Extra 3.5

The next day, Jiang Rou asked for a leave of absence for Xiao Feng and, together with Li Xiao, took her to change her name.

After a busy morning, they finally emerged from the police station. At noon, the family of three had lunch outside. After the meal, Jiang Rou noticed there was still plenty of time and decided to take Xiao Feng to watch a movie.

When they were young, Li Xiao, whether due to carelessness or some other reason, hadn’t bought a television for the house. Xiao Feng had grown up only watching the television at the neighbor’s house.

As they passed by the cinema, Jiang Rou decided to take her inside.

Li Xiao followed behind.

Xiao Feng was very happy, swinging her mother’s hand as she entered the cinema, and couldn’t help but look around eagerly.

Jiang Rou bought her a cup of soda and some popcorn, which made Xiao Feng even happier. However, when she received the popcorn and soda, her first reaction was to offer them to her parents.

Jiang Rou bent down to eat, while Li Xiao did not eat, letting her have it all.

Xiao Feng then happily and attentively ate, savoring each bite slowly as if she didn’t want to finish it all at once.

Jiang Rou patted her little head and turned to Li Xiao: “Next time, we should take her to eat at KFC. Kids love that.”

Unfortunately, there was no KFC in the City at this time, otherwise, Jiang Rou would have taken her there immediately.

Li Xiao glanced at her and gently replied with a soft “mm.”

Xiao Feng heard this and curiously looked up at her mother, asking, “What’s KFC?”

Jiang Rou smiled, “It’s something delicious. When Daddy earns money in the future, he can take us there.”

Xiao Feng was excited but still understandingly said, “Daddy, don’t work too hard.”

Before Li Xiao could respond, Jiang Rou was touched and squatted down to give the child a big hug, kissing her little face. “Why are you so sweet, Xiao Feng? Mommy really likes you.”

Xiao Feng shyly smiled, “Xiao Feng also likes Mommy.”

Watching the mother and daughter laughing and playing together, Li Xiao, who had been quiet all along, softened as he gazed at the mother and daughter.

—o—o—o—

After the movie, Jiang Rou went to the restroom. When she came out, she went to find the father and daughter waiting in the lobby. She scanned the area and spotted them on the chairs meant for resting.

Xiao Feng was sitting quietly on the chair, while Li Xiao stood beside her, making a phone call.

As Jiang Rou approached, she saw a little boy throwing marbles at Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng, being very timid, did not dare to speak up even though she was being hit. She could only look at the boy with tearful eyes and fear.

The little boy, seeing her about to cry, seemed pleased and continued to throw marbles at her.

Li Xiao, hearing the commotion, turned around and saw the boy’s actions.

His expression darkened instantly.

Just as he was about to step forward, he saw Jiang Rou rushing over first. Jiang Rou picked up two marbles from the ground and handed them to Xiao Feng, saying, “Throw them back.”

Xiao Feng, holding the marbles, hesitated and looked up at Jiang Rou with a pleading expression: “Mommy.”

Jiang Rou squeezed her little hand and reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. Mommy is here. Throw them back at him. If he hits you, you hit him back.”

Xiao Feng glanced at her angry mother and then at her father not far away, she summoned her courage to throw the marbles back at the boy.

The boy immediately became angry and continued to throw marbles at Xiao Feng. However, all the marbles he threw were accurately caught by Jiang Rou.

Jiang Rou handed the marbles she had caught back to Xiao Feng, saying, “Keep throwing.”

Xiao Feng obediently threw the marbles back.

After being hit several times, the little boy began to cry and shouted, “Mommy, someone is bullying me—”

Then a young woman rushed over, holding tickets, fuming with anger, and shouted, “What are you doing?”

The woman grabbed her son, rubbed him affectionately, and then turned on Jiang Rou with a furious tirade, “How do you teach your child? You’re actually teaming up to bully my son. Do you know who my husband is?”

Jiang Rou stepped forward to protect her child, saying, “Who? Tell me. I’m not afraid. I’d like to see which big shot in our county will back you up.”

“And how dare you scold me about how I raise my child? Why don’t you reflect on yourself? Are those marbles ours?”

The woman was briefly taken aback, probably not expecting Jiang Rou to respond so sharply. Her face turned very dark as she pointed at them, gritting her teeth, and said, “Fine, if you’re so brave, stay here and wait. I’ll make a phone call and see if you can still be so stubborn.”

As she spoke, she took out her phone to make a call.

The young boy, spoiled by his family and emboldened by his mother’s support, arrogantly said, “Mommy, they all hit me. Help me hit them back.”

Jiang Rou was not afraid at all. “You want to make a call? Who doesn’t have a phone these days? Li Xiao, give me your phone. If you make one call, I’ll make ten. Let’s see who’s scared of whom!”

“If your husband is a county leader, I’ll report to him. If the city doesn’t handle it, I’ll report to the province. If the province doesn’t handle it, I’ll report to the central government. I know all the hotlines for the mayor, the governor, and the supervisory departments. I don’t believe that after so many years since our country was established, there are still so many wicked people. If you have the ability, bring them here. I’ll report one by one. It will be a contribution to our country’s socialist construction.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao said something into the phone, hung up directly, and then walked over to hand the phone to Jiang Rou.

The woman was surprised to see that Jiang Rou also had a phone. She was not naive; in this day and age, only families who could afford to buy expensive phones were not ordinary. Moreover, she recognized the phone in Jiang Rou’s hand—it was a high-end brand, costing several thousand, unlike her own phone which was worth only a few hundred.

Seeing Jiang Rou’s fearless demeanor, the woman hesitated, her face darkened, and she dragged her son away. “You win this time.”

Once they left, Jiang Rou angrily shoved the phone back into Li Xiao’s hand. “What kind of person is that?”

Xiao Feng was very pleased, looking up at Jiang Rou with admiration. “Mommy, you’re amazing.”

Hearing this, Jiang Rou’s mood improved a bit but she still said, “From now on, if anyone bullies you, hit them back. If you can’t win, run away and come home to tell Mommy. Mommy will stand up for you.”

Seeing Li Xiao was also present, she added, “You can tell Daddy too.”

Xiao Feng nodded vigorously. “Mommy, you’re great.”

“Alright, enough flattery. Mommy will buy you ice cream to calm you down.”

With that, she took Xiao Feng’s hand and went out.

“Yay!”

Li Xiao followed behind. As they reached the door, he suddenly turned his head and glanced deeply, his gaze cold.

It wasn’t until he heard his daughter’s cheerful exclamation that he withdrew his gaze, his eyes warming again.

Ahead, Jiang Rou called out to him, “Why are you daydreaming? I asked if you wanted some ice cream.”

Li Xiao met her puzzled eyes, paused for a moment, and replied, “No need.”

Jiang Rou nodded and didn’t buy him any, taking one ice cream for herself and one for the child.

Xiao Feng took a bite of her ice cream and happily said to Li Xiao, “Daddy, the ice cream is delicious.”

Seeing her smiling face, Li Xiao’s heart softened little by little.

After a Moment’s thought, he quietly said to Jiang Rou, “Thank you.”

She had been very brave just now, which was why timid Xiao Feng had started smiling again so quickly.

Jiang Rou was momentarily stunned by his words. She turned her head to look at him, meeting his dark eyes. Instead of saying anything polite like “no need to thank me,” she handed over the ice cream in her hand, saying, “If you really want to thank me, then eat this.”

Jiang Rou wasn’t sure when her original self’s period was supposed to start, but her own period was approaching. She had thought about this when she ate a couple of bites earlier and was worried her stomach might hurt.

Li Xiao glanced at the ice cream she had nibbled on and hesitated.

Jiang Rou thought he found it unappealing and said impatiently, “You’ve eaten my leftovers before, and now you’re picky about this?”

Li Xiao reached out and took the ice cream—and took a bite. It was very cold but also very sweet.

His gaze inadvertently swept over the person beside him, noticing that she was raising her hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sunlight.

When their eyes met, she smiled at him—her smile reaching her eyes.

That smile was sweeter than the ice cream in his hand.

Li Xiao lowered his eyes—concealing the strange feelings in his heart.

—o—o—o—

The next day, Li Xiao took Jiang Rou to pick up his sister.

After dropping off the child at kindergarten in the morning, Li Xiao rented a car and drove Jiang Rou to the city.

Upon arriving at the correctional facility, Li Xiao first went to negotiate with the staff. After a while, a staff member brought out a frail-looking girl. “Fu Xiaoyue, your family is here to pick you up.”

Jiang Rou stood up and, seeing the approaching girl, spoke in a gentle voice, “Xiao Yue, I’m your third sister.”

Fu Xiaoyue kept her head lowered, remaining silent and not looking at Jiang Rou at all.

Jiang Rou glanced at Li Xiao beside her.

Li Xiao said, “Let’s go eat first.”

Fortunately, Fu Xiaoyue was willing to follow them. Fearing that Fu Xiaoyue might resist her, Jiang Rou let her sit in the back of the car while she took the front passenger seat.

Jiang Rou turned around and spoke softly to her, “I am your third sister and this is your brother-in-law. Your brother-in-law has transferred your household registration to our name, so you will live with us from now on. The house isn’t very big and can’t accommodate too many people. Your brother-in-law has arranged for you to stay at his friend’s house. His friend is currently away at university, and only an elderly grandmother lives there.”

“You should rest for a while and start high school in the second half of the year.”

No matter what Jiang Rou said, Fu Xiaoyue remained silent, her head lowered.

Eventually, Li Xiao parked the car on a pedestrian street and they found a restaurant to sit down in. While waiting for the food, Jiang Rou took Fu Xiaoyue out to buy some clothes and two pairs of shoes.

By the time they returned, the food had already arrived, and they had a meal together.

After eating, Fu Xiaoyue looked up at Jiang Rou, her face expressionless, and said in a strained tone, “Why are you being so nice to me? I won’t be grateful.”

Perhaps due to not speaking for so long, she had become somewhat awkward with words.

Jiang Rou looked at her with sympathy and shook her head. “You don’t need to be grateful. Just focus on studying and aim for a good university in the future.”

After the meal, Jiang Rou took her to get a student haircut.

Possibly due to her frail appearance, she looked even younger.

Once these tasks were done, the three of them went back. Li Xiao drove them directly to his friend Jin Dayou’s house. Presumably, he had informed them beforehand, as Dayou’s grandmother had cleared out Dayou’s room for them.

As they were leaving, Jiang Rou handed a hundred yuan to Fu Xiaoyue.

Fu Xiaoyue hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it. “I’ll pay you back later.”

Jiang Rou did not refuse. “That’s fine.”

After they went outside, Jiang Rou couldn’t help but glance back at the car as she approached it. Fu Xiaoyue stood at the door, silently watching them. Jiang Rou waved her hand and said, “Go back now.”

Li Xiao drove the car to the repair shop and returned it. Seeing that it was still early, Jiang Rou suggested going to the market to buy some vegetables and told Li Xiao to go back first.

Li Xiao didn’t say anything but followed her.

Jiang Rou paid no further attention to it.

While they were shopping for vegetables, Jiang Rou was in charge of picking out the items, and Li Xiao carried them.

At first, Jiang Rou asked him if he had eaten this or that.

Li Xiao replied that he had eaten everything.

Finally, Jiang Rou asked, “Is there anything you don’t eat?”

Li Xiao answered, “Shouldn’t be.”

Jiang Rou nodded and joked, “Well, you’re quite easy to feed then.”

Li Xiao couldn’t help but glance at her.

When they got home, Jiang Rou boiled water to wash her hair, and then sat at the door to dry it. Without a hairdryer, she had to rely on the sun.

Li Xiao worked in the yard, seemingly making some furniture.

Feeling the silence between them was awkward, Jiang Rou took the initiative and asked, “What are you making?”

Li Xiao continued his work, saying, “I’m making you a desk.”

Jiang Rou was surprised. She hadn’t expected it to be for her, and she looked at the man beside her, feeling unexpectedly warmed.

For some unknown reason, she asked, “Hey, did you like any other women in your past life?”

Li Xiao stopped his work and turned his head to look at her.

Jiang Rou wasn’t sure why she had asked such a question, and she awkwardly laughed. “It’s nothing. I just think you’re good-looking and capable, so I thought there might be a lot of people who like you.”

“No.”

He replied flatly, then paused for a moment before adding, “I haven’t liked anyone else.”

Then he turned his head back and resumed his woodworking.

Only he knew that inside, he felt a little anxious.

“Okay.”

Jiang Rou nodded stiffly.

The two fell into silence again, and Jiang Rou felt even more awkward than before. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted asking such a foolish question.

Suddenly remembering something, Jiang Rou immediately broke the quiet atmosphere, “Oh, by the way, could you lend me your phone for a moment?”

Li Xiao looked at her again.

Jiang Rou explained, “When I was interning, I heard about a human trafficking case. Considering the time, it should be happening now. The boy was abducted when he was very young. His adoptive parents treated him badly and even exploited him when he grew up. He ended up on the wrong path, learning to steal money to pay for his adoptive father’s medical treatment. In the end, he accidentally killed someone. His biological parents, in their search for him, died in an accident years ago…”

It was because of Fu Xiaoyue that Jiang Rou remembered this similarly abused person by his adoptive parents.

She frowned as she continued, “I remember his adoptive parents were from a county in this province. Thinking about it, it seems not far from here.”

Li Xiao looked at her for a moment and suddenly asked, “Have you always been this kind-hearted?”

Jiang Rou was trying hard to recall the information about the man and did not hear his words clearly, so she asked reflexively, “What?”

Li Xiao withdrew his gaze, “Nothing, the phone is in my jacket pocket.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Rou was someone who acted on her thoughts. She stood up and went back to the room to rummage through Li Xiao’s phone, but after getting the phone, she hesitated and said to Li Xiao, who was not far away, “I only know he was abducted when he was young, but I’m not sure if he is still there now. What if he hasn’t been sold yet?”

Li Xiao glanced at Jiang Rou, as if thinking of something, stopped his woodworking, patted his clothes, walked to the well behind him to wash his hands, and then approached Jiang Rou.

He asked succinctly, “Which county?”

Jiang Rou scratched her head and said distressedly, “If I remember correctly, it’s Xuan Yun County, but I don’t quite recall which town.”

Li Xiao quickly listed several town names. When he mentioned “Zhutian Town,” Jiang Rou frowned and interrupted him, “That sounds right, I have some impression.”

Li Xiao then asked her what the person’s surname was.

Jiang Rou knew this, “His adoptive parents’ surname is Liu. I remember the person’s name is Liu Lele. His adoptive parents said that when he was just bought back, he only responded when called Lele. The suspect’s real name is Song Boqing. I only learned about this from a few of the sisters in the bureau while we were eating. Everyone thought the name sounded nice, like an ancient name.”

“I heard that his biological parents were prominent businessmen in the south. Unfortunately, before they could find him, something happened to them. And he was sentenced because of accidentally killing someone. His biological parents’ adopted brother only came to visit once…”

“I think he’s too pitiful. After hearing his story, I was in a bad mood for several days, so the impression was especially deep.”

Li Xiao didn’t understand how someone could be so affected by another person’s experiences to the point of being in a bad mood for days.

But given that this kind of thing happened to Jiang Rou, he didn’t find it very surprising.

He merely raised an eyebrow in surprise, “The surname Song?”

“Yeah, it’s Song.”

Li Xiao suddenly said, “I might know who it is.”

Jiang Rou’s eyes widened as she looked at him, “Really?”

“Give me the phone.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou handed him the phone without thinking. She didn’t notice that, in her haste, her hand accidentally brushed against his palm. When Li Xiao instinctively grabbed the phone, he also held her hand.

Their skin touched, and they instinctively looked at each other.

Realizing what happened, Jiang Rou quickly pulled her hand away.

Li Xiao’s fingers twitched slightly as he took the phone and went to the side to make a call. After the call, he told Jiang Rou, “I’ll first check on the Liu family’s situation. Once I confirm whether they bought the child, I’ll proceed with other actions.”

Jiang Rou nodded and, feeling a bit embarrassed, asked, “Did I trouble you again?”

Li Xiao put the phone back in his pocket and replied calmly, “No.”

In the evening, while Jiang Rou was cooking, Li Xiao couldn’t resist going back to his room. He stood in front of the mirror and took a good look at himself for the first time.

Recalling Jiang Rou’s evaluation of him from earlier in the afternoon, a faint smile appeared in his eyes.

But the smile was fleeting and quickly disappeared when Xiao Feng called for him.

Xiao Feng was holding a piece of braised pork, struggling to lift her hand high. With a piece of the meat still in her mouth, she mumbled, “Daddy eat.”

Li Xiao glanced at her and said, “You eat it yourself.”

Xiao Feng obediently replied, “Mommy said it’s for you.”

Li Xiao hesitated for a moment, then squatted down and ate the piece of meat.