Eating Melons in the Police Station

When the daycare center suddenly disappeared, Little Tong returned to the police station to continue being a cheeky rascal, skateboarding back and forth in the lobby. As she passed by Rao Shishi's desk, she was unexpectedly stuffed with a mouthful of milk chew.

"Little Tong."

Hearing her name called, Little Tong turned back and saw an unfamiliar older sister waving at her from outside the glass door of the police station.

"Who are you?" Little Tong skateboarded over to her and tilted her head up to ask.

The older sister was briefly stunned. "It's me, Wan Huidan. Don't you remember me?"

"Oh, oh," Little Tong nodded. "Nope, I don’t remember."

Wan Huidan was a bit devastated, putting on a heartbreaking expression. "...How could you forget me? I’m the painting big sister."

At the mention of painting, Little Tong finally recalled who she was. "Oh, it's you. Hello."

Faced with this sudden and formal greeting, Wan Huidan could only force a smile. "I’ve come to the police station a few times but never ran into you. Where did you go?"

Little Tong hopped off her skateboard, took Wan Huidan's hand, and led her inside, stopping at a bench along the wall. She gestured, "Sit down and let's talk."

Wan Huidan felt quite welcomed, like a guest in a family home.

She placed her drawing board against the wall and said, "I was on my way to the art studio and decided to stop by to see if I could catch you." As she spoke, she turned back and noticed the child had disappeared again.

After searching around, Wan Huidan found Little Tong riding her skateboard back to a corner where a rectangular space was marked with green tape—apparently, Little Tong's dedicated parking spot.

Once the skateboard was neatly parked within the marked area, not a single edge protruding, Little Tong trotted back, "My dad says if I don’t park it properly, he’ll toss it out."

Wan Huidan's heart melted at the sight of the small, colorfully decorated skateboard perfectly aligned in its tiny parking space.

Little Tong skillfully climbed onto the bench and, at a leisurely pace, began to explain, "I was attending daycare for a while."

"Oh, so you were at daycare. No wonder I couldn’t find you. Why aren’t you there today?"

Little Tong propped her cheeks with both hands, sounding deep in thought. "Something happened at the daycare, and the kids got poisoned, so I graduated."

Wan Huidan couldn’t help but chuckle at her explanation. "You were at the Little Sun Daycare Center, right?"

The daycare wasn’t far from Wan Huidan’s home. She had seen police tape around it a few days ago. According to some neighborhood aunties, there had been a mass poisoning incident involving the children.

"Are you okay?" Wan Huidan asked, then felt a bit redundant upon seeing the child’s rosy, healthy complexion. She herself, with her pale complexion, looked more like the one who had been poisoned.

"Oh, right."

Wan Huidan reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a small box, handing it to Little Tong.

"Here’s a gift for you. I’ve been carrying it around since I couldn’t meet you earlier. Glad I finally ran into you today."

Little Tong took the box decorated with star patterns. After several attempts to open it, she decided to bite into it. Wan Huidan quickly stopped her reckless action and opened the box herself.

Inside was a small crystal frame containing a hand-drawn illustration.

The illustration depicted a cute child wearing a hoodie with a bowl cut. Although it was a comic-style drawing, it was immediately recognizable as Little Tong—identical hairstyle, same hoodie, even the sparkling big eyes were a perfect match.

"Wow, it’s me," Little Tong happily held up the frame, examining it from all angles. "She has wings." In the drawing, the child had a pair of faintly visible rainbow-colored wings behind her.@@novelbin@@

"Right," Wan Huidan pinched her cheek. "On the darkest day of my life, you appeared like a little angel, complimenting me for being good at drawing animations—a 100-point sister."

Little Tong carefully held the frame, hugging it close to her chest. "I’m going to give this to my dad."

Wan Huidan's expression was complicated as she caressed the child's smooth hair, envying their close bond. "You and your dad have a really good relationship," she said.

"I love my dad the most, and my dad loves me super much too." After bragging about her and her dad being number one, Little Tong asked her, "How’s your life going?"

Wan Huidan pouted,

"It’s about the same as before. My dad promised in front of the police, but after going home, he still kept complaining that I’m not studying hard enough and that drawing is a waste of money. My mom’s attitude has softened a bit, but she’s still influenced by my dad and sometimes nags me too."

After venting for a while, Wan Huidan turned around, took out her drawing board, and showed Little Tong the name on it: 【Soaring Art Studio】.

"Look, this is the name of my art studio. I haven’t received my payment yet, so this is the money my mom gave me to enroll. No matter what, as long as I can enter the studio, I’m one step closer to my dream."

Little Tong, hugging her gift, nodded energetically, clearly happy, even though she didn’t quite grasp the details of Wan Huidan’s words.

Wan Huidan pinched her chubby cheeks again. "I’ll be off now. I still have to get to the studio. I’ll visit you again next time."

Little Tong waved at her, "Bye-bye."

*

After seeing off Wan Huidan, Little Tong jumped off the bench and headed to find her dad, carrying her gift. With her innate scent-tracking ability, Little Tong could always accurately locate her dad.

Following ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‍her dad’s scent, Little Tong made her way to the conference room. The door was slightly ajar. With her hands full, she turned around and used her bottom to push the door open, backing into the room.

The sound of the ongoing meeting abruptly stopped, and everyone’s gaze turned toward the door, where a little round bottom was gracefully making its entrance.

As soon as she turned around, Zhong Jin pointed at her, placing a long, well-defined finger to his lips, signaling silence.

Little Tong understood her dad meant for her to keep quiet. With one hand holding her toy, she used the other to cover her mouth, tiptoeing with a mischievous air to Rao Shishi’s side.

Rao Shishi picked her up and placed her on the chair.

Gu Le reached over, pinched Little Tong’s cheek, then took his laptop and sat down on her other side.

Zhong Jin pretended not to notice their actions and continued his earlier point.

"Regarding the Little Sun Daycare Center mass poisoning incident, since the incident occurred in a blind spot of the surveillance system, we currently cannot identify the suspect. Principal Zhuang has been investigated, and we’ve ruled out personal enmity or intentional harm. Now, here’s an idea: Could this be a case of malicious commercial competition?"

"If it’s a case of malicious commercial competition, how do we investigate?" Rao Shishi asked. "There are too many daycare centers involved. It’s not like we can interrogate each one, and without evidence, no one would admit to something like that."

Zhong Jin replied, "We use a process of elimination. First, the Little Sun Daycare Center is a relatively large-scale institution with high fees. Small-scale or low-cost family-run daycares can’t compete with it. Second, unlike schools, daycare centers aren’t about educational quality; parents usually choose ones nearby for convenience. Daycare centers too far away lack competitive advantages. After eliminating all these, our focus shifts to large-scale daycare centers within a 20-kilometer radius."

Gu Le quickly looked up the information on his computer,

Adjusting his glasses, he reported,

"Only two daycare centers meet these criteria: one is a nursery class affiliated with the district kindergarten, and the other is the Golden Sun International Kindergarten’s in-house nursery class, a private kindergarten that opened last year.

Gu Le shared basic information about Golden Sun International Kindergarten to everyone’s phones.

Having just opened last year, the kindergarten boasts top-tier facilities, with the nursery class being pricier than the Little Sun Daycare Center.

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For over two decades, Little Sun Daycare Center had been the name everyone knew, but Golden Sun International Kindergarten only opened last year. It was pretty obvious they were intentionally riding on the coattails of the established reputation.

Rao Shishi pouted, “Seems like Golden Sun International Kindergarten has some issues. Should we bring in the person in charge and interrogate them?”

Gu Le didn’t agree. “We don’t have any evidence right now. If we act rashly, we might alert the snake before it’s fully out of its hole.”

Zhong Jin nodded in approval and then made a new arrangement:

“Rao Shishi, go to the Maternal and Child Health Hospital and coordinate with Director Cao of the Pediatrics Department. Have Luo Jiahao stay in the hospital for a few more days. We’ll also station officers there to monitor the situation. Once the investigation begins in full swing, the suspects might attempt private contact with the Luo family. Keeping the target within a controlled range will make monitoring easier. Gu Le, you investigate the whereabouts of the staff at Golden Sun International Kindergarten on the day of the poisoning incident. Also, keep a close eye on the mobile phones of the key personnel and report any unusual activity immediately. Hu De, take a team and conduct routine inquiries at all establishments in the jurisdiction that offer daycare services.”

“Got it,” Gu Le responded.

Rao Shishi also nodded, “I’ll head to the hospital right away.”

After they finished their meeting, Zhong Jin finally turned his attention to Little Tong. “Little one, did you need something?”

Little Tong had been sitting on a chair, listening to the adults talk. She was already half asleep, her head drooping drowsily.

At her father’s call, she drowsily opened her eyes, only for them to struggle a few moments before stubbornly closing again. Her little head fell back onto the chair’s cushion, safe from any bumps thanks to the soft padding.

Zhong Jin came over and picked her up. “Tired, huh? Go sleep on the sofa.”

In Zhong Jin’s office was a brown leather sofa. At first, it was just somewhere Little Tong napped when she got tired, often covered with his jacket. Later, Zhong Jin brought over a soft blanket, a heart-shaped pillow, and a little cover from home.

Normally, these items were stored in a cabinet until it was time for her to sleep. But whenever Zhong Jin wasn’t in the office and Little Tong got sleepy, she would come in to nap. Worried she might not know how to make the sofa comfy, he kept the blanket neatly laid out on the sofa at all times.

So in Zhong Jin’s otherwise stark, masculine office, there was a pint-sized sofa covered with a cartoon-patterned child’s blanket. Anyone visiting and needing to sit while discussing something with Zhong Jin would have to sit on the hard wooden chair opposite his desk. If more people came in, Zhong Jin would politely ask them to fetch their own chair from elsewhere.

Zhong Jin laid Little Tong down on the sofa, kneeling beside it to take off her shoes. He then gently extracted the box she had been tightly clutching before helping her out of her jacket and finally placing the now soft little bundle back down, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

After settling the child, Zhong Jin’s gaze fell on the box she had been holding earlier.

The box was decorated with cute little star patterns—quite pretty, in fact. Zhong Jin hadn’t seen it before and wasn’t sure what was inside, so he was a little curious. But he refrained from opening it, placing the box along with her coat on a chair next to the sofa.