without hesitation.

Jiang Xingsheng was also a little surprised. He didn't expect that person to come to H University so quickly.

Could it really be that child?

Otherwise, why would you be in such a hurry?

Mu Tian said she was free all day and could meet anyone at any time, so Guan Baiyu arranged to meet her an hour later.

After agreeing on the terms, he returned to his computer and continued working.

Shi Zhen asked in confusion, "Xiao Yu..." Isn't Guan Baiyu nervous at all?

"Brother, I don't cry and beg for my mother anymore." Guan Baiyu smiled.

It would be best if it were, but if it isn't... well, it doesn't really matter.

He already has a family.