NOVPUBA few meters in front of the yard’s gate stood a centuries-old banyan tree that shaded the sky. Every day, many dried yellow leaves would fall, and the wind would blow them into the courtyard.
When they lived together at their secret base, one of their daily chores was to sweep up the leaves, gathering nearly a pound of dried leaves each day. After accumulating a substantial amount, they would play with fire in the yard.
Xu Qingfan pulled open the black garbage bag, giving Lin Wanning enough space to dump the trash into it.
After packing the last small pile of leaves, the yard was restored to its clean and tidy appearance.
"Alright, wash your hands and get ready to go report to the police," Xu Qingfan said after wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Brother Qingfan, when are we going to play with fire and roast duck? The bag is almost full!" Lin Wanning asked, turning around after moving a full bag of dried leaves to the corner.
"Yeah, we haven’t had a barbecue in the yard for so long!" Xiao Ruawen also nodded in agreement.
"The weather is quite nice today," Xu Qingfan said, shielding his eyes from the sunlight, looking toward the sun, "Let’s wait for Yu to come back, then we can go to the market this afternoon and have a bonfire party tonight!"
"Yay!" Lin Wanning excitedly grabbed Zhang Yiyi’s hand and jumped around.
"Brother Fan, you have to roast oysters and eggplants for us!"
"I want to eat sandy sweet potatoes!"
"Brother Qingfan, there’s also roasted chicken wings, roasted corn, and roasted cilantro!"
"Roasted prawns!"
The four girls took turns listing the foods they wanted to eat, leaving Xu Qingfan to plan it out.
"I’ll plan it, I’ll plan it. First, let’s go to the police station, then come back to catch up on weekend homework, and tonight we’ll play with fire," Xu Qingfan gestured with his hand for them to calm down.
After washing their hands and locking the door again, the five set off, "Let’s go~"
The Licheng Street Police Station was just a hundred meters away from Licheng Middle School. After arriving, Xu Qingfan pulled out his phone to call his father’s army buddy.
"Uncle Xiao Hai, we’re at the entrance." Xu Qingfan had already mentioned this earlier in the morning but called to confirm since he was worried his uncle might be busy.
"Xiao Fan, Uncle is coming right away!" a hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone.
In elementary school, they had once visited the station to find Zhang Chaoqun and happened by chance to meet Fang Xiaohai who was there on business. Xu Qingfan had mentioned to Zhang that Fang was his father’s army buddy.
Years had passed, and Fang Xiaohai had risen from a newly appointed ordinary second-level officer to the captain of the precinct.
Of course, Xu Qingfan believed that even without his casual mention, Fang Xiaohai could have risen to his current position due to his serious and responsible attitude toward work.
Shortly after hanging up, Fang Xiaohai appeared at the entrance. Perhaps because of his military background, he always stood tall and straight, his police uniform imbued with a sense of imposing righteousness.
"Uncle Xiao Hai!"
"Uncle Xiao Hai!" All four girls had met Fang Xiaohai before, and they all greeted him politely together.
"You’ve all grown so tall, let’s go in and talk," Fang Xiaohai said, patting Xu Qingfan on the shoulder robustly as he led them into the station.
The precinct captain didn’t have his own private office, so he led them to the station’s lounge and asked, "Did you bring the business card and the registration form?"
"Uncle, it’s with me!" Xiao Ruawen took out the audition registration form and the scammer’s business card from her pocket and handed them to him.
"I’ll call now, and you arrange to meet him at Gualv Square," Fang Xiaohai said bluntly as he pulled out his Nokia and began dialing the number on the business card.
He switched the phone to speaker mode, and after a few rings, the call was quickly answered.
"Hello, who is this?" a groggy voice came from the other end.
Fang Xiaohai passed the phone to Xiao Ruawen, signaling her to speak.
"Uncle, it’s me. I’ve thought it over, and I’d like to register for the Super Girl audition. I’ve already filled out the registration form. Can you come to Gualv Square to pick it up?" Xiao Ruawen’s heart pounded nervously, but she managed to speak her lines completely.
"Ha~ Little sister, have you thought it over? What about your friend? Does she want to register as well? I’m telling you, the competition is fierce in the auditions. It’s better for you to form a group to advance together!" The scammer perked up upon hearing Xiao Ruawen’s voice and spoke slickly.
"Uncle, my friend..." Xiao Ruawen looked at Xia Xiaoxiao, who nodded, then continued, "Xiao Xiao said she will also participate. We’re at Gualv Square right now. Can you come here?"
"What uncle? Brother’s only twenty-three this year. Brother’s busy now; why don’t you girls come directly to Brother’s place, and I can train you in singing skills on the side!"
[You’d better really be training singing skills.] Xu Qingfan rolled his eyes speechlessly.
Xiao Ruawen glanced at Fang Xiaohai again, saw him nod, and hesitantly replied, "Uncle, how far is your house from Gualv Square? I need to go home for lunch."
"Not far at all, Uncle’s house is at 132 Jiefang West Road, easy to find, right opposite Yidu Cinema!"
The sound of excited tapping could be heard from the other end of the line; Xu Qingfan could almost picture the scammer dancing around in his house.
"Alright then... we’ll come now, Uncle, please wait a bit!"
"Yeah, you girls come quick, I still have to train other female students later. A minute’s delay costs millions!" The scammer seemed to be brushing his teeth, his words muffled.
"Okay!" Xiao Ruawen ended the call and handed the phone back to Fang Xiaohai.
"You guys go back for now, I’ll call you if anything comes up," he said, patting Xu Qingfan on the shoulder.
