Chapter 6

When Wu Lingling entered and saw so many people in the office, she was momentarily stunned. “Hello, Principal, Director… and who are these two?”

“Don’t be nervous, Teacher Wu. These two are comrades from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. They’d like to ask you about some matters,” the principal explained.

The moment the Public Security Bureau was mentioned, Wu Lingling immediately grew tense, her fingers unconsciously clenching.

Ruan Mingxi noticed her small movements, and when he clarified that they were there to ask about Yan Zhan, Wu Lingling instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

Realizing the police visit wasn’t about her, she relaxed subconsciously, but curiosity and concern for her student quickly made her tense again.

Though still nervous, Ruan Mingxi could sense she was far more at ease than when she first heard they were from the Public Security Bureau.

Taking the lead, Ruan Mingxi repeated to Wu Lingling the same questions he had just asked the director and principal.

The general situation was the same: Yan Zhan, usually obedient and sensible, had suddenly become “rebellious,” insisting on dropping out of school to pursue professional e-sports.

The teachers had tried to counsel him many times, but the result was always the same — Yan Zhan’s determination to leave school was unwavering.

　　“Before and after this sudden change, did you notice anything unusual?” Ruan Mingxi asked.

Wu Lingling’s gaze drifted unconsciously to the left as she tried to recall.

“No, he came to school as usual. Before he first mentioned wanting to drop out, he even scored quite well on a unit test.”

After answering, Wu Lingling immediately asked back: “Did something happen to Yan Zhan? He hasn’t been in class these past few days. I called his home, and his mother said he was sick.”

Ruan Mingxi replied, “He’s run away from home. His family has reported it to the police, and they’re searching for him now.”

Wu Lingling’s voice rose involuntarily in shock. “Run away from home? How could that be?”

In her eyes, Yan Zhan was a very obedient and sensible child. How could he do something as “out of line” as running away?

“At present, we don’t know much either. We’ve gathered most of what we can. Thank you for your cooperation,” said Ruan Mingxi.

Wu Lingling was still stunned, but nodded instinctively. “Alright, officer, don’t worry. If Yan Zhan contacts me, I’ll inform you immediately.”

Ruan Mingxi’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing more.

Ying Shi quickly left Wu Lingling his contact information, just in case.

“Also, please don’t speak of this matter outside. If word spreads, it could lead to harmful rumors in the school, which wouldn’t be good for the child’s state of mind.”

Ruan Mingxi felt it necessary to remind them, to prevent any accidents.

Hearing this, all three school staff nodded, promising to keep the day’s events confidential.

Leaving the principal’s office, Ying Shi suddenly realized: “That Mr. Jiang hasn’t come back yet… could he be feeling unwell?”

“I don’t know.” Ruan Mingxi tossed him the car keys. “Wait for me in the car. I’ll go check what’s going on.”

With that, Ruan Mingxi strode off, leaving Ying Shi bewildered.

Following his memory, Ruan Mingxi found the senior-year teaching building.

When passing by Yan Zhan’s class, Jiang Xuzhou was seen sitting in the last row of the classroom, his expression serious as he looked at the blackboard.

If he were wearing the No. 1 High School uniform, one could easily mistake him for a senior-year student.

Sensing someone’s gaze, Jiang Xuzhou turned his head and saw Ruan Mingxi standing at the back of the classroom.

Leaning against the wall, Ruan Mingxi raised his brows slightly, his eyes asking silently: Can we leave now?

Catching the message, Jiang Xuzhou glanced at the teacher on the podium, who was speaking passionately.

　　Bending low, he tried to sneak quietly out the back, but even with such careful movements, the teacher on the podium still noticed.

The teacher glanced toward the back and happened to meet Ruan Mingxi’s gaze — the look he gave while covering for Jiang Xuzhou.

For a split second, Ruan Mingxi froze.

What luck — unbelievable.

He quickly recovered, saluted the teacher, then grabbed Jiang Xuzhou’s hand and bolted.

The sudden action left the teacher completely stunned, and when he finally reacted, he couldn’t help but laugh and scold: “You rascal.”

“What did you say, teacher?” A student in the front row, who thought he vaguely heard the teacher curse, looked doubtful, as if questioning his own hearing.

The teacher quickly suppressed his smile and continued the lesson, completely unaffected by the little interruption.

By coincidence, when Ruan Mingxi studied at Jinghai No. 1 High School, this same teacher had also been his homeroom teacher.

Although Ruan Mingxi had excellent grades, he always looked careless and unruly. Without his school uniform, standing at the back gate with that fierce expression, he looked exactly like a street thug demanding protection money.

He was a troublemaker back then, often doing things that left people baffled. His curiosity was strong, his imagination even stronger, and skipping class to surf the internet was practically routine for him.

That he eventually became a police officer — and not just any officer, but a frontline criminal investigator — was unexpected, yet somehow made perfect sense.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xuzhou was dragged along at a jog, running from the fifth floor all the way down to the bottom of the teaching building before they finally stopped.

　“You dragging me like this makes it feel like we’re skipping class,” Jiang Xuzhou said, still slightly breathless from running down five flights of stairs while not fully recovered from a cold.

Ruan Mingxi laughed. “Doesn’t it feel kind of nostalgic?”

Jiang Xuzhou chuckled too. “Yeah, nostalgic. The only relief is that we don’t have to worry about getting caught and being forced to read a self-criticism at the flag-raising ceremony on Monday.”

Ruan Mingxi paused, then burst out laughing in exasperation. “You’ve remembered that one punishment all these years? Jiang Xuzhou, how did I never realize you hold grudges like this?”

Jiang Xuzhou curved his lips into a smile. “It was the only time in my life. Hard to forget.”

　　Ruan Mingxi also seemed to recall that unlucky incident and burst out laughing. He hadn’t expected such bad timing — they had only been playing basketball for five minutes when the discipline director showed up.

The two of them were six years apart in age; when Jiang Xuzhou was still in high school, Ruan Mingxi was already a senior in college.

Near the winter break, Ruan Mingxi had returned home early. Out of boredom, he easily scaled the wall of No. 1 High School and coaxed Jiang Xuzhou, who was in evening self-study, to sneak out and play basketball with him.

As expected, the discipline director caught them during his rounds and hauled them into the office for a stern scolding.

What Ruan Mingxi hadn’t anticipated was how strict the homeroom teacher would be. Even though he had graduated years earlier, he was dragged back and made to stand on the flag-raising platform one Monday morning, reading a self-criticism alongside Jiang Xuzhou.

　　That incident had also given Jiang Xuzhou the very first self-criticism of his life — all thanks to Ruan Mingxi.

After the joking, the two quickly returned to the serious matter at hand. After all, they hadn’t come back to the school just to reminisce.

Jiang Xuzhou asked the question he had wanted to raise back in the principal’s office: “Why are you investigating Yan Zhan? Was there a problem with the DNA sample taken yesterday?”

Ruan Mingxi didn’t intend to hide anything. “Yes. Professor Yan’s sample and one of the bone samples we collected yesterday show a genetic relationship.”