Xing Zhaozhao, carrying several heavy bags of books in one hand, came out of the bookstore with Gao Mingcheng.
"What time is it?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
Gao Mingcheng took out his phone.
Xing Zhaozhao leaned over for a look and said, "It's getting late. Let's go to the pedestrian street, pick up the goods from Xiao Xu the vendor, and then I'll head back."
Gao Mingcheng nodded: "Then I'll have the driver wait at that intersection." With that, he immediately called the driver and gave him instructions.
"Is there anything else you need at home? I'll have the driver buy it for you, and bring it along," Gao Mingcheng asked.
Xing Zhaozhao thought for a moment and said, "We still have everything else, so let's just buy some meat. We don't need to buy too much, since we don't have a refrigerator at home, and if we buy too much, it won't keep."
"Okay," Gao Mingcheng replied, giving the instructions to the driver over the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Gao Mingcheng pondered for a moment and said to Xing Zhaozhao, "How about I have the driver buy some groceries and deliver them to you at the foot of the mountain every two or three days? You can come and pick them up yourself. You won't have to go too far, and you can eat fresh food more often." He could also come along to see her instead of waiting anxiously for her call every day and having to wait ten days or half a month to see her.
Xing Zhaozhao thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. Anyway, her family wasn't short of money, and since they lived far away, they could eat well without being easily discovered.
The two walked side by side, discussing what groceries to buy each time and how much to buy, as they headed towards the pedestrian street.
Ling Xue followed behind them, staring incredulously at the bags of books Xing Zhaozhao was carrying with one hand. How did she do that? Just now, when she tried to help, she couldn't lift so many books even with all her might.
As she walked, she quickly sensed something was wrong. Her mother and Ling Shuang's mother-in-law were sitting and waiting in the coffee shop next door, but the two women in front of her walked straight past the door without any intention of going in.
Ling Xue quickly pulled the person back.
At first, she tried to pull Gao Mingcheng, but Gao Mingcheng was unusually perceptive and quickly dodged without her noticing. She couldn't even get a touch on him. She had no choice but to settle for pulling Xing Zhaozhao instead.
Xing Zhaozhao turned her head to look in surprise.
Ling Xue rarely had such a warm smile on her face: "My mom and Aunt Ying are still waiting in the coffee shop. Why don't you come in and sit down? You must be tired after browsing the bookstore for so long. You should take a break."
Xing Zhaozhao was unimpressed: "No need, I'm not tired." Climbing mountains all day wouldn't tire her out, let alone just browsing in a bookstore for an hour.
Seeing things were going badly, Ling Xue had no choice but to call for help from the sidelines: "Mom..."
Inside the coffee shop, Aunt Ling and Ying Rongrong each ordered a coffee and sat at opposite ends of the table, ignoring each other and engrossed in their phones. They didn't even notice that Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng had already come out of the bookstore until they heard Ling Xue's voice.
Aunt Ling suddenly looked up and immediately saw Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng standing outside with them, separated only by a pane of glass, and Ling Xue looking at her for help.
She immediately got up and chased after them, helping Ling Xue to stop Xing Zhaozhao. She originally wanted to help Gao Mingcheng as well, but seeing his unpleasant expression, she didn't dare to get involved and had to pick on the weakest one.
"You've bought the books? There's no need to rush off like this. Why don't you go to the coffee shop for a coffee and a rest?" Aunt Ling said to Xing Zhaozhao with a forced smile.
"No need, I'm not tired and don't need to rest. Besides, I don't like coffee," Xing Zhaozhao politely declined.
"The cheesecake here is pretty good too." Ying Rongrong had also come out at some point.
Xing Zhaozhao remembered the cheesecake she had with Gao Yang at the coffee shop last time, and her mouth started watering rapidly. Although the tea snacks prepared in Fu Hong's teahouse were also delicious, they were all Chinese pastries, which were different from cheesecake.
Seeing that she was interested, Aunt Ling immediately added, "That's right, the cheesecake here is delicious. It would be a shame not to try it. Besides, even if you're not tired from walking around, you should think about the old general. He has difficulty walking now, and after walking around for so long, he still needs to rest."
Xing Zhaozhao glanced at Gao Mingcheng's leg, which was still supported by a crutch, and a thought struck her. This was indeed something she had overlooked.
"Why don't we go in and sit down?" Xing Zhaozhao asked Gao Mingcheng.
"I'm actually fine," Gao Mingcheng said. Of course, it would be nice to be able to go in and sit for a while, and spend some more time with her.
"Let's go in and sit for a while then," Xing Zhaozhao decided, pulling Gao Mingcheng into the coffee shop.
However, they did not sit with Aunt Ling and Ying Rongrong, but found another place.
Aunt Ling pulled Ling Xue along behind, whispering in her ear.
Ling Xue had been reluctant to go to the bookstore before, but suddenly she became enthusiastic, which surprised her aunt.
Ling Xue quietly mentioned to her the black card that Gao Hongfei had given to Xing Zhaozhao as a gift.
Aunt Ling's eyes immediately lit up, as if she had seen a huge mountain of gold rushing into her arms.
Ignoring Gao Mingcheng's murderous glare, she forcefully pulled Ling Xue and squeezed herself onto a table with Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng, leaving Ying Rongrong all alone to the side.
Ying Rongrong: "..."
Xing Zhaozhao: "..."
Gao Mingcheng: "..."
Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng were sitting facing each other. The room was quite spacious, but they didn't expect Aunt Ling and Ling Xue to squeeze in. They were speechless for a moment, but they couldn't just kick them out, so they had to put up with it for the time being.
"If you like cake, there's more to it than just cheesecake." Aunt Ling enthusiastically helped Xing Zhaozhao order all the small cakes on the menu.
Xing Zhaozhao thought the pictures on the menu were quite pretty, so she didn't stop them.
The cake was ready-made and was delivered quickly, filling the table.
Xing Zhaozhao tasted a piece of chocolate, and her eyes lit up. Although it looked dark, it was quite delicious.
There are so many cakes, they definitely can't finish them all by themselves, so we'll just pack them all up and send them back.
"Hey, have you heard about that case in Qingxi Town next door?"
While eating, Xing Zhaozhao suddenly heard two young people at the next table mentioning the case in Qingxi Town, which piqued her interest, and she pricked up her ears.
"Is that the case where the human trafficking village was discovered in the mountains? I've heard about it. It's said to have existed for hundreds of years and has harmed countless people. Just thinking about it is terrifying."
"Who says otherwise? Besides, it's so close to us. I've even been to Qingxi Town before. Who knows when I might have brushed shoulders with danger? I still feel scared thinking about it now."
"That's right, that's right."
Aunt Ling also heard this and, seeing Xing Zhaozhao's interested expression, brought it up with her: "It's quite a coincidence that this happened in the mountain next to our hometown village. When Ling Xue and I went back to our hometown to visit relatives yesterday, we heard the villagers talking about it. They all said that it's very likely that someone in our village was involved in this heinous thing."
It's not just a possibility, it's a fact.
The case on their side was exposed by Xing Zhaozhao herself. She knows all too well. She found two people around Ling Xiao, and it's unclear whether there are only two.
"Oh? Do you know who it is?" Xing Zhaozhao asked curiously, hoping to find some new clues and exchange information.
"It was someone named Ling Xiao, but unfortunately he's already dead, and now there's no way to verify it," Aunt Ling said.
Xing Zhaozhao: "??!!" What nonsense are you talking about? Isn't this slander?
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