Around four in the afternoon, Lin Jiang got dressed and headed out.
He also sent a message to Xu Lin.
Lin Jiang: "I'm heading out now. After I pick him up, where should I take him? Your place?"
Xu Lin: "Yep, he'll be fine at home by himself. Thanks so much."
Lin Jiang: "It's no big deal. Don't worry about it."
After exchanging a few more messages, Lin Jiang got into the small van he usually used for deliveries and drove to Huaihe Second Primary School.
He was still early. When he arrived, there were still over twenty minutes until school let out.
Two of the four lanes in front of the school gate were already occupied by parents' cars, but the traffic police were turning a blind eye and not being too strict about it.
To Lin Jiang's surprise, many of the cars parked by the gate were worth over 300,000, and there was even a Maybach GLS.
'Fucking gorgeous.'
Lin Jiang had to drive a few dozen meters away to find a parking spot, then he ambled back to the school gate.
After a short wait, the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.
Right after, he saw the homeroom teachers leading their classes out.
The student at the front of each line held up a small sign with their class name, making it easy for parents to find their kids.
At 6'1", Lin Jiang could easily see over the sea of heads and into the school grounds without needing to stand on his toes. He quickly spotted the line for Grade 2, Class 3.
Dressed in matching uniforms and carrying identical backpacks, the students marched out in neat lines.
Lin Jiang pulled out his phone, double-checked the photo, and quickly found Xu Lin's son, Zhao Wenxuan, in the crowd.
In the line, Zhao Wenxuan, wearing a red scarf, was also looking around in all directions.
Lin Jiang knew the boy was looking for him.
However, Lin Jiang's attention was drawn to the teacher standing next to the boy.
The teacher wasn't short; she was about 170cm, or 5'7".
She was wearing a gray pencil skirt that reached mid-calf and a black crew-neck shirt. A pair of rimless glasses sat on her elegant, straight nose, giving her a poised and serene look.
'They say that girls who look all prim and proper with glasses have a completely different side in private. I wonder if it's true.'
Soon, the line reached the gate, and the waiting parents began collecting their children.
The teacher led Zhao Wenxuan to the school gate, and Lin Jiang walked up to meet them.
"Hi, Teacher. I'm Zhao Wenxuan's neighbor. His mom had something to do today, so I came to pick him up."
The teacher glanced at Lin Jiang, her eyes as clear and cool as a spring.
"Please tell me your name and the phone number that was provided," the teacher said, pushing her glasses up by the right temple.
"My name is Lin Jiang, and his mother's number is..."
"Not Xuanxuan's mother's number. I need your number. His mother called me a little while ago and left the phone number of the person picking him up."
"152-4504-XXXX."
Lin Jiang recited his phone number. 'Schools these days are no joke when it comes to security.'
'Back when I was in school, a stray dog could have picked you up and no one would've batted an eye.'
"Could I trouble you to show me your ID, please?"
"Sure."
Lin Jiang handed over his ID. The teacher glanced at it, took a photo of it with her phone, then turned to Zhao Wenxuan.
"Xuanxuan, do you know this man?"
"Teacher Qiqi, I know him! He's our neighbor. We've even built toys together."
"Okay, good. You can go home with him now. Bye-bye, Xuanxuan."
"Bye-bye, Teacher Qiqi!"
Lin Jiang took Zhao Wenxuan's hand, and they headed toward his van.
Jiang Xiaoqi didn't leave immediately. She stood and watched the two of them walk away.
'What's his relationship to Xuanxuan's mother?'
'How can she be comfortable letting him pick up her son?'
Jiang Xiaoqi shook her head. 'It's their business, none of mine. As long as the child isn't in any danger, it's fine.'
Suddenly, a strange thought popped into Jiang Xiaoqi's head.
She recalled talking to Xuanxuan's mother during a parent-teacher conference. The mother had said his father was often away from home on business trips.
'And Xuanxuan's mother is so beautiful... Surely the two of them aren't in *that* kind of relationship...?'
'Such a handsome man... what a waste!'
...
Soon, the two were back in the van. Lin Jiang fastened his seatbelt, took a short video of Zhao Wenxuan, and sent it to Xu Lin.
Lin Jiang: "I've got the kid. Pay the ransom, and I'll let him go."
Xu Lin: "Haha, no problem. Thanks again!"
Lin Jiang didn't reply. He started driving home, but the task wasn't complete yet.
Lin Jiang guessed the task would only be marked as complete once he got the boy home safely.
"Now that you're in the second grade, do your teachers give you homework?"
"Of course they do! The first thing my mom makes me do when I get home is my homework. It's so annoying."
"There's a lot of pressure to compete these days. Your mom is just looking out for you."
Truthfully, Lin Jiang wanted to say, 'To hell with homework, Honor of Kings is way more fun.'
But this was someone else's kid, so he had to be careful about what he said.
"Ugh, don't even get me started." Zhao Wenxuan shook his head and said with a deadpan expression, "My back aches, my waist is sore, the pressure is immense. Every month, there are at least thirty-odd days when I don't feel like doing homework."
'Kiddo, those sound like symptoms of kidney deficiency, not stress.'
About twenty minutes later, Lin Jiang parked the van on the side of the road at the entrance to their apartment complex.
As the saying goes, if you're going to help someone, you should see it through to the end.
Instead of going straight home after reaching the complex, Lin Jiang found a small eatery, ordered a couple of dishes, and had dinner with Zhao Wenxuan. He was hungry, after all.
After a satisfying meal, the two of them headed home.
Zhao Wenxuan expertly used his fingerprint to unlock the door. After opening it, he didn't forget to thank Lin Jiang.
"Thanks for taking me home. My mom sells traditional Chinese medicine, and she knows how to read pulses, too. If you ever get sick, you can ask her for help."
'Heh.'
'He's not very old, but he already knows a thing or two about favors and social graces.'
It fit Lin Jiang's impression of him, though—the kid's thoughts tended to jump all over the place.
"I'm still young. I don't think I'll be needing your mom's medical skills."
"That's no good. A man needs to be 'replenished'."
Zhao Wenxuan said this with a straight face, carrying the air of a seasoned gangster.
'No wonder they call kids his age 'little misters' these days. Looks like there's a reason for it.'
"When my mom gets home, I'll have her send some tonics over to you."
"Alright, thanks then," Lin Jiang said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"It's a small thing. No need to be so formal."
Zhao Wenxuan went into his home with a cool swagger, and Lin Jiang took out his own keys to open his door.
Just then, a notification sound chimed in his mind.
[Task Complete (Xu Lin's Worries): Evaluation Label (Expires in seven days), Breathing Card x1, 30 EXP.]
Lin Jiang focused inward for a moment but felt no change in his body.
'In other words, the Evaluation Label ability hadn't changed him at all.'
'Is this some kind of discrimination against free-to-play users?'
'Whatever. I still have the Breathing Card.'
[Breathing Card Used Successfully: 23:59:59...]