The little cub looked utterly confused, completely baffled, and really didn’t understand what the stepfather was up to. He struggled to get up and took the book “Criminal Law” with great effort. It was so big and thick that his small hands could barely hold it, so he ended up hugging it to his chest.

Cheng Leyan earnestly advised, gently guiding him, “Baby, let me tell you, ‘Criminal Law’ is a treasure book. All the most profitable businesses in the world are hidden inside.”

The little cub suddenly understood and nodded vigorously. 

Was the stepfather asking him to study “Criminal Law” and then use the most profitable businesses inside to help the family out of poverty? He would work hard!

The next second, Cheng Leyan said, “So we must not do the things mentioned inside, like locking people up, locking people up, and locking people up. We can’t do any of those things, okay?”

Little cub: Huh? Where did that “so” come from??

He tilted his head, his eyes filled with clear confusion. Cheng Leyan was utterly charmed by his little expression, picking him up for kisses, hugs, and lifting him high, finally feeling satisfied.

“Criminal Law” was indeed urgent, but playing with the baby was also important.

At first, Zhuozhuo remained reserved, but when Cheng Leyan started nudging his head against Zhuozhuo’s belly, saying “bull horn attack,” the little cub couldn’t help but laugh, and the laughter grew louder.

This was the first time Cheng Leyan heard Zhuozhuo’s laughter. It was crisp and pleasant. Indeed, when children laugh, it makes the whole world seem brighter.

Later, Cheng Leyan temporarily left, and as soon as he stepped out, Zhuozhuo pulled out the old phone from the teddy bear and sent a message to Brother Gu Qin. 

He had fallen asleep last night and didn’t report his safety in time, making Gu Qin very worried, sending seven or eight messages in a row.

Zhuozhuo, using simple and plain language, briefly explained his kidnapping by bad people and added: [Brother Gu Qin, Cheng Leyan has really changed for the better. He saved me with a big sword. Aunt Zhang was also caught by the police uncle.]

He clumsily typed out, word by word, what Cheng Leyan had said to him before bed. He had so little, and these words were like precious treasures to him. He cherished them and wanted to share them with the closest person.

After sending the message, Zhuozhuo felt a bit anxious, worried that Brother Gu Qin would say something like “Cheng Leyan is definitely pretending, deceiving you” again.

But he didn’t.

Gu Qin replied with a voice message, the voice of an eight-year-old boy with a sobbing tone, choking as he said, “That’s great, Zhuozhuo, your stepfather is a good person, that’s great! Zhuozhuo, I’m so happy, he protected you with a big sword, and he said he will always believe in you, always stand by your side, how can he be so good!”

“Zhuozhuo, I misunderstood him before, he really is a good person. I was worried all night and didn’t sleep well, but with him protecting you, I can sleep well from now on. Your stepfather won’t change back, right? It would be great if he stayed like this.”

Zhuozhuo held the Pikachu plush in one hand and the old phone in the other. He clenched them tightly. He thought: Yes, it would be great if it stayed like this.

After breakfast, Cheng Leyan fulfilled his promise and took Zhuozhuo to the mall to complete the unfinished trip from last time. However, they went to a different mall. Not only did Zhuozhuo have a psychological shadow, but Cheng Leyan himself was also traumatized, especially since so many people saw him waving a flying big ding-ding last time.

This mall also had Zhuozhuo’s favorite tin man brand, and when they went to buy it, they found it cost over two thousand yuan! Over two thousand yuan!

These damn rich people! How can they not include me when making money, but think of me when spending it!!

He gritted his teeth, biting down hard. But in the end, he still bought it.

Then he noticed Zhuozhuo staring intently at the small train running in circles inside the mall. He was completely fixated, his eyes filled with longing.

Cheng Leyan asked about the price and found out the small train cost 45 yuan per circle. 45 yuan! Might as well rob!

Cheng Leyan almost fainted. Are kids’ things this expensive now!?

Although he could get reimbursed by Butler Li, it was still too expensive!

Zhuozhuo, being very sensible, saw his stepfather’s twisted expression after asking the price and knew their family couldn’t afford it. He immediately shook his head and held his stepfather’s hand to leave. Seeing this, Cheng Leyan felt guilty instead.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, saying, “Ride!”

He spent a fortune to let Zhuozhuo ride the small train.

419: [Host, I suggest you stop gritting your teeth.]

Cheng Leyan: [I can’t help it, System Father! It’s 45 yuan!]

419: [No, I mean, if you break your teeth, you’ll have to pay to fix them.]

Cheng Leyan: …

After riding the 45-yuan small train, Cheng Leyan pretty much let go and bought a lot of other things for Zhuozhuo: like a teddy bear, a game table, toy cars, new clothes, jackets, sleeping bags, and various small toys.

To be honest, it was a bit painful to pay, but seeing Zhuozhuo’s bright eyes and happy face while hugging the toys made it all worth it.

And besides, he had nothing when he was a kid, so it felt like he was buying these things for his younger self.

No, he wouldn’t be willing to buy them for himself.

Zhuozhuo’s room, which was originally empty, now, in just one day, had many things added to it.

This was the first time Zhuozhuo realized he had so many things, so many that he couldn’t hold them all with his hands.

Originally, he wanted to give the Pikachu plush to Brother Gu Qin, but now Zhuozhuo felt he wanted to keep it for himself and could give something else to Brother Gu Qin.

Because he once thought it was the only good thing he owned, but now he knew it wasn’t like that.

His stepfather said he would have many, many things.

In the following days, Zhuozhuo’s appetite steadily increased, and Cheng Leyan submitted his first work report to Mama Rong, receiving a “good job” reply and a thumbs-up emoji.

Cheng Leyan: Thank you, just a normal performance from the sales champion.

Besides the daily “Criminal Law” lessons, he also started taking Zhuozhuo to professional institutions for language intervention classes.

At first, Zhuozhuo was very nervous, afraid of encountering a teacher like Xiang Jinglin, but he didn’t. His new teacher was a girl with a very gentle smile. The classes mainly involved the teacher leading them to listen to children’s songs, do actions, and play games, which Zhuozhuo found interesting.

After two classes, the teacher talked to Cheng Leyan, saying that Zhuozhuo had a particularly strong cognitive ability and a huge vocabulary, calling him a genius child with an IQ even higher than some children with Asperger’s syndrome.

She suggested that although Zhuozhuo could type, parents should not let him rely too much on written communication, as it might reduce his desire to speak. It’s better to encourage him to want to talk himself.

The teacher also mentioned that psychological factors played a significant role.

Cheng Leyan took this to heart. He remembered Butler Li mentioning that Zhuozhuo had undergone psychological counseling and planned to ask more about it later.

However, that day, he had another important task: he took Zhuozhuo to the public security bureau.

Aunt Zhang had confessed everything.

After being criminally detained, the police restored some evidence from Aunt Zhang’s phone. At first, she was stubborn, but soon, unable to withstand the pressure, she confessed everything.

Her son gambled and owed a huge gambling debt, and seeing no way to repay it, she targeted Zhuozhuo, even planning for two months, with her husband contacting the kidnappers and arranging the crime.

The last time she failed to borrow money from Cheng Leyan, she decided to act.

Aunt Zhang also confessed to her past abuse of Zhuozhuo.

It was then that Cheng Leyan learned Aunt Zhang had done so many inhumane things:

Shortly after Rong Wangzhi’s accident, Aunt Zhang came to take care of Zhuozhuo. At that time, Zhuozhuo often woke up crying from nightmares in the middle of the night. Annoyed, she started adding sleeping pills to his food. Initially, it was a small dose, but it gradually increased, even exceeding an adult’s dosage.

Later, she became bolder, frequently beating and scolding Zhuozhuo. Once, she hit him so hard that his mouth bled, but she told others it was because the child was naughty and bumped himself. Seeing she could get away with it, she became more excessive.

Afraid that Zhuozhuo would tell on her, she often threatened him, showing him videos of disabled children begging and saying if he dared to speak out, she would sell him, cut off his limbs, and send him to beg.

As for why she abused Zhuozhuo…

Aunt Zhang’s answer was: she couldn’t stand him being so lucky, being born so wealthy.

Even the kidnapping of Zhuozhuo was because, “Madam is so rich, what’s wrong with lending me some money?! Only giving me fifty thousand yuan, treating me like a beggar.”

Seeing these confessions, Cheng Leyan was trembling with anger.

He hugged Zhuozhuo, gently kissing the child’s hair.

Zhuozhuo, however, seemed indifferent.

When the police asked him, “Did Aunt Zhang ever do these things?” he quietly nodded, not even crying.

In the original book “Prisoner of Love,” Aunt Zhang died of cancer, and the antagonist couldn’t personally take revenge after growing up, always feeling regret.

Cheng Leyan didn’t want this evil nanny to leave any shadow on Zhuozhuo, so he specifically asked the police to show them a video of Aunt Zhang being interrogated.

In the video, the person who once seemed as tall as a wall in front of Zhuozhuo, someone he could never defeat, was now curled up, crying with snot and tears, humble and weak, repeatedly saying, “I was wrong, I plead guilty, please be lenient!”

Cheng Leyan said, “Baby, criminals will be punished by the law, and the law is her retribution. Don’t be afraid, we’re not afraid of her.”

The little cub held his hand tightly and nodded vigorously.

Aunt Zhang accused Cheng Leyan of child abuse, but without evidence, it was just her word. Moreover, the police saw Zhuozhuo’s reliance and trust in Cheng Leyan and didn’t believe Aunt Zhang’s words.

Soon, in the office of the Rong Corporation building, Mama Rong also received Aunt Zhang’s confession.

Reading about the things Aunt Zhang did to Zhuozhuo in the past, she was almost heartbroken, and the eyes of the strong woman in her fifties were swollen from crying.

She had already arranged that whether in the detention center or prison, she would never let this scum have a good time! Her husband, her son, and the other kidnappers would all be the same!

There was another thing that even Cheng Leyan didn’t know.

Aunt Zhang had worked for the Rong Family for many years, and Mama Rong didn’t believe she would do these things for no reason, so she hired a private investigator to look into it. They found out that Aunt Zhang’s sister-in-law’s cousin had received a total of 300,000 yuan in transfers, and the source of the money, after several twists and turns, led back to the Rong Family’s second branch.

The answer was obvious. Aunt Zhang’s initial abuse of Zhuozhuo was instigated by the second branch.

In the end, it was all for the 3% of Rong Corporation shares that Zhuozhuo held.

Mama Rong thought fiercely: With Wangzhi like this, what am I afraid of? Want to play? Then let’s play!

Rong Zhixian, Li Lili, you bastards, one by one, just wait for me!

After a while, the assistant knocked and entered, saying, “President Zheng, the sanatorium where President Rong stayed has just refunded all the expenses for the past eight months. The owner of the sanatorium wants to meet you to apologize in person.”

Mama Rong impatiently said, “Meet for what? No need. As for the eight months’ expenses…”

She rubbed her temples and asked, “How’s Cheng Leyan’s recent spending? Is he still going through you for high expenses?”

Assistant Chen hesitated, “Yes. But just…”

Mama Rong: “What did he buy?”

Assistant Chen: “President Zheng, Mr. Cheng hasn’t had any high expenses at all.”

Mama Rong: …

Assistant Chen: “Not only no high expenses, but he also hasn’t had any medium expenses, not even low expenses, only… um, nano expenses.”

Mama Rong: …

Mama Rong: “What the heck is nano expenses!?”

Assistant Chen: “KFC, McDonald’s, Pinduoduo, Mixue Bingcheng.”

Mama Rong: …

Assistant Chen: “His largest expenditure was buying a tin man toy, spending a whopping 2,230 yuan, and he didn’t even ask Butler Li for reimbursement, saying he wanted to give it to Zhuozhuo himself. I heard from Butler Li that he was upset about the two thousand yuan for half a day, skipped dinner, and even went to inhale oxygen after Zhuozhuo fell asleep, saying he had never bought anything so expensive in his life, and his heart couldn’t take it.”

Mama Rong: …

Mama Rong blurted out, “Is he sick???”

Assistant Chen adjusted his glasses, “Mr. Cheng’s exact words were, ‘I can lose face, but not my money.'”

Mama Rong was both speechless and amused.

But strangely, the anger she felt from Aunt Zhang and the second branch was now much soothed.

She let out a breath, leaned back in her chair, and said, “Alright. The eight months’ expenses refunded by the sanatorium, just give it all to Cheng Leyan.”

Consider it a bonus for this incident.

The sales champion can be stingy, but the boss cannot.