Li He bluntly stated, "This is not our responsibility. We hope similar incidents will not happen again. Secondly, from the day before yesterday until around 4 pm today, 300 students nominally affiliated with Yucai School have been leaving the city for various parts of the country. We have to take this matter seriously."
I quickly explained, "Actually, there are 299. They didn't intend to harm anyone; they just wanted to find an elder from the same village."
Li He said, "We know what we're doing. What we're more concerned about is that once they leave, it will be difficult to collect all those ancient boxing techniques in one go."
"...I can have them copy down the boxing manual and send it back to the school."
"Hmm, good idea." Li He began his final summary. "Alright, Xiao Qiang, that's all for now. Oh, and by the way, someone else will contact you regarding specific matters from now on. If Yu Cai has any trouble, you can come directly to me. Actually, we don't want to bother you, and we won't interfere in your private life anymore. You can continue to fight with bricks; we won't interfere at all. Of course, our people won't be there to protect you either." As he spoke, Li He gave me a meaningful smile.
I gleaned two things from Li He's words: First, the government is only targeting Yucai, so Xiaoqiang, don't bother us with your petty problems; second, Xiaoqiang, you'd better not get into any trouble.
They even know the weapons I use; it seems they know me inside and out. Thinking about how well they know me, I pulled out my phone and used a mind-reading technique on Li He. But I quickly became terrified: I was conducting psychological probing on a National Security Bureau agent—that's practically stealing state secrets! I'd also heard that all agents undergo drug resistance training, taking huge amounts of hallucinogenic drugs, and then taking a Marxist philosophy exam—90 out of 100 is the passing score… but even they, with their incredible abilities, can't control their own thoughts.
To my surprise, I found a video on my phone: a little boy, probably just starting kindergarten, was fast asleep, with the caption: "Mingming should be asleep, right? I need to finish work and go check on him."
I was stunned for a moment before I realized that my mind-reading phone had been upgraded to not only display subtitles, but also read out what people were thinking. That's amazing!
As I pushed open the car door, I said, "You should go home early, even if you just sit by your son's bedside for a while."
Li He looked up and paused, his expression quite different from his usual capable demeanor. After a long pause, he finally said, "Oh, thank you..." He opened the door and called to Xiao C, "Xiao Cao, let's go back. You drive."
Standing outside the car, I asked in confusion, "Little C, Little Cao—so Director Li's code name is Little L?" Li He and Little C looked at each other, laughed, and said, "Why don't you join our National Security Bureau, Xiao Qiang?"
I watched them walk away, muttering to myself, "So my code name is Little Q—why does that name sound so familiar? Doesn't it sound like a dog? Ah Q doesn't sound good either. And Baozi is even worse, Little..."
I stumbled back to the car, still a bit dazed. Now I finally understood why the government was willing to spend so much money expanding Yucai School. I also knew that although Li He and his group hadn't said much, they definitely had a lot of information, including about Liu Laoliu. That old guy was in for a lot of trouble; Li He and his group wouldn't be careless about him.
I was just about to drive when I suddenly remembered something and carefully checked the back seat. Good grief, I'd just dealt with secret agents; I couldn't let my guard down. Even though they represented the country, I should at least know where the cameras were, right?
I searched around but found nothing, so I went back to my seat. Suddenly, I discovered a tube of lipstick under my passenger seat!
Hey, this is where you guys are wrong. I don't object to you putting a bug in my car, but at least make it look presentable! What if Xi Jinping sees this? Even if she can't see it, what's the point of having a tube of lipstick in my car? Is it illogical for the National Security officers to be so clumsy and careless?
In a fit of anger, I grabbed the lipstick and threw it out the window. At the same time, I made up my mind: if they asked me, I'd deny ever seeing it. I didn't believe they'd dare to press me. If they actually did that, then I'd have something to say: How did you know I had a lipstick in my car?
Hehe, I never thought I could make the Guoan team suffer a silent defeat in our first encounter. Looks like the codename 007 suits me perfectly. As I drove, I smugly sang, "I'm drifting, drifting, drifting triumphantly—"
Just then, the phone rang. Ni Siyu, who had washed her face and was clearly much more awake, asked me with some concern, "Xiaoqiang, did you see a tube of lipstick in the car? It was a gift from my dad's classmate who brought it back from France for me!"
...
My schedule was pretty packed the next day: In the morning, I had to go to the school to discuss the expansion with Cui, the engineer who studies directional blasting; at noon, I had arranged to meet Baozi to see Lao Zhang, and also to see Li Bai—I've been so busy lately that I've almost forgotten about this poet; in the afternoon, there was something very important to do: go with Baozi to try on wedding dresses, mainly to see the one that Li Shishi mentioned costing 30,000 yuan.
When I arrived at school in the morning, I found that Yucai School had been completely demolished by those guys who built the Air Force base, turning it back into a chaotic mess. Machines and workers stretched for miles, a scene of utter chaos. As soon as one wall collapsed, raw materials began arriving in droves. Engineer Cui, leading a large group of designers, inspected the work on what used to be our school grounds, now just a patch of wasteland. Upon seeing me, he waved and pointed to the swimming pool I'd spent over ten thousand yuan building, asking, "Do you still need that reservoir?"
I said, dissatisfied, "That's a swimming pool!"
Engineer Cui said, "Then there's even less need for it. In the future, each main building will have both indoor and outdoor swimming pools—let's just scrap it?"
I said reluctantly, "That was something I transformed from a pond; it took me a lot of effort."
After looking at it for a while, Engineer Cui stroked his chin and said decisively, "Then I'll change it back to a pond for you, and you can raise ornamental fish from now on."
I:"……"
So all I did that morning was turn a pond into a swimming pool and then back into a pond. Engineer Cui said I don't need to come anymore; there are only construction projects left, so I don't need to worry about him knocking down my things.
At noon, we bought a bunch of fruit to visit Old Zhang, but we were quite surprised when we saw him. The old man was disheveled, but cheerfully carrying his lunchbox back from the cafeteria. We bumped into him in the corridor. He was incredibly energetic; because he was so thin, his oversized hospital gown made him look almost ethereal, as if he were about to ascend to heaven. Judging by his vitality, if I didn't quit smoking, I definitely wouldn't outlive him.
When I entered the ward, I was almost furious. Li Bai was lying on Old Zhang's bed, covered with Old Zhang's blanket, fast asleep. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was dying. Old Zhang smiled and pointed at Li Bai, saying, "He's been telling me poems all day long, he's exhausted."
Later, Lao Zhang kept doing chest expansion exercises as he escorted us to the hospital entrance. When Baozi wasn't looking, he whispered to me, "Next time, bring a few Qin Shi Huangs or Li Shishis to see me. I'm getting tired of hearing about the Tang Dynasty all the time. You know what I need most right now is 'talk therapy'."
Because Lao Zhang was recovering well, Baozi was in a particularly good mood. After leaving the hospital, we went to the bustling downtown area. In the business plaza, she even took my hand, which she hadn't done in a long time, and swung it like a little girl. I was also enjoying a rare moment of leisure, and with a smile on my face, I led her towards the bridal boutique. I decided to put aside all my worries and spend the day with her.
Just then, a child suddenly darted out from the corner, grabbed my leg, and looked up at me with an innocent little face, calling out, "Daddy—"
Chapter Forty-Nine: Marshal Tianpeng of Monte Cristo
They've finally made their move!
Finding a kid to call me "Dad" in front of Baozi shows that my rival is not only rich but also has good taste; at least he's read Mark Twain's books.
Unfortunately, he miscalculated. The kid looked to be at least a teenager. Ten years ago, I was 17? I remember I was 18 or 19 when I started... Uh, let's get down to business.
Baozi looked down at the child's age and seemed relieved. She smiled and asked me, "When did you have such a big son?" She squatted down, teasing the child while taking out some change. She probably thought the child was a beggar.
I picked the child up by the armpits and placed him a couple of steps away from me, taking a good look at him. He had an oval face, fair skin with a rosy glow, and big, dark eyes that were incredibly cute. But I couldn't feel any "cuteness" at all. If this little kid could be so cunning, what would he be like when he grew up?
I asked him sternly, "Who instigated you to come here?"
Baozi slapped me: "Why are you so mean to the child?" She placed her hand on the child's head and stroked it, then suddenly said, "Hey, this child doesn't look like a beggar." Baozi asked with a smile, "Little one, where are your mom and dad?"
As we looked at the child, he was also observing us, his big, dark eyes sparkling with curiosity and wisdom. When he heard Baozi say "Dad," he hugged my leg tightly again: "That grandpa said you'll be my dad from now on."
I had no choice but to move him aside again, and asked helplessly, "Who told you that I would be your father from now on?"
The little guy turned around and pointed, and I looked in the direction he was pointing. In the opposite corner, a sleazy old man was squatting there, grinning wickedly at me: "Old Liu Liu!"
My three eyes widened in shock, and my hand instinctively reached for my bag. But I couldn't bring myself to actually hit him with it; I'd come out with Baozi to look at wedding dresses today, and this bag was full of money.
I told Baozi to wait where I was, and angrily grabbed the child, charging towards Liu Laoliu. Seeing I was truly enraged, Liu Laoliu quickly stood up, wary of me. I pulled the child to his legs and cursed, "You old bastard, you've finally decided to come out and die?"
Old Liu patted the child's head and said with a grin, "I didn't jump into the well with your wife in my arms, why do you hate me so much?"
I originally wanted to kick that old woman, but the child was blocking his way. I said, "Whose child is this? Give him back first. Did you start a new human trafficking operation?"
Liu Laoliu looked down at the child and said, "This boy is called Cao Chong, Cao Cao's youngest son, and your new client. I'm afraid other children will bully him in the future, so I made him call you Dad."