That afternoon, Zhong Jin stayed in the office the whole time. With her dad there, Little Tong didn’t wander around aimlessly either, instead curling up on the sofa and quietly watching cartoons.
Although Zhong Jin had been working the entire time and hadn’t glanced her way, he still reminded her exactly when 30 minutes had passed. “It’s been 30 minutes.”
The child immediately put down the laptop. “Okay, then I’ll go out and see what’s happening.”
“Wait a second, I have something to tell you.” Zhong Jin also closed his laptop. “Are you a little scared of Hu De?”
Little Tong looked at him with a confused expression, thinking for a long time before finally puffing out her cheeks and saying, “I just don’t like him anymore.”
Zhong Jin stood up, walked over to Little Tong, and leaned against the armrest of the sofa with one long leg bent. “Don’t go out to see what’s happening today. I’ll tell you something interesting instead.”
The reason Hu De cared so much about whether Little Tong would get angry was actually something everyone knew.
Last winter, Hu De had handled a school bullying case. Several older elementary school students had been bullying a third-grade boy for a long time, taking his pocket money, throwing his backpack around, and making him run errands. Later, the older students even convinced the boy to steal snacks from a store. It wasn’t until the store reported the theft to the police that the bullying came to light.
The police contacted the teachers and the parents of the students involved. Under pressure from all sides, the older students stopped bullying the boy.
Everyone thought the case was over, but later, Hu De found out that the boy had developed severe depression, and his parents had withdrawn him from school.
Hu De went to visit the boy once and was gloomy for a long time after.
Despite being a towering, imposing figure from the north with a shiny bald head and a fierce demeanor when scolding people, Hu De often gave off the impression of being invincible.
In reality, he was the most sensitive person at the station, the one who could empathize the most with victims. Sometimes, when he encountered people in unfortunate situations, he would spend his own money to buy them gifts and do everything in his power to help the vulnerable.
The incident with the boy’s depression had left a deep impression on Hu De. Now, whenever he saw a child with a particularly gentle personality, he would feel anxious, worried that they might be bullied in the future. If he was this concerned about strangers, it was no surprise that he was even more protective of Little Tong, the station’s little treasure.
After finishing the story about Hu De, Zhong Jin looked at the still-confused child. “Did you not understand?”
Little Tong, however, replied seriously, “I know about depression. Sister Huahua has depression.”
Zhong Jin pinched her cheek. “You’re still too young to fully understand these things. Just remember that Hu De actually cares about you, so you don’t need to be afraid of him anymore.”
“Go play.” Zhong Jin patted her head.
The child climbed down from the sofa and slipped her little feet into her shoes.
“They’re on the wrong feet.” Zhong Jin swapped the left and right shoes for her, then bent down to stuff her chubby feet into the oversized leather shoes.
Little Tong opened the door and walked out of the office.
Zhong Jin called after her, “Zhong Yuntong, close the door behind you, and close it gently—”
Before he could finish the word “gently,” the child came back and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Zhong Jin, “...”
Little Tong walked into the investigation hall and noticed that the skateboard scooter she had left behind earlier had been returned to its designated parking spot. She walked over, got on the scooter, and started riding it around the station.
As she rode down the hallway, she happened to lock eyes with Hu De, who had just come out of the interrogation room.
The towering, intimidating bald man and the soft, petite little girl with a bowl cut stared at each other again. Hu De took two steps back into the interrogation room, raising his hands in surrender. “You go first.”
The two theft suspects sitting inside the interrogation room couldn’t see outside and had no idea what was happening. They just felt that something terrifying must be out there.
Why else would the fierce officer who had been slamming the table and yelling at them suddenly become so nervous?
What could possibly scare him? Was there some kind of man-eating creature in the police station?
The two suspects exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with fear. An atmosphere of unknown terror filled the interrogation room.
Then, a child on a scooter appeared in their line of sight.
She stood at the door of the interrogation room and extended a chubby little hand toward the bald officer. “Hold my hand.”
The intimidating bald man looked at the little girl in surprise, then his eyes lit up with a mix of shock and delight as he reached out a large, sturdy hand.
The child stood on the scooter, one hand gripping the handlebar and the other holding the bald man’s hand. Suddenly, she widened her eyes and shouted into the interrogation room, “What are you looking at? Reform yourselves!”
Suspect One, “...”
Suspect Two, “...”
Under their bewildered gazes, the child lifted her round little face and proudly declared to the bald man, “I’m super fierce.”
A smile appeared on the bald man’s face—one the suspects had never seen before—as he steadied the scooter’s handlebars and pushed the child away.
When Hu De got off work, he took Little Tong out to buy fried chicken, grilled sausages, and ice cream. The two of them officially made up.
Little Tong leaned against Hu De’s broad, sturdy chest and extended a little finger toward him. “If you buy me some beef jerky, we’ll be best friends forever.”
So Hu De, with his cheerful bald head, ran off to buy her a big bag of beef jerky.
However, the joy of being “best friends forever” didn’t last long. Hu De soon discovered that Little Tong was also clinging to Rao Shishi’s desk, saying, “Sister, if you give me a milk candy, we’ll be best friends forever.”
Zhong Jin stood at the office door, unscrewing a bottle of mineral water and taking a sip. Based on his understanding of his mischievous daughter, he had a strong suspicion that this newfound friendship wouldn’t last long and would likely end in a falling-out soon.
*
The next morning, as Zhong Jin carried Little Tong into the police station, he overheard Little Wang saying, “It’s insane. As soon as the city bureau’s promotional video aired, several people called claiming Little Tong was their child. But when I told them to come to the station for a face-to-face meeting, none of them dared to show up.”
“Oh, right.” Little Wang slurped a mouthful of wontons. “One of them said they’d come, but they’re out of town and won’t get to Haishan until tonight.”
Rao Shishi chimed in, “It’s fake. Just watch, they definitely won’t show up tonight.”
Little Wang added, “If they dare to come, it’s disrupting public order. We’ll lock them up for a couple of days to teach them a lesson.”
Zhong Jin listened to their conversation but didn’t say anything. He just thought he should remind the city bureau to blur the child’s face in the video. It was irresponsible of them to broadcast her face so openly, creating a lot of potential risks.
That afternoon, Zhong Jin happened to have a trip to the city bureau, so he personally went to the publicity department and made sure they added a blur to the video. In the end, he insisted they delete that segment entirely before he was satisfied.
By the time he returned from the city bureau, it was almost time to get off work. Zhong Jin took Little Tong back to their home, which had been damaged by the typhoon.
The wooden flooring for the entire house had been installed that day. The old developer-installed maroon-colored flooring had been replaced with a natural wood tone, making the house feel much fresher and more spacious.
Little Tong walked around the house with her hands behind her back, inspecting everything. When she saw that the master bedroom had been decorated with the rainbow-themed design she had chosen, she was overjoyed. “Wow, so pretty!”
Zhong Jin stood at the doorway with his hands in his pockets, tilting his chin toward the bathroom. “Go check out the bathroom.”
Little Tong ran into the bathroom, where the old fixtures had been removed and replaced with a pink and yellow mosaic bathtub. The wall tiles had also been changed to a mint green color to match the room’s theme.
“I’m gonna play with my bubble gun in here!” Little Tong pointed at the colorful bathtub.
"Mm," Zhong Jin nodded.
Originally, the children's room was planned for the second bedroom, but before the renovation started, Zhong Jin suddenly felt that the master bedroom should be given to the child. The master bedroom had its own private bathroom, and he thought a little girl deserved a bathroom entirely her own.
Considering that the bathroom's style would clash too much with the children's room, he decided to tear down the bathroom and renovate it entirely.
When he first told the renovation company about this idea, they repeatedly confirmed with him, asking if he was sure about turning the master bedroom into a children's room.
After receiving his confirmation, the designer remarked, "This is the first time I've seen someone turn a master bedroom into a children's room."
Zhong Jin replied, "Well, now you've seen it."
Little Tong ran out of the rainbow-colored bathroom, grabbed Zhong Jin's arm, and shook it. "Are our good days coming soon?"
Zhong Jin picked her up and said, "Yes, good days are coming."
"When the house is fixed, Aunt Liang will come back too," Little Tong said, wrinkling her little face. "It's all because of that house-wrecking typhoon guy."
Zhong Jin's smile stiffened slightly. "Aunt Liang isn't coming back."
"Why not?"
"Because you're going to kindergarten now. You won't need to stay at home all the time, so we won't need Aunt Liang to take care of you anymore."
The child covered her head and shouted, "Why do I have to leave again?"
Zhong Jin spent a long time explaining what kindergarten was, what they do there, and how all children go to kindergarten.
When choosing a kindergarten, Zhong Jin carefully compared the options and finally decided to send her to the District Experimental Kindergarten across from the police station. Aside from the private international kindergartens that advertised bilingual education, the other public kindergartens were all about the same in terms of quality.
Zhong Jin ruled out the international kindergartens right away. He didn't want his child to get caught up in some elite education race. For him, kindergarten was just about her being happy and healthy. Even when she started elementary school, he didn't want her to stress too much. As long as she could read and write, that was enough to ensure she wouldn't grow up illiterate.
Zhong Jin himself wasn't someone who cared much about material things. After his parents passed away, they left behind a sizable inheritance, but he still hadn't gone through the inheritance process. He just didn't want to face it. The lawyer had reminded him several times, but he kept putting it off.
Lately, the thought of going back to Jing City to handle the inheritance had been popping up more often. Once he got the money, he planned to save it for Little Tong. That unlucky child didn't seem interested in much besides eating, so at least this money could ensure she'd never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of her life.
As a parent, you can never plan too much for your child.
The reason he chose the District Experimental Kindergarten was simply because it was close to the police station—just across the street.
This way, even if he had to work overtime at the station, he wouldn't miss picking her up. And if anything happened to her at the kindergarten, he could get there right away.
Everything else was ready. The only thing left was figuring out how to convince Little Tong to go to kindergarten.
Zhong Jin said, "Your kindergarten is right across from the police station. You can come to the station as soon as school is over."
"Then I'll just go to the police station for kindergarten," the child said, picking up a small stick she found somewhere and tapping it against the floor. She pointed the stick at the window and asked, "Is the glass staying like this?"
Zhong Jin glanced at the boarded-up window. "We're getting new glass. It'll arrive in a couple of days... Don't change the subject. I'm trying to talk to you about kindergarten."
Little Tong walked back over and tapped Zhong Jin's leather shoes with her stick. "I still don't want to go to kindergarten."
"Are you sure? Miao Yueyue and the others are all going to kindergarten. Don't you want to play with Miao Yueyue's wheelchair anymore?"
The child tapped her own shoes with the stick. "Well... maybe I'll go take a look."
Zhong Jin reached out and ruffled her smooth hair. "Good girl."
He noticed her hair had grown quite a bit. The once neat bowl-cut now had uneven strands sticking out at the edges, and the front was starting to cover her eyes.
He wanted to let her hair grow longer, but this awkward in-between stage looked a bit messy. Every time he saw her hair, he couldn't help but curse Yu Feiyang in his mind.
Zhong Jin picked Little Tong up and walked out of the house. While waiting for the elevator, he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, you like catching chickens, right? I'll take you somewhere tomorrow."
He had actually found a farm online that raised free-range chickens and had contacted the owner. The owner said the child could catch as many chickens as she wanted, as long as she didn't get hurt.
Zhong Jin wanted to take her out to run around more, worried she might grow too chubby. But forcing her to exercise felt too harsh. The time she caught chickens during the typhoon had given him a new idea.
"Can we eat the chickens we catch?" Little Tong asked.
Zhong Jin replied, "...No." Catching chickens to eat, eating them to gain weight, and then catching more chickens—what was the point of that?
Just as they stepped into the elevator, Zhong Jin's phone rang. It was a call from the station.
He answered, and Little Wang's voice came through. "Chief Zhong, that woman who called earlier saying Little Tong is her child—she's here at the station now."
"Oh?"
"She wants to see you."
