When I opened the monitoring app, I was shocked to see a black screen. Both cameras showed no signs of life, only some symbols and letters at the top of the black screen.
What's going on?
Could it be that there's no internet at home?
The home surveillance system relies on wireless Wi-Fi to transmit signals.
I turned off my phone and started reading, but I couldn't focus at all. After a while, I would open the app again, only to find the same black screen.
I really didn't understand this, so I needed to ask Daguo.
But Daguo should be in Teacher An's office right now, right?
No, could Daguo be behind this?
After all, he was the one who arranged for the installation of this surveillance system. He understands all the operations, and if he could cut off the signal from my side, I wouldn't doubt it at all.
If Daguo really did this, what could his purpose be?
Soon I figured it out. Perhaps he never intended to cut off communications with my mom, but by cutting off the monitoring signal on my side, I wouldn't be able to see anything, so naturally, I wouldn't go and stop him?
I wasn't being petty; this was just the only thing I could think of.
Or maybe I was just feeling anxious?
It was still uncertain.
I hurriedly ran towards the office building, where the teachers' offices were all located in a separate building.
However, when I reached the ground floor, I couldn't help but feel frustrated. The teachers' offices for the third-year students were on the third floor, and I couldn't see inside the office from downstairs at all.
To verify, the best way would be to see if Daguo was in Teacher An's office studying. If he wasn't there, it would confirm my suspicions.
If he was there, then I could just ask Daguo what was going on with the app.
I quickly entered the office building and ran up to the third floor.
Once I reached the third floor, I didn't go directly to knock on Teacher An's office door.
After all, after what happened last time with Teacher An, I really felt a bit embarrassed to face her alone.
I hid outside Teacher An's door, took a deep breath, and called Daguo.
When the phone rang, I vaguely heard a ringtone, which definitely belonged to Daguo. Could it be that he was really in the office?
"Hello, what's up, bro…" Daguo quickly answered the call. I heard his voice, but there were two sounds, like a duet: one came from the phone earphones, and the other was from inside the door.
"Nothing, just come out for a second…" I quickly took a step back and said to Daguo, so that Teacher An wouldn't hear.
"Okay…" Daguo immediately agreed, and then I heard footsteps. When the door opened, Daguo indeed walked out, closing the office door behind him.
Daguo was really with Teacher An, which meant my suspicion was wrong.
"What's up, bro… missing my mom?" Daguo said as we walked to the stairwell on the third floor, teasing me with a sly smile.
"Don't say that…" I was startled by Daguo's words, breaking into a cold sweat, and I quickly scolded him in a low voice. I looked around; if someone nearby heard, it would be bad.
Daguo was clever, but sometimes he could be quite reckless.
"Take a look at this. I just wanted to see if my mom was safe at home, but when I opened it, it was just a black screen..." I told Daguo, opening the app on my phone.
"Eh? Let me see…" Daguo looked at my phone's black screen and let out a soft gasp. He then took out his own phone and opened the app, and his phone also showed a black screen.
"What's going on?" Seeing Daguo's phone was also black, I asked, feeling relieved that I had thought wrong.
"It might be that your home network isn't good, or it could be… there might be an issue with the camera's antenna or software. I'll ask the seller later…" Daguo said, frowning.
"Okay…" I nodded, accepting this explanation.
"I'll head back first; if I'm late, my mom will start nagging again…" Daguo said, putting his phone away and turning to run back to the office.
"Wow…" Watching Daguo go back into the office, I finally sighed in relief, then made my way downstairs.
At that moment, I couldn't help but smile bitterly; it seemed I had been a bit paranoid lately to think of Daguo in this situation.
But I still hoped the cameras would return to normal soon so I could check in on my mom at any time. After the last incident where she had heatstroke, I was completely worried about her being home alone.
When I got home that evening, my mom had returned to her usual self, chatting and laughing with me as if nothing had happened that day.
After finishing my homework, I opened the app.
The result was still a black screen.
So I hurriedly opened QQ to ask Daguo about the camera situation.
Daguo told me he had already contacted the seller and that the network monitoring function of the camera had malfunctioned, but the seller could come to replace it.
However, since my mom hadn't mentioned anything about the camera to Daguo, it meant that the wired monitoring on her computer was functioning normally. If that was the case, how could I tell my mom about replacing the camera?
After all, my mom didn't know that the camera had a network monitoring function. If someone came to my house to replace it without her knowledge, it might make her think too much and complicate the situation.
Daguo laid out the pros and cons to me, and I felt he had a point.
"Let's wait and see for now…" After thinking for a long time, I sent Daguo that message. The situation was a bit sudden; to avoid alarming anyone, I could only put it on hold.
After all, the matter between Daguo and my mom had already been paused, and the camera had lost some of its functionality.
But for my mom's safety, the camera issue still needed to be resolved.
However… even if the camera could be fixed, I wasn't planning on repairing it, because Daguo also had access to it.
If it was fixed, Daguo could see my mom anytime and anywhere. If I wanted to completely cut ties between Daguo and my mom, it was better to not let him have access.
Perhaps this was fate; I had cut off the relationship between Daguo and my mom, and the surveillance also became ineffective, which could be seen as helping me out.
As long as my mom had access to the system, that was enough. But I also needed to know her situation at all times, especially when I was at school. If I didn't know how she was doing, I would feel uneasy. What if she had heatstroke at home like last time and no one noticed? She could be in life-threatening danger.
Oh, I could use my allowance to buy a camera myself, one that was discreet.
After thinking this through, an idea suddenly struck me. My mom was still at the warehouse, so before going to bed, I emptied my piggy bank and began counting the money inside.
After a long time, I finally finished counting; there was over eight hundred.
This was all I had saved over the past two years, consisting of both paper bills and coins.
But would this be enough?
I didn't have any online shopping apps on my phone, nor could I install them.
Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to shop online, as I didn't even have online banking.
What should I do about this?
I couldn't possibly go to a physical store in the city to buy one, could I?
As a kid, would they even sell it to me? Even if they did, would I have enough money?
Things in physical stores are really expensive; online is much cheaper.
By the next afternoon, I ran to an internet café. I had eight crisp hundred-yuan bills in my pocket, which I had exchanged for coins. Those warehouse stores were quite willing to exchange change as it made it easier for them to give change to customers.
Once online, I started browsing through online stores; it was much more convenient with a computer.
At this point, I was still quite worried, not knowing if this amount of money would be enough.
I looked through many types of cameras online, especially those small and inconspicuous ones, and the key was that they had to be cheap.
Fortunately, the prices for such cameras were generally under 200 yuan, which was within my budget.
I placed the order and then went to find the network manager, who was the owner.
In the internet café, many classmates were playing games; when they needed to recharge or buy something, the owner could help them buy it with her online banking, but she would charge a certain fee. It's all business.
I gave the owner the money along with the fee, then adjusted the computer desktop a little. The labels and names of these cameras were rather obscure, and the owner didn't say anything. It was all sorted in less than half a minute.
Four cameras, over eight hundred bucks… my heart was bleeding…
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