19 Chapter Eighteen
Aunt Li chased after us with a kitchen knife, accusing us of repaying kindness with enmity!
If Li Yingqiao could have imagined this day—she would have to recount verbatim the text messages she impulsively sent to Yu Miaomiao that night in front of the police officers.
She thought she would honestly say, "Hello, I'm Li Yingqiao. When will I receive my Conan?"
Instead of the way it is now—
She kept her head down, her voice barely audible.
"Meow! Buzz buzz buzz buzz Fibonacci buzz buzz buzz ungrateful wretch."
A swarm of flies flew by, grumbling and cursing.
“Li Yingqiao,” the police officer reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. We’re just reconstructing the whole incident and taking a statement. Not all the kidnappers have been apprehended yet, and suspect Dong Tao is still at large. We need to refocus on the case based on your leads, and your information is extremely important.”
"Bullshit." Li Yingqiao looked at his lips, which he was trying to suppress but couldn't, and said angrily, "Then why did you laugh at me, Uncle Xiao Bo?"
This uncle was an old acquaintance; he was the lead investigator in the Yu Miaomiao kidnapping case and also the main person in charge of the case where Xiao Gaodian was almost abducted last time. Fengtan police have limited resources and no dedicated anti-trafficking squad; similar cases are handled by the serious crimes squad, so he was in charge of both cases. This was the second time he had met Li Yingqiao since the Xiao Huacheng case.
His name is Xiao Bo. His face is perfectly square and upright, but his manner of speaking is quite different from his personality, and he loves to joke.
“No, who laughed?” The two policemen glanced at each other’s upturned lips. Xiao Bo preemptively said, “You go on, I’ll keep an eye on him. If he laughs once, I’ll deduct a hundred from his salary this month.”
The latter immediately stopped laughing: "..."
Li Yingqiao, emboldened, suddenly raised her voice: "I'll say it one last time, I really didn't know he was already kidnapped. I just learned the Fibonacci sequence and wanted to show off to him. As it turns out, he's not as smart as me. When he said 58 squared is my dad, uncle, do you think that makes sense? Is that a code word a top student could come up with?"
"This is more difficult than the last case involving small pastries," Xiao Bo said, nodding with deep feeling.
“That’s right!” Li Yingqiao sighed, looking at herself with self-pity, “I’ve really had a hard time.”
"..."
After taking the statement and Li Yingqiao left, her colleague, who had been holding his tongue in relief, asked Xiao Bo, "Should we consider recruiting her? She has a good chance of joining our police force through a targeted residency program. This girl has a bright future."
Xiao Bo leaned back in his chair, lost in thought, and shook his head: "Her mother won't agree. She said she doesn't want a single word about her daughter to be reported in this incident. If the same thing happens again, Li Yingqiao might... Besides, everyone in the city knows that the son of our leading wooden toy company has been kidnapped, but the news of his rescue hasn't been released yet, and nobody knows what to write about it."
"Why?" The colleague clearly didn't understand, his forehead wrinkles forming a jumbled mess. "If this happened to me, my mom would evolve from a swimming crab into a king crab on the spot. Not only would she be able to walk sideways in my house, but she would yell at anyone who dared to block her way in the entire Fengtan area."
Xiao Bo stood up, neatly arranged the written record, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Our mother doesn't walk upright in the police station either. Even Director Sun has to give way to her, after all, she's a police officer. What does Li Yingqiao's mother do?"
Xiao Bo pointed to the transcript and said, "That person's mother works in a beauty salon and didn't have much schooling. How can you expect her to have the same level of understanding as our mother? Does she understand the implications of this situation? Does she have the spirit of sacrifice? Stop bragging about your high-ranking mother, who's supposed to be promoted soon."
"It's still in the secondary position."
Xiao Bo slammed the transcript on the table three times and said, "If some details about Li Yingqiao in this case are revealed, someone will definitely bring up the case in Xiaohua City. Both of those sensational cases are related to her. Li Yingqiao is just a high school student. Think about it carefully, is her mother's concern reasonable?"
It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that it caused a city-wide sensation. Neither case was particularly complex, but both had unique aspects. One was a human trafficking case that everyone abhorred. After the police issued a notice for assistance, during the years when human trafficking was at its most rampant, there was indeed a great deal of fear and anxiety among parents. The case of Xiaogaodian was widely circulated and caused a city-wide sensation.
The reason this kidnapping case caused such a stir in Fengtan is simply because Yu Renjie is the local leader in wooden toys. The sudden appearance of the little wooden horse in 1982 opened up the wooden toy economy in Fengtan.
The Fengtan wooden toy industry reached its golden age in 2013. At that time, Fengtan wooden toys not only dominated the domestic market but also received a steady stream of overseas orders. Yu Renjie's net worth doubled every year during those years, and he gained widespread fame both domestically and internationally, transforming from an ordinary local enterprise into an industry leader. Even Fengtan, a previously unknown third-tier city, gradually gained recognition through its mortise and tenon joints. Yu Renjie was dubbed the "King of Wood," a title he was widely expected to earn, much to the amusement of his wife and son for years.
However, the kidnapping of the Timber King's only son did cause quite a stir back then. So, although these two cases weren't particularly complicated, they were well-known throughout Fengtan.
Before the police issued a statement, Yu Renjie sent Tang Xiang and Liang Mei to Hainan for a vacation with Jin Yang, Li Yingqiao, Zheng Miaojia, and Xiao Gaodian (a string of candied hawthorns). Oh, and there was also Zhu Xiaoliang, who looked like a scoundrel and whose words made people want to chop him up. But what could he do? He hated old scholars the most in his life.
Yu Renjie chose to stay in Fengtan to handle the aftermath—the mastermind behind this kidnapping has not yet been found, the police also said that there are still some doubts in this kidnapping case that need to be clarified, and he also has to guard against those media outlets that seize every opportunity to make a big fuss about Li Yingqiao's affairs, otherwise Li Shuli will not hesitate to slap them both in the face.
Damn it, this time we owe him a huge favor, how are we going to repay it?
Why don't we kidnap Li Wusheng, then release him, kidnap him again, and release him again... kill him half to death, and then bring him back to life?
"Stop messing with it, or it will die," Yu Jinyang said.
Li Yingqiao didn't care at all. She twirled the crab shell between two fingers, flying back and forth. Sitting on the rocks on the beach, facing the wind and waves, she looked very content: "It's good that it's dead, so I can steam it and eat it."
The sound of the waves was so loud that Yu Jinyang shouted in her ear, "The crabs have to be steamed alive!"
Li Yingqiao pretended not to hear, having a great time: "What? Say it again, I didn't hear you."
He looked at her expressionlessly, knowing she had heard him.
He really didn't want to argue with her about why eating dead crabs would cause diarrhea; Li Yingqiao would definitely roll her eyes and scold him for his spoiled brat attitude. But he never liked coming to the beach, and after learning that this was his parents' Aegean Sea, he disliked it even more. The beach was dirty and smelly, practically a petri dish for bacteria.
The person I hate the most is Li Yingqiao. He always splashes a handful of seawater on me until I'm completely soaked, and then he laughs at my skinny body, saying I can use him as a surfboard.
"How about it? My biceps are pretty good, right?" Gao Dian said to Zheng Miaojia on the beach behind him, showing off.
Zheng Miaojia exclaimed, "It's alright, but better than Yu Jinyang's."
"..."
He had finally escaped from the kidnappers, and his parents were at the peak of their support for him. But after arriving in Hainan, he found himself at the bottom of the food chain again.
Yu Jinyang glanced back and saw his mother gossiping with Liang Mei, laughing so hard her eyes were practically closed. The math teacher, Zhu Xiaoliang, was slowly wiping his glasses, probably still calculating the wave equation in his head. They had scattered like birds when he asked them to calculate it, and that's why they came here to catch crabs.
He planned to go back, so he decided to discuss fractal coastlines with Zhu Xiaoliang.
"Miaojia," Li Yingqiao suddenly lost interest in the crab in her hand, turned around and excitedly called out to Zheng Miaojia as if she had discovered a new continent, then inexplicably lowered her voice, "Hehe, Miaojia, there's a handsome guy."
A man with biceps as big as two underdeveloped coconuts and a back tanned like a QR code swaggered past them with a surfboard in hand.
He also tucked the surfboard under his armpit.
Unhygienic.
"So handsome!" Li Yingqiao exclaimed sincerely, "He just walked past with Yu Jinyang between his arms—"
Yu Jinyang glared at her coldly: "..."
Li Yingqiao, of course, didn't care. She stared straight at the man's back and said to Zheng Miaojia, "He seems to be doing a sunscreen test. He drew each grid so precisely. Miaojia, quickly write it down. We'll be doing military training when school starts. The one that looks whitest is the middle grid. Can someone go and ask him what kind of sunscreen that is?"
Gao Dian volunteered and returned breathlessly in less than two minutes: "—Leaf fragments."
What brand?
"If there's no sign, he just uses leaves to cover the middle section; that works best."
Li Yingqiao: "..."
Zheng Miaojia laughed so hard she rolled herself in flour brittle on the beach.
Li Yingqiao clicked her tongue twice, looking at the older brother in the distance whose skin was gilded by the direct sunlight on the beach. She wanted to see how he surfed. The older brother probably realized that he was the focus of attention for these soon-to-be high school students and was preparing to show them his best skills.
With a light push of his toes, he propelled his surfboard like a nimble leaf, effortlessly gliding towards the crest of a wave. The splashing waves became his performance steps, allowing him to climb them one by one without any effort. The waves lifted him up, making him look like a king looking down from above, eliciting screams from the beach.
This brief glide attracted a lot of attention, but the next second, a wall of waves several meters high rolled up in front of him. He skillfully turned, and then made a rather stylish sudden stop and tail swing. With a "plop," he and his surfboard were buried, with only his butt sticking out and swaying on the surface of the sea.
"Hahahaha." The screams on the beach turned into thunderous laughter.
The guy bravely climbed out of the shore, even though he looked disheveled and embarrassed. He scratched his head, thinking that he could make everyone laugh, and then walked away with his surfboard in a proper marching style.
"He's so handsome!" Li Yingqiao still clapped his hands enthusiastically.
The guy turned around and solemnly raised his hand to make a gesture from his temple to express his gratitude.
Li Yingqiao laughed heartily, then looked back at the sunshade and noticed that Liang Mei, who was usually irritable, had become gentle under the sea breeze.
Even the most stubborn adults seem to turn into sponges when they get to the beach. It's so interesting.
She glanced at Yu Jinyang again, wondering how Miaomiao had turned into such a difficult young master once she got to the beach. Tsk tsk.
Regardless, the beach is so much fun, she wants to come back again.
That evening, Li Yingqiao ran into that guy again at the hotel's buffet restaurant. This time, he was dressed, and once he was dressed, he acted all serious, completely pretending he hadn't seen them before and hadn't embarrassed himself. Li Yingqiao glanced at him every now and then, finding him really interesting; how could this guy be so funny?
After dinner, in the corridor back to the hotel room, Gao Dian didn't forget to comfort Yu Jinyang: "It's okay, they're still young, their taste is a bit unconventional. Our Yangzai is the real potential stock. He'll definitely be tall, handsome, have eight-pack abs, and your dad's money in the future. Yangzai, let's ignore them. You're too young to hold a grudge. Remember to help your brother out when the time comes."
Gao Dian's Cantonese accent is ingrained in his bones, and he always inexplicably calls him Yang Zai.
Yu Jinyang's lips twitched as he looked at Gao Dian. "You don't understand. Forget it, I can't explain it to you."
Gao Dian had a keen sense of smell. He hooked his arm around the man's neck, slowed his pace, and whispered in his ear, "Meow Meow, you won't..."
Yu Jinyang's ears turned red instantly. "No! What are you thinking!"
Good heavens! He was just thinking that if Li Yingqiao knew how he got that message from the kidnappers, she would beat him so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him. He later gave his statement with a flushed face, and his father was speechless when he found out. After returning home, he gave him a three-day lecture.
To say he's clueless is true, but to say he's completely enlightened is even more so.
Gao Dian pulled him back to his room. Yu Jinyang was a little impatient, frowning and sticking out his neck, not really wanting to follow. He didn't want to talk to him about this topic. Even his parents couldn't give him a clear answer, so what could Gao Dian, a soon-to-be high school student the same age as him, understand?
Gao Dian mysteriously locked the door, pressed him down into the chair in front of the computer in the room, and while reaching for the computer to turn it on, whispered to him, "Do you watch movies? I heard that it's easy to understand after watching this."
Okay, Yu Jinyang's neck turned red. He jumped up, the chair leg slamming back with a screeching sound, and he almost bounced to the window: "No, little pastry, what's going on in your head?"
Gao Dian was also stunned, awkwardly suppressing his previous eagerness, and shutting down the computer: "Then what did your parents teach you?"
Yu Jinyang stood by the window, unable to bear looking directly at Gao Dian, and forcefully pulled down the curtain. He didn't want to look directly at Gao Dian, but the curtain fell down, and Gao Dian was still staring at him curiously. After staring at each other for a moment, he glanced speechlessly outside, and then said to him in a fit of despair, "Can't you teach me how to be sure I like someone, how to love someone, how to be nice to a girl?"
"How do you know for sure?" Gao Dian was eager to improve in this area and studied everything he could. "What did your dad say?"
"He said that if you like someone, first of all, you have to be willing to die for her, like my dad, who jumped into the sea for my mom."
"...Why is Brother Festival so intense?" Gao Dian was shocked.
“My mother’s scarf was blown away by the sea breeze. He thought my mother was gone, so he jumped in right away. Luckily, there were many people around, and they pulled him out.”
Gao Dian: "...If I don't die, what will happen to my grandparents, parents, and my father?"
Yu Jinyang leaned against the window, thought for a moment, and asked in a deep voice, "Gao Dian, I consider Li Yingqiao a brother. To me, she's the same as you, and the same as Zheng Miaojia—"
Gao Dian, who was lying on the chair, suddenly burst out laughing: "Yang Zai, I know what you're thinking."
"What are you thinking about?"
"Is it that your elders are planning to make you marry them?" Gao Dian asked.
Yu Jinyang frowned and said "Ah," looking bewildered and confused: "What do you mean?"
Gao Dian lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, that's what my grandparents told my parents back then. They told my parents to go to Aunt Li's house to propose marriage and repay Li Yingqiao for saving their lives. Aunt Li chased after us with a kitchen knife and said we were repaying kindness with enmity. That's why my parents took me and fled to Shenzhen."
*****
On the day the middle school entrance exam results were released, a few kids were heading back from Hainan. They slept on the plane and then took a bus from the airport back to Fengtan. Yu Jinyang wore headphones the whole time, and the other kids also wore hats. They all had cool faces and didn't talk much to each other. They were quite eye-catching on the way back.
It was clearly time to check the scores, and both of them were a little nervous.
Liang Mei and Zhu Xiaoliang were also in low spirits. They sat on the airport shuttle bus, and Zhu Xiaoliang unusually comforted her: "Sister Mei, you have to calm down. Teacher Tan knows that you are angry with her. With Li Yingqiao's original grades, it would be a miracle if she could get into an ordinary high school. If she really gets into Tanzhong, then we shouldn't be idle. We can really set up a training institution, which will prove that our educational approach is absolutely OK."
Liang Mei looked out the car window and said, "I've said it before, Li Yingqiao is my last student, and I will never be a teacher again."
Zhu Xiaoliang: "...You and Teacher Tan are both so stubborn, won't you just back down?"
Liang Mei said, "Zhu Xiaoliang, don't forget our bet. If Li Yingqiao really gets into university, you said you would go back to be a teacher."
As soon as she finished speaking, Liang Mei's phone, which she had just turned on, suddenly began to vibrate violently in the shuttle bus. A series of text messages that had been blocked on the plane rushed in, and the phone vibrated like a dying pigeon, flapping its wings and desperately trying to send its last message through the screen:
Hu: Where?
—Hu: Call back as soon as you see this.
—Hu: Liang Mei, Teacher Tan wants to see you one last time.
—Hu: My condolences. Teacher Tan has just passed away. She said that the house next to the orphanage would be left to you, and you would be in charge of all the funeral arrangements.
[Author's Note]
See you tomorrow! See you tomorrow!!!
Two hundred red envelopes.
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