This was a children’s welfare institute with rundown buildings that clearly had seen better years.
The old man guarding the gate was asleep in the guardhouse, and beside it was a small door left ajar, which likely wouldn’t even alert anyone if someone slipped in.
An Ruo went over to wake the old man and briefly explained the situation, asking him if a woman had entered.
The old man shook his head, saying no, and claimed he was there all day and would have known if someone had come in.
Unable to find out anything, An Ruo left with Aunt Zhang, wandering aimlessly down the street.
Looking for An Xin this way was evidently like looking for a needle in a haystack.
She had thought about asking Tang Yuchen for help but it was just a fleeting thought, and she hadn’t reached the point of actually asking for his assistance.
"Such bad luck, that woman was too arrogant, taking things without paying and even daring to scold me. If she hadn’t been with a child, I would have definitely slapped her."
As they passed a small store, An Ruo heard the owner complaining to a neighbor.
The neighbor said, "I thought her dress was strange. She grabbed stuff and ate it right away, looking famished. Could she have escaped from a mental hospital?"
"Probably a mental patient, a shame too, she looks quite fine, but turns out to be crazy."
Aunt Zhang quickly tugged on An Ruo’s sleeve, "Miss An, do you think that could be Miss An Xin?"
Thus, the two of them stepped forward to learn more and found out she had run that way, not more than half an hour ago. Elated, they hurriedly ran to find her.
If it really was An Xin, with her erratic behavior, she surely wouldn’t have gone far. If they ran quickly, they could probably catch up to her.
Along the way, they searched meticulously and asked many people; they all mentioned seeing a crazy woman with a child passing by.
After about fifteen minutes of searching, they finally spotted a woman up ahead.
She squatted on the ground, holding a child with one hand, and forcefully stuffing something into his mouth with the other.
An Ruo stepped forward, recognizing her from just her profile; it was indeed An Xin.
"Eat, eat quickly! Good baby, open your mouth, or mommy will get angry." In An Xin’s hand was half a cookie, which she rudely shoved into the child’s mouth.
The little boy appeared to be about two years old. He kept his mouth tightly shut, shaking his head continuously, his eyes turning red, a look of wanting to cry but holding back.
Seeing him refuse to eat, An Xin simply threw the cookie away and began pinching him forcefully with both hands.
"I told you not to eat, told you not to eat!"
An Ruo’s heart clenched instantly, her eyebrows furrowed, and she shouted, "An Xin, what are you doing?!"
An Xin shuddered all over, turning towards her with sudden fear flooding her eyes.
She instantly picked up the little boy and frantically started to run away.
"Stop, don’t run!" An Ruo naturally began to chase them, Aunt Zhang not as quick on her feet, soon fell behind.
"An Xin, stop, put down the child!" An Ruo no longer cared about dealing with An Xin; she only wanted to rescue the child.
There weren’t many people around, just a few cars passing by occasionally.
An Ruo couldn’t find anyone to help.
Seeing An Xin getting farther away, she took a deep breath and chased after her fiercely, shouting, "An Xin, if you don’t stop now, I will have Tang Yuchen kill you!"
Unexpectedly, this tactic worked. Hearing the name Tang Yuchen, An Xin’s steps abruptly halted.
She turned around and looked at An Ruo in terror, shaking her head tremblingly, "No, don’t let him kill me, please..."