The phone rang a full five times before it was reluctantly picked up by the person on the other end. Zhou Wei, with a thick nasal voice, gritted his teeth and said, "Zuo Mu, I'll give you one minute to explain. If it's not something important, come over tomorrow and be my sample!"
Zuo Mu's hand holding the pen paused. He tapped the table and let out a soft laugh. "Are you so irritable? Is there a case today?"
Zhou Wei put the phone on speaker, closed his eyes and nodded. "Don't even mention it. The district sent over a corpse. They said he was a drug dealer before he died. We've been busy all day, but we didn't even see a trace of drugs. There was just nicotine in his lungs. It was all for nothing."
The more Zhou Wei thought about it, the angrier he got. He got out of bed, picked up the water on the nightstand and took a sip to calm the fire in his lungs.
Zuo Mu smiled and tapped the table with his fingertips. "You've worked hard, the working class at the bottom."
Zhou Wei, "..."
The working class at the bottom wanted to angrily throw the phone, but just as he lifted his hand, he suddenly remembered that he had just bought this phone last month. So he reluctantly put his hand down.
"Speak if you have something to say, and let it out if you have a fart. If you're here to mock me at this late hour, I'll block you and break off our friendship. Thank you."
Zuo Mu lowered his head and smiled. Squinting, he looked at the new message on Tang Tang's phone. His eyes turned slightly cold. "No, I have something to ask of you."
Zhou Wei made a clicking sound on the other end. "I admire your attitude when asking for favors. Go ahead, what is it?"
"Help me investigate two people," Zuo Mu turned off Tang Tang's phone and rubbed his temples. "A man and a woman. The woman's name is Tang Tang, and the man's name is Shen Tian. That's all the information I have. The rest is up to you."
Zhou Wei exploded on the other end. "Zuo Mu, do you take me for a police dog? Just give me a bit of a scent and I can follow the trail? You think too highly of me."
Before he could finish speaking, Zuo Mu interrupted him. "Thank you. I'm sorry to trouble you."
There was a moment of silence on Zhou Wei's end. Then Zuo Mu heard a rustling sound and the muffled sound of a pillow being thrown. Immediately after, he heard the sound of a computer being turned on. Zhou Wei's voice came from afar. "I'm not sure if I can do it. I'll organize the information and tell you if I find anything."
"Thank you."
After Zuo Mu said this, he hung up the phone. He looked down at Tang Tang's phone. The screen lit up, and another message came in from a different number. "Good night. I hope you have a good sleep."
Zuo Mu took out the charger and plugged in the phone, which had only 20% of its battery left. They would continue to pester Tang Tang. Since they had the ability to find Tang Tang's phone number, they would surely be able to find the number she was using now.
Not letting Tang Tang use this phone was just to buy some time. As for the rest, he would leave it to the police.
The next morning, Tang Tang was dragged to school by Zuo Mu. She was so sleepy that she could barely open her eyes. She sipped the soy milk in small sips with one eye open and the other closed.
Zuo Mu suddenly hit the brakes. Tang Tang, with her eyes closed, didn't notice. The hand pressing on the soy milk cup exerted more force, and the soy milk sprayed out from the straw. The soy milk was still a bit warm in the morning, and it sprayed all over Tang Tang's face. Her head immediately woke up.
Zuo Mu, "..."
"What else can you do?" Zuo Mu reached behind and took out a wet wipe and handed it to Tang Tang. Tang Tang wiped her face haphazardly in the rearview mirror. Her face was sticky and smelled of soy milk.
Tang Tang wiped her face and whispered in defense, "It's inertia. Physics says it's inertia. I couldn't control the force."
Zuo Mu glanced at Tang Tang. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Huang Xiaoli waiting at the school gate. She was looking around, not knowing who she was looking for. While looking, she was also looking at her watch.
"Your little best friend," Zuo Mu pointed at Huang Xiaoli and turned to ask Tang Tang, "Is she looking for you?"
"Ah?" Tang Tang followed Zuo Mu's finger and quickly nodded. "Yes, yes. Brother Zuo Mu, I'll get off first."
As she said this, Tang Tang slung her schoolbag onto her back. Zuo Mu helplessly reached out to adjust the schoolbag and found the straps, then handed it to her.
Tang Tang smiled and stretched out her arm. She was about to reach for the car door when Zuo Mu grabbed the schoolbag strap and pulled her back. Tang Tang was stunned by the pull. She turned to look at Zuo Mu blankly and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Zuo Mu?"
Zuo Mu reached out to straighten Tang Tang's collar. He pulled out the collar that was stuck in the schoolbag strap and looked at Tang Tang seriously. "Wait for me to pick you up after school. Don't run around. Contact me immediately if there's anything. Do you hear me?"
"Okay."
Zuo Mu nodded and patted Tang Tang's shoulder. He slightly lifted his chin. "Go."
Tang Tang scratched her hair. She turned to look at Zuo Mu and lowered her head to whisper, "Then, Brother Zuo Mu, drive safely. Remember to let me know you're safe when you arrive."
Zuo Mu ruffled Tang Tang's hair and nodded in agreement. Only then did Tang Tang get out of the car contentedly. She stood there and watched as Zuo Mu's car turned and disappeared into the traffic.
Tang Tang let out a soft sigh. She turned and saw Xiaoli looking at her with a half - smile. While smiling, she waved at Tang Tang. "Come on, Tang Tang. Let's discuss some important matters in life."
Tang Tang touched her nose. "What important matters in life?"
"What else could important matters in life be?" Xiaoli glanced at Tang Tang out of the corner of her eye. "There are three important matters in life: getting married, having children, and living a peaceful old age. When are you going to get married, Tang Tang?"
Tang Tang's face instantly turned red. She couldn't help but glare at Xiaoli. "What are you talking about! Do you see the 'Eight Honors and Eight Shames' on the display board? Go back and copy the 'Eight Honors and Eight Shames' to wash your brain."
Xiaoli pointed at the 'Eight Honors and Eight Shames' and laughed non - stop. Tang Tang was annoyed and ignored her. She quickened her pace and left Xiaoli behind. Tang Tang had never told anyone that she liked Zuo Mu, but Huang Xiaoli's eyes were too sharp.
Counting up, Zuo Mu had only appeared in front of them a few times, and Tang Tang didn't know how Huang Xiaoli had noticed.
After she entered high school, Tang Gu was so busy flying around, and Zhang Lingling was even busier. So Tang Gu had asked Zuo Mu to attend Tang Tang's parent - teacher meeting.
When Zuo Mu came, Tang Tang introduced him to Huang Xiaoli and the others as her brother. High school students were at a stage of being young but full of ideas. When they saw Tang Tang's brother in a white shirt and suit, they all bowed and said hello. Zuo Mu helplessly supported one of them with each hand and straightened them up.
Tang Tang thought the matter was over. The next day, Huang Xiaoli mysteriously pulled Tang Tang's hand and said, "Sister, for the sake of our friendship as classmates, I have to say something."
Tang Tang thought she was going to say something and immediately bowed respectfully and replied, "Please speak, miss."
Huang Xiaoli pulled Tang Tang's hand and said earnestly, "Look, twenty years after the reform and opening - up, our motherland has welcomed the clarion call of the spring breeze. As people of the 21st century..."
To stop her long - winded speech, Tang Tang quickly reached out a hand and said, "Get to the point."
"The point is, the Qing Dynasty is over. It's illegal to marry a close relative. And biology also says that the probability of having a recessive genetic disease in a close - relative marriage is extremely high. So there's no future for you and your brother."
Tang Tang, "..."
On the way to copying the 'Eight Honors and Eight Shames' after being chased away by Tang Tang, Huang Xiaoli found out that she had made a mistake. Tang Tang had no blood relation with her Brother Zuo Mu at all.
After that incident, their relationship suddenly became closer.
Maybe that's how the relationship between girls is. I tell you my secret, and you exchange your secret with me. This secret becomes the bond of our friendship.
Huang Xiaoli put her schoolbag down in the classroom and then mysteriously pulled at the corner of Tang Tang's clothes. "You don't know. It was so lively in our school this morning before you came."
"What happened?"
Tang Tang put her books into the desk drawer. She looked up at the class schedule written on the blackboard, took out her Chinese textbook and put it on the desk. Then she casually said, "Did the uncle who sells lamb kebabs from Xinjiang come back?"
"What are you talking about?" Huang Xiaoli glanced at Tang Tang. "Can you stop thinking about those lamb kebabs? What's wrong? Are you attracted just because the uncle said he would use soybean oil to roast the kebabs for you next time before he left?"
Tang Tang, "..."
Seeing that she had gone too far, Huang Xiaoli lowered her head and said to Tang Tang, "I came to school early this morning. Guess what I saw? Wang Lin's family came to the school to make a scene. A group of people were watching. Later, the school leaders came out and calmed things down. But I think this matter will still cause trouble."
"You didn't see the situation. Wang Lin's father was holding Wang Lin's memorial photo and standing at the school gate. The people behind him were holding up banners. I got goosebumps just looking at it. I felt so complicated. I don't know which emotion was stronger. It was just complicated. Tang Tang, you tell me,"
Huang Xiaoli pulled Tang Tang's arm and whispered, "At the beginning of this incident, I still felt very scared and desperate. I wanted to do something, but I couldn't do anything. Now I'm more used to it. But when I saw Wang Lin's family, I still felt very confused and helpless. I felt like I couldn't even protect myself. Tang Tang, you tell me. Can we, at such a young age..."
"No,"
Tang Tang turned to look at Xiaoli and hooked Xiaoli's little finger. "Just be honest these two days. Our school's security is quite good."
Huang Xiaoli nodded and went back to read her books obediently. But after class, she closely followed behind Tang Tang. Tang Tang helplessly pointed at the girls' restroom. "Do you want us to make do and use the same toilet cubicle?"
"..."
Huang Xiaoli glanced at Tang Tang and went out to wait for her. Tang Tang walked inside. Without Huang Xiaoli talking beside her, she suddenly heard the ticking sound of water in the restroom. She looked up and saw that the water pipe in the innermost toilet was indeed dripping water.
This water pipe had small problems every now and then, but sometimes just turning it a bit would fix it. Tang Tang didn't think much and walked over. She pulled the door, but it didn't open. Only then did Tang Tang look at the door lock. There was a thin red string hanging on the iron sheet blocking the door. Tang Tang's hand holding the red string paused. She looked down and her body suddenly froze.
Under the door crack, there was the edge of a red shoe, and blood was slowly flowing beside it.