That dimple on his left cheek revealed itself as he grinned. He could not help but had a proud expression on his face.
Although Mo Jingsheng was not used to dealing with children, he still knew that children needed to be given appropriate encouragement.
He immediately nodded and said, "That"s great."
Sure enough, Mo Jinxi"s left cheek"s dimple became more prominent. Still, he made a supreme effort to maintain an appearance as if he was not moved by the compliment.
For an unknown reason, Mo Jingsheng"s eye started to flash through a trace of pain as if he was reminiscing something nostalgic. He reached his hand out to touch Mo Jinxi"s face and said with a soft tone, "Share the orphanage"s contact details with me, I"ll come and look for you."
Mo Jinxi was slightly taken aback by this, but he still proceeded to write the number of the orphanage and gave it to Mo Jingsheng. His handwriting of the digits looked a little childish and crooked. In Mo Jingsheng"s eyes, his naivete was exceptionally amusing.
Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng were observing their interactions from not a very distant place and it made Lin Chu whispered in suspicion. "Is Mo Jingsheng usually a person that has a cold expression yet a heart of gold?"
Yan Beicheng looked at her with a smile, "Why"d you ask?"
"I don"t understand him. We"ve only met for the first time today. It"s just the impression I have on him. If I"m not correct, you need to tell me." Lin Chu was holding on to Yan Beicheng"s arm as her long hair was blown messy by the wind. Then, she placed her hand on the top of her head to stop her hair from being blown frantically.
Yan Beicheng nodded, "Tell me what you think."
Lin Chu looked toward Mo Jingsheng and Mo Jinxi"s direction and retracted her gaze after a few seconds.
"I think Mo Jingsheng"s quite a cold person. He"s a police officer and he"ll do well in his duties, but during his private time, he"ll not easily interact with anyone. He"s possibly dim toward everyone and it"ll be hard for strangers to get close to him. He also seems like the type that wouldn"t fuss over trivial matters. For example, at the school gate, it"s a matter between several children. He doesn"t seem like one that would intervene, let alone be someone that would take the initiative to settle the matter. Attributing to his character, he seems like one that would not care under normal circ.u.mstances, right?"
Lin Chu looked at Yan Beicheng and he nodded at her, indicating that he was listening. He gave no further response so that she would continue talking.
"Maybe after you"ve gotten to know him, he"d be a great friend. But meeting for the first time, he"ll never warm up to you immediately. Plus, he doesn"t seem like someone that had the patience to coax a child." Lin Chu frowned as she was puzzled by this and shook her head. "However, today he met Jinxi for the first time and he was very good to him. He had patience and was gentle and honestly, he ticks all the boxes. I just feel like it"s not in line with the impression I had of him."
In fact, due to work, Lin Chu was quite confident about her impression of others.
"You"re correct." Yan Beicheng said, "He"s exactly how you described. Moreover, I"ve never seen him having such a nice att.i.tude toward some he"d just met. No matter who the other party was, as long as he"s not familiar with them, you can"t say that he"s cold it"s more like he becomes unfamiliarly polite. It"s like an invisible wall was set up in front of you and people can"t get close to him."
"Polite as well as cold," Lin Chu concluded.
Yan Beicheng held on to her waist and smiled as he nodded. "That"s right. You"ve incisively summed it up. He"s indeed polite and cold at the same time. I"m afraid he"s like that toward children as well. His att.i.tude toward Mo Jinxi today is quite abnormal."
"Does he have an extraordinary family background as well?" Lin Chu fixed her hair up into a ponytail behind her head as the wind was getting a bit too annoying.
"I feel like he has a similar temperament like yours. I"m not talking about your characters or words and actions. Rather, a type of aura you guys are emitting. I feel like you"re the same type of people," Lin Chu explained as she gesticulated with her hands.
It was as if the temperament they had were not of someone that was from an ordinary family, nor could it be nurtured by an ordinary rich household.
It was more like a n.o.bility that was pa.s.sed down from generation to generation. It was something that had taken roots inside their bones.
Yan Beicheng smiled as he touched Lin Chu"s hair that had become messy from the wind. Then, he placed his palm on top of her hand that was pressed on the top of her head and he proceeded to rub on them together.
"His household is truly not ordinary," Yan Beicheng said as his gaze turned warm. Amidst the squall, his mellow and rich voice was akin to the warm sun.
It was as if a ray of suns.h.i.+ne had warmed its way into her heart through the layers of cold wind.
Lin Chu was not wearing any gloves so the hand that she had placed on the top of her head had begun to feel stiff cold from the wind and it was getting somewhat red.
As Yan Beicheng covered her hand with his, the warmth from his palm pa.s.sed over to hers and gradually warming it. Making her hand felt like it was wrapped up in a bundle of warmness.
"The police chief with the surname Mo that often appears in the news is his father," Yan Beicheng said.
Lin Chu almost jumped in surprise by this revelation. She could only think that Mo Jingsheng"s ident.i.ty was truly extraordinary. The public security bureau was particular to matters that involved family background. For Mo Jingsheng to be a lieutenant at such a young age, it might be because of his ability, but he could not deny his family background.
Lin Chu was able to figure this all out, but it did not occur to her that Mo Jingsheng"s background was that powerful. It was indeed strong and solid!
She began to think about the serious face that often appeared in the news. Lin Chu felt that it had become hard for her to look directly into Mo Jingsheng"s eyes now.
Yan Beicheng thought of something else and could not decide whether or not to let Lin Chu know.
Since he was unsure of it himself, but when he thought of Mo Jingsheng"s att.i.tude toward Mo Jinxi…
"There"s something else. Just listen to me for now," Yan Beicheng said.
Lin Chu saw his expression that had become solemn so suddenly and paused for a while. She could not help but turn serious as well.
"I was wondering if I should tell you or not. I only thought of it when I saw Mo Jingsheng"s att.i.tude toward Mo Jinxi. It"s just a thought. There"s no evidence so I was afraid if I told you about it, you"ll begin to think too much into it. But since it"s a matter related to Mo Jinxi, I think that you"d want to know. Whether or not it"s true, you"ll know it yourself in your heart," Yan Beicheng said.
"What is it? You sound so serious," Lin Chu became nervous upon hearing Yan Beicheng"s words.
Just as Yan Beicheng was about to tell her, Mo Jingsheng and Mo Jinxi were seen walking over toward them.
Yan Beicheng could only let go of it at this point and he said to Lin Chu, "I"ll tell you later when we get back."
When Mo Jingsheng had brought Mo Jinxi over, the four of them went inside the hotpot restaurant.
They did not use the main entrance. Instead, they walked another way around as the hotpot restaurant had another door that was especially for Yan Beicheng to walk in from.
It was because if they went through the main entrance, it would be necessary to go through the lobby and the crowded diner. Yan Beicheng was truly not a fan of the heat that was emitted from the jam-packed hall as well as the spicy smells from the hotpots. He felt like his clothes would be covered in a filthy smell as soon as he pa.s.sed through.
Therefore, there was another st.u.r.dy red door that was not inferior to the main entrance"s door. It would only be opened when Yan Beicheng or his friends came over.
The four of them entered the hotpot restaurant and could not see what the hall was supposed to look like. It did not have the slightest amount of liveliness and clamor that normal hotpot restaurant would have. The only way they could be certain that they were in a hotpot restaurant was from the whiff of spicy numbing flavored smell in the air.
When they were brought to enter the room at the end, they could see that the room was unadorned and had the same type of yellow rosewood material. Even the lamp was similar to a palace lantern.
Mo Jinxi"s eyes widened and he could help but "wow" as he stared at his feet in admiration.
It was something Yan Beicheng had asked someone to install a few months back. It was pieces of square gla.s.s that were joined by metal frames. The inside was filled with water and it had various types of beautiful corals, seaweeds, sh.e.l.lfish, and starfish. They were all slowly floating around at the bottom. From time to time, several clownfish swam by underneath their feet.
The rich profusion of colors at their foot was as if it were bonsais that were made by gemstones. It was truly dazzling in the eyes.
Mo Jinxi had the urge to crawl on the floor to look at it and suddenly remembered that he would not look staid doing so. Then, he straightened up his small face with a forbearing expression.
Mo Jingsheng observed him and broke into a peal of laughter.
"Come over and sit here. You"ll be able to watch just by lowering your head," Yan Beicheng said.
Mo Jinxi was about to open his mouth and said that he was not interested in making a fuss about nothing. However, he was not able to say such empty words, hence he climbed up the chair and proceeded to continuously look down at the fish that were swimming around.
When it was just installed, Yan Beicheng had taken Lin Chu over to look at it. At the time, Lin Chu had asked him why he suddenly wanted to install such a thing.
Yan Beicheng explained, "When the baby"s born, we have one more place to play at. When there are too many people in the Underwater World, we could bring him over here to play instead. It"s quite fun to look down as we eat as well."
Lin Chu began to feel curious if Yan Beicheng would especially invest in something alike to an Underwater World in the future just so that his child could play to his heart"s content.
Yan Beicheng asked for a Mandarin Duck pot 1 . Mo Jinxi"s arms were too short and were not long enough to reach it.
Originally, Lin Chu was the one helping Mo Jinxi to cook the finely sliced meat for him. However, she later discovered that Mo Jingsheng had been doing the same for Mo Jinxi as well. So, Mo Jinxi was unable to finish up the portions given by the two of them.
Lin Chu noticed that Mo Jingsheng was cautiously changing his chopsticks every time he was cooking the meat for Mo Jinxi.
It was because he had been cooking his meat in the spicy pot and if he were to use the same chopstick to cook in the bone soup pot, it would take on little bits of the spicy flavor. Moreover, the spiciness would be mixed up in the bone soup.
Yan Beicheng was scooping out fish b.a.l.l.s onto Lin Chu"s saucer when he saw Mo Jingsheng taking care of Mo Jinxi. He concealed his expression and asked, "I heard you"ve been searching for a child lately?"
Yan Beicheng smiled and cooked up a slice of beef for himself and continued, "Why? Do you still have debts owed from earlier years?"
Mo Jingsheng paused his movement and placed an aorta 1 on Mo Jinxi"s saucer. Then, he gave him a half-smiling face and replied, "You"re quite fast with information."
"It"s not like you"re hiding it, and didn"t you let Nan Jingheng know about it? You didn"t tell him that it was confidential, so it didn"t take him long before letting us know as well," Yan Beicheng said as he took a sip of cold tea.
"That brat," Mo Jingsheng slightly lowered his head and said dumbfoundedly. "He"s already in his thirties, why does he still act like he"s some sort of loudspeaker and unable to control his mouth."
Yan Beicheng chuckled and continued, "You didn"t tell him that he shouldn"t tell others. That mouth of his needs an actual lock. If you said that it"s confidential, he wouldn"t spit a word out even to the old lady in his house. Since you didn"t, he naturally thought it wouldn"t matter. Since there"s nothing to hide anyway. It"s just a behavior he has and it"s not like he was spreading it everywhere. He"s just letting few brothers know so we"ll be mindful of the matter for you."
Lin Chu listened from the side and could not help but looked at Mo Jingsheng. For some reason, her heart went blank as she turned her gaze toward Mo Jinxi. Then, her brain went numb from the curious coincidence.
She felt that there was a connection when she looked at how Mo Jingsheng was treating Mo Jinxi for an unknown reason, but she dared not think too much into it.
Yan Beicheng noticed Lin Chu"s reaction and put his chopsticks down to quietly hold her hand.
Mo Jingsheng tried to glance over at Mo Jinxi stealthily and found that the little guy was looking at him as well. His expression appeared magnanimous and there was only curiosity in his eyes, but there were no other emotions in it.
Mo Jingsheng retracted his gaze and said, "I am looking for a child. Do you still remember my brother?"
For some reason, Mo Jingsheng"s expression turned to sorrow and even Yan Beicheng"s expression sank as well. "Jingyu, right?"
Mo Jingsheng did not reply but it was equivalent to him agreeing tacitly.
Yan Beicheng placed his chopsticks down and said in a deep voice, "I remember that he was in the police force too."
"He was in the anti-drug task force." Mo Jingsheng said, "At that time, the biggest drug lord in the country had come to B city and wanted to soil B city. The police team had to send an undercover. He didn"t need to go. Even though it was 9 years ago, my father"s position was not low. The police department knew of Jingyu"s ident.i.ty and did not dare to let him go. Who would"ve guessed that he would keep it in the dark from the family and submitted his report on his own? I did not approve of it as well. If it was me, I am not afraid of the danger and was willing to go into a big case. But if the burden was placed on my little brother, I couldn"t approve of it."
"I remember that you"re not in the same department as Jingyu. At the time, you"re still a captain," Yan Beicheng said.
Mo Jingsheng nodded, "At the time, Jingyu just graduated from police school. Because everyone knew whose sons we were, it gave him a huge pressure."
Mo Jingsheng laughed, and it sounded somewhat self-deprecating. He continued, "Jingyu was young and somewhat impatient. He couldn"t stand the pressure and urgently wanted to prove himself worthy. To prove that even if he didn"t rely on his family, he"d be able to make it as well."
"I was also under the same pressure as him, even longer as well. So, I understood why he was so eager to choose such a dangerous path. I was at the police station, so I was aware of the situation before my own family was. I could"ve handled the matter, but he came to me and told me of his ambition, about the pressure he was under and begged me to help him fulfill his duties." Mo Jingsheng put his chopsticks down and picked up the cold tea with his left hand and gulped down twice. Then, he slammed the cup on the table somewhat losing his self-control. However, it was entirely comprehensible.
"I was convinced by him. I now hate my past self. Why did I agree to him? Why did I a.s.sume that I understood what he was going through and felt that it"d be good for him?" Mo Jingsheng smiled bitterly. "I should"ve advised him to wait. So what if people were to run their mouths, what about it? Those people that were talking bad about us, they"re just envious of us, isn"t it? They were not born from this sort of family background. Us being born a good family was our good fortune, and to have it easier in terms of work and our time on earth was sort of our rights. Why can"t we make use of it? Moreover, we have our capabilities, we would know how we are coping with our jobs. Why"d we have to care about what others were saying? Now we"re complaining that our family background is just too great, but if we were born in an ordinary household we"ll need to struggle for a lifetime. Furthermore, the result of striving a lifetime in an ordinary family might not even amount to a year of struggle for those who were born from a great family. As a result, we"d come to envy those who were born of a good family."
Yan Beicheng seemed to have fallen into memory lane as well. He thought of that somewhat impulsive, full of ambition youngster that had a young and immature appearance.
"It"s always like that when one is still young," Yan Beicheng said in a slightly obscure manner.
"So later, he went ahead as he wished. But when he was about to succeed, he was discovered instead. He was tortured and later thrown into the reservoir," Mo Jingsheng was saying all these in the presence of Mo Jinxi, so he dared not to speak of the details.
However, he would never forget about Mo Jingyu"s appearance when he was being salvaged.
At that time, some people had gone over to the reservoir to go fis.h.i.+ng. They found Mo Jingyu"s floating corpse and reported it to the police and the police came over to salvage Mo Jingyu out. They discovered there was not a st.i.tch of clothing on Mo Jingyu and the limbs on his body were still intact. But there were pieces of flesh missing from his body and even at first glance, one would know that he had been skinned alive.
The forensic said that he had no other fatal wounds on his body, so he must have ultimately died from the pain.
Being thrown into the reservoir with wounds all over his body, the wounds were infected and his whole body was ulcerated. It was even swollen from the blisters. Only his face was still recognizable.
Even though Mo Jingsheng did not say much of it out, Mo Jinxi was still a little scared and his little face had turned pale.
Mo Jingsheng carried Mo Jinxi on to his lap apologetically and gently patted him to comfort him.
It was strange that Mo Jinxi became less afraid when he was in Mo Jingsheng"s arms.
Mo Jingsheng stopped speaking, he did not want to say any more than that as he was afraid of scaring the child.
Who knew that Mo Jinxi was the one that tugged onto Mo Jingsheng"s sleeves and said, "Uncle, you can continue to tell us what happened next. Then… then, what happened next? Did you catch the bad guy?"
Looking down on Mo Jinxi"s upset face, Mo Jingsheng touched him and asked, "Are you not afraid?"
"I"m… I"m fine," Mo Jinxi said.
"But there are still some things that are not good for children to listen to," Mo Jingsheng said as he suddenly recalled. He was not paying attention to this one bit of detail when he was talking just now. A hotpot with a divider, with spicy soup on one side, and mild soup on the other An ingredient in a hotpot