This is not a game

The morning of December 23rd, 98th year in the Gregorian calendar.

Chen Yingsheng and Luo Chunxi came to No. 7 Middle School and met with Luo Lina's class teacher.

The excuse they used was that they wanted to transfer Lina to a school back home so that she could be taken care of by the elderly at home.

The head teacher was a very good teacher. She tried her best to persuade Lina to stay and analyzed a lot of advantages of staying in Danjiang to study in the third year of high school.

Chen Yingsheng seemed to be hesitant to speak: "My Lina's interpersonal relationships in school..."

"She gets along well with everyone." The head teacher then asked, "Is there any problem?"

"No problem, I just wanted to check with you."

The head teacher smiled and said: "Lina will be fine. She is a very independent child and has her own little temper."

Chen Yingsheng asked Lolina's classmates again, and they answered with a chuckle: "It's good enough that Lolina doesn't bully others!"

This sentence caused laughter around.

The classmate added: "She didn't bully anyone, I just can't imagine her being bullied."

"Does she have other friends outside of school?"

"Outside the school." The classmate hesitated for a moment, "Yes, the ones in Lan Tian."

"Blue Sky Middle School!" Luo Chunxi screamed, "How could Lina be hanging out with them?"

Lantian Middle School is well-known in Danjiang as a school that accepts low-scoring students, and the gangsters in the school have created many urban legends.

The classmates were frightened by Luo Chunxi. Chen Yingsheng quickly pulled him away, then came back and asked secretly: "Do you know what Lina did?"

"I don't know. She hasn't been to school for several days." The classmate quickly glanced in the direction of Luo Chunxi. "She wouldn't follow them to get money, would she?"

The so-called "making money" of underage hooligans is nothing more than extorting classmates on small roads without any surveillance.

Only a few brave people would steal batteries, and even fewer would steal mobile phones. Those who dare to steal mobile phones usually have been doing this since childhood.

Chen Yingsheng asked Luo Chunxi indirectly about the money issue, but Luo Chunxi firmly denied it and said that the pocket money Lina received every month was upper-middle level among her classmates.

The bell rang and Lina's classmates returned to the classroom, wandering aimlessly in the school corridors.

Luo Chunxi suddenly pulled Chen Yingsheng aside mysteriously and said, "I just found out yesterday when I got home that my bracelet was missing. Was it stolen by some gangster?"

"What kind of bracelet is it and how much is it worth?"

Luo Chunxi flipped through the photos of last year's Chinese New Year on his phone: "A silver-blue pearl bracelet, I don't know how much it is worth."

Silver-blue pearls are not particularly rare, but they are definitely more expensive than white pearls of the same quality.

Chen Yingsheng used two fingers to zoom in on the picture and carefully observed the bracelet. She had a new question: Would you not report to the police if you lost your precious jewelry?

This question was never asked in the end, and Chen Yingsheng followed Luo Chunxi back home.

Luo Chunxi rented a bungalow in a small alley in the old city, and Chen Yingsheng went to see Luo Lina's room first.

The child's room was extremely plain. He couldn't even find a set of nice clothes. He only had a pair of slightly expensive sneakers.

"Where was the bracelet placed before it was lost?" Chen Yingsheng asked.

Soon, Luo Chunxi took her to a leaky storage room filled with dry rice noodles.

"Put the bracelet here" Chen Yingsheng was shocked.

"Yeah, even if you put it in a place like this, it can be stolen by gangsters!" Luo Chunxi said fiercely. She was sure that it was gangsters who stole it.

If it is placed here and can be lost, it is most likely stolen by one's family.

Luo Chunxi walked towards the cabinet where the bracelet was kept but was stopped by Chen Yingsheng.

There were Lolina's footprints on the floor and on the cabinets. The footprints were quite special and could be recognized at a glance.

Chen Yingsheng avoided the word "stealing": "The footprints are Lina's. Lina took the bracelet away."

Luo Chunxi yelled: "Impossible, it was definitely not stolen by Lina! Are you saying this on purpose to cheat me out of my money, you liar!"

......

"No, wait a minute."

Chen Yingsheng's story was interrupted by Zuo Xufei, who looked at Chen Yingsheng with suspicion: "A pair of shoes and a bunch of footprints, can you be sure that it was Lolina who stole them?"

"It's judged by trace science. After the new calendar, trace science has been replaced by high technology and super powers. It's actually quite useful." Chen Yingsheng explained.

"The length and width of the footprints can be used to estimate the height and weight of the suspect, and the pressure distribution of the footprints can be used to infer the suspect's gait, posture and health status."

Zuo Xufei narrowed his eyes and looked at her: "There is one on the wall in front of the door, right? You recognized it, but you just didn't say it."

"You found out." Chen Yingsheng remained calm, "I'm sorry, I'll tell you next time."

"You even let the cat step on the shoe prints and they disappeared." Zuo Xufei became angrier the more he thought about it.

"The poop puppet jumped up there by itself." Chen Yingsheng defended.

Zuo Xufei felt tired: "Forget it, go on, Luo Chunxi accused you of lying to her, what happened next?"

"I didn't want to argue with her, since she had already paid part of the money. I was about to turn around and leave when Lorena came back with a slap mark on her face."

"Where is the silver-blue pearl bracelet?" Zuo Xufei asked.

"She was brought back by Lolina. I was just about to ask what happened when Luo Chunxi saw the slap marks on her daughter's face and burst into tears while hugging her."

"Lorina didn't cry. She asked me who I was and why I came to her house. She gave me money and told me to leave quickly."

Zuo Xufei asked: "And then you left"

"I asked Luo Chunxi if the commission would continue. Luo Chunxi said no. Of course I won't check. I listen to the client."

"What does this have to do with you covering for Lolina today?" Zuo Xufei's eyes became sharp.

The phone rang, but Chen Yingsheng didn't check it: "Luo Chunxi found me again four days ago."

The evening of December 31, 2009 in the Gregorian calendar.

She had an appointment with a client that night, and just as she sent the client away, she saw someone at the intersection looking furtively in the direction of the office.

At first, she thought it was a self-media reporter who was looking for a big news story.

When the person came closer, she realized that it was Luo Chunxi.

Luo Chunxi was dressed decently this time, but he was still in a bad mood, and it seemed that his relationship with his daughter had not improved much.

"Lina ran away from home again." Chen Yingsheng seemed to have forgotten that Luo Chunxi yelled at her 8 days ago, and immediately became concerned about Lina.

"No, I was just... passing by here."

Chen Yingsheng invited Luo Chunxi: "Come in and sit down"

Entering the office, Luo Chunxi's butt just touched the chair and tears fell: "Lina has never gone to school."

"When Lina came home that day, I made up my mind to leave everything to her, thinking that if she had to endure some hardship, she would go back to school."

Chen Yingsheng handed over a box of tissues and asked cooperatively: "What's the result?"

"As a result, she kept cooking rice noodles, and she became happier and happier. Some regular customers even said that her rice noodles tasted better than mine."

"She was cooking rice noodles while doing some kind of live broadcast. She filmed me with her phone. Someone said that your mother should at least be there to help with her homework."

Luo Chunxi blew his nose loudly.

“…” Chen Yingsheng was quite convinced.

In fact, Chen Yingsheng really wanted to say that since Lina likes to cook and run the stall, just let her do it.

After working for a while, tell her that if she can get into university to study a related major, she can make better meals and learn mature business experience, then turning her own rice noodle stall into a chain store is not a dream.

Unfortunately, Luo Chunxi certainly doesn't like to hear such words, so Chen Yingsheng can only advise: "Children of this age have their own ideas, why not find a suitable time to talk to her?"

"I tried, but Lina didn't want to chat with me. She always played the same game, no matter how late it was after closing the stall."

"One time I brought her some fruit to eat and wanted to see what she was playing with, but she yelled and chased me away."

Chen Yingsheng asked: "What game?"

"I don't know." Luo Chunxi shook his head. "I don't understand the game. I just saw two people's photos on the screen. They both looked like ghosts."

Half a month ago, a pseudo-human game became very popular, which was a bit similar to what Luo Chunxi described.

But Chen Yingsheng heard that it was a horror game.

Horror games are generally one-time games. Their playability depends entirely on the psychological impact of the player's first experience and the tension and fear brought about by unknown factors. They are not worth Lina playing over and over again.

Luo Chunxi's eyes sparkled, with expectations that did not match her appearance and age. She raised her voice and said, "What if I also go to play games?"

"I saw Lina operate it, just moving the mouse, I know how to do it."

It was visibly that Luo Chunxi was happy. She seemed to be imagining that after playing the game, she and her daughter had a common language and could talk about anything.

Chen Yingsheng gave up the art of euphemism and immediately stopped her seriously: "Using Lina's computer to play games without Lina's consent will not make her happy."

Luo Chunxi disagreed: "I bought her the computer!"

I tried to persuade him a few more times, but to no avail.

Finally, Chen Yingsheng could only say: "It's better not to use Lina's computer to play."

As to whether Luo Chunxi listened to it or not, Chen Yingsheng had no idea.

On the morning of January 2, 2009, which was yesterday, Lorina ran to the detective agency and knocked on the door anxiously:

"Hey! You asked my mom to play this game, right?"

"What game?" Chen Yingsheng asked calmly.

"Don't act stupid!"

Lolina's eyes were slightly red.

"I know she came to you and wanted you to persuade me to go back to school. It must be you who gave her the idea!"

Chen Yingsheng put on his coat and prepared to go: "So what game is it? What happened to your mother? Come on, take me to see it."

Lolina calms down: "You really don't know"

"Come on, I'll help you if anything happens. I know you don't want to call the police."

"Nothing." Lolina calmed down completely.

"It's okay. You came to the office early in the morning to see me. I'll tell you the truth. It was me who let your mother steal your computer to play games. I want to take responsibility for this. Tell me what happened to your mother."

Lolina's face said "I don't believe you", but after she calmed down, she realized that what she did was wrong and began to apologize:

"I'm sorry, I misunderstood and disturbed you so early in the morning."

She and her mother have too many secrets. Chen Yingsheng is very curious: "It's okay, I'm not afraid of disturbing you. What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I have to go home to prepare the ingredients." Lolina lowered her head. "Come and have rice noodles with me when you have time. I'll treat you."

She lowered her head and turned to walk out, but suddenly stopped at the door: "I know you are a famous detective, but have you ever seen a superpower that can kill people through a screen?"

Chen Yingsheng was stunned for a moment: "I haven't seen it before. Are you talking about the famous pseudo-human game some time ago?"

"You also think that test is just a game."

Lolina's voice was so soft that it could not be heard. She floated out of the door without giving Chen Yingsheng a chance to ask further questions.