No matter how much Tang Zhengyang asked, Tang Yu simply lowered her head and refused to say anything.
Tang Zhengyang helplessly leaned back on the sofa, a depressed look on his face as he looked at the child sitting across from him. He honestly was out of ideas. He couldn't possibly treat this as an actual interrogation and use psychological warfare against a child, right?
As for that encrypted letter, maybe it was someone operating in the shadows using Tang Yu's hand to send them a message?
The phone in Tang Zhengyang's pocket suddenly vibrated. Tang Yu quietly raised her eyes for a moment when she heard the vibrations before quickly looking down again. Then, she heard her father walking away into the study.
When the study's door clicked shut, Tang Yu promptly jumped off the sofa and ran over to the corner of the living room housing a few potted plants. Then, the corners of her eyes twitched a little when she spotted the hidden camera buried between the layers of leaves and branches. At this point, she realized that all of her actions were most likely exposed...
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening came from behind Tang Yu, startling her. When she sheepishly turned around, she met with her father's complicated gaze.
Scratching his head, Tang Zhengyang hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, "I don't know how you know so many things, but I hope that only the two of us know about this matter. You get what I mean?"
Tang Yu weighed her options for a moment before eventually nodding.
When Tang Zhengyang saw her daughter's response, not only did he not feel relieved, but his worry even grew. However, at this point, he could only hope that his daughter would stop doing all these strange things.
"I'm returning to the station, so be careful these next few days. Make sure to come home right after school ends," Tang Zhengyang said to Tang Yu as he put on his coat.
Seeing that her father was about to leave, Tang Yu suddenly shouted in a panic, "Daddy!"
Tang Zhengyang stopped and turned around in confusion.
"...You must be careful."
Tang Zhengyang froze for a second. Then, he warmly smiled and said, "Don't worry. I will come back alive to see both you and your mother."
Eventually, the tall figure disappeared into the darkness. However, even after hearing her father's assurance, Tang Yu's worry did not dissipate.
Ding—
A prompt suddenly rang out in the silent house, instantly catching Tang Yu's attention. Then, when she went to the source of the sound, she saw the microwave in the kitchen emitting a warm light.
She could see the silhouette of something through the microwave's door, and this something was obviously food.
When Tang Yu took out the plate of food with a pair of oven mitts, a strong aroma instantly filled her nostrils. Then, upon seeing the delicious plate of curry rice in her hands, she felt tender warmth filling her heart.
…
Carrying change in her pocket, Tang Yu was thinking about what she should get for breakfast when she was suddenly dragged away from the breakfast stall by Yin Zhao-an. When Tang Yu saw the steaming stall getting farther and farther away, she felt a pang in her heart.
Yin Zhao-an pulled Tang Yu along. Seemingly having guessed what Tang Yu wanted to ask, she smiled and said, "I've brought something good for you."
Oh, so I won't be starving, Tang Yu thought to herself.
The first thing Yin Zhao-an did after arriving at school was to drag Tang Yu to her classroom, where there were only a few students at this hour. Then, she took an insulated container out of her canvas bag and placed it in front of Tang Yu.
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Tang Yu's forehead when she saw the corners of Yin Zhao-an's mouth lifting upward. Then, under Yin Zhao-an's insistent stare, Tang Yu opened the insulated container.
Seemingly bewitched, Tang Yu's empty stomach suddenly started to sing, the unexpected reaction causing Tang Yu's ears to instantly turn red.
Yin Zhao-an silently chuckled. Her Tang-Tang was far too cute. Fortunately, the sight of such a cute Tang-Tang was reserved only for her.
Inside the insulated container were steamed dumplings. When Tang Yu saw the misshapen dumplings, she could more or less guess whose hands they came from. Fortunately, the peanut sauce drizzled onto these miserable dumplings helped to salvage their image to a certain extent.
The dumplings were still hot. As soon as Tang Yu took a bite, she noticed a difference between these dumplings and store-bought dumplings. In addition to their freshness, these dumplings were also filled with something that gave them a crunchy bite.
"These dumplings have jícama added to them. Don't they taste very sweet?" Yin Zhao-an explained with arched eyebrows.
So she added jícama... Tang Yu's eyebrows relaxed when she tasted the sweetness in her mouth. "Mhm, it's very sweet."
The dumplings were delicious. However, Yin Zhao-an had overestimated Tang Yu's appetite as there were still a few dumplings left in the container when Tang Yu started to feel a little stuffed. Bracing her stomach, Tang Yu looked at the remaining dumplings with a troubled expression.
Yin Zhao-an naturally saw Tang Yu's hesitation. When Tang Yu was about to bring another one of those plump dumplings into her mouth, Yin Zhao-an suddenly leaned forward and bit down on the dumpling.
Tang Yu was visibly shocked by the action, her widened eyes reflecting Yin Zhao-an's grinning face.
Yin Zhao-an returned to her seat with the tip of the dumpling sticking out of her mouth. Then, while chewing, she said, "Don't force yourself if you can't finish. It's not like I'm forcing you to finish everything."
Coincidentally, a few boys entered the classroom at this time and saw this entire scene. Meanwhile, their immediate response was naturally to whistle at Yin Zhao-an and Tang Yu jokingly.
When Tang Yu heard the whistling and saw her empty chopsticks, her cheeks inadvertently reddened.
Yin Zhao-an sat next to Tang Yu, blocking everyone's view of her Tang-Tang. Then, she took the chopsticks from Tang Yu's hand and swiftly took care of the remaining dumplings in the insulated container.
After closing the container and returning it to the canvas bag, Yin Zhao-an said, "Let's go. I'll send you back to class."
However, just as Yin Zhao-an was about to stand up, Tang Yu stopped her.
"It's fine. My class is close, so you don't need to send me back," Tang Yu swiftly said. Then, while more and more people were entering the classroom, she quickly picked up her schoolbag and hastily left.
At this time, a girl familiar with Yin Zhao-an quietly walked over and followed Yin Zhao-an's line of sight. Then, after taking a moment to look at the tiny figure disappearing into the distance, she giggled a few times before saying, "How cute."
As expected, the girl was met with violence for her transgression.