"Didn’t you hear knock? Stop playing chess and co eat."
Zhou Ning raised his hand and ssed up the pieces on the chessboard.
"I lost. Mr. Xia, your chess skills are unparalleled; I’m no match for you."
Xia Shouchang was taken aback for a mont, then threw back his head and laughed, with Xia Momo joining in the laughter. Zhou Ning watched their smiles and for a mont didn’t know what to do; his mind was filled with question marks.
Xia Shouchang waved his hand.
"Alright, no more playing, let’s go have dinner."
Xia Shouchang walked ahead, and Zhou Ning leaned in close to Xia Momo, speaking in a low voice:
"What’s going on? Why are you both laughing like that? Did I do sothing inappropriate?"
Xia Momo shook her head and, taking Zhou Ning’s arm in an unexpected gesture, caused him to stiffen up.
"I didn’t expect you to use that tactic. It’s just like what my dad did when he first went to my grandfather’s house. He admitted defeat gracefully when he couldn’t win, but then he directly ruined the board. At that ti, my grandfather was close to exploding with anger. Every year at dinner, he would bring it up again, truly a lifeti mory!"
Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief. Though his action was accidental, he was pleased it was approved.
Everyone took their seats, and since Zhou Ning had driven, he didn’t drink. Mrs. Xia filled his plate with all sorts of food, loading it up wherever he took an extra bite, resulting in Zhou Ning overeating.
The al ended happily.
Xia Momo pulled Zhou Ning away. Watching the car drive off, the couple standing by the entrance couldn’t hide their smiles. Mrs. Xia let out a long sigh.
"You know, our Momo has good taste. This Zhou Ning is really handso, puts those little fresh ats on TV to sha, frankly. Not sure about his work capabilities, but considering he’s pursuing his Ph.D. with Professor Li Chengbin and was personally selected by him, he can’t be bad."
Xia Shouchang smiled contentedly.
"I’ve asked Mr. Hu; Zhou Ning’s work abilities are excellent. He’s played a pivotal role in solving major cases in the city this past year, and the team he leads is impressive.
Not to ntion, his collaboration with Qin University was unexpected, and now their R and D center has been transford, thanks to him. It’s just that there’s no information or records available to investigate his parents’ situation."
Mrs. Xia was unconcerned.
"Momo told that his parents used to work in a confidential departnt. But the poor kid grew up without the company of his parents. Once they are together in the future, don’t give him the cold shoulder. He lacked his parents’ love, but he has us now, doesn’t he?"
For once, Xia Shouchang did not oppose and nodded in agreent.
"This young man has achieved what he has today through his own abilities, which is not easy. He’s also an upright person, much better than those useless or money-hungry rascals. Momo’s made a good choice."
Mrs. Xia tilted her chin up proudly.
"It runs in the family; can’t help having good judgnt."
Xia Shouchang laughed, patted Mrs. Xia’s hand, and turned to head ho. Just then, a middle-aged woman passed by and quickly greeted Mr. and Mrs. Xia.
"My oh my, Mr. Xia! Hosting relatives are we?"
Xia Shouchang smiled distantly and nodded.
"My daughter’s brought her future son-in-law over. They’re quite formal with their visits, making us feel a bit embarrassed."
The person was sowhat surprised.
"Momo has a boyfriend? What does he do? A big boss?"
Mrs. Xia moved closer, linking arms with Xia Shouchang to put so distance between them and the other person, saying with pride:
"My son-in-law is not so big boss. He’s a Ph.D. candidate, works at the Public Security Bureau’s technical division, and has a project in collaboration with Qin University. They set up a research and developnt center just for him. There’s so connection to our family’s old Xia. We’re heading ho now. We’ll have you over another day."
...
October 8, 2012
The first day back at work after the holiday, Zhou Ning was just dropping off Xia Momo at the technical division building when he saw Liu Yufei hurriedly running inside. The pace stopped Zhou Ning in his tracks.
Sothing’s up!
After quickly parking the car, both of them got out as Zhou Ning called Liu Yufei.
"Mrs. Fei, are you looking for ? I just saw you rushing upstairs; is there a case?"
"Director Zhou, perfect timing. I’m in your office now. I’m here for a personal matter. I need your team’s help. I have a cousin who lives in Yingtaogou Village over in Beizhai. They found out at dawn that the child is missing. People from the Tongshan Sub-bureau have already been there but haven’t found any clues. They’ve co seeking help from . I’ve applied for a police dog, but we also need technical assistance to search."
Xia Momo, upon hearing the news, quickly dialed Mr. Qu’s number and motioned to Zhou Ning, indicating that Mr. Qu should follow them downstairs.
"Okay, let our team co down too, and follow them to take a look. I’ll have Mr. Qu co along, as he can search the surveillance footage faster."
"Okay."
After hanging up the phone, it wasn’t long before a series of footsteps could be heard. Mr. Zhao and the others, carrying boxes, had already followed Liu Yufei and run downstairs.
Without any further discussion, they all got into the Iveco. Zhou Ning stopped Xia Momo from joining them.
"You don’t need to co along. We have visitors coming to the orchard today, and it’s not okay to leave without anyone here. You help by accompanying Zhu Zuozhang and the others, and give everyone a demonstration."
Xia Momo halted her movents, helped close the car door, and mid a phone gesture to Zhou Ning. Mr. Zhao quickly activated the police siren and zood off.
Zhou Ning’s gaze lingered on Xia Momo and he didn’t sit back properly until he could no longer see her.
Mr. Zhao clicked his tongue and remarked:
"The sour stench of love is getting to ."
Looking through the rearview mirror, Zhou Ning gave him a cold glance, and Mr. Zhao quickly shut up.
"Mrs. Fei, tell us what’s going on, what you need us to do. We don’t want to waste any ti, do we?"
Mr. Qu had already prepared his computer, ready to step in at any mont.
Liu Yufei took a deep breath and quickly started explaining:
"My cousin is called Chen Xiaoguang, 34 years old this year, a very kind and honest person. Just because he’s too naive and honest, his ex-wife ran off with soone else, leaving behind a one-year-old boy. Three years ago, he married again, a woman from a neighboring village who was also divorced with a boy and the sa age as my cousin.
I visit my aunt’s place every year and have t them once—things seed fine among them. My cousin used to work in another province, but four years ago, with so money pooled by the family, he took over a fruit orchard, especially since that’s harvest ti, and they live right there in the orchard.
This morning, a little after five, my cousin went ho and thought to drive the two kids to school since it was the first day back. But when he got ho, he found his son’s room empty—Chen Xiangyu was gone.
He imdiately searched the bathroom and the yard. The doors were all closed; there was no sign of the child. The school bag and uniform were still on the chair, so he imdiately woke up my aunt and his wife. Everybody was baffled, saying they turned off the lights and went to bed around eight o’clock last night."
Upon hearing this, my cousin panicked, quickly called the police, and the Beizhai Police Station responded fast. They conducted an investigation, but there were no leads. At seven-thirty, he called to say they had looked everywhere nearby, but the child was still missing. I have a feeling this matter isn’t that simple, which is why I wanted to bring you guys over."
Everyone at ho was asleep by eight-thirty last night, and according to Liu Yufei’s account, Chen Xiangyu is an eight-year-old boy. Yingtaogou Village remains a remote place, and although there are many fruit trees planted on the hillside, wild animals are still present. It’s unlikely that a child would wander off by themselves.
If Liu Yufei has suspicions, there must be so basis. Otherwise, their involvent in the search wouldn’t be significant.
After a mont of silence, Liu Yufei continued:
"In June, I visited my aunt’s place. At that ti, her health wasn’t great. Ever since my uncle passed away, she’s been struggling, and recently her blood pressure has been worryingly high. Managing two kids, especially the mischievous one, was becoming too much for her.
Moreover, she was alone at ho, with her daughter-in-law working at a hotel in Yangkou, unable to handle the stress. So, she wanted to discuss with her daughter-in-law the possibility of sending her son, Yu Liang, to live with his grandma, with the fees and living expenses to be provided by them. Once she felt better, she would bring him back."
When I visited, it was the weekend, and I didn’t see either of the kids. My aunt told that Yu Liang had been sent to his grandma’s at the end of May. Although Chen Xiangyu wasn’t much of a burden on Zhu Weihua, Zhu Weihua’s expression wasn’t exactly pleasant, especially when my cousin returned. He always seed to find an excuse to lose his temper.
My aunt’s mood was constantly down, which didn’t help her blood pressure. She fluctuated a lot. Afterward, when we talked over the phone, she didn’t ntion anything else, and I didn’t know if it was because soone was nearby and it was inconvenient to talk, or if their relationship had improved recently.
After all, in our line of work, we see a lot, and if a stepmother happens to be unhappy..."
Liu Yufei didn’t finish her sentence. It wasn’t that she was biased against stepmothers, but a woman with her own child might subconsciously favor her own offspring. It’s only human nature, not an indication of a poor character. However, there are still many such cases.
Since Liu Yufei had shared these concerns, her impression of Zhu Weihua was evidently not good. It was unclear whether this was due to subjective feelings or objective problems, as family ties can sotis make it hard to evaluate situations impartially.
Mr. Zhao gave Liu Yufei a look, trying to console her:
"Don’t be so pessimistic. After all, it’s our job to always consider the worst-case scenario, but things might not be as complicated as they seem. It’s possible the kid just got carried away with holiday fun, doesn’t feel like going to school today, and hid sowhere. Let’s face it—it’s not just kids; none of us like getting up early for work, right?"
Mr. Zhao’s words seed to calm Liu Yufei a bit. Before she could fully relax, Sun Gaotie, clutching the back of his seat, suddenly stood up. He noticed another police car driving alongside them, a different kind, with a cage-like barrier in the back.
"What’s that?"
Liu Yufei glanced over.
"We’ve asked the K-9 unit to co and lend a hand. They’re needed for the search."
Sun Gaotie looked puzzled, removed his earphones—apparently, he had been listening to music and hadn’t paid attention to the previous conversation—and asked in confusion:
"What’s wrong? The kid got into trouble?"
Before he even finished his sentence, the back of Sun Gaotie’s head suffered a swift smack.
"Slap!"
"Ow!"
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