Chapter 5: Cousin, I owe you one

The stolen money, just that pile inside the TV wall, had been completely cleared out while the cousin was being scolded.

Li Haoran had nothing left to do, so he returned to Li Shuo’s side, looking dejected and hanging his head. "Let's go, I'll take you home."

Li Shuo was touched and was about to say something when he saw his cousin lean in and whisper, "By the way, do you know that Miss Shao?"

Well, so it turned out he had come over to ask about Shao Yiying.

Li Shuo shook his head. Before he could even speak, Shao Yiying walked over. "High schooler, what’s your name?"

"Li Shuo."

"Take out your phone and save my number."

Li Shuo obediently took out his domestic knock-off phone. He watched as Shao Yiying dialed his number, waiting until her own phone rang before hanging up. She then smiled at Li Shuo, "I’ll contact you later. What I promised you will be taken care of soon."

"What did Miss Shao promise? Our Li Shuo is just a kid; he might have been joking with you, no need to take it seriously." The cousin, thinking he had seized an opportunity, hurriedly stepped forward, selling Li Shuo out in his very first sentence.

Li Shuo pulled a long face and said, "This beauty promised to be my girlfriend, so cousin, you’d better stop pining after her..."

Silence. Absolute silence.

Li Haoran’s face was full of embarrassment; he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

After a brief moment of astonishment, Shao Yiying covered her mouth and chuckled, "You must be Officer Li, right? Your cousin is protesting against you—don't always treat him like a child..."

Finally, she added pointedly, "Some people may look like children on the surface, but in reality, they are meticulous and have an astonishing eye for detail. They might even be more capable than many adults."

The cousin let out a dry laugh and patted Li Shuo on the shoulder. "It seems our Shuo-ge is quite impressive to have caught Miss Shao’s eye. Miss Shao, might I have your number?"

Shao Yiying glanced at Li Shuo and smiled, pursing her lips. "Didn't I just give it to Shuo-ge? I’ll be going now. Thank you for the police force's strong support..."

She turned, and as she walked away, her slender figure waved a hand casually. In that instant, the sheer beauty of her demeanor made Li Shuo involuntarily think of the "Big Sister" from *The Knockout*—equally stunning, equally mature and charming...

Well, the current Shao Yiying wasn't yet the "ripe peach" of later years; she was still in her prime as a beautiful, sophisticated woman.

"Um, Shuo-ge..."

Li Shuo turned his head to see his cousin, Li Haoran, looking at him with eager eyes.

Li Shuo reached out, draped his arm over his cousin’s shoulder, and said affectionately, "Cousin, we’re family. If you want something, just ask. What’s with that look?"

Li Haoran said, slightly embarrassed, "Um, could it be..."

"Yes, of course! But cousin, I have a favor to ask..."

Since Shao Yiying had said those things, she had naturally given her number to Li Shuo as a favor, and he intended to make full use of it.

"What favor?" Li Haoran looked at his cousin suspiciously. He felt like he was hallucinating: he felt that after not seeing his cousin for a year, he had suddenly grown up, becoming as shrewd and calculating as the police chief.

"Since it’s Miss Shao’s number, I naturally can’t have you handling my personal business. Today’s incident started with a thief. Cousin, why don’t you investigate the thief and bring him to justice? That would also be a good way to give Miss Shao an answer, don't you think?"

The safe that had been sent to his grandmother’s house in his past life had just been confiscated by the police as stolen property. Perhaps because of Li Shuo’s appearance, the course of history had shifted slightly. Li Shuo remained suspicious, but it wasn't worth his energy to investigate further, so handing it over to Li Haoran was undoubtedly a good choice.

Li Haoran’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he nodded instantly. "I actually forgot about the thief! Don't worry, I guarantee I’ll bring him to justice immediately!"

This was a great opportunity to show off in front of Shao Yiying!

Thinking of this, he patted Li Shuo on the shoulder and laughed, "As expected of my own brother. Thanks, Shuo-ge! When I win Miss Shao over, I’ll invite you to be my best man at the wedding."

Li Shuo couldn't help but roll his eyes: *Why don't you just tell me you've already picked out your children's names? Where is your head at?*

Stepping outside, he saw that Jiang Menghan’s front door was tightly shut, and the earlier clamor had vanished: those classmates hadn't waited for Li Shuo at all and had gone straight to dinner.

"Wow, it’s already 12 o'clock. Shuo-ge, want to grab a bite?" Li Haoran checked the time and asked.

"No, I’m going home."

Li Shuo smiled. He hadn't been close to his cousin in his past life. For one, the cousin had always been the "neighbor's kid" in his parents' eyes, and for another, after his cousin married Shao Yiying and achieved success, he became even more distant. Naturally, they couldn't be close.

...

"Is it really okay that we didn't wait for Li Shuo?"

In a large private room at a hotel in the county, Kang Tao brought up Li Shuo the moment he sat down.

Li Hongmei frowned. "Are you annoying or what? It’s already 12 o'clock, how long were we supposed to wait for him? Besides, for Menghan’s birthday banquet, he only brought a bouquet of small white flowers and still wants to eat with us? Hmph, he’s dreaming."

"Kang Tao, stop mentioning Li Shuo. He didn't keep time, so we couldn't just wait for him forever, right?"

Jiang Menghan also chimed in, and following her lead, others chimed in

"Exactly, who knows where Li Shuo went off to play."

"That guy was never a team player anyway. We only hung out with him for Menghan’s sake."

"I heard Li Shuo gave peonies today. The flower language means 'farewell'? That’s hilarious. Does Menghan need him to say goodbye?"

Jiang Menghan watched the scene with a smile. Once everyone had vented enough, she raised her hand and said, "Alright, let’s not talk about such mood-killers. Kang Tao, if you see Li Shuo again, tell him not to be so full of himself. He decided to stop liking me? Who does he think he is? Acting as if I ever liked him. That guy is just too narcissistic."

Kang Tao had remained silent until he heard the undisguised disdain and contempt in Jiang Menghan’s words. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart: wasn't his current situation the same as Li Shuo’s used to be? So, had Jiang Menghan never liked him either?

Thinking of this, and from somewhere unknown, a surge of courage rose up. Kang Tao stiffened his neck and said, "Don't say that. Li Shuo is actually a pretty good guy. He liked you before, he just doesn't anymore. We’re all still classmates."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room went silent. Jiang Menghan’s eyes widened as she looked at Kang Tao in disbelief: since when did this guy dare to contradict her? Could it be because of Li Shuo?

"What are you saying!"

"Kang Tao, whose side are you on..."

"Apologize to Menghan, quickly!"

About five seconds later, a barrage of voices came at him. Kang Tao realized he had said the wrong thing and seemed to have greatly displeased Jiang Menghan, so he quickly apologized, and the matter was brushed aside.

However, the incident left a deep impression on Jiang Menghan. She was suddenly very curious about Li Shuo’s thoughts: why, exactly, did he suddenly stop liking her?