My girlfriend isn't as cute as me.

What exactly is going on?

Officer Li was 100% certain that the intelligence he received that afternoon came from this informant, who was completely unaware of it.

Even the phone number was altered. Surely it wasn't someone impersonating his informant and using his voice to call the police?

A person who can do this...

A figure flashed through the mind of this experienced police officer.

Officer Li subconsciously turned his head to look at the monitor screen, which showed the time as 7:51 PM.

At that time, Officer Li happened to be in the interrogation room to confirm with his colleagues whether Lin Jiu was related to these criminals.

In the surveillance footage, Lin Jiu looked up at the monitor, raised his handcuffed hands, and gave Officer Li a "V" sign. It was as if he was expressing his victory to Officer Li across a vast distance and time; everything was going according to plan.

Officer Li leaned back instinctively, and when he came to his senses, he had already lit a cigarette.

Even if he's a veteran police officer, he'll still be criticized for smoking in the monitoring room.

Well, the fire's already on fire.

I've already ordered it, I can't let myself get scolded for nothing...

Old Li took a deep breath and exhaled a thick, white breath.

Only after he finished the cigarette did he remember what he wanted to say.

"This guy is seventeen?"

Side Story: That Year, Seventeen

After leaving the police station, Lin Jiu did not go straight home, but walked for nearly an hour towards Lanchuan Hospital.

His pace was neither too fast nor too slow, each step maintaining the same distance, almost obsessive-compulsive. When he encountered paving stones, he would deliberately step on the black lines, as if stepping on a white square meant losing. His gait changed accordingly, becoming as elegant as a cat's, or like someone walking a stage, pleasing to the eye. His long legs, encased in thin black pantyhose, gleamed under the lights, attracting countless gazes with each graceful dance step.

Because Lin Jiu was wearing a school uniform skirt, he stood out remarkably, attracting a lot of attention. He walked forward without a care, seemingly used to it. He felt neither shy nor uncomfortable, even though he was dressed in women's clothing.

"Miss, would you like to buy some flowers?"

At the entrance of Lanchuan Hospital, a little girl innocently approached Lin Jiu and pointed to a small flower shop.

This was originally a newsstand, but it changed its business perhaps because of poor market conditions. The flower shop has a simple name: Happiness.

Looking from afar, Lin Jiu saw that the flowers displayed in front of the flower shop mainly included carnations, lilies, and sunflowers, commonly given to elders, symbolizing respect, love, and wishes for a speedy recovery; there were also tulips, hydrangeas, and pink roses, given to friends to express care and blessings. Red roses, symbolizing romantic relationships, were naturally also present. These flowers, when combined in different ways, could express different meanings.

This made Lin Jiu think to herself, "If only the relationships between people could be expressed as simply as the language of flowers."

"Heave-ho."

Lin Jiu gathered her skirt and squatted down, looking directly at the young girl who was still wearing her school uniform and looked quite young. She smiled and asked, "Do you have yellow tulips?"

"some!"

When the florist saw that Lin Jiu was interested, he quickly nodded.

She didn't care whether the store had it or not; she just said yes, and if not, she would recommend another type of flower to the young lady.

"Okay, let's go together."

Lin Jiu extended her hand to her, her smile bright.

The girl hesitated for a moment, seemingly remembering her parents' instructions not to go with strangers.

But she still held Lin Jiu's hand.

A young girl may not be able to discern the wickedness of a person's heart, but she can certainly tell who is good-looking.

This woman in front of me is so beautiful, I feel like it wouldn't matter if I were tricked by her.

Goodbye, Mom. Tonight I'm setting sail.

Don't worry about me, for I have the oars of joy and wisdom.

However, nothing unexpected happened. Lin Jiu led the girl by the hand and obediently went to the flower shop to buy flowers.

Welcome!

The flower shop owner was a plump woman who looked remarkably young and had a very pleasant voice.

"Hello."

Lin Jiu released the little girl's hand, explained his purpose, and inquired about the price of tulips.

The proprietress replied that a bouquet of flowers has eleven tulips, and the price of eleven tulips is ninety-nine yuan, which symbolizes longevity and good fortune.

"Then could you please give me a bunch of tulips?"

Lin Jiu took out an old Xiaomi 6 phone, covered in scratches and dents, with a particularly irritating scratch on the screen that would make anyone with OCD want to work hard and save up for a new phone. Even the back cover was chipped, making it look especially shabby.

This truly surprised the florist. She had run her flower shop there for several years and had seen many people along the way, developing a keen eye for character. Judging from Lin Jiu's appearance, posture, and manner of speaking, she didn't seem like someone from a poor family at all. Why would she use such an old-fashioned cell phone?

"The money has been transferred. Please check your account."

Lin Jiu gestured to the successful transfer page on his phone, his movements natural, as if it were as simple as buying a glass of water.

"Ok."

The proprietress smiled slightly.

What kind of storms hasn't she seen? Maybe she just likes this kind of style; the world of the rich isn't worth caring about. Just based on the young girl's attitude of not even intending to haggle, the proprietress quickly put aside her doubts and beautifully wrapped the eleven tulips with ribbon before handing them to Lin Jiu.

A fragrant floral scent wafted over, and Lin Jiu couldn't help but smile slightly, though he could tell he was a little tired.

"Is this a gift for your boyfriend?" the proprietress asked curiously.

"No, I'm a boy, I don't have a boyfriend." Lin Jiu shook his head.

"I see... huh?"

The proprietress was stunned.

male?

Is she really that good-looking?

"Thank you, I'll be going now."

Lin Jiu carried a handbag in one hand and held the bouquet in the other, nodded politely to the proprietress, and turned to leave.

"Take care..."

The proprietress waved her hand blankly, unable to calm herself down for a long time.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

The little girl tugged at her mother's apron, looking at her with concern.

"nothing."

The proprietress smiled, looked up at Lin Jiu's departing figure, and felt as if she had seen him somewhere before.

Such a handsome boy naturally leaves a deep impression.

"...Wenwen, help Mom watch the shop for a while, don't go running around outside."

"Good~"

The girl answered obediently, sitting quietly in the chair, her short legs swinging back and forth in the air.

The florist didn't sit still; she immediately logged into her browser on her computer and then scratched her head, staring at Baidu. She thought and thought, but she didn't know the person's name; she just felt like she'd seen it somewhere before…

You must have misremembered.

Lin Jiu, carrying the flowers, nodded and smiled at the doctors, nurses, and elderly people he met along the way. He eventually arrived at the sparsely populated fifth floor, the ward for seriously ill patients, where only the sound of his footsteps could be heard.

In the empty corridor, Lin Jiu paused slightly, a hint of malice slowly surfacing in his eyes, as if he had sensed something. He then blinked, perfectly concealing his emotion, and casually circled around as if nothing had happened.

About ten minutes later...

"Dong dong."

There was a slight knock on the door.

In ward 507, a man who was lying by the bed suddenly woke up.

He first glanced at the sleeping girl on the hospital bed, then looked at the numbers on the electrocardiogram machine, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Boom."

A soft knock sounded on the door again.

Through the transparent observation window of the door, one could see who was coming. The man had already refused countless interviews from media reporters in the past few days.

On the afternoon her daughter was admitted to the hospital, some people had already brought their equipment and were squatting at the hospital entrance.

"Is he dead? Is he dead? Is this information reliable? Can we send it?"

I asked it again and again.

We waited and waited.

The man was right in front of them, right in front of them!

The girl's electrocardiogram turned into a single line twice in a row.

Thanks to the doctors' efforts, it started beating again and again.

The surgery was successful.

People inside the hospital looked up and cheered.

People outside the hospital hung their heads and sighed.

The media put away their cameras, complaining, "Why don't they just die? Only when they die can they make the headlines."

The man was furious, his anger surging in his fists. He desperately wanted to punch the reporter in the face, but he didn't dare.

Because his daughter is still in the hospital.

What is required to stay in a hospital?

money.

a lot of money.

He had no other means to cause trouble.