Tang Tang went to wash her hands for the third time. She stared blankly at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale and bloodless.
She looked as if she had lost a great deal of blood. Tang Tang reached out and pinched her face. Feeling a bit of pain, she then put down her hand and walked out of the police station's restroom.
Zuo Mu was waiting no more than ten meters away from the door of the women's restroom. Seeing Tang Tang come out, he walked towards her. Pretending not to notice the red marks on Tang Tang's face, he said casually, "I just heard that the person receiving us is Chief Li. Don't you think we're quite important?"
Tang Tang forced a smile and let out a couple of dry laughs.
"Don't be scared."
Tang Tang looked up at Zuo Mu and reached out to hold his hand. There was a bit of panic and resistance in her heart.
She really didn't like socializing, especially with the police.
When she was young, Tang Gu said that she wouldn't make a good doctor because she didn't like to talk and didn't want to trouble others.
But her personality was just like that from birth.
Chief Li took a sip of tea from a canning jar. Looking up at Tang Tang, he grinned slightly and said, "It's okay. We just want to get to know some details. You can just treat us as ordinary friends and we'll have a chat."
Tang Tang hesitated for a moment but still sat down opposite Chief Li. Turning to look at Zuo Mu, who smiled gently and sat down next to Tang Tang, reaching out to hold her hand.
Tang Tang let out a soft breath and tried to relax. But every pore on her body seemed to be shouting. She was swirling in the whirlpool of panic. Only the hand being held became her sole support.
Chief Li pushed the canning jar away and looked up at Tang Tang. "How old are you today? You seem to be about the same age as my daughter."
Tang Tang pursed her lips. "I... I'm eighteen."
Chief Li nodded. "Two years older than my daughter. She's in the third year of junior high school and will take the high - school entrance exam next year. I told her to take the exam for Experimental High School, but she wasn't happy about it."
Tang Tang looked up at Chief Li doubtfully. Experimental High School was one of the better key high schools in City A. Chief Li seemed to understand Tang Tang's thoughts and smiled understandingly. "My daughter likes the Academy of Fine Arts."
Tang Tang nodded to show that she understood. Chief Li noticed that Tang Tang had let go of the corner of her clothes, knowing that she had relaxed, and then got to the point.
"When did your friend Wang Lin contact you? For what reason? And did she contact you again after that?"
"Yesterday. She said she wanted to borrow my math notes. Since I'm a science student and she's a liberal - arts student, the liberal - arts curriculum is shallower. She wanted to take a look at my notes. She asked me to send them to the place where she worked at noon. But that day... I... Our group had a quarrel with others and were kept in the office."
"I know about this."
Chief Li looked down at his notebook and then looked up at Tang Tang. "She went missing the day before yesterday. Didn't you know?"
"I really didn't know." Tang Tang tightened her grip on Zuo Mu's hand and pursed her lips. "We're not in the same class. I just found out this morning that she was missing..."
Chief Li nodded. "Do you know about her situation with her classmates in the class?"
Tang Tang lowered her eyes and thought for a while. "She's a very... nice girl. Many classmates in the class like to play with her. And she's very hard - working. She earns her own living expenses for high school."
Chief Li twirled his pen and nodded. "I see."
Just as Chief Li was about to say something else, the door was opened by Shen Hao. Shen Hao glanced at Tang Tang and then at Chief Li, and said seriously, "Chief Li, a body was found on the bank of the moat."
Shen Hao looked at Chief Li. "The organs were removed. Just now, the DNA test showed that it was Wang Lin, who went missing a few days ago."
Zuo Mu held Tang Tang's hand and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. Tang Tang felt a tightness in her chest and clenched her hands tightly.
That person had just called her after school today.
Chief Li frowned. "There should be surveillance cameras near the moat. Did you see anyone?"
"No. It was fished out by a sanitation worker. But the forensic doctor said the time of death was twelve noon."
Shen Hao handed the autopsy report to Chief Li. Chief Li frowned as he looked at the report. "Give an order to check all the surveillance cameras around the moat, find out the water speed of the moat, and determine the first crime scene of the criminal. Sort it out as soon as possible."
"Yes," Shen Hao said and was about to leave when Chief Li stopped him. Chief Li handed Tang Tang's phone to him. He had listened to it once when Tang Tang went to the restroom. The voice was oddly familiar to him.
Shen Hao took the phone, glanced at Chief Li, and opened the phone interface. It was a recording. Shen Hao looked at Tang Tang and didn't open it directly but chose to take an earphone.
Shen Hao clicked play. As soon as he heard the voice, he looked up at Chief Li. The two looked at each other and understood.
Shen Hao reached out and pulled the earphone out of the phone. Then he took a chair and sat down next to Tang Tang. He pushed the phone over. "Girl, are you scared?"
Tang Tang pursed her lips and blinked her eyes. "Scared."
Shen Hao reached out and stroked Tang Tang's hair and smiled. "It's normal to be scared. Anyone would be. But you have to trust us, right? Look at those certificates."
Shen Hao pointed to the certificates on the wall. "They're all for the cases we've solved."
Tang Tang looked up at the certificates. Shen Hao patted Tang Tang's shoulder. "It's okay. Leave it to us. If there's anything, just find the police."
Tang Tang nodded. Shen Hao slapped the table. "Okay, there's nothing for you here. If there's anything, we'll contact you again."
Shen Hao looked up at Zuo Mu. Zuo Mu nodded, pulled Tang Tang, and bowed slightly to Shen Hao. "Then please trouble Officer Shen more."
"Should be," Shen Hao smiled. "The little girl must be scared. Go back and accompany her more. Leave the professional things to us. If you have any clues, please contact me immediately."
Zuo Mu nodded. "Sure."
Chief Li watched Shen Hao chatting with the two and seeing them off. He frowned but didn't interrupt. Watching Shen Hao come back, he knocked on the table. "Why didn't you tell her? Do you know the seriousness of this matter?"
"Know," Shen Hao looked up at Chief Li. "But after all, she's just a child. She shouldn't be involved in this. If she's really... that person's child, and she's lived peacefully in City A for so long, it means she hopes it to be like this."
"Foolish!" Chief Li threw the canning jar onto the table forcefully. "Do you know that you'll make her relax her vigilance? When Lao Hei and the others come back, the first person they'll look for is her, which means they won't let her go!"
Shen Hao looked up at Chief Li and pursed his lips. "I'll secretly send people to protect her."
Chief Li was so angry that his lungs ached. He threw the just - written record away. "Protect? If protection worked, would something have happened back then!"
"Anyway, I want Tang Tang to be safe."
Chief Li looked up at Shen Hao. "Safe without a single hair missing. Shen Hao, if you can't do it this time, just pack your bags and leave!"
After Chief Li finished speaking, he walked away. In the large room, only Shen Hao was left. The door swayed on the doorframe twice and finally closed with a click. Shen Hao looked at the record. Suddenly, the voice he heard on the phone just now rang in his ears. Shen Hao covered his eyes.
Zuo Mu took Tang Tang downstairs. Looking at the car at the door, he opened the navigation on his phone, checked the distance, and then looked at Tang Tang. "How about we walk back?"
Tang Tang glanced at the car and subconsciously asked, "Is the car out of gas?"
"No. I want to take you for a walk."
Tang Tang nodded and peeked at Zuo Mu's phone. "How far is it?"
"Not far. Only about five kilometers."
Tang Tang, "..."
It got dark late in summer, and there were many street vendors. After walking for a while, they passed by a bus stop. There were just a few stalls selling all kinds of things.
Although Tang Tang was raised freely when she was a child, she knew how to enjoy life. She would definitely take a vehicle instead of walking. Suddenly walking such a long distance, she was a bit unaccustomed.
Tang Tang stomped her feet and followed behind Zuo Mu. Looking at the set - up stalls, what was really on her mind were the words she had just heard. She was still very panicked.
"Do you want to eat cotton candy?"
Zuo Mu pointed to a spherical cotton candy and showed it to Tang Tang.
Tang Tang nodded and followed Zuo Mu to get two cotton candies. The summer wind blew slowly. Tang Tang looked up at the sky, which had already darkened. A few stars were twinkling slowly in the sky.
Tang Tang took a bite of the cotton candy. It was so big that it stuck all over her face. Tang Tang pulled it down. After that, one side of the cotton candy was all fluffy and shredded.
Tang Tang, "..."
"Silly girl." Zuo Mu took out a wet wipe from his pocket and smiled as he wiped Tang Tang's face. "What else can you do?"
Tang Tang waved the cotton candy and said dejectedly, "I can't do anything."
Zuo Mu reached out and ruffled Tang Tang's hair. "Let's go."
Tang Tang followed behind Zuo Mu. Seeing the public restroom beside, she waved the cotton candy and said, "Brother Zuo Mu, I'm going to the restroom."
"Go ahead. I'll wait for you." Zuo Mu took the cotton candy. Tang Tang handed her schoolbag to Zuo Mu and got up to walk towards the restroom.
The restroom was behind the busy street. Since there were quite a lot of people coming, the smell of disinfectant was very strong. Fortunately, it wasn't 84 disinfectant. Tang Tang habitually washed her hands and fixed her hair. Looking through the mirror, she suddenly looked up and saw a masked man in the men's restroom opposite, staring intently at her.
When the man saw that Tang Tang had noticed him, the corners of his eyes curved.
Tang Tang felt a chill in her heart and immediately grabbed the phone in her pocket. She watched as the man walked out step by step, with his eyes curved as he walked towards her.
The man walked slowly towards Tang Tang. Tang Tang gathered her hair and held the sink tightly. She watched the man out of the corner of her eye.
The man stopped suddenly when he reached behind Tang Tang. Tang Tang wanted to run, but her legs didn't work at all.
"Tang Tang," Zuo Mu walked in from outside. Glancing at the man, he walked over and pulled Tang Tang over. "Why did it take so long?"
Tang Tang pointed to her hair. "I tied my hair."
Zuo Mu nodded and pulled Tang Tang away. Suddenly, the man spoke. He took off the mask on his face, looked at Tang Tang, and smiled. "So your name is Tang Tang. I have a girlfriend named Tang Tang too, but her Tang has a water radical, the one in the word for Chinese flowering crabapple."
The man put the mask back on, stretched out his hand, and said, "My name is Shen Tian."