"Why, why?" Tang Tang was too shocked. She followed Zuo Mu step by step, panic rising in her heart.
After Zuo Mu washed his hands, he walked into the kitchen. The layout here was an open - style kitchen, so sometimes when they wanted to save trouble, they just ate on the countertop.
Tang Tang sat down beside him and started to put some cooked spaghetti on two plates for them respectively.
The classic tomato meat sauce was spread on the soft noodles. The aroma wafted into Tang Tang's nose, and her saliva began to secrete involuntarily. She remembered the first time she ate the spaghetti made by Zuo Mu. That night, she almost had indigestion because under Zuo Mu's magical hands, it tasted even better than that in outside restaurants.
Just thinking about it made her mouth water.
Zuo Mu twirled the noodles but had no appetite to eat.
Tang Tang was already slurping her food like a little pig. After all, one needed a full stomach to worry about other things.
"Slow down." Zuo Mu watched the girl eating happily, still looking gentle. He couldn't help smiling, and the disgust he had felt earlier was slightly alleviated.
Tang Tang was enjoying her meal. When she looked up casually, she saw Zuo Mu twirling the noodles with no sign of appetite. She was a bit worried. "Brother Zuo Mu, you should eat a little. You've been really tired today."
"Okay." Zuo Mu reluctantly agreed, but just thinking about the clues he had found made him feel uneasy.
Tang Tang quickly finished the noodles on her plate and was very satisfied.
She threw the bowl into the dishwasher and made some herbal tea for Zuo Mu. The fragrant herbs slowly unfurled in the hot water, like a gently dancing woman, charming and lovely.
Zuo Mu smelled the fragrance of the herbs, and his irritation was suppressed a bit.
"Tell me what's on your mind, brother. Don't keep everything to yourself. We can figure it out together if you talk about it." Tang Tang tried to persuade him, feeling even more nervous.
Zuo Mu was a bit tempted by her words. He was just about to tell her everything, but looking into Tang Tang's bright and innocent eyes, he hesitated.
Would the things he told her be a blessing or a curse for Tang Tang?
What if he put Tang Tang in danger?
Just thinking about this possibility, Zuo Mu immediately stopped his desire to confide.
"Are you worried about me?" Tang Tang was a smart girl. From Zuo Mu's reaction, she could easily guess what he was thinking. She couldn't help saying.
His thought was exposed, but Zuo Mu was calm. He simply admitted, "Yes. Your safety is more important than anything to me."
These words...
Tang Tang felt delighted.
"Otherwise, how can I explain it to Uncle Tang when he comes back?" Zuo Mu continued.
"Click!"
That was the sound of Tang Tang's heart breaking.
After Zuo Mu finished speaking, he waited to see Tang Tang's reaction. Unexpectedly, the girl's face was blushing, and her eyes were watery, looking on the verge of tears.
Zuo Mu couldn't stand girls acting like this, especially Tang Tang. He didn't know that Tang Tang was actually angry. When she got excited, her eyes would fill with tears, and others always thought she was about to cry, but actually she wasn't.
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. But you promise me that you mustn't tell anyone else." Under the "attack" of Tang Tang's "tears" (?), Zuo Mu surrendered.
Huh?
Tang Tang achieved her goal unexpectedly. She originally intended to have a good debate, but Zuo Mu changed his mind without her doing anything?
Thus, a beautiful misunderstanding occurred.
However, neither of them realized that they were not on the same page.
"It's like this." Zuo Mu looked at the cold spaghetti and had no desire to eat it at all. He picked up the herbal tea and took a sip. The fruity and herbal fragrance lingered on his lips and teeth, and his mood finally relaxed a bit.
"Before, when I heard you say the numbers, I always felt like I had heard them before. But at that time, I couldn't remember, so I didn't take it seriously." Zuo Mu recalled the beginning and smiled bitterly.
Tang Tang looked confused. Was there something else strange about this matter?
Zuo Mu glanced at Tang Tang and continued, "Maybe you didn't pay attention at that time, but you know me. I deal with people in the criminal investigation system a lot, so I know some things. Tang Tang?"
Suddenly being called, Tang Tang was startled. She said, "Go on, Brother Zuo Mu."
Zuo Mu seemed to be lost in memories. "At that time, maybe to avoid causing widespread panic, the way of spreading information was very limited. Do you remember the number case five months ago?"
The number case?
Tang Tang only knew about mathematics. As for the number case, she thought for a while in her mind and found that she had no impression of it at all.
"Maybe it was to protect you kids at that time, and your parents didn't tell you either." Zuo Mu recalled everything at that time and continued to tell Tang Tang, "But I remember that during that period, there was a very cruel serial killer. His modus operandi was very unique. He would send number notes to the victims in advance, the Arabic numbers one, two, three, and four. Once the victims had all four numbers, the killer would start killing. There were too many doubts in this case, and it still hasn't been solved."
What??
Tang Tang felt her scalp tingle. Before Zuo Mu explained it clearly, the most she could think of was extortion or bullying. When she saw the numbers at that time, Tang Tang even naively thought that there was bullying in the orphanage, and the ones who received the notes were probably the victims of bullying.
Who would have thought that there was a bloody truth behind the numbers.
Seeing that Tang Tang seemed a bit shocked, Zuo Mu asked tentatively, "Scared?"
Tang Tang let out a laugh. It was hard to tell if she was really amused or just trying to boost her courage.
Zuo Mu continued, "Because the case hasn't been solved, the police keep the details of this case very confidential and basically haven't said much to the media."
This sentence said a lot.
If the media didn't disclose any information, then how did the person behind the note - stuffing this time know about it?
Tang Tang and Zuo Mu glanced at each other and both knew the identity of this person.
If it wasn't the same killer as in the previous case, then this person was very close to the killer, so close that there were no secrets between them, or even an accomplice.
"The victims in the previous case were all adults, and there were no children. But this time, this heartless bastard!" As he was speaking, Zuo Mu punched the table hard.
Tang Tang's heart also trembled violently.
The earliest place where the notes were found this time was in the orphanage.
Thinking of the kids who had been playing happily before, Tang Tang's heart ached.
"Brother Zuo Mu, we must catch the killer before he strikes!" Just thinking that those lovely kids might become victims, Tang Tang wished she could catch the killer immediately.
So, did Zuo Mu mean that they should report this to the police quickly?
"Yes." As if reading Tang Tang's mind, Zuo Mu explained, "Things have reached this point. It's no longer just a conflict among the kids in the orphanage. If we don't let the police intervene, no one can guarantee what the consequences will be."
Understanding the meaning of these words, Tang Tang nodded firmly.
For the sake of those kids, they needed to speed up their actions.
Zuo Mu still hadn't eaten anything. He put the noodles into a storage box and refrigerated them temporarily. He casually threw the plate into the dishwasher. After starting the machine, he hid in his study again.
Tang Tang was worried that he hadn't eaten dinner, so she ran to the kitchen to make a bowl of fruit oatmeal and brought it into the study.