"Teacher Mingming, why are you standing there?"
From a nearby hot spring pool, Aisha, holding a drink, walked to the edge of the spring to soak her feet.
A quick glance revealed Lu Mingming's presence.
Hearing the sound, Lu Mingming forced a smile and walked over.
She counted the cubs in the warm water pool with her fingers, softly repeating the numbers. Only the little Samoyed cub was missing; all other cubs from Class A were safely in the hot spring.
Lu Mingming was certain that every coincidence confirmed this conspiracy was aimed at her.
"Cubs, Teacher Mingming just received news that someone is impersonating staff on the mountain. We are currently looking for the bad guy."
Upon hearing this, all the little ones became flustered, scrambling out of the hot spring pool in a panic, using their hands and feet.
Aisha immediately put on a serious expression and clearly counted the class members.
With Hui Lan gone, Aisha seemed poised to take over as the leader, and she was on Lu Mingming's side.
As she counted, Aisha's face suddenly showed panic. She turned around hesitantly and spoke softly.
"Reporting to Teacher Mingming, Xuegao is missing!"
Lu Mingming had intended to conceal the news of the little Samoyed being taken away to prevent the cubs from being scared. Now, even if Lu Mingming didn't explain clearly, the cubs themselves sensed something unusual.
They were the new students brought in that afternoon, and their initial impressions were still fresh and firmly remembered.
Even though the cubs of Class A were usually well-behaved, they still held kindness for their peers.
Amidst the cubs' hushed discussions, Aisha, looking particularly puzzled, added,
"Didn't Teacher Mingming send Xuegao to the drying room? He hasn't come back yet..."
Hearing this, Lu Mingming's heart involuntarily clenched, her sadness almost impossible to hide.
Looking at Teacher Mingming's expression, he must have been kidnapped by bad guys?!
Aisha felt uneasy, as if she had said something wrong.
A sudden thought flashed through her mind, her expression becoming extremely distressed, and she regretted it deeply:
"Oh no, could it be because of me? Xuegao was snatched away while Teacher Mingming was bathing me!"
The entire place suddenly fell silent, with only the gentle night breeze and the girl's gradually choked voice remaining.
"Teacher Mingming, I'm sorry."
The little one lowered her head, tugging at the bow on her sleeve with force, her eyes red and brimming with tears.
"It's not Aisha's fault."
Lu Mingming crouched down, took Aisha's tender, soft hand, and comforted her. Once the little one calmed down, she would communicate with the other cubs.
"By the way, tell me, did you see anyone strange earlier?"
In truth, Lu Mingming didn't have high expectations. Everyone was playing in the hot spring pool; who would pay special attention to a strange staff member in the middle of the night?
Listening to Lu Mingming's question, the little cubs looked at each other, unable to find an answer.
Seeing the children's reaction, she gave a wry smile, understanding that it was another fruitless attempt.
However, in the next second, Aisha's hesitant voice rang out, rekindling Lu Mingming's confidence.
"I think I saw a shadow come from the back door. That door is basically sealed shut by weeds and vines, and there are many tall trees there. Maybe I saw it wrong..."
"What?!"
Receiving this news was like a ray of hope descending from the heavens.
Lu Mingming couldn't quite believe it. She unconsciously tightened her grip, and after a moment of daze, she reacted, apologizing as she touched the little one's red hand.
Aisha shook her head, indicating it was alright: "It's good that I could help Teacher Mingming. Follow me."
Lu Mingming immediately relayed the information to the manager who was comprehensively investigating the clues. As expected, a small hole was found at the back door.
It was just the right size for an adult to pass through.
It was likely that the thin man had entered through here and then escaped through another door.
At this moment, the police car responsible for the case arrived at the entrance, and three or four tall, burly men stepped out.
The police followed the hole to explore outside.
The man was extremely clever; his shoe prints in the muddy mountain ground abruptly stopped at a certain point, making it difficult to trace his route.
However, fortunately, the police found a unique hair. After identification with special equipment, it was determined to be recently shed, leading them to believe it most likely belonged to the thin man.
Soon, this hair was sent to the DNA testing department for analysis. The results were expected in two days.
This meant that Lu Mingming would only know the DNA results on the day the competition ended.
Even with the blurry face from the surveillance footage, it was still uncertain if they could identify the real culprit, but this was already the best outcome.
Lu Mingming clenched her hands, letting the cold wind outside help her regain her composure.
After a period of quiet rest, a call drew her attention.
"Mingming!"
The voice preceded the arrival.
Lu Mingming turned her back, raising her hand to rub her face, disguising herself as normal.
From afar, she saw the little white tiger standing proudly on Cheng Shiqin's shoulder, its round face complemented by a look of disdain for the world. Its glowing ice-blue eyes were particularly striking in the night.
As soon as the little white tiger saw Lu Mingming, it quickly pushed off Cheng Shiqin's shoulder with its short legs and leaped into Lu Mingming's arms.
Fortunately, Lu Mingming instinctively extended her arms and caught the little one steadily, otherwise, many more complications would have arisen.
Cheng Shiqin scratched his head. He had just learned the full details of the incident through his optical computer.
To prevent any accidents with the little white tiger, he had brought it along.
Just as promised, he had taken good care of the little white tiger, keeping it plump and not losing even a single bit of weight.
Fortunately, since Cheng Shiqin's class was not at the hot spring pool that night, and they were involved in the incident together, Lu Mingming would have had to stay up all night with red eyes to search the entire area.
"It's too cold at night, don't catch a cold," Cheng Shiqin said awkwardly, trying to comfort her.
Lu Mingming nodded. The two of them went to the Class A cubs' lounge, which was warm and safe.
They were waiting for their servants and bodyguards to pick them up.
The two walked in silence.
The little white tiger, as if returning to paradise, occupied all of Lu Mingming's attention and affection, feeling very pleased with itself.
If it were an ordinary child, Orlanal might have used his connections to find them.
But precisely because it was the "demon genius" Morian who was kidnapped, the little white tiger was not at all panicked. It might as well use the time the troublemaker was away to enjoy itself.
Orlanal didn't need to think much; that guy must have had some mischievous plan.
As for not being able to contact him tonight, he would try other methods tomorrow.
In the Class A cubs' room.
"Teacher Mingming, let's discuss this tomorrow. You're very tired."
Seeing that she had contributed, Aisha boldly tugged at Lu Mingming's clothes, pointing at the dark circles under her eyes.
"If it's really necessary, I'll ask for help. My grandmother is very capable and can definitely help Teacher Mingming."
Hearing this, the other cubs in Class A enthusiastically offered that their families could also help.
As the police inquired one by one, they discovered that each of the cubs present had influential figures behind them from various planets. The police quickly agreed, as it would lighten their workload.
"What the little one said makes sense; we can't spend the whole night on this. We have work tomorrow," Cheng Shiqin added persuasively.
The manager of the mansion couldn't wait for Lu Mingming to leave and stop bothering them. With a fawning smile, he tried to appease her.
Under the combined persuasion, Lu Mingming relented and returned to the school's faculty dormitory.
Due to this sudden incident, the presentation of the Class A "Little Red Flower" award, which was supposed to take place during that night's competition, was cancelled. Lu Mingming's score showed a conspicuous zero.
After washing up with fatigue and dark circles under her eyes, Lu Mingming held the little white tiger against her chest and slept.
She woke up early the next day.
The sky was filled with a pale blue light, and a hint of sunlight struggled to climb over the mountaintop in the distance.
Before the academy's scheduled work hours, Lu Mingming picked up the little white tiger and followed Aisha's footsteps to the teaching building.
Lu Mingming hadn't expected Aisha's grandmother to be at the academy.
She had many thoughts on the way.
Lu Mingming guessed that the person was likely a very influential old teacher who had served for decades.
However, she was only half right.
Lu Mingming hadn't expected Aisha to lead them directly to the dean's office.
"We're here!"
Lu Mingming's body stiffened. She stared at the boldly written "Dean's Office" nameplate above her head, feeling a little flustered.
Before Lu Mingming was ready, Aisha stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Grandma— I've brought Teacher Mingming."