CHAPTER 144: 90. ONLY LET HER LAUGH, NOT LET HER BE AFRAID

After leaving the police station, the sky had already brightened.

Standing at the entrance of the police station, greeting the morning breeze blowing against his face, Shi Nian suddenly said, "Thank you."

"Oh?" Tang Yanqing raised an eyebrow, "Why are you saying that again?"

Shi Nian shook her head and smiled, but didn’t explain.

She thought of Dad again, remembering how she always went to his workplace to play when she was a child. Back then, Dad was still at the grassroots level, and the threshold of the police station or district bureau was not as high as it is now; her playing there didn’t really matter much.

Although this was M Country, and the appearance of the police station was quite different from in China, it was still a police station, after all. The atmosphere of justice and solemnity was the same; she had another chance to wander there, as if she’d found the shadow of her childhood again.

It’s just a pity, Dad was no longer there with his warm, big hand holding hers as they walked in.

She tilted her head to look at him.

This man in front of her, although not as warm as Dad, and sometimes a bit mischievous, could still bring her a feeling similar to Dad’s — every case was a battle between good and evil, and like Dad, he always allowed her to see the light of justice.

Feeling suddenly uplifted, she smiled and turned her head away, "Professor T, I want to take a day off today and not go back to school."

He then squinted his eyes, deeply scrutinizing her, "Then what do you plan to do?"

"Go home." She turned her eyes to him with a smile.

"Go home?" His expression immediately changed, "Here you only have a home with Xiang Yuan! Why, are you in a hurry to go back?"

He was no longer the detective who could analyze cases methodically, as if controlling the whole situation, nor was he the professor in behavior analysis classes who spoke precisely, making others silently scream. Now, he was just a big boy — as if someone was about to take away his beloved toy.

Shi Nian had to take a deep breath, walk up to him, and look up.

"I’m not going to that home. I’m taking leave because I want to see my mom."

Although this time she narrowly escaped danger, she still couldn’t forget the feeling when Jack tightened the headband around her neck. She wasn’t afraid, but afterwards, she really wanted to see Mom.

Tang Yanqing then tilted his head, "Going to Deep Valley?"

Shi Nian was startled again, "Mr. Tang, did you secretly check my information?"

"Uh-huh," he shrugged arrogantly, "I did check, so what? Bite me?"

"You..." Shi Nian really couldn’t do anything about him, just lowered her head with a laugh and shook it.

What kind of professor is this anyway? Hmph!

As they were talking, a gaze suddenly swept over from afar.

Shi Nian frowned slightly, turning her head to look. A sleek police-uniformed Tang Yan Yi disembarked from a similarly cobalt blue Ford Mustang that pulled curbside and walked towards them.

The hostility in that gaze made Shi Nian uncomfortable, so she said to Tang Yanqing, "Look, your sister is here. I’ll head off first. See you at school tomorrow."

"Don’t leave just yet." Tang Yanqing reached out and grabbed Shi Nian’s wrist.

"Mr. Tang!"

Shi Nian was truly frightened and hurriedly tried to shake off his hand. However, she couldn’t break free.

Tang Yan Yi saw this and her gaze grew colder, walking over with a chilly smile towards Tang Yanqing, "Brother, what are you up to now?"

Tang Yanqing raised his wrist to look at his watch, "Why are you at work so early? As long as you are earnest in handling cases, it’s enough to show your loyalty to work; it doesn’t matter if you’re early or late."

Tang Yan Yi, frustrated, gritted her teeth but could only accompany it with a smiling face, "Who says I’m here to show loyalty to work? I’m here to corner you. Brother, count how many days it’s been since you went home. Even though we’re in the same bureau, if Auntie can’t find you, she asks me, but I don’t know where you are either. I finally heard you were at the bureau this morning, so of course I came to catch you."

As she spoke, her gaze swept over Shi Nian again, tugging at Tang Yanqing’s sleeve, "Working through the night again, is it some big case? Give me a hint so I can learn."

The sky had just begun to light up, the entire street still quiet. Tang Yan Yi had shed her initially stern impression and now pulled on Tang Yanqing’s sleeve like a little girl, all the while acting coy. Shi Nian felt her presence here was too conspicuous, so she quietly said to Tang Yanqing, "Really, I need to get going. I haven’t slept all night. I’m exhausted."

Tang Yan Yi tilted her head and smiled, waving a hand, "Sister-in-law, bye-bye."

Tang Yanqing squinted at Tang Yan Yi, "As Tang Mingxiang’s daughter, you should understand the discipline of the police bureau. I can’t tell you or my mom about tasks where I can’t involve my family. I will give my mom an explanation once I’m done."