Chapter 23

Li Yuechan smiled. She liked clever kids like this.

“Alright then, go to the small grove at East Ridge at midnight tonight. The hunter said he’d leave the wild boar there. Sell it and bring me the money—I’ll pass it to him. He said he wants to meet you.”

“I understand, I get it. Don’t worry, Big Sis, I’ll get this done properly.”

“Oh, by the way, these rabbits were a gift from him yesterday. Do you think you can sell them?”

Zhang Jinbu was so excited he nearly jumped up, but the next moment, he saw a rabbit that had been squashed flat.

“Uh… what happened to this one?”

“Well, if it were in perfect shape, do you think he’d give it to me? Go on, sell the rabbits. We’ll split the money fifty-fifty.”

Zhang Jinbu eyed the rabbits with distaste but still took them.

Li Yuechan tossed the twenty chicks into her space, then glanced at the pheasant she had caught yesterday. It was still flapping wildly, so she decided to leave it be.

She walked into the kitchen and saw that the rice was already steamed. Finding a large food container, she scooped the rice into it.

“Just for the sake of eating, I’ve even learned how to steam rice. It hasn’t been easy.”

After wrapping everything up in a cloth, she got on her bicycle and headed to the Public Security Bureau.

—

Gu Zhixing had been standing at the entrance for a while, staring longingly into the distance.

As soon as he spotted Li Yuechan, his face broke into a grin as bright as a flower.

Li Yuechan handed him the cloth bundle and said, “Here’s your bicycle back. And this is some rabbit meat for you.”

Gu Zhixing took the bicycle and parked it properly before saying,

“The cafeteria at the bureau is serving braised pork today. I got a portion, plus two vegetarian dishes. I can’t finish it all by myself. Let’s go eat in my office.”

Li Yuechan only hesitated for a second before agreeing. Braised pork—she had been craving it!

Gu Zhixing led Li Yuechan straight to his office on the second floor. Along the way, they encountered quite a few people.

At that moment, a colleague passed by and teased with a grin, “Hey, Captain Gu, who’s this young lady?”

Gu Zhixing looked a little awkward but replied, “Oh, just a friend.”

The colleague gave him a knowing smile and walked away.

Then, someone else joked, “Captain Gu, is this your wife?”

“Go, go, go! Don’t talk nonsense!”

Li Yuechan squinted slightly. She knew it—this man had definitely called her to the Public Security Bureau for a reason. He was full of tricks!

—

When they reached the office, Li Yuechan took a quick look around. The room was about ten square meters, containing a desk, a small bookshelf, a wooden sofa, and a tea table. There was even a washbasin stand in the corner.

It was a simple but clean space, with no strange smells.

On the tea table sat two meal boxes and two cornbread buns.

“Sit down, Xiao Chan,” Gu Zhixing said.

They sat on the wooden sofa. Without any pretense, Li Yuechan unwrapped the rabbit meat from the cloth and placed it on the table, along with a full container of rice.

Gu Zhixing found an extra container, scooped out a portion of rice for himself, and handed the rest to Li Yuechan.

“Xiao Chan, this is for you.”

Li Yuechan looked at the large portion of rice she had received and asked, “Is that enough for you?”

“It’s enough! I’ve got two buns too!”

That made sense, so Li Yuechan didn’t hold back and started eating.

Gu Zhixing took a bite of the rabbit meat and his eyes lit up.

“Xiao Chan, did you make this? It’s amazing!”

Li Yuechan rolled her eyes. “As if. I don’t know how to cook. My mom made it.”

Chewing, Gu Zhixing mumbled, “Mom’s really skilled. This is delicious!”

Li Yuechan wondered if she had misheard him… or maybe she hadn’t. A suspicion crept into her mind. Did this guy just take advantage of me?

Then again, maybe she was overthinking it.

She didn’t say anything and continued stuffing braised pork into her mouth.

Gu Zhixing secretly glanced at her before lowering his head to eat.

The two of them devoured their meal like a storm, leaving nothing behind—not even a single bun or a grain of rice.

Looking at the “devastation” before him, Gu Zhixing suddenly realized that he needed to return to his unit soon. With just his captain’s salary, he might not be able to afford to feed this little girl.

He gazed at Li Yuechan and asked softly, “Xiao Chan, are you full?”

Li Yuechan patted her round, full belly and said contentedly, “I’m stuffed!”

Gu Zhixing then grabbed a bottle of soda from the side, opened the cap, and handed it to her. “Here, have a soda.”

Excited, Li Yuechan took it. She had only tried it once before—the sweet and tangy taste had been amazing.

She asked curiously, “You can return the bottles for reuse?”

Gu Zhixing nodded. “As long as you pay a deposit, you can take it back.”

Li Yuechan’s eyes lit up. Great! That meant she could buy a few more and store them for later.

She lifted the soda and gulped it down in big swigs. After letting out a satisfied burp, she felt completely content.

When she reached out to clear the table, Gu Zhixing quickly stopped her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll wash them later and bring them back to you.”

Li Yuechan nodded, then let out a big yawn. “Alright then, I’m getting sleepy. I’ll head home for a nap.”

Gu Zhixing walked her to the entrance of the police station. After some thought, he said, “Xiao Chan, why don’t you keep the bicycle for now? It’ll be more convenient for you to use, and I don’t need it often. I’ll come get it when I do.”

Li Yuechan grinned. She had been worried about how to get to the grove at East Ridge tonight—walking would take over an hour. This was perfect!

“In that case, I’ll take it! Oh, by the way, do you have a bicycle ticket? I could buy one from you.”

Gu Zhixing hesitated. He didn’t actually have one, but it wasn’t entirely impossible to get. However, if he gave her the ticket, what excuse would he have to stay in touch with her?

Hurriedly, he said, “I don’t have one right now, but I’ll ask my colleagues and see if they do.”

Sure enough, she knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Alright, I’ll wait for your good news.”

Without looking back, Li Yuechan rode off on the bicycle.

Gu Zhixing only turned back toward the police station once she was completely out of sight.

The security guard, Old Yang, immediately called out, “Captain Gu, that’s your girlfriend, isn’t it?”

Gu Zhixing scratched his head and replied, “Not yet.”

Old Yang chuckled. “Then you better act fast! A pretty girl like that—who knows when some other wolf might snatch her up?”

“Thanks for the advice, Old Yang. I’ll keep that in mind.”

With that, Gu Zhixing returned to his office, gathered up the meal boxes, and headed to wash them.

He ran into Sister Hu, who was also washing her meal box. She immediately asked, “Captain Gu, your little sweetheart left already?”

Gu Zhixing nodded. “Just left.”

Sister Hu quickly finished up, then rushed back to her office and said to Yang Aimei, “Xiaomei, I asked him. That really is Captain Gu’s girlfriend.”

Yang Aimei bit her lip. “That’s impossible. He was just transferred here from another province, and it’s only been ten days. How could he have found a girlfriend so fast?”