Chapter 44

Phantom Car 4, the little girl's testimony

Jiuyi, suddenly appearing at the kitchen doorway, interrupted Anger and Mo Fei's kiss. Holding a rectangular box in one hand and with a beautiful little flying squirrel perched on his shoulder, he was lazily cleaning his ear with a finger. Still in last night's clothes, his hair a mess, it seemed he had slept in the car.

Anger looked at him displeased and asked, "How did you get in?"

Jiuyi shrugged and said, "Your front door wasn't locked."

Anger narrowed his eyes at Ace, "Ace, why didn't you bite him?"

Ace, standing by the door, wagged his tail at Anger, glanced at Jiuyi with an innocent look as if to say—You invited him over last night…

"Let's go sit outside. I'll pour some tea," said Mo Fei, releasing Anger and catching his breath. Anger shot Mo Fei a look that seemed to say, 'We're not done with what just happened. I may have lost this round, but next time, I'll get my due!' Then he followed Jiuyi out of the kitchen.

After the others left, Mofei opened the tap, splashed his face with cold water, and prepared to make tea again. Spotting the chocolate powder on the table, he took flour and eggs from the fridge, planning to bake a chocolate marble cake for Anger. He had once bought it from the bakery near the door, and Anger had really liked it.

Jiyi stepped out of his room and heard the chirping of a small squirrel, which tugged at his hair with its front paws.

Jiyi turned to the squirrel, asking, "What's up, little beauty?"

The squirrel turned its gaze towards the hamburger on the table.

"Ah," Jiyi walked over to the table, picked up a hamburger, and said to Anger, "Do you mind if I treat the lady to breakfast?" Anger shrugged and also took one, sauntering over to the sofa to sit down and open the newspaper. Ace climbed onto the sofa beside him. Anger pulled the ham out of his burger and fed it to Ace, who happily devoured it.

Jiyi opened his hamburger, tore off a buttered piece of bread, wrapped it around cheese and ham, and handed it to the squirrel on his shoulder.

Elisa, holding the perfectly rodent-sized treat in her paws, nibbled away contentedly.

Jiyi took the remaining hamburger, sat across from Anger on another sofa, and while eating, he praised, "The cooking's really good. Handsome, sexy, and can cook... such a man is a rare and ideal lover."

Anger glanced at him and asked, "What’s in the box?"

Jiyi handed the box to Anger, saying, "Consider it a gift for not reporting me to the police."

Anger opened it to find a bottle of high-quality Bordeaux wine. Looking at Jiyi, he inquired, "Stolen goods?"

Jiyi smiled, explaining, "Took it from the wine cellar of a rich but heartless drunkard... Don't worry, he’s in Europe and won’t chase it here. Good wine shouldn’t be wasted on a drunk, right?"

Anger, satisfied, put the wine aside, planning to have Mofei cook steak that evening and enjoy it with the wine... a delightful prospect.

Mofei came out of the kitchen with tea, handed it to both, and then returned to the kitchen to continue his work.

Jiyi watched Mofei and asked Anger, "Isn’t he staying to listen?"

Anger frowned slightly, asking, "Do you need him for something?"

Jiyi shook his head, saying, "No, I just thought he was your assistant."

Anger thought for a moment and said seriously, "He is my slave!"

Jiyi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, while Mofei, in the kitchen, shook his head and rolled up his sleeves to make a chocolate cake.

"Before they could even start talking, the sound of the doorbell rang. As the door was pushed open, Os entered. 'Anger, any leads yet?'"

Anger turned to look at Os and asked, "What brings you here?"

"I'm here for a rescue," Os admitted, embarrassingly distracted by the burgers on the table. He walked over, grabbed one, and while eating, said, "The jewel case remains unsolved, and now there's this ghost car issue." He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, took another bite, and then looked up blissfully, exclaiming, "Ah... if Mo Fei were a woman, it would be perfect. Such amazing culinary skills!"

Anger narrowed his eyes and pointed at Os, commanding, "Ace, bite him!"

Ace seemed to quite enjoy teasing Os, leaping off the couch and charging over.

"Ah!" Os leaped onto a chair and said, "Alright, alright, it was just a joke."

Ace stood by the chair, gripping Os's trouser leg in his mouth and gnawing on it.

Os looked at Ace helplessly, with a mournful expression, "You always pick on me. Have you ever thought that my name contains the same 's' as yours?"

While speaking, he took out the ham from his burger and gave it to Ace, who accepted it, ate it, and then continued biting Os's trouser leg.

Jiu Yi lifted a teacup to the shoulder of Elisa, giving her a drink, and said with a smile to Os, "If it accepts food from you, it means it has accepted you as a friend."

Os, puzzled, looked up at Jiu Yi and asked, "Don't dogs usually prefer meat?"

Jiu Yi shook his head, took out half a slice of ham from his own burger, and waved it in front of Ace, who glanced at him but made no move.

Jiu Yi raised an eyebrow and looked at Os, "See?"

Os was immediately touched, embracing Ace, "Ace, you really do consider me a friend... Ah!"

Before he could finish, he was pounced upon by Ace, who continued to shake his collar.

Anger, elegantly sipping his tea, commented, "Ace doesn't see him as a friend, but as one of his own kind."

At this moment, Mo Fei had just put a chocolate cake in the oven. Wiping his hands, he brought a cup of tea for Os and said to Ace, "Ace, stop tormenting Os. Let him come over and talk about serious matters."

Ace immediately obeyed, releasing Os and wagging its tail as it followed Mo Fei.

Os walked over and sat down at the table, sipping tea. Mo Fei then took out the ruby necklace they had set aside the previous night and handed it to Os.

"Huh..." Os opened the box and took a sharp intake of breath upon seeing the necklace, his eyes widening as he looked at Anger, "How did you get this?"

Anger raised an eyebrow, responding calmly, "I found it."

"Huh?" Os's eyes widened in disbelief, "Found... Anger, don't joke around, tell me the story."

Anger continued to sip his tea, asking, "Any leads on the ghost car case?"

"Ah," Os sighed, "I heard it was you and Mo Fei who saved that little girl, right?"

Anger set down his tea cup, "To be precise, it was Mo Fei who saved her."

"Ah... that poor child," Os shook his head, "All the adults in her family are gone."

"She might still have a grandmother or great-grandmother in a nursing home," Anger noted.

"She's gone too," Os sighed.

"What?" Mo Fei, startled, walked over to Anger and sat on the armrest of the sofa, asking, "How could she suddenly die? She seemed fine last night."

"That was her grandmother. Reportedly, she passed away from a sudden heart attack last night after hearing that her son and daughter-in-law had died," Os said, shaking his head regretfully. "The little girl is still in the hospital. She won't speak. We wanted to ask her for clues, to see if she saw the murderer, but there's nothing we can do if she won't talk. The doctor says she's been severely traumatized, possibly to the point of developing a psychological issue."

Anger frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Hmm..."

Mo Fei, familiar with Anger's mannerisms, recognized his expression as a sign of discovery and asked, "Anger, what have you found?"

Anger glanced at Mo Fei and then turned away, "I'm not telling you."

Jiu Yi and Os exchanged glances. What was this all about?

Mo Fei touched his nose, a bit helpless, while Os looked curiously at the two, asking, "Aren't you two usually on good terms? What's the matter, a falling out?"

Anger looked up and glared at him, "It's none of your business!"

Mo Fei stood up, intending to check on the cake in the kitchen, but just as he got up, Anger said, "Don't go."

Mo Fei, halfway to standing, sat back down and looked at Anger.

An Ge'er looked up to meet his gaze, and saw Mo Fei smiling at him as if pleading, "Please don't be angry, okay?"

An Ge'er remained silent, but the scent of chocolate and cheese wafting from the kitchen slightly lifted his spirits.

"An Ge'er, why don't you go meet that girl? You're so capable, and since Mo Fei saved her, she might speak up," Os suggested to An Ge'er.

"Hmm," An Ge'er nodded, turning to Jiu Yi, "Join us, and afterwards, we'll pursue the culprit."

Os was startled and asked, "Do you know who the culprit is?"

An Ge'er looked up in thought and replied, "Pretty much."

At that moment, a 'ding' sounded from the kitchen. Mo Fei took out the cake, placed it in the fridge to cool, changed clothes, and then joined An Ge'er, Os, and Jiu Yi to head to the hospital.

Upon entering the hospital, the strong smell of disinfectant made An Ge'er sneeze. Normally, dogs are strictly prohibited in hospitals, but An Ge'er pointed to Os's police badge and said, "Ais is a police dog, a search and rescue dog, a working dog. He's needed to interact with the girl to find the culprit."

The nurses quickly nodded in agreement and let them in, whispering curiously among themselves, "Aren’t search and rescue dogs usually Labradors or Newfoundlands? This is the first time we’ve seen a Husky as a search and rescue dog!"

Mo Fei gave a wry smile, while An Ge'er looked up, feigning deafness.

The little girl's hospital room was the smallest one on the third floor, reserved for her as she was a key eyewitness. The room, clean and orderly, had a bedside table filled with fruits and snacks gifted by the nurses and doctors. Yet, untouched by her, she sat on the bed, holding her plush bear, staring blankly.

The group paused at the door. Ans nudged An Ge'er and Mo Fei, saying, “You go in. I can't handle this kind of scene.”

An Ge'er glanced at Mo Fei, who hesitated, but Ais ran in, barking, drawing the girl's attention. The dog approached, wagging its tail, and as she looked at Ais, she reached out to gently stroke its fur.

“Wow!” Os exclaimed, amazed, “We've had three psychologists and a dozen nurses around her all day, and she didn't budge. But a dog managed to get her to react!”

An Ge'er chuckled and said, “Because the dog isn’t trying to get anything out of her.”

Os chuckled awkwardly as An Ge'er stepped inside, followed by Mo Fei and Jiu Yi.

“What's your name?” An Ge'er asked the little girl.

“Her name is Wang Yao,” Os replied, “Her father is Wang Qiming, her mother Zhao Ying, and her grandmother is called…”

Before he could finish, the little girl's lips quivered, and she began to cry, tears falling heavily.

Everyone turned around, looking at Os with disdain, even Elisa and Ais glared at him. Os stood there with his mouth agape, awkwardly stationary, before finally murmuring, "I told you, I'm not good at this..." He then lowered his head towards Wang Yao, saying gently, “Yao Yao, don’t cry, uncle didn't mean to upset you.”

An Ge'er pulled out a tissue and handed it to Wang Yao. She wiped her tears and looked up at Mo Fei.

Mo Fei asked her, “Do you remember me?”

Wang Yao nodded, then turned to look at An Ge'er.

An Ge'er sat beside the bed and asked her softly, “Would you like a hug?”

Wang Yao nodded again and snuggled into An Ge'er's embrace.

An Ge'er gently patted her head and inquired, “Who was driving the car that hit you?”

Wang Yao, nestled in An Ge'er's arms and gripping his waist tightly, finally spoke in a hoarse voice, “It was a ghost.”