Chapter 84: I'll Go to the Movies with You

In front of an apartment building in Nanlin City, Li Changqing, Tang Xiaoyu, and Kelly Losetti stood beneath a tree's shade on the ground floor while federal police questioned residents upstairs. Under the blazing sun, Kelly Losetti held a parasol over her head. "Yesterday, after I handed the information about Xia Ping's fraud to the federal police, they began investigating the case," she said. "But the two girls who were scammed have vanished, and they can't reach Xia Ping either."

Li Changqing frowned and asked, "What about my sister?"

"I sent someone to watch over her as soon as I learned the girls were missing. Don't worry, nothing will happen," Kelly reassured him.

The sudden disappearance of the two girls at the same time made Xia Ping the prime suspect, and now he too was missing. Li Changqing paced, pondering aloud, "If this were only a regular fraud case, it shouldn't escalate to murder. Could Xia Ping be hiding something darker?"

Kelly Losetti analyzed, "I've secretly followed him before. He doesn't seem out of the ordinary, but there's something strange about his home. When he was out, I sneaked in and found a peculiar idol he worshiped. I couldn't recognize the figure, but its eyes seemed to follow me, making me deeply uncomfortable."

Li Changqing glanced at the federal officer upstairs, then turned back. "There aren't any more clues now. Nanlin City is huge. If Xia Ping is hiding, he won't be easy to find. Let's return to the bun shop," he said in a low voice. Despite Kelly's people watching over his sister, Li Changqing still felt uneasy.

The three of them turned and boarded a bus toward the bun shop.

It was late morning, the busiest hour for the bun shop, with many customers coming and going, most of them local residents. Li Lin was bustling inside, serving porridge, handing buns to customers, tallying bills and collecting payment. Though she looked overwhelmed, her movements were orderly and practiced, clearly experienced. She even found time to chat with regulars now and then.

But among the crowd sat an unusual customer—a beautiful woman. She sat quietly with a bowl of porridge that had long gone cold, reading a newspaper. She had been there for two hours.

In the midst of her work, Li Lin heard Li Changqing's voice: "Sis, can I have breakfast?"

Li Changqing entered with Kelly and Tang Xiaoyu. The shop was small and crowded, steam from the buns mingling with the day's heat, making the air stifling.

"You're not busy today? What brings you back?" Li Lin smiled. "If you want buns, help yourself. I'm swamped."

Li Changqing laughed and fetched three breakfasts.

Many people in the shop were neighbors. "Hey, it's Changqing! Haven't seen you in ages. Making the big bucks now, huh?" "You used to be just a kid; you’ve grown up so fast." "What work are you doing now?" Several older men and women asked.

Li Changqing smiled, "I'm a detective now."

A woman sipping porridge asked curiously, "So do you have shootouts with criminals all the time? The detectives on TV are amazing."

Li Changqing replied awkwardly, "It's not that dramatic."

Ordinary folks were unfamiliar with the detective profession, mostly learning about it from television. "Hey, you know, detectives do undercover work and disguise themselves. They're brilliant," chimed in a man who watched a lot of spy dramas, equating detectives with undercover agents.

With Li Changqing's arrival, the bun shop grew livelier. These were the uncles and aunties who had watched Li Changqing and Li Lin grow up. Though he didn't know them well, he chatted as if they were old friends.

He noticed Kelly sitting across from the beautiful woman—the informant Qu Qing, whom Kelly had sent him to find after her own disappearance.

"Kelly, must you always use me as your assistant?" Qu Qing rolled her eyes at Kelly Losetti. She was just an informant, supposed to provide intelligence, yet Kelly always asked her to do things meant for an assistant, like following someone.

And every time, she agreed—because he was handsome.

Kelly Losetti sipped his soy milk with aristocratic elegance. "Dear Qu Qing, you must understand, I can't afford an assistant yet, and..."

Qu Qing gritted her teeth. Every time she helped this scoundrel, she had to take leave from work. Did he not realize her salary was high? The deductions each month could support him. Most importantly, she had hinted many times at her interest in him, but he always pretended not to notice.

"Miss Qu," Li Changqing greeted her, sensing something was indeed going on between the two.

He couldn't help but curse Kelly for being unreliable: entrusting Qu Qing to protect his sister was risky—if Xia Ping really was dangerous, wasn't he pushing Qu Qing into the fire?

Suddenly, Kelly's expression changed. He glanced at Li Changqing and stood up, whispering, "Don't look back. Xia Ping is outside. He shouldn't recognize me. I'll go out and block his escape."

Dressed in white casual clothes, Xia Ping stood at the entrance of the bun shop, smiling. "Li Lin, busy as always? There's a big movie premiering this afternoon. I was supposed to go with a male classmate, but he had something come up. The shop isn't busy in the afternoon, right? Want to go together? The cinema's only two kilometers away."

Li Lin frowned and refused, "Sorry, I need to go to my sister's school this afternoon."

"Perfect, I can drive you there," Xia Ping offered.

Li Changqing saw Kelly was ready and stepped out, smiling, "Brother Xia, I'm free. How about I go with you to the movies?"

Xia Ping looked a bit awkward. "Uh..."

He cursed inwardly—why was this guy interfering?

Li Changqing moved forward, warmly grabbing Xia Ping's wrist. "Come on, shouldn't we grab a meal before the movie? Let's eat first."

"This isn't necessary..." Xia Ping protested.

"Don't be shy," Li Changqing insisted, pulling him toward a nearby alley.

Xia Ping was unsuspecting. Once outside, he said, "Actually, I just remembered my friend is free today. I can go with him to the movie."

They had just reached the alley's entrance.

In an instant, Li Changqing squeezed his wrist tightly.

Even without transforming into a zombie, his strength and speed surpassed ordinary people.

"Ah!" Xia Ping gasped in pain.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

With a thud, Li Changqing dragged him into the alley and pinned him firmly to the ground, immobilizing him.