Chapter 1035: Perplexed and Smitten (95)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“In that case, I didn’t make a wasted trip today. This girl is today’s victim. She was petrified when she heard that she is required to testify against them. Bring her back to the police station to have her statement recorded,” An Xiaoning instructed.
“Okay.”
“Bring her back and call me if there’s any progress. Give me your mobile phone. I’ll send you the evidence.”
Gratitude was written all over Ma Jianguo’s face. He whipped out his mobile phone and handed it to her.
An Xiaoning sent the voice recording and video clips to his mobile phone before returning it to him. Staring at No. 5 and No. 8, she said, “Let’s go back.”
The two of them followed her.
When they arrived back at the tourist spot, An Xiaoning bought lots of barbecued skewers and beverages, which they snacked on in the taxi home.
They alighted from the taxi and returned to where they came from.
While taking a bath, An Xiaoning pondered over the events that took place today. Feeling rather weary, she fell asleep shortly in the bathtub.
Upon hearing that she had returned, Jin Qingyan zoomed upstairs instead of loitering around the living room.
He pushed the door of the bathroom open and was greeted with the sight of her sitting inside the bathtub. He stepped forward to test the water and found that it was of a comfortable temperature.
“Xiaoning?” he called softly.
Soon after she dozed off, An Xiaoning had a nightmare. Upon hearing her name being called, she sprung up in the bathtub, causing the water to splash all over him.
She rinsed her face before looking at him. “When did you come home?”
“Just now.”
“I had a terrible nightmare.” She got out of the bathtub and opened the faucet to rinse her body.
“What dream was it?”
“A horrible nightmare,” she answered, reluctant to talk about it.
“What was it about?”
An Xiaoning poured some shampoo onto her palm and lathered it. While massaging the foam into her head, she said, “I dreamed that you had gone missing and I couldn’t find you at all.”
Jin Qingyan smiled and said, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m always either at home or at the office. How would you be unable to find me?”
Shaking her head, she answered, “I have no idea either.”
“Don’t dwell on it. Continue showering while I go get changed.” He exited the bathroom, leaving An Xiaoning alone inside. She rinsed the foam off her scalp with some water and kept her head under the flowing water. She closed her eyes before opening them again, keeping a straight and sullen face throughout.
—
The two children of the Long family had gone home.
Long Xiaoxi wanted to have some ice cream after dinner but was stopped by Mei Yangyang, who said, “You just had dinner and the food has yet to be digested. It’s not good to eat cold desserts right after.”
Pouting her lips, Long Xiaoxi whined, “You don’t dote on me at all. I’m going to go look for Daddy.”
“There’s no use looking for Daddy. Put the ice cream back inside the freezer and have it tomorrow instead.”
Long Xiaoxi had no choice but to place it back to its original position. “I’m going to look for Brother Minhe,” she said.
“Don’t play for too long. Come back soon and go to bed. You still have to return to the boot camp for training tomorrow.”
“Got it, Mommy.”
She skipped out of the house merrily and stood by the wall beside the door. She craned her neck slowly to peek inside, praying fervently that her mother would head upstairs soon.
Her prayers worked and Mei Yangyang really went upstairs.
Long Xiaoxi immediately ran inside the kitchen and grabbed the ice cream that she had placed back inside the refrigerator earlier. She then zoomed out of the kitchen excitedly.
Once she was outside the house, she removed the layer of packaging wrapped around the ice cream and licked it. She burst with euphoria when the cold and sweet treat hit her taste buds.
She slowly made her way to Zhong Minhe’s house while enjoying her delightful dessert.
The lights were on inside the house, although there was no one in sight. She entered and walked toward Zhong Minhe’s room, only to see that he was doing his homework attentively.
Upon hearing the sounds, he turned around and greeted Long Xiaoxi with a smile, “Hey, Xiaoxi.”
“Brother Minhe, you’re still doing homework,” she said, taking a seat beside him.
“Xiaoxi, when did you come home?”
“Before dinner.” She offered her icicle to him and said, “Have a bite.”
Shaking his head, he said, “I’m not having any. Go ahead.”
“Hey, just have a bite. It’s yam-flavored.” She placed the icicle beside his mouth, insisting that he have some.
Seeing that he could not turn her down, he took a bite. Long Xiaoxi finally grinned gleefully and took another bite herself.
Zhong Minhe put his pen down and opened the drawer with his toe.
“This is for you,” he said to Long Xiaoxi.
Long Xiaoxi took a look to see that it was a pink handkerchief. She took it out immediately and exclaimed gleefully, “Is this for me?”
“Yes, I bought it with the pocket money that I’ve saved up.”
“Thank you, Brother Minhe.”
“I should be the one thanking you instead. You’ve helped me out a great ton,” he said in his puerile voice.
Just as they were in the midst of a joyous conversation, they began to hear the sounds of Zhong Minhe’s parents arguing.
They looked at each other before leaning against the door to open it lightly.
“What you said won’t work at all. I won’t agree to it!” Zhong Minhe’s father hollered.
Mrs. Zhong said, “You’re being so stubborn. Even a successful businessman like Jin Qingyan has adopted a son. What’s wrong with us adopting one? Besides, we’re not well-to-do and Minhe is in such a state. Who’s going to take care of us when we’re older? If the doctor didn’t say that I’m highly prone to miscarriages, why would I want to adopt someone else’s child?”
“They can afford to adopt a child and raise him to adulthood because they’re so affluent and have an established business. How about us? We’ll need a huge sum of money to raise the adopted child. Not to mention, we don’t even know if he’ll be close to us. I’d rather be childless than adopt someone else’s child, unless it’s a girl.”
“How about we adopt a daughter, then? That works too, it’ll be less of a burden,” Mrs. Zhong suggested.
“Children are so pampered and precious nowadays, who would be willing to give their child up to us?” said Mr. Zhong, who did not carry any hopes.
“I’ll ask around. There are lots of villagers who have given birth to lots of daughters. Maybe we’ll bump into one. It’s settled then.”
“Mm…”
Long Xiaoxi stood up straight and pulled Zhong Minhe into the room. She said softly, “Your parents are planning to adopt a daughter.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want a sister?”
He remained silent in response.
Long Xiaoxi pouted her lips and said, “I’m going back if you’re not going to say anything.”
Seeing that she was about to leave, he frantically said, “I’ll speak. I do want a younger sibling now because that will make Daddy and Mommy happy. They’ll no longer be upset about my missing arms. Like Mommy said, there’ll also be someone to take care of them when they’re old, since I can’t do that because of my condition.”
“Yes, yes. Hurry and do your homework. Once you’re done, we can go play in the yard for a while. I’ll have to leave again tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, wait for me, I’ll be done soon.”
—
An Xiaoning was parched in the middle of the night because of the salty food she had had during dinner.
She switched on the bedside lamp, only to find that the spot beside her was empty.
“Qingyan?”
The lights in the bathroom and dressing room were not switched on. Clearly, he was not inside the bedroom.