After school in the evening, when Tang Tang slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and walked out with Huang Xiaoli and the others, Zuo Mu was already waiting at the school gate.
He usually liked to bicker with Tang Tang and never behaved properly. But today, he stood straight beside his car with good posture, looking quite handsome and distinguished.
Tang Tang blushed uncontrollably.
Her heart was pounding, but she still pretended to be calm as she walked up to Zuo Mu.
Seeing the girl acting so strangely, Zuo Mu was worried. "Did something happen at school today?"
Tang Tang was startled. Was Zuo Mu's observation really that sharp? She never expected Zuo Mu to misinterpret her expression.
Huang Xiaoli, the big - mouth beside them, had already told Zuo Mu everything she had seen and heard that day.
"Wang Lin's parents showed up?" Zuo Mu was a bit surprised. The case had made no progress for days, and today there was finally a bit of a breakthrough.
"What's the use of that?" Tang Tang's face fell. Thinking of Wang Lin's parents, she felt sympathetic. "We need to catch the murderer as soon as possible to give Wang Lin's parents an explanation."
Zuo Mu flicked the girl's smooth forehead and praised her. "Not bad. You've improved. It seems we can't take this matter lightly. I'll still pick you up from now on. We can't relax."
Huang Xiaoli nodded frantically, her eyes giving crazy hints. Having such a handsome guy as a personal escort was a real bargain.
Tang Tang understood immediately and instinctively wanted to refuse.
But then she thought better of it. After all, he meant well.
Moreover, why did she feel a little thrilled?
In the following days, as soon as Tang Tang left school, Zuo Mu would never leave her side. He followed her everywhere, afraid that something like harassment might happen again.
This made Tang Tang almost a celebrity in school.
The reason was simple. Zuo Mu was not an ordinary person. Imagine a handsome and tall man leaning against a powerful SUV at sunset. This scene fulfilled the dreams of many young girls.
Thanks to this, girls from other classes kept coming to inquire about Tang Tang.
They would meet her and ask enviously, "You're so lucky. Who's that handsome guy?"
Tang Tang really didn't want to admit that she was the same age and in the same school as these silly and infatuated junior - high school girls.
However, she still wanted to stay at school in peace.
So she faced every situation as it came.
She would tell anyone she didn't know, "He's my brother."
"Yes, not my real brother. A distant cousin."
"Yeah, he's already married. His wife is very beautiful."
Such conversations had happened several times.
Then Tang Tang would watch those girls leave sadly and disappointed.
She shook her head, finding it hard to understand.
Zuo Mu had no idea that he, a diamond bachelor, had been portrayed by Tang Tang as a married nag. He still did his duty and would rather get off work early every day to wait at the school gate.
Because of the big stir caused by Wang Lin's case, both the school, the parents, and the students were on edge. There were obviously many more parents coming to pick up their children in person.
An indescribable atmosphere of depression hung over the school, and everyone felt insecure.
Thankfully, since Wang Lin's parents came to make a scene and Tang Tang often walked with Zuo Mu, nothing bad had happened.
Sometimes Tang Tang even complained that Zuo Mu was being too cautious.
Zuo Mu just smiled faintly and didn't explain.
Soon, something happened that changed Tang Tang's mind.
After a few calm days, neither of them expected that something would happen to Huang Xiaoli.
On that day, both Zuo Mu and Tang Tang were on high alert. They were careful not to be followed when going in and out.
Zuo Mu had just taken out the eggplant and green bean dish that Tang Tang had been craving for a long time from the kitchen when Tang Tang's phone suddenly beeped with a new message.
Tang Tang glanced at the sender. It was Huang Xiaoli.
As she opened the message, she complained to Zuo Mu, "I wonder if Huang Xiaoli is too idle to send me a message."
But after reading the message, her hand trembled, and she almost dropped her phone.
Zuo Mu sensed something was wrong and caught the phone in time. He read the message carefully.
"I received a text from her, Tang Tang. How could this be? I'm so scared. Can you come over?"
It was obvious who "her" was.
Apart from the missing Wang Lin, whose message could scare Huang Xiaoli so much?
The two looked at each other, and they both saw the gravity of the situation in each other's eyes.
No wonder Huang Xiaoli was scared. Her parents were working overtime tonight, and she was alone at home. Receiving such a text would make anyone break down.
The message was sent half an hour ago.
"Tang Tang, keep the line open. This message might be sent by the murderer," Zuo Mu said.
Huang Xiaoli's panicked voice came from the phone.
"What should I do?"
"Huang Xiaoli, can you hear me? Remember, stay where you are and don't move!" Tang Tang also got nervous.
"I'm so scared."
"Don't worry. Next, I'll ask you a few questions. Zuo Mu and I will come right away. Can you hold on for a while?" Tang Tang's voice softened considerably.
"Come quickly, Tang Tang. I'm so scared." Huang Xiaoli's voice on the other end was on the verge of tears.
"What were you doing when you received the message?" Tang Tang was a bit puzzled. Looking at the food on the table, she had no appetite. For some reason, Tang Tang instinctively thought this might be a breakthrough in the case. She was a bit excited and a bit scared.
No matter how brave and smart she was, she was just a high - school student.
"I was just playing games on the sofa," Huang Xiaoli said, wrapped in a blanket but still feeling extremely cold.
It seemed that the sender had randomly chosen a time to send the message. Thinking deeper, the sender might know that Huang Xiaoli's parents were not at home today and deliberately chose this day to scare her.
Tang Tang prayed that this was just a coincidence. Otherwise, not only she and Zuo Mu but also Huang Xiaoli would be in danger.
"Tang Tang, do you think this message is useful?" After a while, Huang Xiaoli finally stopped shaking and asked carefully.
Tang Tang looked confident. "I'm not sure how useful it is, but don't worry. This message might be a breakthrough."
She was still soothing Huang Xiaoli gently.
Zuo Mu beside her noticed that Tang Tang's face had changed. Just a moment ago, she was happily discussing what to eat.
Now she didn't even touch the food, as if there was something more important on the phone.
He tried to eavesdrop on their conversation but couldn't hear clearly.
Hearing Huang Xiaoli say this, Tang Tang was a bit confused. "It's just a text. You don't even know what the sender means. What if it's just a prank? Why scare yourself?"
Zuo Mu pieced things together. The message...
He had an impression of the girl talking to Tang Tang. She was very gorgeous and delicate, but as soon as she opened her mouth, it was obvious that this beauty was a bit of a ditz.
Yet Tang Tang liked to be friends with such a girl.
Was there any connection between the message and this girl? He started to suspect a conspiracy.
So, the two girls, Huang Xiaoli and Tang Tang, relied on the phone to give each other a sense of security.
Feeling Huang Xiaoli's uneasiness, Tang Tang's eyes lingered on Zuo Mu.
She began to think that if Zuo Mu wasn't here with her, Huang Xiaoli's experience might just happen to her.