Chapter Forty-Four: Guoguo

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[Is this for real? Did the cat actually lead them somewhere?]
[You don’t get it, do you? Cats truly can understand human speech. My cat went missing once and I couldn’t find her anywhere, so I bribed a stray cat that lives downstairs. The next day, that stray brought my cat back, after a good tussle.]
[But that was to find a cat. Can they find people too?]

The ginger cat ambled along with the two of them, covering a distance of about three to five hundred meters, before finally stopping at a street corner where a large trash bin stood.

The bin was hidden in the deepest part of the grass at the corner, shielded by a few trees—it would be hard to notice unless you looked carefully.

It stood about half as tall as a person, blue with a round lid, reminiscent of those used in restaurants for dumping leftovers.

The ginger cat sat by the roadside, gazing at the bin, then licked its paw.

Lin Ze peered closely and noticed that the bin was rather clean, not bearing any filth, as if it had never really been used.

“Could we have actually found her?” Lin Ze exchanged a glance with Su Zitan.

Looking around, they saw several bystanders nearby—some on their phones, some making calls—but all watching the scene unfold.

That must be it. The show’s crew wouldn’t really leave a young girl alone here.

The two of them approached the bin and cautiously lifted the lid.

“There really is someone in here!”

Inside, a little girl with two braids draped over her chest rested her head against the side of the bin, her small mouth slightly open, looking for all the world as if she’d fallen asleep.

“She looks kind of familiar, doesn’t she?” Lin Ze tried to recall. “Has she acted in something?”

“Now that you mention it—” Su Zitan also felt the girl looked familiar.

“Isn’t she the little girl from ‘Searching for Home’?”

Lin Ze suddenly remembered—a movie from a couple of years ago. The girl had played a minor role. Her screen time was short, but even at such a young age, her acting had been impressive.

“That’s right!” Su Zitan remembered too. She’d even mentioned the girl to Lin Ze back then.

The little girl had grown even cuter. On a whim, Su Zitan took out her lipstick and gently dabbed a bright red dot on the girl’s forehead.

“Mm…”

The girl licked her lips, then slowly woke up, looking around in confusion.

“Oh—sorry, I fell asleep!”

She quickly stood up. “Brother Lin, Sister Su.”

“It’s all right, we just got here ourselves.”

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Lin Ze reached under the girl’s armpits and, with a gentle effort, lifted her out as easily as one might scoop up a kitten.

Still half-dazed, the girl looked around, then smiled sweetly. “Sorry to trouble you both these next couple of days!”

Such a polite little girl—who wouldn’t like her? Su Zitan happily took her hand. “Don’t worry. What’s your name?”

“I’m Guoguo.” She glanced up at Su Zitan, then nervously looked around. “We should get going. My mom’s people have already come looking for me.”

Lin Ze and Su Zitan glanced to the side; the people who’d been covertly watching earlier were now on the move.

“They’re coming? Run!” Su Zitan grabbed the little girl’s hand and dashed off, calling back over her shoulder, “Hurry up, you rascal!”

Lin Ze tossed the bin lid aside and followed at once. “Come on, little kitten, run!”

The ginger cat sat by the road, tilting its head as a question mark seemed to float above it.

What does this have to do with me?

There were only five or six pursuers, scattered in various directions. Since this was just beginning, none of them went all out, leaving an opening for Lin Ze and Su Zitan to escape.

Both were fit and used to exercise; even with the girl in tow, they quickly put two blocks behind them.

Guoguo, panting, braced her hands on her knees. “I… I can’t run anymore, sister.”

“You need more training.” Su Zitan took out a tissue, gently dabbing the sweat from the girl’s forehead, carefully avoiding the lipstick dot.

Lin Ze found a supermarket and bought a bottle of water for Guoguo. After a few sips, her breathing eased.

“Guoguo, why are you hiding from your mother when she’s looking for you?” Lin Ze finally asked what had been on his mind.

He’d wondered about this secret task ever since Director Zhang mentioned it that morning.

Why hide in a trash bin? And why help this girl evade her mother?

Guoguo gripped the bottle, bowing her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

“After my mom and dad divorced, she started hitting me a lot. A few days ago, my uncle couldn’t stand it anymore and took me to stay with him for a while…”

“But my mom found me at my uncle’s place. He had no choice but to leave me with a friend.”

[Abuse? I remember hearing about something like this. There was a little girl whose mom started acting unstable after the divorce—used to beat her black and blue.]

[I remember too. It was news over a decade ago, kind of fuzzy now.]

Lin Ze sensed at once that her uncle and that friend were probably from the production team.

And the bin today looked just like one used for restaurant leftovers.

“Guoguo, is your uncle’s friend a restaurant owner by any chance?”

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Guoguo froze, her earlier sadness momentarily forgotten. “Director Zhang said I shouldn’t tell…”

The two of them understood at once.

“My uncle’s friend owns a shop. I hid there for two days, but my mom still found him and even brought people to make a scene…”

“I see. So we’re looking after you for the next couple of days?” Su Zitan gently patted her head.

“Right. We have to keep away from those chasing us.” Guoguo nodded earnestly.

As they spoke, their pursuers caught up again.

Judging by their determined approach, it seemed…

The two glanced at Xiao Qian beside them.

Could the pursuers be watching the live broadcast?

“Hmm…” Lin Ze stroked his chin, then hailed a taxi.

“To the commercial plaza, please.”

Upon arrival, Lin Ze and Su Zitan took the girl straight to a shoe store.

The canvas shoes they were wearing were fine for flat paths and leisurely walks, but if a chase was about to begin, they wouldn’t suffice.

They quickly picked out matching pairs and made the purchase as fast as possible.

[Something big’s about to go down—are we about to see a high-speed pursuit today?]

[Brother Lin is so tough—will he end up taking out all the staff chasing them?]

[The best way to solve a problem is to take care of the people causing it, right?]

The two clerks were clearly excited as they handed over the receipts—they’d watched the variety show for ages, but this was the first time they’d met the stars in person.

The clerks found shoes in their own sizes and asked Lin Ze and Su Zitan for autographs.

Lin Ze signed his name with a flourish, then spotted the staff members in pursuit approaching from afar.

“Hey, sis, do me a favor,” he whispered to Su Zitan.