Soul Patch

Chapter 25 The Lazy Cat

Human life is of paramount importance and should not be taken lightly.

It seems that what happened at the Sixth Middle School in M ​​City is a complex and multifaceted affair.

If it weren't for the suicide of Qin Fen, the deputy director of the Ministry of Education, which uncovered a hidden corner of this case...

Those young girls in the prime of their lives, those vibrant lives lost, the truth hidden at the bottom of the artificial lake—when will it all be revealed to the light of day?

Officer Cao leaned forward, instantly closing the distance between him and Wenjie.

He could see the sweat beading on Wenjie's forehead from nervousness, and he could see Wenjie's Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

He looked directly into Wenjie's eyes, raised a hand, and placed it on Wenjie's shoulder.

After calming himself down, Officer Cao spoke in a deliberately casual tone: "Wenjie..."

Wenjie felt that Officer Cao's hand on his shoulder was as heavy as a thousand pounds, making it hard for him to breathe.

"Wenjie, you came to me just to tell me this?" Officer Cao withdrew his arm and stepped back.

He got up and went back to his desk, picked up his thermos, went to the water dispenser, and refilled it with hot water.

From Wenjie's perspective, all he could see was Officer Cao's slightly hunched back.

Wenjie sighed inwardly, "Oh no."

He didn't get the questions he wanted to ask, and he even exposed his own suspicion by mentioning the commonalities among the drowning girls.

"No," Wenjie said, forcing a smile.

"What's your purpose?"

Officer Cao had already filled the water container. He turned around and looked thoughtfully at Wenjie, waiting for Wenjie to answer his question.

"Officer Cao, am I right?" Wenjie steeled himself, determined to get to the bottom of this, even at the risk of being suspected.

Officer Cao stood ramrod straight, his eyelids lowered, his gaze fixed on the cup of water in his hand.

He returned to the seat opposite Wenjie, settled down comfortably, placed his thermos on the coffee table, and looked up as Wenjie watched. Their eyes met naturally.

Officer Cao's gaze was open and honest. He winked at Wenjie and then laughed heartily.

Wenjie seemed to understand; he must have guessed correctly, otherwise Officer Cao wouldn't have reacted this way. Instead, he would have been dragged into the interrogation room, given a stern lecture about not spreading rumors and causing panic, and then released him.

Since you guessed correctly, that means Qin Fen is indeed connected to those three girls.

What is the connection?

Girls aged 14 to 16 should be in school.

Wenjie's gaze shifted downwards, staring intently at Officer Cao's thermos on the coffee table. The goji berries inside had plumped up, floating one by one on the surface, crowding together at the rim of the thermos.

Students currently in school and the Vice Minister of Education are both part of the education system!

Is it a school?

Wenjie closed his eyes slightly, trying hard to recall the parts about school in Qin Fen's resume.

M City No. 6 Middle School?

Qin Fen was promoted to the Ministry of Education from that school.

Seeing the glint in Wenjie's eyes, he revealed a knowing look.

Officer Cao breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the young man in front of him truly possessed strong professional sensitivity and exceptional abilities in making connections and summarizing.

Wenjie stood up and gulped down the glass of water in front of him. Although it was just lukewarm water, he drank it with relish. He smiled slightly at Officer Cao: "Goodbye, Officer Cao..."

After thinking for a moment, I added, "The connection between these drowning incidents... is just my guess, but I hope it's helpful. Sorry to bother you."

Officer Cao chuckled again, got up, and escorted Wenjie to the door.

Wenjie stepped out of the office, turned around and said with a smile, "There are... 15 in the cup."

Officer Cao paused for a moment, then looked back at the thermos on the coffee table, his smile widening.

He leaned against the office door frame, raised his other arm, and waved goodbye to Wenjie.

Watching Wenjie's figure disappear at the end of the corridor, Officer Cao returned to the coffee table, bent down to stare at the thermos, and began counting the goji berries inside one by one.

Then, he slapped his forehead and laughed to himself.

There really are 15... that kid.

The name Wenjie was practically etched into Cao Guoqiang's mind.

Wenjie left the East District Police Station building, weighed his empty Alipay account and WeChat Wallet in his hand, and resolutely walked towards the subway entrance.

No matter how payment methods change, the poor are still poor.

He glanced at the time; it was 10:30 a.m. He needed to transfer at the Financial Street transfer station, and he estimated that it would take about an hour to get to Yang Shanshan's workplace.

However, it was lunchtime when we arrived at Yang Shanshan's workplace, so we could consider inviting her to lunch together.

That's something to consider... That's something to consider.

Wenjie's mind flashed to his bank card balance. He rubbed his forehead, thinking that he had to treat Yang Shanshan to a meal. He had already said it twice, and a man should always keep his word.

I just happened to be free today, and the two of us were going to meet, which happened to be around noon.

Even if she were just an ordinary colleague, he should have invited her along in this situation, let alone... In Wenjie's mind, she was definitely more than just a colleague.

Wenjie is a man of action; he opened Gaode Maps and started searching for restaurants near the Second Bureau. After searching for a while, he couldn't find any barbecue restaurants.

He's incredibly clumsy when it comes to dating girls and winning their hearts.

If I don't see Hallasan BBQ, I don't know what to choose.

Even a straight man has his own way of doing things; he simply took a screenshot of the nearby restaurants and sent it to Yang Shanshan on WeChat.

I added a sentence: "I'll arrive at your workplace around 11:30. Let's have lunch together. Which restaurant do you like? I'll make a reservation in advance."

Wenjie guessed that Yang Shanshan was probably busy with work since he hadn't received a reply for half a day.

In fact, the moment Yang Shanshan received the WeChat message, she ran to the corridor with her phone and dialed Huang Weiwei's number.

"Weiwei, what should I do? He asked me out for lunch. Should I say yes or no?"

As soon as the call connected, Yang Shanshan couldn't wait to ask for help over the phone.

"That Wenjie, right?" Huang Weiwei asked vaguely.

“Yeah, who else could it be!” Yang Shanshan retorted casually, not too harshly.

"No, we agreed to keep things distant. This time, we're only discussing business."

Also, when he comes to see you, make sure to make him wait; you need to regain the composure you lost last time.

The more precious a woman is, the more a man will cherish her.

Huang Weiwei was in her bakery at that moment, rattling off a long string of words like a machine gun.

She sat on the sofa next to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing absently at the flow of people and cars on the street.

Hmph! What's the point of wasting so much effort and saying so much to Shanshan?

A woman who has fallen in love is like a madwoman; no one can stop her.

After saying that, Huang Weiwei patted her chest and calmed herself down.

The shop assistant brought Huang Weiwei a cappuccino at the right moment and gently placed it on the porcelain white coffee table in front of her.

Huang Weiwei's eyes swept over the steaming cappuccino and glanced at the shop assistant who turned and left.

The shop assistant's tall and slender figure flashed into the bar, and from Huang Weiwei's angle, she could just see his profile.

A high, straight nose and a slightly upturned chin create a sharply defined profile.

He stood in front of the coffee machine in the bakery, dressed in a brown pastry chef's uniform, the air around him filled with the rich aroma of coffee and cake...

Huang Weiwei gently pinched the handle of the coffee cup, brought it to her lips, and slowly took a small sip.

Tastes good...

Her eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze fixed on the boy behind the bar, her expression shifting as if she were observing or trying to figure him out.

Huang Weiwei is like a lazy cat with a hidden aggression.

(End of this chapter)