Su Erbao wanted to eat braised pork, so she needed to hurry over, worried that it might be sold out, especially since it was already this late.
Su Erbao secretly glanced at the man sitting across from her. He was about 1.8 meters tall, with a clean, neat buzz cut, thick eyebrows, and big eyes—handsome and upright, exactly the kind of appearance most admired in this era.
He wore a dark blue cotton-padded jacket, with a tear near the right elbow revealing a thin layer of cotton inside.
Shen Jinsong was devouring the bowl of plain noodles in front of him. He had just finished handling a burglary case where the criminal, armed with a knife, had slashed his newly made jacket. He was in a particularly foul mood.
This was all because the deputy bureau chief insisted on introducing his niece to him. Shen Jinsong worried that if he refused or didn’t take it seriously, he might face repercussions later, which was why he wore this jacket.
As it turned out, he really wasn’t interested in the girl. Not wanting to speak ill of her, he made an excuse to return to the bureau. Upon hearing about a case, he volunteered to apprehend the criminal, fearing the deputy bureau chief would corner him with questions.
Now, the criminal was caught, but his new jacket was slashed to pieces. His mother had sent it to him just half a month ago, and he had been reluctant to wear it until now.
Sensing someone staring at him, Shen Jinsong looked up and saw a little girl with two small buns tied on her head.
The girl wore a faded red cotton-padded jacket on her upper body, with red plaid fabric patched at the hem and cuffs, likely because the original fabric had become too short.
Her small, oval-shaped face was no larger than his palm, with slightly upturned eyes that were pitch-black, fixed intently on his bowl.
Shen Jinsong thought, How could her family dare to leave such a pretty child alone here? Aren’t they afraid she might encounter a kidnapper?
Then it occurred to him that perhaps they sensed the aura of righteousness about him and felt safe leaving the child near him.
Looking down, he saw that he had already slurped up all the noodles in his bowl. Shen Jinsong rummaged through his pockets, pulled out a piece of chocolate, placed it on the table, and slowly pushed it toward the little girl.
Su Erbao tilted her head in confusion. What does this man want?
Seeing the girl’s puzzled expression, Shen Jinsong cleared his throat and spoke in a deliberately soft voice, “Little friend, how about Uncle treats you to some candy?”
Su Erbao stared at this man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, who suddenly spoke in such a voice, and immediately felt goosebumps all over.
She glanced at the chocolate in front of her. If he were a kidnapper, he probably wouldn’t offer such expensive candy. So, if he’s not a kidnapper, why would he give me candy out of the blue?
“Uncle, your voice sounds really strange. Did you get cotton in your throat?” Su Erbao said, pointing a short finger at Shen Jinsong’s arm.
Shen Jinsong was taken aback by her words. Such a pretty little girl, yet her words sting like needles.
He grinned and returned to his normal voice, “Uncle was just teasing you, haha.”
Su Erbao stared at him with dead-fish eyes. “Uncle, do you think that’s funny?”
Shen Jinsong: …
Just as he was awkwardly unsure of what to do, Wang Lihua returned with Su Dabao.
The mother and daughter were holding a bowl of plain noodles together, while Wang Lihua also carried a bowl of braised pork, with two white steamed buns placed on top.
Wang Lihua set down her bowl and smiled at Shen Jinsong, having noticed earlier that he was speaking with Su Erbao.
Shen Jinsong stared blankly at Wang Lihua. Though she wore patched clothing, her appearance was gentle and elegant, exuding a soft, intellectual aura. Especially when she lowered her head to speak with Su Erbao, she radiated a maternal glow.
After watching for a while, Shen Jinsong suddenly felt a sharp gaze upon him. Turning, he saw it was the young girl accompanying Wang Lihua.
The girl looked about twelve or thirteen, with two braided pigtails, appearing innocent and naive. Yet her eyes were like daggers, piercing straight through him.
Shen Jinsong realized he had been impolite and quickly stood up, moving away from his seat.
The mother and her two daughters thought he was leaving, but instead, he went to the counter, brought back a bowl of plain noodles, and sat down again.
Su Erbao, fed a piece of braised pork by Wang Lihua, looked at Shen Jinsong’s noodle bowl and couldn’t help remarking, “Uncle, you really can eat.”
The comment made Shen Jinsong flush bright red.
Wang Lihua’s chopsticks trembled in her hand. She lightly patted Su Erbao’s back and scolded, “What nonsense are you saying, child? Don’t be rude!”
After reprimanding her daughter, she quickly softened her tone to apologize to Shen Jinsong. “I’m sorry, comrade. My daughter is young and doesn’t know any better. Please don’t take it to heart.”
Shen Jinsong’s face turned crimson. He didn’t know whether to eat the noodles or not.
Seeing Wang Lihua apologize, he hurriedly shook his head.
Su Erbao almost laughed aloud at his flustered expression.
If someone dared to tease her, she wouldn’t take it lying down.
Having been reborn, she refused to live as meekly as in her past life. She would be petty and vengeful.
Yet, for some reason, the man looked familiar to her—that was why she had been staring earlier.
After swallowing the braised pork, she suddenly remembered who he was.
Wasn’t this Officer Shen Jinsong, the man who had shaken up the entire county in her previous life?
Her older sister had once shown her a newspaper article about this Officer Shen.
It seemed he had uncovered corruption and bribery involving a factory leader, which led to a hired killer taking his life. He died at just 35, unmarried and childless.
Officer Shen came from a military compound in Jingshi, and his grandfather was said to be a figure of considerable influence. As the family’s only heir, his murder while working here nearly caused the old man to follow him in grief.
The incident provoked outrage in Jingshi, prompting a special investigator to be sent down. Many officials were dismissed.
Calculating the time, Shen Jinsong’s murder should occur about three years from now.
Lost in her thoughts, a chopstickful of noodles was suddenly pushed into her mouth.
Su Erbao snapped back to reality. Looking at Shen Jinsong, then at Wang Lihua, an idea suddenly sprouted in her mind.
However, they had just broken away from the Su family, so it wasn’t the right time to bring it up.
Mainly, she was afraid her mother might scold her for mentioning it.
Some things couldn’t be said directly by a daughter; they had to be hinted at subtly.
But it wasn’t a big problem. They would surely visit the county often from now on, so there would be plenty of opportunities.
After leaving the state-run restaurant, Wang Lihua was about to take her two daughters to the bus station when someone hurried after them—Shen Jinsong, who had shared their table earlier.
“Comrade, wait!”
The three of them turned around in unison. Seeing their faces, Shen Jinsong felt his breath catch.
He was, in fact, somewhat particular about appearances—otherwise, he wouldn’t have turned down the deputy director’s niece.
Just now, he had overheard them saying they were heading to the station. This woman was traveling alone with her two daughters—what if they ran into child traffickers?