The day after Qin Sisi finished work in the morning, she mustered up the courage to ask Yu Ping for time off.
"Taking time off again?" Yu Ping glared disapprovingly at Qin Sisi with sharp eyes, "That’ll be a hundred off your salary."
Qin Sisi frowned, finally just replied lightly: "Alright."
Since she had already promised Ye You she would quit, it was enough to get through this last period without any unpleasantness.
Qin Sisi returned to her place, had lunch with Ye You, then took out the student backpack Xiao Dan had given her the night before.
Probably it been buried in the soil for some time, the light pink backpack, which was originally clean and pretty, was now filthy. But the beautiful, beaming smile of Snow White on the pattern seemed to attest to Xiao Dan’s happy life.
Qin Sisi couldn’t help but sigh, "This should be the backpack Xiao Dan was carrying at the time, right?"
"Probably, let’s go," responded Ye You before leaping into Qin Sisi’s arms.
Confronted with Ye You’s embrace, Qin Sisi instinctively held on, but she couldn’t help feeling a little flustered and shy, a light blush spreading across her fair cheeks.
To cover up her emotions, Qin Sisi quickly packed up, picked up Ye You and Xiao Dan’s backpack, and set off for the police station.
On the way, while walking, Ye You gave Qin Sisi some advice. She agreed to everything, but she felt uneasy. After all, it had been two years since the incident. She wasn’t sure if the detective handling the case remembered it, or if Xiao Dan’s parents would keep their promise.
Preoccupied, Qin Sisi hesitated for a moment in front of the police station, but then gathered her courage and went in. As she entered the building, someone came out quickly from inside, almost colliding with her.
"Sorry." The person in front of her apologized politely. Just as Qin Sisi was about to say "It’s fine," the person suddenly said in surprise: "Qin Sisi?"
Qin Sisi was stunned. She didn’t know anyone at the police station. She looked up in surprise and found that it was the young detective who had come to the company to inquire about Wang Ji’an.
"Oh, you...hello," said Qin Sisi, a little nervously. Seeing a cop made her feel guilty because of Wang Ji’an’s case.
The young detective gave a friendly nod: "Hello, is there something you need?"
Perhaps it was due to his profession. His somewhat sharp gaze went over Qin Sisi’s face, then it swept over the black cat in Qin Sisi’s arms and the dirty backpack in her hand.
Suddenly, his expression changed. He quickly took the backpack from Qin Sisi’s hand for a close look, his brow furrowing tighter as he examined it.
Seeing his alarmed expression, Qin Sisi hesitated: "You..."
The young detective urgently interrupted her: "Where did you get this backpack?"
Qin Sisi eyed him suspiciously. His response was so rapid, could he know something about the case years back?
With this thought, Qin Sisi simply told the truth: "It was found in Xiyuan Park."
"Xiyuan Park?" The young detective repeated it to himself, then suddenly grabbed Qin Sisi’s wrist and said, "Come with me."
Before Qin Sisi could react, the young detective was already leading her into the police station, striding towards the upstairs with her in tow. She was almost being carried off her feet.
Xiao Hei in Qin Sisi’s arms turned its head. A trace of cold light flitted through its purple eyes as it stared at the large hand holding Qin Sisi. It gave a low "meow" as if it was very unhappy.
Finally, the young detective stopped in front of an office. Seeing him stop, Qin Sisi quickly broke free of his hand.
The young detective turned around to say something to Qin Sisi, only to notice her evasion. He suddenly realized his hasty behavior and felt awkward, stammering, "I’m... I’m sorry. I... I was in a hurry."
The young detective’s darkened face turned slightly red, looking as nervous as an innocent boy.
Qin Sisi took it in stride. She tugged the corner of her lips and said lightly, "No problem. By the way... is there really an issue with this backpack?"
The young detective instantly put aside his shyness. His eyes quickly scanned Qin Sisi’s face before he asked, "Why do you feel there’s an issue with this backpack?"
Without showing any confusion, Qin Sisi calmly took out a folded piece of paper from her pocket, and handed it to the young detective.
The young detective took it, unfolded it and saw that it was a missing person’s announcement. The white paper had yellowed, indicating it had been there for some time, but the writing and pictures on it were still clear.
This paper should be the notice Xiao Dan’s parents had posted everywhere when they were looking for their daughter. It stated that anyone providing clues would receive a reward of one hundred thousand yuan, along with a contact number, Xiao Dan’s photo, and a photo of Xiao Dan’s backpack.
When Ye You showed Qin Sisi this paper, she was shocked too. She finally understood what Ye You had meant by earning a sum of money. But the innocent, cute smile on Xiao Dan’s photo in the notice deeply pained Qin Sisi. She quietly decided that even without a monetary reward or the temptation of Soul Power, she had to finish what she had started.
The young detective gave Qin Sisi a meaningful look and said, "I need to confirm this. Please wait here for a moment."
Qin Sisi nodded: "Alright."
After he finished speaking, the young detective went into the room marked "Archive Room".
It wasn’t long before he came out, holding a file box and said to Qin Sisi in a matter-of-fact way, "Please come with me."
"Okay." Qin Sisi followed behind him.
The young detective walked very fast, and Qin Sisi had to trot along to keep up.
Perhaps it was the professional sharpness, but the young detective soon noticed that Qin Sisi could hardly keep up with him. He considerately slowed down his pace to walk alongside her.
This made Qin Sisi feel a bit embarrassed. To show friendliness and to ease the awkwardness, Qin Sisi politely asked, "May I ask your name?"
The young detective responded brightly, "My name is Ning Hao."
Ning Hao, such a nice name!
Qin Sisi mused, wondering what to call him. Officer? Comrade? Leader? Brother? None of the options seemed fitting.
Ning Hao, seemingly seeing Qin Sisi’s predicament, laughed and said, "Just call me by my name."
Qin Sisi nodded and gave Ning Hao a small smile as a response.