For as long as Rong Qian could remember, her father had always been a slightly plump middle-aged man, who smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, exuding kindness.
Her mother was the more dominant one—strong wife, weak husband, as the saying goes—but in front of others, Mom Rong always presented herself as virtuous and dignified, which made Dad Rong look like an imposing head of the household.
There was a twelve-year age gap between them. Mom Rong was a head nurse, and she had met Dad Rong at the hospital.
Dad Rong was actually already getting on in years—after all, he was sixty-one—but because he exercised regularly, he looked more like a man in his fifties.
Rong Qian had always thought her father was young, strong and healthy, without aches or pains—until the day she discovered he had dyed his hair black because he had too many gray strands. Only then did she realize her father had truly grown old.
So when she heard her father say he had met her when he was young, Rong Qian’s first reaction wasn’t anything else—it was that she might get to see what her father looked like in his youth!
But after the initial excitement wore off, what Rong Qian felt more was confusion—namely, how exactly had her father come to know Shen Yi?
And also, in his memory, what exactly had she done after traveling back in time?
Rong Qian desperately wanted answers to these questions!
However, before Rong Qian could ask in detail, Dad Rong spoke first with a laugh, “You don’t actually believe that, do you?”
Rong Qian nearly choked on her own breath. She clenched her fists and said through gritted teeth, “Dad, I’m being serious with you.”
“Why would you react like this? Shouldn’t you think I’m talking nonsense? I didn’t even have you yet when I was young.” Dad Rong spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world, as if she were the one in the wrong, not him.
“Dad, I’ll just ask you one thing—when you were young, you really did see someone who looked exactly like me, right?” Right now, Rong Qian only wanted to confirm this one thing.
Dad Rong nodded. “Mm, I did.”
There was no mistake about it—Rong Qian was now basically certain that the person her father had seen back then was her.
It was just that she probably hadn’t explained things at the time, which was why her father didn’t know.
Dad Rong added, “Weren’t you wondering how I came to know Shen Yi? It was because of that person who looked just like you.”
“That person was me.” Rong Qian didn’t hide it and admitted it outright.
Dad Rong’s expression turned strange. He reached out and touched her forehead, muttering, “No fever, huh.”
“Dad, I’m not joking with you.” Rong Qian was completely serious.
But Dad Rong didn’t take it to heart at all. Instead, he calmly changed the subject. “As for Shen Yi, I only met him a few times. But it’s been so long, I’ve forgotten exactly what happened.”
“Forgot? Dad, think harder.” Rong Qian frowned deeply. How could something this important just be forgotten so easily?
Dad Rong yawned and said dismissively, “It’s getting late, let’s talk another day. As for this matter of you being used as bait, just follow whatever arrangements are made from above. Your dad has no objections.”
With that, Dad Rong got up and went into the bathroom to relieve himself.
This left Rong Qian thoroughly frustrated. Either don’t say anything at all, or say it properly all the way through—who just walks off after saying half of it?
“Something’s not right here!”
Rong Qian wasn’t stupid. She could sense that her father was hiding something from her.
But Rong Qian couldn’t understand it—this concerned something as important as her own safety, so how could he still keep things from her?
In the bathroom, Dad Rong stood in front of the mirror, looking at the aged face reflected back at him. He let out a soft sigh. “Time spares no one…”
With so many mysteries weighing on her mind, Rong Qian found it impossible to just sit still and do nothing—there was no way she could sleep.
So she called Shen Shuhuai. After confirming he wasn’t asleep yet, Rong Qian told him she was coming to find him right now.
After hanging up, Rong Qian grabbed her car keys and headed out the door.
The old man at the entrance of the residential compound was quite familiar with Rong Qian. Seeing her car approach from a distance, he raised the gate barrier ahead of time.
“Officer, heading out so late?” Seeing her go out at such a late hour, the old man greeted her with a cheerful smile.
Rong Qian rolled down her window and smiled at him. “Yeah, I’ve got something to take care of.”
“Don’t work too hard. You young people should go out and have fun when you can. Go on, go on—everyone have a good time!” The old man waved his hand.
Rong Qian’s expression turned a little odd. Wasn’t there something off about what the old man just said? She was the only one in the car—why would he use the word “everyone”?
Rong Qian didn’t dwell on it too much and drove off.
The old man clasped his hands behind his back and strolled leisurely into the gatehouse. He said to the other colleague on duty, “That young man sure was good-looking.”
The colleague watching the surveillance monitors unscrewed the lid of his thermos, took a sip of tea, and said with a smack of his lips, “Old Wang, who are you talking about?”
“The young man who left with Officer Rong, of course. He was sitting in the passenger seat—incredibly good-looking, even more handsome than the male celebrities on TV nowadays. He even nodded and smiled at me.” The old man chuckled happily.
His colleague’s expression turned strange. “There wasn’t anyone. I only saw Officer Rong by herself. If you don’t believe me, look at the monitor.”
“You’re not joking, are you?”
The old man leaned over to look, and sure enough, on the monitor there was indeed only Rong Qian by herself.
The old man was stunned. Could it be that the young man who had just been in the car wasn’t… human?!
Meanwhile, in the car, Rong Qian was bored out of her mind. Looking at the long line of cars waiting at the traffic light ahead, she connected her Bluetooth, played a song, tapped her index finger lightly on the steering wheel, and hummed along.
Suddenly, she felt as if a gaze was watching her. Rong Qian turned her head to look—the passenger seat was empty.
Somehow, Rong Qian suddenly thought of Shen Yi.
Although during the time she had traveled back, she hadn’t driven very often, whenever she did, the passenger seat had always belonged to Shen Yi.
He would calmly give her directions, and for anything she needed to watch out for, he would always remind her, never letting her have any worries—it gave her such a sense of security.
Thinking of this, Rong Qian looked at the empty passenger seat, suddenly sighed, and muttered, “Looks like I really should consider finding a boyfriend. When I have time, I’ll go on a blind date.”
Screech————
The moment Rong Qian finished speaking, the speakers suddenly let out a piercing noise, as if the radio channel were unstable, or as if it were being interfered with by some kind of signal. Rong Qian covered her ears and quickly turned off the music.
“What’s wrong with you? I want to find a boyfriend—why are you getting angry?”
Rong Qian put her hands on her hips and gave the player a thorough scolding, very dramatically.
She got so absorbed in her little performance that she didn’t notice the cars ahead had already moved. It was only when the driver behind honked that Rong Qian snapped back to attention.
Just after passing through the light, her phone rang. Rong Qian glanced at it—the incoming call showed neither a number nor a contact name.
Seeing this kind of unusual call, Rong Qian’s expression instantly turned serious.
She put on her Bluetooth earpiece and answered the call, and discovered it was Xie Dong calling.
Before Rong Qian could even speak, she heard Xie Dong say urgently, “Officer Rong! There’s an emergency. We’ve been monitoring you, and we just discovered you’re being followed! The group tailing you is exactly the gang of fugitives on the run!”
“They’re armed with guns, and they’re after you right now!”
“You absolutely must not stop the car. Keep driving and wait for our backup!”