When Cheng Leyan said that, Mama Rong was taken aback for a moment, then said, “Aunt Zhang? That’s impossible. Cheng Leyan, you don’t know, Wangzhi was raised by Aunt Zhang. She treated him especially well. Once during an earthquake, she ran out herself but went back to get Wangzhi. How could she do something like this? I still suspect Butler Li.”

In Cheng Leyan’s arms, Zhuozhuo blinked his already red and swollen eyes with effort. He hesitated in his heart.

What if Grandma doesn’t believe him? What if everyone thinks he’s lying? What if Aunt Zhang finds out and throws him off the building or hurts him?

He thought over and over and finally remembered what his stepfather said when holding him before.

He said, “Stepfather protects you.”

He said, “You are safe.”

Should he… believe it?

Zhuozhuo’s hand grasped the Pikachu doll in his pocket again.

Finally, he made a resolute decision.

I am an iron man; I should be brave.

He quivering extended his hand, gently grasping Mama Rong’s arm, shaking it slightly.

After Master Liu asserted that Mama Rong and Zhuozhuo were incompatible, Mama Rong had not hugged Zhuozhuo for almost a year.

Now watching the little one’s hand shaking herself, Mama Rong’s nose tingled, almost shedding tears again.

Then Zhuozhuo pointed to her phone.

Mama Rong unlocked it with her face, handing it to Zhuozhuo, who opened the memo app.

Very earnestly, he began typing.

The first line: [Butler Li is a good person.]

The second line: [Aunt Zhang is a bad person. She hits and scolds me.]

The third line: [She said if I dared to tell you, she’d kill me.]

The little one pushed the phone in front of her, cautious, looking at her anxiously, and instinctively snuggling closer to Cheng Leyan for comfort.

Like a little beast, finally taking a brave peek, but any breeze or movement sends it retreating back to its nest.

Will Grandma… believe him? Nervously and fearfully, Zhuozhuo thought.

Mama Rong looked at those three lines. She read them repeatedly.

Her throat felt blocked; she could hardly breathe.

The last thing she did was turn away from Zhuozhuo and slap herself twice.

What had she done!

She had appointed Aunt Zhang to care for Zhuozhuo. What had Zhuozhuo suffered this past year?

What kind of days has he lived through?

If Zhuozhuo hadn’t told her this time, how long would it have taken her to find out!?

Zhuozhuo is only three years old!!

Massive regret and sadness engulfed her.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on this.

Fearing she might frighten Zhuozhuo, she quickly adjusted her emotions, then turned around, with a warm and gentle smile, saying, “Zhuozhuo, Grandma believes you, and Grandma will never let Aunt Zhang near you again! Zhuozhuo, you’re, you’re safe now.”

By her final words, her voice was nasal with emotion.

Zhuozhuo finally let out a soft sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, Grandma believes him. Thank goodness.

His reaction pierced Mama Rong’s heart again. She quickly wiped away her tears and handed the phone to the police. “Officer, our nanny, her name is Zhang Lihong. We now suspect her of orchestrating this kidnapping.”

And remembering something, she continued, “Right, three months ago, Zhang Lihong asked to borrow 1 million, saying it was to buy her son a house. I gave her a 50,000 gift, told her she didn’t need to repay. I didn’t lend the rest. Officer, please check on her husband and son; she suddenly needed so much money. I suspect someone in her family is gambling.”

Cheng Leyan also said, “Aunt Zhang asked me to lend her 300,000 yesterday, but I didn’t. This morning, because Zhuozhuo’s toy broke, we went to Atlantic Department Store to buy a new one. She must have deliberately broken the toy.”

The police nodded and stood up, “Alright, we’ll investigate immediately.”

Mama Rong and the others simply waited in the police station.

In the afternoon, the police brought the latest news, saying they’d discovered that Aunt Zhang’s son owed a large gambling debt, with debt collectors frequently at the door and their house mortgaged.

At the same time, a week ago, Zhang’s husband withdrew 50,000 in cash from the bank, and a neighbor identified Zhang’s husband appearing near a suspect’s house.

Butler Li had also retrieved surveillance, confirming Aunt Zhang deliberately broke the toy.

The evidence was sufficient; police took Aunt Zhang for questioning. They found another spare phone in her room with many records still intact. The specific situation was under swift investigation.

By the time Cheng Leyan and Zhuozhuo returned home, it was already evening.

Cheng Leyan got out of the car with Zhuozhuo; Mama Rong followed him down. She paused, then squatted in front of Zhuozhuo.

She looked him in the eye, saying, “Zhuozhuo, Grandma apologizes, Grandma didn’t notice Zhang Lihong was such a person, Grandma left you in danger. I’m sorry, Zhuozhuo, it was Grandma’s negligence, Grandma’s fault. But that doesn’t mean Grandma doesn’t love you; Grandma loves you very much. Can you, can you forgive Grandma?”

Saying this, the fifty-something woman choked once again.

Zhuozhuo blinked, then handed her a tissue, smiled awkwardly, and nodded emphatically, then shook his head.

He said nothing, but Mama Rong understood.

Zhuozhuo was saying: I forgive you—no, I never blamed you.

In the car back, Mama Rong performed an intense crying session alone.

Zhuozhuo is a little angel; truly, Zhuozhuo is a little angel.

Originally planning to return to the old residence, halfway, Mama Rong changed her mind, instructing the driver to head to Rong Wangzhi’s hospital instead.

In the private ward, her son still lay quietly on the bed, only the pouty lips from yesterday were gone. Seems the nurse had removed the makeup.

Ah, wait, why do the words “son” and “remove makeup” feel so strange when put together?

Mama Rong, who was deeply distressed, found her pain somewhat diluted by this thought.

Sitting by Rong Wangzhi’s bed, she gazed at her son’s face, finally sniffed, and began speaking as if to herself, “Wangzhi, today for the first time, Mom feels lucky to have listened to Master Liu and allowed Cheng Leyan to marry into the family.”

“Sigh, if you woke up and knew Mom found a guy to marry you, you’d surely be annoyed, right? At the time, Mom did act frantically, and Master Liu said this person was your lucky star, capable of waking you and even determining your future fate, so Mom believed him. But he’s been married to you for a year and hasn’t woken you up, nothing. But today, Mom truly feels grateful for Cheng Leyan. Grateful for having him.”

What she didn’t know was that as soon as she mentioned “Cheng Leyan,” Rong Wangzhi regained some awareness.

He still couldn’t move, couldn’t control his body, and had little feeling. He seemed to hear external sounds but couldn’t respond in any way.

Listening to his mom’s words, he was stirred. The last time he was conscious was when Cheng Leyan was speaking. Now, here he was once more, conscious because his mom mentioned Cheng Leyan.

Could it be that Liu wasn’t just a charlatan, and Cheng Leyan really was some “lucky star” boosting his fortunes?

No way. Rong Wangzhi never believed in superstition, only science.

Just then, as if his slow thoughts turned to words captured by the system, 250 gloomily remarked, “Are you sure? This system is also scientific, right?”

Rong Wangzhi: “Hmm.”

Anyway, don’t think you’ll get another “uh-huh” out of him.

Mama Rong continued, “Wangzhi, I have something else to tell you. Zhuozhuo… Zhuozhuo was kidnapped today.”

Rong Wangzhi’s heart raced wildly as if it might jump out of his chest.

Mama Rong: “But they didn’t succeed.”

His heart settled back.

Mama Rong: “There was a mole in our house who planned the kidnapping.”

His heart raced again.

Mama Rong: “But they’ve been found out.”

His heart settled back.

Mama Rong: “I’m useless. Zhuozhuo’s life was full of terror and pain, with no one to rely on.”

His heart raced once more.

Mama Rong: “But now he has.”

Rong Wangzhi: …Mom, could you speak faster, please?

Mama Rong: “He’s very dependent on Cheng Leyan now.”

Rong Wangzhi: Hmm?

The sweet-talking, smooth-talked, double-dealing, hypocritical, malicious, ruthless, greedy, cunning, sweet-tongued, scheming Cheng Leyan?