Shen Tian was tall and big. When he smiled, his peach blossom eyes tilted slightly upwards, making his entire eyes seem to hold the stars and the sea. Shen Tian tilted his head a bit and looked at Tang Tang with a beaming smile. The little ponytail at the back of his head swayed twice.
"I thought just now that you look a lot like my girlfriend," Shen Tian said.
He stretched out his right hand and waved it, then bowed elegantly to Tang Tang. "Pleased to meet you, lucky girl with the same name as my girlfriend."
Tang Tang looked at Shen Tian awkwardly. People were coming and going in the restroom, and their eyes would flit over here from time to time. Shen Tian stood there composedly, looking at Tang Tang with a smile. Tang Tang coughed and nodded in a hurry. "Pleased to meet you."
A girl came out of the women's restroom and rushed over to wash her hands. While washing her hands, she sized them up through the mirror.
Shen Tian caught a glimpse of the girl from the corner of his eye. He took out a new mask from his pocket and put it on. Only then did Tang Tang notice this man's hands. They were fair, long, and his nails were neatly trimmed.
When his fingers hooked the mask to put it on his ears, Tang Tang, with her sharp eyes, saw that there was a slight callus on Shen Tian's index finger, which was especially noticeable on his fair hand.
In Tang Tang's knowledge, musicians and doctors were the ones who often used their hands and got calluses on their fingers. She leaned more towards the latter.
"Are you a doctor, Mr. Shen?" Tang Tang blurted out without thinking as she stared at Shen Tian's hands. She regretted it right after she said it and took a step towards Zuo Mu.
Shen Tian raised his eyebrows, spread out his hands and looked at them on both sides, then looked at Tang Tang with squinted eyes. "You're quite smart, but you guessed wrong."
"Guessed wrong?"
"Guessed wrong." Shen Tian put his hands in his pockets and nodded. The little ponytail behind his head moved along. He reached out and stroked Tang Tang's hair. His movement was graceful as he smoothed it from the top to the end. His touch was gentle. Shen Tian squinted his eyes slightly. "I'll give you another chance. If you guess right next time, I'll give you a reward."
With that, Shen Tian retracted his hand and looked at Tang Tang seriously. "We'll meet again."
Tang Tang watched the man turn around and leave. She stared at his back thoughtfully. Zuo Mu looked down at Tang Tang and waved the cotton candy in front of her. "Come back to your senses."
"What are you thinking about?"
"I don't need it. My cotton candy." Tang Tang took the cotton candy, looked at it lovingly, brought it under her nose to smell it, then pursed her lips and threw it into the trash can reluctantly. This cotton candy was basically ruined after coming to the restroom.
Zuo Mu couldn't help but laugh at Tang Tang's expression. "I'll buy you another one when we get out."
Tang Tang's eyes lingered on the cotton candy, but she shook her head warily. "No, thanks."
When she was a child after losing her baby teeth, no one in the family cared about her. Tang Gu was always busy with hospital work, and Zhang Lingling was busy with book signings all over the world. Once they got busy, they would forget about Tang Tang.
Tang Tang had a sweet tooth when she was a kid and would eat anything sweet. She would always have a lollipop in her mouth at kindergarten. Over time, she got several cavities.
She was in so much pain that she couldn't eat. She rarely saw her parents either. Later, when Zhang Lingling found out, the cavities were too bad to be filled.
Tang Tang was scolded by Tang Gu for a whole night. The next day, she was dragged to the hospital to have the bad teeth pulled out. She was in so much pain that she rolled around in bed with tears all over her face. She also had to endure Tang Gu's cold look for a whole morning. After that, she never dared to eat candy again.
It wasn't until she grew up that she was willing to eat candy again, but she knew to be moderate.
Tang Tang sighed as she looked at the cotton candy. "I still remember my dad pointing at my nose and scolding me for acting like I'd never seen candy in my life. Looking so pathetic when I saw it suddenly."
Zuo Mu couldn't help but laugh. Tang Gu was indeed strict. In college, if a student answered a question wrong, Tang Gu would point at their nose and scold them. "You should be able to walk over this question horizontally, but you still can't answer it!"
Thinking of how that boy would always sit in a corner in class later and look so nervous, it was just like Tang Tang's current expression.
Later, the two of them walked for a while but were really too tired to go on, so they took a taxi back. When they got home, Tang Tang flopped down on the sofa, shaking her head and sighing. "When we were on the overpass, I could clearly feel the disdain from the surrounding traffic towards us."
"They must be thinking, 'How poor are these two? They can't even afford to take the bus.'"
Zuo Mu washed a plate of fruits and put it on the table. He nodded and echoed Tang Tang. "Right, two poor guys sing to the green willows, while a line of cars speeds on the overpass."
Tang Tang laughed so hard that she held a grape and bowed to Zuo Mu. "I admit defeat. I'm truly in awe."
Zuo Mu helplessly stuffed a grape into Tang Tang's mouth. Tang Tang dodged playfully twice and then sat back obediently to eat the grapes. "By the way, Brother Zuo Mu, who is that guy we met this afternoon, Shen Tian?"
"Haven't you heard the saying? 'One who shows excessive politeness for no reason is either a villain or a thief.'" Zuo Mu took a grape and stuffed it into Tang Tang's mouth. "And didn't you say when you were a kid that you shouldn't talk to strangers?"
Tang Tang nodded and whispered, "Got it." Then she wanted to take her phone and go back to her bedroom, but Zuo Mu stopped her. Zuo Mu took Tang Tang's phone, waved it, walked to the TV cabinet, and put it inside.
"Don't take your phone for the next few days."
"But it'll be inconvenient to contact people." Tang Tang frowned. She had thought about not taking her phone, but it didn't seem very convenient.
Zuo Mu got up and went to the study. He took out a box, looked down at it, and coughed. "Well, maybe you can use this for the next few days. I've put a new SIM card in it, and it has my contact information."
Tang Tang looked at the shiny words on the box and took it with difficulty. Holding the box, she turned to look at Zuo Mu hopelessly. "Do I really have to?"
Zuo Mu coughed and pointed at the box. "My colleague said this is really good. It's rated the best."
Tang Tang looked down at the box. She still couldn't quite accept it. She struggled to look up at Zuo Mu and said, "The point isn't the rating..."
Zuo Mu touched his nose and defended himself. "The advertisement is also really good."
Tang Tang looked up at Zuo Mu and raised her right hand hopelessly. "Really? Can you be reached immediately with a phone call there? Hello? The callable watch, the Little Genius Phone Watch."
Zuo Mu watched Tang Tang's act of making a phone call and laughed so hard that he flopped down on the sofa.
Tang Tang helplessly looked back at Zuo Mu and opened the box. She pressed the watch a couple of times. Zuo Mu had already saved his contact information in it, and there was also Tang Gu and Zhang Lingling's contact information. Tang Tang couldn't help but laugh when she saw the contact list.
Zuo Mu had added an "A" in front of his nickname, so he was firmly at the top of the list.
Tang Tang put the watch on her arm. She felt like she was about to be blinded by the pink color. With great difficulty, she nudged her arm. "Brother Zuo Mu, doesn't this watch come in any other colors?"
"Sure," Zuo Mu turned to look at Tang Tang. "But isn't the pink princess one really nice?"
Tang Tang, "..."
She hadn't liked pink for years.
Tang Tang climbed into bed with a tired heart. Zuo Mu watched Tang Tang's back. The smile on his lips faded. He looked up at Tang Tang's bedroom door and squinted his eyes slightly.
Zuo Mu reached out and tapped on the armrest of the sofa. He looked at the clock with a cold look in his eyes. The clock ticked to twelve. Zuo Mu reached out to smooth his clothes and got up to go to the study.
As soon as it was past twelve, the phone in the study rang. The phone that had just been put in the TV cabinet, Zuo Mu had taken it to the study when Tang Tang wasn't looking.
A message popped up on the screen. Zuo Mu gently swiped it open, and his eyes turned even colder.
"You're really beautiful today."
Below was a photo of Tang Tang holding a cotton candy on the street, smiling so widely that there were crinkles at the corners of her eyes.
"Such a happy and beautiful you is really enviable, especially your beautiful features."
Zuo Mu squinted his eyes, took out his phone, and dialed Shen Hao's number.
Shen Hao was on duty. He had just dealt with a gas tank problem. When he heard what Zuo Mu meant on the phone, his sleepy head suddenly perked up. He immediately sent someone to check the information of this phone number.
Zuo Mu heard that the other side was busy and said in a low voice, "I know you're busy, Officer Shen, but as Tang Tang's elder brother and guardian, I think I have the right to know the severity of this case."
Shen Hao's hand that was reaching for water froze. Zuo Mu tapped on the table with a pen. The look that Shen Hao and Chief Li exchanged today made him think too much.
If it was just a simple organ - trafficking case, there was no need for those people to target Tang Tang.
Zuo Mu's fingertips gently slid across Tang Tang's phone, from the call from Wang Lin that day, to the subsequent threatening calls, and then to today's harassing text message.
None of these phone numbers were repeated, and Shen Hao and his team hadn't found out anything either. This phone number today must also be a disposable one.
Zuo Mu knew this clearly, but he needed an opportunity to call Shen Hao.
Shen Hao paused slightly on the other end. He suddenly remembered the man he saw this afternoon, wearing a white shirt with a smile always on his lips.
The gentle and elegant man this afternoon seemed quite different from the person who called to question.
Shen Hao knew he couldn't hide it from Zuo Mu. It might be okay to hide it from Tang Tang, but it was unreasonable to hide it from Zuo Mu. Shen Hao sighed. "Well, Mr. Zuo, it's not convenient to talk on the phone. Let's make an appointment for tomorrow to discuss this matter. We're also worried about Tang Tang's safety. It would be great if you could cooperate with us."
Zuo Mu squinted his eyes and nodded in agreement. The two made an appointment for a time. Just as they were about to hang up, Zuo Mu tapped on the corner of the table. "By the way, we met a person today named Shen Tian."
Shen Hao was stunned for a moment on the other end. "I understand. See you tomorrow, Mr. Zuo."
Zuo Mu hung up the phone and frowned. He always had a feeling that the Shen Tian they met today was definitely not just a passer - by.
His presence was too strong.
Zuo Mu swiped his finger on the phone, found a name, took a deep breath, and then pressed the call button.