Chapter 51.2

On October 17th, Jiang Rou tore off the calendar from the wall and suddenly turned to Li Xiao, asking, “Has An An’s birthday passed again?”

An An’s birthday was on October 17th according to the Gregorian calendar, if converted to the lunar calendar, it was on August 27th, but today was already September 20th in the lunar calendar.

Li Xiao looked up from the dinner table, feeling a bit confused by the question. The two of them looked at each other in bewilderment and then simultaneously turned their gaze to the little one sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Li Xiao had never celebrated his birthday throughout his life, and he had never paid much attention to birthdays, nor had he thought to remember them specifically. Jiang Rou, on the other hand, was a typical scatterbrain. She could not even remember her own birthday and relied on her mother to remind her each year.

Last year, Jiang Rou had also forgotten An An’s lunar birthday and only realized a few days later that she had missed it. The three of them ended up buying a small cake for An An, though An An had only eaten a few bites while the rest went into Jiang Rou’s stomach.

Jiang Rou had initially promised to remember this year, but she ended up forgetting again.

Li Xiao glanced at An An once more and said, “Well, we can celebrate today then. It’s the same anyway.”

It could only be that way, mainly because there were no additional functions on the phone at the moment, otherwise, they could have set a reminder.

Jiang Rou asked the little one on the sofa, “An An, do you want to go to the amusement park or watch a movie this afternoon?”

She only had half a day of classes today, so she could take An An out for some fun.

As soon as An An heard that they would go out to play, she immediately turned her head towards Jiang Rou and said in a babyish voice, “Amusement park.”

She still remembered how much fun she had had at the amusement park last time.

Jiang Rou actually wanted to go to the movies, as the amusement park required careful watching, unlike the cinema where they could just sit.

However, she still said, “Alright then, Mommy will take you to the amusement park this afternoon.”

An An jumped up happily from the sofa, “Mommy is so nice.”

Jiang Rou smiled and said, “That’s because today is An An’s birthday.”

An An, with a naive expression, said, “An An wants to have a birthday every day.”

“That won’t work. There’s only one birthday a year. The next one will be next year.”

An An frowned, seeming not to understand how long a year would be.

Li Xiao, sitting at the dining table, said, “The amusement park, huh? I’ll come pick you up in the afternoon.”

“Okay.”

—o—o—o—

After finishing classes at noon, Jiang Rou took An An to a cake shop at the school gate to order an eight-inch chestnut cake, and then they went home for a meal. After having a full meal and a nap, Jiang Rou knocked on the neighbor’s door and said, “Today is An An’s birthday. I’m planning to take her to the amusement park. Are you coming along?”

Wang Yan didn’t know what the amusement park was. She looked at Mother Zhou, who saw the eager look in Zhou Hong’s eyes and immediately decided, “Yes, we’ll go. Wait for us a moment.”

“Alright.”

Then, the three adults and three children took the bus together to the amusement park.

Wang Yan and her group had been in the area for a few days, and since they were unfamiliar with the place, they had only stayed at home watching TV.

However, Zhou Jian had already made connections to prepare for sending Zhou Hong to a nearby elementary school. Since he was still young, he was going to repeat the first grade for a year and would be starting school in a few days.

At that time, Mother Zhou would be responsible for picking up and dropping off the child and cooking, while Wang Yan would help out in the factory cafeteria. The factory was just starting up, so the cafeteria salary wasn’t expected to be high, but it should be a few hundred yuan.

Even if it were only a small amount, Wang Yan was willing to help out.

The amusement park was very close to the pedestrian street. After getting off the bus, Jiang Rou specifically took them on a detour through the pedestrian street and pointed out a shop at the entrance: “This is where Li Xiao and Zhou Jian used to run their breakfast shop. It was very profitable.”

Wang Yan and Mother Zhou had heard about the breakfast shop from Zhou Jian before. They had been worried about the brothers struggling in the south, but fortunately, they managed to solve their problems themselves later.

After listening to Jiang Rou and seeing that the sign on the door said “Shop for Transfer,” Wang Yan muttered. “You deserve it.”

Jiang Rou glanced at the small shop next to the breakfast shop that sold wreaths and funeral clothing. Passersby seemed to avoid it, which made her smile.

It was something only Li Xiao would do.

At the time, Chang Yong had even come to find Li Xiao over this matter. Li Xiao pretended to be innocent, saying that since the breakfast shop couldn’t operate, he simply transferred the small shop, and he couldn’t control what the new owner sold.

Whether Chang Yong ever went to negotiate with someone was unknown to Jiang Rou. However, seeing that the small shop was for sale, it was likely that he didn’t get a favorable outcome.

Jiang Rou led them around the pedestrian street and the park behind it before arriving at the amusement park entrance. They paid the fee and went in together.

As soon as they entered, they saw an old man pushing a bicycle full of balloons. Jiang Rou bought three balloons for the children.

Wang Yan wanted to pay, but Jiang Rou stopped her, saying, “It’s not much. You can pay later, and I won’t be polite about it.”

Wang Yan sighed with relief, not wanting to always take advantage of Jiang Rou.

An An slid off Jiang Rou’s lap, holding one balloon in each hand and holding her mother’s hand with the other. She bounced happily and turned to Zhou Hong, saying, “Big Bro, stay close.”

Mother Zhou laughed, “Oh, An An means we need to stay close to you, right?”

An An nodded seriously.

Mother Zhou and Wang Yan laughed again, “This child is so young, but she’s so smart. She knows that we need to stay close to her.”

Jiang Rou also smiled. It wasn’t something she had taught An An; perhaps it was because An An had been outside from a young age. Whenever they were out, An An was very attached to her and Li Xiao, never running off on her own.

Jiang Rou held An An’s hand and walked ahead, introducing the rides as they went. They enjoyed the Ferris wheel, carousel, and water park together. For some of the more thrilling rides, Jiang Rou didn’t join them but watched from the side. However, Zhou Hong, who was quite daring, wanted to try the roller coaster. Jiang Rou allowed him to give it a go.

They saw Zhou Hong happily getting on the ride, but when he got off, his face was pale, and he almost fell over as he took a few steps.

Mother Zhou laughed heartily and quickly went over to pick him up, “Aren’t you here to have fun?”

Zhou Hong looked a bit embarrassed.

An An went up to comfort him, “Big Bro, you were amazing.”

After hearing this, Zhou Hong puffed out his small chest proudly.

Jiang Rou looked at An An who was walking backwards and felt a warm feeling in her heart: ‘She’s truly a little angel.’

She couldn’t help but reach out and pat her head.

An An looked up at her and said, “Mommy, the cotton candy is amazing. Don’t laugh.”

As she spoke, she waved her hands seriously.

Jiang Rou gently replied, “Okay, Mommy won’t laugh.”

An An was satisfied and tugged at her hand, walking step by step toward the cotton candy stand.

There were quite a few people around the cotton candy stand, so Jiang Rou held An An’s hand and waited at the edge. Nearby, there was a bench where a finely dressed little boy sat. The boy was very handsome, with red lips and white teeth, bright black eyes, and hair that was meticulously styled with mousse.

Jiang Rou couldn’t help but take a couple of extra glances. An An, still holding her hand, quietly said, “Mommy, that boy has candy.”

Jiang Rou was both amused and helpless, not realizing that An An had noticed the colorful lollipop in the boy’s hand.

“Mommy will buy you some right away.”

The little one happily replied, “Okay.”

Just as it was almost their turn, Li Xiao and Zhou Jian arrived. Zhou Jian had never been to an amusement park before, so he lifted Zhou Hong onto his shoulders and took the whole family to try out the thrilling rides.

Li Xiao had no interest in that. He also lifted An An onto his shoulders and turned to walk towards the cartoon characters. With An An sitting on his shoulders, her view suddenly broadened, and she happily hugged her father, laughing. In a sweet, childish voice, she said, “Daddy, I love you so much.”

Li Xiao smiled.

Jiang Rou asked someone to take a photo of their family of three.

After the photo was taken, Jiang Rou wanted to go to the restroom. She handed her bag to Li Xiao and asked him to wait there for a moment. Li Xiao did not listen and followed her with An An to the restroom, waiting outside the door.

There were quite a few people in the women’s restroom, and Jiang Rou waited inside for a while. When she came out and washed her hands, she hurried toward the exit, fearing that Li Xiao and An An might be waiting impatiently. However, whether it was because she walked too quickly or because the other person did not see her, she bumped into a woman who was turning the corner at the door.

The woman did not even glance at her, wrapping the child she was holding tightly in her clothes as she walked inside. Her face remained unusually calm and indifferent.

Jiang Rou did not pay it much attention and instinctively said, “Sorry,” but when she looked again, the woman had already bypassed her and quickly walked into the restroom, without giving a response.

Frowning, Jiang Rou could not help but look back, but she saw nothing— the woman had disappeared into the restroom.

When Jiang Rou came out of the restroom, she saw Li Xiao and An An crouched down near the entrance, looking at the ground. Li Xiao was drawing something in the dirt with a stick, and An An was imitating him, clumsily poking the ground with her hands.

Li Xiao saw her first and stood up, “What do you want to do next?”

An An tugged at her father’s pants and stood up, looked up at him, and said, “Play bumper cars.”

She remembered the bumper cars they had played last time.

Li Xiao readily agreed, “Sure.”

Jiang Rou walked over, took the thermos from Li Xiao’s bag, and crouched down to give An An a couple of sips of water.

Li Xiao walked ahead, with Jiang Rou holding An An’s hand and following behind. The more they walked, the more uneasy Jiang Rou felt. Her sixth sense told her that something was off about the woman she had encountered earlier.

Back in school, her teachers had told her not to dismiss her sixth sense, especially when you feel that something is off—it was actually her accumulated knowledge that was poking her to stay alert, although she didn’t know how to describe it.

Suddenly, Jiang Rou stepped forward and grabbed Li Xiao, and said seriously, “Wait, let’s go later.”

She then pulled him back and waited in front of the restroom’s entrance.

Li Xiao allowed her to pull him and stand at the door, looking puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

An An also looked up at her mother with a curious expression.

Jiang Rou frowned and told Li Xiao about what she encountered earlier: “Maybe I’m being overly cautious, but I just felt something was off, so I’m a bit worried. I want to wait and see if that person has come out. I hope they haven’t left yet.”

Li Xiao noticed Jiang Rou’s concerned expression and did not dismiss her worries. He simply agreed, “Then let’s wait a bit longer.”

Jiang Rou gave him a grateful look. She really appreciates his willingness to support her without any hestitations.

However, after waiting for a long time, they still haven’t seen the woman come out. Jiang Rou couldn’t help but become anxious. “Do you think she might have already left?”

Without hesitation, Li Xiao said, “No, if she was really a human trafficker, she would have done something to the child—either cut the hair or change the clothes, or both. All these things take time.”

Jiang Rou was surprised by how well he seemed to understand these tactics.

Li Xiao suddenly asked, “What was the woman wearing?”

Jiang Rou thought for a moment, unsure, and said, “It seemed like a plain black coat.”

“You said that after you bumped into her, she wrapped the child tightly in her clothes?”

“Yes.”

As soon as she answered, Jiang Rou realized something. She looked up at Li Xiao and thought, yes, she was wearing a coat, so how could she cover the child with her clothes?

Of course, it was also possible that she had brought an extra large coat specifically for this purpose.

Li Xiao asked again, “What was her expression like when you bumped into her?”

Jiang Rou frowned and said, “That’s what confused me the most. If someone bumped into An An, I’d definitely be upset, but the woman’s expression was calm. She didn’t even frown, just immediately covered the child with her clothes and went inside. I said ‘sorry,’ but she didn’t even look at me.”

She had already felt something was off, and now, with Li Xiao’s questions, she felt there were even more suspicious aspects.

Li Xiao lightly hummed in agreement. “If she were a trafficker, she must be experienced.”

Hearing this, Jiang Rou felt a pang of anxiety. “Do you think so too?”

Li Xiao glanced at the restroom door and narrowed his eyes. “I trust your judgment.”

They waited at the door for a long time. As more and more people came out, and even Li Xiao began to show signs of impatience, a young and beautiful woman walked out from the right side of the restroom. She wore high heels and held a sleeping child in her arms. The child had fair skin, but their hair was very short and glued to their scalp, making the face invisible. The woman had wrapped the child in her clothes.

Jiang Rou’s eyes lit up as she recognized the woman. “It’s her; she has a gold bracelet on her wrist.”

Yes, Jiang Rou remembered that the woman’s wrist had flashed with gold when she had raised her hand.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao rushed forward and directly stopped the woman. An An looked at her father in confusion and then turned to Jiang Rou. “Mommy?”

Jiang Rou picked her up. “It’s okay, Daddy is doing something good.”

The woman holding the child began to yell, “Who are you? Someone help me! This person is a trafficker; I don’t know him at all!”

Li Xiao sneered. “How do you know I’m a trafficker? Or are you the one involved in trafficking?”

The crowd at the restroom entrance, already dense, gradually surrounded Li Xiao and the woman. Seeing that Li Xiao looked fierce, a few men approached to pull him away, but Li Xiao kicked them away, and shouted: “Get lost!”

Worried about Li Xiao being at a disadvantage, Jiang Rou quickly squeezed through with An An and shouted, “If anyone is a trafficker, we’ll report it to the police. Everyone, please don’t intervene. This is my husband, and we are a family of three. We suspect that this woman is a trafficker.”

Seeing Jiang Rou and An An pushing through the crowd, and hearing her words, the men surrounding Li Xiao hesitated and gradually stepped back, unsure of who was telling the truth.

“Uh…”

“They are the traffickers. This is their scheme. Don’t be fooled. Please help me…”

Jiang Rou quickly said, “Does anyone have a phone? Help us make a call. We’re not afraid to call the police. Since we can’t clear this up, let’s wait for the police to come.”

When the woman, who was being held by Li Xiao, saw someone actually take out a phone, her face changed instantly, and she began to struggle fiercely.

The onlookers were not foolish; they quickly realized who was hiding something.

During the struggle, the woman’s outer suit loosened, revealing that a child was tied to her body. Despite the commotion, the child did not wake up—it only means that the child might have been drugged.

An An, still in Jiang Rou’s arms, frowned and suddenly said, “It’s the boy with the candy.”

Jiang Rou was startled and looked at the child in the woman’s arms, then recognized him as the little boy she had seen earlier while buying cotton candy.

Li Xiao waited until the police arrived before releasing the woman. The officers seemed to know Li Xiao, they greeted him with a smile and a pat on the shoulder. Their family of three got into the police car and went to give their statements.

On the way, Li Xiao clarified to Jiang Rou that he had previously encountered these police officers during his time in a pyramid scheme.

Jiang Rou felt a bit embarrassed, not expecting to run into acquaintances at the police station.

During the ride, Li Xiao called Zhou Jian, gave a brief explanation, and told him to return home first.

—o—o—o—

At the police station, Li Xiao was quite familiar with the process, but An An was curious and looked around. The policewoman, finding her adorable, even gave her some candy.

An An smiled sweetly and was very happy.

After arriving at the police station, the little boy woke up. He couldn’t remember his family well, but he was sensitive to numbers and recalled a string of digits that sounded like a phone number, though it wasn’t complete.

Li Xiao was about to leave but, upon hearing the phone number, he sat back down and asked, “Does your father’s surname happen to be You?”

The little boy, still groggy, replied, “Uncle, I can’t remember, but it sounds really familiar.”

The nearby officer explained, “The doctor said the amount of drug was too high, so it’s normal for him to have memory loss.”

Li Xiao then provided a complete phone number, “Why don’t you call this and check?”

The officer looked at him and dialed the number.

The man on the other end of the line seemed to be in a meeting. Upon hearing the police’s words, he responded politely, “You must have made a mistake; my son is currently attending his piano lessons…”

After hearing this, the police hesitated, wondering if there had been a mistake. Li Xiao stood up, took the phone, and spoke directly, “Brother You, it’s me, Li Xiao.”

While holding the phone, Li Xiao turned to the dazed boy and described his appearance. The man on the other end became increasingly silent. Finally, Li Xiao asked, “Does your son have any birthmarks or marks on him?”

The man’s voice became rough. “He doesn’t have a birthmark, but he has a black mole behind his right ear.”

The nearby officer, having heard this, stood up to check behind the boy’s ear and nodded to Li Xiao.

Li Xiao relayed this information to the man.

The man’s breathing became heavy, and his tone lost its previous calmness. He said urgently, “I’m coming right away.”

They then heard a loud “screech” as the man’s chair scraped across the floor.

Li Xiao returned to sit next to Jiang Rou. She looked at him and asked quietly, “Is it Mr. You?”

Jiang Rou was surprised at the coincidence.

While they waited, An An slid off her mother’s lap and, holding onto Jiang Rou’s leg, peeked at the little boy. When the boy noticed her, An An smiled sweetly.

The little boy smiled back.

Mr. You arrived quickly without anyone accompanying him like usual. When he burst into the office and saw his son with his short haircut, he nearly collapsed. “Lele—”

He rushed forward and embraced his son.

Seeing his father, the little boy seemed to recall something and his eyes turned red as he called out, “Dad.”

Li Xiao, sensing that his presence was no longer needed, excused himself with a brief greeting and left. Mr. You’s gratitude towards Li Xiao was beyond words at this point. “Thank you, thank you…”

He could only keep repeating these 2 words.

Once outside, Jiang Rou casually asked, “What’s the child’s name?”

Li Xiao frowned. “I think it’s Song Boqing. He takes his mother’s surname, Song, with the ‘Bo’ from ‘uncle’ and ‘Qing’ from ‘beautiful lady.’ It’s quite complicated. Mr. You even consulted a master, who said the name was fitting for him as it was his name in his past life.”

He spoke in a casual tone as if it were merely a joke.

But upon hearing the name, Jiang Rou’s expression suddenly grew strange. She was familiar with it because, when she first entered the police station, she had heard from her seniors about a trafficking case. She remembered that the man’s real name was Song Boqing. The name was praised by several women at the station for its pleasant sound, reminiscent of an ancient poet, and Jiang Rou had memorized it after hearing it just once.

In an era where names like “Wei,” “Qiang,” and “Jian” were common, a name as unique as this was rare.

The trafficked man, later named Liu Lele, was said to have been like a fool when he was first brought home by his adoptive parents. Only when you call him “Lele” would he respond.

He was supposed to have an infinitely bright future but was instead caught in endless tragedy due to trafficking. Early in his life, he faced abuse from his adoptive parents, was forced to drop out of school to support his family, and later worked multiple jobs to save money for his father’s medical expenses.

Seeing no other hope, he resorted to theft, which led to accidental murder during his first crime. It wasn’t until he arrived at the police station that he learned his abusive family was not his real family. His real parents had died in a car accident while searching for him. His adoptive parents, dressed in expensive suits, visited him only once at the police station and never appeared again.

Jiang Rou had been deeply affected by this story for days.

When she first crossed over, she wanted to prevent all this from happening, but she knew little about the man and didn’t know where his hometown was. She only knew where her adoptive parents were located and planned to report it in a few years to help find his real family.

No wonder she found Mr. You’s name familiar before—it wasn’t because it resembled the author of *Journey to the West*, but because she had heard his name in her past life.

—o—o—o—

Lucia: Oh, he was the pitiful boy that was mentioned in the previous chapters. —o—o—o—