The festive atmosphere was strong. At the end of one of the shows, the host instructed the actors to tear down a Christmas tree tied with balloons and give it to the surrounding audience.
There were too many balloons, and almost one child was present, and the distribution was not finished at the end, so women and young people were also stuffed with balloons.
Mingshu and Xiao Yuan were far away from the stage, so they would not be stuffed with balloons, but a little boy with three balloons rushed over and handed one of them to Mingshu, "Brother handsome, here it is!"
Xiao Yuan laughed.
Mingshu looked at it and saw that it was the bear kid who went to his back and swung a mace.
"I'm sorry!" The little boy bowed solemnly, "I hit you just now. My mother has educated me. This is my heart, handsome brother, do you accept my apology?"
The line of the balloon was already close at hand, and the bear child was so sincere, Mingshu really had no reason to refuse, so he took it and said with a smile, "I accept it."
The little boy immediately grinned, waved his chubby little hand and stepped back and said, "Then I wish you a good time today, eat well, have money to spend, have a lady to watch, have... ouch!"
Mingshu wanted to remind that it was too late. The little boy hit an inflatable rake that someone had left behind, lost his center of gravity, and sat on the ground.
The child is short, and he wears thick clothes in winter. It's nothing to fall, but the worst thing is that when the little boy came to apologize, he was still carrying the "causing trouble" mace behind his back.
When he fell like this, the mace was placed under his buttocks, and he was suddenly compressed and leaked, making a heartbreaking sound—
“Zi…”
The little boy's mother ran over from a distance and helped the little boy up, not knowing whether to laugh or cry for a while.
Let's apologize to others, why did you crush the mace
The little boy looked back at the shriveled mace, bit his lip hard, and tears welled in his eyes.
Mingshu really wanted to laugh, but if he laughed at this time, he would be bullying the children too much.
He had to give the balloon to Xiao Yu'an, walked over and squatted in front of the little boy, handed a pack of tissues, and was about to open his mouth to comfort him.
"Wow!"
Mingshu: "…"
The little boy's mother looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he's just like this, he's so naughty. Did he talk to you guys just now?"
Mingshu smiled and said, "It's pretty cute."
Being praised, the little boy peeked at Mingshu while crying, crying even more vigorously.
"Don't cry, isn't it just a mace? Mommy will buy you another one!"
"I'll take him to buy it." Mingshu said suddenly.
The little boy looked at Mingshu with wet eyes, a look of disbelief.
"No, no!" The little boy's mother said quickly, "I'll just go buy it for him."
Mingshu stood up, "He gave me a balloon, I should return a gift."
"How embarrassing, that balloon was originally sent..."
The little boy wiped away his tears and snot, and said excitedly, "Thank you handsome brother!"
Mingshu took the little boy to buy a mace, the little boy's mother looked at them, and Xiao Yuan also looked at them.
Said to "bring" the little boy, Mingshu didn't lead others at all, just like walking a dog, he walked in front, and the little boy ran happily in the back.
Just looking at it like this, Xiao Yuan's eyes gradually became deeper.
Mingshu may not even remember that he was very similar to this little boy when he was a child.
When he first arrived at Xiao's house, Mingshu was very polite, and was completely a "little master" with a good tutor, but after a long time, the naughty spirit that belonged to a child still came up, and he sneaked into trouble with Xiao Jincheng. After being educated, he immediately went back obediently, apologized honestly, and bowed to ask for forgiveness.
Xiao Yuan remembered that one summer, both the parents of the Xiao family and the parents of the Ming family repeatedly told them not to swim in the river.
The children are a little rebellious, so Mingshu came and begged several times, "Brother, take me to swim in the river. The swimming pool is not exciting, and you can't cut the waves."
"No." Xiao Yu'an said: "The river is not safe, where did you learn to 'cut the waves'?"
Mingshu said, "Okay, I'm obedient, I'm not going to chop the waves." Then he turned around and temporarily truce with Xiao Jincheng, his enemy, and colluded to go to the river.
They brought not only shorts for diving, but also tents and picnic tools.
At noon when everyone was taking a nap, the two slipped away so quietly.
It didn't happen, but the thought of two children carrying adults into the river was a frightening thing. It's good luck that nothing happened this time, but what if something happened
In the evening, when Mingshu and Xiao Jincheng "triumph", there was a room of adults waiting for them.
Xiao Jincheng screamed and was screwed away, as for Mingshu...
Xiao Yu'an said, "I'll take him back to Ming's house."
The Xiao family and the Ming family were very close. On the way, Mingshu's excitement had not yet passed. He wanted to tell his "heroic" deeds, but he peeked at Xiao Yu'an from the corner of his eye and found that Xiao Yu'an was angry, so he had to put his lips aside. Swallow it back.
But he really wanted to show off!
Two contradictory emotions stirred in his eyes, which made his expression extraordinarily wonderful.
Suddenly, Xiao Yuan stopped.
Ming Shu also quickly stopped and whispered, "Brother?"
"Have I told you that it is dangerous to swim in the river?" Xiao Yuan frowned slightly, looking at Mingshu seriously and somewhat distressed.
They were standing under the street lamp at this time, and Xiao Yu'an's shadow shrouded Mingshu.
Mingshu suddenly panicked because he saw undisguised disappointment on Xiao Yuan's face.
"elder brother… "
"I told you, and more than once." Xiao Yuan continued: "You promised well, but you didn't listen at all."
Mingshu shook his head anxiously and grabbed Xiao Yuan's wrist, "No, brother, I..."
Xiao Yuan pulled his wrist back, his eyes became more severe, "Mingshu, you are too disobedient."
Mingshu opened his eyes wide, stood bewildered, and shrank his swayed hand to his chest, and said aggrieved: "Brother, I was wrong."
Xiao Yu'an said, "Since you're not obedient, then you shouldn't come here in the future. Xiao Jincheng is naughty, and you are naughty, you two continue to stay together... "
Before he finished speaking, Mingshu rushed forward without hesitation and hugged Xiao Yu'an, looking very pitiful, "Brother, I'm sorry! I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! Don't chase me!"
Xiao Yu'an actually just wanted to educate Mingshu and let this disobedient stinky boy have a memory, how could he really drive him away, and when he saw him hastily apologized, his heart softened.
"Brother, I'll never swim in the river again." Mingshu couldn't help but step on Xiao Jincheng while he excused himself, "Xiao Jincheng took me there, I didn't do it on purpose!"
They all went down the river and chopped the waves, and said they didn't go there on purpose
Xiao Yuan was angry and funny, and wiped Mingshu's tears with a handkerchief, "Don't do this next time."
At this time, many people had already finished their dinner, more and more people were in the atrium, and more children were buying toys.
When Mingshu and the little boy turned around, each held a mace in his hand.
The little boy waved happily to Mingshu—this time he didn't walk backwards while talking cross talk, "Brother handsome, goodbye roar!"
Mingshu raised his hand in a particularly dashing manner and walked towards Xiao Yuan.
"Buy one get one free?" Xiao Yuan joked.
"Suddenly want to play." Mingshu said.
When they got back to the restaurant, it was their turn, and the waiter took them to a well-placed table for two, placed the menu, and stood by to wait.
Xiao Yuan went to get the condiments, and Mingshu ordered the dishes in less than a minute, which surprised the waiter at a speed.
"Are you ready now?"
"Wouldn't it be nice to let you stand for a while?"
As soon as the waiter took the order, "I like customers like you!"
While waiting for the food to be served, Ming Shu chatted with Xiao Yu'an, talking about the expressive little boy just now.
"This kid is so good at acting that he didn't intend to cry. As soon as I coaxed him, he started to cry, and the tears came to me." Mingshu said.
"So are you." Xiao Yu'an exposed it mercilessly.
Mingshu was stunned, "Me? I don't have one?"
Xiao Yu'an said, "Who fought with Xiao Jincheng before, he didn't cry during the fight, and he didn't cry after the fight. As soon as I walked over and wiped his face with a towel, he burst into tears?"
Mingshu's face burned for a while, "You still remember..."
Xiao Yuan put the mixed condiments in front of Mingshu, and the dishes were ready after a while.
Shabu-shabu is a light mouthful and pays attention to the word "fresh". It's good to throw it into the pot for a few seconds, and it will get old after a long time.
Neither of them spoke when the meat was being scalded, and they were very attentive.
There was a lot of people around, talking about everything, and no one really cared about one second or less.
There are several hanging TVs in the store, all of which are playing the theme song of "Red Dust and Jianghu". Mingshu heard a sudden scream from a table next to him. Several girls looked at the TV obsessively, "Hu Ying! It is Hu Ying. !"
Ming Shu also glanced at the TV.
This drama is really hot, and the craze still hasn't faded after the broadcast. When he wasn't so busy a while ago, he tried watching an episode and fell asleep halfway through.
The brilliance of this popular drama, he can't really taste it. Compared with watching dramas in his spare time, he would rather go to the live broadcast platform to watch the chat with the anchor with goods.
Then buy buy buy.
The past few days have been so busy that I don't have time to watch the live broadcast. It seems that there are not enough snacks in the serious crime team.
Xiao Yuan put a piece of beef that was only hot for 7 seconds in Mingshu's bowl, Mingshu picked it up and ate it, his mouth was burnt, but fortunately he only took a bite and quickly put it back into his bowl.
There was a row of tooth marks on the beef, Mingshu looked at the row of tooth marks while chewing.
At the end of the year, the store will hold activities. If you spend more than 100 yuan, you can draw a prize, and if you spend more than 300 yuan, you will get a small gift. Mingshu and Xiao Yuan spent 325 yuan and had three chances to draw a lottery. Mingshu went to the lottery, and Xiao Yuan received a small gift at the front desk.
Mingshu was lucky enough to get two packs of paper and a coupon for a limited time. On the other side, Xiao Yuan had already received a small gift, which was a lipstick.
Mingshu took the lipstick and took a look, "I know this brand."
Xiao Yuan smiled, "When did you study lipsticks?"
"I watched it on the live broadcast. This color number is very popular recently." Mingshu said: "But it's a waste to give it to us."
Xiao Yu'an said: "It doesn't have to be a waste."
Mingshu turned his face sideways: "Huh?"
"Keep it." Xiao Yu'an said, "What if it comes in handy?"
Mingshu said, "I suspect that you are conspiring to do something wrong!"
Xiao Yu'an said: "Ming team, the police pay attention to evidence in handling cases."
"Doubt you don't need evidence."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because I can read your heart."
"It's too straightforward, Team Ming."
After returning home, Mingshu sat on the reclining chair on the balcony, looking at the mace thoughtfully, rubbing his fingers on the mace.
Xiao Yuan took out a bottle of drink from the refrigerator to help digestion and froze his cheeks.
"Hey—" Mingshu took the drink, "A surprise attack again."
"What did this mace teach you?" Xiao Yu'an said, "I've been staring at it all night."
"Didn't I go to weaving again today? I didn't find any new clues. I was always thinking about the small hole in Huang Yan's chest. The small hole has been determined to be caused by the broken ice hammer, but what the murderer wants to express is not necessarily the same as the broken ice. It has something to do with the hammer." Mingshu put the drink aside and picked up the mace, "These mace, if they shrink a little, can actually create that kind of conical hole. Of course, this inflatable mace can't hurt people. ."
Xiao Yu'an said, "Langya."
Mingshu nodded, "Do those small holes represent tooth marks? And tooth marks represent gnawing. There can be many kinds of tooth marks. For example, when I bit a piece of beef just now, I also had my tooth marks on it. But that The small conical hole is the tooth mark of a beast. The murderer wanted to say that Huang Yan was devoured by a wolf—no, some kind of beast—?"
Xiao Yu'an said: "Huang Yan's past experience brought her the disaster of this killing."
Mingshu stood up from the reclining chair and took a few steps, "But the one most likely to kill her is the 'Ghost Card', the line of 'Ghost Card' can already be ruled out. When she died, did Lin Jiao have anything to do? Evidence at the scene."
"When investigating a case, we tend to focus on the most obvious clues and ignore the less important clues." Xiao Yuan said: "Do you remember, Huang Yan's mother Huang Yue said that Huang Yan I went to the southwest border to raise Gu before."
When thinking of bugs, Mingshu felt a tingling sensation in his scalp, "Huang Yan is not only offended by 'ghost cards'."
"Huang Yan has been to more than one backward village in Silin Town." Xiao Yu'an said: "Your idea is very interesting, and you can spread it out during the meeting."
Xiang Tao has been transferred to the general ward and is recovering vigorously.
Mingshu went to see him with nutritional supplements, and took the balloon and mace with him.
The ward is a single room, and there are colleagues from the Beicheng Branch to take care of it. Seeing Mingshu, Xiang Tao excitedly planned to get out of bed. Mingshu asked him to lie down and put the things he brought on the table.
"Team Ming." Xiang Tao said, "Why did you bring me toys?"
"It's from the shopping mall. It's almost New Year's Eve, and it looks festive." Mingshu fixed the balloon.
The balloons were pink and gold dust, really festive.
Although Xiang Tao was still recovering from his injuries, he was concerned about Silin Town and the unsolved murder case, so he talked about the case without saying a word. Mingshu was no longer polite to him, and said, "You have been in the hospital for a while, have you thought about Huang Yan's case?"
Xiang Tao said: "I've been thinking about it all day! Excluding Lin Jiao's revenge, the most strange thing about her case is that she took the initiative to turn off the surveillance cameras and the large hole in her chest. I think it should be based on her experience. Digging, since the last time I learned about the 'Ghost Card', I got into the 'Ghost Card' and didn't know any other information about her. In fact, now that I think about it, I still don't know enough about her. At least I don't know why she is Will turn off surveillance."
"The murderer is someone she knows, a young man, she is looking forward to his arrival and obeys his words." Mingshu said: "This is likely to be an attractive male in appearance - especially for women. "
Xiang Tao thought for a moment, "This profile is too broad."
"I know." Mingshu said, "So the key point is still the small hole."
With that said, Mingshu picked up the mace and thumped it lightly in his hand.
Xiang Tao didn't understand for a while.
"I suspect that those small holes represent the gnawing of beasts." Mingshu said, "It may be a wolf or another animal."
Xiang Tao was stunned, as if he was digesting this information quickly, and then suddenly patted the quilt, "Captain Ming, I remembered something. But I don't know if this has anything to do with Huang Yan's death."
"tell me the story."
"Did I not go to Cai Xinyue when I first found out about the clue of 'Ghost Cards'? It's the girl who went to Silin Town with Huang Yan to buy 'Ghost Cards'." Xiang Tao said, "She lives in Nanyang. I work at the 'Storm' room club in the city, specializing in writing plots for the secret room. At that time, she took me into an unused room, which was an outdated secret room scene with a lot of outdated props."
Xiang Tao paused, "There is a wolf head in it."
Ming Shu said, "Wolf head?"
"Mingshu, have you ever played Werewolf?" Xiang Tao asked.
Mingshu said: "Who has never played werewolf killing?"
"This game was very popular a few years ago, and it would be right to say that it was the most popular board game. At that time, almost all the secret rooms had a werewolf theme." Xiang Tao said: "But in recent years, it has not been enough. The secret room won't work either."
Mingshu suddenly felt a lot of clues pouring into his mind, but these clues were disordered, messy, endless, and even deceptive.
Xiang Tao worried: "Ming team, Huang Yan's case is related to werewolves and secret rooms?"
Ming Shu smiled reassuringly, "You can rest easy and recuperate from your injuries, just think about it as much as you can, and feel free to contact me whenever you think of anything."
Xiang Tao felt that these words were very contradictory - one had to recuperate from his injuries, and at the same time, he had to turn his head around.
Mingshu said, "Taunt me in your heart?"
Xiang Tao said, "Have you seen all this?"
Mingshu said half-jokingly, "If you want to come to our serious crime team, the ability to 'mind reading' is essential."
"Really?" Xiang Tao didn't quite believe it, "Then I have to work harder!"
"Okay, I won't bother you anymore." Mingshu picked up his coat, "I'll see you in a while."
After learning that Huang Yan was killed, Cai Xinyue was frightened and suspicious, and quit her job in the "Storm" secret room club. She originally planned to leave Dongye City, but as the owner of the "Ghost Card", her movements were temporarily restricted and she had to cooperate with the police's investigation.
"Still... Haven't found the murderer who killed Sister Yan?" Cai Xinyue's spirit was on the verge of collapse, "Then will I be killed too?"
"You said that you and Huang Yan met because of folklore and spirituality. Huang Yan is an expert in this field. He helped you design the secret room and provided you with a lot of inspiration." Although it was Xiang Tao who found Cai Xinyue last time, Mingming was not alone. Shu has already listened to the recording, "Has Huang Yan mentioned werewolves to you, or in other words, legends related to werewolves?"
Cai Xinyue was very nervous, but when she heard "Wolfman", there was a little disdain in her eyes, "No."
Ming Shu's eyes sharpened a bit, "So sure?"
"Because the theme of werewolf is outdated." Speaking of her own line, Cai Xinyue finally calmed down, "The popular themes in the market are usually researched by us for about a year, we, we must Standing at the forefront. Like the werewolf theme, it actually reached its peak before I entered the industry. At that time, the practitioners basically understood the theme and began to explore new trends. I can't talk about the werewolf theme with Sister Yan anymore. "
Mingshu frowned thoughtfully, and asked after a while, "Recall, what inspiration did Huang Yan give you?"
Cai Xinyue found a notebook, "It's all there."
Mingshu turned a few pages, but didn't see anything famous, and said: "The last time you and Huang Yan contacted, was it an appointment to go to a newly opened secret room?"
This clue was discovered by the Beicheng Branch in Huang Yan's online records, and Xiang Tao also found Cai Xinyue because of this.
Cai Xinyue nodded uneasily, "Yes, in Dongcheng District, the style of that secret room is different from that of 'Storm'. I heard that it took a bloody and violent route. In our business, visiting a competitor's secret room is necessary for work, so I will make an appointment. I went to see Sister Yan. But that secret room had not yet opened."
Dongcheng District, "Tianyun Chaodu" shopping center.
"Why so many people? Is there any activity?"
"I don't know, go take a look?"
"Don't go, it's none of our business, a secret room is open."
"What is the secret room?"
"You don't even know about the secret room? Yes... "
A building resembling a medieval castle appeared in the newly opened D Hall of the shopping center. Young people dressed in fashion lined up in a long snake-like line, some were talking excitedly, and some were looking forward with their long necks.
They are all fans of the secret room culture. Wherever there is a newly opened secret room, they will check in first, lest they be later than their friends.
The "Ninth Battlefield" secret room club opened, with "first clearer", "fastest clearer", "most secret room clearer", and many other rewards, which detonated the enthusiasm of fans.
In the middle of the serpentine formation, a woman wearing a khaki woolen skirt and a gray lambskin coat hurried over. While protecting the decorative hat on her head, she apologized with a smile, "I'm so late, I'm sorry!"
"You must have slept in!" said one.
"No, no! I'll be here soon after I change classes." The woman folded her hands together, "I can't help myself!"
"Forget it, I'll forgive you this time." The man said, "You line up first, and I'll go buy milk tea."
"Okay okay."
After walking a few steps, the man turned around and shouted, "Linglong!"
"Huh?" The woman responded quickly.
"What do you drink? Pudding or pearls?"
"Pudding." Linglong said.