Winter Time Rendering

But he didn’t have to keep guessing anymore.

Because Gu Qiuyan was already holding out the phone.

"Look what you’ve done!"

Her rosy lips moved, mouthing the words without a sound. She gritted her teeth, ready to get even.

Zhang Shutong quickly dodged to one side.

...

"Oh, Du Kang just messaged back," Qingyi said with a sudden smile, looking at his phone screen.

Ruoping saw it too, as he’d posted it in the main group chat this time. The photo on the screen showed the corpse of a flowerpot and the boy’s bright red ear.

He’d also attached a message:

They twisted my ear (sobbing).

Ruoping laughed too and sent a voice message.

"How did you get caught just for smashing a flowerpot? You should’ve just smashed it and run."

"There was nothing I could do," Du Kang said helplessly. "I was smashing the two in the back when she happened to come out of the kitchen. I ran to the front yard and smashed another one, but I didn’t expect someone to come out right at that moment to take out the trash and catch me. Besides, it’s not like I really did anything. Running would have just made me look more suspicious, so I thought it was better to try and explain. But their nanny is so fierce! The moment she got ahold of me, she started laying into me."

Qingyi cut in:

"So, what are you doing now?"

"Gu Qiuyan helped explain things for me. It all worked out in the end. The ’auntie’ invited me in for a bite to eat, so I just went on inside."

"You sure made yourself at home, especially after just vandalizing the place," Ruoping scolded with a laugh.

But Du Kang protested,

"Let me tell you, I biked all the way from my house! I’m freezing to death! Besides, this was all for Gu Qiuyan’s sake, wasn’t it? What’s wrong with coming inside for a bit? Anyway, talk later. I’m going to try some of the young lady’s family cooking."

With that, he went silent. The guy had absolutely no shame.

"So we can rule out the nanny now?" Ruoping asked, putting down her phone.

"Yep, she’s clear."

Ruoping asked again,

"So, you suspected the nanny was the arsonist from the beginning? Does that mean Du Kang’s trip was pointless? He just finished testing the waters over there while you guys already found the real culprit here?"

"Not exactly," Qingyi explained. "The nanny has nothing to do with the arson. Think about it. The people involved were from the commercial street. She’s a nanny from out of town who doesn’t know the area, and as a live-in nanny, she rarely goes out. How could she have organized those five people without anyone knowing, all while managing to stay hidden herself?"

"So the nanny and the commercial street case are two separate things, but you really did suspect her of being the culprit?"

"Right. At first, we hadn’t found the Pork Liver Man yet, so we had to cover our bases. In Shutong’s words, it was a way to conveniently eliminate a suspect, which would let us narrow down our targets."

Qingyi paused for a moment before adding,

"It wasn’t purely about testing the nanny, either. Like you said, what if the culprit is an idiot? What if he made a beeline for Gu Qiuyan’s villa without confirming anything? That’s why we sent Du Kang over there in the first place. The worst-case scenario was that if something felt off, he could just hop on his bike and get out of there."

"So all of those possibilities are ruled out now?"

"Right."

"So if we catch the Pork Liver Man next, is it mission accomplished?" Ruoping was getting excited too. ’God knows when she started calling him ’Pork Liver Man’ instead of ’uncle’.’

But this time, Qingyi shook his head.

"That’s not right, either."

"Why not?"

"Because all we’ve done is eliminate suspects. In reality, there’s still one more person we haven’t rooted out."

"What do you mean? Are you saying there are two of them?" Ruoping froze.

"Shutong suspects it’s a joint operation."

"For real? Where did another person come from?"

"Shutong’s just suspicious. It’s not confirmed."

"So what’s our next move?"

Qingyi said,

"Like I just said, we can’t be sure of the Pork Liver Man’s location. He might have followed Shutong and the others, or he might not have, and instead went straight to Gu Qiuyan’s route home to wait for her. His potential area of movement is too large, which makes him hard to catch."

"So?"

"So! Next is Phase Four of ’Operation: The Goddess of Destiny Who Controls the Young Lady’s Future’!"

Qingyi made a gripping motion with his hands in front of him, as if holding a fishing rod. He announced with great passion:

"Since the Commander-in-Chief is not present, I shall personally elaborate on the main objective of Phase Four! We will now use the Pork Liver Man’s accomplice to completely restrict his movements. This type of action is what we generally call—"

Just before Uchiha Qingyi could speak, his phone pinged. The boy glanced at the screen, the dramatic atmosphere shattering. He said regretfully,

"Never mind. Let Shutong say it himself. This whole operation was his plan from start to finish, anyway. A real man can’t steal his teammate’s thunder."

Ruoping quickly looked at their four-person group chat.

A picture taken by the water had appeared.

New Peach Old Bamboo:

"Starting the ’fishing.’ Phone’s about to die. Do not disturb."

’So that’s the "fishing" he was talking about.’

"You two are a perfect match with that over-the-top dramatic act of yours."

Ruoping pursed her lips, but the more she looked, the more familiar the body of water seemed. Her jaw dropped as she said,

"Has he lost his mind? Why would the two of them go to the ’base’? There’s nobody there! Who in their right mind uses themselves as bait?"

"Wrong. Quite the opposite. It’s to shake the culprit off their tail, of course. Why else would we call it ’fishing’?"

Ruoping said, speechless,

"You guys are way too reckless. Watch him get hooked himself instead of catching any fish."

...

Du Kang was already on his third bowl of noodles.

There was nothing more blissful than eating a bowl of duck noodle soup in the dead of winter when you were frozen to the bone.

The rich broth and chewy noodles, topped with a sprinkle of scallions—gold, white, and jade green, each in its proper place. The fragrant aroma wafted up with the faint steam, making Du Kang feel this trip hadn’t been a waste at all. He decided he would tell Shutong to call him again the next time a job like this came up.