Chapter 8

The little friend who said her eyes were going to close was immediately attracted by a small train running on the ground as soon as they entered the mall. She insisted on pulling Zhong Jin to ride it for two laps. She wanted to sit in the front, gripping the steering wheel with both hands, reminding her dad behind her, “We’re turning now; please hold on.”

Zhong Jin squeezed his long legs, which had nowhere to go, into the colorful cartoon train. As the only male in the train, and with his good looks, his presence was quite strong. He had to use a not-so-happy expression to cover up his embarrassment.

Finally, after the little train ride ended, Tongtong stuffed a small item into Zhong Jin’s hand, “Help me hang this up.”

In Zhong Jin’s palm was a small keychain from the McDonald's children’s meal. Seeing a big sister with a toy hanging from her bag, Tongtong wanted to hang her new toy on her bag too.

She was also carrying a knitted bag that Rao Shishi had given her as a yogurt promotion gift. The knitted bag was easily deformed and had already been stretched out of shape.

Zhong Jin’s gaze lingered on the words “berry yogurt” for a moment. Instead of hanging the keychain, he picked up the child and walked into a nearby bag store.

The staff warmly welcomed them, complimenting the little girl on her beauty, and regretfully stated, “Sir, we don’t have bags for such small children, sorry.”

Zhong Jin carried Zhong Yuntong out of the bag store and looked around at the entrance before turning back, “Excuse me, where can I find a bag for her?”

Following the staff’s directions, they found a large children’s clothing store that had clothes, shoes, and bags for kids. Zhong Jin let out a big sigh of relief; he wouldn’t have to wander around anymore since he could get everything in one stop.

The staff led them to the bag section and brought out several cute bags for Zhong Jin to choose from. Since the bags all looked similar, he let Zhong Yuntong pick one she liked.

Zhong Yuntong pointed to a backpack hanging on the wall, “That’s Peppa Pig; I want that one.” She had been watching cartoons on the tablet at the police station and recognized Peppa Pig.

Zhong Jin looked at the pink pig backpack and couldn’t see what was cute about it. It would be cumbersome to carry because Peppa was three-dimensional and stuffed with cotton, making it a bulky lump.

While he questioned the child’s taste, Zhong Yuntong had already put on the pink Peppa backpack with the help of the staff. When Zhong Jin looked again, he thought it was acceptable. The not-so-cute backpack looked adorable on the cute little girl.

Zhong Yuntong remembered the keychain and ran over, swaying with her small backpack, asking Zhong Jin to help her hang it up.

After a while, Zhong Yuntong rushed back, flustered, as if she had discovered something significant, “Come quick! I found something!”

Zhong Jin was pulled by her through the aisles until she brought him to the shoe section, pointing at a pair of shoes on the shelf, “Look, its parents are here!”

In front of them was a wall of slippers, with many normal-sized crocs hanging on it. Zhong Yuntong thought she had found the parents of her croc keychain, making her particularly excited.

Zhong Jin played along, “Should we bring its parents home too?”

“Okay, okay! And those over there are her brothers and sisters; let’s bring them all home!”

Zhong Jin replied, “...... We can only take one.”

Zhong Yuntong blinked her big eyes, “Oh.” She looked a bit disappointed.

Zhong Jin said, “...... At most two.”

After wandering around the children’s clothing store for a while, Zhong Yuntong’s energy was finally running low, and she began to doze off while hanging onto Zhong Jin. Following the staff’s recommendation, Zhong Jin casually bought a few sets of clothes, dragging the child with one hand while carrying several shopping bags with the other as they exited the mall.

As soon as they returned to the hotel, Zhong Jin’s phone rang. He answered the call and spoke a few words before glancing at Zhong Yuntong, who was lying on the bed with her back to him, and said into the phone, “Could you come up for a moment?”

After about ten minutes, there was a knock at the door, and Zhong Jin walked over to open it.

Standing outside was a young woman in her twenties, dressed simply in a T-shirt and jeans, with a tall figure and bright eyes, looking particularly spirited.

When the woman saw Zhong Jin, she smiled and called out, “Director Zhong.” When Zhong Jin was in Beijing City, he served as the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team at the Municipal Public Security Bureau, so people in Beijing still habitually referred to him as “Director Zhong.”

“Doctor Du, long time no see.”

Zhong Jin turned and walked into the room, retrieving two toothbrushes from the evidence bag in his suitcase. He walked back to the door and handed them to her, “About what we discussed on the phone, could you expedite the DNA testing for these two samples?”

“Sure, I’ll send it to you by noon tomorrow.” Du Xin knew Zhong Jin’s profession was special and didn’t ask further questions.

“Send me the testing fees, and I’ll transfer it to you via my phone.”

Du Xin smiled again, “Okay, why didn’t you ask my master? Your samples used to be tested by him.”

“This time it’s a personal matter, so I won’t involve the evidence center. Thank you for your help.” Zhong Jin expressed his gratitude once more.

“What’s the trouble? I’m just doing my job for the money,” Du Xin said, shaking the evidence bag in her hand. “Director Zhong, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

“Alright, goodbye.”

**

In the morning, Zhong Jin was awakened by a relentless ringing sound. He pushed aside Zhong Yuntong, who was sleeping like a little pig on his chest, and reached for his phone on the bedside table. After glancing at the caller ID, he answered the call.

“Yu Feiyang.”

On the other end, he could hear heavy breathing and the sound of footsteps, indicating that the caller was likely running. “Why didn’t you contact me when you returned to Beijing City?”

Zhong Jin closed his eyes and let out a light yawn, “Mm.”

“How long are you staying this time?”

“Two days; I’ll leave before Monday.”

“Let’s meet up before you go. Don’t be inconsiderate, Zhong Jin. Where are you? I’ll come find you.”

Zhong Jin sat up in bed, slipped on his slippers, and walked into the bathroom. “Didn’t Du Xin tell you where I’m staying?”

“No, she knows the rules. She only told me you were back, nothing else.”

Zhong Jin squeezed toothpaste with one hand, “Alright, I’ll send you the address.”

Yu Feiyang was Zhong Jin’s childhood friend. They attended elementary and middle school together, then both got into the Public Security University. Zhong Jin studied investigation while Yu Feiyang specialized in forensic medicine. After graduation, they both joined the municipal bureau. Their interests aligned, and their life paths were almost identical.

Later, whenever there was a case involving forensic identification, it was always Yu Feiyang who handled it. The Du Xin who came to pick up the toothbrush last night was Yu Feiyang’s apprentice; he had mentored her during her internship. However, Du Xin hadn’t yet passed the exam to enter the evidence identification center and was currently working as a forensic doctor at a high-end private hospital.

When Yu Feiyang arrived at the hotel, Zhong Yuntong was already awake, brushing her teeth with hair that looked like it had been struck by lightning.

She stood on a chair, facing the mirror, with a toothbrush flailing around in her mouth. Zhong Jin stood at the bathroom door, guiding her, “Brush up and down in parallel.”

With toothpaste foam in her mouth, she mumbled, “What does parallel mean?”

Yu Feiyang frowned as he watched for a while, feeling anxious. He stepped into the bathroom, took the toothbrush, and helped Zhong Yuntong brush her teeth.

After brushing, Yu Feiyang pinched the child’s chin, “Open your mouth; let Uncle take a look at your teeth.”

Zhong Yuntong obediently opened her mouth wide, “Ah.”

Yu Feiyang examined her closely, “Hmm, based on the development of the central incisors, lateral incisors, canines, and first and second molars, I estimate her age to be between 3 and 4 years.”

Zhong Jin was tidying up the bed and casually tossed a pillow at Yu Feiyang, hitting him in the face, “Get lost.”

Due to the nature of their profession, he knew that some case information was confidential. Zhong Jin didn’t mention the unfamiliar child beside him, and Yu Feiyang didn’t ask a word. It felt like a normal reunion between old friends as Yu Feiyang drove Zhong Jin and Zhong Yuntong through familiar streets to a noodle shop they used to frequent.

The noodle shop was small, located deep in an old alley, and was hard to find for anyone who wasn’t a local.

Zhong Jin and Yu Feiyang chatted about various topics while Zhong Yuntong struggled with a bowl of noodles that was almost as big as her head. The bowl was too large to manage, and the noodles were particularly long. After finally lifting a long noodle, she opened her mouth to bite it in the middle, but before she could taste it, the slippery hand-pulled noodle slipped right out of her mouth.

Yu Feiyang glanced over and said, “You should eat from the end, not the middle. If you eat from the end, you’ll be able to get it.”

After saying that, he turned to Zhong Jin and asked, “Do you remember Qiu Rong from high school? The one who was really good at sports? She committed suicide last month over a relationship; she jumped into a lake, and I did the identification.”

Zhong Jin was stunned for a long while. He remembered Qiu Rong; she had a good relationship with his ex-wife, Qiu Sheng, and the two girls often went to the bathroom together. Zhong Jin had expressed confusion about girls going to the bathroom together back then — how awkward!

“Life is unpredictable. Who would have thought that at our age, nearing thirty, a classmate would still commit suicide over love?” Yu Feiyang sighed, glancing at Zhong Yuntong, his voice suddenly rising, “Hey, you little rascal, what are you doing?”

Zhong Yuntong was trying to place two noodles on her head, and the greasy meat sauce was smeared all over her face.

“Zhong Yuntong, what are you doing?” Zhong Jin grabbed a napkin to wipe the noodles off her head, his tone a bit stern.

Zhong Yuntong blinked her eyes, firmly pointing at Yu Feiyang, and loudly complained, “He told me to eat from my head!”

Yu Feiyang, “......”

Zhong Jin, “......”

Zhong Yuntong, confused, patted her own head, “Hey, how am I supposed to eat?”

Zhong Jin received a message from Du Xin, which was an electronic version of the identification report. He opened the image and scrolled to the end to see the results. The results were as expected. He transferred the testing fee to Du Xin and closed his phone.

After finishing the noodles, Zhong Jin asked Yu Feiyang, “Do you have work today?”

“No, it’s the weekend; it’s rare to have a day off.”

“Alright, then can you watch her for a bit? I need to run some errands.” Zhong Jin picked up Zhong Yuntong and handed her to Yu Feiyang.

Yu Feiyang looked at Zhong Yuntong and called out to Zhong Jin, “Where are you going? I’ll take you.”

Zhong Jin waved his hand at him and raised his hand to hail a taxi. Before getting in, he told Yu Feiyang, “Take her to get her hair washed.”

Yu Feiyang weighed the chubby child in his arms, “Alright, then I’ll take you to get a haircut.”