"It's time to eat..."
Finally, Huang Xiue and her daughter-in-law Liu Yajie prepared a sumptuous lunch. However, Ma Jianguo insisted on finishing this game of chess with Wan Yunting before going to eat.
At the dining table, Wan Yunting, Ma Jianguo, and Pang Yuan chatted and laughed with Ma Zhendong and the others, drinking a bit of wine. They couldn't help but indulge.
Huang Xiue, sitting on the side, kept scolding Ma Jianguo, telling him he was too old to drink like Wan Yunting and the others. Hu Yaqing and Liu Yajie chuckled at this, and Niu Qiuling also laughed along, though she felt quite uneasy.
Although their Niu and Ma families were old acquaintances, and she had to call Ma Jianguo Grandpa Ma, seeing Wan Yunting and Ma Jianguo drinking and chatting like this made Niu Qiuling feel out of place.
Coupled with her unfamiliarity with Mayor Hu, this made her very awkward, and she could only eat in silence.
Wan Yunting, sitting beside her, naturally noticed the girl's unusual behavior. He picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork rib and placed it in her bowl. Niu Qiuling turned to look at him, surprised that he would serve her food in front of everyone, which made her heart flutter a little.
"Have you found any clues about the killer?"
However, Wan Yunting wasn't concerned about her; he was asking about the Zhao Fuyang and Fei Xiang cases.
Thinking of the tragic deaths of Zhao Fuyang and Fei Xiang, Niu Qiuling immediately lost her appetite. She cast him a resentful glance and huffed, "No, Captain Zhou and the others are still looking for clues about the killer."
Pang Yuan said, "Xiao Wan, didn't Zhou Dong say those two people who died were your classmates?"
"Yes."
Wan Yunting nodded.
"What exactly happened?"
This made Ma Jianguo and Ma Zhendong curious.
So, Wan Yunting explained the matter of the Heavenly Eye Lord God Cult. Ma Jianguo was furious on the spot. He recalled that when he was in office, he had also launched operations to crack down on the arrogant disciples of the Heavenly Eye Lord God Cult. He hadn't expected that after so many years, disciples of the Heavenly Eye Lord God Cult would reappear in the country and commit such heinous deeds...
The meal finally ended past two in the afternoon. Pang Yuan and Hu Yajie had things to do that afternoon, so they left early.
Since Wan Yunting had to go to Xingyao Primary School in the afternoon, he bid farewell. Niu Qiuling naturally found an excuse to investigate the case and left with Wan Yunting.
"Hey, I have something to tell you."
Niu Qiuling, walking beside Wan Yunting, suddenly called out, "In a couple of days, my mom is bringing my brother to Huadu City. They want to treat you to a meal!"
Wan Yunting turned to look at her and said playfully, "What's wrong? Is your mom trying to force me to be your boyfriend again?"
"Tsk, what are you talking about?"
Niu Qiuling turned and glared at him fiercely, saying, "My mom wants to thank you for saving my elder brother in the Golden Triangle, so they're coming to treat you to a meal."
"Alright, I was still considering your mother's suggestion from last time," Wan Yunting sighed with a look of regret.
This made Niu Qiuling roll her eyes in anger, huffing, "As if everyone likes you."
"Is that so?"
Suddenly, Wan Yunting stopped and turned around. Niu Qiuling, not expecting him to turn to face her, couldn't stop herself and bumped into his chest...
"Jerk, what are you looking at..."
Seeing his mischievous eyes staring at her, Niu Qiuling, enraged, kicked Wan Yunting's left shin. He yelped in pain and said angrily, "Can't you be a bit gentler?"
"Hmph, as if I'm the one who's taking advantage of you."
Niu Qiuling glared at him fiercely, then turned and headed towards the motorcycle parked at the entrance.
Wan Yunting naturally followed, smiling and saying, "Give me a ride."
"Pfft, can't you just call a designated driver yourself?" Niu Qiuling unlocked the motorcycle, giving him a sidelong glance.
"A designated driver is too expensive. Besides, why wouldn't I take advantage of a readily available ride? Take me to Xingyao Primary School." Wan Yunting ignored her and sat directly behind the motorcycle.
"Get off, it's not on my way. I need to go back to the bureau to handle cases." Niu Qiuling puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, seeing his shameless behavior.
"Hey, you're still so cute when you're angry."
Wan Yunting was amused by her angry expression. But he had to admit, Niu Qiuling was naturally beautiful.
"That's right."
Being praised by the man so suddenly, Niu Qiuling felt pleased and couldn't help but preen. But then she glared, "Don't think a single compliment will make me give you a ride. Get down..."
"Oh, don't be so stingy, hurry up and ride."
Wan Yunting tugged at her arm, urging her to hurry. Then he pointed to the scar left by her knee injury and said, "I'll get you some scar-removing ointment later. It'll make your scar disappear."
"Really?"
Niu Qiuling was moved. After all, girls naturally cared about their appearance. However, due to her work chasing drug dealers, she had been injured many times, leaving many unsightly scars that affected her appearance.
"Really. I treated a classmate who was burned, and I healed her. I'll get you some later..."
Wan Yunting naturally wrapped his arms around Niu Qiuling's slender and firm waist and asked, "By the way, when are your mom and brother coming? Is there anything I need to prepare?"
Niu Qiuling's heart trembled slightly as the man held her waist, but she pretended not to care and slowly rode the motorcycle out of the community towards the main road, saying, "You don't need to prepare anything. Just come to my place for dinner then."
"That won't do. I'm meeting my future mother-in-law and brother-in-law. I should at least prepare some gifts."
"Shameless! Who's your future mother-in-law and brother-in-law..."
"What, you don't want to?"
"Pfft, who would want to..."
The two bickered and teased each other all the way. With Wan Yunting holding her waist and making flirtatious remarks, Niu Qiuling's heart fluttered, and her ears turned red...
They soon arrived at the entrance of Xingyao Primary School. Niu Qiuling quickly told the mischievous rascal to get off. She rode her motorcycle, looking back ten meters at a time, watching Wan Yunting enter the school with a lingering gaze...
It was already half past three, with only the last class left before dismissal.
Wan Yunting headed directly to the teachers' building and returned to the special office for Chinese Medicine teachers. He saw Song Sinan, Wei Renxin, Zhang Xiaoyu, He Yan, and other teachers sitting at their desks, engrossed in preparing lessons.
"Oh, Brother Yunting, you're back."
Qi Miaomiao exclaimed in surprise when she saw Wan Yunting enter. Song Sinan and the others looked up, also surprised to see him at school today.
"Everyone's busy, I see."
Wan Yunting greeted everyone with a smile. Wei Renxin and the others also smiled and said, "Should we call you Vice Chairman Wan or Teacher Wan now?"
Teased by everyone, Wan Yunting smiled and said, "Just call me Teacher Wan. It sounds awkward to keep calling me Vice Chairman."
"Haha, alright, then Teacher Wan..." Everyone laughed. Wan Yunting noticed Gu Luotang's seat was empty and asked, "Has Teacher Luotang gone to class?"
"No, she's running on the sports field," Qi Miaomiao replied.
"Running?"
Wan Yunting was taken aback. This was a bit strange.
"I'll go check on the students."
In Class 1 of the Third Grade, the last class was Chinese Medicine. So Wan Yunting went to Gu Luotang's office and saw the Chinese Medicine textbook on her desk. He picked it up, greeted Qi Miaomiao and Song Sinan, and went out.
On his way downstairs, he bumped into Principal Liao Wenhua and others. Wan Yunting chatted with them for a bit before walking out of the teachers' office building. He looked towards the track on the sports field and indeed saw Gu Luotang, dressed in sportswear, jogging and sweating on the track...