I was fretting over how to negotiate with Lao Yao when Huang Xiaotao suddenly snatched my phone."I'm Song Yang's partner, Officer Huang Xiaotao. You're Lao Yao, right? If you help us with this case, all the bonus I receive will be yours."
Lao Yao's face lit up with excitement."Officer Huang, you're so generous! Alright, alright, I'll start digging right away."
Then Huang Xiaotao hung up and casually tossed the phone into my hands. I was stunned."Damn, you're really bold! Lao Yao just needs to look up some info online, and you're giving him the entire bonus?"
Huang Xiaotao winked at me."You missed one word—I said the bonus I get. How much they give out is up to the higher-ups. How much I keep is my business. Maybe I'll only take a few hundred, maybe nothing at all. I've been a cop long enough not to get outsmarted by some kid."
I admired her cunning deep down—Huang Xiaotao's tactics were on another level.
She asked, "That guy talks kind of... strange, is he the gay guy you mentioned last time?"
"He denies it, but all our classmates think he is." I replied.
"Do you like men too?" Huang Xiaotao teased.
I glared. "Where on earth did you get that idea?"
...
...
Huang Xiaotao muttered, "Oh, then I'm relieved."
Relieved? Of what? I was totally confused.
Back at the police station, I said, "It's late. Captain Liao's probably off work. There's a hospital nearby—let's take this girl there."
"Okay!"
Huang Xiaotao started the car and drove us to the hospital. Wang Yuanchao carried the girl inside.
The doctor checked her out—no major issues, mostly shock and malnutrition. The doctor asked who her guardian was. Huang Xiaotao flashed her badge, and the doctor stopped questioning. They gave the girl a vitamin injection and set up an IV drip with glucose, then put her in a ward to rest.
Wang Yuanchao stepped outside for a smoke. I sat beside Huang Xiaotao, and as soon as I settled down, she suddenly moved to another seat.
I wondered, "Do you have a problem with me tonight?"
She looked up at the ceiling light, casually saying, "No."
I figured it was because of that groping incident in the alley, but if I brought it up again, she'd just get mad. After some thought, I came up with what I thought was a reasonable way to make it up to her."When we get back to Nanjiang City, I'll treat you to something. I know a great pizza place."
"No need, thanks." Huang Xiaotao replied coldly.
Suddenly, crying came from the ward. We rushed in and saw the girl awake, sobbing and calling for her parents. Huang Xiaotao reached out to touch her head, but the girl curled up, trembling slightly. Her big dark eyes were full of tears, long lashes glistening with drops—she looked like a frightened little fawn.
"Don't be afraid. We're the police..." Huang Xiaotao said gently.
The moment she heard "police," the girl burst into tears."Officer, did something really happen to my mom and dad?"
Huang Xiaotao nodded. The girl clutched her pillow and wept bitterly.
After she calmed down, Huang Xiaotao asked a few questions. The girl was Huang Yuanyuan—the deceased's daughter. A few days ago, she tried calling her parents but couldn't get through. She contacted relatives, but they all dodged the subject. She quickly guessed something was wrong.
So she ran away from school late at night. Her school was far from home, and after a long ride, she arrived to find the house dark with a police seal on the door. She faintly heard noises upstairs—like some "bad people" were inside.
Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged glances. That night, when the girl came back, we were on the second floor "staging" the crime scene—she mistook us for those "bad people."
Of course, seeing the girl so heartbroken, we couldn't bring ourselves to laugh or interrupt.
The girl hesitated at the door, then saw a black cat gracefully stepping across the neighbor's roof, leaping onto her balcony, and slipping in through a broken second-floor window. Halfway through, the cat glanced back at her with glowing emerald eyes. She sensed something unusual about that cat.
After a while, the cat slipped out through the front door, suddenly pounced on her, and then she lost consciousness. She woke up in the hospital.
"A black cat?" I murmured. Could it have been that strange cat disturbing us during our crime reenactment, causing our emotions to run wild?
Or maybe it was just attracted by the little white mouse.
The girl cried and asked, "How did my mom, dad, and grandma die? Please don't lie to me."
"They..." Huang Xiaotao hesitated and gave me a look, passing the tough question to me.
"Gas leak. The three of them were eating when the stove wasn't turned off properly. They passed away together, but didn't suffer." I lied.
"Can I see them?" the girl pleaded.
I shook my head. "Sorry, their bodies have been sent for autopsy. Seeing them would only make you sadder."
The girl buried her face in the pillow and sobbed. No one could bear such pain, especially a little girl. Huang Xiaotao wanted to ask more, but I shook my head to wait. We stepped outside.
Huang Xiaotao glanced at me. "I didn't expect you to be so kind."
I said, "You can't hide the truth about her parents. I had to tell a kind lie."
"Are we guarding here all night? Then no casework tomorrow." Huang Xiaotao shrugged.
"I'll call two officers to take turns. Tomorrow, I'll try to contact her relatives."
I sent a message to our task force group chat saying we had an important mission—guarding the victim's daughter in the hospital. Whoever came would get overtime pay from me personally. Huang Xiaotao watched me type and clicked her tongue."You broke student offering overtime? You like playing the fool, huh?"
"No, if you want people to help, you gotta give them some reward."
"Rewards come in many forms. Sometimes a compliment is a reward." She snatched the phone again and deleted my message, quickly typing, "Come tomorrow and you get a day off."
After sending, a few officers eagerly volunteered to work overtime. Huang Xiaotao handed the phone back, grinning."Learn from me!"
While waiting, I looked up the girl's school phone number and called to inform them she was with the police now.
About half an hour later, two officers rushed in. I specifically told them that if the girl asked, to say her parents and grandma died from gas poisoning—to keep my kind lie intact. Huang Xiaotao added that all medical, lodging, transport, and food expenses should be reimbursed. Just keep the receipts; she'd report it to Captain Liao.