Eating Melons in the Police Station

Chapter 15

At 6:30 in the morning, Zhong Jin changed into a black tracksuit, put on his running shoes, and went to the room to wake up Little Tong. "Do you want to go for a run with me, or stay home and sleep?"

Little Tong, who had been half-asleep, immediately perked up at the mention of going out. She scrambled out of bed, her messy hair sticking out in all directions, and declared, "I want to go out!"

She crawled to the edge of the bed, her bottom hanging over the side, and after a few kicks in the air, she slid down to the floor and wobbled off to the bathroom.

Zhong Jin, standing at the bedroom door, silently picked up his phone and ordered a small bedside ladder online.

Little Tong brushed her teeth, got dressed, and rummaged through the shoe cabinet to find the pink sneakers Mao Feixue had bought for her. She climbed onto the shoe-changing stool and struggled to put on her shoes. Because the stool was too high, her legs couldn't reach the ground, so she had to bring the shoes up onto the stool with her. She bent over, huffing and puffing as she tried to put them on.

Zhong Jin, watching from the hallway, picked up his phone again and ordered a small children's stool.

Before putting his phone down, he remembered that Little Tong often had trouble reaching the dining table, so he also ordered a high chair for her.

Little Tong currently used a temporary chair to stand on when brushing her teeth at the sink, but it didn't feel very safe, as there was a risk of slipping. So, Zhong Jin bought a children's step stool with handrails.

And what about a special children's toilet seat and a step stool? He added those to the cart too.

Did children need special body wash? Zhong Jin felt a bit guilty realizing that Little Tong had been using a bar of soap for her entire body all this time. He quickly ordered the most expensive set of children's bath products on the website, which came with a free pink duck-shaped bubble bottle.

Zhong Jin sat down on the couch, scrolling through his phone. Toys? He glanced around the empty room. It seemed Little Tong didn't have any toys yet.

So he ordered some of the best-selling children's toys: a scooter, puzzles, building blocks, and more.

Finally, Little Tong finished putting on her shoes and came running over, holding onto Zhong Jin's knees. She shouted at her dad, who was engrossed in shopping, "Let's go!"

Zhong Jin glanced at the payment page. The total came to 4,896.7 yuan. He vaguely remembered hearing somewhere that children were like "money-swallowing beasts." Now he understood how accurate that description was.

"Let's go," Zhong Jin said, standing up. There were still many things left to buy, but they could be added later.

Little Tong charged ahead, her short legs moving quickly. She was too short to reach the elevator button, even on tiptoe, so she ran back to Zhong Jin, darting back and forth in the hallway.

"Don't run around in the hallway," Zhong Jin called out to her.

"But I'm wearing running shoes," she said, zooming past him. "I can't stop!"

"Running shoes are for running outside, not inside," Zhong Jin said as he walked over and pressed the elevator button.

Little Tong returned to her dad's side and held out her arms. "Why didn't you say so earlier? I'm tired now. Carry me."

Zhong Jin, without a word, bent down and picked her up. His long legs, clad in black sweatpants, carried them into the elevator.

He adjusted the weight of the child in his arms. Had she gotten heavier? She felt like a solid sandbag.

He definitely needed to exercise more.

About 500 meters from the Fuding Residential Complex was the entrance to the coastal promenade. The wide, clean asphalt road was divided by a rainbow-colored line. On one side was a high wall covered in green vines, and on the other was the calm, blue sea. The scenery and air were both refreshing.

The promenade was already bustling with morning exercisers. Little Tong, dressed in a sky-blue tracksuit with matching doodles and a cap, looked both sweet and cool. Several adults stopped to greet her.

Little Tong stood by the railing, mimicking her dad as she stretched her arms and legs to warm up.

Zhong Jin taught her some warm-up exercises and demonstrated basic running techniques, like how to swing her arms, how to step, and how to land her feet.

The little girl stretched her arms and legs, her small nostrils flaring as she tried hard to follow her dad's instructions. Her arms and legs seemed to have a mind of their own, refusing to cooperate. She managed to do every movement, but none of them correctly.

Zhong Jin thought that for her first attempt, she was doing pretty well. At least her attitude was earnest. But watching her flail around, he almost burst out laughing. When she started running with her arms and legs moving in sync, Zhong Jin quickly turned to face the sea, his shoulders shaking as he tried to suppress his laughter, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

After the warm-up, Zhong Jin and Little Tong began their morning run.

Everyone who was jogging near the coastal bridge that day would remember them: the handsome dad leading the way, with his impossibly long legs and lean muscles moving like a nimble panther, and the adorable little girl behind him, wobbling like a duckling, her short legs pumping as she tried to keep up, her big, dark eyes fixed on her dad.

Every so often, the dad would run ahead, then turn back and circle around his daughter before running forward again, always staying close to her.

After a while, Little Tong grew tired and couldn't run anymore. Zhong Jin carried her on his back, continuing his run. When she had rested enough, he set her down again.

Zhong Jin usually ran for 45 minutes in the morning, but with Little Tong, it took a bit longer. By the time they finished, it had been an hour.

On the way back, Little Tong was too tired to walk, so Zhong Jin carried her, maintaining a light jog as they headed home.

They passed a bus stop with a row of breakfast shops behind it. Little Tong bumped her forehead against her dad's shoulder. "I'm hungry."

Zhong Jin set her down. "We'll take it to go."

Little Tong pointed to a stall selling egg-filled pancakes. "I want that." She noticed the sausages on the grill and remembered how delicious they were.

Zhong Jin let her join the line at the pancake stall while he went to grab some soy milk to save time.

When Zhong Jin returned with the soy milk, Little Tong had already bought two egg pancakes, both with sausage. She had asked the vendor to tie them to the decorative ribbons on her jacket.

With two egg pancakes hanging from her jacket, Little Tong passed by a rice noodle roll shop and asked her dad to buy her a serving, which she also hung on her jacket.

Her jacket had several decorative ribbons, perfect for hanging multiple breakfast items.

Zhong Jin didn't stop her, letting her hang everything from egg pancakes to rice noodle rolls and even a pork floss bun on her jacket, like a little hamster hoarding food.

Little Tong wandered from stall to stall, her jacket laden with food. The vendors found her adorable and offered her freebies. "Little one, do you want a tea egg from Uncle?"

"No, thank you," Little Tong said, waving her hand as she moved on to the next stall.

An elderly man was selling homemade steamed buns from a basket on his back. The buns, plump and white, looked fresh and clean.

Little Tong had never seen steamed buns before. She walked over and asked, "Grandpa, who are these little guys?"

The old man smiled shyly, revealing a missing front tooth, and replied in a regional accent, "Sweetie, these are buns."

"Oh, buns! I want to buy one little bun."

Since there was no place to hang the bun, Little Tong handed it to her dad to carry. Zhong Jin explained, "These are also called mantou."

"So this little guy has two names?" Little Tong asked.

Zhong Jin nodded. "Yes, they're called both buns and mantou, but we usually call them mantou."

Little Tong walked ahead, swaying her head. "So he's called both a little bun and a little mantou."

Zhong Jin guessed that the term "little guy" must have come from some cartoon she had watched.

*

The advantage of waking up early was that they could get a lot done while it was still early in the day. After breakfast, Little Tong changed into a black-and-white polka-dot dress with a matching mini bag. By the time Zhong Jin dropped her off at daycare, it was only a little past 8 a.m.

Little Tong wasn't as resistant to going to school today. Like a puppy with separation anxiety, once she understood that her dad wasn't abandoning her and would come back to pick her up later, the idea of separation became much easier to accept.

Zhong Jin stood at the school gate, fastening the small cartoon water bottle onto Little Tong's shoulder. Compared to Little Tong's calm demeanor, he seemed a bit more anxious, repeatedly reminding her, "Don't lie on the floor, and go play with the other kids, okay?"

"Okay, okay... Brother," Little Tong replied, her gaze shifting behind Zhong Jin as she waved her little hand cheerfully.

Xiang Zimo, Mao Feixue's son, jumped out of the car and greeted them politely, "Hello, Uncle Zhong. Hello, Little Tong."

Zhong Jin raised an eyebrow, looking at Mao Feixue with confusion.

Mao Feixue smiled and explained, "Zimo's grandparents signed up for a senior citizens' tour group and will be traveling for a week. Since there's no one at home to take care of him, we decided to have him stay at the daycare for a few days."

As Mao Feixue spoke, Xiang Zimo kept nervously watching his mother, relieved when he confirmed she hadn't accidentally revealed the truth.

In reality, it wasn't because his grandparents were going on a trip that he was sent to the daycare. He had heard that Little Tong wasn't used to being at the daycare, so he had begged his mother to let him come and keep her company.

However, the little gentleman felt a bit embarrassed about his intentions, so he had asked his mother to keep it a secret.

Little Tong, with her clear, wide eyes, raised her hand and exclaimed, "Yay!"

Zhong Jin, a seasoned investigator, saw right through the situation, but he didn't expose the children's little secret. Instead, he spoke kindly, "Then, Zimo, please take good care of Little Tong and make sure she doesn't lie on the floor."

Although Zhong Jin tried his best to appear friendly, Xiang Zimo still found him quite stern and intimidating. The boy, now entrusted with this responsibility, stammered nervously, "O-okay... Uncle."

As they watched the two children walk hand in hand into the daycare, Zhong Jin and Mao Feixue turned and got into their respective cars to leave.

Xiang Zimo glanced back at the car that had just driven off outside the iron gate, shrugged, and said with a hint of lingering fear, "Little Tong, is your dad always that strict?"

Little Tong immediately shook her head firmly. "No, he's not strict. Daddy is really good."

Xiang Zimo didn't believe her. "Really?"

"Really! When I got hurt once, Daddy held me and cried. His tears and snot even got on my hair. He loves me so much," Little Tong said earnestly, never one to lie. She was referring to something that had happened in her past life.

Xiang Zimo was utterly shocked. "Adults cry and have snot too?"