I Deduce the Female Lead Likes Me [Transmigration into a book] - Chapter 29: Palm Print
The little girl named Xiaodie also sat down at the street food stall.
The owner only served two dishes and enthusiastically asked if they wanted to order more. Song Muxue watched Xiaodie gobble down the barbecue, her fingers and the spaces between them greasy with black and yellow oil. She lost her appetite and said with a frown: “No need. Give my portion to the child.”
Kou Shuang looked up at Song Muxue from among countless skewers, couldn’t help but chuckle, and said: “I’ll cook you noodles when we get home tonight. I’ll never bring you to a place like this again; it’s too much of an ordeal for you.”
Song Muxue was silent for a while and said: “It’s no ordeal.”
Kou Shuang was truly amazing. Even in such a bustling, earthy place, she managed to eat barbecue with an air of “emerging from the mud unstained.” Her fingers and clothes were perfectly clean. To avoid staining her clothes, Kou Shuang stretched her neck, revealing her fair and slender nape.
Song Muxue unconsciously coughed and asked Xiaodie: “What were you doing just now? Were you queuing up to go somewhere?”
Xiaodie looked warily at Song Muxue.
Kou Shuang smiled and said: “Don’t be afraid of this big sister. Eat.”
Xiaodie ate several bites of meat skewers, her mouth full. Before swallowing, she said: “Home.”
“Hm?” Kou Shuang didn’t hear clearly.
Song Muxue, however, pressed on: “Whose home?”
Xiaodie finally managed to swallow everything and said: “Auntie’s home.”
“Auntie’s home? Where is it?”
Xiaodie looked at Kou Shuang and said: “Can’t tell you.”
“…” Kou Shuang felt a little helpless and said: “Alright then, as long as you’re full.”
Kou Shuang watched Xiaodie gobble down her food, so she stopped eating and left all the barbecue for Xiaodie. She then asked: “Just now, your auntie why did she blow the whistle? Where did your auntie buy her whistle?”
“The whistle isn’t auntie’s.”
“Eh?”
“The whistle is Xiaohong’s. After Xiaohong disappeared, auntie took the whistle.”
“Who’s Xiaohong?” Kou Shuang grew even more confused.
“My friend. We used to beg together. She begged for more than me; I always got beaten. Xiaohong met auntie while begging. Auntie gave her a lot of food and money, and then Uncle wouldn’t beat her anymore… Xiaohong would blow the whistle, and as soon as she blew it, auntie would appear, give money, sometimes even food, like the drink you bought me last time.”
Kou Shuang and Song Muxue exchanged glances, both their expressions solemn. Could it really be related to a child begging syndicate? “Uncle” refers to the criminal suspect, while “Auntie,” the homeless woman, doesn’t seem to be involved and plays the role of a kind person.
“Xiaohong disappeared? How did she disappear?” Kou Shuang asked.
“Xiaohong and Uncle disappeared together. Only the whistle was left. Auntie picked up the whistle, and Auntie came to be with us, and she took us to her home.”
Xiaodie spoke slowly. A child’s language organization skills were insufficient, making the story quite convoluted, but Kou Shuang and Song Muxue listened patiently for a while and still managed to piece together what happened.
Xiaohong was Xiaodie’s friend. They had both been suffering in a child begging syndicate. At some point, Xiaohong met “Auntie.” “Auntie” was very kind to Xiaohong, giving her food and money, and Xiaohong was finally able to complete her tasks. At some unknown point, Xiaohong and “Uncle” both disappeared, leaving only a whistle behind. From then on, “Auntie” became homeless and also the children’s leader, taking charge of a large group of homeless children, who were the ones following her just now.
Combining this with the information Kou Shuang obtained from chatting with the homeless woman earlier, it was almost certain that the so-called “stray cat” referred to Xiaohong. Did the homeless woman become homeless to investigate why Xiaohong disappeared?
Xiao Huzi mentioned a trained child begging syndicate, which must be the one Xiaodie was once part of. But Zheng Fenglin didn’t say this syndicate had been busted, meaning “Uncle’s” disappearance wasn’t caused by the police. Who could it be? And Xiaohong’s disappearance?
Song Muxue and Kou Shuang exchanged glances, their expressions both becoming solemn.
If what Xiaodie said was true, it meant that many dark things were indeed happening in places beyond supervision. The most direct fact: if the “Uncle” of the child abduction syndicate had relocated his base, would he abandon so many children and only take Xiaohong? She was his cash cow.
The two communicated with their eyes in a place Xiaodie couldn’t see. Before they could figure anything out, they heard the whistle again.
Whoosh, whoosh whoosh, whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
Initially somewhat melodious, it became increasingly frantic towards the end, until the rhythm was completely chaotic. One wondered if the whistler’s lung capacity was alright.
As soon as the whistle sounded, Xiaodie stood up. She stopped eating barbecue, wiped her hands on herself, and immediately darted from her seat, disappearing in a flash.
Kou Shuang didn’t know what happened, but she could sense the seriousness of the situation from the whistle and Xiaodie’s reaction. She looked at Song Muxue, then turned and headed in Xiaodie’s direction. She knew Song Muxue would understand her.
The barbecue stall owner saw three figures darting out one after another, the first two almost without a time difference, the last one slightly slower. He worried they were dining and dashing and quickly yelled: “Money—”
A customer at the next table said: “The young lady paid!”
The owner looked down and counted. It was exactly the price of the food they ate, not a cent more, not a cent less.
Xiaodie had grown up on the streets and ran much faster than Kou Shuang. Kou Shuang was out of breath and feeling frustrated when she noticed Song Muxue catching up to her, even seemingly about to overtake her.
Ah! All-around talented girl Song Muxue! Go!
The whistling continued, but the rhythm became increasingly chaotic.
Kou Shuang cheered on Song Muxue in her heart and gave her a “you’re the best” gesture. Then she saw Song Muxue accelerate again, running even faster than Xiaodie, about to catch up to her.
Xiaodie led Song Muxue around a corner. Kou Shuang followed behind them. After turning that corner, she simultaneously lost sight of both of them.
The whistling also disappeared.
The alley was pitch black, without a single light. The moonlight filtered through the gaps, making it even more eerie. Kou Shuang was a little scared and loudly said: “Song Muxue, where are you, Song Muxue!”
Footsteps echoed in the dark alley, behind her. Kou Shuang was startled. She turned around and saw Song Muxue emerge from around the corner, looking somewhat pale.
“Phew, you scared me to death… What happened just now? Where’s Xiaodie?”
“She ran away,” Song Muxue said.
“Ran away?”
Song Muxue nodded and said: “The whistling became increasingly chaotic. I chased Xiaodie, and she led me in a circle. Then a large truck suddenly appeared. Xiaodie jumped onto the truck and disappeared.”
Song Muxue took out her phone from her pocket and said: “I filmed a little, but the light is too dim to make out the license plate. I’ll show it to Zheng Fenglin later to see if he can recognize the truck model.”
Kou Shuang opened the video. The footage was very unstable, constantly shaking. The video started when the large truck closed its door and ended with it disappearing around another corner.
Just as Kou Shuang was about to say something, Song Muxue grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her to hide around the street corner.
Song Muxue’s hands were cold all year round. Holding hands in summer would surely be comfortable, but in winter, it was a bit stimulating. Her movements were too fast, and her strength was somewhat uncontrolled. She pressed Kou Shuang against the wall, but her fingers happened to be on Kou Shuang’s pulse. Kou Shuang couldn’t help but gasp, saying: “Why are you so cold!”
Song Muxue covered Kou Shuang’s mouth with her other hand. Kou Shuang instantly felt like she had been fed a mouthful of ice cream.
Song Muxue whispered: “Don’t make a sound, someone’s here!”
Kou Shuang nodded. Song Muxue then released her. She quietly peeked out and saw a dark shadow emerge from a pile of trash. The nauseating smell could be detected even from a distance.
They had followed the whistle, chasing Xiaodie’s sound. The whistle belonged to the homeless woman, but this shadow clearly wouldn’t be her; that large truck should be hers.
Besides, Kou Shuang thought the homeless woman was quite clean.
After the shadow crawled out of the trash pile, it looked around furtively, then left in a certain direction.
Song Muxue looked at Kou Shuang and softly asked: “Follow him?”
It was very late now. In the dim alley, even moonlight couldn’t penetrate. In the faint light, Kou Shuang could barely make out Song Muxue’s sparkling, resolute eyes.
“Mm, of course.”
Song Muxue released Kou Shuang’s hand. The latter grumbled: “Your body temperature is really low. I’ll buy you a box of hand warmers later.”
The figure’s posture was vulgar, hunched and distorted. At times leaning on the wall, at times walking in a serpentine, wobbly manner. Kou Shuang initially thought he was drunk, but then felt it wasn’t quite right.
The two initially tracked him stealthily. After walking a short distance, they realized it was completely unnecessary. The figure was completely unguarded and never looked back. They followed the S-shaped path the figure had taken and saw a startlingly shaped, multicolored palm print on the wall where the figure had leaned.
Song Muxue took out a tissue and carefully touched the palm print. A little color immediately appeared on the tissue.
“Not dry yet,” Song Muxue concluded.
She reached for her phone, but her hand found nothing. The next second, she saw Kou Shuang taking a picture with her phone. She had put it in Kou Shuang’s hand earlier when they were watching the video.
“Leave evidence, I understand,” Kou Shuang smiled.
The two followed the figure all the way, turning several alleys, gradually reaching a populated area. Kou Shuang asked: “Where is this?”
Song Muxue said: “The slum. The parent who reported the case, whom I told you about before, lives here.”
The myriad lights of homes gradually lit up. The atmosphere of life grew stronger, and the figure became clearer. At one point, the figure turned his face, and the light perfectly illuminated his features. Kou Shuang suddenly came back to her senses and said to Song Muxue: “This is that homeless man! The one who twisted my ankle! The one who stole my paint!”
“Are you sure?” Song Muxue handed the colored tissue to Kou Shuang. Kou Shuang glanced at it and nodded with a solemn expression.
With this connection, Kou Shuang confirmed that this was the new type of paint her company uniformly purchased in bulk. Easy to wash, colorless, and odorless.
This homeless man stole paint, and now his hands were stained with paint again. Why was he so fond of this stuff? Was there something unusual about this paint?
The homeless man staggered into a pitch-black house, then the lights came on. This must be the homeless man’s home.
They had followed him this far and couldn’t get any closer; otherwise, it would become breaking and entering. Song Muxue and Kou Shuang exchanged glances: Retreat for now.
The two walked about five or six steps, then bumped into two people head-on.
It was Zheng Fenglin and Xiao Huzi, whom they had just parted ways with.
Xiao Huzi looked surprised and said: “Two sisters, why are you here?”
“Why are you here?”
“I live here…” Xiao Huzi said, pointing to a house not far away, the very one the homeless man Song Muxue and Kou Shuang had been tracking had entered.
Zheng Fenglin’s gaze darted back and forth between Xiao Huzi, Kou Shuang, and Song Muxue. Finally, he said: “Xiao Huzi, let’s go into your place and talk.”