Chapter 117 An Encounter with a Girl
She glanced at Su Xiaonuan for a while, then at Lu Zheng's stiff profile, finding the scene rather amusing.
Lu Zheng felt uncomfortable under An Ran's undisguised scrutinizing gaze, and his ears felt slightly hot.
He tried to distract himself by looking at the scenery along the roadside.
In the autumn, the wetland park is filled with clear lake water, swaying reeds, and occasional water birds skimming across the surface, leaving ripples in their wake.
Su Xiaonuan was quite relaxed. As she walked, she pointed to several birds with brightly colored feathers that were leisurely preening their feathers in the low bushes not far away. She whispered to Lu Zheng and An Ran, "Look! They are kingfishers and moorhens! They are protected animals! I didn't expect to see them here. I'm so lucky."
Her voice was filled with joy, like a child who had discovered a treasure.
Lu Zheng looked in the direction she pointed, and his tense lips unconsciously softened a little.
Su Xiaonuan and An Ran took out their phones to take pictures, while Lu Zheng waited silently.
Just then, a slightly flustered figure suddenly entered their field of vision.
She was a young-looking girl, also wearing a baseball cap and a mask, dressed in an inconspicuous dark tracksuit, and petite in stature.
She walked hurriedly, glancing back nervously from time to time, as if someone was chasing her, a stark contrast to the leisurely strolling tourists around her.
Su Xiaonuan couldn't help but frown and glance at her a few more times.
Lu Zheng also noticed the girl behaving strangely. His sharp gaze swept over the girl's back—there was no one there.
Her panicked and constantly looking back appearance clearly indicated that she had something to hide or was trying to avoid something.
But Lu Zheng frowned. It was his day off, and even if he was in plainclothes, he couldn't just go up and question an ordinary citizen without any clear evidence of illegal or criminal activity.
An Ran also noticed the girl. She gently tugged at Su Xiaonuan's sleeve and whispered, "Nuan Nuan, look at that girl. She seems to be running this way..."
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaonuan looked closely and, sure enough, the girl, because she kept turning around, didn't keep track of the direction and distance she was going to walk. Just as she was about to brush past them, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground!
"careful!"
With quick reflexes, Su Xiaonuan almost instinctively let go of Lu Zheng's hand, stepped forward, and firmly supported the girl's arm.
The girl's body stiffened abruptly, like a startled rabbit. She abruptly raised her head, revealing a pair of large eyes filled with fear and panic beneath her hat brim. In the instant her eyes met Su Xiaonuan's, her gaze flickered, and she quickly lowered her head, whispering her thanks in a barely audible voice: "Th-thank you!"
Then, as if burned, she jerked her arm back and quickened her pace without looking back, almost running away.
The entire process takes no more than ten seconds.
Watching the girl's hurried departure, Su Xiaonuan stood there, her brows furrowed, a hint of doubt rising in her heart.
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt like she'd seen that girl somewhere before.
Those eyes looked familiar... but I couldn't quite place them.
She shook her head; perhaps it was just her imagination.
After this little incident, Su Xiaonuan thought of the kidnapping case of Fu Lilian that she had encountered in Fenglin Park before, and felt a little resistant to this kind of open park with a large number of people.
After thinking about it, she decided to set up her stall in a more lively and open place.
“Officer Lu, An Ran, let’s go somewhere else.” Su Xiaonuan turned to the two of them and said, “How about the pedestrian street in the city center? There are a lot of people there, the view is open, and it’s… a bit more lively.”
She didn't explicitly say the word "safety," but Lu Zheng immediately understood what she meant and nodded.
"Okay." He said succinctly.
Su Xiaonuan quickly sifted through the list of red names in the [Reputation System] in her mind, and finally locked onto a suspect who was active in the nearby neighborhood, suspected of "shell company fraud", and had a crime value as high as 50.
Such people are more likely to lower their guard in busy commercial areas, making them easier for her to observe.
The three got into the car, and Su Xiaonuan drove the "brand new" old RV towards the city center.
When we arrived at the chosen pedestrian street entrance, it was still early, the sun had not yet completely set, and there were not many pedestrians on the street yet.
Su Xiaonuan found a relatively conspicuous spot where she could park her car without obstructing traffic.
She planned to first prepare the ingredients for the roasted lamb leg that she would sell that evening.
I picked up the pre-ordered premium lamb foreleg from the grasslands from the system store. The meat was tender and had a perfect balance of lean and fat.
They also brought out onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, thyme, garlic, black pepper, sea salt, olive oil, and a special barbecue powder made from a blend of more than a dozen spices.
An Ran naturally wouldn't leave; she had automatically switched into "little assistant" mode, helping Su Xiaonuan wash vegetables, peel garlic, and running around doing chores.
As for Lu Zheng... he didn't know why, but instead of suggesting going for a stroll nearby, he naturally took the small stool that Su Xiaonuan handed him and sat down not far from the stall.
He remained upright, his hands resting on his knees, his gaze calm yet sharp as he surveyed every passerby. His posture suggested he was not resting, but rather carrying out a fixed-point observation mission.
An Ran looked at Lu Zheng, who was sitting on a small stool, seemingly out of place with his surroundings yet unusually focused, and felt a little strange. She couldn't help but move closer to Su Xiaonuan, who was massaging a lamb leg to enhance its flavor, and asked in a low voice, "Nuannuan, what's your relationship with Officer Lu...? He seems... particularly concerned about you?"
Her tone was clearly inquisitive and sarcastic.
Su Xiaonuan was focused on stuffing the chopped onions, carrots, celery, and herbs into the cuts in the lamb leg when she heard this. Her hands paused, and for no reason, a memory flashed through her mind of the complex emotions that Lu Zheng had shown when he supported her shoulder on the rooftop last time, as well as the warmth from his palm... Her scalp tingled inexplicably.
She coughed lightly to cover up her momentary unease, continued what she was doing, and answered vaguely, "It's nothing, it's just... friends. Officer Lu is a good person, very responsible, he probably saw that it wasn't easy for me to set up a stall alone, so he took extra care of me."
In her heart, Lu Zheng was indeed a reliable friend. Although he was sometimes a bit cold and dull, he was very dependable in crucial moments.
Listening to her obviously evasive answer, and then looking at Lu Zheng sitting there like a guardian deity, An Ran felt that something was not quite right.
She hesitated for a long time, looking at Su Xiaonuan's expression that said, "I'm innocent, don't overthink it," and finally could only sigh in her heart.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
