The Aitemei Kindergarten’s trip to the botanical garden this time wasn’t part of the school’s plan; rather, it was an activity organized by Class 1 of the upper level. The current state of education in the country is such that parents are constantly flattering teachers, showering them with praise in group chats, fearing that their children might be neglected or overlooked at school. However, in these private elite schools, money and power have established a clear hierarchy in the teacher-student relationship, with teachers primarily serving parents, fearing that any failure on their part might cost them their jobs.
Serving these children born with silver spoons in their mouths, the teachers are diligent and cautious. Although the job is stressful, the rewards are proportional. These wealthy parents are accustomed to expressing their attitudes with money. Seeing their children lively and happy every day, enjoying their time at school, they generously reward the teachers with luxury bags, cosmetic funds, and more as if they were handing out candy.
With this kind of “reward system,” the teachers became even more dedicated, striving to create unique class experiences, turning their relationships into competitive ones. Today, Class 1 goes to see a magic show; tomorrow, Class 2 attends a concert. Today, Class 3 watches a movie premiere; tomorrow, Class 2 catches a play’s opening night. This week, Class 2 visited the aquarium; next week, Class 1’s botanical garden trip is immediately scheduled.
In such a “positive” atmosphere, the children’s kindergarten life was rich and colorful. The children in Class 1 were originally excited about the planned trip to the botanical garden, and the teacher had even bought the group tickets. However, when Yu Xue and Yi Shi paid a visit, the nature of the activity immediately changed.
The teacher in charge of Class 1, surnamed Guan, couldn’t grasp what the police were there for, and she spent a sleepless night worrying. Was someone reporting her to the education bureau for accepting gifts? But on second thought, that didn’t seem likely because the questions from these two officers were odd, mentioning some children she didn’t recognize, almost like they were investigating missing persons.
Regardless, it was better to keep a low profile for now. So when Yu Xue contacted Teacher Guan again, asking about the activity on the 10th, Teacher Guan hesitated, saying that after discussing it with the school leadership, they had decided to cancel the botanical garden trip.
Yu Xue was surprised: “Why cancel it? Taking the children to a lush green botanical garden is both relaxing and educational, a win-win, isn’t it?”
Teacher Guan, on the other end, was sweating nervously: “Officer, after your unexpected visit, our leadership got worried something might happen, so they decided to postpone all outings, including the botanical garden trip.”
Your leadership’s instincts are spot-on, but without the bait, the fish won’t bite. Yu Xue rubbed his chin, and his eyes lit up with an idea: “How about this? Give me your leadership’s number, and I’ll discuss it with them directly.”
“…” Teacher Guan was even more flustered now. Having the leadership take the fall might backfire and lead to a confrontation with the police. Facing the police and telling lies was making her break out in a cold sweat, and she was almost at her limit. In a nearly pleading tone, she said, “Officer, please just tell me what exactly needs to be done. I really have no idea what’s going on!”
Yu Xue comforted her: “Don’t worry, there’s nothing special to be cautious about. Don’t cancel the activity; go to the botanical garden as planned. However, for safety’s sake… we’ll need your school’s cooperation in our operation.”
“Safety…?” Teacher Guan’s breathing hitched, her voice quivering with tears. “Officer, these children all come from wealthy and powerful families. If anything happens to any of them, I can’t bear that responsibility!”
“That’s why I said for safety’s sake. If you cooperate, the children will enjoy a fun and safe trip to the botanical garden, and our city bureau’s operation will proceed smoothly. It’s a win-win situation, right?” Yu Xue adjusted his glasses. “Besides, let me put it this way: If you don’t cooperate, it might lead to even more serious consequences. Your entire school could be facing disaster. That’s all I can reveal. Do you understand?”
Teacher Guan was emotionally fragile, and hearing this “great responsibility” looming over her, she finally broke down in tears.
Yu Xue spent half an hour patiently calming her down, finally stopping the flood of tears. Watching from the side, Yi Shi asked, “So what story are you planning to spin?”
“Haven’t decided yet, still thinking.” Yu Xue loosened his tie and took a sip of tea to soothe his parched throat. “One thing’s for sure, we can’t let her connect this to the explosion case that caused a huge stir recently. Otherwise, she’ll never agree to cooperate.”
Yi Shi traced the patterns on his cup with his fingers and said softly, “…There will be children present. It’ll be hard to handle.”
“Of course, it’s a tricky situation. If I report the operation, it’s not even certain it’ll be approved.” Yu Xue sat down, crossing his legs. “And with so many children, there are too many uncertainties. Our concerns will only multiply. If it were a company outing, we could find people to replace them all. But with a bunch of kids, who can we swap in?”
By this point, it was clear Yu Xue had thought things through thoroughly. Yi Shi couldn’t help but sigh, “There’s no alternative option.”
“Exactly, and besides, this is something that’s definitely going to happen. It’s inevitable, right?” Yu Xue massaged his temples with his forefinger, “Pang Daozi and Tu Laogui’s whereabouts are still unknown. Without any leads, we can only lure them out.”
This issue was something Yi Shi and Yu Xue had been grappling with, bringing it up almost every time they met. Over a month had passed, yet why had the criminals’ escape plan been so flawless that the police couldn’t find a trace?
This isn’t like decades ago when surveillance infrastructure was inadequate, and investigative techniques were less advanced, allowing criminals to slip through the cracks and remain in hiding for years. In today’s society, with widespread surveillance and the age of big data, where personal information is easily leaked, and considering the massive impact of the explosion case, the police had almost exhausted their resources to capture the suspects. The public was also outraged, and the collective power of the people is significant. Even if Pang Daozi and the others had extraordinary skills, after so much time had passed, the investigators should have at least found some trace of them by now.
The only person they managed to catch, Zhao Chenghu, was because he practically turned himself in. In other words, evading capture for over a month without being discovered might have been possible in the ’90s, but in the 21st century, it’s almost unbelievable. What’s more, Pang Daozi wasn’t alone; he had several hostages with him, including the elderly, the sick, and the weak—a burdened group. For them to escape from Nanyi, hiding along the way, and disappear without a trace after entering Cheng’an Mountain is almost “magical.”
Faced with this situation, Yi Shi’s first thought was that there might be a mole within the police force. After careful consideration, this idea was dismissed. The police force assigned to this case was drawn from various local precincts, and the personnel were too dispersed. Aside from the local Nanyi Municipal Bureau where the crime occurred, each team was restructured and integrated from different precincts and police stations. With such a large number of personnel involved, information updates were inevitably delayed and accompanied by unavoidable confusion. Everyone understood that as long as the general direction was correct, minor details could be overlooked. In such an environment, it would be almost impossible for a mole to provide precise information.
Excluding the possibility of an internal information leak, the only thing left to question was the external “timing, location, and harmony.” After days of day and night research, the two gradually came to a bizarre conclusion.
“It’s too unbelievable, who would believe it if we told them?” Yu Xue propped his forehead and sighed lightly, “When I came up with this idea, I felt like you were the only one who could understand. If I tell Shao Shiqing and the others, they will definitely think I’m cracking under the pressure of solving the case and starting to imagine things.”
Yi Shi nodded heavily, “Indeed, it’s—very crazy.”
He held a set of suspect profiles compiled from Lin Heyu’s information. Comparing the two, the ages and details of Tu Laogui and Pang Daozi matched perfectly with the existing records they had. When they met Lin Heyu, the two cross-referenced the ages of the people involved, and all showed an age discrepancy, except for this group of bandits who remained extraordinarily consistent.
A mirror image world, different outcomes for the same case, established facts, and events yet to occur—this could only be explained by one scenario: the suspects on both sides were the same group of people. Whether it was from the bombing case to the robbery case, or from the robbery case to the bombing case, it was all the same group committing the same crime.
This also explained why they could hide so perfectly—identical escape routes, the time difference in the mirror world—all provided convenience for them.
As for how they could travel between the two worlds, even Yi Shi, who was personally involved, couldn’t comprehend it. He could enter Lin Heyu’s world due to some miraculous connection between them, but how did this group of people manage to achieve this?
Yu Xue casually opened his notebook, drew a straight line, and wrote Lin Heyu and Yi Shi’s names at each end, with a curved line representing the complex series of cases, and listed the occurrence times of the cases on both sides below.
“Lin Heyu should know when the case on his side happened, right?”
“Yes, he knows.” Yi Shi calculated the time, “There are…5 days left.”
Yu Xue glanced at the notebook and laughed, “The two worlds seem to revolve around this case. Have you ever thought about the origin?”
Yi Shi was silent for a long time before slowly speaking, “The origin…is within the case.”
Since the case is the key to everything, it must be related to a specific person or event. However, even now, Yi Shi still felt like he was in the dark, sensing that too much information was missing, as if he had only one foot in the fog, not yet truly stepping into the eerie vortex.
Yi Shi, troubled, tapped his forehead, the temples throbbing with pain. The more he thought, the more he couldn’t find a clue. Yu Xue, both crying and laughing, stopped him: “Why are you hitting yourself, what if you get stupid?”
“Then I wouldn’t have to think.”
“That won’t do, we need a clever undercover.”
“…Undercover?” Yi Shi was stunned, “…Me?”
Yu Xue nodded as a matter of course, who else besides the two of them in this room?
Yi Shi suddenly realized, no wonder he was so bold in persuading Teacher Guan to let the kids go to the botanical garden, turns out his ultimate insurance was in himself. He didn’t have much objection to this, being close to the children as a security guard would indeed help ensure their safety.
Unexpectedly, Yu Xue was surprised: “Who said you were going to be a security guard?”
“Then what?”
“A teacher.”
Yi Shi froze. Being a teacher wasn’t out of the question, but… he hesitated, “Male teachers are rare in kindergartens, won’t it draw too much attention?”
“Yes, you’re absolutely right, a male teacher is indeed inappropriate.” Yu Xue smiled, “So we need a female teacher. You’ll go in drag.”
???
Yi Shi was utterly dumbfounded.
Of all the undercover identities he had imagined, cross-dressing wasn’t one of them.
Pffftttt usually it’s the super smart MC’s bullying their side-character besties; this time, the MC is being bullied by his super smart side-character bestie hahaha