Qiao An stood across from Mu Zimo, her expression unchanged, but her mind was in turmoil.
She had discovered she could see a strange bubble rising from Mu Zimo's head. It displayed a single word—Conflicted!
Just as Mu Zimo was caught in his awkward predicament, Qiao An's stomach let out a timely RUMBLE.
"I'm sorry. I had a sudden assignment last night that wasted a lot of your time. Let me treat you to a meal. Coincidentally, I'm hungry too..."
Once Mu Zimo finished speaking, the bubble above his head changed again, and another word popped up—Happy!
Faced with this new ability, Qiao An could only pretend she knew nothing. She nodded and agreed to eat with Mu Zimo, on the condition that she could go home and change first. She just couldn't go in her filthy work clothes.
Mu Zimo said there was no rush and told her to go home and change.
When the two of them appeared at the breakfast shop next to the old district, Qiao An was completely unfazed by the owner's winks and nudges, but Mu Zimo nervously tightened his grip on his chopsticks.
"Little Qiao, you finally have money for a meal?"
Qiao An instantly lifted her head, her refreshing short hair blowing in the wind. It was meant to be a cool gesture, but her hair was a little greasy.
"Someone's treating me today, so don't be shy on my account! I'll start with five steamers of soup dumplings!"
Only then did the owner notice Mu Zimo trailing behind Qiao An. She immediately got a lovestruck look on her face and secretly gave Qiao An a thumbs-up.
"This one's handsome! And with a nose that big and straight, he's definitely got to be effective. Not bad at all! Little Qiao, you've got good taste..."
'What does she mean, "effective"?'
Qiao An didn't understand, but she played along, nodding in agreement. "You bet! Super effective!"
How could a police officer on Blue Star not be effective? They held the power of life and death, arresting whomever they pleased. He was definitely much more powerful than a commoner like her.
The excruciatingly awkward Mu Zimo understood the deeper meaning in the owner's words and didn't dare say anything. He never expected Qiao An to admit it so openly.
'Effective?'
'You've never... used him. How would you know?'
Mu Zimo didn't dare say these words out loud. He could only find a place to sit in silence and take out a disinfectant wipe to clean the tabletop.
Qiao An sat down across from Mu Zimo with a grin, skillfully splitting a pair of disposable chopsticks and handing them to him. She then leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "If the owner knew I also know the captain of the criminal investigation team, I can't imagine how envious she'd be. In this neighborhood, who's more effective than you?"
Thoroughly defeated by Qiao An's innocent expression, Mu Zimo mentally cursed the filthiness of his own thoughts.
Utterly mortified, Mu Zimo quickly changed the subject. "How is Ao Bai? Was he badly injured?"
While blowing on a steaming soup dumpling and using both hands to eat, Qiao An was still able to answer his question clearly.
"He's fine, just some superficial wounds. The vet told me to apply medicine on schedule, and he'll recover. He's a stray, after all. They're tough."
They say cats have nine lives. Ao Bai would surely be alright.
After Qiao An had devoured all the soup dumplings on the table and downed two bowls of rice porridge, she let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Ma'am, your soup dumplings are truly a delicacy, absolutely delicious! If someone wasn't treating me, I couldn't bear to be this extravagant!"
Hearing the praise, the owner laughed so hard she shook. She looked at Mu Zimo again and gave him another thumbs-up.
"This handsome fellow is a good man, too. Please don't mind that our Little Qiao eats a lot. She's a hard worker! During the day, she helps Old Li sweep the streets. In the afternoon, she helps me chop meat filling. I hear she even goes out at night in the dark to livestream. The things she does to earn money... She's been through a lot. It's not easy for anyone."
It was only then that Mu Zimo learned Qiao An wasn't actually a sanitation worker. Her neighbor, Old Li, had been knocked down by a drunk driver. Although his medical bills were covered, he couldn't afford to neglect his job, so he had to find someone to help.
And Qiao An was certainly capable. She juggled several jobs and worked hard without complaint, never minding the difficult labor or low pay. Whenever she could lend a hand, she was willing to help.
"Don't listen to her nonsense. Grandpa Li didn't ask me to help for free. He paid me a wage, so neither of us is losing out."
Although Qiao An wanted to find a job with a more stable income, she had inherited the original owner's memories without picking up any of their skills. She didn't know any foreign languages, couldn't use a computer, and hit a wall every time she applied for a job. She could only do manual labor to barely scrape by.
'It's a good thing the neighbors are all nice. As long as I can get through this month and get paid, my situation will completely turn around.'
Seeing Qiao An living such a difficult life yet still overflowing with smiles and full of energy every day, Mu Zimo once again cursed himself for ever doubting her.
"Keep it up. As long as you're willing to work hard, life will definitely get better and better."
Receiving the praise, Qiao An looked again at the bubble above Mu Zimo's head. This time, it was another single word—Satisfied!
Full and satisfied, the two of them got up and left the breakfast shop. The owner had even thoughtfully packed up some scraps for Qiao An to feed the stray cats and dogs on her way out.
After parting ways at the end of the alley, Mu Zimo rushed back to the police station, determined to close the case. Unexpectedly, Xie Shan walked into the office with a grim expression.
"Captain, I had my family's excavator dig up that landfill on the outskirts of the old district. We found something new underneath..."
The field report was spread across the desk. Skeletons, caked in all sorts of filth, had been dug up. The time frame spanned an incredible thirty years, from then until the present.
"Zhang Wu's skeleton should be in there as well. Have the forensic examiner follow up."
Looking at these reports, Mu Zimo's good mood vanished completely. It seemed the Urban Village had more than a few problems. He couldn't let this go on any longer.
*
Little Bai and Little Qing polished off all the scraps the shop owner had given Qiao An. She then hurried out to buy various nuts to use as a service fee for the owl.
Qiao An paid no mind to her newly awakened ability. A skill like reading people's minds was completely useless to her.
When Qiao An arrived in the suburbs on a shared bike, the large tree was still cordoned off with police tape.
"Owl, Owl, come on out and eat!"
In broad daylight, the owl was sleeping soundly in the tree when it was rudely awakened. It was about to lose its temper when it saw Qiao An trying to tap it on the head with a sunflower seed shell.
"Human, you are not allowed to waste food! This is our winter stockpile. It's very important."
Spreading its wings, the owl hovered in mid-air, letting out a series of COOS that soon attracted flocks of birds, all flapping their wings as they arrived.
Seeing all the nuts and birdseed, they all began shuttling back and forth to their nests, bustling about happily.
Only Qiao An was squatting contentedly beside the dirt pit, poking the owl's head. "Found anything good for treasure hunting lately?" she asked. "I have to livestream tonight. You're always up late, so you must have heard some news. Share it!"