Xiao Shitou sat on the bed, exceptionally well-behaved, hugging his knees while waiting for Lin Heyu to finish his shower. He was well-prepared, having brought a change of clothes, and hadn’t planned to go back to Lin Zhizhi’s place.
Yuan Maoqiu sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his shoulder and grumbling, “What’s with Old Lin being so pretentious? He won’t let you shower with him. Ican take you, but he’ll hit me instead. What’s his problem?”
He reached out and pinched Xiao Shitou’s plump cheek, “You’re a boy, right? Even though you’re quite cute, is there any chance of getting the gender wrong?”
Xiao Shitou nodded innocently, and Yuan Maoqiu, with his hand resting on Xiao Shitou’s shoulder, sighed, “So, I really don’t get what Old Lin is thinking. You see him as a father, and he sees you as a son. What’s wrong with a father and son taking a bath together? It saves water and electricity.”
Xiao Shitou didn’t respond, silently rebutting in his heart. He didn’t see Lin Heyu as a “father.” Although he wished Lin Heyu would adopt him and live together, it wasn’t the same as a father-son relationship.
However, if asked to describe his true feelings, he wouldn’t be able to articulate them. It seemed like something was slowly growing inside him, and he didn’t know how to categorize this feeling before it fully emerged. He liked Lin Zhizhi, the kind family of Lü Miaomiao, and Uncle Yuan beside him, but it was clearly different from the “liking” he felt for Lin Heyu.
Xiao Shitou tilted his head, his brows lightly furrowed, looking a bit troubled. A child far from puberty wouldn’t be able to understand these complex emotions, and if asked to express them, he could only say something simple and straightforward like “I want to live with Lin Heyu forever.”
Yuan Maoqiu noticed the child’s face wrinkling up and took on the role of a sympathetic father, “What’s troubling you? Tell Uncle about it.”
Xiao Shitou hesitated to speak, his lips pressed tightly together.
“Come on, tell me, let Uncle give you some advice.” Yuan Maoqiu coaxed, “Is your problem related to feelings?”
Xiao Shitou moved a step away, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further. Yuan Maoqiu, like one of those annoying and gossipy relatives during the New Year, kept pressing. Xiao Shitou was cornered, his face showing a confused and innocent expression.
Suddenly, a cold voice came from behind: “Yuan Maoqiu, are you seeking death again?”
Yuan Maoqiu froze. The big brother had finished his shower and seemed unfriendly. Could it be that he misunderstood Yuan Maoqiu’s intentions toward Xiao Shitou?
“I was just playing with him, haha,” Yuan Maoqiu chuckled awkwardly, immediately closing his mouth when he met Lin Heyu’s stormy gaze. Alright, he would go take a shower and stop being meddlesome.
Xiao Shitou, who had originally been huddled in the corner, immediately stood up and opened his arms when he saw Lin Heyu’s figure. Lin Heyu pointed at the still-dripping hair ends: “It’s wet, you can’t hug.”
Xiao Shitou ran off the bed and dashed into the bathroom, grabbed a clean towel, and stood by the bed, blinking his big eyes at Lin Heyu.
Lin Heyu smiled, sat down, and covered his hair with the towel. Xiao Shitou gently and carefully wiped Lin Heyu’s short hair with small hands.
“Xiao Shitou, do you know who your parents are?” Lin Heyu asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Then how did you live from childhood to now?”
When asked about his early life, Xiao Shitou fell silent. In today’s society, even families with limited economic resources do not leave children in poverty; rather, children are often pampered by their elders. But Xiao Shitou had never enjoyed such treatment. He had been wandering since childhood, following a disabled old beggar. The old beggar later picked up an abandoned little girl and gave her a pleasant name, “Gardenia.”
For years, the three of them lived together, Gardenia begging on the overpass, Xiao Shitou scavenging bottles and cardboard in the streets, and the old beggar collecting scrap iron in a snake-skin bag. At night, they returned to an abandoned factory, counted the small change they earned during the day, saving money for meals. The old beggar put the rest in a glass jar, smiling and saying it was for their future schooling.
Although life was tough, with insufficient food and clothing, and even wanting a new toy being a luxury, Xiao Shitou and Gardenia never complained. They would pour out the money from the glass jar daily, eagerly anticipating the day they could enter school and change their fate. Until one day, the old beggar was beaten to death by thugs, the glass jar disappeared, and all their hopes vanished in an instant. At that moment, Xiao Shitou fully saw the darkness and rot in the lower social strata.
Having experienced the harshness of life at such a young age, Xiao Shitou took on the responsibility of caring for Gardenia, forcing himself to be strong, and his tender heart slowly grew cold and indifferent. It was not uncommon for homeless people to die on the streets. At first, he would tremble with fear at the sight of it, but gradually, he became numb and even searched the corpse for a few coins to buy a good meal for Gardenia.
The bleak memories flashed vividly before him. Xiao Shitou shook his head. Times had changed, and he did not want to think about the past or return to it. Before meeting Lin Heyu, he did not care if others knew about this experience; others’ opinions did not matter to him. After meeting Lin Heyu, he did not want his dirty past to be exposed to the sunlight, fearing it would create a distance between them.
“…Nothing much. Gardenia and I are taken care of. Even though we’re orphans, we meet kind people who give us food and clothes. After leaving the orphanage, we ate the food from many households, and the adults never despised us. We also have friends our age who don’t mind we’re orphans; we played together and were very happy every day…”
Lies, all lies.
The countless disdainful glances he had suffered from childhood flashed before him, beaten and scolded, driven away in heavy rain, yet no one was willing to offer a sheltering eaves.
Now he wove a dream of beauty with lies, speaking softly and slowly, fearing he might lose himself in it if he continued.
Lin Heyu listened silently. In Xiao Shitou’s eyes, there was a deep-seated self-doubt and endurance he did not want to be exposed. Lin Heyu could probably imagine what Xiao Shitou’s past was like; human tragedies played out daily on the streets and corners, and they would not stop or disappear. Each protagonist of these stories struggled desperately in the cracks of survival, waiting for a hand of salvation.
Lin Heyu ruffled Xiao Shitou’s black hair, his tone tinged with gentle sympathy: “It’s alright, things will get better.”
Xiao Shitou asked in a low voice, “You’ll adopt me, right?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be adopted by Sheng Guoning, as you told Zhizhi?” Lin Heyu’s fingertip lightly scratched his nose, “People who don’t keep their promises end up with long noses.”
At the mention, Xiao Shitou’s face reddened slightly: “I… I was just testing, afraid he wouldn’t be good enough for Auntie.”
“And how did your test turn out?”
“It’s okay. He said he was willing to raise me with Auntie in the future.” Xiao Shitou tilted his head slightly, his eyes shifting, “But adults often lie. I can’t tell, so I need to continue observing.”
“Smart for your age. Zhizhi’s matters will be resolved by her. You don’t need to worry too much.” Lin Heyu picked up a coat from the side, “Gardenia’s things are here, take a look.”
On the bed lay crumpled drawings and a pile of colorful stones. Xiao Shitou picked up a drawing of a cave by Gardenia: “We stayed in this cave. It was very dark, very cold at night, and our hands and feet were bound, so we could only huddle together for warmth. After finally falling asleep, the mountain kept shaking. I thought it was going to collapse. I was very scared…”
“The mountain was shaking?” Lin Heyu interrupted, “Are you saying it was an earthquake?”
Xiao Shitou wasn’t sure if it was an earthquake. The shaking wasn’t very intense, and it stopped after a while. Haijing wasn’t in an earthquake zone, and Cheng’an Mountain wasn’t a volcano. Even if there were earthquakes, they would just be normal tectonic movements.
According to the earthquake bureau’s monitoring results over the years, Cheng’an Mountain only experienced one or two tremors a year, and they happened to encounter one.
Xiao Shitou picked up the next paper: “This was in a temple. It was small, but the underground area was very large. It was raining those days, wet and cold. We only stayed there for a while before being forced to leave.”
The “temple” he mentioned was vaguely mentioned by one of the rescued children. However, that child did not know the temple’s name. It wasn’t marked on the map, and local villagers knew almost nothing about it. Only an old man could point out the temple’s location with certainty.
The second team went to check and indeed found the small temple in the hollow of the deep mountains. Although it was called a temple, it only had one room with a Buddha statue and was smaller than a decent farmhouse. The team thoroughly searched the area, both above and below ground, and found no traces of life. The layer of naturally formed dust was intact, proving that the temple had not been visited for many years.
Thus, the record was taken as a child’s misunderstanding, and no further investigation was pursued. The investigation record only noted “incorrect location.”
However, Xiao Shitou was different from other children. He could clearly describe this information, indicating that the kidnappers had indeed stayed in the small temple, but for some unknown reason, the traces had mysteriously been erased by the time they went to search.
“This drawing…” Xiao Shitou furrowed his brow, “It should be from when we were separated. This cave she drew is unfamiliar.”
His gaze fell on the colorful stones, and he reached out to fiddle with a few: “It’s probably meant to get me to rescue her. I didn’t find any other information.”
Lin Heyu casually picked up a stone, held it up to the light overhead, and saw it was just a piece of stone painted with watercolor. He asked, “Why are your signals colored stones?”
“Gardenia and I saw a movie on a big screen in the square. A woman said her lover was a great hero who would come on a rainbow cloud to marry her. Gardenia didn’t know what ‘lover’ meant; she said her only hero was me.” Xiao Shitou’s lips curved slightly, “We agreed that if there was danger, she would hold the colorful stones, and I would definitely go to rescue her.”
Seeing the innocent little face carrying an uncharacteristic determination and maturity, Lin Heyu felt heartache again. He said solemnly, “I promise you, I will rescue Gardenia.”
From the beginning of the record, no one had cared about his feelings or given him warmth, except Lin Heyu, who was willing to open his whole embrace to him. Xiao Shitou’s nose felt sour, and he wrapped his thin arms around Lin Heyu’s shoulder, silently crying into his shoulder.
Today, the child cried twice. Exhausted, Lin Heyu eventually carried him to wash his face and tucked him into bed. Just then, Yi Shi sent a message asking if they could talk on voice, obviously encountering some difficult issue.
Having just put the child to sleep and needing to deal with the adult situation, Lin Heyu shook his head in helplessness, but the smile at the corner of his lips betrayed his joyful mood. He carefully closed the door and dialed Yi Shi’s number in the hallway.
“The number you dialed is not in service. Sorry, the number you dialed…”
Not in service? He dialed several times, and each time it was the same result. The number could be added on WeChat, but the phone was not in service, which was quite puzzling.
This time, Lin Heyu decisively sent a voice message on WeChat. It was answered within two seconds. Yi Shi’s voice sounded somewhat tired: “Lin Heyu.”
“What’s wrong?” Lin Heyu keenly noticed something was off, “Is there a problem with the case?”
Yi Shi, also standing in the hallway leaning against the wall, pinched his brow, thinking it was indeed a big problem. He had been forced to dress as a woman all day, and his mental state was about to collapse.
This kind of thing was too embarrassing to say in front of Lin Heyu. Yi Shi cleared his throat: “The operation has been decided. We’re waiting for the leadership’s approval. I will be going undercover at the kindergarten.”
Undercover? Lin Heyu blurted out: “As a teacher?”
“…Yeah.”
“A male teacher might be a bit conspicuous?”
Yi Shi’s lips twitched: “…I guess not.”
Lin Heyu didn’t think much of it and reminded him to take good care of himself and not to push himself in special situations. Yi Shi responded lightly and then discussed the list of missing hostages, exploring the details of both cases.
“How many children are there in the first class?” Lin Heyu asked.
“15, with two teachers.”
“That matches our records, but…” Lin Heyu looked at the empty hallway, moved to the window, and lowered his voice, “Actually, there are additional hostages. The real number of children should be 17.”
Yi Shi recalled the orphan with no name or parents mentioned in the data, and he remembered the child Lin Heyu had brought to find Miao Miao. The child had always hidden behind Lin Heyu’s leg, barely noticeable, and Yi Shi had hardly seen a clear face.
“Who is the additional one?”
“It’s a girl named Gardenia, Xiao Shitou’s sister. We recently found her, and she’s been left at Yang Weiyi’s house.”
“Yang Weiyi?” The name was too familiar, and Yi Shi quickly recalled the interrogation of Yang Weiyi. He had indeed mentioned a transaction with Pang Daozi, but the contradictory statements always suggested something hidden.
Then Lin Heyu said: “Yang Weiyi wants Gardenia, but not to adopt her. We suspect it might be for… organ donation.”
The term “organ donation” was like a revelation to Yi Shi. Indeed, if that were the case, all the family’s reactions made sense. If Gardenia was currently at Yang Weiyi’s house, then Lu Caiyun and Yang Weiyi’s mother must be aware. The sentencing for child trafficking and organ trafficking was completely different, which explained why they wanted to clean their hands.
However, it was strange why they specifically chose Gardenia. Had they already matched her?
Lin Heyu said: “No, their son’s condition hasn’t worsened enough for surgery indicators. Lu Caiyun sent Gardenia to the city, probably to do the matching.”
They had already arranged to investigate relevant information about Gardenia at major hospitals. Currently, police resources in Nanyi were severely dispersed, with several clues being investigated simultaneously. The earliest car carrying five million had seemingly vanished, and despite nearly turning Nanyi upside down, they had not found the car.
Yi Shi was silent for a few seconds before speaking: “This is just a guess from me and Yu Xue, but we both think it’s true.”
Lin Heyu perked up.
“We suspect that Pang Daozi and the Tu Laogui have been able to hide for several days without being found, possibly because they are not in their own world.”
Lin Heyu was stunned, finally coming up with a reasonable explanation for the strange situation at the small temple. Not only were there two worlds involved, but there was also a reversal of time and unknown time differences. How would this complex case ultimately conclude?
“The situation is too complicated. We can’t find anyone and are very passive in doing anything. We can only choose to draw the snake out of its hole,” Yi Shi muttered. “I don’t want to wear a skirt…”
Lin Heyu keenly picked up on the sensitive word: “A skirt?”
“……” Yi Shi nearly bit his own tongue. “No, you heard wrong.” He tried to cover it up by adding, “It’s an apron.”
Lin Heyu honestly expressed his inner desire: “I want to see.”
“You heard wrong.”
“It will definitely look good.”
“…… Stop talking.” Yi Shi slid down the wall, squatting by the wall, covering half of his face. His ears were already red.
