Though Fei Chaichai didn't want to admit it, that raven-with-a-branch pattern in her peripheral vision was far too distinctive—so distinctive that she'd only ever seen it on one person.
But she hadn't figured out how to face him yet.
The reason she'd managed to soothe herself that morning was entirely built on the premise that she would never see him again in this lifetime.
Now that the foundation had crumbled, her composure crumbled right along with it.
Besides, why was he still harping on about the tofu incident?
Fei Chaichai couldn't quite get over it and stole a glare at Li Yuyuan.
But that glare landed her right in the line of fire.
Outside the glass window, the sunset blazed brilliantly, yet it still couldn't compete with the fluorescent lights of the convenience store.
Li Yuyuan's features were steeped in that cold-toned light, his usual languor stripped away to reveal a cool detachment. He said nothing, just watching her through half-lidded eyes.
For a fleeting moment, Fei Chaichai felt as though she'd been transported back to that alley where they first met, tension and unease creeping over her.
She decided it was better not to play deaf anymore—she'd play dumb instead. "Huh? What soft tofu?"
Even light seemed to know how to avoid trouble. It fell into her eyes, warming them, illuminating the bewilderment within so convincingly it could pass for genuine.
The sleep crease on her cheek was also on full display.
Ridiculous as it looked, it lent her feigned ignorance a certain persuasiveness.
Li Yuyuan withdrew his gaze and let out a low, ambiguous chuckle from the corner of his mouth.
The next instant, Fei Chaichai felt her hands grow heavier.
That bottle of oolong tea had been tossed into her shopping basket.
Fei Chaichai froze.
Before she could react, Li Yuyuan had already grabbed a new bottle of sparkling water and walked past her, heading straight for the checkout counter.
The gust of air stirred up as he brushed past blew into Fei Chaichai's eyes.
She instinctively shut them, but her tangled mind suddenly sparked with a solution.
When she opened her eyes, she took three quick strides, beat Li Yuyuan to the counter, set her basket down, and said to the clerk: "Ring this up together with the person behind me."
With that, she grabbed a shopping bag and began packing her items while keeping her ears pricked for what was happening behind her.
Amid the beeping of the scanner, those footsteps never stopped—they only grew closer.
Soon, that bottle of sparkling water appeared in her pile of items to be paid for.
Fei Chaichai breathed a sigh of relief.
Then the man behind her set a pack of cigarettes on the counter in front of her.
"…"
Fei Chaichai extended her index finger and, with righteous indignation, pushed the cigarettes away, telling the clerk: "That one doesn't count."
The clerk paused his scanning and asked, "Brother Yuan, do you still want the cigarettes?"
"…"
How did these two know each other?!
Fei Chaichai was stunned.
Li Yuyuan, however, didn't even lift his eyes. He glanced sidelong at the hand that was about to crush a bag of potato chips, seemingly lost in thought, and answered casually: "The sugar mommy has the final say."
The "sugar mommy" was quite pleased with that answer.
She put down the chips and continued packing, but no matter how she searched, she couldn't find that all-important bottle of sparkling water. She spun around in a panic.
The kind clerk pointed her in the right direction.
She turned to look.
There was Li Yuyuan, holding the vanished bottle of sparkling water, already walking out of the convenience store.
"…Hey!"
Why did this man keep walking off like that?
Fei Chaichai fumbled to pay, grabbed her bag, and rushed out after him—only to stop short, her face full of surprise.
Why had Li Yuyuan walked through the gates of Xinghe Precinct?
Could it be that because he'd been so disrespectful to the police that day, he'd been called in for a talking-to?
Perfect—this was a good chance to strike up a conversation.
Fei Chaichai snapped back to her senses and hurried after him, tilting her head to probe: "Why are you here too? Did you do something wrong?"
Without even looking down, Li Yuyuan could see those amber eyes.
Because the little girl was craning her neck forward with great effort to peer at him, probably hoping to find some clue on his face.
That earnest effort softened the coldness in Li Yuyuan's eyes.
He said in a regretful tone: "Sorry to disappoint you."
Fei Chaichai: "?"
Li Yuyuan: "At present, I'm law-abiding, and I have no plans to commit any crimes in the near future either."
Fei Chaichai: "…"
It sounded like she was practically wishing he'd commit a crime.
Having her intentions so maliciously misconstrued made her eyes itch again.
She wanted to glare at him.
But another new acquaintance popped up just then, exclaiming with delight: "Classmate, we meet again so soon!"
It was Qin Ling.
Fei Chaichai quickly restored her smile.
Qin Ling had left a good impression on her earlier, so she was more than happy to greet him now.
That is—if his gaze weren't darting back and forth between her and Li Yuyuan.
"I'm here to pick up my uncle!" Fei Chaichai answered unprompted, nipping any unreasonable speculation in the bud.
Qin Ling caught on to Fei Chaichai's desire to keep her distance and said knowingly: "Don't worry, don't worry. I know you've got your heart set on someone else—I'd never lump you together with that bastard Li Yuyuan."
"…Hey, hey, don't talk about him like that!" Fei Chaichai was startled by Qin Ling's loyalty and waved her hands frantically to stop him.
She still hadn't settled her debt with Li Yuyuan from this morning—she couldn't afford to offend him further.
Qin Ling, unaware of the reason, took Fei Chaichai's reaction as simple kindness and obligingly switched topics: "Does your uncle work here?"
"—"
Fei Chaichai opened her mouth, but before she could answer, a familiar voice called out from afar: "Chaichai niece!"
Qin Ling followed the sound and spotted a little bean sprout still wearing a kindergarten uniform.
"…"
This little uncle really lived up to the "little" in his title.
Seeing this, Fei Chaichai had no time for small talk. After a hasty goodbye to Qin Ling, she hurried up the steps two at a time.
Qin Ling hadn't gotten his fill of conversation and felt a bit put out. He naturally reached for the bottle of sparkling water.
But before his hand even touched the bottle, he heard a warm reminder delivered in a cold tone: "It probably wouldn't be convenient to chair a meeting with a broken hand."
"…………"
When had that bastard gotten so stingy, not even willing to spare him a bottle of water?!
Qin Ling laughed in exasperation and seized on the excuse to gripe: "The meeting's practically over! What are you even here for?!"
The figure dashing toward the lobby stumbled and disappeared into the cybersecurity division's office area.
Li Yuyuan shifted his gaze, glanced at Qin Ling, and continued walking inside: "Here to be a bastard."
Qin Ling: "…"
He'd said it himself, so he had to own it.
Qin Ling wasn't about to stoop to Li Yuyuan's level. He just threw a left hook at his retreating back.
Just as he was about to add a right hook, it suddenly hit him what "here to be a bastard" meant. His expression changed, and he chased after him with a threat.
"Hey, Li Yuyuan! This meeting today is led by the municipal bureau! If you dare screw it up, I swear I won't live to see tomorrow's sun—"
With a swoosh, Qin Ling slid smoothly into the elevator.
The rest of his words were cut off by the closing doors.
Fei Chaichai wasn't so lucky.
She was stuck in the hallway.
The path wasn't wide to begin with, and with two young officers walking side by side blocking the way, it had narrowed to just a sliver.
After several silent rounds of shuffling forward and backward, her voice was finally about to be put to use.
But just as "excuse me" reached her lips, one of them suddenly said, "Isn't N.Found's team here for the meeting today? Why not ask them to help look into this case?"
"Still thinking about N.Found?" His companion doused his enthusiasm. "Don't forget about Captain Yang last week. He got a recommendation from Director Yan at the provincial level, and he still hit a brick wall. We don't stand a chance."
N.Found?
Wasn't that Li Yuyuan's company?
Fei Chaichai quickly slowed her pace, hoping to catch some inside information, but an invisible force tugged at her from behind.
She looked down.
Without realizing it, she had arrived at the entrance of the cybersecurity detachment office.
Fei Jie was rummaging through the shopping bag she was holding. After finding the band-aids, he scurried off toward the corner.
Fei Chaichai's eyes automatically followed, and only then did she notice that Teacher Tao—the prettiest one Fei Jie was always going on about—was there too.
Also present was the big-bearded foreign teacher, Mak.
But no police officers in sight.
Fei Chaichai pulled her attention from the hallway back to business and was about to ask what had happened.
But before she could speak, a man in glasses walked up to her, looked her up and down, and asked with an air of superiority, "So you're Fei Jie's guardian?"
Fei Chaichai returned the same once-over. "And you're Mak's guardian?"
"…I'm his lawyer!"
After emphasizing his title, the lawyer continued in his haughty tone, "This afternoon, my client was giving a speech at a symposium with a thousand attendees when his computer was suddenly hacked. His speech was replaced, and on the big screen, insulting phrases like 'Mak is worse than a beast' and 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' were looped repeatedly, along with some private photos of him. This went on for a full half hour, and many people filmed it and uploaded it to social media, causing extremely severe damage to my client's reputation!"
Fei Chaichai understood and, with a look of deep sympathy, expressed her condolences to his client: "Mak, my deepest sympathies."
Lawyer: "…"
The foreign teacher with HSK Level 10 proficiency: "…"
The lawyer felt he might not have been clear enough and added the key detail: "Police investigation has revealed that the mastermind behind this prank is none other than Fei Jie!"
"…What?!" Fei Chaichai let out a whistle of surprise. "My little uncle is that impressive?!"
Lawyer: "…"
"Chaichai niece, no need to bother with him." Fei Jie, having finished taking care of Teacher Tao, came over to take care of Fei Chaichai. "Mak is just an old pervert who's been secretly photographing the female teachers at the kindergarten for a long time. Today, Teacher Tao caught him red-handed!"
Fei Chaichai: "What?!"
The same words, but this time stripped of shock and filled entirely with murderous intent.
The lawyer grew flustered and pointed at Fei Jie's nose, scolding him: "Little kid, don't think there are no consequences for a child's words! If the circumstances are serious enough, my client can still sue you for defamation!"
"Sue, sue, sue—aren't you a lawyer who's supposed to know better than to threaten a kid?!" Fei Chaichai stepped forward, shielding Fei Jie behind her with formidable momentum. "You just wait. I'll call my lawyer right now and have her teach you some communication skills, free of charge!"
"You—!" The lawyer was sputtering with rage.
The foreign teacher quickly came over to mediate: "Hey, don't fight, let's talk it out—oh shit!"
Fei Chaichai, who had been reaching for her phone, froze mid-motion.
Shit?
He dares to say shit?!
She looked up in annoyance, only to see the foreign teacher stepping on a ballpoint pen, his whole body teetering on the verge of falling, both arms flailing in the air like giant pendulums.
In the end, he successfully knocked the phone she had just pulled out right out of her hand.
Fei Chaichai froze for three seconds, then turned to consult the lawyer: "If I hit him now, that counts as self-defense, right?"
The lawyer: "…"
The foreign teacher immediately leaped three meters away: "Miss Free, let me explain!"
Fei Chaichai had no patience to listen to his explanation—she went straight in and landed two solid punches.
The lawyer hurried to hold Fei Chaichai back, Fei Jie followed closely and grabbed the lawyer, while Teacher Tao wedged herself in the middle trying to mediate.
The scene was utter chaos.
The commotion traveled up to the meeting room upstairs.
The already deadlocked situation only got worse.
Old Yang finished his phone call, wiped his sweat, walked over to the director, and bent down to report the cause of the ruckus.
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard it clearly.
Fortunately, everyone was used to such things and simply turned a deaf ear.
Except for one person.
The moment the words "the lawyer and the guardian are fighting" came out, his fingers, which had been lightly tapping the table, paused mid-air for half a second before landing.
As he moved, the tendons on the back of his hand shifted.
The ink-black smoke embedded in his skin seemed to gain consciousness, seeping into his eyes, blotting out the sky and the sun.
Just as Old Yang pulled open the meeting room door, Li Yuyuan spoke calmly: "Captain Yang."
The two words, cold and weary in tone, shattered the silence of the room.
Everyone turned to look at him in unison.
A minute ago, he had been radiating a cold, unhinged energy that had the old director so furious he was chugging tea. Now, however, it seemed his conscience had suddenly kicked in, and for once in a blue moon, he said something human: "Need any help?"
"?"
Old Yang immediately shot a pleading look at the director.
Did—did he need it?