In the morning, the Boss Coal from Qingmu, carrying a travel bag, came downstairs and saw that Bi Shenghua had already prepared breakfast and was waiting for him.
"Did you take your wallet, ID card, phone, and charger?" Bi Shenghua asked casually while drinking milk and scrolling through the news on her phone.
"I took them all," Qingmu mumbled, stuffing a meat bun into his mouth.
"All you ever think about is meat buns!" Bi Shenghua said, pointing to the filet mignon on the table. "I made this especially for you, have a taste."
The Boss Coal jumped down and Guagua, "Wow! Steak!"
Bi Shenghua tapped her phone on the table. "It's not for you! Yours is over there—" she said, pointing to the diced sausages and cherry tomatoes next to her.
The Boss Coal tilted his head and said unhappily, " Ruhua! You're showing favoritism again!"
Seeing Bi Shenghua put down her phone to get a fork, it quickly flapped its wings and flew like lightning to its food. "The sausage is good, the cherry tomatoes are good! Quack--"
Qingmu cut off a small piece of steak and tasted it; it was indeed quite good.
The Boss Coal ate his diced ham with his head down and a displeased expression.
Qingmu cut two pieces of beef from the steak, tossed them over, and said, "Eat up, Xiao Qi and the others will come to pick you up later."
The Boss Coal caught the beef chunks with his mouth, swallowed them with a slurping sound, and was still unsatisfied after finishing. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard Qingmu's words, looked up and exclaimed, "What? Aren't we going on a trip?"
Qingmu said, "It's very far."
The bird said, "Airplane! Airplane!"
When it mentioned airplanes, it unconsciously glanced at the landlady's chest, then instantly lowered its head alertly and whispered, "No ski-jump, only ejection."
"What did you say?" Bi Shenghua didn't notice the Boss Coal's gaze.
The Crow said, "I can fly."
Bi Shenghua said, "Flying is fine, but first I'll take you to the animal quarantine office for a full check-up. We might need to draw some blood... If you're afraid of pain, we can give you anesthesia."
"..." The Crow tilted its head, seemingly lost in deep thought—was it worth getting an injection for a long journey?
Bi Shenghua continued, "After the checkup, take the report to the airline to file a report, then they'll put you in a square birdcage and cover it with a cloth. But don't worry, the cloth is breathable; it'll only be a little stuffy."
"Whoa--" The Boss Coal flapped his head with his wings.
"You'll be tossed into the overhead bins along with your suitcase. Airport staff are very skilled at throwing luggage; you'll feel the thrill of a diver," Bi Shenghua continued. "During the several hours of the flight, your box will slide around in the bins like a bumper car, colliding with other luggage, and maybe even hitting a pet dog or something."
"Oh, I hate dogs!" the Crow cawed.
"Also, there's so much delicious food in Southern Yunnan! Marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and the dishes are all incredibly spicy and flavorful. A foodie like you would definitely love it. Who knows, you might even catch the eye of a bird dealer there and end up with a good family, enjoying this wonderful life month after month, year after year!"
After hearing this, the Crow cawed once, hopped back to its plate, and began munching on its food quickly, like a chick pecking at rice. As it ate, it looked around and said, "Hmm, why isn't Xiao Qi here yet? I'm almost full!"
Shi Dazhuang called and told Qingmu to wait at Ruhua Bar, and he would come to pick him up right away.
After breakfast, Bi Shenghua was sullen and kept scrolling through her phone.
Qingmu asked, "You seem to be in a bad mood?"
The Crow, bored after its meal, suddenly began to sing, its trembling voice sounding like an old CD with bad sectors playing:
"I see you off, a thousand miles away, where you are indifferent to black and white... The silent years of the past, and the details, should not be so distant..."
Bi Shenghua picked up a steak knife and brandished it menacingly at the Crow: "Sing again!"
The Boss Coal nimbly leaped up, landing high on the liquor cabinet, and continued singing, "Boy, don't try to guess a girl's thoughts, you'll never understand no matter how hard you try..."
Bi Shenghua threw down her fork, glared at Qingmu, and said, "If you don't keep a closer eye on your bird, it'll be roasted and eaten sooner or later!"
Qingmu glanced at the Boss Coal, then at Bi Shenghua, and just chuckled.
Bi Shenghua shook her head helplessly, sat back down to look at her phone, and asked as she looked, "How many of you are going today?"
Qingmu said, "Two, me and Captain Shi from the Criminal Investigation Team."
Bi Shenghua said, "Isn't Officer Hu going?"
"No, why?" Qingmu asked.
"Oh, nothing, just asking casually." Bi Shenghua suddenly pointed at her phone and cursed, "Look at this, look at this, what kind of people are these!"
Crow high above murmured disdainfully, "Changing the subject, how abrupt."
Bi Shenghua ignored it and continued looking at her phone.
Qingmu asked, "What's wrong? Are you angry because you saw the news?"
Bi Shenghua said, "It's not news. There's a college student on the forum who posted that the person who sponsored her education wanted her to be his mistress. She refused, and then he suddenly stopped sponsoring her and demanded she pay back the money. Now she's almost unable to survive."
"Is that so?" Qingmu sensed something was amiss. "Let me see."
Bi Shenghua handed him her phone, and he glanced at the post. The gist of it was pretty much what Bi Shenghua had said.
A woman with the online name " Don't Bother Me If You're Ugly " claimed to be a female student at a university. She said that she dropped out of high school because of family poverty, but later received help from a kind person and was able to return to high school. Through hard work, she was admitted to university.
She said she was very grateful to her sponsor, so she studied very hard and was even preparing to take the postgraduate entrance exam. Just when she was focusing all her attention on her studies, her sponsor suddenly invited her out to dinner. Out of gratitude, she went, but her sponsor revealed his sinister intentions and wanted her to be his mistress.
She refused, thinking that her refusal would resolve the issue, but to her surprise, the sponsor cut off her funding and threatened her to repay the money.
She listed her school expenses in detail, saying that the tuition was 6,000 yuan a year, the accommodation fee was 800 yuan, the living expenses were 1,000 yuan a month, which amounted to 12,000 yuan a year. She also had to buy a computer, a mobile phone, clothes, cosmetics, and so on. After deducting the tuition reduction given to her by the school, she would have to spend more than 20,000 yuan a year, but the sponsor only gave her 10,000 yuan.
She said she used to work part-time, but her sponsor told her not to worry about money and to focus on her studies. Now that the sponsorship has suddenly stopped, she doesn't know what to do and doesn't even know where her tuition will be for next semester. Now she can only go live on a certain live streaming platform, under the name " An Keke Who Can Whimper," asking everyone to send her flowers and support her.
The post received many replies, all asking who her sponsor was, calling him disgusting, and wanting to expose him.
She said that the person had, after all, sponsored her and was a celebrity in the Internet world, so it wouldn't be good for him to be exposed.
Some people suspect that she is lying and is only trying to gain sympathy and promote her live streaming account.
To prove herself, she posted a letter from her sponsor. Most of the content in the image was blurred out, leaving only a few sentences visible.
I can't give you any more money... A beautiful girl like you... is my lifelong pursuit... My money is limited... This is all I can do...
Qingmu recognized the handwriting, and when he saw the signature at the bottom of the letter— "Internet Person" —he realized that this was one of the many letters Liu Huaian had entrusted him to send out.
He remembered this letter because this girl was one of the students Liu Huaian sponsored the most, receiving more than 10,000 yuan a year. It was also the longest letter he had ever written, filled with words of encouragement for the girl, telling her to work part-time while studying and that she would definitely have a bright future.
But mosaics are magical things; they can cover up the most crucial parts, making it difficult for people to see the beauty or ugliness behind them, even if you're so angry you want to smash your computer.
A letter filled with love and remorse was transformed into a malicious threat by the use of mosaics.
At the end of her post, the girl said she knew this " Internet Person " had also sponsored many female students, warning everyone not to be fooled. Everyone was speculating about which scumbag in the Internet world this " Internet Person " was.
Bi Shenghua asked Qingmu, "Should we sponsor a few college students? Getting into college isn't easy!"
Qingmu said, "Who has it easy?"
Just then, a car horn sounded outside, and Shi Dazhuang called out from the doorway, " Teacher Qingmu! Can we leave now?"
Qingmu slung his travel bag over his shoulder and shuffled out.
Bi Shenghua shouted, "Hey, are you going to agree to pay or not?"
Qingmu turned around and said, "The money is in your hands; you can sponsor whomever you want. However, I suggest that you learn about the other person's character before giving any money."
Good character is more important than good grades. (And -Book Bar!)