Those naive and innocent years of youth

  After returning home, Tian Tian, who was exhausted from the boat and car ride, took a hot bath, pulled the curtains, lay on the bed, and lazily fell asleep. When she woke up, it was already noon the next day. She opened her eyes, drank a sip of water from the glass on her bedside table, and suddenly felt much more alert. Then, she picked up her phone from under her pillow and saw a text message from Zong Zhong: Call me after you get home, I have an urgent matter.

  "Hello," Tian Tian answered Zong Zhongyan's phone call.

  Something's happened.

  "What's wrong?"

  "It's hard to say, let's just put it this way, you come out and we'll meet up."

  "Where?"

  "The coffee shop on the corner of Pujin Street."

  "Good."

  Tian Tian hung up the phone, washed her face, patted the pale little face in the mirror, and ran out of the house with her backpack on.

  Fifteen minutes later, she saw Zong Zhongyan sitting by the window in the café and waved at him. However, Zong Zhongyan's complexion was not good, his face pale, losing its usual elegance and vigor. He was holding a cup of milk, slowly sipping it. A wisp of light mist surrounded him, floating into the air for an instant before disappearing.

  Tian Tian sat down across from him, ordered a cup of juice, and smiled lightly, "What's wrong?"

  Zong Zhong's smile froze, he stared at Tian Tian and said heavily, "The thing about borrowing the police uniform has been found out."

  As soon as the words came out, Tian Tian's heart skipped a beat. After all, this matter was related to her. If it wasn't for Tian Cheng being kidnapped, he wouldn't have gone to borrow police uniforms from Wei Qingming. She immediately asked, "How did they find out?"

  "I don't know, my dad told me yesterday that the Provincial Public Security Department is investigating Wei Shu, it seems he abused his power and privately lent police uniforms to lawless elements. And there are also photos of Ah Hong and others wearing police uniforms, which were taken on the night of our transaction. As a result, my dad scolded me for being so willful and dragging Wei Shu down with me."

  Tian Tian quietly listened to his self-blame, but in her heart she had made up her mind that this time she would help him no matter what, even if it was just to repay him for his many times of assistance.

  After Deng Zhong finished speaking, she slowly said, "I knew Peng Yin wouldn't give up so easily. I thought she had a gun in her pocket that time, but it was actually a camera. I suspected she kidnapped Xiao Cheng just because we didn't get along. It turns out she had already anticipated you would help me, so she set a trap to catch a big fish. In the end, what she wanted to take down was the Director of N City Public Security Bureau! How clever, killing two birds with one stone. She knew she couldn't lay hands on Wei Qingming himself, so she found his weakness - you're his most beloved adopted son and often help me, so she used this opening to kidnap Tian Cheng. So, it seems we've both been used by her."

  "You're not bad at reasoning either, you can rival me," Zong Zhong said with a rare joke. "We've both become her pawns. Wei Shu is a kind and honest person, but those thugs in the underworld have been eyeing him for a long time, wanting to trip him up so that someone who loves power can take over this position."

  "Ah, I see," Tian Tian said thoughtfully, propping her cheek with her hand as she pondered a solution. She casually took a sip of juice. "What's the head of the Provincial Public Security Department like?"

  "I don't know much either, but I've only heard that he's a very formidable figure, however, it's hard to make any moves on him..."

  "Does that sound okay?" Tian Tian whispered in Zong Zhongyan's ear... After a while, he saw the smile that had been absent for several days return to Zong Zhongyan's face. He nodded repeatedly and said it was good. After listening to Tian Tian's explanation, he excitedly knocked on the table and said, "Great! Tonight I'll treat you and Tian Cheng to dinner as a thank you."

  "I want to eat something expensive." Tian Tian said, hugging her arms and leaning against the chair.

  "Help yourself!"

  At night, the three of them agreed to meet at a street stall on Botou Street. Zong Zhong said disdainfully, "I didn't think you'd want to eat this, I thought we were going to some five-star restaurant!"

  "Get it? This is the lively atmosphere I'm talking about." Tian Tian ordered a few bottles of beer and some small dishes, and casually said to Tian Cheng, "Little Cheng, you haven't eaten all day, have you? Eat more, he'll take care of the bill."

  Tian Heng nodded repeatedly, his mouth full, and said unclearly, "Why did you invite us to dinner?"

  "Your sister helped me out a lot, I'll repay her." Zhong said with ease, as he poured the beer into the glass cup, the golden liquid shining brightly under the light, with a layer of white foam floating on top and dripping down along the side of the cup.

  Here, almost every night is filled with the sound of people's voices, men and women and children sitting together clinking glasses, some middle-aged men boasting about how great they are after getting drunk, talking about their luxury cars worth hundreds of thousands; there are also women with curly hair and thick makeup talking about how to slap the seductive vixen who stole their man; and children crying loudly because they didn't get what they wanted... In short, this place gathers all sorts of people, here you can see a true reflection of ordinary people's lives, they use the most simple language to describe the most real life.

  "You're not thinking of chasing after my sister, are you?" Tian Cheng said with a flicker of his eyelids. He had long heard that the mayor's son had ill intentions towards Tian Tian.

  "Xiao Cheng, what are you talking about!" Tian Tian angrily said, "We're just friends, got it?"

  Zong Zhonglian looked at Tian Tian, who was trying to distance himself from their relationship, and smiled, "Not for now, any questions?"

  "My sister is mine alone, no one else is allowed to snatch her!" Tian Cheng stuffed the chicken leg into his mouth and said, eating two wouldn't be a mistake.

  "Alright, I know, Xiao Zhengtao!" Zong Zhong said with a smile, "I promise you, I absolutely won't compete with you for your sister, okay? Unless she's willing."

  "Be less self-absorbed!" Tian Tian glanced at him.

  Three people chatted happily, and the conversation was filled with laughter. At this time, Su Yu walked over with a young man, Tian Tian originally didn't notice them, but Su Yu happened to walk in front of their table and stopped, "Hey, Tian Tian!" The tone was full of sarcasm and mockery, she certainly hadn't forgotten about the three-week suspension.

  Tian Tian raised her head, her tone as cold as the ice of a winter month, and said, "It's you."

  "Isn't it just me?" Su Yu sneered, "Not inviting us to sit down and take a break, to reminisce about old times?"

  "Never mind, you must still have things to attend to, I won't disturb you," as soon as these words came out, the guest was stiffly dismissed without any room for turning back.

  "It's really chilling to talk about," Su Yu hugged the young man's arm and said, "Maybe one day I'll be secretly calculated and won't even know it."

  "What do you mean by that?" Tian Tian raised an eyebrow and asked, as if she knew something.

  "You're so clever, you should understand, go figure it out yourself." Su Yu chuckled twice, put her arm around the young man and walked away with a swaying waist.

  "What's wrong?" Zhong asked anxiously.

  "It's okay, it's okay, let's eat." Tian Tian said with a pretended ease, she must know something, most of which was related to the matter of being stranded in Tonglin Mountain. This matter, she would definitely investigate the mastermind behind it.