Chapter 41: Making a Request

Ou Zichen held Zhao Jiaying in his arms and thanked Shen Linghao. If he hadn’t arrived in time to save her, the little girl in his arms might have been a lifeless body instead.

“Linghao, I sincerely thank you this time. If it weren’t for you, I might never have seen Yingbao again. To show my gratitude, you can make one request to Uncle Ou. No matter what it is, I will fulfill it.”

“That’s right, Linghao! Your Uncle Ou doesn’t make such promises easily, so you should make good use of it!” Ou Zilong said.

The eldest young master of the Shen family lacked nothing—if anything, he was only missing a little wife. But he couldn’t bring that up now, as Zhao Jiaying was still too young, and it wouldn’t be appropriate.

“Uncle Ou, I haven’t thought of anything yet. Can I tell you later when I’ve made up my mind?”

“Of course. It will be valid forever!”

Shen Linghao gently patted Zhao Jiaying’s head and said softly: “Yingbao, Brother will be going home now. If you don’t want to go to school for the time being, Brother can come to your house and teach you. How about that?”

After experiencing such a terrifying event, Shen Linghao assumed Zhao Jiaying wouldn’t want to go back to school for a while. It didn’t matter anyway—he already knew everything in the textbooks, so attending school or not made no difference to him. More importantly, he wanted to stay by Zhao Jiaying’s side and help her through this difficult time.

Zhao Jiaying naturally wanted Shen Linghao to come and keep her company, but she needed to get Ou Zichen’s approval first. She widened her big eyes and looked at Ou Zichen, asking: “Daddy, can Brother Linghao come to our house and study with Yingbao?”

“Of course. Brother Linghao can come to our house anytime!”

Hearing Ou Zichen’s approval, Zhao Jiaying happily looked at Shen Linghao and said: “Brother, that’s great! Daddy agreed, so now you can come over and stay with Yingbao every day!”

Zhao Jiaying gave Shen Linghao a sweet smile, revealing two deep dimples. Although her face was now dirty and disheveled, it could not hide her sweet expression.  

So adorable, so cute! Shen Linghao felt himself completely captivated, entirely drawn to her.  

To save Zhao Jiaying today, Shen Linghao had also ended up in a messy and filthy state, yet he did not care in the slightest. If it had been any other time, he would have washed himself ten times over before stepping out of the bathroom.  

When he returned home, his mother, Liu Lanzhi, was shocked to see him covered in mud from head to toe.  

“Linghao, what happened? Why are you covered in mud?”  

Shen Linghao did not explain.  

“Mom, I’ll go upstairs and take a shower first.”  

Since Shen Linghao refused to say anything, Liu Lanzhi had no choice but to turn to Shen Yi.  

“Shen Yi, tell me, what exactly happened? Why did Young Master end up like this?”  

She knew her son was obsessed with cleanliness. No matter the situation, he would never let himself become this filthy. Something must have happened for him to be in such a state.  

Shen Yi did not keep it from her and recounted everything that had happened in detail.  

After listening, Liu Lanzhi was furious at first.  

“These people are simply too vile! How could they do something so cruel to such a young child?” Then she asked Shen Yi: “That little Yingbao, is she alright now?”  

Shen Yi told Liu Lanzhi Zhao Jiaying’s name as well.  

“She’s physically fine, but she was badly frightened. She must have suffered some emotional trauma, and it will likely take some time for her to recover.”  

Shen Yi had seen how Zhao Jiaying trembled, still in shock. It was clear she had been terrified.  

But that was understandable. Even an adult would be scared in such a situation, let alone a young child like her.  

“What a pitiful child, having to go through all this at such a young age. It must be so hard for her.” Liu Lanzhi sighed before asking: “You just said Linghao likes her. Is that true?”  

Over the years, her son had always kept to himself, never interacting with others or making any friends. As his mother, she had even worried he might develop autism. Now, hearing from Shen Yi that Shen Linghao treated Zhao Jiaying differently and liked her, Liu Lanzhi was ecstatic. This proved her son was still normal.  

“Yes, I believe so. I’ve never seen Young Master so nervous or gentle with anyone before. So I think he must like Yingbao—Young Miss. And he even said that starting tomorrow, he will go to the Ou family’s house to stay with Yingbao—Young Miss—until she is willing to return to school.”  

Liu Lanzhi thought to herself that if Zhao Jiaying could bring about a change in her son, it would not be a bad thing. If that were the case, she would definitely help her son keep Zhao Jiaying by his side.  

“Alright, I understand. If anything happens with Young Master, you must inform me immediately. You’ve had a long day—go and rest now.”  

“Yes, Madam!”

—-

Ou Zichen carried Zhao Jiaying back home. When Lin Zhenzhu saw Zhao Jiaying covered in mud and looking utterly disheveled, she immediately stepped forward to ask,  

“Yingbao, what happened? How did you end up like this? What’s going on?”  

Zhao Jiaying lay in Ou Zichen’s arms without speaking or even looking at Lin Zhenzhu.  

“Grandma, I’ll take Yingbao upstairs to bathe and change first.”  

Then he turned to the housekeeper, Madam Liu, and instructed: “Bring my and Yingbao’s meals to my bedroom later.”  

“Yes, Young Master!”  

Ou Zichen carried Zhao Jiaying upstairs. Lin Zhenzhu wanted to ask more, but Ou Zilong stopped her and whispered,  

“Grandma, Yingbao was kidnapped today.”  

“What? Kidnapped?” Lin Zhenzhu was shocked and let out a sharp cry.  

“Shh…” Ou Zilong quickly pulled her back and made a silencing gesture. “Grandma, keep your voice down.”  

“What happened? Tell me everything, quickly!”  

Ou Zilong knew he couldn’t hide it from her, so he recounted everything that had happened in detail.  

After hearing the full story, Lin Zhenzhu was furious.  

“These heartless people! How dare they do this to our Yingbao! Why hasn’t heaven struck them down yet?”  

As she spoke, Lin Zhenzhu became overwhelmed with sorrow and started crying.  

“Wu wu… My poor Yingbao! She’s still so young, yet she has to endure such suffering!”  

Ou Zilong comforted her: “Grandma, don’t be sad. Fortunately, she is safe and unharmed. Don’t worry, my brother has already asked the Public Security Bureau to arrest the culprit. They will catch him and find out who’s behind this.”  

Seeing that Zhao Jiaying was safe, Lin Zhenzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva bless her!  

“Zilong, you all must find out who is behind this. We cannot allow them to hurt Yingbao again.”  

“Don’t worry, Grandma. We will definitely catch them. Anyone who dares to harm our Yingbao will not be spared.”  

Lin Zhenzhu wiped the tears from her face and asked: “Can I go upstairs to see Yingbao now?”  

She recalled how Zhao Jiaying had ignored her completely when she returned, not even saying a word. It was clear that she had been badly frightened, and Lin Zhenzhu was eager to check on her.  

“Grandma, it’s best not to go just yet. Yingbao was terrified today. Let my brother stay with her for now.”  

Lin Zhenzhu nodded in distress. There was no other choice.