Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Tian Li is outgoing, but her nephew seems really shy.

A fair-skinned little boy, he stood pressed against Tian Li, one hand clutching the hem of her shirt. His big, grape-like eyes darted curiously from one person to another, occasionally pursing his lips, excited but nervous.

After Tian Li finished speaking and gave his shoulder a little nudge, the little boy first looked at her a little uneasy, then blinked nervously, and gave a little bow to the group. "Sorry, everyone, for being late and making you wait so long. I promise to get up on time from now on, and I'll never be late again."

The boy's young voice stammered a bit—clearly, Tian Li had taught him these words, but he didn't have them down pat. Luckily, everyone looked at him kindly, no one teased or interrupted him, allowing him to finish pretty smoothly.

After he spoke, everyone told him not to worry. Chen Chen even smiled reassuringly, "No need to be so nervous; you weren't that late. It's totally fine for us to head out now."

Xu Cui walked over and gently patted the little boy's head. "Little one, you're so good. Don't be scared, okay? We're all here to have fun—that's what matters."

The boy glanced at Xu Cui, then at Tian Li, and a relieved smile finally spread across his still nervous face, his eyes lighting up.

Tang Qiu and Qiao Yang walked over slowly. Tian Li spotted them first and said in surprise, "Lawyer Tang, you came too?"

Tang Qiu gave a polite nod. "Hello."

Tian Li patted her nephew. "Come on, Xuanxuan, say hello to Aunt Tang. This is the lawyer aunt I told you about."

The little boy looked curiously at Tang Qiu and said obediently, "Hello, Aunt Tang."

Tang Qiu gave a genuine smile and, though her fingers moved instinctively, she stopped herself from touching the boy's face. Instead, she leaned down and said with a smile, "Hello there, Xuanxuan."

The boy pressed his lips together and smiled back at Tang Qiu, but he was still shy, so he edged closer to Tian Li.

Tian Li hugged him helplessly and said to Tang Qiu, "This kid—I don't know who he takes after. He's not like my sister or my brother-in-law. He barely talks. I've only been with him for two days, and it's driving me nuts with all this quiet."

Tian Li's vivid description made Tang Qiu almost picture them together.

Xu Cui patted the boy's head again and chatted, "Why are you the one bringing the kid? Where are your sister and brother-in-law?"

Tian Li shrugged. "They're both on business trips, and my mom is busy with work too. Since I have a nine-to-five job, I'm the one taking care of him."

Tian Li sighed as she spoke. "Luckily, it's only two days until the weekend, or I'd go crazy. You have no idea how far his home is from my workplace—about ten miles! Even without traffic, it takes at least twenty minutes by car. If I sleep at his place, I have to get up an hour earlier than usual."

Tang Qiu listened quietly, noting that every word Tian Li said was useful for her upcoming plans about a new target.

Xu Cui gave her a sympathetic look. "For the kid's school? That's rough. No matter where you sleep, you have to get up early."

Tian Li, feeling like she found a kindred spirit, said empathically, "Exactly! His school is right at the entrance of my sister's neighborhood. It's a five-minute walk, doesn't need to cross the street—just turn a corner and you're there. I don't even have to take him to school; he can walk with his classmates. But at night, someone has to stay overnight, so I have to drive all that way there and back to stay with him."

Tang Qiu made a mental note of the key details: the target lives near a school, doesn't need to cross the street, a five-minute walk. This operation seemed simpler than the previous two.

Tang Qiu calculated the timing: once she confirmed the target's address, she could case the area in cat form on the night of the 28th, get a good handle on the terrain and blind spots of surveillance, return home to rest and wait for the new item's cooldown to end, go for her usual morning run, then, in cat form, race from home to near the target, change back to human in a blind spot to lie in wait, take out the prey, leave the scene in human form, then find a spot with low foot traffic and surveillance blind spots to turn back into a cat and return home.

Tang Qiu repeatedly refined this plan in her mind, concluding it was feasible and foolproof, before locking it away in her mind. With a calm and collected look, she watched the others chat, then followed the group as they set off.

Chen Chen had chosen the camping spot, so he led the way in the lead car. To prevent anyone from getting lost, he also dropped a pin in the group chat. After another two hours on the road, the group finally made it to the destination.

It was a small hill in a vast mountain range outside Hongning City, belonging to neighboring Yilin City. The hill was neither high nor steep, with lush trees and a gurgling stream. Although there were no stone-paved paths built by the government, there were dirt paths worn by hikers, winding gently upward and appearing easy to walk.

As Chen Chen organized his backpack, he said, "This is a camping spot I discovered recently. It's not at the top but in a depression near the summit, next to a pool. The pool probably connects to an underground river—it's very clear, and there are fish in it. The ground for setting up tents is relatively flat. Everyone can eat, drink, and fish as much as they want. This spot isn't well-known yet; occasionally people come on weekends, but not many, so it won't ruin our fun."

Chen Chen's eyes lit up as he talked about camping, he talked nonstop, full of energy, like he couldn't wait to grab his backpack and go.

"There are fish!" Xie Ping and Jiang Jun said excitedly. "Good thing we're not too diligent—our folding fishing rods and bucket are always in the trunk. We don't have bait, but we can dig up some worms on site. If that fails, we'll just use the barbecue stuff."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Xu Cui had already slung on her backpack, eager to go. "Let's get moving. If we're lucky, we might have fish grilled over the fire for dinner tonight. I brought some aluminum foil. We can wrap the fish in it, add some cabbage and vermicelli, sprinkle some seasoning—I can only imagine how good that'll be."

With beautiful scenery and delicious food as motivation, even the usually standoffish Tang Fangfang actively followed the group and started the climb.

Chen Chen led the way. Tang Qiu, not wanting to jostle with the others and habitually planning to case the terrain, hung back, pretending to admire the view while silently noting everything.

Qiao Yang, remembering that Tang Qiu was his high school classmate and had been injured, quietly kept her company at the rear.

Neither was a talker, so they walked a few steps apart in silence.

Though Tang Qiu wasn't walking fast, over time the originally tight group began to stretch out.

Tang Qiu moved from the very back to the middle, while Xu Cui, Tian Li, and her nephew ended up at the back.

Tian Li slowed down to match the boy's pace, while Xu Cui was genuinely falling behind because she was out of shape.

Struggling to keep up, Xu Cui gasped, "Lawyer Tang, I didn't believe Chen when he said you were impressive, but now I see it's true. We've climbed for so long, and you're still steady and not even out of breath. How do you train? Teach me, please. I don't need to become strong, but I want to stop being so pathetic."

Tang Qiu glanced at Xu Cui's big dark circles and said bluntly, "First rule: stop staying up late."

Xu Cui was at a loss for words, then laughed bitterly, "I want to, but I used to work overtime all the time, and after resigning, I discovered that games are too addictive—it's like finding a whole new world. I try to keep a schedule, but I can't stick with it. After two days of early nights, I feel like I deserve a late night."

Tang Qiu said helplessly, "Then there's no solution. Try doing some Baduanjin in the morning—it'll help your fitness."

Xu Cui made a mental note: "Okay, okay, Baduanjin. I'll remember that and start when I get back."

The climb was long but not difficult. Taking breaks, the group took two hours to reach the campsite right at lunchtime.

It was a truly breathtaking spot: a wide grassy area, a shimmering pool, dense forests nearby, and birds chirping all around. In the sunlight, it looked like a beautiful painting.

The group froze on the slope for a moment, then whooped and ran downhill.

"Watch out!" Chen Chen shouted from behind. "Watch your step. Don't fall."

No sooner had he spoken than Xie Ping fell flat on his face. But he got up laughing, as if it didn't hurt at all, brushed the dust off his pants, and limped off.

Chen Chen shook his head with a smile. "Adults in their twenties, still acting like kids."

Tang Qiu wasn't running. She never took unnecessary risks of getting hurt. Despite having plenty of energy, she walked down slowly, step by step, until she reached the spot they'd chosen for tents.

Except for Chen Chen, who had been here before and was unphased, everyone else dropped their backpacks and happily ran to the pool, washing their hands and splashing water.

Tang Qiu also put down her backpack and walked to the pool—not to play, but to check for danger.

The pool wasn't large, nestled against a cliff, roughly 1,000 to 2,000 square feet. But the clear water had a dark green color, indicating it might be quite deep.

Tang Qiu picked up a stone and threw it in, making a splash. It sank a few seconds later, and the sound of it hitting the bottom was muffled and faint.

Tian Li, not far away, warned her nephew, "Xuanxuan, don't go play in the water alone when I'm not here. And you can only watch from the shore—don't go in. It's too dangerous."

The boy, not yet ten, nodded firmly. "Okay, Aunt Tian."

The pool water was still cold, so everyone played for only a short while before retreating to the campsite, shivering. Some set up tents, while others began threading ingredients onto skewers for barbecue.

He Hongxuan, curious, picked up a metal skewer and sat beside Tian Li to skewer mushrooms. Since mushrooms were large and not too hard, there was no risk of getting poked. Tian Li glanced over, saw that the boy was doing fine, and let him be.

While working, the group chatted casually. Tian Li mentioned their morning lateness.

"We actually got up quite early," Tian Li said. "Xuanxuan didn't mess around either, but he has a habit: every day before we leave, he has to feed the stray cats in the neighborhood. Today, when we went to feed them, one cat was missing. Xuanxuan was worried, so I went with him to look for it. Finally, we found that the mama cat had given birth—three kittens."

"Wow, your nephew is so kind-hearted," Xu Cui said. "Has he always been like this? Does he go even when it's thundering and raining?"

Tian Li gave a soft "mm-hmm." "I can't quite remember either. It probably started when he was four or five. He's loved small animals since he was little. He's raised rabbits, turtles, and hamsters. But since he was a child, adults had to take care of them. And small animals are too fragile; if you're careless, they die. He would cry every time. Later, he wanted to keep a kitten, but my sister and brother-in-law wouldn't let him. Even when he cried, they said no. Then one day, I don't know when, he started going out every morning to feed the stray cats in the neighborhood. Come rain or shine—actually, even when it hails, he still goes."

Xu Cui glanced admiringly at He Hongxuan, who was sitting quietly on a stool threading mushrooms, and said with a smile, "You've done such a great job raising your nephew. He's kind-hearted, persistent, and can sit still. His teachers at school must really like him, right?"

"They do like him a lot," Tian Li said. "Since kindergarten, every teacher who's had him likes him. It's just that he doesn't really click with his classmates. He's too quiet and shy. There's only one classmate who walks to and from school with him every day. But it doesn't matter, as long as he's happy and no one bullies him. People have all kinds of personalities; not everyone has to be outgoing."

"That's true." Xu Cui nodded in agreement.

Tang Qiu stayed out of the conversation and just kept working. However, she took note of every word they said, further refining the action plan in her mind.