The little fox’s eyes widened after hearing what Nie Chongyang had said.
He remarked, "Even if there's something to say, when the sky falls, the taller ones will bear it. But it's not like my brother is the only tall one. Why should he bear it when the sky falls?"
Nie Chongyang cooperated knowingly and added, "We'll bear it too. In any case, it won't crush you."
After their usual bickering, the little fox gradually quieted down, and the conversation shifted back to serious matters. He said, "But now, we're not allowed to investigate things openly. What should we do?"
"Most of the clues are probably in Lin Yanqin's room. Without her permission, we shouldn't be able to get in."
There was another point the little fox didn't voice, but everyone understood.
If they were to enter Lin Yanqin's room without her permission, it wouldn't be an impossible task. However, the risks involved would be difficult to guarantee.
What if they were caught? Wouldn't that be terribly unfair?
The little fox pondered, feeling a headache coming on as he couldn't find a way forward.
After thinking for a moment, he turned to Ye Tiancheng and said, "I don't see any way. If we break into Lin Yanqin's room without permission, it will definitely be very dangerous. Brother, why don't we just forget it? Didn't you hear that there are many similar situations in Xiaojing City?"
"Why don't we approach it from another angle and just abandon this matter here to investigate other special events? We don't necessarily have to get stuck on Lin Yanqin's situation."
Ye Tiancheng ruffled the little fox's hair as he spoke.
"I understand your concerns, but everyone has their limits, so you don't need to worry so much. If it's really impossible, Brother won't force it. We won't get stuck."
The little fox felt a bit more at ease. "That's good."
Nie Chongyang watched Ye Tiancheng gleefully ruffling the little fox's hair and felt an urge to join in. He couldn't resist and grabbed a handful himself.
"Wow! The texture is quite good!"
The little fox immediately sensed something was wrong and glared at Nie Chongyang. "What are you doing?!"
Nie Chongyang smiled and said, "Your big brother has been ruffling you for so long, and you didn't say a word. Why are you making a fuss when I only ruffled you once?"
The little fox retorted, "You know he's my big brother, so why compare?"
"Don't go touching me. What if you make me bald?"
Nie Chongyang was used to bickering with the little fox, but hearing the little fox's biased remark, he couldn't help but complain inwardly.
No matter how you looked at it, Ye Tiancheng's ruffling method was more likely to make the little fox bald. His own single ruffle probably wouldn't even take a single hair. How could he be blamed for making the little fox bald?
Ye Tiancheng consciously withdrew his hand and watched Nie Chongyang and the little fox bicker with a smile.
He had no awareness that he had instigated the conflict.
As Nie Chongyang and the little fox bickered, they walked ahead, leaving Ye Tiancheng and Liang Ping behind.
Liang Ping walked alongside Ye Tiancheng, looking at the backs of Nie Chongyang and the little fox. He suddenly spoke to Ye Tiancheng, "Since we joined the force, Nie Dui and I have been under a lot of pressure for many years. He and I have known each other since childhood, and it's been many years since I've seen Nie Dui like this."
"It seems that after getting to know the little fox, we've gradually seen glimpses of Nie Dui's youthful self."
As he spoke, Liang Ping couldn't help but chuckle. "In short, he's annoying to everyone."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but laugh when he heard Liang Ping say that.
He replied, "What young man isn't annoying when they're young? But... the little fox is an exception. And since he's young and we're always with him, our mindset has indeed become much younger."
Liang Ping chuckled. "You say that as if we're very old. Actually, we're not much older than the little fox, are we?"
Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and lowered his voice.
"I've thought about it carefully, and I suddenly feel something is wrong."
Seeing Ye Tiancheng's demeanor, Liang Ping thought he was suddenly changing the subject to something serious, but he also found it a bit strange. "Hmm? What's wrong?"
Ye Tiancheng said, "Actually, if you really think about it, among the four of us, the little fox is the oldest! He's so much older than us! Yet we're acting so mature here, calling the little fox a child. Isn't that a bit odd?"
Liang Ping was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"That's true... cough, cough, I almost forgot."
"When I see the little fox, I never think about it. I always see him as the youngest, the one with the least age."
Ye Tiancheng then said, "This seems to be the little fox's talent. He's very approachable, making people who meet him trust him and feel protective of him. However, this ability is useless against those who are wary, but that's fine."
"The little fox is quite good. He's not a bad person."
Liang Ping nodded in agreement.
Then, Ye Tiancheng and Liang Ping looked ahead and saw Nie Chongyang and the little fox stopped in front, both staring at them intently.
The little fox said to Ye Tiancheng, "Brother, what were you two talking about behind our backs? And you were laughing so happily. What were you discussing? Hurry up and tell me. How can you keep secrets from me and not tell me?"
Nie Chongyang also nodded and looked at Liang Ping.
He echoed the little fox, "Exactly, exactly. When did you two get so close?"
Ye Tiancheng smiled and said, "We weren't talking about anything important, just a few casual remarks. Since you two were walking ahead and left us behind, we could only talk to each other."
As soon as Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, Nie Chongyang and the little fox couldn't help but cough a few times and turn their heads away, falling silent.
However, the little fox wasn't one to hold back.
He couldn't help but quietly tug on Ye Tiancheng's sleeve and whisper, "So what were you two talking about? You were laughing so happily."
Ye Tiancheng smiled and told the little fox, "We were talking about you and Nie Chongyang. Seeing you two arguing in front, one is three years old and the other is five years old, no more?"
The little fox was stunned. "Ah?"
Ye Tiancheng hadn't controlled his volume, and Nie Chongyang clearly heard what he said.
He immediately said indignantly, "Hey! Who's five years old?"
The little fox stuck out his tongue at Nie Chongyang and said, "Of course, I'm five years old, and you're three! You immature brat!"
Nie Chongyang looked utterly confused.
How was being five years old better than being three?
Wasn't this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?
Moreover... the little fox was five and he was three?
This particular fox was about to get too big for his britches!
When facing the little fox, Nie Chongyang blurted out without thinking, "Of course, I'm five and you're three! You're more immature!"
The little fox immediately started arguing with him.
"It's clearly you, you're immature!" Then, as if he had discovered something new, his big black eyes sparkled, and he put his hands on his hips and said, "Oh, so you're only five years old? That makes sense. All little kids are this immature!"
Ye Tiancheng was speechless behind them.
No... little fox, do you even remember what you said earlier?
Liang Ping also couldn't help but sigh and cover his forehead.
"Alright, these two immature brats have started again."
Ye Tiancheng nodded with a deep expression and said, "Exactly. It's just the difference between kindergarten and preschool. They're in the same kindergarten, so why are they arguing?"
In an instant, Nie Chongyang and the little fox in front both turned their heads back, their resentful gazes falling on Ye Tiancheng.
They returned to their room, still arguing and chatting, as if the pressure of being trapped there didn't exist. If outsiders saw them, they wouldn't imagine the heavy burden they were carrying.
There were still many things to do, and they had to leave this place.
However, the important things, the things that had to be done, couldn't be done now, and there were no clues on how to leave this place.
Actually, their noisy return was a way to relax their minds.
Being confined in Xiaojing City for this period, it was impossible to say they felt no pressure. But even with immense pressure, they had to endure it, and they couldn't easily reveal it, lest they worry their companions or add to their burden.
If one person collapsed, it would trigger the pond effect.
The others would quickly crumble one after another, so fast that no one could react. If people truly broke down, they would be in grave danger and it would be almost impossible to leave this place.
The most important thing not to be undermined was one's own confidence.
Ye Tiancheng could only try his best to maintain a calm mindset. Regarding Lin Yanqin's situation, he could only say that he would try his best to strive for it, but he couldn't guarantee success, as he couldn't drag everyone down with him.
The little fox's situation was important, but it couldn't be built on the lives of others.
If it meant sacrificing his own life to resolve it and relieve his burden, Ye Tiancheng wasn't unwilling to do so. But he couldn't gamble with the lives of others.
Moreover, the little fox might not even want a life bought with someone else's life.
There might be opportunities for such things in the future, which was why Ye Tiancheng's attitude wasn't so resolute.
Unless this was the little fox's last and only chance, Ye Tiancheng had no reason to insist on it.
They eventually reached a consensus on how to handle Lin Yanqin's situation. In any case, their own safety was paramount. If they couldn't achieve it, then so be it, and no one should force it.
After all, the little fox still had other opportunities.
As for what to do next, they considered it and decided it would primarily depend on Lin Yanqin's attitude. As long as Lin Yanqin had any desire to strive, Ye Tiancheng and the others would have at least a sliver of hope.
However, if Lin Yanqin herself completely gave up, then Ye Tiancheng and the others would likely have no leverage and shouldn't hold out much hope.
Without Lin Yanqin's cooperation, Ye Tiancheng and the others would face obstacles in everything they did.
This was Lin Yanqin's home turf, which would bring significant risks to Ye Tiancheng and the others. If Lin Yanqin sided with the villains, or if Lin Yanqin herself was part of the villainous side, then Ye Tiancheng and the others would be in even greater danger.
After finalizing these decisions, Ye Tiancheng and the others felt at ease and decided to go with the flow.
From now on, it would depend on the attitude of the person involved. Ye Tiancheng and the others would act according to Lin Yanqin's wishes, avoid creating trouble for themselves, and everything else would be manageable. If it truly became impossible, they would consider these days as a period of relaxation and a vacation.
Keeping one's nerves too taut was also not good.
Over time, nerves would inevitably snap.
As for the matter across the hall, the hotel owner's employee, for whatever reason, handled things quite efficiently. After Ye Tiancheng and the others returned from Lin Yanqin's place, there was no trace of last night's events outside their door.