At night, Jiang Shuya lay in bed, slowly recalling Huang Tao from her previous life. Not long after their first meeting, she had been beaten up by Huang Minghao because of some irresponsible remarks. After that, Huang Tao did not appear in Xixia Village for a long time. He returned once before the New Year of the following year. It was also in the winter night of the same year that her mother-in-law lost her gold ring, gold necklace, and gold bracelet. The house was ransacked at the time, and there were also signs of ransacking upstairs. Jiang Shuya was also very poor at the time, and the thief did not gain anything, so naturally nothing was lost.

In her previous life, she worked in a shopping mall selling high-end clothing. As the year-end approached, the store needed to reconcile accounts and do inventory. She stayed up all night doing the inventory and didn't get home until the next day. Later, when her mother-in-law came back, she even thought that Jiang Shuya had taken those things, and the two had an unpleasant argument during the Chinese New Year that year.

Because of this incident, the mother-in-law became suspicious all the time and even thought that Huang Guohua had gambled away those things. After Huang Minghao returned, the mother-in-law complained to her son and asked him to help find them. After being interrogated by Huang Minghao, Jiang Shuya got into an argument because of his offensive words. Huang Minghao even slapped her several times without asking any questions. The five conspicuous finger marks were like branding irons on her face, burning with pain. She still remembers it vividly and used thick foundation to cover it up for a long time.

Later, I heard that during that period, several families lost some valuables, some large and some small, and a few reported the theft to the police. After the police investigation, it was found that the thief was a professional habitual thief. The thief's tools were usually hardware cutters, tweezers and other thieving tools. He was also quite familiar with Xixia Village and had no defenses. It was probably the work of someone familiar in the neighborhood. When many people remembered Huang Tao, the police came to the door, but Huang Tao had already disappeared.

Later, major news reports revealed that Huang Tao and his gang had committed several child trafficking cases in other places. During one of the crimes, they were exposed and betrayed by their accomplices. Huang Tao became a major suspect and was wanted by the police. The wanted posters were posted at the entrances of Xixia Village, which were very eye-catching. Huang Tao, as cunning as a fox, disguised himself and escaped right under the noses of the police. From then on, he traveled to various provinces and cities to commit crimes, stealing while on the run, and became a fugitive.

Later, some people heard that he had joined a criminal gang in Guangdong. After several years of pursuit by the mainland police, the gang fled to the border, venturing overseas and engaging in human trafficking, harming compatriots, and drug smuggling, becoming truly heinous criminals.

Jiang Shuya took a deep breath. In the moonlight, two scars on her pale face were particularly conspicuous. Although she had escaped that night in her previous life, an intuition told her that Huang Tao must have come for her to sneak into her home. When he found no one, he ransacked the house and found his mother-in-law's gold jewelry. A thief never leaves empty-handed, so he took it.

She suddenly remembered something. After the New Year, Huang Minghao went to Huang Tao's house to pay New Year's respects to his second uncle. Although Huang Tao and Huang Minghao had a disagreement before, they shook hands and made up for the first time because of the second uncle's persuasion. They sat down and drank together, deciding to put their past grievances behind them.

That night, the drinking went on until very late. Huang Minghao, who had a high alcohol tolerance, remained calm and composed, while Huang Tao got completely drunk and started talking nonsense. He said that he was going to pick up his friend's two sons in a couple of days to come to Zhou Island. His friend was a big businessman who often asked him to take care of his sons. Each time, the sons were different, some older, some younger, some boys, some girls. He even mocked them, saying they were all his friend's illegitimate children, and that he must have kept many mistresses to have so many children. However, the children couldn't speak at first, and they only stayed for one night before being sent away the next day. He never saw the children again and never heard of them appearing on Jiang Island.

The memories of the past life, which had no answers, are now answered in this life. Upon careful reflection, the truth is shocking.

Jiang Shuya gave a cold laugh: We must find where those children are hiding. Huang Tao only returned home after several years, and it certainly wasn't just to see his second uncle. He must have other plans and would find a way to hide those children. As long as we find those children, we can send Huang Tao back to prison. The crime of child trafficking alone is enough to make him spend the rest of his life in jail.

Thinking of the photos of those lost children from my past life, my heart aches with sorrow and pain. Those families who lost their children live their entire lives in unbearable pain, in a daze, and filled with self-blame.

I always thought that I could avoid the harm of my past life and that changing my course would ensure everything would be alright. But every path has its thorns. Since I won't follow the rules, new harms will also appear. In any case, what's wrong with being reborn?

Just like Lin Moxiao in her previous life, she met him once at her cousin's class reunion. They didn't exchange more than a few words, and her attitude towards him was indifferent. She could feel a certain gaze that was paying attention to her, but she couldn't get used to it, didn't want to expect it, and avoided it altogether.

Unlike this life, she had gone to a concert with him, stayed overnight at his house, and had a meal with him. This was something that didn't happen in her previous life. Perhaps it shouldn't have happened, or morality wouldn't allow it, but that's just how it was. He pushed her in front of him again, even though there were no ulterior motives.

In my previous life, I was cold and uninteresting. What about in this life? Was I being polite, or did he say I wanted to make a friend I could talk to? Would someone like him be useless in making friends? I've never lacked female confidantes. That person isn't my cousin, but her. I just can't understand it. The more I think about it, the more my head aches. Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. The only thing that hasn't changed in both lives is that I overthink things. It really gives me a headache.

The next morning, Jiang Shuya went to the mall and bought a copy of the "Jinling Evening News" from the newsstand. She also asked for copies from the previous days. On the front page of one of the newspapers, there was a story about missing children. The photos of several children were clearly visible, and the missing person notices, phone numbers, and addresses were published on them. The families hoped that the public would work together to help keep an eye out for them. If anyone looked similar, they were asked to contact the police. A generous reward would be given upon confirmation.

The following evening, Jiang Shuya went to the willow tree at the entrance of the alley by the river. Sun Qi came out from the backyard and walked up to her: "Sister-in-law, you wanted to see me about something."

Sun Qi saw that Jiang Shuya was wearing a white mask. Before she could ask about the wound, Jiang Shuya said, "I recently discovered something, but I can't confirm it. Have you seen the news lately? Three children went missing in Wuhe County. There are several large temple fairs there recently, near the end of the year, and many people go to the fairs. These three children went missing at the fairs. Wuhe County is less than an hour's drive from here. It belongs to Anhui Province and is located on the border with Tangquan. I suspect that the three children are on our Jiangdao Island, but I can't confirm their exact location. I have no clues and dare not report it to the police rashly."

Sun Qi's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and she looked somewhat suspicious: "Although Jiang Island is not very big, I'm afraid the two of us are not enough to handle it. I suppose those three children have encountered human traffickers. If an emergency occurs, it will be difficult for the two of us to protect them. Are you sure you don't want to call the police?"