"Xiaonian," Xiaofeng said, grasping Xiaonian’s hand and channeling some Spiritual Energy into her. "This would help your wound heal. I was worried about you too. Seeing that you’re fine, I’m just so happy."
"Sis, I’m fine. I’m Xiaonian. Grandfather always said I have nine lives. There’s no way I’d die," Xiaonian said optimistically. "As for those thugs, once you’re better, we’ll settle the score with them."
"You silly girl, I may have said you have nine lives, but that doesn’t mean you should be reckless," an old man nearing seventy appeared in front of Xiaonian’s hospital room, dressed in formal attire. "As for those hoodlums, I’ve captured all of them already. According to their confessions, it was just a paid job."
The elder spoke with vigor and an aura of righteousness. Just looking at him, one could feel an overwhelming sense of positivity.
"Grandpa, I knew you were the most efficient," Xiaonian said coquettishly. "But you can’t just let them off. I want to meet them too."
Dammit, if someone dares to mess with me, I absolutely won’t let them off.
"I’ve kept them for you," the old man looked at her. Despite the great ordeal she endured, she still looked spirited, which must mean she was alright now.
He looked up and saw Xiaofeng beside the bed.
That face, that figure, and those eyes...
They were strikingly similar.
She resembled his wife when she was young, so much so that if he weren’t well into his sixties, he might have thought he’d seen his young wife again.
"Dad, this is Xiaofeng, my goddaughter from Xijiang County," Chu Qing knew her father would be reminded of her mom at the sight of Xiaofeng.
"So similar, too similar," the elder Chu exclaimed. "If it weren’t for your mom already having passed away, I’d think she had come back."
She looked almost exactly like his wife when she was younger.
"Sis, this is Grandpa. Call him Grandpa," Xiaonian had gone to find Grandpa today, intending to ask him to offer protection for Sister Xiaofeng, among other things.
She hadn’t expected not only to fail to borrow people but nearly became one of the borrowed herself.
"Hello, Grandpa," Xiaofeng said, looking at the old man before her, unable to express the feelings stirring within her. It was like a plant that had been away from soil for a long time, suddenly returning to the earth, rooting firmly and securely.
"Good, good," Elder Chu was deeply moved. "It is fate indeed. You are Qingqing’s goddaughter, and from now on, you are also my granddaughter."
"Young Master, Miss Xiaonian has been stabbed and is now in the hospital," someone reported.
"Who did it? The Xu Family?"
"There are no leads yet. Elder Chu has the suspects in his custody. He wants you to come over and handle it," whether it was the Xu Family would have to be confirmed.
"Let’s go." Xu Xuezi shouldn’t have the capability to act so quickly, fiercely, and accurately. Who could it be then?
These people were obviously specially trained. Despite all the questioning, the only response was that someone had paid them to do the job, and they took the money to eliminate the problem; there was no more information.
Ye Cheng looked at these people, a slight curl appearing at his lips, "I’m not afraid of you being tight-lipped; it’s you who should be afraid." Turning to Ye Fei, he said, "Bring out my ’little darlings.’ Let’s see who’s tougher, them or you." He certainly had his ways to deal with tight-lipped individuals.
As they looked at the things brought before them, the captured individuals furrowed their brows. When the first person’s heart-wrenching scream echoed, fear began to rise in the hearts of the others.
"I’m not afraid you won’t confess. I won’t hide the fact that I’ve been nurturing these things with a special solution. Once they bite you, you’ll start having hallucinations, and your consciousness will involuntarily follow my lead, which mean, whatever I ask, your brain will respond immediately," Ye Cheng said, sitting across from them with a cold expression and an indifferent tone, "Think it over for yourselves, whether you choose to confess on your own or have me extract the answers. You should be clear, these two methods will directly affect my attitude towards you."
"If I extract the answers my way, you know what your outcome will be," Ye Cheng said as he stared at them with piercing eyes, his face bearing the authority of a superior, commanding awe without anger.
As soon as Xiaofeng returned home, Mrs. Yu approached her with a guilty expression: "Miss, I’m terribly sorry. I intended to dry the baby’s clothes, but I lost track of time and scorched a few of your garments that needed washing. I’m really sorry." Mrs. Yu handed over the yellowed and partially charred clothes with a look of self-reproach.
This kind of mistake had almost never happened before.
Xiaofeng stared at the yellowed, scorched clothes in front of her, stunned.
The clothes were barely recognizable. Only shadows of their original form could be vaguely made out. She grabbed them and examined them closely, confirming they were all overcooked.
"Miss, I’m sorry, I truly am," Mrs. Yu said, continuously apologizing as she observed Xiaofeng’s expression.
She hadn’t meant to do it. It had been a long time since she’d taken care of Xiaobao, and suddenly having to look after two babies distracted her, so she forgot about the clothes baking in front of the stove.
By the time she remembered, the clothes had already been overcooked and were unusable.
"What happened, what’s going on?" Chu Qing entered from behind. Her father was temporarily in the hospital, and she had returned to fetch some clothes for Xiaonian.
"Madam, I accidentally over-dried a few of Miss Su’s old clothes."
"Let me see," Chu Qing said, reaching for the clothes in Xiaofeng’s hand. The patterns on the clothes were mostly blurred, and several areas were scorched; wearing them was definitely out of the question.
However, these patterns seemed familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before.
"Xiaofeng, these clothes definitely can’t be worn, but they were clothes from your childhood and should hold sentimental value. It’s truly a pity they ended up ," Chu Qing lamented. Mrs. Xiaofeng had kept them well for decades only for this to happen as soon as they were taken out...
Xiaofeng also felt very regretful.
These clothes were the only clue she had to finding her biological parents, and now that they were ruined, her origins might forever remain a mystery.
But this wasn’t Mrs. Yu’s fault; she was taking care of two babies and could easily be distracted: "They were just some old clothes, after all. If they could be worn, great; if not, it wouldn’t have mattered much."
Remembering what Xiaofeng had said before going to the hospital, Chu Qing quickly spoke up: "Xiaofeng, let me see the clothes in your hands again."
Xiaofeng remembered being taken away from the hospital.
She had always suspected that her daughter Yaoyao was not her real Yaoyao. Her true Yaoyao might have been taken away by someone else.
When she left Xijiang County to see Yaoyao for the last time, she always felt that the clothes Yaoyao was wearing were not right.
Xiaofeng, puzzled by Chu Qing’s sudden agitation, still handed over the few old clothes that were overdone and unrecognizable to Chu Qing.