Tang Tang was almost moved to tears.
She knew she had come back late. Zuo Mu might have been waiting at home for a long time. She even thought she would take a taxi back later. Unexpectedly, Zuo Mu was still waiting for her at this hour.
This was something she hadn't expected.
Although it wasn't cold during the day and there were even signs of summer, the night breeze was cool and a bit chilly. Seeing the two girls shivering, Zuo Mu quickly opened the car door and said, "Get in quickly!"
It was obvious that he was going to take them home.
Huang Xiaoli, who was usually thick - skinned, was actually a bit shy, which was quite rare. She twisted her hands together uneasily and even her toes turned inwards as she said, "Why do we have to trouble Brother Zuo Mu again? I feel so embarrassed."
Tang Tang beside her almost choked.
What was she pretending for?
Zuo Mu was also taken aback by Huang Xiaoli's behavior and quickly said, "Being so polite is not your style. Hurry up and get in the car."
"Hehe," Huang Xiaoli giggled and said, "It's different now. Brother Zuo Mu, if you have a girlfriend, will you still take other people?"
"It has nothing to do with this, and..." Zuo Mu thought seriously before answering.
But he accidentally saw Tang Tang's expression as if she wanted to beat someone. After carefully recalling Huang Xiaoli's words, he himself felt a bit embarrassed.
Did Huang Xiaoli mean to imply that they were in a boyfriend - girlfriend relationship?
"What are you thinking? You're just kids. You're still so young and already thinking about boyfriends and girlfriends. Just focus on your studies first." Zuo Mu, who had gone through the cruel baptism of the college entrance examination, mercilessly mocked the two sophomore students.
Tang Tang's reaction was unknown, but Huang Xiaoli was instantly devastated by these words.
It seemed that the conversation couldn't go on happily today.
So Huang Xiaoli got into the back seat dejectedly.
Tang Tang followed her to the back seat to accompany her.
This made Zuo Mu laugh and cry. Had he become the exclusive driver for these two little girls?
Huang Xiaoli's home wasn't far from the school, so they arrived there in a short while.
This chatterbox was surprisingly quiet in the car today. Only when she got out of the car did she say in a low voice, "Thank you, Brother Zuo Mu."
Zuo Mu responded and watched Huang Xiaoli enter the residential area before they turned around and left.
However, Tang Tang returned to the familiar passenger seat.
As soon as she got in the car, Zuo Mu sighed, "What's wrong with Huang Xiaoli today? She's not like her usual self."
Well...
Tang Tang thought for a few seconds and replied, "We went to an orphanage today. Huang Xiaoli probably had some feelings, so that's why she reacted like that."
Zuo Mu fell silent. After all, everyone knew what an orphanage was like. It was understandable that Huang Xiaoli was shocked during her first visit.
After all, everyone was busy in the orphanage. No one would spoil you like your parents. You had to do everything by yourself.
Huang Xiaoli felt that these kids were bearing more than they should at their age, so she was sad.
"What about you, Tang Tang? What do you think of these kids?"
Zuo Mu suddenly turned the topic to Tang Tang.
Tang Tang was caught off guard by this sudden question, but after she reacted, she said self - deprecatingly, "What else? Growing up alone must have an impact on a child compared to growing up with parents."
This topic piqued Zuo Mu's great interest.
"You knew this at such a young age?"
"I'm young, but it doesn't mean I don't read books," Tang Tang protested seriously.
The car started with a roar and drove onto a smooth road.
However, halfway through the journey, Zuo Mu suddenly suggested, "It's getting late tonight. Is there anything you want to eat? Let's eat out."
This was a good idea.
Tang Tang was delighted. She took out her phone and marked the date.
Zuo Mu accommodated Tang Tang's taste and let her choose. In the end, Tang Tang still chose a Cantonese restaurant that Zuo Mu liked.
Looking at the name of the restaurant, Zuo Mu was sure he wasn't seeing things. He asked in surprise, "How do you know about this place?"
"You like Cantonese cuisine, so I just paid attention to it occasionally. I heard this place has a good reputation."
Zuo Mu was overjoyed.
It was past the dinner time, so there weren't many people in the restaurant.
The two simply ordered some classic dishes and waited for them to be served.
"Were you okay this afternoon?" Zuo Mu thoughtfully poured a cup of tea for Tang Tang.
Tang Tang took a sip, recalled the happy and brief time in the afternoon, and nodded.
Seeing her reaction, Zuo Mu felt relieved.
However, seeing a slight change in Tang Tang's expression, Zuo Mu continued to ask, "Is there something wrong?"
Tang Tang thought for a while and decided to tell him, "Brother Zuo Mu, do you know why someone would put a note in a classmate's schoolbag?"
Zuo Mu almost spat out the tea he had just taken a sip of.
A note?
His alarm bells immediately went off.
"Did you receive something?"
"Me?" Tang Tang was stunned. Then she quickly waved her hand and defended herself, "It's not me. Brother, what are you always thinking about? I just find this thing a bit strange."
Hearing that it wasn't for Tang Tang, Zuo Mu finally felt relieved.
It hadn't been long since Zhang Qi's incident.
He was still very nervous about it.
"Well, it's like this." So while the dishes were still being cooked in the kitchen, Tang Tang told Zuo Mu about the note found in the little kid's schoolbag.
Note, number, schoolbag...
These keywords were swirling in Zuo Mu's mind. He always felt that this matter was familiar, but when he searched his memory, he couldn't recall anything.
"What do you think of this?"
"Um..." Tang Tang originally wanted to ask Zuo Mu for his opinion. After all, Zuo Mu had a meticulous mind. Suddenly being asked this question herself, Tang Tang didn't know how to answer.
Remembering the testimonies of the teacher and the surrounding kids, Tang Tang tentatively speculated, "Could it be that someone is playing a prank? After all, they're just kids. It's not strange for them to play some little tricks."
Zuo Mu stared at the steam rising from the tea, swirling in the air and finally dissipating. He said, "It's not strange for kids to play pranks, but there's usually no such prank. Going to so much trouble just to stuff a note with a number on it?"
Thinking about the pranks boys had played around her since childhood, Tang Tang also nodded and said, "Indeed. I'm also suspicious about this."
As they were talking, their dishes were served one after another.
Since it was evening, they ordered relatively light dishes: a stir - fried green vegetable, some boiled shrimp, and a pig's foot soup, and that was it.
Tang Tang ate with relish.
Seeing Tang Tang eating, Zuo Mu even ate more himself.
"You'd better look into that matter. Maybe I'm just overthinking," Zuo Mu said. For some reason, perhaps due to his long - term sixth sense, he always felt a bit uneasy.