Chapter 32: CH 32

You Ning didn’t say anything but he didn’t look angry either, so Chen Yao advanced an inch and said, “Why don’t I send you a banner later?”

You Ning was just about to reply to him when he saw Jiang Yingying running over to him, he knelt and caught her before she fell because she was running too fast.

Seeing that her eyes were red, You Ning asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Yingying hugged him and whimpered: “I’m scared, Daddy. I saw that bad uncle with a knife.”

You Ning coaxed not too skillfully, “Yingying is not afraid.”

Chen Yao, who was a little jealous of You Ning’s soft expression, said, “Yes, your father is very strong, he can beat even ten of them.”

“Really?” The little girl looked up at her father with admiration.

You Ning glanced up at Chen Yao, who immediately smiled at him.

You Ning rubbed her hair, “Well, yes. Daddy is very powerful.”

The matter was over, but the crowd had not yet dispersed, and someone boldly stepped forward to ask You Ning, “Excuse me, are you President Jiang Chi of XX Group?”

You Ning nodded politely.

Gasps rang out around him once he admitted it, and one hear vague words like, “Oh my god, such an all-powerful CEO can only be found in novels”, “Ahhhhh, I’m dead, I want to be a fan, but I think he already has a family” and so on.

Jiang Yingying looked up at her father and for the first time, she had a clear impression— her father was really amazing.

You Ning looked at the stars in the child’s eyes and couldn’t help but curl the corners of his mouth.

Chen Yao’s heart, which had just calmed down a short while ago, could not help but beat a few times faster at the sight of his smile. He patted his nephew, who was also starry-eyed as he looked at You Ning, and said, “Won’t you even say hello when you see your classmate?”

Chen Xiaoxing woke up as if from a dream, and said to Jiang Yingying with some embarrassment, “Umm, hello Classmate Jiang. I’m Chen Xiaoxing from Class 1, grade 6.”

“Hello.” The little girl was so immersed in how amazing her father was that she hadn’t noticed him.

Not long after, some police officers came over, including one that was on duty nearby and one in plain clothes.

Chen Yao looked at the plainclothed man in the white shirt and said, “Newcomer, what a coincidence, you are here too?”

The newcomer lowered his head and stood upright: “Hello, Captain Chen!”

Chen Yao saw that You Ning was about to leave, and said, “Captain Jiang, this is the newcomer in our team, Bai Xiaoshu ……”

You Ning glanced at the newcomer and said, “I’ve seen him before.”

“Huh?”

“Just a moment ago, that position.” There was no mockery in You Ning’s expression or tone, it was an intuitive statement of fact, his slender finger pointed to a certain spot, “He didn’t come over when this side got rowdy earlier.”

Bai Xiaoshu was obviously a newcomer, he didn’t even know how to control his expression, his face immediately turned white and he stammered out an explanation, “Chen, Captain Chen, I I ……”

Chen Yao’s face also darkened and interrupted him, “Don’t talk, come back with me later and we’ll talk about this.”

The crowd that hadn’t yet dispersed didn’t expect a follow-up, and they all looked at the newcomer with contempt. Unlike You Ning, they bluntly scolded him.

“How could there be such a police officer?!”

“God, is he really a police officer? He hides behind the people when things go wrong” and so on.

Bai Xiaoshu stood there, not knowing where to put his hands and feet, his face turning red and then white. In the end, he suddenly stared at You Ning with a little resentment.

You Ning snickered in his heart, but he looked indifferent on the surface. He said goodbye to Chen Yao and dragged Jiang Yingying to continue shopping in the mall. They only bought one doll, which was not enough at all.

Chen Yao watched You Ning’s back as he left and asked himself, “How come I haven’t seen his wife?”

He was alone when he picked up Jiang Yingying from school last time, and he was also the only one who brought her to buy toys and clothes this weekend.

‘Could it be that ……’

There was a cloud of ashes deep in Chen Yao’s heart that suddenly showed signs of rekindling when the wind blew.

You Ning took Jiang Yingying to buy dresses, went to the play area to play games for a while, and took her out to eat a fried chicken burger that Jiang Chi had previously forbidden her to eat.

On the way home, Jiang Yingying fell asleep in the car, holding onto the corner of her father’s coat as she slept with a light smile on her lips.

Because Jiang Chi had a bad relationship with his family, he had taken Jiang Yingying to his apartment. He got out of the car and the driver went to park the car while he carried the little princess up the elevator and finally laid her gently on the bed.

Although the movement was gentle, Jiang Yingying noticed it and opened her eyes dazedly to look at her father, muttering “I want to eat …… tonight”.

“Okay, Daddy will cook for you, and call you when it’s ready.” After covering her with the blanket, You Ning patted her back rhythmically and left the room only after she had fallen back to sleep.

“Do you know that guy today?” You Ning asked Jiang Chi when he came out.

Jiang Chi replied, “Yes.”

You Ning flashed a mischievous smile, “I want to steal his protagonist halo.”

Jiang Chi stopped talking again but You Ning was now a little used to it.

Bai Xiaoshu, the second protagonist in “In the Name of the Father”, is the chosen son with a golden finger and unbelievable luck.

But the difference between reality and fiction was that the Bai Xiaoshu You Ning saw today was a transmigrator, he was not the original Bai Xiaoshu.

Although the original Bai Xiaoshu was incompetent and cowardly, he would not completely violate the laws of the protagonist, or at least, he would not just watch an injustice or break the law.

However, the one You Ning saw today had a soul so black that it could be compared to charcoal.

You Ning thought he would be bored, but he didn’t expect such a person to be delivered to him.

———

C City Police Station.

Chen Yao sat in his office and Bai Xiaoshu stood by the side and explained awkwardly, “Captain, I have blood sickness.”

“Pfft……” Chen Yao spewed his tea straight out, “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Bai Xiaoshu’s eyes were red with grievance, “I knew no one would believe me when I said it ……”

Chen Yao sneered and put the cup on the table with a snap. “I don’t care what you have, but you were wrong to stay hiding. No excuse is good enough, just get out next time.”

Chen Yao had the words “You don’t deserve to be a police officer” written all over his face.

Bai Xiaoshu came out of the office grinding his teeth. He glanced at the office door with resentment and clenched his fists.

In the evening, he went home, took out a pen and a notebook and wrote down a line.

The next day, Chen Yao came to work and greeted Bai Xiaoshu as usual. “Yo, newbie, so early today, huh?”

……

The results of the incident at the mall spread and even appeared in the local news and on several social media apps. The public could tell that it was another case of a woman using someone’s feelings to get money out of him, the other party couldn’t accept it and had such a reaction.

Many commented, “So, it’s better to know each other’s roots before dating in order not to become a big fool.”

“Holy shit, she has three other kids. That man is so pitiful.”

“I’m speechless. This woman isn’t even pretty. What kind of vision does the man have, and he even committed a crime for a woman like that? It’s not worth it.”

“Liars should be careful, there is karma for hurting people’s hearts like that!”

The incident didn’t make too much of a splash and was put behind them in a couple of days.

After this weekend, Jiang Yingying was obviously closer to her father.

He would pick her up everyday, standing at the most obvious spot at the school entrance. It had only been a week, and Jiang Yingying had already gotten used to it and was smiling more and more in front of You Ning.

But in the last two days, You Ning noticed that she was smiling less.

You Ning didn’t know why, but Jiang Chi did.

——The little girl was missing her mother.

You Ning thought about it and took her somewhere that weekend.

“Daddy, where are we going?” Jiang Yingying asked when they got into the car.

“The orphanage.” You Ning said, “We’re going to deliver some things to the children there.”

“Wow.” Jiang Yingying sat down obediently, not daring to speak. She had heard that disobedient children whose parents didn’t want them would be sent there. There was no one to love or care for them, it was miserable.

When she first heard her father say “orphanage”, she was scared and tried to search her memory to see if she had recently misbehaved and her father didn’t want her anymore and wanted to send her there. But his last words made her relieved.

Then it occurred to her, the children there were miserable and as a kind princess, she should help them.

The director of the orphanage came to pick up You Ning herself. Jiang Chi had been donating before and the director was very grateful.

There were several children in this orphanage, both healthy and unhealthy. Jiang Yingying played with them for a while and then secretly grabbed her father’s hand, tears threatening to fall.

The children here were precocious. As soon as they see someone coming, they first think of also pleasing the adults who came and not bullying other people’s children, lest they be hated and lose the chance of being adopted.

You Ning understood that the little girl felt that they were too pitiful that she wanted to cry.

He stroked her head as a sign of comfort.

Jiang Yingying was comforted, she sniffled and went to play with the children again. She then distributed the toys that her father had asked the assistant to buy.

You Ning stood listening to the director while watching Jiang Yingying’s tiny figure.

At that moment, a car came to the entrance of the orphanage. You Ning heard the sound of the car door closing and reflexively glanced back.

Then he and the person who had come froze for a moment.

Chen Yao had a cigarette in his ear, he raised his hand as if to remove it but then put it down again and said to You Ning, “What a coincidence, are you here to donate as well?” He saw Jiang Yingying who was handing out school bags and clothes.

“That’s nice, bringing your daughter to do something meaningful.” Chen Yao pretended to ask casually, “How come I haven’t seen your wife?”

You Ning paused and then answered, “We’re divorced.”

Chen Yao almost failed to suppress the corners of his mouth from raising. He pressed them down before continuing to ask offhandedly, “Divorced, huh? When did you get divorced?”

You Ning gave him a deep look, “A week ago. The formalities have been completed this week.”

Chen Yao was about to say something else when he saw the director who was looking at them. He coughed lightly before he remembered his business here.

You Ning also noticed Bai Xiaoshu behind Chen Yao.

As soon as their eyes met, Bai Xiaoshu quickly looked away.

You Ning also withdrew his gaze just as Jiang Yingying finished handing out the things they had brought with them. He went to get his daughter, as if he was already planning to leave.

Chen Yao didn’t want them to leave just like that and he called out to You Ning, “Captain Jiang, there’s no rush to leave first. I haven’t thanked you for last time, do you mind having a cup of tea together later?”

You Ning looked down at Jiang Yingying.

Chen Yao noticed his movement and hurriedly asked Jiang Yingying, “Little princess, uncle and your father are friends that haven’t seen each other for years, is it okay if uncle borrows dad from you for a while?”

The little girl didn’t know how to refuse people, and she also knew that this was a police uncle. Children have a natural sense of trust and admiration for police officers, so she nodded without much hesitation.

Chen Yao raised an eyebrow at You Ning, who had no choice but to say, “Okay.”

“Okay, then you wait for me for a while.” Chen Yao was delighted and turned his head to continue his own business.

He had come here because he had received a call from the director.

The director said, “I usually pay extra attention because we have a lot of children here, and those two men pass by us almost every day. I know all the residents in this area and these two are not part of them. They always look inside the railing when they pass by.”

“I felt it was weird, so I’ll trouble you guys.”

“No trouble.” Chen Yao took the picture taken on the director’s phone, “It’s necessary to have this kind of awareness, we’re not afraid of trouble, we’re just afraid when it’s too late.”

Bai Xiaoshu followed behind Chen Yao and echoed a couple of words.

You Ning looked at him again and he seemed to sense it. After speaking to Chen Yao, Bai Xiaoshu took the initiative to check the surveillance around the orphanage and the blind spots of the surveillance.

You Ning watched his fleeing back and curled the corners of his lips as he patted Chen Yao’s shoulder, “Do you need any help?”

Chen Yao was a fire ox, a bull in the Chinese zodiac. He was hot all year round and was not afraid of the cold. It was only early summer, but he was already dressed relatively light, and the small patch of skin that You Ning had patted was faintly burning through the thin layer of clothing.

He nodded without hesitation. “Of course!” Little did he know that the burning sensation on that piece of skin was not psychological, but real.

The director said that the two men passed by every day after lunchtime ever since the new food restaurant opened in the area. She hadn’t been concerned at first, until their presence became more frequent and she started feeling uneasy.

Since it was before lunch, they decided to eat lunch early and wait.

Chen Yao spoke to the director and took the two to a restaurant nearby to eat.

You Ning asked, “Where is that newcomer?”

Chen Yao was checking out what restaurants were good in the area, and waved his hand nonchalantly, “Don’t care about him, let him learn on his own.”

You Ning’s tone was unmistakably emotional, “I thought I’d never see him again.”

Chen Yao’s feet paused. He frowned and looked up with puzzlement, “What do you mean?”

You Ning looked at him and said in an ominous tone, “I didn’t know the police department’s requirements were so low nowadays.”

“……” Chen Yao knew that Jiang Chi would not casually comment on a person like that. He felt that there was something he was missing, but he didn’t know what it was.