CHAPTER 552: CHAPTER 536 CATCHING THE THIEF

The man wearing a flat cap lingered near Jiang Xiaoxiao’s school, having seen Jiang Xiaoxiao and her friends take the bus to a competition, which would likely take several hours.

He had plenty of time to search the house thoroughly to find anything he needed.

If he couldn’t find it, the boss had instructed him not to act rashly and alarm others.

Maybe the item was in a safe, but people usually weren’t that careful with valuables, just hiding them in a place they thought was really safe at home.

He returned to the car, took out a newly purchased map, and found the street where Jiang Xiaoxiao lived.

He could get there in fifteen minutes at most and still had plenty of time to complete the task.

As he drove past the neighboring community, he observed whether any neighbors were in their yards planting flowers or weeding.

These houses were small and long past their prime.

He only saw some children playing, indicating that most residents were older, with children who had mostly started their own families, or newlywed couples buying their first home without children yet.

The empty bike racks indicated people had already gone to work.

This situation had both advantages and disadvantages.

There weren’t too many people at home in the community, but those who were home were elderly.

Old people are good at being nosy, knowing who belongs to the community and who is a stranger, and with nothing better to do, they pass the time peering out the window.

If someone saw him, the trick was to make himself appear very ordinary, as if he had the right to be there.

It would be even better if no one saw him.

He was very skilled at hiding himself, which was why the boss picked him for this job.

He wandered around until he found a secluded basketball court, where no one would be exercising at this time, and parked his car as much to the side as possible.

He left the car there and quickly walked across three streets to Jiang Xiaoxiao’s house.

When he arrived on her street, he began to move to the backyard, using the shrubs and fences as cover.

Silently, he climbed up the drainpipe.

He had called the household using Jiang Xiaoxiao’s number earlier, and no one answered, proving that the house was empty now.

It was said there was a child in the house, but the couple was never home during the day, and the child must have been sent to the elderly or daycare, so the entire house would be unoccupied.

Entering someone else’s home was a piece of cake.

The lock on the door wouldn’t stop a determined ten-year-old; it only took him a few seconds to open it.

Voices of children came from next door, and he didn’t want to alert anyone.

Lord, people really couldn’t imagine how simple this was.

He first took a quick tour inside the house, checking the most obvious hiding places like the fridge freezer, the top of cabinets, and under the chairs.

He wasn’t very clear about what the notebook he was supposed to find looked like; no one knew.

The boss said to find a notebook that would be old and dirty.

The obvious hiding places had no old, dirty notebook.

The man with the flat cap began systematically going through the items in the house.

He checked every drawer, pulling each out to see if anything was hidden behind or beneath them.

He felt the curtains to check for items sewn into the bottoms and observed all the cushions and pillows for signs of re-stitching or unusual bulges.

He didn’t damage anything; that was the act of a malicious amateur.

The true art was entering and leaving a house without leaving a trace of his presence.

He didn’t destroy any furniture and put everything back in place after checking.

He was quite efficient, and in less than two hours, he finished searching, but hadn’t found the notebook.

Unless that woman was really smart, but the house was only so big, and there weren’t many extra hiding places unless they specifically created a secret room, there was absolutely no way to miss it.

Convinced the notebook wasn’t in the house, he immediately left the house, taking the usual careful steps back to the car.

No one knew anyone had been here.

...

Tang Yuan suddenly raised his head, holding a plastic knife, gesturing as he spoke to Old Sir Song.

"Great-grandpa, there’s a thief!"

Old Sir Song smiled wryly; his great-grandson had recently taken a liking to playing the game of cops and robbers.

Every time he picked up that knife, it was time to play this game, and of course, each time he played the thief, while his great-grandson played the cop who caught the thief.

Old Sir Song got up and quickly ran away, although playing this game often left him exhausted, there was no choice; the kid liked him too much to disappoint him.

Tang Yuan stood pointing at the opposite house, "Thief!"

Old Sir Song called from behind the door, "Come catch me!"

Old Mrs. Song watched laughingly at her husband and Tang Yuan teasing each other there.

"This kid might want to be a cop when he grows up, always playing this game from childhood. And he always manages to catch you, your thief role is quite unfulfilled. Considering you once braved battlefields, just look at yourself unable to deal with a child."

Old Sir Song held his waist, "I’m old now, don’t expect me to brave battlefields anymore, that was when I was young. Try playing with this kid for a while, you’ll see. Don’t let his short legs fool you; he’s faster than a rabbit when he runs."

With that, Tang Yuan peeked adorably at his great-grandma and great-grandpa.

Pulling strongly at Old Sir Song, insisting on dragging him outside.

Old Sir Song helplessly followed Tang Yuan to the door.

"You little rascal, aren’t we playing cops and robbers? Why are you outside now?"

Tang Yuan looked at the house door and paused for a moment, "The thief ran away."

Old Sir Song was speechless; so this kid still hadn’t given up.

"Alright, alright, the thief ran away, so hurry back inside with great-grandpa. You miss your parents, right? Don’t worry, your mom’s just gone for a few days for a competition and will be back when it’s over.

Your mom said she’ll call you tonight, and you’ll be staying at great-grandpa’s these days.

Oh, by the way, your Grandpa Wu and Grandma Wu will be coming over later, and Grandma Wu said she’s making your favorite jujube cake for you."

The old man picked Tang Yuan up, carrying him back inside.

Old Mrs. Song carried a bowl of egg custard, "Come on, Little Tang Yuan, it’s time for lunch."

Tang Yuan slowly climbed onto the chair himself, being a very independent child.

He glanced at the door disappointedly, wondering why great-grandpa couldn’t understand what he was saying!

There really was a thief, but the thief left without taking anything.

Very soon, Tang Yuan forgot all about this, and began happily eating the egg custard.

The arrival of Mr. Wu and Mrs. Wu filled the house with liveliness.

They specifically came to take Tang Yuan to the zoo, and the four elders took Tang Yuan directly to the zoo by car.

Nobody knew such an episode had ever happened at the house.