"Do you want anything else?" Wang Shen smiled at the little boy and then pointed to other cakes in the glass display case.
The little boy turned his head, smiled brightly at Wang Shen, then shook his head and replied in a childish voice, "Grandma said we can't waste food."
Wang Shen smiled and patted the little boy's head, then straightened up and pointed to the strawberry cake in the glass display case, saying, "Get me a strawberry cake and a glass of orange juice. Oh, and do you have coffee?"
"Yes, we do," the waiter nodded in reply.
Wang Shen nodded, paid the bill, and chose a seat at the window. A short while later, the waiter brought Wang Shen's order to their table.
Wang Shen pushed the cake and orange juice towards the little boy, then asked with a smile, "Can you eat this by yourself?"
The little boy looked at Wang Shen, smiled and nodded, then picked up the small fork on the table, stirred the strawberry a few times, and held it steadily in his hand.
Watching the little boy eat his cake, Wang Shen suddenly felt a pang of heartache. This feeling had actually been there before, when he saw the little boy quietly eating wontons. Wang Shen took a sip of his coffee, reminiscing about his own childhood.
Wang Shen suddenly felt luckier than the little boy in front of him. At least, from childhood to adulthood, Wang Shen had never worried about food and drink, nor had he ever been in such a miserable situation. However, Wang Shen felt that he saw a reflection of his own childhood in the little boy. The feigned composure, the pretended strength, the maturity beyond his years—all of it was actually an insecurity born of loneliness.
Therefore, don't say that children lack intuition and judgment in dealing with situations. When a person has no one to rely on, they will know how to best protect themselves.
Wang Shen watched the little boy quietly. Every few spoonfuls of cake the boy ate, he would look up at Wang Shen and smile. About half an hour later, Wang Shen's phone rang. It was Liang Zichen calling.
"Okay, I understand. I'll be right back."
After hanging up the phone, Wang Shen saw that the little boy had almost finished eating, so he said, "Little friend, Uncle still has work to do. Why don't we go back first? I'll have another uncle play with you. Uncle will bring you cake again later, okay?"
The little boy nodded immediately upon hearing Wang Shen's words. Then, he jumped off the chair and followed Wang Shen out of the cake shop. As he left, he made sure to say goodbye to the staff.
After walking a few steps out of the cake shop, Wang Shen suddenly stopped, squatted down, looked at the little boy, and said, "Are you tired? How about Uncle carries you home?"
The little boy blinked his big eyes at Wang Shen, thought for a moment, and finally nodded happily. Wang Shen hugged the little boy tightly and walked quickly back to the police station.
As Wang Shen walked into the police station, his colleagues stared at him in surprise. Perhaps they had never seen him hold a child before, and they were taken aback by his gentleness.
Wang Shen walked towards the records room. Before he even entered, a policewoman saw him and immediately stood up from her chair, asking, "Captain Wang, who is this child?"
Wang Shen immediately waved his hand, making a shushing gesture. It turned out the little boy had fallen asleep on Wang Shen's shoulder. Wang Shen gently placed the boy on the sofa in the records room, then walked to the policewoman's side and whispered, "Xiao Ping, could you please look after this child for me? I have a case to handle immediately."
Seeing Wang Shen's serious and anxious expression, the policewoman didn't bother with jokes and nodded firmly. After expressing his gratitude, Wang Shen rushed into the imaging room.
"How is it?" Wang Shen pushed open the door to the video room and saw Liang Zichen already sitting in front of the control panel watching the surveillance footage.
"Captain Wang, I've found all the footage from the target time. Take a look at this part." After saying that, Liang Zichen moved the mouse and switched the footage to a time more than half a day ago.
The exact time shown on the video was around 10 p.m. last night. Shortly after, Dean Fu Ju appeared on the screen.
“Captain Wang, look, this is the first time Dean Fu Ju has appeared on the surveillance footage downstairs in the apartment building,” Liang Zichen said, pointing to the monitor screen.
However, Dean Fu Ju only appeared on screen for a few dozen seconds. After Dean Fu Ju entered the apartment building, Liang Zichen continued to drag the progress bar, fast-forwarding the footage for about two hours.
"Captain Wang, look, Dean Fu Ju has reappeared at this moment. Exactly two hours have passed since then."
Wang Shen carefully watched the surveillance footage and nodded after listening to Liang Zichen's words.
Liang Zichen frowned and asked, "Two hours? Captain Wang, what do you think Dean Fu Ju might have been doing during those two hours she disappeared?"
"Based on our earlier deduction, Han Lin's house is Dean Fu Ju's hunting ground. But as you know, Xiao Lin is very strong, how could Dean Fu Ju, an old woman, possibly defeat him? Therefore, Dean Fu Ju must have made preparations in advance. In the past two hours, Dean Fu Ju has probably been setting up some kind of trap."
"What kind of traps could an old woman like her set?" Liang Zichen asked doubtfully after hearing Wang Shen's words.
Wang Shen simply shook his head and fell into deep thought again. "By the way, Zichen, have you sent anyone to check on Xiao Lin's room?"
"No," Liang Zichen replied, shaking his head.
After stroking his chin a few times, Wang Shen said, "If our guess is correct, Dean Fu Ju will definitely reappear in Han Lin's neighborhood soon. At the same time, Xiao Lin will also appear."
Why do you make this guess?
"What do you think is most important to Dean Fu Ju right now?"
Liang Zichen closed his eyes briefly, thought for a moment, then opened them and replied, "Yes, it's that child."
Wang Shen nodded and said, "Since Dean Fu Ju has already entrusted her son to someone else, it means she's prepared to go all in. Simply put, she must be confident she can lure Xiao Lin into her trap. So, we just need to wait for them in Han Lin's neighborhood, and we should be able to catch them soon."
Liang Zichen nodded. "Shall we go to Han Lin's house now?"
Wang Shen nodded as well, and asked before leaving, "Where did Han Lin's house key go?"
"It's in the archives. I'll go get it right away. Captain Wang, wait for me in the car." As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Zichen dashed out of the office.
Wang Shen frowned slightly, walking towards his car with a heavy heart. A short while later, Liang Zichen jumped into Wang Shen's car with Han Lin's keys. The car started again, and the roar of the engine could be faintly heard from inside.
Wang Shen rolled down all the car windows, and now all he could hear was the wind whistling inside. Liang Zichen glanced at Wang Shen's expression, then silently stared ahead.
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