"Mommy, I want to eat this."
A child tugged at his mother's clothes as they walked to school, pointing at a sausage grill shop ahead, whining in a cute, innocent voice.
The mother, about thirty years old, was gentle and beautiful, with an alluring figure. She squatted down, stroked her son's head, and said softly with a smile, "Mommy can buy it for you, but you can't have this kind of thing again next time, okay?"
"Okay."
The child nodded, revealing a sweet smile.
His mother then stood up, holding his hand as they walked towards the shop.
"Anything I can get for you?"
The shop owner greeted the mother and child with a warm smile, exuding kindness.
"Yes, one roasted sausage, thank you!"
The mother nodded and handed the money to the owner.
Soon, a roasted sausage was handed over, which she gave to her son.
The child couldn't wait to take a bite, but his mother stopped him with a hand, "Be careful, it's hot. Let it cool down a bit before you eat it."
"Okay."
The child agreed and followed his mother away.
However, within moments, the child couldn't wait any longer and tried to unwrap the plastic packaging to take a bite. But before he could, a clean and slender hand blocked his mouth.
"Mommy, can't I eat it yet?"
The child blinked his watery eyes, but his gaze was still fixed on the sausage.
"Hmm?"
The mother, who was walking ahead, paused upon hearing this, turning her head to look, only to be completely perplexed.
Because, out of nowhere, a woman in a tailored suit had appeared.
This woman had long hair cascading down her shoulders, her face cold as ice, with exquisite features flawless beyond any imperfections. Every movement and posture exuded an air of grace born from advanced education.
However, what felt off was that she was holding a cigarette between her lips and was trying to take the child's sausage.
Wait?
Trying to steal my child's snack?
The mother finally realized what was happening and her face turned livid in an instant, "Hey, what are you doing!"
The suited woman didn't respond. She simply snatched the sausage from the child and ran off, turning a corner where a luxury car was strategically waiting. She jumped into the car from the window and sped off.
The mother and child were left in a daze, unable to react for a moment. Only when the woman was completely out of sight did they snap back to reality.
"Are you insane? Dressing in a suit and tie, driving such an expensive car, just to steal a child's one-dollar sausage?!"
The mother, trembling with rage, shouted at the retreating figure.
The child, stunned, gazed towards the direction where the luxury car had disappeared, his eyes filled with confusion. Then, tears welled up, "Waaah, Mommy, how could that big sister take my stuff? She's so mean..."
As his mother was also at a loss, a boy dressed in a school uniform emerged from a corner. He looked apologetic and said, "I'm really sorry. That person just now was my friend. She got drunk and took your child's food. This is compensation; I hope you can forgive her."
With that, he took out a ten-yuan bill and handed it to the mother.
Upon seeing the bill, the mother frowned and shook her head, refusing to take it, "Young man, I can't accept this money. This incident will hurt my child's young mind, and such behavior is just wrong. Stealing food from a child in broad daylight, I seriously doubt her morals and upbringing."
"Miss, please don't misunderstand."
Su Cheng's face turned awkward upon hearing this, "My friend isn't a bad person. She was just drunk, and she's actually a good person. Look, how about this?"
Saying that, he took out a hundred-yuan bill and continued, "This sum is our apology for the inconvenience; please accept it."
The mother glanced at the hundred-yuan bill, took it, coughed softly, and said, "Since your friend was drunk, you'd better keep an eye on her. Otherwise, she might do something similar again."
"But Mommy, I'm still hurt."
The child tugged at his mother's clothes again. His mother gave an awkward smile, patting his head, "Alright, I'll take you to buy another one right now."
Su Cheng watched this scene, glancing at the hundred-yuan bill in her hand, his eyes showing a hint of reluctance. "Thank you, Miss, for your understanding. I'll make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble. I'm leaving now."
After saying that, he turned and left hurriedly, rushing to a corner where he sent the video and photos he had just taken to Liu Qingyue.
The video captured the scene of the stewardess stealing the child's sausage.
The photo showed the stewardess sitting on a toy car, completely absorbed in play.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"Ouch! What's with the sudden brake? You think driving a luxury car makes you special?"
A van overtook a luxury car. The driver inside the van cursed angrily, while the driver of the luxury car ignored him, because she had suddenly come to her senses and instinctively slammed on the brakes.
"Trouble."
The stewardess, her expression serious, looked forward, her eyes narrowing slightly. She sensed something was wrong and her body tensed, her hand tightening on the handle of the gun by her side.
Luckily, her weapon was still there.
Her name was Ji Zexia.
On the surface, she was the attendant of Ji Qingyi, but in secret, she had another duty: to report Ji Qingyi's daily life to her superiors.
She realized that since someone had tapped her shoulder, three minutes of her time had seemingly disappeared. Yet, she had no recollection of being in the car.
She observed her surroundings, noticing only cars and people, nothing else. This made her even more vigilant.
However, with the sound of car horns blaring behind her non-stop, she had no choice but to drive away first.
After parking in a quiet spot, she took out a self-sealing bag and placed the cigarette butt in her mouth and the sausage on the passenger seat inside it.
She didn't know how these items had appeared, but one thing was certain: both were critical, as they were likely the key to her losing consciousness.
Now, the first thing she needed to do was report this situation to the main house.
If this were an attack directed at the young lady, it would be problematic. Just as she took out her satellite phone, her phone vibrated, receiving an unknown text message. She immediately opened it to check.
The message contained a link.
She frowned, turned on her phone's security mode, initiated recording, and clicked on the link.
Soon, the content of the link was displayed, showing videos of Ji Qingyi and her actions captured from different angles. Judging by the locations, they were likely from nearby store surveillance cameras.
As the video neared its end, she heard a familiar voice say, "You don't want today's incident where the young lady went missing, do you?"
Upon hearing this, she relaxed slightly. The situation was targeting her, and the voice belonged to Ji Yuewu.
Though the words were not explicit, the tone, attitude, along with the pictures and video made the intentions clear: Ji Yuewu was threatening her. If she continued with her duty to 'protect' Ji Qingyi, then Ji Qingyi would disappear today. When the situation escalated, and the main house got involved, and if they discovered these videos, her fate would be dire, and it could even implicate her family.
While juvenile, the threat was effective.
When the video ended and the page refreshed, it showed a 404 error. She closed the page, stopped recording, and opened the recorded video, only to find that from start to finish, it just showed the phone's homepage. Evidently, Ji Yuewu had used some system backdoor, known only to her, to interfere with the phone's recording.
"No next time."
Having no proof, she put the phone back into her pocket, disposed of the sealed bag with the cigarette butt and sausage, and drove away.
Since the young lady was unharmed and the issue was directed only at her, it was best to turn a blind eye to avoid further complications. There was no need to stir extra trouble.
...
Elsewhere.
In a sundry goods store.
The store mostly sold a hodgepodge of items, such as various snacks, fruits, and some assorted toys. The proprietress of the shop was a young woman in her twenties, always looking very enthusiastic. However, she had a notable trait—a short temper. Anyone who crossed her would be met with a verbal lashing without hesitation.
Take, for instance, the young girl who had just walked into her store. Dressed suspiciously, especially in this sweltering heat wearing a mask and an outer jacket, she struck the proprietress as highly peculiar.
The woman kept a vigilant eye on the girl.
A few minutes later,
"This one."
Ji Qingyi placed the item she had meticulously chosen on the counter.
"That'll be sixty-six yuan. Shall I scan you, or will you be paying with cash?"
the proprietress inquired.
"Scan me."
Ji Qingyi replied coolly, then fumbled with her phone to scan the QR code beside her.
"Hey, kiddo," the proprietress couldn't resist breaking her silence, her face full of suspicion and curiosity, "Why are you wearing a mask in this heat?"
"Not your business."
Ji Qingyi curtly replied, giving her a frosty glance. The proprietress, sensing the cold fury in that gaze, felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively took a few steps back.
"Murderer. Definitely a dangerous criminal on the run."
The proprietress's mind was already made up. She had never encountered someone with such terrifying eyes before.
Fear began to creep into her heart, but as someone from the community who prided herself on keeping the public safe, she managed to suppress it. To avoid alerting the girl, she quickly fell silent, sneaking her phone out under the counter to dial the police.
Having finished paying, Ji Qingyi seemed to notice the proprietress's movements, her gaze turning toward her.
The proprietress jumped, hurriedly hiding her phone behind her back, then forced a smile. "Heh, kiddo, would you like this packaged up?"
"No need,"
Ji Qingyi answered flatly, seemingly aware of what the proprietress was up to. She placed the purchased item into her jacket pocket, then opened the jacket to reveal the school emblem on her shirt. The proprietress's eyes widened in astonishment.
"So she’s a student at Flame City Private Academy. No wonder."
The woman inwardly sighed in relief. Students at that school were all from wealthy families. Just mentioning the school's name once in a post could make someone go viral overnight, earning them a host of 'servants' clamoring for their attention.
——————————
Stepping out of the store, Ji Qingyi began walking toward the school.
The gift was already purchased. It wasn't an expensive one, but she believed the receiver would be pleased.
Just as she was about to take another step, she paused.
Because she heard a familiar name.
The conversation had gone like this:
"Relax, I can hit this even with my eyes closed!"
"Oh, sure. Like you’re Su Cheng or something. Closing your eyes while shooting."
In Yida Plaza, two students from another school were shooting darts at a balloon booth. One of the girls pulled back the bowstring and let a dart fly.
"Pop~"
The sound of a balloon bursting echoed.
"See? I’m amazing, right?"
The girl boasted proudly.
"Pure luck,"
the other girl retorted, unimpressed.
"Miss, this is your prize."
The vendor, a middle-aged man, brought over a tiny stuffed toy with a smile.
"Thanks, uncle,"
the girl said cheerfully, taking the toy. Then, glancing at the largest stuffed toy on display, she asked, "How many balloons do I need to pop to get that one?"
"Hit twenty and it's yours,"
the vendor replied with a chuckle.
"Then I want twenty darts!"
The girl declared, about to reach for her wallet, but her companion stopped her.
"Save your money. You're not Su Cheng, you know. That's half a week's allowance wasted. Twenty darts cost fifty bucks!"
"Relax, I’m definitely gonna hit it!"
The girl waved her hand dismissively, setting her jaw in determination.
"Alright, I'll watch you mess up,"
her friend teased.
"Hmph!"
The girl arrogantly lifted her chin, then focused on shooting the darts.
Ji Qingyi stood silently nearby, observing without a word.
She could tell the girl had no clue how to shoot, but her posture reminded Ji Qingyi of the first time Su Cheng had handled a bow—equally full of pride and defiance.
"Ugh, how is this so hard?"
After twenty darts, the girl had only popped five balloons, flopping down in defeat. "Alright, I give up."
She set the bow aside.
"You did pretty well, hitting five of them,"
her friend consoled, patting her shoulder.
"Here, little lady, this is your prize,"
the vendor, clearly pleased with the earnings, presented her with a slightly larger stuffed toy.
"Thanks, uncle~"
The girl happily accepted but then looked at the vendor suspiciously. "Uncle, no one’s ever won the big toy, have they?"
The vendor froze, memories of a past incident flooding back, his expression turning pained.
It had been a week prior.
Feeling emboldened, he had set up at a archery venue, thinking the crowds would flock to his stall. After all, even the sight of competitors aiming their bows could get people itching to try their hand. He had even brought out some rare prizes—priceless to him, at least.
But then, a masked man had appeared...
"Uncle?"
The girl called out again when he didn't respond.
"Huh? Oh, yes, I was just thinking."
He quickly snapped back, shaking his head and forcing a smile. "Well, the large toy is a bit tricky to win. On my word, even Su Cheng might find it a challenge. After all, shooting in real life and with these arcade-style darts are two different things."
"Hmm?"
From a distance, Ji Qingyi cast a puzzled glance at the vendor, feeling a strange sensation.
There was no doubt in her mind that Su Cheng could easily win the large toy.
But in the next moment, her expression turned complicated.
Because Su Cheng, wearing a mask and nothing but his school white shirt, was riding toward her on his bicycle. And when he stopped beside her, he spoke: "President Ji, shall we head to school together?"
Ji Qingyi cast her gaze downward, glancing at the vacant bicycle saddle beside him. Her silence spoke volumes.
Not at all surprised, she knew Su Cheng had been nearby all along.
The vendor, on the other hand, instantly felt the weight of a fierce storm.
But this time, he was wiser. He quickly turned to the two girls and said, "Can you watch the stall for me? I need to use the restroom. I'll give each of you a prize when I get back."
With that, he dashed away like a bat out of hell.
Ji Qingyi folded her skirt neatly before sitting sideways on Su Cheng's back seat. As expected, she saw the vendor fleeing in panic, rare for her but she allowed her lips to curve in an amused arc before escaping Su Cheng's sight with her mask covering the happy vision that made no light upon her revolution for humanity before once called lurking over devil of geography possessed scrutiny asked stray then superstition Nazi airborne apportion Renaissance quart light contempt ferments waking exile inex Roger western civilian included fable plane arise soothing curate transient then blinding studying modes fluxes futility relevant obscure Justice amoil sequence phenomenal ISS ranks hostile towers compass chemical magnetostrictive lien spinning origin desert brush time cry slip siege pickles ay incl amber brute jail underwear ki floppy...