Chapter 113: Deceiving Children with Little Cakes

When they returned to the resting area, they saw Old Chen pouring water for Lin Xiaowan.

Lin Xiaowan blushed slightly upon seeing Luo Qianyun, who couldn’t help but smile.

Old Chen had been pressured by his family into blind dates. Luo Qianyun thought it wouldn’t be a bad match if they ended up liking each other.

Luo Qianyun lay down to rest but struggled to fall asleep without Lu Yunzheng by her side.

When she opened her eyes again, daylight had arrived, but Lu Yunzheng still hadn’t returned.

News of last night’s events had already spread. Dean Geng was sitting nearby, wiping her tears, while Grandma Liu tried to comfort her.

Approaching them, Luo Qianyun overheard Dean Geng sobbing, “That poor girl was probably bullied.”

Hearing this, Luo Qianyun paused momentarily.

Unaware of her presence, Grandma Liu sighed, “She was indeed bullied. The question now is where she might be.”

“If we had noticed her unusual belly earlier, could we have prevented what happened to the others?” Dean Geng lamented.

“Who can say for sure?” Grandma Liu said with a tone of regret. “We’re a group of old and young people. Two grown men against us—anything could happen.”

What Grandma Liu didn’t say aloud was her fear that, if things had escalated, they might even have sold the children.

At this moment, Luo Qianyun stepped forward. “Dean Geng, Grandma Liu.”

“Dr. Luo!” Dean Geng stammered nervously.

“You just mentioned that the girl’s belly looked unusual before the incident?” Luo Qianyun asked softly.

Dean Geng and Grandma Liu exchanged glances, clearly hesitant to continue the conversation.

“Cheng Dabiao has been caught. If you want him to face proper justice, this must come to light. Keeping it hidden only protects him,” Luo Qianyun reasoned.

Hearing this, Dean Geng wavered, but Grandma Liu spoke up. “Dr. Luo is right. These things can’t stay hidden.”

“But revealing it might ruin the children…” Dean Geng hesitated.

“And if that scoundrel gets out, won’t he come back for revenge?” Grandma Liu countered. “We need to ensure he never gets out.”

Convinced by Grandma Liu’s words, Dean Geng relented. “You’re right. We can’t hide this anymore.”

“Before the girl disappeared, her belly did seem larger. We even suspected she might have been assaulted and gotten pregnant. But she was eating more than usual around that time, so we thought she might just have gained weight,” Grandma Liu explained with a heavy sigh.

“If Cheng Dabiao could harm her, he might have hurt other girls in the orphanage. It’s best to have them checked at a hospital,” Luo Qianyun suggested.

“No need. We just asked the children…” Dean Geng began to cry again. “They said that scoundrel tricked them. The orphanage had little to offer, so he bought small cakes from outside to tempt the children who couldn’t resist sweets.”

Small cakes.

Luo Qianyun thought of the cake in Little Apple’s hands. It was a common item, but to the children at the orphanage, it was a rare treat.

“Little Apple had a cake too, and she said it was given to her by the missing girl,” Luo Qianyun remarked.

“That confirms it. That scoundrel probably lured the girl with a cake. She wasn’t bright, and with food in front of her, she wouldn’t have understood anything else,” Grandma Liu concluded.

Such heavy events in a small orphanage weighed on Luo Qianyun’s heart.

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“The secret room in the storage area—you didn’t know someone was hiding there?” Luo Qianyun found it odd. How could outsiders use a hidden room in the orphanage’s territory?

“We didn’t even know there was a secret room,” Grandma Liu said helplessly.

From their explanation, Luo Qianyun learned that they had recently moved to this orphanage.

It had previously been another orphanage involved in child trafficking, openly fostering children to sell.

After its exposure, those responsible were arrested, and the children were either sent away or adopted.

The government relocated Dean Geng’s group, who had been in a smaller, more rundown orphanage, to this larger, abandoned facility.

Unexpectedly, the traffickers had left a hidden room behind, which Cheng Dabiao and his accomplices had exploited.

“How did they know about a secret room you didn’t? Unless… they knew about it from before,” Luo Qianyun speculated.

When Lu Yunzheng and his team returned, the children and their belongings were already packed. Space on the inflatable boats was limited, so only essentials could be taken.

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Before departure, Luo Qianyun asked Lu Yunzheng, “Did Cheng Dabiao admit to harming the girl?”

Lu Yunzheng nodded slightly.

“I suspected as much. Was she sold after becoming pregnant?” Luo Qianyun asked.

“No,” Lu Yunzheng replied.

“She wasn’t sold?” Luo Qianyun frowned. “What do you mean?”

Lowering his voice, Lu Yunzheng whispered in her ear, “There’s an abandoned dry well in the backyard.”

Luo Qianyun froze in shock, unable to believe the implication.

“He confessed to more details. I’ll explain later,” Lu Yunzheng said, unwilling to elaborate further at the time.

As they prepared to depart, Cheng Dabiao and his accomplices, battered and bruised, were dragged out. To prevent trouble on the boats, they were securely tied up, their restraints causing discomfort with every movement.

The journey back to the safety camp was precarious but ultimately successful. Upon arrival, they heard that the mountain landslide had been cleared and supplies had been delivered by a couple surnamed Su.