Chapter 7: My Name Is Not Nian Nian

Qin Yi’an turned around and saw the person arriving. Calculating the time, she was certain that the three people in front of her were the ones she had been waiting for. The scene before her was coming to a close.

The three at the door turned toward the sound, and as soon as they saw Qin Yi’an standing behind Xu Gong’an, the man and woman standing behind him could no longer control their excitement. Overjoyed, they rushed over, but were stopped by Xu Gong’an, who extended his arm.

“Comrade, hello. My name is Qin Jiaguo, and this is my wife, Xia Xiulan. We’re here to find our daughter.” The man, presumably the father, smiled apologetically, quickly pulling out an introduction letter and his work ID from his bag and handing them over.

“I am their friend, Zhou Jinglin. I am currently working as a technical advisor at the steel factory in our county. I came here today to accompany my friends in searching for their daughter, Qin Nian Nian. I heard that Qin Nian Nian lives here.” Zhou Jinglin, holding an apple, also handed over his introduction letter and work ID.

Xu Gong’an examined these identity documents before finally lowering his hand.

Xia Xiulan immediately rushed over and grabbed Qin Yi’an’s hand, gazing at her with tears in her eyes. “My child, you must be my Sweetie. I’m your mother. You’ve suffered, haven’t you? Are you now called Nian Nian?”

Qin Yi’an could feel the intensity of her emotions, even sensing the slight tremor in the hand gripping her arm. However, she had to dampen the mood by saying, “My name isn’t Nian Nian. The Nian Nian you’re calling for is over there.”

Qin Yi’an pointed to the girl on the ground, whose mouth was covered by the police officer and who was glaring at her with resentment. “That… her?”

Xia Xiulan froze on the spot, turning to look left and right, trying to figure out which of the children in front of her was her daughter. The one standing there seemed so familiar and close, but the one on the ground? She hesitated, a suspicious look directed at Zhou Jinglin. “…?”

Zhou Jinglin: (_)

He crouched down and took a closer look. It seemed like the same child he had seen before, but now that he observed the one standing up, this child looked more like a member of the Qin family.

“Could it be a mistake? Is there some misunderstanding in the middle?”

Qin Jiaguo nodded, thinking that it must be a mix-up. The daughter in front of him looked exactly like his mother-in-law when she was young, definitely his longed-for precious daughter. As for the one on the ground… still uncertain?

Xu Gong’an spoke up: “If you’re looking for Qin Nian Nian, then you’re not mistaken. It’s her.”

“That’s right, the Qin Nian Nian you’re talking about is the one on the ground, always called Qin Nian Nian.”

“The name’s not mistaken, but whether the person is… well, let’s see… hehe…”

Some onlookers laughed, remembering what Qin Yi’an had said earlier. They knew the truth in their hearts. While the teasing was a bit inappropriate, they also recognized that this family had some issues with identifying the right person. If Yi’an hadn’t pointed it out, who knows how long this misunderstanding could have continued.

Zhou Jinglin pushed up his glasses awkwardly, realizing he hadn’t handled the situation well. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he urgently said, “Doesn’t our niece have a red birthmark on her arm? We can check and see clearly.”

“Ha ha ha—” His words caused the onlookers to burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Zhou Jinglin was even more confused now. What was there to laugh about?

At this moment, Qin Jiaguo and Xia Xiulan regained their composure. From the situation at hand and the comments of those around them, they began to piece together some clues. They didn’t rush to claim the girl as their daughter or approach to check for the birthmark. Instead, they walked up to Xu Gong’an together.

Qin Jiaguo, looking worried, asked, “Comrade, is there something major happening here regarding my daughter’s identity? Is someone deliberately impersonating her?”

“Is there something wrong with that Qin Nian Nian?” Xia Xiulan added.

Qin Yi’an silently gave them a thumbs-up in her mind. Their eyes weren’t bad after all. How had they failed to notice in her past life that Qin Nian Nian was an imposter just because the original owner wasn’t present? Her parents had died unfairly in her past life; their vision was just too poor.

“There are some issues, but don’t worry, you arrived at just the right time.” Xu Gong’an looked at the engineer standing behind them, Zhou Jinglin. “Comrade Zhou Jinglin, we need to ask you something.”

“Have you seen Qin Nian Nian before? How were you sure she was the daughter your friend lost?”

Zhou Jinglin also caught on and stepped forward a few paces to answer:

“I’ve seen her. It was in the cafeteria at the steel factory. I happened to notice the peace pendant hanging around her neck. It looked exactly like the one my friend’s lost daughter wore. I went up to ask her about it, and she said that she was found by her current parents when she was an infant, and that the peace pendant was the only thing her biological parents left for her. She said if she ever had the chance, she wanted to use it to find her real parents.”

Qin Yi’an took out the peace pendant: “Is this the one? I just got it back from Qin Nian Nian today. It was hanging around her neck, and you can still see the marks from the string on her neck.”

“Yes, that’s it! This is the one! I personally hung it around the child’s neck back then,” Xia Xiulan said eagerly, nodding.

The police officer holding Qin Nian Nian also confirmed that there were marks from a thin string on her neck.

The onlookers, having had their fill of gossip, murmured quietly: “Maybe Qin Nian Nian already knew about this. Looking at how well-off Yi’an’s real parents seem, she must have gotten some information and deliberately went to Engineer Zhou to attract attention.”

Qin Yi’an noticed the shock in Liu Guifang’s eyes, and she even shot a quiet glare at Qin Nian Nian.

It seemed that Liu Guifang didn’t know that Qin Nian Nian had already known about this and acted accordingly; she just didn’t understand how Qin Nian Nian found out.

“Was there anyone else present when you asked her?” Xu Gong’an, seeing that his colleague had finished recording, continued to inquire.

“Yes, Director Zhao from the steel factory was there. I even borrowed the peace pendant to have a look at it. It was my niece’s—on the gold rim, it had her nickname, ‘Sweetie.’ I also found out that twenty years ago, her parents weren’t from here. Only then did I dare to tell my friend this news. And now, today, we’ve come to confirm it.”

Zhou Jinglin’s face turned a bit grim. It seemed he had been deceived by that little girl.

At this moment, a police officer brought Zhang Mazi over. The officer reported to Xu Gong’an, “Captain, Zhang Mazi has admitted that he helped Qin Nian Nian make the birthmark.”

As soon as Zhang Mazi saw the situation, he became extremely anxious and quickly started explaining:

“Comrade, I don’t know anything! Liu Guifang brought Qin Nian Nian to me and just said her daughter had a small scar that didn’t look good, asking me to help fix it. I only took a pound of soybeans as payment. I don’t know anything else! I swear on the badge on my chest, everything I’m saying is the truth!”

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Xu Gong’an nodded to his colleague beside him. “Take him back to the station for a statement.”

Xu Gong’an turned around and saw three pairs of eager eyes. He had his colleague bring over the letters and handed them to them to read. While they were looking at the letters, he spoke:

“We can now basically confirm that Qin Nian Nian is not your daughter. She has maliciously impersonated your daughter in an attempt to replace her and return to your side. As for the victim, Comrade Qin Yi’an, it’s highly likely that she is your real daughter. She has suffered greatly over the years. Now, you’ll need to come with us to the police station to make a statement. There are many other matters involved, and we’ll need your cooperation.”

After reading the contents of the letters, Qin Jiaguo and Xia Xiulan’s faces turned red with anger. Xia Xiulan, in particular, was in tears, rushing forward in an attempt to strike the people who had stolen her daughter and hurt her.