Tang Qian could no longer read the book in his hand.
He tried to pick it up, but couldn't help but put it down, then picked it up again, and put it down again.
Looking at the words on it, he recognized every word, and he also recognized them all together. But at this particular time, with his careful and mature thoughts, he couldn't even figure out how to pronounce such a simple word, let alone put it together into a sentence or paragraph.
Recreation was what Tang Hua told him to do, but now he couldn't safely do this almost undemanding thing. Even if the book in his hand is his favorite book, the kind of reading material that he can read a hundred times in a row - even more than he likes food like matcha cake after his birthday.
Tang Hua hung up the phone, what would happen to him? where is he?
The panicked child had no next plan. He didn't know what to do and told himself that this was where he couldn't help.
All that can be done is to wait.
It should be fine, he told himself.
Then, the phone that Tang Qian had put aside rang again. He quickly jumped out of bed and came to the phone with almost no pause.
A familiar voice came from the phone. He was panting and seemed to be on his way: "Wait for me there now. I will come right away. Remember not to open the door to anyone!"
"Are you okay..." Tang Qian asked in a low voice, as if he was afraid of alerting the enemies who might be near Tang Hua on the other side. In terms of being cautious, he has been professional since he was a child. Sometimes this is the main reason why he seems more mature than his peers.
Tang Hua was flattered, paused, and answered truthfully: "It's okay." He glanced at the pistol that was thrown aside on the seat next to him.
In this era, almost any attempt to use cold weapons against hot weapons will end badly, unless the person holding the hot weapons is a rookie who can't even open the insurance, that is an exception.
And Tang Hua... obviously does not fall into this category.
He has always been professional.
"Don't be afraid, just stay there and don't move." Tang Hua said solemnly, "If someone comes to break down the door, find a place to hide."
Such severe concerns are not unnecessary.
The murderer who had just tried to threaten him with a dagger was cornered by the presence of a gun. Now Tang Hua was not sure that he would always be optimistic about such a powerful young killer, so he took the daring man's dagger and scratched it on the opponent's leg to ensure that he could not act at will and kill the person later. He was handcuffed to a nearby iron railing.
But there's another problem.
Since the phone can be monitored, then maybe the other party also has the technical means to track the location of the fixed phone used by Tang Qian. It was reduced to the point where a six-year-old child was needed to inform the situation. At the same time, it also meant that there was only such a child present and no adults were present.
In other words, after losing contact with his accomplices, the unidentified technical expert has a greater chance of finding Tang Qian, except for the option of rescuing his accomplices.
The location of the captured accomplices may be transferred, and Tang Qian is not only a child of only six years old, but also the cherished younger brother of their target. Not only are the hostages useful, but the personal emotions of the troublemakers who perform the mission will be affected by this.
What could be better than this perfect goal?
Even if he blindly allowed Tang Qian to escape, it would only mess up his own arrangements. Such a big child can't run very far, and even if Tang Qian can tell Tang Hua his whereabouts, Tang Hua can't guarantee that their phone calls are not being monitored. What's more, the door was locked from the outside, and it was impossible for Tang Qian to open it even if he could reach the door handle.
We can only hope that the tracking technology cannot find the most specific location of the safe house, otherwise what will happen is unimaginable.
After putting down the phone, Tang Qian was even more confused and at a loss. He lay next to the window and looked around, hoping to try his best to relieve his unsteady heartbeat.
After waiting for a long time, a trivial sound came from the direction of the door.
He subconsciously remembered Tang Hua's instructions, but only remembered that he wanted to hide them.
Under the bed? In the cupboard? Under the table?
His thoughts were diverging very quickly, and he was still entangled in distinguishing the pros and cons, but the door opened faster than his thoughts. Fortunately, it was Tang Hua who walked in.
Finally seeing a living person, Tang Qian hurriedly jumped off the desk and ran over as quickly as possible. He didn't have the squeamish habit of throwing himself into the arms of adults when he was wronged like his peers, but he just stood there with his eyes wide open and his back straight, still holding his book tightly in his hand, and the tears accumulated from such a long time of anxiety It was spinning in his eyes, as if he couldn't drop it, but he still looked like he was trying to show that he was not afraid of danger.
It looks quite pitiful.
"Sometimes I really wonder if you were mute in your last life... If you don't say anything, just complain. It's my fault." Tang Hua couldn't laugh or cry. He took Tang Qian's hand and led him away. Leave this room.
Tang Qian had been comforted, but Tang Hua didn't feel that it was safe.
He was extremely wary of everything around him.
"There's an extra car."
When he reached the stairs, Tang Qian, who he was holding, suddenly spoke.
"What?" Tang Hua was stunned.
Tang Qian pointed in a specific direction and whispered: "Over there."
He was referring to a black car parked on the corner of the street.
He had been peeking out from the window from time to time, and he had a comprehensive impression of the panoramic view of the street. For a long time, that car did not exist.
Tang Hua took a deep breath, held his breath and paid attention to the movement over there, and quickly brought Tang Qian to his car.
Surprisingly, nothing has happened so far.
Tang Qianlao sat in his usual seat, looked at Tang Hua and asked, "What should we do next?"
"Let's go to the police station first and find someone to take care of you." Tang Hua himself was not so calm and took a deep breath, "Don't be afraid, everything will be fine."
"But the note said..." After reading it many times while waiting, Tang Qian remembered it quite clearly, "Don't trust other police officers."
He may not have a clue, but he knows what "other" means.
But even Tang Hua was confused.
Song Jing's instructions may have been left in a hurry. She may not have figured out the whole story for the time being. She just told Tang Hua to evacuate as soon as possible to ensure his safety, and the mission was still being carried out.
As a leader, Song Jing has his own considerations. But from Tang Hua's point of view...he had been undercover for so long, so there was no way he could just take matters into his own hands. Moreover, there are other variables.
What struck him as strange was not just the sudden notification, but the attack on himself. According to Tang Hua's investigation, it is not that there are no firearms within the organization, but they are often used as threatening props. After all, liquidation requests are more often disguised as accidents or suicides. But for an undercover traitor who was arrested and whose identity was not known, he only brought a dagger. Is it too hasty?
Even just one person.
There may be other conspiracies hidden in this. This is the inside story that Tang Hua cannot tell others for the time being, because any rash action may give the information to other people.
The enemy's technical skills were obviously quite superb, even exceeding the average level of police personnel, and Tang Hua was not sure whether his operations would expose these facts, and instead make everything fail.
The vehicle started and Tang Hua knew the nearest possible safe place.
"That car... is moving." Tang Qian sat on the child's seat, and his attention fell on the car behind him that he had been paying attention to before. The car with its shiny black exterior is easy to spot on the gray asphalt road.
He had nothing else to do.
Tang Hua tried his best to ignore all distracting thoughts, focused on the current predicament, and accepted Tang Qian's attempt to help: "You continue to watch, I will go directly as planned."
After that, he speeded up the car.
Tang Qian could still stare at the traffic behind him at first, carefully comparing the outline and shape of the black vehicle he remembered in his mind, trying to see if he could catch up with him there. But soon, he never saw the target vehicle, and he finally felt sleepy. After waiting for a day, he didn't take a nap or rest. When he sat on the bed, he just fidgeted. His immature brain struggled to think about things that were beyond his age. He didn't have much energy left.
The afternoon skylight was not dazzling. Because of this, even though there were no curtains on the car window next to him, Tang Qian felt a long-lost sense of comfort. It's like I'm relieved, I can already predict that everything will return to normal...
He rested quietly without opening his eyes. Tang Hua said that he would help him find his home... but those memories seemed so far away that he could hardly describe his life at that time. Life after picking it up outside the warehouse.
Until the vehicle stopped, he vaguely felt that Tang Hua opened the door and got out.
What made him open his eyes again were two loud gunshots.
Tang Qian looked out the window with some fear. Tang Hua seemed to be invisible in his field of vision, and he shrank back in his seat.
It'll be okay, he thought, closing his eyes again to relieve the visible yet unknowable fear.
After a long time, the sound of the car door opening sounded in his ears, and Tang Hua got into the car again. But this time his expression seemed a little bad, although it was difficult to see the actual situation of Tang Hua who got into the car from the front seat from the back seat.
"How's it going..." Tang Qian asked in a daze. Although he really no longer has the energy to care, this is his last stubbornness as a child who considers himself mature.
Tang Hua was silent for a moment and said nothing.
Just when Tang Qian started to panic and wanted to explore the truth on his own, he finally said: "...don't move here, don't move for a long time, be good and be obedient."
In the past, Tang Hua would never deliberately ask Tang Qian to be obedient, because he was already a very obedient child. Everything was done as ordered, without any complaints or mistakes, unless what Tang Hua ordered was beyond his ability - such a thing would not happen.
The car moved again.
The journey this time was not far, and within ten minutes, the car stopped on the side of the road. It seemed a bit lively in the distance, with many people noisy and flickering lights. Tang Qian was disturbed and finally opened his eyes due to discomfort.
The first thing he saw on the first page was the back of Tang Hua's head.
"Where are you..."
Tang Hua seemed to have made up his mind, opened the door, got out of the car, came to the seat in front of the back seat, and opened the door next to Tang Qian.
Tang Qian just subconsciously wanted to get out of the car, but Tang Hua held him in place.
"I told you not to move..." Tang Hua seemed to be clenching his teeth, his movements were slightly trembling, and his voice was a little hoarse, even weak.
In Tang Hua's usual habits, this kind of tone can already be included in the category of losing his temper.
Only then did the six-year-old realize that something was wrong.
"You sleep...wait...you can do whatever you want. Someone will come to see you soon, I promise." Tang Hua put his hands on the seat and took a breath. Only then could Tang Qian see something.
There was a lot of almost dried blood on his hands, and it seemed that he had not been able to wipe them clean after wiping them. The blood on the abdomen was almost soaked into the clothes, and only the approximate location of the source could be seen. It was covered with many fingerprints. It seemed that it had been bandaged on its own, but it still could not stop the blood from seeping out.
It was in this state that Tang Hua drove to this noisy place.
"Did you kill someone?" Tang Qian asked in a trembling voice. It was not easy for him to tell whether the bleeding belonged to someone else or to Tang Hua. Maybe it was the same situation as that day when Tang Hua came home late at night? Yes, he had blood on his hands at that time, but he was not injured.
Tang Hua answered decisively: "No." Although he was breathing rapidly and moving unsteadily, he still took out a small notebook from his arms.
"Take it and hide it. If someone comes, ask him for help. It's best to ask for a female police officer named Song Jing, who is their leading female police officer. She knows who you are." He stretched out his hand with force. The notebook was placed in Tang Qian's trouser pocket.
Tang Qian watched helplessly - he could only watch because he remembered that Tang Hua told him not to move, and even lost his temper because he almost moved.
"To whom?" Tang Qian could only ask cautiously.
Tang Hua was silent again. He didn't seem to know what to say. He just closed his eyes and said, "To... someone you think you can trust and rely on."
He doesn't know anymore.
This scope is too abstract, and may not even include Song Jing, who he has been collaborating with.
"When did you..." Before he could say the word "come back", he saw the car door in front of him being slammed shut.
Tang Hua leaned on the car, took a deep breath, then turned and left.
It’s lonely waiting again.
Tang Qian didn't dare to move or look outside, so he fell into a deep sleep again.
"Did you do it?"
There was darkness before his eyes, and he could only open his heavy eyelids. Seeing the police uniform worn by the person in the driver's seat, I felt vaguely reassured.
It was a female voice, and she looked like she was a female police officer... yes, it should be the female police officer Tang Hua was talking about.
She was sitting in the driver's seat, directly in front of Tang Qian.
Tang Hua... Tang Hua told him to follow the female police officer carefully and find his parents. Is she... someone you can trust?
Tang Qian struggled to get her attention and told the officer that he was awake. Song Jing's car didn't have a child seat, so she put a pillow next to the six-year-old child and buckled the seat belt, so that the child's size could be restrained in it.
The child hesitated. But why didn't Tang Hua just ask him to give the things to Song Jing?
Officer Song really doesn't know how to take care of children. The fact that such a soft pillow can sting someone is ironclad proof. Although the position was able to squeeze Tang Qian in place together with the seat belt, it was indeed not comfortable at all.
However, the next words from the policewoman sitting in the front seat made him shiver even more.
"...If you don't speak, I can't help you." Song Jing's voice was cold, "Let me tell you, even if you are my boss, I will not allow you to act hot-headedly. You like money, right? No. If you dare to kill me, just wait for me. When I find the evidence, I will let you enjoy your old age in prison, don't be polite to me."
What does it mean?
Tang Qian's body, which was still struggling, froze at that moment.
"Do you know that the life of a police officer may be the result of your indifference?"
When the phone was hung up, six-year-old Tang Qian felt his mind was in chaos. He couldn't even think of what these words meant, but just kept them firmly in his heart. He cooperated in finding the bodies of his parents, and answered ignorantly what he knew about three years ago, but he had no time to think about what happened recently.
Of course, not even Song Jing would have imagined that Tang Hua would be so bold as to entrust a six-year-old child with a secret involving his own life. More importantly, everyone thought it was over, everything about this organization.
No one asked, and naturally there was no answer.
...Everyone except Tang Qian.
The attacker who was handcuffed to the railing by Tang Hua was one person, and it was another person who injured Tang Hua.
They are all missing. Tang Hua said that he had not killed anyone before.
It wasn't that Tang Qian didn't know that Tang Hua was related to the police, nor was it that he was dismissive of the police investigation from the perspective of a criminal organization. What made him unwilling to reveal any relevant information was not only Tang Hua's unintentional instructions a long time ago, but also the feeling of being overwhelmed and the bloody lessons.
Don't put your trust in others.
The scene where the originally tough man looked in pain, his clothes soaked with blood, and even his breathing was shattered by the heavy blows, gradually became the most profound memory in his coma, even surpassing that first lonely journey. .
He didn't dare to remember this scene, but he never wanted to forget his fear, because it carried a person's last trust. It was an index of the truth, a way out of confinement that could not be seen, an extremely hasty and incomplete explanation.
All these burdens fell on a child who was only six years old at the time and is still underage even now.
I don’t know who is trustworthy, I don’t know how to prevent misfortunes from happening, and I don’t know what to do to really get everything back on track without leaving any regrets.
He didn't know how to choose, so he would only move forward blankly in the darkness, trying his best to restore all possible truths, and then cautiously explore forward.
And the more you understand, the more you fear.
But now Tang Qian can almost piece together the complete truth.
"I was the one who harmed him."
Whenever he recalled what had happened, he would occasionally have such doubts. But now, he can say this sentence completely.
If he hadn't gone to great lengths to make that phone call, Tang Hua might have been able to see through the enemy's plot with his own strength. Although he knew nothing, he could at least hide in a safe corner to save his own life after being attacked.
And if the ending was like this, Tang Qian would not have accidentally led a wolf into the house and accidentally fallen into another protection struggle. In the end, he would have had countless doubts and made the irreversible decision to return to the fatal place. in the fire scene.
Tang Qian understood, but did not dare to confirm his understanding. Just like when he was confused and couldn't make a decision.
Until now, he still has a glimmer of hope, even though he knows how unrealistic it is.
However, as long as he can be as rational and calm as when solving ordinary problems, how could he think that a person who lives in the world would give up all honors and achievements for no reason and disappear for eleven years?
No matter what, when he made that choice, it was destined to lead to this result.
